Assessing climate change risk and vulnerability among Bhil and Bhilala tribal communities in Madhya Pradesh, India: a multidimensional approach

Abstract Climate change presents significant risks to marginalized communities, particularly in tribal groups like the Bhil and Bhilala communities of Madhya Pradesh, India. Limited empirical studies have focused on the effects of climate change on tribes in India. This study aims to assess climate...

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Main Authors: Amit Kumar, T. Mohanasundari
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-02-01
Series:Scientific Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-90390-9
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author Amit Kumar
T. Mohanasundari
author_facet Amit Kumar
T. Mohanasundari
author_sort Amit Kumar
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Climate change presents significant risks to marginalized communities, particularly in tribal groups like the Bhil and Bhilala communities of Madhya Pradesh, India. Limited empirical studies have focused on the effects of climate change on tribes in India. This study aims to assess climate change risk and vulnerability among tribal communities, employing the modified Mann–Kendall (MMK) test to identify climate trends, a risk assessment framework based on the Intergovernmental panel on climate change sixth assessment report (IPCC-AR6), and multiple linear regression (MLR). The MMK test indicates an increasing trend in rainfall (MMK = 1.099) and temperature. However, household perceptions reveal a high awareness of climatic changes, with 97% of respondents reporting irregularity in rainfall and 98% documenting increased summer hot days. The risk assessment shows that Bhil households face higher risk (0.107) than Bhilala households (0.068), which is determined by higher exposure and sensitivity. MLR results further emphasize that 12 of 23 indicators significantly affect risk assessment (R-squared = 0.698), with climatic events (β = 0.015), housing structure (β = 0.07), and food security being key contributors. The findings indicate that long-term climate trends are already affecting tribal livelihoods. It calls for targeted adaptation strategies, incorporating enhanced infrastructure, crop diversification, and better access to climate information and government schemes.
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spelling doaj-art-431fe1e2fbcf4670b27258bedcf5591f2025-08-20T02:16:54ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-02-0115111710.1038/s41598-025-90390-9Assessing climate change risk and vulnerability among Bhil and Bhilala tribal communities in Madhya Pradesh, India: a multidimensional approachAmit Kumar0T. Mohanasundari1School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology IndoreSchool of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology IndoreAbstract Climate change presents significant risks to marginalized communities, particularly in tribal groups like the Bhil and Bhilala communities of Madhya Pradesh, India. Limited empirical studies have focused on the effects of climate change on tribes in India. This study aims to assess climate change risk and vulnerability among tribal communities, employing the modified Mann–Kendall (MMK) test to identify climate trends, a risk assessment framework based on the Intergovernmental panel on climate change sixth assessment report (IPCC-AR6), and multiple linear regression (MLR). The MMK test indicates an increasing trend in rainfall (MMK = 1.099) and temperature. However, household perceptions reveal a high awareness of climatic changes, with 97% of respondents reporting irregularity in rainfall and 98% documenting increased summer hot days. The risk assessment shows that Bhil households face higher risk (0.107) than Bhilala households (0.068), which is determined by higher exposure and sensitivity. MLR results further emphasize that 12 of 23 indicators significantly affect risk assessment (R-squared = 0.698), with climatic events (β = 0.015), housing structure (β = 0.07), and food security being key contributors. The findings indicate that long-term climate trends are already affecting tribal livelihoods. It calls for targeted adaptation strategies, incorporating enhanced infrastructure, crop diversification, and better access to climate information and government schemes.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-90390-9Climate changeRisk assessmentIPCC-AR6Tribal livelihoodMultiple linear regressionAdaptive capacity
spellingShingle Amit Kumar
T. Mohanasundari
Assessing climate change risk and vulnerability among Bhil and Bhilala tribal communities in Madhya Pradesh, India: a multidimensional approach
Scientific Reports
Climate change
Risk assessment
IPCC-AR6
Tribal livelihood
Multiple linear regression
Adaptive capacity
title Assessing climate change risk and vulnerability among Bhil and Bhilala tribal communities in Madhya Pradesh, India: a multidimensional approach
title_full Assessing climate change risk and vulnerability among Bhil and Bhilala tribal communities in Madhya Pradesh, India: a multidimensional approach
title_fullStr Assessing climate change risk and vulnerability among Bhil and Bhilala tribal communities in Madhya Pradesh, India: a multidimensional approach
title_full_unstemmed Assessing climate change risk and vulnerability among Bhil and Bhilala tribal communities in Madhya Pradesh, India: a multidimensional approach
title_short Assessing climate change risk and vulnerability among Bhil and Bhilala tribal communities in Madhya Pradesh, India: a multidimensional approach
title_sort assessing climate change risk and vulnerability among bhil and bhilala tribal communities in madhya pradesh india a multidimensional approach
topic Climate change
Risk assessment
IPCC-AR6
Tribal livelihood
Multiple linear regression
Adaptive capacity
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-90390-9
work_keys_str_mv AT amitkumar assessingclimatechangeriskandvulnerabilityamongbhilandbhilalatribalcommunitiesinmadhyapradeshindiaamultidimensionalapproach
AT tmohanasundari assessingclimatechangeriskandvulnerabilityamongbhilandbhilalatribalcommunitiesinmadhyapradeshindiaamultidimensionalapproach