Nepal’s mountainous regions stand at the epicenter of the climate crisis. These highlands, part of the larger Hindu Kush Himalaya, are increasingly defined by erratic rainfall, glacial retreat, and prolonged droughts that pose severe threats to rural livelihoods. Against this backdrop, Anindita Sarkar presented her and her colleagues’ research at the Tropentag 2025 conference, focusing on the complexities of water insecurity, agrarian transitions, and gendered dimensions of climate vulnerability in Sudurpashchim Province, Nepal.

Agriculture in Nepal remains extremely climate-dependent, with about 80% of production relying on rainfall. However, rainfall patterns have become highly variable. The bulk of precipitation occurs within just three monsoon months -during the critical cropping period. Over the last forty years, monsoon rains have not only become more erratic but are also shrinking in duration, a trend confirmed statistically and mirrored in farmer perceptions.

This raised variability is particularly harmful during harvest. For example, November, harvest time, has seen highly unpredictable rainfall, often leading to crop losses. Compounding this, Nepal has experienced a steady warming trend, with milder winters and glacial mass loss reducing dependable access to water. Agroecological mismatches -where seasonal crop calendars no longer align with shifting weather-further strain smallholders.

Although Nepal is a freshwater-rich country, rural upland households paradoxically face water scarcity and contamination. In practice, this water insecurity translates directly into household food (in)security, declining dietary diversity, and reduced agricultural productivity. Even communities located next to rivers, such as those near the Seti, often cannot access the water because they lack irrigation pumps. In Sarkar’s research, no farmers reported to benefit from crop insurance, leaving them vulnerable to any climate shock.

Sarkar’s research combined multi-scalar secondary evidence with extensive field insights, including stakeholder dialogues and focus group discussions held in nine villages. This allowed for an understanding of how biophysical stressors combined with institutional shortcomings undermine livelihoods.

An essential dimension of this work is its gender focus, particularly the feminization of agriculture. Male out-migration and rising remittance economies have transformed the division of labor in rural Nepal. Women now often carry the burden of household and farm survival alone, taking on tasks from harvesting wheat to transplanting rice.

Still, cultural barriers persist, for example, it is culturally unaccepted for women to plow with animals, leaving them to do this labor-intensive work by hand when men are absent. Their exclusion from land ownership, agricultural extension services, and water governance institutions limits their ability to adapt on equal footing.

Although male out-migration can, in some cases, increase women’s decision-making authority, entrenched caste and gender hierarchies leave many isolated from knowledge networks and adaptation planning. What results is a cycle of feminized responsibility without equivalent recognition or support.

The study highlights that most adaptation responses in Nepal’s uplands remain fragmented and reactive. Households predominantly rely on short-term coping strategies -such as shifting planting time or relying on remittances- rather than long-term, climate-resilient planning. Institutional coherence is often missing. National plans for disaster preparedness and early warning systems exist and have advanced considerably in recent years, but these are not always tailored to the diversity of local conditions.

Crucially, the uneven recognition of microclimates undermines success. For example, while Nepal’s national early warning systems may forecast heavy rainfall, they rarely operate at the hyper-local level where farmers could rapidly harvest to save a crop. Similarly, formalized irrigation scheduling remains incomplete, forcing farmers to rely on improvised and unequal access to water.

By centering the rural agricultural landscape as both a site of vulnerability and potential transformation, this research calls for adaptation strategies that move beyond purely technical fixes. Climate-resilient water systems must be prioritized, but equally important is embedding equity into governance processes.

Participatory approaches -where women, marginalized groups, and local communities play meaningful roles in decision-making- are essential. Social learning, integration of local knowledge, and equitable access to resources emerge as central for sustaining food and water systems in these fragile mountain ecologies.

Ultimately, Sarkar argues that adaptation must be understood not only as a technical challenge but also as a socio-political process. For Nepal’s highlands, ensuring resilience means addressing who has power, who has access, and whose voices are heard in shaping the future.

_{Find the abstract of Anindita Sarkar and her colleagues’ research here: https://www.tropentag.de/2025/abstracts/links/Sarkar_xlpN4SrR.pdf}

_{Many thanks to Anindita Sarkar for her eloquent and highly insightful presentation at Tropentag 2025.}