Nepal Monitor :: The National Online Journal

Nepal’s key vulnerabilities to climate change are water and biodiversity. Earlier snow melt and ensuing changes to water availability could affect hydropower infrastructure and efficiency. While Nepali rivers can potentially provide 43,000 MW of electricity, changing rainfall patterns and timing of snow melting could reduce this potential.182 Rainfall patterns are also changing, and intense rainfall has been difficult for people living in traditionally built flat-roofed houses made of mud and stone. Roof leakage and wall erosion are major problems, particularly for low-income families who cannot afford to repair their homes. (See note 1)

Forests and agriculture are at risk and human health could also be affected by climate change. For example, mosquitoes may move to higher altitudes due to warmer temperatures, carrying with them greater risk of malaria, and water-borne diseases could increase during disaster events. Climate change could increase levels of Japanese encephalitis and kala-azar. (See note 2)

Glacial melt
Glaciers are the freshwater reservoirs at the top of a mountain watershed and act as the source of many rivers that wind their way through thousands of kilometers of grazing, agricultural and forested land, and are used as a source of irrigation, drinking water, energy and industry. Hundreds of millions of people throughout China and the Indian subcontinent – most of whom live far from the Himalayas – rely on water supplied from these glaciers.

As rising temperatures in the region melt the glaciers, glacial lakes are rapidly filling with water. Many are now close to bursting – causing glacier lake outburst floods. The IPCC has concluded with high confidence that climate change has caused ‘enlargement and increased numbers of glacial lakes’. (See note 3) Such events have devastating impacts on mountainous ecosystems and infrastructure. Out of around 2,323 glacial lakes in Nepal, 20 are potentially dangerous, and when outbursts occur, the impacts are catastrophic. In August 1985, a glacier lake outburst flood caused a 10 to 15 meter high surge of water and debris to flow down the Bhote Koshi and Dudh Koshi rivers for 90 kilometers, leaving a trail of destruction behind it, including a small hydropower project. More floods and changing rainfall patterns could also affect human health, for example with changes in patterns of malaria and Japanese encephalitis.

Some Snippets on Climate Change in Nepal

Upgraded water mills to improve livelihoods in the Himalayas
The Centre for Rural Technology in Nepal www.crtnepal.org/ runs a program upgrading traditional water mills (ghattas) used to grind flour so that they can operate more efficiently. (See note 4) There are many ghattas in the remote villages of the Himalayan Mountains and foothills of Nepal.

By upgrading the mills, millers are able to earn more income and work shorter hours. Additionally, the flour from water mills is of higher quality than from diesel mills, which have recently come into the region. Although diesel mills are faster, the flour is of lower quality, has a shorter shelf life, is less nutritious and has a lower market value. This is because diesel mills heat the flour up more due to their higher grinding speeds compared to the traditional ghattas.

While the timber parts of a traditional ghatta need to be replaced once every two years, the upgraded and modified water mill only needs replacement every ten years. In addition, as the upgraded water mill can cope with variable water speeds, the mill can also be used during the dry seasons when water flow is reduced.

Glacial retreat near Everest
Sagarmatha National Park is an area of exceptional natural beauty, dominated by Everest, (Sagarmatha), the highest peak in the world at 8,848 meters. Several rare species, such as the snow leopard and the lesser panda, are found in the park. In 1979, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated the park as a ‘World Heritage Site’, but unprecedented rates of glacial retreat noted by high mountain communities are causing concern. (See note 5)

Unless urgent action is taken, many Himalayan lakes in and around the park could burst, threatening the lives of thousands and destroying an irreplaceable environment. A number of measures can be carried out to prevent outburst floods. These include strengthening lake banks and decreasing lake water volumes to safe levels. Hazard maps and installation of monitoring and warning systems can help, and ‘trapping dams’ with enough capacity to capture the debris and to dissipate impact of the outburst can be built below vulnerable lakes.

Pro Public, Friends of the Earth Nepal has petitioned UNESCO to place Sagarmatha National Park on the World Heritage Danger List due to climate change. Putting the park on the Danger List would oblige UNESCO to assess which glacier lakes are close to bursting and stabilize those most at risk. The petitioners also argue that Parties to the World Heritage Convention are legally obliged to transmit World Heritage Sites intact to future generations, and that this requires significant cuts in greenhouse gas emissions (mitigation) as well as action to address the adverse effects of climate change (adaptation). Unfortunately, states that sit on the World Heritage Committee (including the United States), have so far adopted the view that mitigation is only relevant under the UNFCCC www.unfccc.int and its Kyoto Protocol, thus trying to avoid these legal obligations.

Changing crops to cope with change
In 2005, Practical Action Nepal organized an educational tour to raise farmer awareness on crop diversification as a way of reducing the risks of climate change impacts. Pushkar Timsina, a 21-year-old farmer from in Tarai, attended the tour. (See note 6)

He was impressed by banana growing in the area visited. He learned that bananas could fetch more money than the paddy from the same piece of land. In addition, bananas are more resilient to changing rain patterns than paddy.

His family has a small piece of land – only 0.27 hectares– which provided little foodgrain that erratic monsoon rainfall threatened to reduce still further. Pushkar’s father was not confident that the family would benefit more from bananas, and they would also have to wait at least a year before newly planted bananas could be harvested. But Pushkar planted 250 banana trees on the land and sought alternative income sources until the banana plants produced fruit.

Pushkar purchased fresh vegetables from other farmers and took them to the market in Narayanghat by bicycle. This was possible because Practical Action trained village farmers in vegetable farming under its climate change adaptation program, thus increasing village vegetable production. Practical Action also helped villagers collect milk from different households for sale to the Kalpana Dairy in Narayanghat. Pushkar transported more than 50 liters of milk per day to the dairy, which paid him for this service. These alternative income sources helped him feed his family while their banana plants grew.

His banana plants are now providing fruit. Each year he hopes to harvest at least 250 bunches of bananas providing an annual income of at least Rs35, 000. With the help of Practical Action he has also planted other fruit trees like mango, lemon and grapes to further diversify his crops. He has introduced pineapple as an understorey crop, and he grows fodder on the edges of his field. He grows vegetables under the banana plants for sale at the nearby market. He has also introduced beehives to his banana orchard. Although Pushkar left school after Grade 2, he is supporting his sisters who are currently in Grades 3 and 5.

Pushkar has noticed the impacts that climate change has on farming and has diversified his crops and enterprises accordingly. He recognizes that annual crops like rice are more sensitive to climate than perennial crops like bananas. He thinks cultivating crops that are resistant to climate variables is important. His work has also encouraged his neighbors to diversify their activities.

Excerpted from "Up in smoke? Asia and the Pacific: The threat from climate change to human development and the environment". Available online here. (Pages 76-77)

Notes
1. Joshi GR (ed.) (2007) Nepal Up in smoke: time for action on climate change. (LI-BIRD: Nepal).
2. Ibid.
3. IPCC (2007a) Summary for policymakers in Climate change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report Parry ML, Canziani OF, Palutikof JP, van der Linden PJ and Hanson CE (eds) (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK).
4. This project is one of the 2007 winners of the Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy. See http://www.ashdenawards.org/
5. Pro Public, Friends of the Earth Nepal.
6. The Allachy Trust UK funded this climate change adaptation project implemented by Practical Action in Nepal.

#####