A survival vulnerability index (SuVI) for an outlawed vocation: empirical evidence from snake charmer community, West Bengal

Somenath Halder ()
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Somenath Halder: Kaliachak College

Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, 2022, vol. 24, issue 10, No 28, 12161 pages

Abstract: Abstract This study underlines the purpose of developing a vulnerability index to address the issue of outlawed professionals. The Survival Vulnerability Index (SuVI) is a modified form based on two popular indexes, the livelihood vulnerability index (LVI) and the climate vulnerability index (CVI). However, the prime objective is to understand the multidimensional poverty and vulnerability of a vocational group engaged with a risky profession on a regional scale. The snake charmer community, who are coping and struggling with the post-banning situation of Wildlife (Protection) Law, amended in 1972 in West Bengal (India), needs institutional attention. The index is a case study composed of household parameters of all the three dimensions of vulnerability (IPCC 2007), i.e., exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. Exposure is defined by the effect of amended environmental laws and the effect of globalization, but sensitivity is defined by ‘health,’ ‘food’ and ‘water’, and adaptive capacity is defined by ‘socio-demographic profile,’ ‘livelihood strategies and skills,’ and ‘social network.’ Hence, after judiciary review and peering of coherent literature, the customized parameters are incorporated. Due to the unavailability of secondary data on snake charmers, firsthand data on desired sub-components are collected through random sampling of 1115 households from 65 villages across the state. The differential vulnerabilities are compared through the composite index and aggregating sampled data. The results show high vulnerability in socio-demographic profile, health, food and water in DHDR, MDR, RPR, and PUR, and the impact of globalization is higher than the impact of laws in PDR, RPR, BTR, and DHDR. It is also observed that the dimension of sensitivity is higher in all the small-scale regions, and which is a severe concern for mitigating the problem. Inter-regional comparison of LVI and CVI approaches both validate each other. This pragmatic SuVI may be used to examine the vulnerability of any outlawed occupational group and or having potential coping and welfare policy or program, where data-scant is a problem and by cross-counting various anticipated baseline scenarios. The outcome precisely points to ardent mitigation and real welfare of snake charmers through redesigned policy and program.

Keywords: Snake charmer community; Survival vulnerability index (SuVI); Occupational group; Composite index; Outlawed profession (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1007/s10668-021-01937-5

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