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Arora

cultural embeddedness of risks and overlook the everyday experiences, interpretations, and negotiations with environmental
change (O’Brien, 2009; Jones and Boyd, 2011; Adger, Barnett, Brown, et al., 2013; Dow, Berkhout, and Preston, 2013).
Values, in their most open and broadest form, refer to what is considered desirable within an individual or society
(Adger, Dessai, Goulden, et al., 2009; O’Brien and Wolf, 2010). They are ubiquitous and serve as guidelines or standards
for our action, judgment, attitudes, desires, evaluations, and arguments. Therefore, it is essential to understand the values
that shape human behavior to environmental change (Rokeach, 2008). The values-based approach to adaptation addresses
climate change from the lens of how a society is organized and how the relationship between individuals, institutions, and
the state is structured (Ramm, Graham, White, et al., 2017). It makes explicit the non-material parts of what people deem
important and cherish about their lives, how environmental change impacts them, and how policies are framed (O’Brien
and Wolf, 2010; Graham, Barnett, Fincher, et al., 2013).
The Raika community is one of the largest groups of indigenous nomadic pastoralists located in Rajasthan (Geerlings,
2011) and has been connected to livestock through myths of origin (Sharma, Köhler-Rollefson, and Morton, 2003). However,
the shrinking of grazing areas, indifferent policy, financial pressures, and environmental change have led them to a crisis of
livelihood and identity (Sansthan, 2004; Sharma and Sharma, 2015). Raikas operate in an environment characterized by low
and erratic rainfall, low humidity, and high wind velocity. Rajasthan experienced 48 droughts of varying intensities between
1901 and 2002, which means that the chance of occurrence of a drought in the state is 47% (Rathore, 2004). Analysis by Singh
and Kumar (2015) reveals a 50 mm decrease in the average annual rainfall between 1973 and 2008. The past two decades
have witnessed acute water scarcity and rainfall variability (The Energy and Resources Institute, 2010; Pareek and Trivedi,
2011; Down to Earth, 2018; Sharma, Sharma, Panda, et al., 2018). Seasonal livestock migration has been their adaptation
of choice for decades, but it is not adequate or even desired anymore. There have been many studies on Raikas, but only a
handful of them focus on their biophysical vulnerabilities. This research seeks to examine the extent, to which their adaptation
practices are contingent on sociocultural values, access to resources, information, and power. Its objectives include the analysis
of where, when, and how limits on adaptation arise and the social justice concerns that come into play. This study will help
evaluate the utility of a values-based approach to adaptation and help strengthen state programs and policies.

1.1. Conceptual Framework
This study uses Graham, Barnett, Fincher, et al.’s (2013) framework to define and operationalize values. Their study
reviews five disciplines – social impact assessment, climate adaptation, decision analysis, psychology, and human
geography – to define values. Lived values can be defined as the “valuations that individuals make, in isolation or as part
of a group, about what is important in their lives and the places they live” (Graham, Barnett, Fincher, et al., 2013: 15). As
illustrated in Figure 1, this definition of lived values is followed by a categorization using Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
The primary groupings are: Self-actualization, safety, health, belongingness, and esteem.

2. Data and Method

2.1. Study Design

A qualitative research design, using the case study approach, was employed to understand the linkages between the
values and adaptation decisions of the Raika community in Rajasthan. The case study approach is particularly useful
and can be widely applied to “gather a coherent and complete theory of migration related to environmental change”
(Piguet, 2010: 522). The qualitative approach is suitable because it makes explicit that there are subjective, qualitative
dimensions to environmental change that is of importance to individuals and cultures (O’Brien, 2009).
2.2. Study Site
The Rajasthan state, located in Northwest India, has an area of 342,000 sq. km. and more than half of this area falls
under the arid category (Roy, 2014). The three districts selected for data collection were Sirohi, Jalore, and Pali, which
are located in Southwest Rajasthan and have sizeable Raika populations. The literature review had affirmed the Raikas
presence in these districts as well as its importance as a migratory route for this community.

2.3. Ethical Statement
The research design, tools, and process were reviewed and approved by the International Development Ethics Committee
at the University of East Anglia. The purpose of the research was explained to all participants and oral consent obtained
from them. The data were anonymized at the transcription stage to prevent any breach of confidentiality.

International Journal of Population Studies | 2020, Volume 6, Issue 1 57