Who should adapt to climate change? Unheard narrabves from men and women farmers in Nepal

Transcription

1 Dr Floriane Clement IWMI-Nepal ICIMOD, 7th November 2014 Photo :DTom Cakenberghe/IWMI Photo: avid vban razier/iwmi Photo Photo: : DDavid avid BBrazier/IWMI razier/iwmi Who should adapt to climate change? Unheard narrabves from men and women farmers in Nepal Photo credit: Pawan Kumar. Himalay films

2 Context Massive investment on climate change in the academia and development sector Climate change policies and programmes based on one s assumptions of what constitutes one s vulnerability Climate change perceived as a natural phenomenon Causes of vulnerability perceived to be primarily rooted in climatic risks

3 What is vulnerability? State of susceptibility to harm from exposure to stresses associated with environmental and social change and from the absence of capacity to adapt (Adger, 2006)

4 How to assess vulnerability? Risk-hazard and entitlement framework (Ribot, 2010)

5 Designing interventions to reduce vulnerability Who is vulnerable? How to support them? How do people perceive their own vulnerability? What are the trade- offs? (Adger et al. 2005) How to evaluate success?

6 Vulnerability and adaptation in Nepal How is climate change vulnerability and adaptation framed by national policymakers and farmers? Based on review of policy documents and farmers films produced through a participatory video project

7 Participatory video project 2 groups of 6 men and women farmers from 2 VDCs in Dhanusha District, South Nepal trained to use a video camera One-year project with 12 films produced on climatic and societal change in 2013 In total around 50 interviews of local people from different social groups

8 Methodology Combination of focus group discussions, training, interviews, public screening and debates Farmers free to choose topics that matter to them: climatic AND societal change

9 Engaging a dialogue with policymakers Partnership with NEFEJ to develop a TV programme that initiates a dialogue between farmers, experts and policy-makers: Samudayako Aawaj, weekly for 4 months Youtube: farmer voices nepal

10 Critical Discourse Analysis Rhetorical means: How are vulnerability and adaptation framed? What are the proposed solutions, role and agency of different actors?

11 NAPA Agriculture and Food Security Water Resources and Energy Climate change Forests and Biodiversity Public Health Urban SeWlements and Infrastructure Climate induced Disasters

12 Dowry system Farmers views Poor educabon system Lack of employment opportunibes IntervenBons not reaching the poor Poor discriminated in accessing facilibes Poor s voices not heard MigraBon Changes in weather pawerns Lack of access to agricultural inputs Poverty Lack of infrastructure Failure of agriculture Lack of access to irrigabon facilibes

13 The main issue for farmers: the failure of agriculture Farming is impossible Nothing seems possible Without migration, men would have eaten men What to say, we are in trouble here

14 Perception of vulnerability Women highlight mental stress (due to migration, loss of social capital and gender norms) as a key cause of vulnerability

15 Perspec;ve NAPA (GoN 2010) Risk hazard approach impact of CC on different sectors Causes of vulnerability Natural environment, household characterisbcs, local context Climate Change Policy (GoN 2011) Risk hazard approach impact of CC on vulnerable sectors and geographical areas Natural environment Type of interven;ons Framed to address climabc risks and variability only Technical and managerial opbons (e.g. construcbon of water storage, adopbon of drought- resistant crop variebes and organic farming pracbces) defined for each sector/domain in isolabon Technical and managerial Enhancing people s capacity to adapt: To enhance the climate adaptabon and resilience capacity of local communibes for opbmum ublizabon of natural resources and their efficient management and to improve the living standard of people Role of actors Government is to coordinate Government is to coordinate programmes and deliver public programmes; services ScienBsts to predict likely Local people Water are for a to food-secure bewer adapt world impacts of CC; through increased awareness and Local people are to bewer adapt adopbon of bewer pracbce

16 Role of actors Government: to listen to and support farmers by providing services, facilities for agriculture Scientists: to develop new crop varieties and communicate these to farmers Farmers: to raise their voices and approach relevant government agencies; to turn to non-agricultural activities

17 Root causes of vulnerability Climate change: Plants are drying because of a lack of irrigation ; Because of a lack of irrigation water, farming is a failure Poverty: the government doesn t provide these facilities. Only the rich people receive benefits and nobody listens to the poor. Teachers in public schools educate their own children uh.. in private schools. Public schools are only the choice of poor children.

18 Solutions: the role of technology Shift from human capital to technology Technology does not solve all problems Increased need and expectations for government support: Concrete dam, electricity, fuel, inputs

19 Lessons for Climate Change Interventions Reconnecting national policies and discourses with farmers perception of vulnerability Locate climate change within the overall social, political and economic context Addressing underlying structural causes of vulnerability: why are poor people more vulnerable?

20 THANK YOU