IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/lauspo/v104y2021ics0264837721001149.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sustaining ecosystem based adaptation: The lessons from policy and practices in Nepal

Author

Listed:
  • Bhattarai, Sushma
  • Regmi, Bimal Raj
  • Pant, Basant
  • Uprety, Dharam Raj
  • Maraseni, Tek

Abstract

The ecosystem based adaption (EbA) approach mobilizes ecosystem products and services to reduce people’s vulnerability and improve adaptation to climate change. The approach is being tested and promoted globally including Nepal. However, there are limited studies on why EbA faces challenges of mainstreaming and wider upscaling in developing countries' policies and practices. Based on an empirical case study from the first EbA pilot project site in Nepal "Panchase Mountain Ecological Region", expert consultation, and in-depth policy analysis, this study examines the effectiveness of interventions implemented through EbA and explores "Why" questions related to mainstreaming and upscaling of EbA in Nepal. The results showed that EbA helps to reduce climate vulnerability and enhance socio-ecosystem resilience. However, it often lacks innovativeness in addressing the risk and vulnerability associated with the changing climate. Though EbA is spelled out in most of Nepal’s climate change policies, it faces sustainability issues due to low priority, lack of a proper institutional mechanism, and inadequate budget provisions. The EbA related activities are implemented on a small scale, runs for a short period, and failed to demonstrate tangible impacts. The sustainability of the EbA practices in Nepal will be ensured, only if it is mainstreamed in the government's regular planning process, receives enough budget from the government, and has robust institutional mechanisms in place for implementing and monitoring EbA activities. The study's findings are expected to be useful for policymakers, practitioners, and development agencies to shape interventions to institutionalize the EbA approach in the developing countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Bhattarai, Sushma & Regmi, Bimal Raj & Pant, Basant & Uprety, Dharam Raj & Maraseni, Tek, 2021. "Sustaining ecosystem based adaptation: The lessons from policy and practices in Nepal," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:104:y:2021:i:c:s0264837721001149
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2021.105391
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837721001149
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.landusepol.2021.105391?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Matthias Bürgi & Panna Ali & Afroza Chowdhury & Andreas Heinimann & Cornelia Hett & Felix Kienast & Manoranjan Kumar Mondal & Bishnu Raj Upreti & Peter H. Verburg, 2017. "Integrated Landscape Approach: Closing the Gap between Theory and Application," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-13, August.
    2. Francesco Fuso Nerini & Benjamin Sovacool & Nick Hughes & Laura Cozzi & Ellie Cosgrave & Mark Howells & Massimo Tavoni & Julia Tomei & Hisham Zerriffi & Ben Milligan, 2019. "Connecting climate action with other Sustainable Development Goals," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 2(8), pages 674-680, August.
    3. Hemant R. Ojha & Sharad Ghimire & Adam Pain & Andrea Nightingale & Dil B. Khatri & Hari Dhungana, 2016. "Policy without politics: technocratic control of climate change adaptation policy making in Nepal," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(4), pages 415-433, May.
    4. Holly P. Jones & David G. Hole & Erika S. Zavaleta, 2012. "Harnessing nature to help people adapt to climate change," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 2(7), pages 504-509, July.
    5. Anita Milman & Kripa Jagannathan, 2017. "Conceptualization and implementation of ecosystems-based adaptation," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 142(1), pages 113-127, May.
    6. Camila I. Donatti & Celia A. Harvey & David Hole & Steven N. Panfil & Hanna Schurman, 2020. "Indicators to measure the climate change adaptation outcomes of ecosystem-based adaptation," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 158(3), pages 413-433, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hagedoorn, L.C. & Bubeck, P. & Hudson, P. & Brander, L.M. & Pham, M. & Lasage, R., 2021. "Preferences of vulnerable social groups for ecosystem-based adaptation to flood risk in Central Vietnam," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    2. Hameeda Sultan & Jinyan Zhan & Wajid Rashid & Xi Chu & Eve Bohnett, 2022. "Systematic Review of Multi-Dimensional Vulnerabilities in the Himalayas," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-20, September.
    3. Yonghua Zhang & Xue Wang & Shenwei Wan & Hongge Zhu, 2023. "Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis of the Factors Affecting Satisfaction with the Policy of Ecological Forest Rangers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-18, April.
    4. Hagedoorn, Liselotte C. & Koetse, Mark J. & van Beukering, Pieter J.H. & Brander, Luke M., 2021. "Reducing the finance gap for nature-based solutions with time contributions," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Camila I. Donatti & Celia A. Harvey & David Hole & Steven N. Panfil & Hanna Schurman, 2020. "Indicators to measure the climate change adaptation outcomes of ecosystem-based adaptation," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 158(3), pages 413-433, February.
    2. Graham McDowell & Leila Harris & Michele Koppes & Martin F. Price & Kai M.A. Chan & Dhawa G. Lama, 2020. "From needs to actions: prospects for planned adaptations in high mountain communities," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 163(2), pages 953-972, November.
    3. Lena I. Fuldauer & Scott Thacker & Robyn A. Haggis & Francesco Fuso-Nerini & Robert J. Nicholls & Jim W. Hall, 2022. "Targeting climate adaptation to safeguard and advance the Sustainable Development Goals," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-15, December.
    4. Christianson, Anne B. & Montgomery, Rebecca & Fleischman, Forrest & Nelson, Kristen C., 2022. "Exploring wildlife disservices and conservation in the context of ecosystem-based adaptation: A case study in the Mt. Elgon region, Uganda," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    5. Bo Zhong & Shuang Wu & Geng Sun & Ning Wu, 2022. "Farmers’ Strategies to Climate Change and Urbanization: Potential of Ecosystem-Based Adaptation in Rural Chengdu, Southwest China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(2), pages 1-21, January.
    6. Pina Puntillo, 2023. "Circular economy business models: Towards achieving sustainable development goals in the waste management sector—Empirical evidence and theoretical implications," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(2), pages 941-954, March.
    7. Henrik Skaug Sætra, 2021. "AI in Context and the Sustainable Development Goals: Factoring in the Unsustainability of the Sociotechnical System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-19, February.
    8. Duy X. Tran & Diane Pearson & Alan Palmer & David Gray, 2020. "Developing a Landscape Design Approach for the Sustainable Land Management of Hill Country Farms in New Zealand," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-29, June.
    9. Halim Lee & Jaewon Son & Dayoon Joo & Jinhyeok Ha & Seongreal Yun & Chul-Hee Lim & Woo-Kyun Lee, 2020. "Sustainable Water Security Based on the SDG Framework: A Case Study of the 2019 Metro Manila Water Crisis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-19, August.
    10. Ojha, Hemant & Regmi, Udeep & Shrestha, Krishna K. & Paudel, Naya Sharma & Amatya, Swoyambhu Man & Zwi, Anthony B. & Nuberg, Ian & Cedamon, Edwin & Banjade, Mani R., 2020. "Improving science-policy interface: Lessons from the policy lab methodology in Nepal's community forest governance," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    11. Talan, Amogh & Rao, Amar & Sharma, Gagan Deep & Apostu, Simona-Andreea & Abbas, Shujaat, 2023. "Transition towards clean energy consumption in G7: Can financial sector, ICT and democracy help?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    12. Nazmul Huq & Alexander Stubbings, 2015. "How is the Role of Ecosystem Services Considered in Local Level Flood Management Policies: Case Study in Cumbria, England," Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management (JEAPM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 17(04), pages 1-29, December.
    13. Florian Egli & Churchill Agutu & Bjarne Steffen & Tobias S. Schmidt, 2023. "The cost of electrifying all households in 40 Sub-Saharan African countries by 2030," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-10, December.
    14. Jim, C.Y., 2014. "Air-conditioning energy consumption due to green roofs with different building thermal insulation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 49-59.
    15. Alexander E. Cagle & Alona Armstrong & Giles Exley & Steven M. Grodsky & Jordan Macknick & John Sherwin & Rebecca R. Hernandez, 2020. "The Land Sparing, Water Surface Use Efficiency, and Water Surface Transformation of Floating Photovoltaic Solar Energy Installations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-22, October.
    16. Judith M. Ament & Robin Freeman & Chris Carbone & Anna Vassall & Charlotte Watts, 2020. "An Empirical Analysis of Synergies and Tradeoffs between Sustainable Development Goals," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-12, October.
    17. Rezende, Camila Linhares & Fraga, Joana Stingel & Sessa, Juliana Cabral & de Souza, Gustavo Vinagre Pinto & Assad, Eduardo Delgado & Scarano, Fabio Rubio, 2018. "Land use policy as a driver for climate change adaptation: A case in the domain of the Brazilian Atlantic forest," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 563-569.
    18. Yizhong Huan & Lingqing Wang & Mark Burgman & Haitao Li & Yurong Yu & Jianpeng Zhang & Tao Liang, 2022. "A multi‐perspective composite assessment framework for prioritizing targets of sustainable development goals," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(5), pages 833-847, October.
    19. Gaël Mariani & Fabien Moullec & Trisha B Atwood & Beverley Clarkson & Richard T Conant & Leanne Cullen-Unsworth & Bronson Griscom & Julian Gutt & Jennifer Howard & Dorte Krause- Jensen & Sara M Leavit, 2024. "Co-benefits and trade-offs between Natural Climate Solutions and Sustainable Development Goals," Post-Print hal-04756965, HAL.
    20. Mohammed Basheer & Victor Nechifor & Alvaro Calzadilla & Claudia Ringler & David Hulme & Julien J. Harou, 2022. "Balancing national economic policy outcomes for sustainable development," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-13, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:104:y:2021:i:c:s0264837721001149. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joice Jiang (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/land-use-policy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.