Applying Socio-Ecological Perspective for Fostering Resilience in Rural Settlements—Melghat Region, India

At the brink of climate change, the perpetual human–nature links observed in remotely placed rural settlements, particularly those nested within ecological regions, are alleged to be deprecating. While the indigenous communities across protected forest areas depend on the surrounding environment for their livelihoods, the emerging climate discrepancies are posing serious concerns to their sustenance. To better understand the impacts of climate change on rural settlements, this research deliberates on the case of the Melghat region in central India, with a specific focus on the Lawada and Kotha settlements. At first, a methodical understanding of Socio-Ecological Systems (SESs) in Melghat is established by meticulously uncovering its social and ecological characteristics. Thereafter, to unearth the interdependencies between the two systems, an indicator-based framework is established. The SESs in the selected settlements are then analyzed based on the evaluation of community responses for defined indicators, using the choice-based preference method. The study outcomes reveal that the local communities consider the “Livelihoods” aspect to be the most critical element of resilience, and the progressive depreciation of nature-based livelihood practices is primarily influencing the local SESs. Correspondingly, this research characterizes the overall results with the existing scenario in Melghat to determine the key areas of intervention. Emphasis has been laid on strengthening the traditional systems to build alternative livelihoods that are resilient to the impacts that are exacerbated by climate change