Outlook on climate change adaptation in the Hindu Kush Himalaya

in the Himalayan region, livestock constitutes the highest portion of household income (Neopane et al. 2011). The impact of climate change will increase the vulnerability of livestock because of how climate change affects water availability, forage and the quality of rangelands and pastures. Livestock diseases have also been linked to temperature increases and changed rainfall patterns (Hussain et al., 2016). This vulnerability could be exacerbated by other factors such as population growth, increased demand for food and conflicts over resources. For the already poor, losing the income brought through livestock could trigger a fall into chronic poverty (Koirala and Bhandari, 2018). The Nepalese Himalayas hosts several indigenous livestock breeds and a variety of Extreme events, such as droughts and floods, are expected to increase. Heavy rainfall can have substantial consequences for food security, earlier events have proven (Douglas, 2009). For example, the devastating floods in Pakistan in 2010 damaged or destroyed over 2 million hectares of crops, killed 1.2 million livestock and put a further 14 million livestock at risk due to a shortage of fodder and high risk of disease. In total, the floods made an estimated 7.8 million people in Pakistan vulnerable to long-term food insecurity (WFP, 2010). Although they are not part of the HKH region, low-lying coastal areas are vulnerable to rising sea levels and saltwater intrusion. In Bangladesh, where roughly 80 per cent of the country is low-lying, soil salinity is expected to increase by 39 per cent by 2050 (Dasgupta et al., 2015). Livestock and climate change in Nepal CASE STUDY

Rice planting in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

indigenous pasture grasses and fodder trees (Shaha &Joshi, 2003). The population of indigenous livestock breeds is in sharp decline mainly because of disease outbreaks probably also linked to a changing climate. However, local breeds of goats and yak are more resilient to water and fodder and forage shortages (Koirala and Bhandari, 2018). Some farmers have stopped raising livestock while others prefer to increase the number of animals that need less water and fodder such as goats, at the expense of larger animals such as sheep and cattle (Husain et al., 2016). In addition, farmers sometimes invest in building sheds as a coping mechanism against disasters, have the animals more regularly vaccinated, conservation of rangeland (ibid; Koirala and Bhandari, 2018).

Indigenous breeds which are more likely to survive in harsh circumstances are also being promoted. The effects of climate change on local food production can also contribute to cultural erosion and loss of traditions. For example, yearly food festivals in some areas can no longer continue due to poor crop yields and some traditional diets are being lost and replaced with foreign and processed foods (Devkota, 2013). The impact of climate change on agriculture in the HKH region affects women and men differently due to distinct socially constructed gender roles. For example, In India and Nepal, women spend more time on agricultural production and animal husbandry

39