Changing Climatic
Conditions and Shrinking Agricultural Land: A Community Based Study in Betalghat
Development Block, Kumaun Lesser Himalaya
Nand Kevla, Tiwari P.C., Pant Dheeraj and Kumar Rahul
Disaster Advances; Vol. 15(6); 1-10;
doi: https://doi.org/10.25303/1506da01010; (2022)
Abstract
Himalayan communities live in a marginal environment. Being dependent on ecosystem
services for sustenance, they are regularly exposed to the impacts of climate change.
This study summarizes the outcomes of the survey across 300 households purposely
and randomly selected from 30 villages; 10 key informant interviews (KII) and six
focused group discussions (FGD) in the Kumaun lesser Himalaya.
The study shows that the region has been witnessing changes in temperature and precipitation
regimes within the last 30 years and findings show a sharp decline in water availability
due to erratic and less predictable precipitation patterns, rising temperature and
less snowfall incidents that severely affected farmers harvests (mainly horticultural
crops) and shrunk their agrarian land. Consequently, food production and household
income decrease mainly by the changing climatic condition.
