Climate Change and Adaptative Strategies of the Communities of Panchkhaal Municipality

Abstract

Climate change has now become an unquestionable fact that affects the complex relationships between physical landscapes, natural resources, and their modification by local communities to adapt the impact of climate change. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the climate change and adaptive strategies of the community of Panchkhaal Municipality Ward No.13. The data were collected from both primary and secondary sources using mixed[1]method research design. Primary data were collected from field observation, questionnaires, interviews, focus group discussions and key informant survey. Secondary data were collected from reviews of published and unpublished documents. The finding shows that traditional adaptive strategies have been changing due to decline in food crop production since the last two decades. As a result, 52.5 percent households seem to be adapting new opportunities for diversifications- altering cropping times, application of agricultural inputs, tunneling and organic farming to adjust to the consequences of climate change. However, the adaption rates are varying depending on time and space and also it is varying on the basis of adaptive capacity of local community. Thus, strong policy efforts should be prepared to mitigate adverse impact of climate change on traditional farming methods.