Climate change impacts at local level

Rice farmers in Lumbini province saw their crop ruined by heavy downpour just as they were preparing for harvest last year. Over 130,000 hectares of rice fields were inundated, leaving hundreds of farmers high and dry. This year, too, rainfall has not stopped, even though it is well past the monsoon season. Changing weather patterns are affecting farmers as well as food production.

Some food experts have already warned of low rice yield this year owing to climate change.

Dr Sumitra Dhakal, climate change expert, says erratic weather is becoming common but no plans are in place to combat their impacts. “This is particularly true at the local level. Local governments and the general public are more or less ignorant about climate change and its effects,” she says. While provincial and local governments in Lumbini claim to have launched various climate campaigns, they seem to be largely formalities without any tangible outcomes. For instance, a budget of Rs 25 million has been allocated for a campaign that envisions one pond in every ward of every district in the province. But the majority of local governments have not implemented the campaign’s goal. Rather, they are stripping down forests and burying natural ponds and streams to open roadways. Finance and Cooperatives Minister Krishna Dhwoj Khadka does not agree this is the case. He says campaigns like ‘One Ward, One Pond’ and ‘One House, Two Trees’ will promote greenery in Lumbini province. “These campaigns will create more green spaces and help in water management,” says Khadka. “But it is important for local governments to cooperate to execute the plans brought by the provincial government.” The cooperation that Minister Khadka seeks is not there. Climate and environment experts say pond construction and tree plantation alone will not solve the climate crisis. They emphasize the need for reorienting and rethinking development goals. For the running fiscal year alone, Lumbini province has allocated a budget for nearly 2,000 road projects. Experts say when these projects get under way, their impacts on the environment are rarely taken into account. Forests are indiscriminately razed down and water bodies are either buried or their areas heavily encroached. Records show in the last five years, 12 local units in Gulmi district alone felled over 28,000 trees to open roadways. Environment activist Yubaraj Kandel says the situation in other hill districts in Lumbini province, such as Pyuthan, Arghakhanchi, Ropla and Palpa are no different. “Haphazard road construction has invited the problem of landslides in the hill districts and flooding in the plains,” says Kandel. “Water scarcity is becoming a major problem in many villages. People are deserting their homes, but the concerned government bodies are not taking any step to address the issue.” Narayan Dev Bhattarai, chief of Forest Management and Monitoring Department under Forest and Environment Ministry of Lumbini Province, says the problem of environment degradation is caused by a lack of coordination among the ministries involved in development projects. Climate experts have warned of unimaginable catastrophes if the government ministries and agencies continue to remain idle “To date, authorities concerned have no clear climate policy. They have no idea on how to mitigate or adapt to the changing climate,” says Dhakal. “They do not realize that time is running out.”