Adaptation can reduce many of the impacts of climate change, but it comes at a cost
Climate change is no longer an uncertainty, and for a country like Nepal that is already highly vulnerable to natural disasters, it only makes the livelihoods of its people all the more difficult. For the past few years, we have been seeing erratic weather conditions, not being able to understand why they are happening. There have been heavy rains when they are least expected and extreme heat and drought when precipitation should have been the norm. Nepal has witnessed an increase in flash floods, landslides, soil erosion, droughts, hailstorms and even wildfires in recent years, severely impacting the lives and livelihoods of the people, especially the subsistence farmers who make up the bulk of the Nepali population. Climate change is particularly affecting food security in many hill and mountain districts, with decreased agro production as a result of the severe weather conditions. A study carried out by the National Planning Commission on climate change impacts at the local levels in the hilly district of Myagdi has cautioned that if technological measures are not taken for adaptive food or livestock, it would enhance food insecurity and cause even starvation.
Climate change apart, food production has gone down in the hills because indigenous crop species are slowly disappearing as imported food items make inroads with the construction of roads and cultivable lands are kept fallow as the youths leave for foreign employment.
Agriculture apart, the other sectors most at risk from climate change impacts include hydroelectricity, water-induced disasters and biodiversity.
Most of the rivers in Nepal are glacier-fed, and water as a resource and hydropower will be greatly affected with the rapidly retreating glaciers, whose average retreat is said to be more than 30 metres per year. With so many hydropower projects, both big and large, under construction, the financial losses caused by decreased flow of water in the rivers would be severe, although it is uncertain for now how big this actually will be. In recent years, water-induced disasters are becoming more frequent as a result of climate change, and the country is likely to see a higher risk of climate-related extremes with each passing year. The Melamchi Drinking Water Project serves as an example, whose headworks was destroyed by the massive floods following the incessant rains in mid-June last year. The floods also caused heavy loss of life and property in Melamchi Bazaar downstream. Biodiversity also faces risks of invasive species due to climate change, which could destroy useful medicinal, food and nutritional plants.
Current climate changes and extreme events are already costing Nepal an estimated loss of about 2 per cent of its GDP. This figure is said to increase to 2.2 to 3 per cent of annual GDP by 2050, which means Nepal must be prepared to mitigate these effects where possible. If this is not feasible, then it must adapt to them to reduce their impacts on the lives and livelihoods of its people. Adaptation can reduce many of the impacts of climate change, but it comes at a cost, which could cost the national treasury billions of dollars. But do we have a choice?
Impractical rules
At an all-party meeting called by the Election Commission (EC) on Friday, the EC informed the political parties that candidates contesting the election for the post of mayor or deputy mayor of a metropolitan city would be allowed to spend up to Rs 7.5 lakhs as poll expenditure in the upcoming local level polls scheduled for May 13. Candidates contesting the mayoral or deputy-mayoral post of a sub-metropolis cannot spend more than Rs 5.5 lakhs while those contesting for chief or deputy-chief of municipalities and rural municipalities should limit themselves to Rs 450,000 and Rs 350,000, respectively.
However, leaders of some political parties opposed the EC's ceiling on the poll expenditure, saying it was impossible to contest the polls by staying within the cap set by the EC. Representative of Democratic Socialist Party-Nepal demanded that the EC put a Rs 50-million cap on the candidates in the metropolitan cities. The EC's ruling is impractical if one goes by the spending trend in the last elections. One cannot contest the election within the ceiling fixed by the EC. Although the EC has vowed to take legal action if anyone is found to have spent more than the fixed amount, there is no record of action having been taken against the rule breakers.
A version of this article appears in the print on March 14, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.