What works, where and how? A systematic literature review of climate change adaptation measures in India

The complex socio-political landscape and increasing biophysical pressures exacerbate India's vulnerability to changing climate. In response to these challenges, several policy and on-the-ground efforts are being made towards advancing climate change adaptation (CCA). However, finding out what works, where and how is critical to the progress of CCA in India. To take stock of current adaptation practices and measures, we aim to review the existing adaptation research, providing valuable insights into India's adaptation measures. In this article, we present a systematic literature review that analyses the adaptation measures in India. We mapped English-language scientific journal articles that analysed CCA (n = 2124), particularly emphasising incremental and transformative adaptation in India between 2017 and 2023. We found that only (n = 28) per cent of articles focused categorically on adaptation measures, and the rest cursorily mentioned its importance in reducing the impacts of climate change. However, the number of publications steadily increased, peaking in 2021 (n = 10). Following the COVID-19 pandemic, a surge of adaptation-related articles was observed across various disciplines. Moreover, with only a limited number of articles focusing on CCA measures, there is a lack of clarity on how incremental and transformative measures are understood and explained in the literature. The literature focused mainly on technocratic approaches around agriculture sectors such as crop diversification, changing cropping and cultivation cycles, use of hybrid seeds, soil conservation practices, and livelihood diversification. Additionally, a geographical imbalance is evident, with limited research on adaptation in vulnerable regions such as northeast India. We conclude that while the impact of climate change on India is substantial, there are apparent knowledge gaps within the academic literature on CCA measures, including gender issues concerning women, soft adaptation measures such as capacity building and education and vulnerability of sensitive mountain systems. Given these gaps, future research should address the geographical and thematic imbalances in adaptation literature, emphasising vulnerable communities, gender dynamics and urban resilience.