Outlook on climate change adaptation in the Hindu Kush Himalaya

Billions of USD Personal remittances received, 2017

Percentage of GDP

Prevalence of underweight children under 5 years 1

Afghanistan

0.38

2

%

1. Weight-for-age: children under 5 years < -2 standard deviation from the international reference median value.

Bangladesh

0.04

2

%

Percentage

National

Mountains

Bhutan

13.50

5

%

Bangladesh

Afghanistan 2

China

no data available

28.67

0.2

%

25

25

India

68.97

3

%

2. The whole country is mountainous and hilly.

Myanmar

2.57

4

%

China

Bhutan 3

no data available

Nepal

13

6.93

28

%

13

Pakistan

19.69

7

%

3. The whole country is mountainous and hilly.

Myanmar

India

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Source: World Bank, Data Bank, (data.worldbank.org, accessed November 2018)

43

29

GRID-A RENDAL / L ÓPEZ , 2018

27 5

31 4

Many individuals from mountainous areas of the HKH have migrated to urban centres and across national borders in order to work and support their households for reasons including low agricultural productivity, limited land, high unemployment levels, population growth and changing aspirations (Hoermann and Kollmair, 2009a; Tiwari and Joshi, 2015). Labour migration provides both opportunities and challenges. Among labour migration opportunities are remittances, which can help households out of poverty (as seen

in Nepal, where remittances helped alleviate 20 per cent of the poverty rate between 1995 and 2004 (Lokshin et al., 2007)), support for education and improved health of migrant households. In addition, labour migrants are able to develop new skills and ideas, and gender equality is generally improved in their households (Hoermann and Kollmair 2009a). Although nearly all migrants have been men, this balance is now slowly shifting, with more women migrating in some HKH countries (Hoermann and Kollmair, 2009b). Women who remain behind are

4. Average of mountainous and hilly states

5. Average of four mountain states.

Pakistan

Nepal

29

29

27

36

GRID-A RENDAL / L ÓPEZ , 2018

21