Kshiteez K Himalaya

This paper investigates how different institutions of Loba communities of the Upper Mustang work together and facilitate the community to cope with the environmental dynamics in the region. The indigenous institutions are place-based, and their evolution is concerned with reducing vulnerability and enhancing the resilience capacity of place-based communities to cope with and adapt to local natural and socio-cultural environmental dynamics. The paper is based on anthropological fieldwork. Qualitative data were collected by applying observation and interviews. The paper presents the role of the galbo, (Lo King), ghenba (Village Chief), Lama (Monk), and dhongba (Household) as local institutions that act in close relation and make community-level decisions. The findings reveal that the King is seen as the leader whose governance best suited to the local natural environment, cultural practices, and economy. The Lama plays a major role in reinforcing local rules, while the Ghenba is an ag...

The Newa: (or Newar in Nepali dialect) culture of Kathmandu Valley is home to a number of mythical stories associated with gods and demons. Such stories embody the spirituality of the people on the one hand, and symbolize the socio-ecological systems of the Valley on the other. This paper presents narratives of the cultural festivals of Newar communities in relation to the agricultural-ecological system, particularly rice farming, they have traditionally adopted for their livelihood. The meanings of the festivals celebrated by the Newar communities are presented with reference to the process of celebration, the items included in the offerings for gods, and the varieties of foods eaten during family festivities. The festivals chosen for this study range from those of the pre-monsoon (preparation for paddy seedling) to those of the post-monsoon (the rice harvest). The lives and livelihoods of the multi-cultural communities of the Kathmandu Valley have traditionally been linked to the ...

Rural livelihoods in Nepal are generally based on ecosystem resources. Despite a large number of studies on the Himalayan livelihoods, representation of the Trans-Himalaya, particularly Upper-Mustang, are rare. Such a scarcity could be associated with the fact that the place was isolated from the rest of the world and mainstream Nepali societies for a long time and also used to be known as ‘forbidden kingdom.’ This paper documents livelihood situation of Upper-Mustang in reference to the data collected in 66 households, in-depth interviews taken with 22 key informants, and focus group discussions conducted in 6 locations. Household livelihood system was studied with reference to five livelihood capitals, which were transformed into Livelihood Capital Index (LCI) at first and Livelihood Sustainability Index (LSI) later. Households in the Trans-Himalaya fulfill their livelihood requirement from multiple sources such as farming and livestock ranching together with small-scale enterpris...

Food insecurity is a global issue, with higher prevalence of hunger in developing countries. Low crop yield and food production - due to difficult topography and traditional farming methods - combined with lower income; fluctuations in prices and supply, and low quality of food have been causing food insecurity in Nepal. This research examines food (in)security situation in Upper-Mustang, Nepal. The results are derived from the data collected through face–to-face interviews with the heads of 66 households, in-depth interviews conducted with 22 key informants, and discussions with the group of local people in different (6) places. The household food system was studied from livelihood perspectives and food (in)security was assessed in relation to self-sufficiency or production sufficiency, access, utilization, and stability of food. Households in the Trans-Himalaya acquire food from multiple sources such as farming and livestock ranching, buy food from the market, and also receive foo...

This paper discusses the environmental myths and narratives prevailing in Nepal in reference to the population growth and soil erosion. Soil erosion is taken as primary element of environmental degradation by the theory of the Himalayan Environmental Degradation (HED). Many myths and narratives were generated by the vested interest groups to develop the HED. Population growth and over exploitation of natural resource were considered as the prominent causes of soil erosion related environmental degradation. The myths and narratives based on the theory of the HED are still influential in development and environmental policy process in Nepal. In this background this paper highlights some of the research findings that are contrary to conventional belief i.e. population growth lead to soil erosion. The paper is based on literature review. The research evidences from both social and natural sciences are entertained. This paper generates alternative thinking to end the hegemony and unquest...

Studies on climate change in the last two decades are growing rapidly that might have shadowed some of the other fields of studies. The changes have spatial characteristics and studies are yet to cover many isolated areas of the world. Existing literature showed abrupt change in the Himalaya climate. However, such generalisations are not appropriate for the Himalaya because of the complex topography of the region that has caused several microclimates in the region. Understanding climate dynamism in microclimatic regions is an important component of climate change research, particularly to comprehend impacts of climate change on the social-ecological systems of the Himalaya and to assess adaptive capacity of the communities. This paper examines climate dynamics in the Himalaya in reference to the meteorological records of four decades (1971-2010) at three stations of the Kaligandaki Basin. The findings suggest that the climates of the basin are changed, with variable rates across the...

Waste handling practice in Kathmandu is labor intensive and disposal system does not meet environmental standard. Mixture of organic to inorganic and hazardous to non-hazardous wastes is the composition of municipal waste of Kathmandu. Waste management practice has severe health impact to municipal waste workers. Over the past several generations, people of specific castes (Pode, Chyame) have been working as municipal waste workers and are entitled 'kuchikar' officially. This research examines occupational health problems of these waste workers. Findings are based on the survey of 61 waste workers of Kathmandu Metropolitan City.

Food insecurity is a global issue, with higher prevalence of hunger in developing countries. Low crop yield and food production-due to difficult topography and traditional farming methods-combined with lower income; fluctuations in prices and supply, and low quality of food have been causing food insecurity in Nepal. This research examines food (in)security situation in Upper-Mustang, Nepal. The results are derived from the data collected through face-to-face interviews with the heads of 66 households, in-depth interviews conducted with 22 key informants, and discussions with the group of local people in different (6) places. The household food system was studied from livelihood perspectives and food (in) security was assessed in relation to self-sufficiency or production sufficiency, access, utilization, and stability of food. Households in the Trans-Himalaya acquire food from multiple sources such as farming and livestock ranching, buy food from the market, and also receive food aid for the sake of survival during the food crisis. Food security situation in terms of self-production in Upper-Mustang is at worst stage that many households are facing severe to chronic food insecurity. Studied households access marketed food, though the price they pay is very high. The worrisome issue is that there is no significant improvement in food security situation over time in the Trans-Himalaya. Study found that not the household size but dependency ratio in the household increases food insecurity. On the other hand, quality of farmland in terms of cropping intensity and availability of irrigation rather than the farm-plot size contribute for food security. The issue of food security is still a valid development

Rural livelihoods in Nepal are generally based on ecosystem resources. Despite a large number of studies on the Himalayan livelihoods, representation of the Trans-Himalaya, particularly Upper-Mustang, are rare. Such a scarcity could be associated with the fact that the place was isolated from the rest of the world and mainstream Nepali societies for a long time and also used to be known as 'forbidden kingdom.' This paper documents livelihood situation of Upper-Mustang in reference to the data collected in 66 households, in-depth interviews taken with 22 key informants, and focus group discussions conducted in 6 locations. Household livelihood system was studied with reference to five livelihood capitals, which were transformed into Livelihood Capital Index (LCI) at first and Livelihood Sustainability Index (LSI) later. Households in the Trans-Himalaya fulfill their livelihood requirement from multiple sources such as farming and livestock ranching together with small-scale enterprises, remittance and labouring. Overall status of livelihood capital is weak that cannot satisfy households' food and livelihood requirements. There exists inter-household variation in the status of livelihood capitals.

The Newa: (or Newar in Nepali dialect) culture of Kathmandu Valley is home to a number of mythical stories associated with gods and demons. Such stories embody the spirituality of the people on the one hand, and symbolize the socio-ecological systems of the Valley on the other. This paper presents narratives of the cultural festivals of Newar communities in relation to the agricultural-ecological system, particularly rice farming, they have traditionally adopted for their livelihood. The meanings of the festivals celebrated by the Newar communities are presented with reference to the process of celebration, the items included in the offerings for gods, and the varieties of foods eaten during family festivities. The festivals chosen for this study range from those of the pre-monsoon (preparation for paddy seedling) to those of the post-monsoon (the rice harvest). The lives and livelihoods of the multi-cultural communities of the Kathmandu Valley have traditionally been linked to the spirituality, socio-cultural practices and ecosystem of the Valley. However, these practices are facing constant pressure because of modernization, changed livelihood systems, contradictions in the government's religious/cultural policies and practices, and changes in global systems.

The state of food (in)security in rural communities of different ecological zones of the Kaligandaki Basin, Nepal, is assessed using a Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS). The data were collected from 360 households using face-to-face interviews. The results show poor availability of food from subsistence production in the Middle-Mountains and Trans-Himalaya, whereas most households with sufficient purchasing power are able to access additional food from the market. Net food security is poor, with the highest level of insecurity in the Middle-Mountains, followed by the Trans-Himalaya and the Tarai. Although weaknesses were found in application of the HFIAS method due to respondent bias in subjective assessments of food insecurity in producer-consumer rural households, the method was found to be effective for rapidly incorporating utilization and stability elements into appraisals. Although not comprehensive, this approach has the potential to complement other forms of knowledge for designing targeted food policy in Nepal.-This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.

Studies on climate change in the last two decades are growing rapidly that might have shadowed some of the other fields of studies. The changes have spatial characteristics and studies are yet to cover many isolated areas of the world. Existing literature showed abrupt change in the Himalaya climate. However, such generalisations are not appropriate for the Himalaya because of the complex topography of the region that has caused several microclimates in the region. Understanding climate dynamism in microclimatic regions is an important component of climate change research, particularly to comprehend impacts of climate change on the social-ecological systems of the Himalaya and to assess adaptive capacity of the communities. This paper examines climate dynamics in the Himalaya in reference to the meteorological records of four decades (1971-2010) at three stations of the Kaligandaki Basin. The findings suggest that the climates of the basin are changed, with variable rates across the stations located at different ecological zones. The extreme maximum and maximum temperatures of Lumle and Rampur stations, minimum temperature of Jomsom and Rampur stations, and extreme minimum temperatures of all of the studied meteorological stations increased significantly. Contrary to the increase in the temperatures, precipitation data revealed trend-less but inter-annual variability. Annual numbers of wet-days weredecreased at Rampur and Lumle stations while rainy days were increased at Jomsom. In addition, extreme rainfall events were increased in general in the basin.

This paper discusses the environmental myths and narratives prevailing in Nepal in reference to the population growth and soil erosion. Soil erosion is taken as primary element of environmental degradation by the theory of the Himalayan Environmental Degradation (HED). Many myths and narratives were generated by the vested interest groups to develop the HED. Population growth and over exploitation of natural resource were considered as the prominent causes of soil erosion related environmental degradation. The myths and narratives based on the theory of the HED are still influential in development and environmental policy process in Nepal. In this background this paper highlights some of the research findings that are contrary to conventional belief i.e. population growth lead to soil erosion. The paper is based on literature review. The research evidences from both social and natural sciences are entertained. This paper generates alternative thinking to end the hegemony and unquestionable acceptance of the findings of research undertaken by 'Western, White men' as truth; and their recommendations as the 'blue print' solutions. Critics over orthodox environmentalism and neo-Malthusian accounts are made to validate the 'hybrid knowledge' generated in this paper. There are evidences that population pressure have promoted soil erosion. However, Himalayan environmental dynamism which is purely a natural process is far more responsible for soil erosion in the Himalaya. Hence, it is suggested that a critical assessment of any 'facts' obtained from research should be made before making them the narratives and reflecting them in policy process.

The climate sensitive social-ecological systems of the Nepali Himalaya are increasingly exposed to the impacts of rapid climate change. As a result, the changing climate is negatively impacting upon livelihoods of the region. Effective adaptation responses could reduce the negative impacts of change, and assessments of vulnerability of local social-ecosystems are helping to initiate that process. However, insufficient research has assessed climate change-induced vulnerability of Nepali Himalayan social-ecosystems at different scales. This study measures the vulnerability of social-ecosystems at the household level and within three village clusters of the Kaligandaki Basin in the Central Himalaya, Nepal. The clusters represent different ecological zones: Meghauli in the hot and wet tropical Tarai; Lumle in the cool, wet temperate Middle-Mountains; and Upper-Mustang in the cold and dry Trans-Himalaya. Data on the exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity of the social-ecosystems were collected through face-to-face interviews with 360 households. Exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity sub-indices were calculated and integrated to develop the vulnerability indices. The social-ecosystems reveal significant levels of exposure to climate change and are sensitive to change and extreme weather events, but limited capacities to adapt across all spatial scales result in very high social-ecological vulnerability. Yet, there is variation in the levels of vulnerability across the households, primarily because of different non-climatic factors such as the livelihood assets that a household commands. Given that many Nepali households have very limited adaptive capacities, the country requires an adaptation policy to address the needs of the most vulnerable households through a 'poor people first' approach, before adaptation planning and investment is extended gradually to reduce the vulnerability of social-ecosystems across the country.

Climate change and associated impacts are pressing issues for the twenty-first century. The climatic impacts and associated adaptation responses are altering complex interrelationships between people and the environment. Although the problems generated by such change are global, the intensity of impacts varies spatially. This research examines the implications of climate change on the local social-ecological systems of the Kaligandaki Basin, Nepal; it maps the adaptation efforts of communities; and assesses food and livelihood (in)security and vulnerability of the social-ecosystems to inform adaptation policy and practice.
The study applies a geographical approach to explain human-environmental interrelationships by drawing from both social and natural scientific methodologies inherent to the discipline. The concepts of human ecology and social-ecology, climatic and environmental change, vulnerability and adaptation, are explored and applied in the research. The Sustainable Livelihood Approach (SLA) is integrated with the Drivers-Pressure-State of Change-Impacts-Response (DPSIR) analysis framework to explain the complex local human-environmental interactions with climate change. Case studies are drawn from three different ecological zones: the Tarai, the Middle-Mountains and the Trans-Himalaya to inform a comparative analysisin the Kaligandaki Basin. Climate change in the Kaligandaki Basin is assessed by analysing both meteorological data for the past 40 years and social perceptions of change in the last decade. Primary data on impacts and adaptation responses were collected through face-to-face interviews with household heads from 360 households, 24 focus group discussions, 7 historical timeline calendars, 75 key informant interviews, and 9 crop calendar sketches.
The findings suggest that the social-ecological systems of the Himalaya are highly sensitive to both climatic and non-climatic stressors. Climate sensitive livelihood capitals are increasingly exposed to climate change, as both scientific and social analyses indicate increased temperatures and more extreme weather events. The changes and variability in the climate system have negatively impacted all social-ecological systems, particularly in the Middle-Mountains. Consequently, many local communities are trapped in a situation of multiple livelihood constraints associated with ecological, economic, social and political environments. To respond to those constraintsand reduce the negative implications of change, people are trying to adoptadaptation strategies, mostly at the individual household or community levels.
The studied communities demonstrate significant adaptation knowledge; however, such knowledge is not sufficiently translated into adaptation actions. Many households are losing hope of agricultural adaptation due to climate change impacts and unfavourable political-economic environments. Cash income is now the preferred option for many, and young adults are leaving communities and the country in search of paid employment. The poor quality of livelihood capitals; increasing climate change impacts; and poor adoption of adaptation strategies  together have significantnegative implications for local food and livelihood security.
The research has important implications for policy that aims to integrate disaster management, agricultural development, livelihood diversification, and community empowerment in relation to climate change adaptation in Nepal.The research supports theoretical discussions on the value of undertaking complex social-ecological analyses to generate knowledge that is both holistic and directly applicable for local adaptation planning and practice. By applying similar approaches in other contexts, especially in the developing world, the issues inhibiting broader development processes could be integrated with an understanding of climate change impacts for targeted, comprehensive adaptation policy outcomes.