Ravindranath lives in the heart of the Thar desert in India. He and his family are agropastoralists \u2013 people who grow crops and rear livestock \u2013 in the village of Kalu in Bikaner district, Rajasthan. But the dry grasslands that people like Ravindranath have depended on for centuries for pasture are slowly being depleted.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes we have to pay money and buy cattle feed [instead of grazing our animals],\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Debulal Bawri, a gram panchayat (village council) officer for Kalu, explained that in Bikaner and other districts in the state of Rajasthan, \u201crainfall has become unreliable and [herders and farmers in the area] rely a lot on monsoon rainfall.\u201d As of August 17, this year\u2019s monsoon in Bikaner is 23% deficient<\/a> in rainfall.<\/p>\n \u201cMonsoons have been erratic [in this region] over the past few decades and pasture productivity is dependent on good monsoons,\u201d said Sutirtha Dutta, a research associate at the Wildlife Institute of India<\/a> (WII).<\/p>\n
![23% deficient<\/a> in rainfall.<\/p>\n\u201cMonsoons have been erratic [in this region] over the past few decades and pasture productivity is dependent on good monsoons,\u201d said Sutirtha Dutta, a research associate at the Wildlife Institute of India<\/a> (WII).<\/p>\nSee:<\/strong> Rajasthani women farmers combat climate change in the desert<\/a><\/p>\nA \u201cgood monsoon\u201d in Bikaner means between 200-300 millimetres of rain between June and September. More erratic monsoons mean there is often a high amount of rain over fewer days.<\/p>\n](\"http:\/\/hydro.imd.gov.in\/hydrometweb\/(S(ln55ec45gpxr2z2ldkazsq45))\/PdfPageImage.aspx?imgUrl=PRODUCTS\/Rainfall_Maps\/State_Wise_Rainfall_Maps\/DISTRICT_RAINFALL_MAP_state_code_RAJASTHAN_c.JPG&landingpage=other\"){kind=link}