![\"mugu4\"](\"https:\/\/tibetnature.net\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/mugu4.jpg\")
<\/a>The hailstorm destroyed Ratna Bahadur Malla\u2019s paddy fields and left him struggling to feed his family of five. \u201cThere is no way to earn money here in the village and no food to eat so I have told my wife that I am leaving for India to earn some money,\u201d said Malla. Mugu district has one of the lowest levels of human development in Nepal, according to the UNDP and faces severe food shortages every year.<\/p>\nCoincidently, the hailstorm came at the same time as a high-level conference on climate change was held in the remote district. Angry locals who wanted compensation for their losses organised a protest demanding justice outside the event, convened by Nepal\u2019s Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, and attended by planners, experts, local parliamentarians and advocacy groups.<\/p>\n
With tears in her eyes, Shantu Shahi from Sirikot village said, \u201cThe government should either kill us or compensate our loss; one year\u2019s hard work has gone and we have no way to feed our children.\u201d Shahi is one of thousands of villagers who have been left in a dire situation after the hailstones destroyed their crops.<\/p>\n
Most of the villagers said they had never witnessed such an intense hailstorm (though a few people recalled a severe hailstorm in the 1970s) and are worried about possible food shortages in the future. The local authorities said they were aware of these concerns: \u201cOur agriculture officers are in the field assessing the damage. Once we get exact figures, we will report to the central authorities and make the necessary arrangements for food and compensation,\u201d said Shambhu Prasad Regmi, Mugu\u2019s chief district officer.<\/p>\n
In its fifth assessment report, the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) \u2013 the UN scientific body monitoring global warming \u2013 stated extreme weather events may increase due to climate change. But experts say it is still difficult to directly attribute one event to climate change. \u201cWe know extreme weather events will increase due to climate change and this event shows how much panic there would be if such incidents occur frequently, so we need effective ways of adapting and implementing these programmes accordingly,\u201d said Madan Koirala, professor of Environmental Science at the Tribhuvan University.<\/p>\n
The Nepal government has already prepared its national and local adaptation plans of action (LAPAs), in which it identified Mugu as one of the most vulnerable districts. However, some people are frustrated by the lack of action on the ground. \u201cDocuments are prepared and dumped, discussions and debates are held in the capital but little resources reach the locals,\u201d said Suman Malla, a journalist based in Mugu.<\/p>\n
The government claims adaptation programmes are being implemented in the district. \u201cA government climate change adaptation project has been helping locals in Mugu but we don\u2019t deny that resources are limited and it can\u2019t cover all those affected,\u201d said Naresh Sharma, a senior agriculture economist at the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment. But these projects focus on preparing models to decide what appropriate adaption actions to take. Many victims said they were unaware of any such programmes or plans.<\/p>\n
The district headquarters of Gamgadhi was only connected by road last year, but the road is not open all year round because it\u2019s not been gravelled or black topped. It is the only way to connect the district to the nearest airport. \u201cIt took about 30 years to gravel this airport, you can imagine how marginalised this district is. People haven\u2019t received basic things for survival, let alone climate change adaptation,\u201d added journalist Malla.<\/p>\n
Planners believe that adaptation to climate change is only possible if the government encourages more investment in natural resources like water to lift locals out of poverty. \u201cWe can\u2019t adapt without money and donors\u2019 money won\u2019t be enough. We have to attract investors to develop hydro projects, agriculture and tourism so people have jobs,\u201d said professor Govinda Raj Pokharel, vice-chair of the National Planning Commission.<\/p>\n
Source:www.thethirdpole.net<\/p>\n
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In the last week of October, farmers in Nepal\u2019s remote northwestern Mugu district were celebrating Tihar \u2014the festival of light \u2013one of the biggest Hindu festivals of the year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-third-pole"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tibetnature.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tibetnature.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tibetnature.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tibetnature.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tibetnature.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1026"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/tibetnature.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1026\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1031,"href":"https:\/\/tibetnature.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1026\/revisions\/1031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tibetnature.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tibetnature.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tibetnature.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}