‘Adaptation in Hindu Kush Himalayas gets little state support, measures reactive not anticipatory’

Governments have played a limited role in helping mountain communities of the Hindu Kush Himalayas adapt to climate change, according to a new report from International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).

Climate change is primarily driving unprecedented and irreversible changes in glaciers, snow and permafrost (permanently frozen ground) of the Hindu Kush Himalayas, which are an important source of water for 12 river basins across 16 countries. Some 240 million people living in the region and 1.65 billion downstream are dependent on these waters.

Down To Earth spoke with Amina Maharjan, senior specialist, Livelihoods and Migration, ICIMOD and co-author of the report, to understand how the region is adapting to climate change, the need for financing and why it is important to have a regional mechanism that enables data sharing and presenting of a unified voice.

Rohini Krishnamurthy: Can you give us an overall picture of adaptation in the Hindu Kush Himalayas?

 

Amina Maharjan: We looked into different categories of adaptation — technological, behaviour and institutional. What we have found in most places is that it is either behavioural or technical. 

Behavioural is where most autonomous people or communities adapt by making behavioural changes. For instance, with the changing monsoon, people have shifted their cropping and harvesting practices and herders have shifted their mobility time. 

But technological or technical adaptation refers to early warning systems for floods and glacial lake outburst floods.

Adaptation in the Hindu Kush Himalayas is autonomous. People are not waiting for somebody to come and solve their problems. But there is little state support. The region is not getting the kind of investment it requires.

Also, adaptation measures have been reactive and not anticipatory. This is not going to help considering the rate of changes in the region. We should know what is going to happen in the future if actions are not taken. Future does not mean 50 or a hundred years down the line. We would like to see climate resilience or climate response integrated into development planning.

So when we are making investments, we need to visualise what it means five or 10 years down the line with the changing climatic context. Are we investing to reduce that risk? That becomes very, very important.

RK: Are there limitations to adaptation in this region?

AM: There are a lot of soft limits, which means it is possible to adapt, but it’s not being done probably due to constraints in finances or a lack of technical know-how. 

Even when adaptation measures are there, losses and damage occurs. Early warning systems are incredibly important to save lives. But if we get a warning that a flood is going to happen in two or five hours, we cannot do much. This is an example of a hard limit. We cannot save the crops or take livestock to safety. So losses and damages would still continue.

Once a glacier retreats, it’s gone. You can't bring the glaciers back. It is incredibly important to understand that glacier retreat would happen even if we become net zero tomorrow because of past emissions. So for some time, it will continue. So, people who are dependent on glacier melt water for irrigation or drinking water, will have to deal with these consequences for some time.

And in some cases, what we have seen is when adaptation measures are delayed, then that hard limit is reached. We will simply run out of water. People abandon their farmlands, in some cases even villages, and relocate elsewhere. 

RK: How are adaptation needs among mountain communities different from others?

AM: Adaptation in the mountains is not easy. At ICIMOD, we call it mountain specificity because access is so difficult.  The topography itself is so difficult. And historically, development investment itself has been very low in mountains as compared to the plains, be it coastal areas or other dry areas.

For example, the whole state of Uttarakhand was created with the ambition of the mountain people. But if you look into the whole investment, it's limited and mostly it's in the lowlands. 

As adaptation would be expensive in the mountains, the investment has also been low. 

But Sustainable Development Goals require that no one be left behind.

It is also important to remember that whatever happens in the Himalayas will have a bearing on downstream communities because of the water flow. So that’s why we must invest in the Himalayas.

RK: What are the concerns around climate finance in mountain regions?

AM: International commitments or pledges have not been met. The $100 billion promise in climate finance from developed to developing countries have not materialised. 

Another concern is how much of the available funds are going to the mountain communities. These concerns need a bit more attention. If you don’t adapt, losses and damages will increase. I think this is very straightforward.

Having said that, some losses and damages are already happening. And how do you address them? 

And this is where I think justice becomes very important. If you look at the Hindu Kush region, our emission is negligible, next to nothing, because we don't have industries as such in this region. So why should vulnerable people pay for global economic growth? That’s unfair. So international support is very important. 

Now international support comes to particular countries and I think national governments must ensure that those funds are distributed to different agroecological or ecological areas, including in the mountains.

RK: Do mountain communities get enough attention at global summits?

AM: No, because of its inaccessibility and the fact that the impacts are not as visible as in other ecological areas. There is also a lack of awareness of how much benefit the lowlands or the economic hotspots get from the mountains. And that’s one of the reasons why we wanted to bring this report and also raise our voice.

Small Island Developing States, for instance, are well organised. But this is not the case with mountainous countries.

At ICIMOD, we are also trying to have a regional mechanism where all the eight Hindu Kush Himalayan countries come together to speak for the mountainous areas.

India and China are superpowers, but we also want them to speak about the mountains and not ignore them.

The regional mechanism can also develop a database on adaptation practices. Adaptation in one place might end up being maladaptation in another. And because rivers float from one country to another, it is very important to have a mechanism where data is shared.

Right now, to be honest, data sharing is difficult. Countries have their reasons for choosing not to share data.

The Arctic has its geopolitics going on. Yet, they are still working together. This should be possible in Hindu Kush Himalayas as well.

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