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Climate change in outskirts of Kathmandu Valley: local perception and narratives

Author

Listed:
  • Bimala Gharti Magar

    (Tribhuvan University)

  • Jiban Mani Poudel

    (Tribhuvan University)

  • Basanta Paudel

    (CAS)

  • Binod Pokharel

    (Tribhuvan University)

Abstract

Climate change has appeared as a major issue in recent years, and its impacts are seen multi-dimensionally. The local people are the key eyewitnesses of climate change, although the discourse is disciplinary, geographic, and gender biased. In this context, this paper documents the perceptions and narratives of the Tamang, an Indigenous people, who live on the outskirts of the Kathmandu Valley. This is an ethnographic study and applied quantitative and qualitative data. The data of the study were gathered using triangulation methods, i.e., household questionnaire survey (HQS), key informant interview (KII), and focus group discussion (FGD). A total of 94 HQS, nine KII, and three FGD were carried out in 2018 in three sample sites in the outskirts of the valley. The station-based observed climatic data from 1969 to 2022 were collected from the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. The observed data shows increasing annual rainfall and temperature in Kathmandu; however, the rate of temperature increase is much larger. Seasonal precipitation shows decreasing rainfall in post-monsoon, which enhances the winter drought. The Tamang are the key eyewitness of the changes in climate and this knowledge is inbuilt with their memories which are closely bound to the place. Hence, the life history of elderly people can be an appropriate way of understanding the micro-climatic changes in the local context, which largely failed or ignored to document in scientific or macro-level assessments.

Suggested Citation

  • Bimala Gharti Magar & Jiban Mani Poudel & Basanta Paudel & Binod Pokharel, 2024. "Climate change in outskirts of Kathmandu Valley: local perception and narratives," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 120(9), pages 8103-8120, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:nathaz:v:120:y:2024:i:9:d:10.1007_s11069-024-06473-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s11069-024-06473-9
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Basanta Paudel & Zhaofeng Wang & Yili Zhang & Mohan Kumar Rai & Pranesh Kumar Paul, 2021. "Climate Change and Its Impacts on Farmer’s Livelihood in Different Physiographic Regions of the Trans-Boundary Koshi River Basin, Central Himalayas," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(13), pages 1-18, July.
    2. Ritodhi Chakraborty & Pasang Yangjee Sherpa, 2021. "From climate adaptation to climate justice: Critical reflections on the IPCC and Himalayan climate knowledges," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 167(3), pages 1-14, August.
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