Mountains Under Pressure: Evaluating Ecosystem Services and Livelihoods in the Upper Himalayan Region of Nepal

Jagat K. Bhusal, Prem Sagar Chapagain, Santosh Regmi, Praju Gurung, Zed Zulkafli, Timothy Karpouzoglou, Bhopal Pandeya, Wouter Buytaert, Julian Clark

Abstract


Natural resource-based livelihoods in mountainous regions are subject to new types of development as well as climate related pressures and vulnerabilities. On one hand, the integrity of the mountainous landscape is under pressure from the melting of glaciers, changes in water availability, rainfall patterns, and soil degradation. On the other hand, as mountainous environments become increasingly more important in national growth strategies and development priorities, new avenues for livelihoods and  vulnerabilities become more pronounced. Climate change effects are expected to be disproportionately higher in mountainous regions. There is therefore a critical urgency to better comprehend these changes shaping mountainous environments and to better assess future direct and indirect impacts on ecosystem services and livelihoods. This article presents the results of an analysis of ecosystem services and livelihoods in the Upper Mustang region of Nepal. The region was selected for its particular trans-Himalayan location, development diversity, and climatic changes that have placed increasing pressure on local ecosystem services. We examine the central role of ecosystem services for remote mountain regions, particularly for the poor, the existing pressures on the key ecosystem services and local ways of adapting to climate-induced effect to ecosystem services and, cogeneration of the knowledge gaps and co-production of knowledge with communities to support local adaptation strategies. We adopted a combination of qualitative and quantitative analytical approaches. We found significant implications for local livelihoods and adaptation strategies with reference to water for farming, pasture productivity and livestock rearing, as well as tourism development. Additionally, we highlight knowledge gaps in assessing ecosystem services and opportunities for local monitoring that may close in on the gaps with an end goal of overcoming poverty.

Keywords


Water Scarcity; Poverty; Adaptation; Trans-Himalaya; Upper Mustang

References


ACAP. 2012. Climate Change Impact on Livelihood and Natural Resources of Upper Mustang. National Trust for Natures Conservation (NTNC), Lalitpur, Kathmandu. 31 pages.

Acharya, R. 2006. Status of Himalayan Griffon (Gyps himalayensis Hume, 1869) and Ethno-Vulture Relationship in Upper Mustang. School of Environmental Management and Sust-ainable Development (SchEMS), Kathmandu. 34 pages.

Berkes, F. 2009. Evolution of co-management: role of knowledge generation, bridging organisations and social learning. Journal of Environmental Management 90(5): 1692-1702.

Bhusal, J. K. and Subedi, B.P. 2014. Climate change induced water conflict in the Himalayas: A case study from Mustang, Nepal. Ecopersia 2(2): 585-595.

Bradley, R.S.; Keimig, F.T.; Diaz, H.F. and Hardy, D.R. 2009. Recent changes in freezing level heights in the tropics with implications for the deglacierization of high mountain regions. Geophysical Research Letters 36: L17701. doi:10.1029/2009GL037712.

Buytaert, W.; Zulkafi, Z.; Grainger, S.; Acosta, L.; Alemie, TC.; Bastiaensen, J.; Bevere, B.D.; Bhusal, J.; Clark, J.; Foggin, M.; Hannah, D.M.; Hergarten, C.; Isaeva, A.; Karpouzoglou, T.; Pandeya, B.; Paudel, D.; Sharma, K.; Steenhuis, T.; Tilahun, S.; Hecken, GV. and Zhumanova, M. 2014. Citizen science in hydrology and water resources:. Opportunities for knowledge generation, ecosystem service management, and sustainable development. Earth Sciencegarten C. : DOI 10.3389/feart 2014.00026.

Carpenter, S.R.; Bennett, E.M. and Peterson, G.D. 2006. Scenarios for ecosystem services: an overview. Ecology and Society 11(1), 29. http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol11/iss1/art29

Chapagain, P. S. and Bhusal, J. K. 2013. Changing water regime and adaptation strategies in Upper Mustang Valley of Upper Kaligandaki Basin in Nepal. Sciences in Cold and Arid Regions 5 (1): 0133–0139.

Chapagain, P.S. 2012. Effects of climate change on agro-pastoral system in the Upper Mustang Valley, Nepal. The Geographic Base 4: 21-27.

DDC. 2013. Mustang District Profile. District Development Committee, Mustang. 71 pages.

DDC. 2011. District Climate and Energy Plan- Mustang district. District Development Committee, Mustang. 19 pages. Cited in: Report on detailed situation analysis of the research site Phalyak and Dhakarjung Village of Kagbeni VDC, Mustang. Mountain-EVO/SOHAM-Nepal, 2015.

DDC. 2013. Mustang Tourism Master Plan. Mustang: District Development Committee, Mustang. 129 pages.

DHM. 2008. Stream flow summary (1962-2006). Kathmandu: Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM). His Majesty’s Government, Nepal. 396 pages.

Fazey, I.; Fazey, J.A; Salisbury, G; Lindenmayer, D.B. and Dovers, S. 2006. The nature and role of experiential knowledge for environmental conservation. Environmental Conservation 3:1–10. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S037689290600275X.

Fisher, J.A.; Patenaude, G.; Gir, K.; Lewis, K.; Meir, P.; Pinho, P.; Rounsevell, MDA. and Williams, M. 2014. Understanding the relationships between ecosystem services and poverty alleviation: A conceptual framework. Ecosystem Services 7: 34–45.

Gautam, M.R.; Timilsina, G.R. and Acharya, K. 2013. Climate Change in the Himalayas: Current State of Knowledge. Policy Research Working Paper 6516. Environment and Energy Team, World Bank, Washingtpn, DC. 64 pages.

Gonzalez, A.; Mouquet, N. and Loreau, M. 2009. Biodiversity as spatial insurance: The effects of habitat fragmentation and dispersal on ecosystem functioning. Pages 134-146, In: Naeem, S.; Bunker, D.E.; Hector, A.; Loreau, M. and Perrings, C. (Editors) Biodiversity, Ecosystem Functioning, and Human Wellbeing: An Ecological and Economic Perspective. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Gruber, S. and Haeberli, W. 2007. Permafrost in steep bedrock slopes and its temperature-related destabilization following climate change. Journal of Geophysical Research 112: 1–10.

ICIMOD. 2009. The Changing Himalayas- Impact of Climate Change on Water Resources and Livelihoods in the Greater Himalayas. International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Kathmandu. 17 pages.

ICIMOD. 2010. Mountains of the World: Seizing Opportunities-meeting Challenges. International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Kathmandu. 18 pages.

Immerzeel, W.W.; Van Beek, L.P.H. and Bierkens, M.F.P. 2010. Climate change will affect the Asian water towers. Science 328: 1382–1385.

IPCC. 2007. Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report , Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Core Writing Team, Pachauri, R.K. and Reisinger, A. (Editors) IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland. 104 pages.

Jodha, N.S.; Banskota, M. and Partap, T. (Editors) .1992. Sustainable Mountain Agriculture, Volume I. Perspectives and Issues. Practical Action Publishing, Warwickshire, U.K. 796 pages

MEA (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment). 2005. Ecosystems and Human Wellbeing: Current State and Trends. Volume 1. Iceland Press, London. 901 pages.

MoCTCA. 2015. Nepal Tourism Statistics 2014. Ministry of Culture Tourism and Civil Aviation, Government of Nepal, Kathmandu. 126 pages.

Mountain-EVO, 2015. A Report on Detail Situation Analysis of the Research Site 'Phalyak and Dhakarjung Village of Kagbeni VDC, Mustang. SOHAM-Nepal, 19 pages.

National Research Council. 2012. Himalayan Glaciers: Climate Change, Water Resources, and Water Security. The National Academies Press, Washington, DC. 156 pages.

NTNC. 2013. Sustainable Development Plan Mustang (2008-2013). National Trust for Nature Conservation, Lalitpur, Nepal. 206 pages.

Ostrom, E.;Burger, J.; Field, C.B.; Norgaard, R.B. and Policansky, D.1999. Revisiting the Commons: Local lessons, global challenges. Science 284: 278–282.

Renske, D. 2011. Vulnerability of livelihood in Kagbeni, Mustang District, Nepal. Utrecht University, Utrecht. 140 pages.

Robertson, H.A and McGee, TK. 2003. Applying local knowledge: the contribution of oral history to wetland rehabilitation at Kanyapella Basin. Australia. Journal of Environmental Management 69: 275–287.

Robeyns, I. 2005. The Capability Approach: a theoretical survey. Journal of Human Development 6: 93–117.

Thuiller, W.; Albert, C.; Araújo M.B.; Berry, P.M.; Cabeza, M.; Guisan, A.; Hickler,T.; Midgley, G.F.; Paterson, J.; Schurr, F.M.; Sykes, M.T. and Zimmermann, N.E. 2008. Predicting global change impacts on plant species’ distributions: Future challenges. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 9: 137–152. doi:10.1016/j.ppees.2007.09.004


Full Text: PDF

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

COPYRIGHT of this Journal vests fully with the National Instional Institute of Ecology. Any commercial use of the content on this site in any form is legally prohibited.