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The world warmed by about 0
.7°C in the 20th century. Every year in this century has been warmer than all but one in the last (1998, since you ask). If carbon-dioxide levels were magically to stabilise where they are now (almost 390 parts per million, 40% more than before the industrial revolution) the world would probably warm by a further half a degree or so as the ocean, which is slow to change its temperature, caught up. But CO2 levels continue to rise. Despite 20 years of climate negotiation, the world is still on an emissions trajectory that fits pretty easily into the “business as usual” scenarios drawn up by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
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Excessive demand for ecosystem services arising from rapidly growing human population and several anthropogenic activities have led to the extensive modification of vital ecosystems of the world
. This has generated global concerns as this undermines ecosystem functioning and resilience and thus threatens the ability of ecosystems to continuously supply services. The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals can only be met when ecosystem degradation is halted and further loss of ecosystem services is controlled, and only if the natural capital and assets can be utilized in a sustainable way. Therefore, regional, national and local assessments of ecosystem and their services are needed to identify and develop an effective policy in response to ecosystem degradation. Despite the multi-dimensional (ecological, socio-cultural and economic) importance of ecosystems to human society, there have been no serious efforts to assess the ecosystem services of the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH). The benefits provided by ecosystems are inadequately recognized and resource users do not take into account the cost of ecosystem degradation in their resource management decisions, since there is very limited understanding of ecosystem dynamics and the values that are being lost through degradation
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Funded by the European Union with a grant of 10 million euros, the Support to Rural Livelihoods and Climate Change Adaptation in the Himalayas (Himalica) Programme successfully developed, tested and scaled innovative livelihoods options to increase the resilience of mountain communities in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH)
. It was implemented with partners in five HKH countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan
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The Kailash Sacred Landscape Conservation and Development Initiative (KSLCDI) is a transboundary collaborative programme that works in western Nepal, northeastern Uttarakhand in India, and the south-western part of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) in China
. To improve the livelihoods of poor and vulnerable mountain communities, KSLCDI established rural enterprises dealing in locally available high value niche products
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This paper develops a conceptual and generic framework design for the study of upstream-downstream linkages (UDL) in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region
. The framework application will to define changing upstreamdownstream linkages (UDL) and likely impacts on downstream regions. The results of such applications will be useful for policy makers, planners, decision makers, and researchers. It also addresses actors involved in Integrated Land and Water Resources Management (ILWRM) challenged by changing UDL processes, triggered by broader environmental changes such as climate change and human activities. This framework document defines the upstream downstream relationship. It describes the issues related to UDL mainly around land use and land cover (LULC) changes, erosion and sedimentation, climate change and infrastructure, which affect the availability of water in downstream areas
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The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), together with national partners, has developed and promoted mountainspecific resilient solutions for the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) by combining economic, social, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development
. The European Union-funded Support to Rural Livelihoods and Climate Change Adaptation in the Himalayas (Himalica) programme has worked in five countries, aiming to enhance the capacity of national and regional stakeholders to deal with livelihood development and environmental protection in the HKH, and to reduce poverty by increasing resilience and unlocking new livelihood opportunities
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The Hindu Kush Himalayan region has experienced great changes in the past five years, with rapid population growth, economic development, urbanization, and high rates of out-migration and consequent feminization of rural activities
. In particular, the mountains have gained greater attention as hotspots of climate change. These changes pose challenges to traditional livelihood strategies and coping mechanisms. At the same time, the mountains have been increasingly recognized for the ecosystem services they provide. To respond better to the changing needs, ICIMOD revisited its Strategic Framework in 2017
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People living in diara villages within the embankments of the River Gandak in Bihar face high levels of vulnerability due to frequent flooding and droughts
. Using anthropological surveys, gendered vulnerabilities in four diara villages in West Champaran are explored. Such vulnerability, in the context of a changing climate, combines social, political, and economic dimensions: the patriarchal creation of gender norms and biases; unequal access to water, sanitation, credit, and public distribution services; and limited employment opportunities. These elements influence the livelihood options of women and men differently, determining their capability in responding to risks posed by climatic and socio-economic stressors
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Adaptation needs and options contain a wide variety of interventions, reflecting their multi-faceted nature
. The study identified elements of successful adaptation measures and criteria for evaluating them for which the method of Multi- Criteria Analysis (MCA) was used. Participatory methods such as focus group discussions and interviews with key informants were included. District level workshops were organized to collate data and information. The findings showed that elements of successful adaptation options are context-specific, and vary between and among different stakeholder groups and scales of prioritization of evaluation criteria. These criteria also vary on a temporal scale (locally, sub-nationally and nationally). The findings imply that a blanket approach for understanding successful adaptation and evaluating adaptation options is not applicable at all levels. Instead, a context-specific and stakeholder-based understanding and application of the elements of successful adaptation and evaluation criteria will prove more useful for designing effective adaptation options
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Enhancing the capacity to adapt to climate change impacts has become a critical challenge for the developing countries
. This article therefore analyzes the legal and policy aspects and institutional structure of water resource management in Nepal. Policy and institutional analysis approach is used in the research as it offers a more comprehensive framework for thinking water governance issues. Data was generated from literature review, consultation with policy makers, and interaction with communities in Nepal. The findings show that inadequate legal and policy focus on emerging issues like climate change has resulted in ineffective response to both development and climate change issues at the local level. The study shows that the current institutional structure, mandate and performances have limitations such as lack of capacity, poor institutional governance and issues around understanding as well as responding to climate change. Due to implementation gaps of policies, poor and marginalized households are more exposed to climate risk and vulnerability. It was also found that poor and marginalized household and communities were deprived from access to water resources due to constraining provisions within policies and practices. The knowledge generated from this research outlined the suggestions on how to effectively respond to climate change in water resources sector and address the risk and vulnerability of communities dependent on water resources
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