ADDRESSING  CLIMATE  CHANGE  ISSUES  IN  NEPAL  

Views  of  a  Science  Prac<<oner  

Dinesh  Raj  Bhuju  Resources  Himalaya  Founda<on  

______________________________________________________________________ Third High Mountain Workshop July 11-23, 2013 Huaraz, Peru

issue  one  CONTRASTING  CONCERNS  

Sangita,  24    

Originally  from  Dolakha  Married  to  a  boy  from  Chisapani,  Ramechhap;  Walks  one  hour  to  fetch  water;  Life  is  difficult;  I  was  mis-­‐informed,  but  we  are  not  commodities  to  be  returned  or  exchanged….  

Loosing  Social  Fabric    

The species limit has advanced from 3673m asl in 1958 to 3841m asl in 2007 with a total of 168 m upslope shift at the average rate of 34.29 m per decade. Ref. M Suwal, D Bhuju, KB Shrestha 2010 ___________________________ Upward shifting by 26.1 m per decade; Temperature (Mar-Aug) showing negative relation. Ref. NP Gaire & DR Bhuju 2011

Advancing  Trees  in  the  High  Mountains    

issue  two  FEEBLE  REALIZATION  

n  Yucatan  n  Popula<on  30  million  n  Problems:    i)      Deforesta<on  for    

 agriculture  &    shelter  

 ii)    Climate  Change          (dry  years:  125-­‐250    and  AD,  760  AD)    

 iii)    Poli<cal  (1400    documents  only  in    apprecia<on  of  the    

                   rulers)  

The  Collapse  of  CivilizaHon    

The Rising Nepal Over 300 households displaced

due to acute water shortage

By Our Correspondent Sindhuli, May 28 More than 300 households of Charcharedada, Belghari Village Development Committee of Sindhuli have been displaced owing to the acute water shortage. According to the locals, the water sources at the district were dried up making their lives more complicated by each passing day. Most of the locals are making small huts at the bank of the Junga Khola and Jate Khola for the easy access of water.

Posted by Administrator Tuesday, 09 February 2010 By: Surendra Gaudel Syangja: Dalits living in Lamdanda village of Arjunchaupari VDC-6 12 km away from the district headquarters are reeling under acute shortage of drinking water. Dalits are migrating to other places due to the shortage of drinking water in their village. VDC secretary Tek Bahadur Gurung informed that 10 dalit households in the village have migrated to other places due to the water shortage. He added that the displaced families have been living as squatters in Pokhara, Bhairahawa and Khaireni of Tanahun. Other locals of the village with the majority of Gurung and Gharti communities are also compelled to walk for an hour to fetch a pail of water. They complain of political leaders not fulfilling their commitments made at the time of election to solve their water woes. They blamed that the Water Supply and Sanitation Division Office Syangja has not paid heed towards their repeated requests to manage drinking water in the village. Source: Nepal Samacharpatra, February 2, 2010

issue  three  NON-­‐COMPLAINCE  PRACTICE  

NAPA,  the  much  talked  Document  

Ramechhap  district:  19  VDCs  (out  of  55)  proclaimed  as  dry  areas;  no  good  rainfall  for  last  over  six  years  

issue  four  GAP  OF  UNDERSTANDING  

Global  warming   People’s  perception  

ISSUES   VIEWS  SUGGESTED  

Contrasting  Concerns    

•     Scientists  to  know  people’s  concerns  

•     Communities  to  be  aware  of  change    

Feeble  realization  

•  Include  case  studies  in  education  

•  Strengthen  mechanism  for  policy  implementation  

 

Non-­‐compliance  practice  

•  Maximize  interface  

•  Organize  common  forum  of  discussion    

Gap  of  understanding  

•  Combine  theory  with  practice