2020
  • Non-ICIMOD publication

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Resilience Building Solutions for Mountain Smallholders: Catalyzing Transformations with an Integrated Modular Approach in the Hindu Kush Himalaya

  • Nand Kishor Agrawal
  • Erica Udas
  • Iris Leikanger
  • Laxmi Dutt Bhatta
  • Eklabya Sharma
  • Keshab Datta Joshi
  • Summary

About 240 million people in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region and 1.65 billion people in the downstream depend on ecosystem services from the mountains. The region is experiencing “double exposure” due to its rapidly changing socioeconomic conditions and the disproportionate impacts of climate change resulting from amplified elevation-dependent warming. Therefore, understanding the extent of impacts and finding solutions to build resilience requires not only a comprehensive research but also a shift in policy to implement and scale resilience building solutions to cope with, adapt to, and catalyze a transformative change. In this context, Resilient Mountain Village approach was piloted in eight villages of mid-hills in Nepal. The results were assessed against six attributes of scalability, considering credibility, observability, relevance, relative advantage, easy transferability, and compatibility. The impacts of various context-specific, simple, and affordable solutions, such asjholmal (bio-fertilizer and biopesticide), rain- and wastewater collection tanks, weather and crop advisories, etc., were also assessed to understand the change and adoption. As a result of a systematic bottom-up engagement process, a very high degree of adoption by communities and out-scaling/upscaling by governments and other projects was observed beyond the pilot area. Based on the experiences, a Resilient Mountain Solutions framework was developed focusing on three dimensions of resilience – climate resilience, socioeconomic resilience, and future resilience. This framework offers an integrated modular approach for smallholder farmers by providing package of solutions that can be customized to the local context and build resilience of the socio-ecological systems through integration into government’s adaptation program.