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Vulnerability of Himalayan transhumant communities to climate change

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  • Suman Aryal
  • Geoff Cockfield
  • Tek Maraseni

Abstract

Climate change vulnerability depends on who you are, where you are and what you do. The indigenous communities who primarily depend on natural resources for subsistence livelihoods are among the first and most affected by climate change. Climate models have predicted pronounced warming in high altitude regions of the Himalayas. The transhumant communities of the Himalayas follow traditional lifestyles based on seasonal livestock rearing and subsistence agriculture. There is however, no information on how vulnerable transhumant communities are to climate change, and how vulnerability of transhumant herders differs across the mountainous areas of Nepal. Based on semi-structured interviews with transhumant herders and using the IPCC climate change vulnerability framework, this study assessed and compared the vulnerability of transhumant communities from three districts representing Eastern, Central and Western mountainous region of Nepal. The results showed that the livelihood vulnerability and the climate change vulnerability differ across sites; both of them having lowest index values in the Central region. The vulnerability dimensions viz. exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity are largely influenced by diversity in livelihood strategies, income sources and crops, and access to food, water and health facilities. The findings will inform the design of policies and programmes to reduce vulnerability and enhance adaptive capacity of indigenous communities in general and the transhumant communities of the Himalayas in particular. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Suman Aryal & Geoff Cockfield & Tek Maraseni, 2014. "Vulnerability of Himalayan transhumant communities to climate change," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 125(2), pages 193-208, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:climat:v:125:y:2014:i:2:p:193-208
    DOI: 10.1007/s10584-014-1157-5
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Nina Holmelin & Tor Halfdan Aase, 2013. "Flexibility of Scope, Type and Temporality in Mustang, Nepal. Opportunities for Adaptation in a Farming System Facing Climatic and Market Uncertainty," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(4), pages 1-19, March.
    2. Barrett, C. B. & Reardon, T. & Webb, P., 2001. "Nonfarm income diversification and household livelihood strategies in rural Africa: concepts, dynamics, and policy implications," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 315-331, August.
    3. Terry Williams & Preston Hardison, 2013. "Culture, law, risk and governance: contexts of traditional knowledge in climate change adaptation," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 120(3), pages 531-544, October.
    4. Rajiv Pandey & ShashidharKumar Jha, 2012. "Climate vulnerability index - measure of climate change vulnerability to communities: a case of rural Lower Himalaya, India," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 17(5), pages 487-506, June.
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