SHIVA Project, supported by ANR (National Research Agency, FRANCE)

SHIVA stands for “Socio-economic Assessment of the rural Vulnerability of water users under stressors of global changes in the Hard rock area of South India”.

The project aims at assessing the rural vulnerability of water uses under stressors of global change in the hard rocks area of South India from a socio-economic point of view and at evaluating the possibilities to modify this baseline rural vulnerability through improved water management policies or initiatives.

The main challenges of the project are (i) to combine socio-economic and physical approaches of water resources and uses and to analyze the interactions and feedback mechanisms between the water systems and the rural society; (ii) to define an appropriate rural vulnerability indicator able to take into account both climate and socio-economic changes; (iii) to develop a GIS to take into account, among others, the geographical variability of rural vulnerability and its forecasted evolution at two periods of time (2020-2040 and 2040-2060); (iv) to develop and assess the efficiency of a methodology aiming at water budgeting at large watershed/territory scale in hard rock regions (Deccan plateau).