Household Perceptions about the Impacts of Climate Change on Food Security in the Mountainous Region of Nepal

Abstract

Abstract:This study tried to understand the mountainous households' perception of climate change and its impacts on food security in the Lamjung district of Nepal. The study attempted to find out changes in households food security and daily activities in the face of climate change for the last twenty years. The study started with the 150 household surveys along with participatory rural appraisal to understand the climate change perception of local people and its impact on dimensions of food security. Households expressed different levels of perception in terms of climate change on food security. The result shows that most of the mountainous households experienced increased temperature, less rainfall in winter, an increasing number of natural disasters and the emergence of insects for the last twenty years. They perceived the role of climate change in decreased crop production, decreased dairy products and increased household work. The situation of food security is likely to be more vulnerable to climate change in the future. It was also observed that households have been using different autonomous adaptation measures, such as high yielding crop varieties, enhanced irrigation systems and fertilizers, to cope with the changing climate. Finally, the study recommended policy instruments to enhance food security in the mountainous region amidst changing climate.

Changing Trends in Cultivation Practices and Adoption of Climate Adaptive Farming in Eastern Nepal

“…Similar adaptation measures have been known to practise at farm-level in a recent study by Kabir et al (2017). Changes in cultivation practices such as water conservation methods, changes in sowing time and introduction of cash crops have already been reported (Poudel et al, 2017). In this study, the adaptation in agriculture are mainly autonomous and it implies that individuals or communities undertaking adaptation to climatic risk to agriculture independently of outside intervention.…”

“…Furthermore, farmers have reported the incidences of drought for declining yield for specified years. The declining crop production will have severe impact on overall food security (Poudel et al, 2017). Studies in South Asian context also reported significant negative impacts on crop productivity and food supply due to extreme events, especially floods and droughts (Chhetri et al, 2012;Bandara & Cai, 2014).…”

Encounters Between Experiences and Measurements: The Role of Local Knowledge in Climate Change Research

“…This is especially true for mountain areas, where local climate data are sparse (Xu and Grumbine 2014) and climate change poses a significant threat to rural livelihoods. Rural populations depend on locally accessible natural resources for their livelihoods; however, they are often not considered in decision-making due to, for example, isolation, inaccessibility, and relative poverty (UNEP 2016;Poudel et al 2017). Despite several studies on issues such as perceptions of climate change, adaptation, and policy implications undertaken in Asia (Ingty 2017; Barrett and Bosack 2018), Africa (Hameso 2017; Mkonda and He 2017), and Latin America (Postigo et al 2012; Vidaurre de Mulczyk 2016; L opez et al 2017; Weber-Alvarez 2017; Paerregaard 2018), there is still little evidence of the value added by integrative approaches in mountain areas (McDowell and Koppes 2017).…”

Local Adaptation Mechanisms to Address Climate Led Food Insecurity in Far-western Nepal: The Case of Badimalika Municipality

“…They believe that this effect will further increase climate vulnerability in the future. However, the local populations have practiced some local climate change adaptation measures using their indigenous knowledge, such as growing improved crop varieties, improved irrigation systems and fertilizers as coping strategies [6].…”