In the global scenario, in a couple of decade’s natural hazards specifically, the floods, landslides, drought, cyclones, and earthquakes, intensity and frequency have risen (Teo et al., 2018; Ahmad and Afzal, 2020; Week and Wizor, 2020; Elahi et al., 2021), due to increasing temperature and related climatic variability’s (Tirivangasi, 2018; Eckstein et al., 2019; Hoq et al., 2021). Floods in contrast to other hazards considered most destructive and consecutive (Daniell et al., 2016; Ahmad et al., 2019; Houng et al., 2019) due to substantial involvement in human fatalities, economic losses, and social risks (Kreft et al., 2016; IPCC, 2017; Ahmad and Afzal, 2021). In 2017, throughout the world, almost 96 million populations were severely affected by natural hazards (Emergency Event Database, 2017; World Bank, 2021) in which more than 60% were affected by flood disasters (Huong et al., 2019; IPCC, 2021). During a couple of decades, rising severity and recurrence of floods have been estimated specifically in South East Asian and South Asian countries (Hirabayashi et al., 2013; Eckstein et al., 2019) where a few countries from Asian region such as Bangladesh, China, Pakistan and India declared the supermarkets of flood disasters (James and James, 2010; Mahmood and Babel, 2016; Teo et al., 2018). In the future, increasing intensity and severity of flood hazards are expected in the Asian region (Ahmad et al., 2019; IPCC, 2021) which consequently affects regional disparities regarding onset and distribution, causes to higher losses accumulating in nations inside the Asian region (Abbas et al., 2017; UNSCCC, 2021; Sam et al., 2021).
Pakistan has ranked the world's 5th most climate change natural disasters affected country because of facing frequent floods and is situated in the critical region of hazard-prone (Eckstein et al., 2019; IPCC, 2021). Erratic rain, monsoon rainfall expanding cycle, and glacier melting are some considerable factors linked to successive floods in interlinked rivers regarding downstream and upstream (Abid et al., 2015; Teo et al., 2019; Ahmad and Afzal, 2020). In natural hazards and particularly in flood disasters aspect, Pakistan during 1950 to 2014 repeatedly faced twenty-two serious flood hazards (Yaqub et al., 2015; Ali and Erenstein, 2017; Shah et al., 2017). The flood disaster of 2010 was the worst one that adversely affected 24 million population, destroyed two million cropped areas and the cumulative estimated cost was $10 billion (United Nations, 2011; Abbas et al., 2017; Ahmad et al., 2021). In the flood of 2011, recorded higher ever rainfall severely affected 2.7 million population of southern Balochistan and Sind, major 434 human fatalities, damaged 1.52 million homes and destroyed the crops of 6.79 million acres (PDMA Punjab, 2017). Heavy monsoon rains significantly affected 4.85 million populations of Sindh, Punjab, and Balochistan in 2012, destruction of 1.172 million cropped areas and 571human fatalities (PDMA Punjab, 2018). In 2013, heavy monsoon rains caused flash floods and affected 1.5 million people, destructed cropped area of 1.6 million acres, and 234 human fatalities (BOS, 2016). Flash flooding in 2014 major rivers affected Gilgit-Baltistan, Kashmir and Punjab caused 350 human fatalities, vast destruction of homes, and cropped area (PDMA Punjab, 2019).
In developing countries, flood events increasing intensity and frequency causes many implications for the livelihood of the population regarding different aspects (Abbas et al., 2018; Sam et al., 2019). Increasing flood specifically in developing countries predicted severe repercussions for the survival of human beings by distressing availability and access of food, thus showing obstructions to attaining SDGs of UN, particularly the SDG-2 focused on endorsing sustainable agriculture, improving nutrition, attaining food security, and hunger eradication till 2030 (Banik, 2019). Food security is regarded as a worldwide human right (WHO, 2018) and achieving food security is the vital objective that can be attained through maintaining affordable health and a sustainable supply of food (Perez-Escamilla, 2017). In the global scenario, least-developed and developing countries are consecutively confronted with the major challenge of achieving food security and almost 820 million people do not have sufficient food for their hunger satisfaction (WHO, 2018). In Pakistan, the green revolution was introduced in 1960 with advanced inputs of high yield seed varieties, fertilizer, pesticides, tubewell, mechanization through tractor and other advanced technologies (Khan and Makki, 1980; Chaudhry, 1982; Khan, 1983) which caused to hyper increase in agricultural outputs, reduced income inequalities in rural areas consequently contributed in reducing poverty and food insecurity issue regardless of doubling the population of the country (Choudhry, 1994; Khan and Gul, 2013). Furthermore, multiple measures such as mostly five-year plans, public policies of hunger eradication, and rapid economic growth helped to fight food insecurity issue in the country (United Nations, 2018; GOP, 2019; Ahmad and Afzal, 2020). Despite all such feasible measures, in Pakistan currently, 12.9% population have a prevalence of undernourished (FAO, 2019) where 1.3% employed proportion earns less than $1.90 per day (ADB, 2021) and in the official scenario, 21.5% population lives below the poverty line with rural 27.6% and urban 10.7% population (Haroon, 2021). Currently, the extreme scenario of climate and its variations have increased the issue of food security of previously vulnerable peoples. Furthermore, climatic variations have increased the tendency of floods frequency which hindered the measures of reducing the issues of food security in Pakistan and alarming threat to attaining food security.
Food security is closely linked with climate change and the outcome of the food system (Arouri et al., 2015; Frelat et al., 2016; Choithani, 2020), climate-based natural disasters could push 122 million population particularly farmers into extreme poverty till 2030 (FAO, 2019; Thiede and Gray, 2020). In Pakistan, almost 63% rural population depend on natural resources for their livelihood (PBS, 2020) and recurrent flood hazards seriously menaced agricultural production and increased uncertainty of farmer livelihood (Ahmad and Afzal, 2021). Humans need food for their survival, the repercussion of flood disasters is terrible because of insufficient accessibility, constrained utilization, and reduced access to food (Abbas et al., 2018; Pingali et al., 2019). Household food security managing capabilities are reduced due to long-term exposure of floods and farmers consequently bond to switch their assets to handle flood risks (Hwalla et al., 2016; Kantor et al., 2017). In the global scenario, rural communities are particularly confronted with manifested effects of floods such as agricultural production reduction, diminishing employment, lowering purchasing power, rising health issues, higher and severe threats of poverty, malnutrition, food insecurity, and enhancing hunger.
In the general scenario of flood vulnerability of households, food security is considered a robust indicator. Consequential deluges of floods have severe implications regarding food security, as they terrorize access, availability, utilization, and stability of food (Vervoort et al., 2014; Abbas et al., 2018). Food security is the function of access, availability, utilization, and stability of food whereas SDG-2 broadly covers the outcomes of these four dimensions (FAO, 2019; ADB, 2021). Floods impact on food security and significance of such four dimensions fluctuates over time, across regions and most important related to the country on the whole socioeconomic conditions. Punjab province is formally known land of the fertile area of five rivers Ravi, Sutlej, Jehlum, Indus, and Chenab (BOS Punjab, 2020). In Pakistan, Indus and Chenab are major rivers of the country (PBS, 2020) which causes frequent floods destructions in the summer season due to extreme erratic rains and extreme snow melting because of intense climate change variations (PMD, 2019; Ahmad and Afzal, 2021). In natural flowing progression, such rivers are scattered in various impermanent inland waterways while crossing in the course of various areas as impermanent islands are frequently engendered in the river areas. In the southern Punjab region, such impermanent islands in the rivers identified as Bait areas in the local language Saraiki. Farming communities specifically populated adjacent to these river areas mostly inhabited and carry out their farming in such islands and cultivate these areas of Bait. All such areas of Bait are under direct fire of rivers in flooding seasons. In the scenario of rainy seasons and floods, such Bait communities have to face the destruction of crops, infrastructure, human fatalities losses, livestock losses, and damages of shelters. Indus and Chenab rivers side by side flowing has increased the flood hazards vulnerability of the Southern Punjab region (PDMA Punjab, 2019). The frequent scenario of floods severely affected Bait farmers' livelihood and harshly increased food security issues in contrast to rest of region farmers the reason of insufficient flood hazards mitigation measures. Insufficient allocation of resources about measures to hazards mitigation, lack of awareness and communication and partial function of hazards institutions are some significant factors related to higher vulnerability in Bait areas of southern Punjab.
In literate, the aspect of household food security is discussed in a narrow and myopic framework particularly in developing countries. Some significant studies focused household level various aspects of food expenditures, food consumption, and nutrition security (Li and Yu, 2010; Carletto et al., 2013; Alexandri et al., 2015). Nutritional security and consumption of food aspect were discussed in different studies regarding the limited dimension at the informative level as availability of food whereas ignoring other dimensions which are most critical for household-level food security status (Leroy et al., 2015; Sseguya et al., 2018; Green et al., 2020; Kogo et al., 2020). Furthermore, in scenario of flood-prone communities household-level food security aspect generally elaborated in a few studies (Di Falco and Bulte, 2011; Ajaero, 2017; Balana et al., 2020; Alhassan, 2020) whereas no study particularly focused on FAO illustrated all damnations of food security linkage with the vulnerability of climate change specifically in Pakistan according to the best knowledge of authors.
Hence, it is a prerequisite to the application of an unrestrained approach for estimating household level food security through including these food access, availability, utilization, and stability four dimensions of food security. For food security to widen the concept it is necessary to extensive research of relevant linkage among the set of structure factors such as land access, production, ownership of assets, health, malnutrition, and availability of water. In addition, food security in recurrent floods and climate change has foremost significant for adaptation to farmers and policy decisions. In the aspect of inadequate information flood risks, mitigation programmers and adaptation policies cannot be effectively formulated. In such background, food security investigation by very fact and actually regarding the dimensions of access, availability, utilization, and stability has turn into dominant to make possible to considerate of central elements significantly affecting the food security of households in flood hazards areas. Furthermore, such an approach is comprehensive in nature because it combines food security FAO dimensions and climate change IPCC dimensions and is thus positioned to provide appropriate policy-related and empirical insights. In this scenario according to the research gap mentioned above and using a comprehensive approach, this study focused on these specific objectives firstly considering food security four dimensions examine the status of food security in flood Bait communities of Punjab Pakistan. Secondly, establish the association in vulnerability indicators of climate change and food security in flood-prone Bait communities of Punjab Pakistan. This study is classified into five sections as introduction indicated in section first, the second section elaborated conceptual framework while material and method discussed in the third section. Results and discussion illustrated in section four and last section highlighted conclusion and suggestions.
1Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change
2United Nations Security Council and Climate Change
3Provincial Disaster Management Authority
4Bureau of Statistics
5World Health Organization
6Government of Pakistan
7Food and Agriculture Organization
8Asian Development Bank
9Pakistan Bureau of Statistics
10Pakistan Metrological Department
11Temporary islands are usually generated within the area of the river in the local language Saraiki is formally known as Bait