Journal Article

Mountain ecosystems are increasingly being affected by global environmental change, challenging the ubiquitous agroecosystem-based livelihoods of the people. This article uses participatory research methods to document and analyse (1) local and regional impacts of climate change on ecosystem services (ES) and livelihoods, and (2) the main current adaptation strategies of local peoples in the mountains of central Nepal. Major observed impacts include reduced precipitation and an irregular rainfall pattern, affecting paddy cultivation and winter crop production.

This study explored people’s perceptions of climate change by conducting interviews and focus-group discussions with local residents of three ecological regions of Nepal, i.e., mountain, midhills, and lowland. Climatic measurements from meteorological stations of the regions were acquired for the period from 1988 to 2018. We compared the people’s perception with trends and variabilities of observed temperature and rainfall patterns.

Agriculture is the mainstay of the Nepalese population, contributing more than one fourth to the national economy and more than 60 percent on employment. Climate change seems to be major challenge to Nepalese agriculture due to higher dependency on rain fed agriculture. The study thus aims to examine the impact of climate change and variability on crop productivity using crop production data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development and climatic data from the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology located in three districts viz. Banke, Dailekh and Mugu districts.

The Himalaya Plateau including Nepal is ‘greening up’ that has important implications to ecosystem services such as water supply, carbon sequestration, and local livelihoods. Understanding the combined causes behind greening is critical for effective policy makings in forest management and climate change adaptation towards achieving sustainable development goals. This national scale study comprehensively examined the natural and anthropogenic drivers of the long-term trend of vegetation dynamics across Nepal by correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analysis.

Researchers have demonstrated evidence of changes in the climatic conditions over the time. This paper reviews indigenous knowledge and practices, with reference to traditional water resource management, in view of the climate change impacts on traditional water resources, especially stone spouts, which have been practiced over many centuries in the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal. There is a need to document and preserve the existing indigenous knowledge and practices.

Climate has significantly changed during last few decades. The mountain environmental change is the visible indicator of climate change. Being, Nepal is a mountainous country, the temperature and precipitation change during last three decades were studied using in-situ meteorological data sets. The Mann-Kendall Test and Sen's slope method were used to find out the changing trend of climate in time series temperature and precipitation data sets in response to different ecological zones.

Medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) contribute to human well-being via health and economic benefits. Nepal has recorded 2331 species of MAPs, of which around 300 species are currently under trade. Wild harvested MAPs in Nepal are under increasing pressure from overexploitation for trade and the effects of climate change and development. Despite some localized studies to examine the impact of climate change on MAPs, a consolidated understanding is lacking on how the distribution of major traded species of MAPs will change with future climate change.