Climate Change and Its Impacts on Farmer’s Livelihood in Different Physiographic Regions of the Trans-Boundary Koshi River Basin, Central Himalayas

Abstract

The impact of climate change on farmers’ livelihoods has been observed in various forms at the local and regional scales. It is well known that the Himalayas region is affected by climate change, as reflected in the basic knowledge of farmers in the region. A questionnaire-based survey involving a total of 747 households was conducted to gather information on climate change and its impact, where the survey addressed four physiographic regions of the trans-boundary Koshi River Basin (KRB). Moreover, climatic data were used to calculate climatic trends between 1980 and 2018. The Mann–Kendall trend test was performed and the Sen’s slope calculated to analyze the inter-annual climatic trends over time. The survey noted that, for the basin, there was an increase in temperature, climate-induced diseases of crops, an increase in the frequency of pests as well as drought and floods and a decrease in rainfall, all which are strong indicators of climate change. It was perceived that these indicators had adverse impacts on crop production (89.4%), human health (82.5%), livestock (68.7%) and vegetation (52.1%). The observed climatic trends for all the physiographic regions included an increasing temperature trend and a decreasing rainfall trend. The rate of change varied according to each region, hence strongly supporting the farmers’ local knowledge of climate change. The highest increasing trend of temperature noted in the hill region at 0.0975 °C/a (p = 0.0002) and sharpest decreasing trend of rainfall in the mountain region by −10.424 mm/a (p = 0.016) between 1980 and 2018. Formulation of suitable adaptation strategies according to physiographic region can minimize the impact of climate change. New adaptation strategies proposed include the introduction of infrastructure for irrigation systems, the development of crop seeds that are more tolerant to drought, pests and disease tolerance, and the construction of local hospitals for the benefit of farming communities.

Effects of climate change on livelihood strategies of farm households: the case of the Lowlands of Wolaita Ethiopia

“…The majority of them had perceived temperature and rainfall variations and reported that they experienced the negative consequences of the changing climate. This is supported by Paudel et al (2021), who found that farmers in Nepal reported the effects of climate change on their livelihoods as an increase in temperature, climate-induced crop diseases, an increase in insect infestation frequency as well as drought and oods, and a decrease in rainfall.…”

Transboundary river governance and climate vulnerability: Community perspectives in Nepal’s Koshi river basin

“…In addition, climate change is happening. Although studying the impacts of climate change on the islands is beyond the scope of this study, it is evident that the basin has experienced both increasing flood frequency and extremely severe droughts in the past several decades that have had an impact on agriculture and water supply (Dahal et al, 2021; Paudel et al, 2021; Wu et al, 2019). Pradhan and Shrestha (2022) estimated over 10% increase in monsoon rainfall in the basin’s low‐lying plain region between 2021 and 2076.…”

“…Building a protection wall around our island [Gobargadha] Climate change also affected the river islanders. According to Paudel et al (2021), there was an increasing flooding frequency in the river between 1980 and 2018. At least three studies found increasing drought trends and events in the basin in the recent several decades (Dahal et al, 2021;Paudel et al, 2021;Wu et al, 2019), the latter arguing that the trend significantly affected crops and water availability, which was also revealed by islanders during interviews.…”

Climate Change-induced Livelihood Insecurity in Narayani-Gandak Basin of Nepal

“…The occurrences of natural hazards are now exacerbated by anthropogenic climate change as the average annual maximum temperature in Nepal has been rising by about 0.056℃ per year (DHM, 2017). The overall rainfall has decreased over the years but seasonal and erratic rainfall is happening more nowadays compared to previous years (Poudel et al, 2021). Scientific evidence shows that in the future, the temperature will rise and precipitation will intensify and become more frequent which will seriously impact biodiversity, agriculture, water, energy, and overall livelihood aspects of people in communities (IPCC, 2021;MoFE, 2019).…”