Climate change impacts and adaptation in Nepal

Abstract

I n t e r n a t i o n a l Water Management I n s t i t u t e years IWMI Celebrating Working PapersThe publications in this series record the work and thinking of IWMI researchers, and knowledge that the Institute's scientific management feels is worthy of documenting. This series will ensure that scientific data and other information gathered or prepared as a part of the research work of the Institute are recorded and referenced. Working Papers could include project reports, case studies, conference or workshop proceedings, discussion papers or reports on progress of research, country-specific research reports, monographs, etc. Working Papers may be copublished, by IWMI and partner organizations.Although most of the reports are published by IWMI staff and their collaborators, we welcome contributions from others. Each report is reviewed internally by IWMI staff. The reports are published and distributed both in hard copy and electronically (www.iwmi. org) and where possible all data and analyses will be available as separate downloadable files. Reports may be copied freely and cited with due acknowledgment. About IWMIIWMI's mission is to improve the management of land and water resources for food, livelihoods and the environment. In serving this mission, IWMI concentrates on the integration of policies, technologies and management systems to achieve workable solutions to real problems-practical, relevant results in the field of irrigation and water and land resources.

Climate change-induced hazards and local adaptations in agriculture: a study from Koshi River Basin, Nepal

“…The majority of households growing vegetables reported an increase in production over the previous decade (Table 2), notwithstanding the socioeconomic and climatic changes. Households also reported changes in farming practices such as small shifts in the cropping calendar, exploring improved seed and crop varieties (Hussain et al 2016;Manandhar et al 2011), and use of water efficient technologies (Bartlett et al 2010). Households had also stopped rearing certain livestock.…”

“…Farmers in the basin are adopting different practices to cope with the severe impacts of these changes, such as changing from high water consumption crops (paddy), to high value, low water requirement fruits, and vegetables (potato, onion, and garlic) (Hussain et al 2016). They are also making small changes to the cropping calendar and exploring improved seed varieties (Hussain et al 2016), as well as introducing low water agricultural technologies such as drip irrigation for vegetables (Bartlett et al 2010). A significant number of households have also started new off-farm income activities as an adaptation strategy to support their food security and livelihoods (Saikia 2012;Sarkar et al 2012;Hussain et al 2016).…”

Analysis of temperature projections in the Koshi River Basin, Nepal

“…Large parts of Nepal are experiencing warming trends (Bartlett et al, 2010;Shrestha et al, 1999). Previous assessments of the impact of climate change in the Koshi Basin were based on one or two GCMs such as Gosain et al (2010) who used climate models HadRM2 and HadRM3, and WWF (2009) who used HadCM3.…”

Global effect of climate change and food security with respect to Nepal

“…Bates et al (2008) have reported high rate of glacial melt due to increases in in temperature accelerating the rate of such incidents increased between 1950s and 1990s from 0.38 to 0.54 events per year. Table 2 depicts the impact of climate change from 2030 to 2090 with respect to change in temperature and precipitation resulting in runoff (Bartlett et al, 2010). The table above portrays the impacts of climate change on temperature and precipitation triggering runoff in the 21 st century in Nepal.…”