IRIN: Nepal is one of a number of South Asian countries directly affected by global warming, especially in mountainous regions which have seen rapid glacier melt: Local experts warn that climate change adaptation plans urgently need to be put in place. Some organisations have been involved in small-scale community activities designed to promote sustainable agriculture, alternative energy and biodiversity conservation, but these are insufficient, they say.“There has to be planned adaptation which will require some technological interventions and investment. We need a good understanding of the extent of the impacts,” Arun Bhakta Shrestha, a climate change specialist from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), told IRIN in Kathmandu.
The Asian Development Bank, which is helping the Nepalese government to assess and address climate change risks, says water shortages in the dry season and the melting of over 3,200 glaciers are the main challenges.
…Experts said there was an urgent need to quantify the likely impact of climate change and assess Nepal’s scope and capacity for adapting to climate change. ICIMOD’s Shrestha said carefully evaluated plans were essential “otherwise, it will be a haphazard way of spending money and you won’t get the kind of return you want”.
…“We are already quite late in identifying the impact of climate change. We need constant scientific records of temperature, and the changes experienced during all seasons, and in that way we can identify proper solutions,” said expert Dinanath Bhandari, of the Nepal-based international NGO Practical Action. Some organisations like the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) have already started their own hazard mapping exercise in mountainous areas to assess livelihood vulnerabilities related to agriculture, flood patterns and erosion….
Bagmati River, Pashupatinath, Nepal, shot by Meutia Chaerani - Indradi Soemardjan, Wikimedia Commons, under Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License
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