Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation in a Hill Farming System of the Himalayan Region: Climatic Trends, Farmers’ Perceptions and Practices
Farming communities in the hills and mountains of the Himalayan region are some of the most vulnerable to the changing climate, owing to their specific biophysical and socioeconomic conditions. Understanding the observed parameters of the changing climate and the farmers’ perceptions of it, together...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Climate |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2225-1154/11/1/11 |
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| author | Khem Raj Dahal Piyush Dahal Raj Kumar Adhikari Veera Naukkarinen Dinesh Panday Niranjan Bista Juha Helenius Buddhi Marambe |
| author_facet | Khem Raj Dahal Piyush Dahal Raj Kumar Adhikari Veera Naukkarinen Dinesh Panday Niranjan Bista Juha Helenius Buddhi Marambe |
| author_sort | Khem Raj Dahal |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Farming communities in the hills and mountains of the Himalayan region are some of the most vulnerable to the changing climate, owing to their specific biophysical and socioeconomic conditions. Understanding the observed parameters of the changing climate and the farmers’ perceptions of it, together with their coping approaches, is an important asset to making farming communities resilient. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the observed change in climatic variables; understand farmers’ perceptions of the changing climate; and document their adaptation approaches in farming systems in the mid-hills of the central Himalayas. Data on the observed change in climatic variables were obtained from the nearby meteorological stations and gridded regional products, and farmers’ perceptions and their adaptation practices were collected from household surveys and from the interviews of key informants. The analysis of temperature data revealed that there has been a clear warming trend. Winter temperatures are increasing faster than summer and annual temperatures, indicating a narrowing temperature range. Results on precipitation did not show a clear trend but exhibited large inter-annual variability. The standardized precipitation index (SPI) showed an increased frequency of droughts in recent years. Farmers’ perceptions of the changing climate are coherent with the observed changes in climatic parameters. These changes may have a substantial impact on agriculture and the livelihood of the people in the study area. The farmers are adapting to climate change by altering their farming systems and practices. Location-specific adaptation approaches used by farmers are valuable assets for community resilience. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:07:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-63a3e908d8de4c3a9db8decccd13f569 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2225-1154 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T13:07:36Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Climate |
| spelling | doaj.art-63a3e908d8de4c3a9db8decccd13f5692023-11-30T21:45:51ZengMDPI AGClimate2225-11542022-12-011111110.3390/cli11010011Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation in a Hill Farming System of the Himalayan Region: Climatic Trends, Farmers’ Perceptions and PracticesKhem Raj Dahal0Piyush Dahal1Raj Kumar Adhikari2Veera Naukkarinen3Dinesh Panday4Niranjan Bista5Juha Helenius6Buddhi Marambe7Department of Agronomy, Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu 44600, NepalThe Small Earth Nepal, Kathmandu 20533, NepalValue Chain Development of Fruit and Vegetables Project, UNDP, Pulchowk, Lalitpur 44700, NepalRuralia Institute, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, FinlandRodale Institute, Kutztown, PA 19530, USAThe Small Earth Nepal, Kathmandu 20533, NepalRuralia Institute, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, FinlandFaculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Kandy 20400, Sri LankaFarming communities in the hills and mountains of the Himalayan region are some of the most vulnerable to the changing climate, owing to their specific biophysical and socioeconomic conditions. Understanding the observed parameters of the changing climate and the farmers’ perceptions of it, together with their coping approaches, is an important asset to making farming communities resilient. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the observed change in climatic variables; understand farmers’ perceptions of the changing climate; and document their adaptation approaches in farming systems in the mid-hills of the central Himalayas. Data on the observed change in climatic variables were obtained from the nearby meteorological stations and gridded regional products, and farmers’ perceptions and their adaptation practices were collected from household surveys and from the interviews of key informants. The analysis of temperature data revealed that there has been a clear warming trend. Winter temperatures are increasing faster than summer and annual temperatures, indicating a narrowing temperature range. Results on precipitation did not show a clear trend but exhibited large inter-annual variability. The standardized precipitation index (SPI) showed an increased frequency of droughts in recent years. Farmers’ perceptions of the changing climate are coherent with the observed changes in climatic parameters. These changes may have a substantial impact on agriculture and the livelihood of the people in the study area. The farmers are adapting to climate change by altering their farming systems and practices. Location-specific adaptation approaches used by farmers are valuable assets for community resilience.https://www.mdpi.com/2225-1154/11/1/11adaptationclimate changefarming communityhill farming systemNepalstandardized precipitation index |
| spellingShingle | Khem Raj Dahal Piyush Dahal Raj Kumar Adhikari Veera Naukkarinen Dinesh Panday Niranjan Bista Juha Helenius Buddhi Marambe Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation in a Hill Farming System of the Himalayan Region: Climatic Trends, Farmers’ Perceptions and Practices Climate adaptation climate change farming community hill farming system Nepal standardized precipitation index |
| title | Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation in a Hill Farming System of the Himalayan Region: Climatic Trends, Farmers’ Perceptions and Practices |
| title_full | Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation in a Hill Farming System of the Himalayan Region: Climatic Trends, Farmers’ Perceptions and Practices |
| title_fullStr | Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation in a Hill Farming System of the Himalayan Region: Climatic Trends, Farmers’ Perceptions and Practices |
| title_full_unstemmed | Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation in a Hill Farming System of the Himalayan Region: Climatic Trends, Farmers’ Perceptions and Practices |
| title_short | Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation in a Hill Farming System of the Himalayan Region: Climatic Trends, Farmers’ Perceptions and Practices |
| title_sort | climate change impacts and adaptation in a hill farming system of the himalayan region climatic trends farmers perceptions and practices |
| topic | adaptation climate change farming community hill farming system Nepal standardized precipitation index |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2225-1154/11/1/11 |
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