Suman Aryal

Vulnerability of Himalayan transhumant communities to climate change

Climate change vulnerability depends on who you are, where you are and what you do. The indigenous communities who primarily depend on natural resources for subsistence livelihoods are among the first and most affected by climate change. Climate models have predicted pronounced warming in high altitude regions of the Himalayas. The transhumant communities of the Himalayas follow traditional lifestyles based on seasonal livestock rearing and subsistence agriculture. There is however, no information on how vulnerable transhumant communities are to climate change, and how vulnerability of transhumant herders differs across the mountainous areas of Nepal. Based on semi-structured interviews with transhumant herders and using the IPCC climate change vulnerability framework, this study assessed and compared the vulnerability of transhumant communities from three districts representing Eastern, Central and Western mountainous region of Nepal. The results showed that the livelihood vulnerability and the climate change vulnerability differ across sites; both of them having lowest index values in the Central region. The vulnerability dimensions viz. exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity are largely influenced by diversity in livelihood strategies, income sources and crops, and access to food, water and health facilities. The findings will inform the design of policies and programmes to reduce vulnerability and enhance adaptive capacity of indigenous communities in general and the transhumant communities of the Himalayas in particular.

Livelihood vulnerability approach to assessing climate change impacts on mixed agro-livestock smallholders around the Gandaki River Basin in Nepal

Abstract Climate change vulnerability depends upon various factors and differs between places, sectors and communities. People in developing countries whose subsistence livelihood depends mainly upon agriculture and livestock production are identified as particularly vulnerable. Nepal, where the majority of people are in a mixed agro-livestock system, is identified as the world’s fourth most vulnerable country to climate change. However, there is limited knowledge on how vulnerable mixed agro-livestock smallholders are and how their vulnerability differs across different ecological regions in Nepal. This study aims to test two vulnerability assessment indices, livelihood vulnerability index and IPCC vulnerability index, around the Gandaki River Basin of central Nepal. A total of 543 households practicing mixed agro-livestock were surveyed from three districts, namely Dhading, Syangja and Kapilvastu representing three major ecological zones: mountain, mid-hill and Terai (lowland). Data on socio-demographics, livelihood determinants, social networks, health, food and water security, natural disasters and climate variability were collected and combined into the indices. Both indices differed for mixed agro-livestock smallholders across the three districts, with Dhading scoring as the most vulnerable and Syangja the least. Substantial variation across the districts was observed in components, sub-components and three dimensions (exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity) of vulnerability. The findings help in designing site-specific intervention strategies to reduce vulnerability of mixed agro-livestock smallholders to climate change.

Sustainability of transhumance grazing systems under socio-economic threats in Langtang, Nepal

The decline or loss of traditional social-ecological systems may induce adverse effects to the societies and ecosystems. Transhumance, the recurring and seasonal movement of grazing livestock, is increasingly constrained by a numbers of factors including policy, land use and socio-economic changes in Nepal. To explore how these changes have affected the transhumance, this study investigated transhumance at the Langtang valley in central Nepal. The specific objectives of this study were to determine the herd size and composition, spatial-temporal patterns and to identify the major drivers of the system and the system changes. Data were collected from field study comprising semi-structured interviews with the herders, focus group discussions, key informants survey, and observations of rangeland and livestock management systems. The study revealed that the transhumance system in the Langtang is influenced by two types of drivers. In one hand, traditional practices are contributing to the sustainability of the system. On the other hand, the grazing patterns and adaptive responses are strongly influenced by changes in government policies, socioeconomic and cultural transformation, livestock productivity, markets, rangeland conditions and climate change. The findings of this study help with the development and implementation of transhumance management policy for the sustainability.

Perceived changes in climatic variables and impacts on the transhumance system in the Himalayas

Indigenous people whose subsistence livelihoods depend upon the direct utilization of natural resources are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, and can yet be unaware of actual and possible change. Changes in seasonality, temperatures and rainfall could undermine traditional systems built in groups experience. In one such system in the Himalayas, some herders practice vertical transhumance whereby they ascend in stages to high-altitude rangelands for summer and similarly descend in winter. Climate change models have predicted warming in the Himalayan region but there is no information on whether or not herders are aware of any changes. For this study, temperature and rainfall data for the nearest stations were collected and analysed, 145 transhumant herders were interviewed and 6 focus group discussions were conducted in or near 3 mountainous Protected Areas of Nepal. Perceptions of herders corresponded with the trends of climatic variables but with some exceptions. The majority of transhumant herders reported early onset of summer and rapid melting of snow, early greening, early flowering/maturing of vegetation and the appearance of new plant species in the rangelands. They also reported reduced water availability, an increase in the number of droughts and the appearance of new livestock diseases. Findings suggest that the perceptions of local people towards changes in key climatic variables and other bio-physical indicators are useful in advancing understanding of climate change in remote mountainous areas.

Climate Change and Indigenous People: Perceptions of Transhumant Herders and Implications to the Transhumance System in the Himalayas

Climate change poses differential vulnerability for different communities, sectors and regions. People, whose subsistence livelihood is based on the direct utilisation of natural resources are most affected by climate change and have different but accurate perceptions of climate change than those people following modern lifestyles. The herders of the higher Himalayas follow vertical transhumance and combine it with subsistence agriculture for their livelihood. Although, climate models have predicted pronounced warming in high altitude areas of the Himalayas and there are many indications that climate change impacts different aspects of transhumance, there is no information on how transhumant herders have perceived change in climate and how these changes might impact transhumance system. One hundred and forty five transhumant herders were interviewed from three Village Development Committees (VDCs) namely Khumjung in Solukhumbu, Kalinchok in Dolakhaand Majhigaun in Bajhang; representing Eastern, Central and far-Western mountainous areas of Nepal respectively to explore their perceptions about climate change and other observed changes in biophysical indicators. About 80% of the herders perceived increasing summer temperature, 92% decreasing winter rainfall and more than 93% noticed decreasing snowfall. Majority of the herders agreed that there was fast melting of snow in the rangelands, rainfall events were becoming more and more unpredictable, drought events increased, there was early induce in greenery and maturity of grasses in the rangelands and appearance of new livestock diseases. These observations suggest that transhumant herders in the Himalayas have experienced change in climatic variables and have noticed change in bio-physical indicators that have implications to the transhumance system. The findings help to devise adaptation strategies for indigenous communities and incorporate them in the climate change policies in the Himalayas.

Comparison of Carbon Stocks Between Mixed and Pine-Dominated Forest Stands Within the Gwalinidaha Community Forest in Lalitpur District, Nepal

Forests play an important role in the global carbon cycle as both a source and sink of carbon. The carbon stock in a forest is affected by climate, tree species and forest management. The community forestry program of Nepal has been successful in reviving degraded forest patches in the Mid-hills but there is a lack of information whether mixed or pine plantations store more carbon. This study estimated and compared carbon stocks in mixed and pine-dominated forest stands within the Gwalinidaha Community Forest of Lalitpur District, Central Nepal. Carbon components considered include tree biomass carbon, root biomass carbon, litter biomass carbon and soil organic carbon. Total carbon stock of the forest is estimated to be 2,250.24 tons with average carbon stock of 166.68 tons/ha. Total carbon stock per hectare was found to be higher in the pine-dominated forest as compared to mixed forest due to the larger tree biomass although the litter carbon and soil organic carbon estimates are higher in the latter. The Community Forestry of Nepal has a huge potential for carbon storage and the pine-dominated forest has a greater carbon stock than mixed forest.

Effect of summer livestock grazing on plant species richness and composition in the Himalayan rangelands

Grazing systems in the high Himalayas are changing in response to socioeconomic factors and policy decisions. As well as effects on livelihood of herders, such changes may have significant impacts on plant species richness and composition. The objectives of this study were to explore how plant species richness and composition respond to livestock grazing in the high Himalayan rangelands. The study was conducted in three mountainous Protected Areas of Nepal viz. Sagarmatha (Mt Everest) National Park, Gaurishankar Conservation Area and Khaptad National Park. Species and environmental data were collected along perpendicular transects outwards from goths (semi-permanent stopping and camping points). It was found that the distance from goths generally represents a grazing disturbance gradient. The core areas near goths had low species richness per plot (a-diversity) where nitrophilous and grazing-tolerant species were commonly found. However, the highest species richness, total numbers of species and occurrences of rare species at mid and farther distances from goths within 800m suggest that negative effects of summer livestock grazing were small and confined to limited areas near goths. Altitude, soil moisture content, percentage shrub cover and distance from goths were the variables significantly correlated with species composition, although the relative importance of these factors varied across study sites. This research can be used to inform decision-making about seasonal livestock grazing in the Himalayan rangelands, which should incorporate both ecological as well as socioeconomic considerations.

Evaluating climatic and non-climatic stresses for declining surface water quality in Bagmati River of Nepal

Both climatic and non-climatic factors affect surface water quality. Similar to its effect across various sectors and areas, climate change has potential to affect surface water quality directly and indirectly. On the one hand, the rise in temperature enhances the microbial activity and decomposition of organic matter in the river system and changes in rainfall alter discharge and water flow in the river ultimately affecting pollution dilution level. On the other hand, the disposal of organic waste and channelizing municipal sewage into the rivers seriously worsen water quality. This study attempts to relate hydro-climatology, water quality, and impact of climatic and non-climatic stresses in affecting river water quality in the upper Bagmati basin in Central Nepal. The results showed that the key water quality indicators such as dissolved oxygen and chemical oxygen demand are getting worse in recent years. No significant relationships were found between the key water quality indicators and changes in key climatic variables. However, the water quality indicators correlated with the increase in urban population and per capita waste production in the city. The findings of this study indicate that dealing with non-climatic stressors such as reducing direct disposal of sewerage and other wastes in the river rather than emphasizing on working with the effects from climate change would largely help to improve water quality in the river flowing from highly populated urban areas.

Transhumance, Livestock Mobility and Mutual Benefits Between Crop and Livestock Production

Grazing-based livestock production, named pastoralism, is classified into nomadism, transhumance and agro-pastoralism. Transhumance is characterised by the seasonal and recurring movement of livestock whereby seasonal grazing areas and routes for livestock movement are fixed. All grazing based livestock production systems including transhumance are constrained globally for a variety of reasons. The major threats to the system are globalisation, nationalisation or privatisation of rangelands, national parks and community forestry policies restricting free grazing and shortage of labour. The collapse or decline of such social-ecological systems (SESs), which have existed for over 1000s years, often induces adverse impacts on societies and ecosystems. Here we review the literature on transhumance, and discuss reasons for transhumance, and the associated advantages and disadvantages of livestock movement in transhumance. Our review also focuses on how the integration of crop and livestock production in transhumance derives mutual benefits. The review indicates that the seasonal movement of livestock is an ecological necessity in areas with harsh climates and low pasture production. Transhumance is also a herders’ adaptive management to adjust to variable grazing resources and environmental conditions. The disadvantages of seasonal movement of livestock such as greater herding labour required and expenditure of more energy for livestock, are far outweighed by the ecological advantages. Some of these are: to minimise grazing competition and to protect rangeland pastures from being overgrazed. Our review also indicates that the integration of crop and livestock production derives mutual benefits and contributes for their enhanced sustainability.