Climate Change Impacts and Adaptations in Nepal: A Literature Review

This literature review examines past studies on climate change impacts and adaptations in Nepal, with a focus on agriculture. It explores the effects of climate change on the country's water resources, precipitation, and temperature. The review also identifies areas that have not received significant focus and discusses adaptation strategies, including the adoption of clean energy and the development of efficient irrigation systems. The National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) and Local Adaption Plans for Action (LAPA) are also discussed. The chapter concludes by discussing the need for societies to devise ways of adapting to changes in the medium to long-term general weather patterns in a region.

Running Head: LITERATURE REVIEW 1
Literature Review
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This chapter examines past literature on climate change impacts and adaptations in
Nepal. First, it is essential to explore the geographical context of the country and how that
position affects how the country contributes to and reacts to climate change. Furthermore, the
effects of climate change on agriculture on the country will be examined. The review of
literature will also seek to identify areas that past studies have concentrated on and unearth
areas that have not received significant focus.
Nepal is a landlocked country located in Asia. The country takes up a part of the
Himalayas, a tectonic plate boundary between the Indian and the Eurasian plates. The Indian
plate has been moving northwards, and it has therefore collided with the Eurasian plate
causing the highest mountain range in the world (Shrestha & Aryal, 2011). Although some
parts of Nepal are as low-lying as 80 meters above sea level, the average elevation is more
than 3200 meters above sea level (Shrestha & Aryal, 2011). With such mountainous terrain, a
significant portion of land is not suitable for agriculture in an economy that heavily relies on
this sector. Almost one-third of Nepalese people live below the international poverty line.
Unemployment and inflation are also high in the developing economy. There are also
significant gaps in the country concerning health and sanitation. Infant mortality is high
mostly due to curable diseases (Collins et al., 2013). At the same time, malnutrition is
common in children, and less than half of the country’s population has access to improved
sanitation (Lobell et al., 2008).
Nepal is however well endowed with water resources. It has at least 6000 rivers and a
per capita water availability of 9000 cubic meters (Chalise & Naranpanawa, 2016). The rivers
flow from the snowcapped peaks of the Himalayas. The rivers also possess the capacity for
the production of thousands of megawatts of hydroelectric power. Agriculture is the leading
destination of water drawn from the rivers. Agriculture makes up about 30% of the country’s
GDP (Chalise & Naranpanawa, 2016). Mostly, agriculture is subsistent. There are three main

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agro-ecological zones, the mountains in the upper Himalayas, the lower hills, and the
lowlands. The main crops in each zone are corn, rice, and wheat respectively. Of the arable
land available, about 65% relies on rain for water (Chalise & Naranpanawa, 2016). This is
mostly due to the topography of steep hills that limit the reach of economically viable
irrigation systems.
There are limited studies on climate change in Nepal especially due to the mammoth
task of scaling down general circulation models to track climactic trends. The country also
has a large range of water variability. In the monsoon season, the rain is heavy, and floods are
frequent. In the dry season, droughts are likely to strike (Collins et al., 2013). It is also
difficult to analyze the effects of climate change due to non-climate factors that also affect
water resources in the country. To investigate climate change in the region, factors such as
changes in precipitation, water stress, and glacial melt are considered (Collins et al., 2013)
Temperature is a critical variable that is analyzed in climate change studies. Some
studies suggest that there have been no temperature increases in Nepal. Others have noted
slight increases in temperature. The rise in temperature has been analyzed by measuring days
and temperatures. An increase in the number of hot nights and a decrease in the number of
cold days is an indicator of increasing average temperatures (Eriksson et al., 2009). Globally,
climate change has been marked by a rise in average temperature that has seen melting
icecaps and the possibility of a rising sea level. Nepal has a significant amount of glaciers in
its peaks whose size has not changed significantly as a result of rising temperatures (Eriksson
et al., 2009).
Precipitation in Nepal comes with the monsoon rains that serve this region in Asia.
There are complex forces that affect the rains from moisture formation in the Indian Ocean to
winds that carry the moisture inland (Stern, 2008). Increased levels of carbon dioxide levels

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may have a significant effect on the variability of precipitation levels but not a significant
impact with regard to general decline or increase in the amount of precipitation (Manandhar,
Vogt, Perret, & Kazama, 2011). Increased variability implies that the monsoon season is
likely to come with heavy rainfall and the dry season is likely to be drier. Furthermore, it is
projected that some monsoon seasons could be drier than current ones. The extreme weather
phenomena of El Nino and La Nina governs periods of high rainfall and those of low rainfall
(Murphy & Timbal, 2008). It is therefore difficult to ascertain whether variations in the
volume of precipitation is attributable to climate change or not. Varying precipitation
intensity has an impact on the volume of runoff in the rivers (Manandhar et al., 2011). If
rising temperatures lead to melting glaciers, the rivers will have increased capacity in the
short run. In the long run, the volume of the rivers will reduce (Manandhar et al., 2011).
Glacial lakes are also likely to burst as they fill with water from melting glaciers. If they
burst, they send water and debris downstream at fast speeds destroying farmland and
infrastructure (Manandhar et al., 2011).
Agriculture in Nepal is affected depending on the primary source of water it relies on.
Farmers who rely on ice and glacial melt will see an increased amount of water (Gentle &
Maraseni, 2012). However, they will be at risk of glacial lake bursts that can destroy
farmlands. Farmers who rely on monsoon rains will see several possible scenarios. First,
farmers will have to cope with unpredictable monsoon onset and end dates. Farmers may also
have to devise ways to harvest excess rainfall in the monsoon season to use during the dry
period (Gentle & Maraseni, 2012). Furthermore, farmers may adjust types of crops they grow
to cope with a more intense dry season and possible frequent droughts.
Climate change has had severe effects on the agricultural output of Nepal and
consequently the food security of the country. Climate change has effects such as an increase
in the frequency of flash flooding, drought, forest fires, and landslides. Due to the diverse

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nature of the geographic and climatic conditions, these effects differ according to the
agricultural activity in each region. Given more than two-thirds of Nepal's population rely on
agriculture as their chief economic activity, their economic well-being is threatened by the
adverse effects of climate change (Head, 2014). Too much or too little rainfall reduces crop
output and thereby reducing the ability of farmers to feed the entire population.
Climate change response involves two options namely mitigation and adaptation.
Mitigation requires assessing one’s contribution to the climate change menace and acting
accordingly to eliminate the actions that contribute to climate change. Mitigation is a long-
term orientation which involves adhering to international standards for lowering carbon and
other greenhouse emissions (Urban, 2015). Nepal has adopted several measures to mitigate
the negative outcomes associated with climate change. The chief option available for Nepal is
to invest in clean energy. The country has extensive hydroelectric power reserves that are yet
to be exploited. If the country can tap this immense potential, it can reduce its carbon
footprint significantly (Stern, 2008). As technology slowly takes the world away from the
internal combustion engine, Nepal can power its economy entirely on clean power and even
export excess output to neighboring energy-hungry giants such as China and India.
National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) is the primary document on
adaptation in the country. The document provides guidelines on mobilizing community
institutions for the development as well as the implementation of adaptation plans (Nagoda &
Nightingale, 2017). More so, the country has increased reliance on drought-resistant crops
that grow fast and can withstand drier conditions. More so, farmers in the country have
adopted various practices to conserve water such as extensive mulching. Furthermore,
increasing crop diversification and planting cover crops increase the capacity of land
resources to withstand extreme weather events (Gentle & Maraseni, 2012). However, Nepal’s

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adaptation strategies have been limited by factors such as low adaptive capacity. Low
adaptive capacity is as a result of high poverty rates and underdeveloped resilience capacity.
Nepal’s Climate Change Policy was developed in 2011 with the primary aim of
minimizing the effects of climate change on the country (Field, Barros, Stocker, & Dahe,
2012). One primary strategy has been looking to adopt more reliable ways of watering crops
to reduce reliance on the monsoon rains. The development of efficient irrigation systems, as
well as water harvesting techniques, will increase the ability of the country to produce crops
even in the dry season. Furthermore, the government of Nepal has embarked on a
development drive that will see the country come out of reliance on agriculture and harness
its capacity in other sectors (Nagoda & Nightingale, 2017). Implementation of the climate
change policies has been a key challenge (Gentle & Maraseni, 2012). As such, the adaptation
activities require enabling will and power at the local level to drive them towards maturity.
Local Adaption Plans for Action (LAPA) were devised to promote implementation at
the local level (Ojha et al., 2016). A key component of LAPA is sensitization of the
population regarding climate change and their context in the issue. This is followed by
vulnerability and adaptation assessment to determine the priority of the available adaptation
options. After the formulation of an adaptation plan, the roles of all the stakeholders are
integrated and communicated to each of them (Ojha et al., 2016). This is followed by the
implementation of the plan. To determine the progress, an assessment is carried out, and
recommendations are provided.
Extreme events such as floods, bushfires, and heat waves that pose a threat to the
infrastructural systems of urban centers will increase in frequency in the future (Prasain,
2018). At the same time, these events increase the probability of human injury and
consequently interrupted the productivity of labor. Damage to biodiversity and ecological

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systems reduce nature’s capacity to protect life from natural disasters (Ojha et al., 2016). As
the country becomes more aware of the possible ramification of climate change, there is
likely to be a shift in settlements regions that have more resilient ecosystems (Urban, 2015).
The Nepalese people have invested resources in the development of climate resilience
and adaptation strategies. Climate change may be caused by natural or anthropological forces
(Field et al., 2012). While it may be difficult to avoid the effects of climate change, societies
can devise ways of adapting to changes in the medium to long-term general weather patterns
in a region. Adaptation requires managing risks from climate changes while creating safety
nets and resilience points for the economy (Change, 2014). There are also steps to protect key
areas of concern. These efforts combine the input from public and private sectors.

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References
Chalise, S., & Naranpanawa, A. (2016). Climate change adaptation in agriculture: A
computable general equilibrium analysis of land-use change in Nepal. Land Use
Policy, 59, 241-250.
Change, I. P. O. C. (2014). IPCC. Climate change.
Collins, M., Knutti, R., Arblaster, J., Dufresne, J. L., Fichefet, T., Friedlingstein, P., ... &
Shongwe, M. (2013). Long-term climate change: projections, commitments and
irreversibility.
Eriksson, M., Xu, J., Shrestha, A. B., Vaidya, R. A., Santosh, N., & Sandström, K. (2009).
The changing Himalayas: impact of climate change on water resources and
livelihoods in the greater Himalayas. International centre for integrated mountain
development (ICIMOD).
Field, C. B., Barros, V., Stocker, T. F., & Dahe, Q. (Eds.). (2012). Managing the risks of
extreme events and disasters to advance climate change adaptation: special report of
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Gentle, P., & Maraseni, T. N. (2012). Climate change, poverty and livelihoods: adaptation
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Lobell, D. B., Burke, M. B., Tebaldi, C., Mastrandrea, M. D., Falcon, W. P., & Naylor, R. L.
(2008). Prioritizing climate change adaptation needs for food security in 2030.
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Manandhar, S., Vogt, D. S., Perret, S. R., & Kazama, F. (2011). Adapting cropping systems
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practices. Regional Environmental Change, 11(2), 335-348.

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Nagoda, S., & Nightingale, A. J. (2017). Participation and Power in Climate Change
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