Watershed management approach for climate change adaptation

Nepal's temperature is rising faster than global average with high warming rates in the Himalaya. The precipitation is becoming unpredictable resulting extremities. Poor people, whose livelihoods are nature based, have experienced the impacts of climate change and are coping to their best. Adaptation to climate change is an urgent action for the poor communities. Practical Action Nepal is implementing a climate change adaptation project to help the communities. The project is being implemented within a watershed boundary. The project appraised the community perception to climate change, its impacts, the coping strategies and the needs for adaptation through participatory approach. Community based adaptation activities were implemented to respond to climate change and its impacts. The lessons learned from the project indicated that climate change adaptation requires an integrated conservation and development programs together with focus on disaster risk reduction. The integrated programs become effective when implemented within a watershed boundary where the biophysical and socioeconomic systems are interlinked.