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SPRING 2023
Connection
PRESBYTERIAN WORLD SERVICE & DEVELOPMENT
PRESBYTERIAN
39
Where Climate Change Takes Away Life and Pride
By Palwashay Arbab and Salman Rashid, Community World Service Asia
Umerkot’s story
Long before the dreaded phrase “climate change” hit the world, Umerkot—a district in the Sindh province of Pakistan—was bless- ed with regular rains and seasonal crops. But since the mid-1980s, rainfall has been irregular, with a couple of good years only every five or six years. As of late, the good years have become increas- ingly uncommon. For the people of Umerkot, drought is not only a total lack of rain, but also untimely rains that cause seeds to wither away without sprouting.
Farmers who could be called prosperous in the desert setting only five decades ago have been reduced to the status of share- croppers who migrate seasonally to the irrigated parts of the district to work for cash. Others became day labourers on construction sites and in factories in bigger
cities in the province. But labour is irregular and those who have found daily work are fortunate. At home, hunger and unmet basic needs are a daily reality for their loved ones.
Over the past four decades, mi- gration due to drought has been a regular feature for desert commu- nities. Because of climate change and natural disasters, they have suffered huge losses in terms of crops, livestock and at times hu- man lives. In this context, mitiga- tion strategies are necessary—to build resilience within the context of worsening conditions.
Narsingh
Narsingh, about 80 years old and completely worn out by the hard desert life, calls Umerkot home. He remembers the good days when rains fell as they had al- ways fallen in July. In anticipation, everyone would sow their guar beans, millet and mung seeds two weeks ahead of the rain. Seeds would sprout in the rain-
drenched sand. In those days, an acre rendered as much as 1,600 kilograms of guar and about 800 kilos of millet, says Narsingh. He raises his eyes heavenward as if silently petitioning God to bring back those days.
But in the 1990s, droughts be- came more common. There were years when no rain fell at all or when it came too late. For desert farmers, late rains are the same as no rain at all because sowing more than eight weeks in advance means very little sprouting.
Jethamal, Narsingh’s son who is in his 30s, has only heard of the good times. He has only known erratic rainfall, a far cry from the regular and timely ones that the elders speak of. He has never har- vested more than 400 kilograms of millet from an acre.
In the old days, Narsingh’s gen- eration was able to keep enough of the harvest for the family to eat, with plenty left to sell in local mar- kets. The idea that farmers would have enough to sell for cash is an
Narsingh and his son, Jethamal, share how climate change has affected farming in their community. PHOTO CREDIT: CWSA
The desert village of Nabisar in Umerkot district, Sindh province, Pakistan. PHOTO CREDIT: CWSA Continued from page 38
alien thought now. Jethamal says area farmers simply don’t have enough harvest to last more than two or three months.
“The year 2019 was good with timely and sufficient rains,” said Jethamal. The crops were coming along nicely, but then the locust attack occurred and, he says, it was difficult to walk anywhere without crushing dozens of them with every step. According to the United Nations, the hotter temper- atures caused by climate change help to generate more damaging locust swarms.
Rains fell on time and the har- vest was reasonable in 2020. But in 2021, the month of Savan (mid-July to mid-August) went dry. The deluge came after mid- September, when it was too late for the seeds sown three months earlier to sprout.
As climate reality hits...
Many areas of southern Umerkot have been affected by climate change, par ticularly by droughts, for several years now. Environ- mental changes have hugely im- pacted the communities’ food security and health, resulting in increased poverty. Commu- nity World Service Asia (CWSA),
with the suppor t of par tners like PWS&D, has elected to help spe- cific areas recorded to be at an Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) level 4, which indicates an emergency situation for food security and livelihoods.
Most families in these areas have been unable to cultivate their lands due to a lack of resources. Now, with the support from CWSA and PWS&D, these drought-hit communities have been able to cultivate lands using the knowl- edge and resources they have gained through the project, as well as with the help of rains in 2022.
PWS&D and Canadian Foodgrains Bank are supporting the HERD (Humanitarian Assis- tance, Early Recovery and Devel- opment) project implemented by Community World Service Asia. This project is providing families with food packages, livestock and seasonal seeds for cultiva- tion, as well as training for farm- ers. In addition, women artisans are enhancing their embroidery skills and learning product de- velopment and marketing to help diversify income streams and re- duce dependency on agriculture, which is subject to increasingly erratic weather patterns.
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In this context, the Maya-Mam Association for Research and De- velopment (AMMID), supported by PWS&D, works for fullness of life by promoting harmony with Mother Earth. Located in the western highlands of Guate- mala, the organization advances the worldview of the Maya-Mam Indigenous people, who consider the human being as part, and not the centre, of nature.
Farmers involved in AMMID’s program learn how to withstand the effects of climate change
through territorial planning, sus- tainable agroecological produc- tion and the management of natu- ral assets. They combine their wisdom and ancestral knowledge with scientific information to de- velop resilient adaptive strategies that value the land’s natural bio- diversity (seeds and native live- stock species).
The program also promotes mitigation actions such as refor- estation, agroforestry systems, and alternative technologies like wood-saving stoves that reduce
house smoke and carbon emis- sions. Equipping farmers with the knowledge to withstand the climate crisis helps ensure that families are better prepared for future disasters.
PWS&D’s vision is realized through programs support- ing sustainability, compassion and justice. With the support of PWS&D, AMMID promotes har- monious living with the environ- ment, a central element of the Maya-Mam people’s worldview for a life worthy of humanity.