A glance at innovative flood risk management solutions through the provision of index-based insurance, which uses inundation models and remote sensing data, aimed at helping farmers increase their resilience.

1. Investing in disaster resilience:
Risk transfer through flood insurance in South Asia
G. Amarnath1
, K. Matheswaran1
, N. Alahacoon1
, R. P. S. Malik2
, P. Aggarwal3
and A. Sikka2
1
International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Colombo, Sri Lanka
2
International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Delhi, India
3
CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), New Delhi, India
RESEARCH
PROGRAM ON
Water, Land and
Ecosystems
www.fsm4.susana.org
Protecting communities against floods and providing risk cover against the losses that could
occur have been major areas of concern for governments around the world. Insurance is an
important component in managing agricultural risks from these extreme climate events. In India,
nearly 30 million smallholder farmers are affected by floods every year. For example, in the State
of Bihar, the estimated damage to crops due to floods was approximately USD 600 million
between 1979 and 2012. This situation needs to be addressed, especially since 80% of the
population of Bihar (100 million) lives below the poverty line and depend mostly on agriculture
for their livelihoods. The main objectives of this study were to:
Estimating the damage caused to agriculture
and the losses due to flood events needs to
be verified through on-the-ground
investigations. However, conducting such
investigations is time consuming and often
relief efforts by the government, including
the provision of compensation, may not
reach the target communities.
Innovative flood-risk management
solutions through the provision of
index-based insurance, which uses
inundation models and remote sensing
data, aimed at helping farmers increase
their resilience and contribute to the
sustainability of agri-food systems in the
future.
Introduction The challenge The solutions
set up pilot trials to demonstrate that positive verifiable impacts emerge from index-based
flood insurance (IBFI) in terms of increasing the resilience of the agriculture sector, and
improving productivity and household incomes at local and wider scales; and
develop tools and strategies that support IBFI and its upscaling, which are integrated with
existing and future flood control measures.
For more information, contact Giriraj Amarnath (a.giriraj@cgiar.org)
International Water Management Institute (IWMI)
127 Sunil Mawatha, Pelawatte, Battaramulla, Sri Lanka
Mailing address
P. O. Box 2075, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Tel: +94 11 2880000, 2784080; Fax: +94 11 2786854
Email: iwmi@cgiar.org; Website: www.iwmi.org
“Invest in insurance premiums to build agricultural resilience before disaster strikes”
Method and approach
World Bosai Forum/International Disaster and Risk Conference 2017 http://www.worldbosaiforum.com/english/overview/
Acknowledgements
This research study was funded by the CGIAR Research Program (CRP) on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS); CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE); Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry
and Fisheries (MAFF), Japan; and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI). The contribution made by various government agencies in data sharing and providing valuable feedback is gratefully acknowledged.
Reference
Amarnath, G.; Vairavamoorthy, K.; Agarwal, A. 2017. Satellite imagery+crop
insurance=farmers’ gain. Geospatial World 7(3): 58-61.
Sendai, Japan
November 25-28, 2017
Scaling up through business models,
institutional/economic analysis
Pilot implementation, community
awareness and policy dialogue
Projectcomponents
Integration of space-based, hydrological and hydraulic information in the development of a flood index.
Developed a new index-based insurance that uses information of the past 35
years of floods across floodplains in target districts. This made it possible to
accurately estimate flood parameters, including inundation extent, depth and
duration.
Historical satellite images from the 1980s to date were used for assessment
and validation of crop damage.
IBFI was implemented in 2017 covering 200 households in nine villages.
Development of the IBFI business model and carrying out an economic
analysis were completed.
Creating awareness of IBFI among farmers, and cultivating equality among
men and women farmers through a participatory approach.
Policy analysis and provision of IBFI in district disaster management plans for
protecting communities against floods and enhancing agricultural resilience.
Results
Figure 1. Flood depth and duration obtained from hydrological
and hydraulic models.
Figure 2. Parameters of a typical IBFI product.
Figure 3. Payout to pilot villages in Bihar will be based on
historical data.
Figure 4. Rapid emergency response map derived from
Sentinel-1 satellite data for floods in August 2017.
India’s first IBFI scheme was successfully implemented in 2017 covering 200
households in Muzaffarpur District, Bihar. A post-flood management plan using
flood parameters (depth and duration) derived from satellite data was implemented
for agricultural development in India. As climate change makes weather events
such as floods more frequent and intense, IBFI can help smallholder farmers to
reduce their vulnerability to such events and help to protect their assets. Further,
IBFI promotes a closer linkage between risk transfer and risk reduction, and could
hence make this a more sustainable and robust tool for flood-affected communities
and in reducing the burden of post-disaster relief funding for the government. IBFI
has the potential to be a part of a more wide-ranging and multi-faceted approach
to ensure that India remains resilient to floods in years to come.
Conclusion
(a) IBFI project sites in India and Bangladesh; (b)
inundated households in northern Bihar in
September 2016; and (c) floods in Bihar
captured by the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration’s (NASA’s) Moderate
Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)
on August 22, 2007.
(a) (b)
(c)
Project website:
http://ibfi.iwmi.org/
Gender and inclusion through
participatory approach
Flood-risk mapping and site selection
Flood index design and pricing