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  • Sep 2nd, 2017
  • Comments Off on Report on ‘Himalayan Climate Change Adaptation Programme’ released
Increasing temperature in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region, which falls in China, India, Nepal and Pakistan, is redefining the role of women; climate change is forcing men to migrate for work and women are left behind to handle agriculture and natural resource management.

These are the findings made in a report 'Himalayan Climate Change Adaptation Programme' (HICAP), which is a part of the Adaptation Solutions Brief series of International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). It focuses on four selected river sub-basins: Upper Salween Mekong (China), Eastern Brahmaputra (India), Koshi (Nepal), and Upper Indus (Pakistan).

The report says temperatures in the Hindu Kush Himalaya have increased significantly faster than the global average, and are projected to increase by 1-2 Celsius degrees on average by 2050. Hence, monsoon is expected to become longer and more erratic, and extreme rainfall events will likely increase in intensity. Glaciers are projected to lose substantial mass by 2050. Over the same period, total river flow is not projected to decrease on average in volume, but spatial variability in volumes of water may become substantial.

"These climate variables do not only impact mountain communities, but also those downstream, as they are at greater risk of floods and other hazards. Furthermore, local water sources can become less reliable, and water scarcity will be felt in some localities, potentially influencing local water management practices.

The incidence of natural hazards such as floods, landslides, and dry spells is projected to increase, which will pose a threat to agricultural production, food security, and the safety of human lives and household assets," the report added.

The HICAP observed that out-migration of men for work is widespread in the region and has shifted the responsibilities of agriculture and natural resource management to women. "As more and more rural women in the HKH are bearing responsibility for managing local agriculture and natural resources, they must deal with the impacts and risks associated with climate change in addition to the constraints of physical isolation, difficult terrain, limited arable land, unfavourable bio-physical conditions, and limited market access," it added.

However, the report said, women's capacity to adapt to climate change, their livelihood options, and decision-making power are hampered and constrained by entrenched structural and social inequalities perpetuated in traditional gender roles.

"Within the context of climate change and male outmigration, the challenges that women in the region face are increasing. Changes in the availability of water and ecosystem services means that women have to spend more time collecting water, fodder, and fuel-wood. Prolonged droughts harden the soil, add pressure to agricultural irrigation, and oblige households to source irrigation water at night, which in some areas is socially discouraged for women and unsafe due to assault risks or animal attacks," it observed.

Women have also shouldered the large burden of labor-intensive farming tasks previously assigned to men, such as threshing, land preparation, seedbed preparation, and woodcutting, alongside their usual agricultural duties. An increase in the occurrence of new and unknown varieties of weeds and pests further increases workload and threatens productivity. The increased workload reduces the time available for women to attend community meetings, engage in income-generating activities, access extension services, and collect fruit, wild vegetables, and medicinal plants.

In spite of male outmigration and women's new roles and increased responsibilities, women still have to deal with unchanged institutions, policies, and markets. For example, land ownership, which most women lack, is often a prerequisite for accessing banking and agricultural extension services. As a result, women are often excluded from such services.

In households where the male household head has migrated, he remains the formal head of the household and often continues to oversee and 'phone control' significant aspects of the household's economy, such as investments, assets, and banking. Moreover, decision making at the community level is still largely dictated by men. These factors and others limit women in their managing role, and denies them the opportunity to utilize their full potential to enhance household and community resilience and adaptation to climate change.

Rural women in the HKH possess critical and valuable mountain-specific knowledge, experience, and technical know-how for sustainable management of agriculture, livestock, and natural resources, which needs to be recognized and harnessed for adaptation to climate change.

Active participation of women in planning and decision making has been shown to improve the outcome and sustainability of interventions. It is then essential to enhance women's contributions to adaptation planning and implementation by formally securing and increasing equal participation in decision-making bodies and by increasing the recruitment of women staff in extension services.

Securing women's influence and contributions to adaptation also entails creating enabling policies and institutions that reflect women's new roles and responsibilities. Agricultural extension services, financial services, and adaptation interventions and technologies have to be targeted towards women as users and made accessible irrespective of ownership of land and assets. Additionally, such services need to be sensitive to the changing dynamics of households due to migration by accounting for the specific needs of women, their time constraints, and limited mobility.

However, improved gender sensitivity cannot focus only on women's lives; men must also be encouraged. It is pivotal that men recognize and acknowledge women's responsibilities and potential, and support their role in adaptation. Without this change in perspective, household and community adaptation to climate variability will not be successful.

It is therefore, in the interest of both men and women to secure women's equitable participation and access. Sustainable development will not advance nor will adaptation be as effective as it needs to be if gendered power imbalances and unequal decision making is not sufficiently addressed.

Therefore, the capacities of national and local level organizations need to be built to integrate gender in adaptation planning and implementation. However, the creation of enabling policies, institutions, and extension services needs to be accompanied by investments in women's leadership skills. This is crucial in order to strengthen women's voices, confidence, and capacities to fulfill their role as agents of adaptation and participate in decision-making processes.

Concurrently, investments should be made in promoting women-friendly technologies and equipment, which will not only ensure efficiency, but also free up time for women, the report suggest.



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