Abstract
Floods and drought are a part of the natural climate variability which have been exacerbated by climate change in recent years. Nepal, with its monsoonal climate, sensitive geographical placement and economic challenges, is one of the most vulnerable nations to the impacts of climate change. International and national governments, development agencies and civil societies have various policies, programs and funding mechanisms in place to help communities in the vulnerable regions adapt to the impacts of climate change. Often in the absence of strong state support, communities have long relied on their own knowledge system, social capital and local institutions to adapt with these changes. However, the significance of local agency in climate change adaptation and how these grassroot efforts intersect with top-down donor-led interventions is highly underexplored. This review paper examines how grassroots institutions and social capital shape climate adaptation in flood and drought prone regions of Nepal. Emerging evidence suggests that while adaptation governance in Nepal have many challenges, there is potential for improvement through stronger collaboration between national and local actors, better alignment of donor priorities with local needs, and institutional support for local agency. This requires recognizing community strengths and gaps, integrating local institutions into the planning, implementation, and monitoring of adaptation programs, and scaling up local approaches to address capacity and resource needs. By analysing the evolving dynamics between local and external adaptation actors, the paper proposes pathways for more equitable and transformative adaptation; ones that acknowledge local knowledge, address power asymmetries, and strengthen community ownership.
Presenters
Arati PoudelPhD Student, Department of Geography and Resource Management, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Technical, Political, and Social Responses
KEYWORDS
Community-led Adaptation, Flood, Drought, Social Capital, Grassroot Institutions, Nepal
