Promoting Sustainable Agriculture, Agroforestry and Livelihood Enhancement in Thar Desert, Rajasthan
Promoting Sustainable Agriculture, Agroforestry and Livelihood Enhancement in Thar Desert, Rajasthan
Authors : Apurva Bhandari, Preeti Aggarwal, Kanupriya Bhagat, Bhavna Malik
In the western part of Rajasthan State lies the extensive Thar Desert – which is
covered in rolling dunes of sand for almost its whole expanse. It is noted that
the annual precipitation in the north-eastern part of Thar is 200 mm to 300
mm; where, it has dry fauna with temporary vegetation during rainy seasons.
However, in other regions of the Thar Desert, the amount of precipitation
and vegetation continues to decline further. Due to this situation, the local
residents rear pasture animals and grow single crop during rainy season.
Being an arid area, the rainfall varies each year and income is not stable.
Further, the residents are socially isolated as they reside in nearly 500
villages scattered around the desert with limited communication and road
connectivity. Moreover, the desertification is noted to increase exponentially
(JICA, 2003 1
); which, impacts existence of several villages and makes its
infrastructure severely fragile.
Agriculture of the region has been adversely affected due to erratic rainfall,
desertification and decreasing arability of existing soil. Sankalp Taru (ST)
Foundation recognized the need to work with rural communities to slow
down on-going desertification and provide sustainable means of livelihood.
ST Foundation are pioneers in creating socio- environmental impact in the
areas identified as critical based on their self- sustainable and livelihood
supportive ecosystem models.
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