The Pennsylvania State University

The Graduate School

College of Agricultural Science

GENDER AND CLIMATE CHANGE IN NEPAL

A Dissertation in

Rural Sociology

by

Atsuko Nonoguchi

Copyright 2012 Atsuko Nonoguchi

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

May 2012

The dissertation of Atsuko Nonoguchi was reviewed and approved* by the following:

Carolyn Sachs

Professor of Rural Sociology and Women’s Studies

Dissertation Advisor

Chair of Committee

Leif Jensen

Professor of Rural Sociology and Demography

Clare Hinrichs

Associate Professor of Rural Sociology

Nancy Tuana

Professor of Philosophy

Ann Tickamyer

Professor of Rural Sociology Head of the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology

*Signatures are on file in the Graduate School.

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ABSTRACT

Climate change discourses, including Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, have focused on differential climatic risks and impacts among different social groups of people. From a gender perspective, women in developing countries are considered more vulnerable than men due to their limited access to resources in relative to men. However, overemphasis on women’s limited resources or lower capacities often leads to the stereotyped view of women as helpless victims and undermines their coping strategies. It is also problematic to view women as a universal group of the vulnerable, ignoring the intersection of gender with other socioeconomic factors of class, caste/ethnicity, and age.

Findings from the author’s field research in two flood-prone communities in Nepal in

2009 show some key implications of gender and climate change. In these sites, vulnerability and adaptive capacity were firmly shaped by the structural inequality of gender, caste/ethnicity, and age. People’s experiences and risk perceptions varied by different adaptive capacity, including location, economic status, educational levels, and access to information and technology.

Vulnerable people, including poor women and lower caste/minor indigenous groups, struggled with on-going economic crises other than climatic changes. Unlike biased views, some vulnerable people resisted against climatic and economic crises with their indigenous knowledge and networks.

In the context of climatic changes, gendered responsibilities, space, and access to resources changed with women’s decision-making power and limited control over resources exacerbated. While many men were free from climatic and economic risks due to their migration or engagement in labor work, women left at home took double responsibilities and were still exposed to both risks. Poor uneducated women particularly suffered from food shortage and

iii financial burdens. These findings indicate that without transforming unequal power relations, vulnerable men and women will fell into further deficit. The climate adaptation policies that fail to challenge unequal power relations in everyday life may exacerbate the existing structural inequality and generate long-term food insecurity problems. This dissertation calls for urgency that policy makers recognize and integrate the actual implications of gender and climate change.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Figures…….……………………………………………………...... vii List of Tables…….…………………………………………………………………………….. viii List of Maps…...………………………………………………………………………………… ix List of Abbreviation………..……………………………………………………………………. x Acknowledgements……...……………………………………………………………………… xii

Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………. 1 Chapter 2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK……………..……...... 7 Natural Disasters Risk Theory…………………………………………………………… 7 Feminist Political Ecology……………………………………………………………… 12 Chapter 3. LITERATURE REVIEW…………………….……………………………………... 20 Recent Climate Change Literature……………………………………………………… 20 Recent Literature on Gender and Climate Change/Natural Disasters………………….. 22 Chapter 4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY……………………………………….…………... 29 Specific Questions………………………………………………………………...……. 29 Feminist Methodology………………………………………………………………….. 32 Research Strategy……………………………………………………………………….. 34 Research Sites…………………………………………………………………………... 36 Research Methods………………………………………………………………………. 57 Limitations…………………………………………………………...…………………. 64 Validity and Reliability……………………………………………………...………….. 64 Chapter 5. FINDINGS FROM FIELD RESEARCH IN KABILASH AND KUMROJ...... …66 Risk Perceptions and Experiences of Climatic and Environmental Changes ……………66 Life-threatening Risks of Intensified Natural Disasters………………………… 68 Risk of Food and Livelihood Insecurity…………………………………………82

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Imagined and Actual Adaptive Capacity………………………….……………………. 91 Critical Gap between Imagined and Actual Adaptive Capacity …..……….…... 91 Changing Adaptive Capacity with External Interventions………………...…… 99 Different Responses to Climatic and Environmental Changes…………………..……. 102 Wealth and Needs for Cash because of Increasing Climate Variability………. 104 Needs for Cash because of Social and Economic Changes……………..…….. 108 Structural Constraints by Caste and Ethnicity…..…………………………….. 111 Structural Constraints by Rurality…………………………….……………..... 114 Different Adaptive Capacity between Men and Women and between Women..119 Impacts of Climate Change on Gender Relations……………………………………... 131 Changes in Gendered Responsibilities, Space, and Access to Resources…….. 132 Changes in Decision-making and Control over Resources………….………… 138 Chapter Summary…………………………………………………………………...… 142 Chapter6. CONCLUSION…………………………...…………………………..………….… 148

References…...…………………………………..………………………………………..…… 161

Appendix A. Questionnaire for Key-informant Interviews…………………………………… 170

Appendix B. Topics for Focus Groups Discussions…………………...... …………………… 172

Appendix C. Questionnaire for In-depth Interviews………………………………………...… 174

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 Conceptual Framework………………………………………….……………… 19

Figure 2 Population of Kabilash VDC by Caste/Ethnicity Category…….…………….… 50

Figure 3 Agricultural Resources Possessed by Population of Kabilash VDC……….…... 51

Figure 4 Rate for the Households in Kabilash VDC that Engaged in Non Agricultural Economic Activities………….…………………………………………….…… 51

Figure 5 Agricultural Resources Possessed by Population of Kumroj VDC…….….…… 53

Figure 6 Rate for the Households in Kumroj VDC that Engaged in Non Agricultural Economic Activities………….…………………………………………….…… 54

Figure 7 Participants in In-depth Interviews in Kabilash and Kumroj VDCs by Sex..…... 60

Figure 8 Participants in In-depth Interviews in Kabilash and Kumroj VDCs by Caste/Ethnicity...... 60

Figure 9 Participants in In-depth Interviews Kabilash and Kumroj VDCs by Sex and Age Range...... 61

Figure 10 Participants in In-depth Interviews in Kabilash and Kumroj by Sex and Educational Levels...……………………………………………………………. 61

Figure 11 Caste/Ethnicity Based Land-Holding-Size of Participants in Kabilash and Kumroj VDCs…………………………………………...…………………………….… 62

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 Profile of Kabilash VDC………………………………………………………... 50

Table 2 Profile of Kumroj VDC………………………………………………………… 53

Table 3 Profiles of Past Intensive Disasters in Kabilash and Kumroj VDCs…….….….. 56

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LIST OF MAPS

Map 1 Nepal…………………………………………………………………………… 36

Map 2 Chitwan District, Narayani Zone, Central Development Region…...………….. 47

Map 3 Chitwan District………………………………………………………………….47

Map 4 Kabilash and Kumroj VDCs in Chitwan District…………………………….… 48

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LSIT OF ABBREVIATION

ACAP Annapurna Conservation Project

ADRC Asian Disaster Reduction Center

CA Constituent Assembly

CEDAW Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination

CBS Central Bureau of Statistics

CDM Clean Development Mechanism

CPN-M Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists

DoHM Department of Hydrology and Meteorology

EC Europe Commission

FAO Food and Agriculture Organization

GDP gross domestic product

GLOF glacial lake outburst flood

GNI gross national income

ICIMOD International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development

ILO International Labor Organization

IPCC Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change

ISET Institute for Social and Environmental Transition

JICA Japan International Cooperation Agency

JTO junior technical officer

LAPA Local Adaptation Plans of Action

LDC least developed country

MoAC Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives

MoHA Ministry of Home Affairs

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MoE Ministry of Environment

NCSA National Capacity Self-Assessment

NGO non-governmental organization

PAR Pressure and Release

RRN Rural Reconstruction Nepal

SLC School Leaving Certificate

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund

UNFPA United Nations Population Fund

UNIFEM United Nations Development Fund for Women

UCPN-M Unified Community Party of Nepal-Maoists

UN OCHA United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

VDC village development committee

WFP World Food Programme

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My foremost appreciation goes to my committee members who provided me with technical support to improve the quality of my field research in Nepal and dissertation. I particularly appreciate Dr. Carolyn Sachs for her guidance throughout the process and all the editing of the dissertation. Thanks to her constant and strong encouragement as well, I could accomplish this dissertation.

Thank to College of Agricultural Science, the Pennsylvania State University and National

Committee for United Nations Development Fund for Women, Japan that enabled me to conduct preliminary and field research in Nepal with their research grants. Based on the research, I could write this dissertation.

Finally, I would like to thank all the people who joined and cooperated for my research in

Nepal. First, I thank all the Nepali families in Kabilash and Kumroj who accommodated me with great hospitality while I was staying in both research sites for my field research. I also thank the staff members of Rural Reconstruction Nepal and Ms. Fujisaki, former representative of

Shaplaneer, Nepal, who kindly provided me with necessary information and data and introduced me to people in the sites. I also appreciate for Mr. Santosh Nepal’s great help for my research preparation and analysis in terms of translation between Nepali and English. I also appreciate for

Mr. Sujan Raj Adhikari’s sharing his useful climatic information and data with me. Finally and most importantly, I sincerely appreciate that all the participants in my interviews in both

Kabilash and Kumroj spent their precious time and shared their considerable thoughts with me.

Without their cooperation, I could not have fruitful findings from the research or write this dissertation. Thank you for all they have done for me.

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Chapter 1. Introduction

Climate change initiatives, such as the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change

(IPCC), have started discussing the unequal distribution of the risk and impacts of increasing climate variability and future climate change. However, they have not fully explained the mechanism of the unequal distribution. From a gender perspective, some specialists, including

Denton (2000, 2002) and MacGregor (2010), argue that women in the developing world, in particular, have been and will be disproportionately affected by climatic changes because they are relatively poor. Others argue that women in the rural developing world are more vulnerable to climate variability, especially limited rainfall, because they are more exclusively dependent on rain-fed agriculture and natural resources for their livelihoods (Dankelman, 2002; Nelson et al.,

2002; Skutsch, 2002; Terry, 2009). However, it is questionable whether those women are vulnerable only because they are poor or because they are women.

The unequal distribution of vulnerability or susceptibleness to losses/damage from increasing climate variability and future climate change is often linked with the unequal distribution of people‟s adaptive capacity (Adger et al., 2007). Adaptive capacity, defined as the ability to respond to climate change, depends on accessibility to wealth, education, information, technology, skills, and other resources (IPCC, 2007). Because men and women farmers often engage in different agricultural practices and have different knowledge and access to and control over resources, gender differences in responses to climate change occur (Kumar-Range, 2001;

Terry, 2009). Women‟s lack of land rights constrains their access to credit (Agarwal, 1992) and their ability to invest in effective agricultural adaptation (Adger et al., 2007; Demetriades and

Esplen, 2008). In addition, social and cultural norms about gendered roles, mobility, and decision-making power at the household and community levels affect their adaptive capacity

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(Terry, 2009). However, it is problematic to ignore the complex interactions between gender and other forms of disadvantage based on class, age, and ethnicity and conceptualize women everywhere as a homogenous group of the vulnerable (Demetriades and Esplen, 2008). Thus, adaptive capacity is differentiated along the line of not only gender, but also class, caste, ethnicity, and age (Denton, 2002; Adger et al., 2007).

The limited explanation of differential vulnerability and adaptive capacity between men and women and between women is due to a lack of relevant empirical and case study-based data.

Without the data, the gender implications of vulnerability or adaptive capacity often lead to the stereotyped view of women as helpless victims. While the Fourth Assessment Report of the

IPCC (Chapter 17, pp. 730) takes gender into account, it focuses only on Third World women‟s lower adaptive capacity. The positive aspects of their adaptive capacity, including their indigenous knowledge, are ignored. According to Dankelman (2002), even poor women have coping strategies based on their everyday survival experiences. In order for those women to be more adaptive to increasing climate variability and future climate change, it is essential for actual gender implications of climate change to be identified and recognized (Ahmed and Fajber, 2009).

A lack of empirical data creates another problem that the main cause of Third World women‟s vulnerability tends to be simplified to the feminization of poverty. As mentioned previously, women are usually viewed as more vulnerable than men simply because they are poorer (Denton, 2000, 2002; Cannon, 2002; MacGregor, 2010; Mitchell et al., 2007; Nelson et al., 2002). Since women are not homogenous due to the vast social, economic, and cultural differences between them (Dankelman, 2002), they are not universally poor or vulnerable

(Demetriades and Esplen, 2008). In addition, while poverty is closely related to vulnerability, they are not synonymous (Masika, 2002; Terry, 2009). Power relations, including gender

2 relations, also contribute to the differential level of vulnerability and adaptive capacity between men and women (Dankelman, 2002; Terry, 2009) and among different social groups of people.

The conflation of vulnerability with poverty and a universal view of women as one category may undermine the intersection of gender with other socioeconomic factors, including class, caste, ethnicity, and age.

Based on empirical data, adaptation policy which is gender-sensitive should be developed quickly (Nelson and Stathers, 2009). Urgency is called for because climate change is not merely a projected future occurrence, but a phenomenon that is currently taking place in some regions of the world (Dankelman, 2002; MacGregor, 2010). Climate change initiatives should prevent already poor and marginalized people from falling into further deprivation (Denton, 2002).

Furthermore, the policies that fail to recognize the mechanism by which gender intersects with other socioeconomic factors to affect vulnerability and adaptive capacity might reinforce pre- inequalities by gender, class, caste, ethnicity, and age. As a result, they might exacerbate the problems of food insecurity and of decreased natural resources for the long term. To this point, there has been no adaptation policy in which gender implications are well integrated (Hemmati and Röhr, 2009). It is urgent for climate change initiatives not only to mitigate the direct causes of climate change, but also to help vulnerable people to adapt to climate variability.

To be successful, adaptation policies also need to be developed in the context of development since adaptation is a part of development in terms of challenge against unequal distribution of income, power, and resources (Tanner and Allouche, 2011). Climate change is experienced in everyday life (MacGregor, 2010; Tanner and Allouche, 2011), which is not equal but social, economic, and political. Increasing climate variability and future climate change are not the first or ultimate stresses/risks to which poor and marginalized people in the developing

3 world are exposed (Smit and Wandel, 2006; Tschakert, 2006). Through the unequal processes, marginalized farmers in the developing world have already been affected by the green revolution and trade liberalization of agricultural products (Agarwal, 1992; Mies and Shiva, 1993; Nelson et al., 2002; Roy and Venema, 2002; Shiva, 1988). Consequent poverty, food insecurity, environmental degradation, and male outmigration have put double and triple burdens on poor farmers, especially women who are main food producers and providers, care-givers, and environmental managers (Nelson et al., 2002). Thus, it is also important to identify how vulnerability to climate change as well as other socioeconomic stresses is shaped under unequal power relations in everyday life.

To understand the actual gender implications of climate change, I conducted field research from January to March 2009 in Kabilash and Kumroj village development committees

(VDCs), Chitwan district, Nepal, following preliminary research in July 2008 in Nepal. In these sites in Nepal, poor farmers were exposed to the risk of life-threatening natural disasters, such as debris flows, and of food and livelihood insecurity due to limited rainfall, partly resulted from man-made deforestation. The overall research question is: How does gender intersect with caste, ethnicity, and age to affect human vulnerability and adaptation to climate variability and change?

Vulnerability here is defined as being susceptible to the losses, damage, or injury caused by climate variability and climate change. Adaptation is defined as responding to or adjusting to climate change. Climate variability which recently increased in the research sites includes fluctuations in temperature, unpredictable rainfall patterns, and extreme climate events, such as debris flows and floods.

In the field research, I examined differences among different social groups of people and among women in risk perceptions, responses to recent climate variability, and needs for

4 adaptation. I also explored local climatic changes and changes in socioeconomic conditions and gender relations over a couple of decades. Through the research, I aimed to identify some key findings which can be generalized and used by policy makers to develop gender-sensitive adaptation policies in the context of development.

To achieve these goals, I employed case studies as a research strategy, comparing one research site, Kabilash with another site, Kumroj in terms of key factors to affect human vulnerability and adaptive capacity. Because I utilized feminist methodology for the research, the research was participatory so that the voices of marginalized farmers were heard. The research consisted of three methodological approaches: 1) review of secondary data; 2) key informant and focus groups interviews; and 3) in-depth interviews. The secondary data included the Nepali national census, climatic data, and socioeconomic surveys as well as some baseline survey reports written by organizations. In the research sites, I first conducted key informant interviews with local authorities and NGO representatives and focus groups interviews with local men and women farmers. Based on findings from these interviews, I conducted in-depth interviews with approximately 20 men and 20 women farmers in each site who were selected through snow-ball sampling. By using coding and identifying several key themes, I analyzed the data collected.

Through those steps, I aimed to thoroughly understand the actual gender implications of climate change in terms of human vulnerability and adaptive capacity.

The gender implications do not merely mean the linkages between gender and the risk and impacts of climate change. Rather, it is more important to understand how gender intersects with other socioeconomic factors, such as class, caste, ethnicity, and age, to affect the level of the risk and impacts of climate change. Since the research sites were in Nepal where the majority of people are Hindu and Buddhists, I take caste, ethnicity, and age into account as factors other

5 than gender. Based on these religions, Indo-Aryan people are hierarchically or occupationally categorized by caste while some of non-Indo-Aryan or indigenous groups of people are hierarchically categorized within each group. In Nepal, the ethnic categories of indigenous groups are integrated in the caste hierarchy by which most of indigenous groups are ranked lower than Brahmin and Chettri and some minor indigenous groups as low as Dalits or the untouchable. Since the caste hierarchy, intersecting with gender and age, shapes people‟s social status and is closely related to educational levels and economic status, it is a key factor to affect human vulnerability and adaptive capacity.

In the following chapter, drawing from natural disasters risk theory by Blaikie et al.

(1994) and feminist political ecology by Rocheleau et al. (1996), I develop the theoretical framework to address the gender implications of climate change. Chapter 3 reviews literature and empirical studies on gender and climate change or natural disasters. In Chapter 4, I first briefly mention specific research questions and describe the research sites. Then, I describe research methods in terms of how data were collected and analyzed as well as the study‟s limitations and validity. Chapter 5 presents findings. It first indicates some key factors, such as the characteristics of site-specific climate variability, location, gender, wealth, and access to technology, to determine the risk of life-threatening natural disasters and of food and livelihood insecurity. Then, it explains differential responses to limited rainfall and forest resources among different social groups of people and among women as well as what affected such differences.

Finally, I focus on how gender relations in terms of gender responsibilities and access to and control over resources were affected in the context of climate variability. The conclusion draws from the empirical results to contribute theoretical and practical implications of gender and climate change.

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Chapter 2: Theoretical Framework

This chapter develops a theoretical framework to examine how gender and other socioeconomic factors are related to climate variability and change in terms of human vulnerability and adaptive capacity. Drawing from natural disasters risk theory by Blaikie et al.

(1994) and feminist political ecology by Rocheleau et al. (1996), I will identify the key factors which differentiate the types and levels of risks and vulnerability between men and women and among women.

2.1. Natural Disasters Risk Theory

Despite the dominant conventional view of natural disasters which are apolitical, disasters occur not only because natural events cause them, but also because of the social, political, and economic factors which structure the lives of different groups of people in society

(Blaikie et al., 1994; Tanner and Allouche, 2011). These key factors are class, caste, ethnicity, gender, age, and (dis)ability (Adger et al. 2007). Pre-disaster socioeconomic conditions and gender relations influence how natural disasters affect people or how people respond to the disasters in varying ways (Kumar-Range, 2001). In this sense, disasters are not isolated events, but are embedded in everyday life (Blaikie et al, 1994).

In spite of scale and timing differences, climate change has key common characteristics as natural disasters. First, natural disasters, such as floods, droughts, hurricanes, and cyclones, are considered to be closely related to global warming and resulting climate variability while some uncertainty remains. More importantly, climate change is not natural, but human-made.

Global warming and climate change are largely caused by the carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emitted through human activities (Skutch, 2002). Furthermore, climate change

7 involves the social, economic, and political processes which unevenly distribute climate impacts and allocate resources for necessary measures across countries and within societies (Adger et al.,

2006). Although industrial countries and a few developing countries are responsible for the largest part of emissions, the developing world tends to pay a higher price for the adverse effects of global warming and climate change (Skutch, 2002). At the community level, increasing climate variability, including extreme climate events, disproportionally affect those who are already socioeconomically disadvantaged and marginalized. Thus, pre-existing socioeconomic conditions, including gender relations, largely affect the extent of risks to which each person is exposed. Drawing mainly on natural disasters risk theory developed by Blaikie et al. (1994) and feminist political ecology developed by Rocheleau et al. (1996), I will address the unequal risks and impacts of climate change below.

Vulnerability, defined as “being prone to or susceptible to damage or injury” (Blaikie et al., 1994:9), is characterized by a person‟s or group‟s capacity to anticipate, cope with, resist and recover from the impact of a natural hazard. Vulnerability involves social, economic, and political factors that determine the degree to which someone‟s life and livelihood are put at risk by a discrete and identifiable event in nature or in society (Blaikie et al., 1994). These factors include class, caste, ethnicity, gender, and age (Adger et al., 2007; Blaikie et al., 1994; Denton,

2002). How is the unequal distribution of vulnerability structured in relation to these factors, and how does it turn some natural hazard events into disasters for some people and not others? In their Pressure and Release (PAR) model, Blaikie et al. (1994) show how social, political, and economic factors and processes at both lower and higher levels shape the vulnerability of individuals or households and constrain their capacity.

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The PAR model consists of two opposing forces, to shape risk, which are a natural hazard event and the processes generating vulnerability. The model explains the connections that link the impact of a hazard on people with a series of social, economic, and political factors and processes that generate vulnerability. The PAR model implies that individuals or households are at risk only when they are vulnerable and a natural hazard unfolds. Blaikie et al. (1994: 5) emphasize the social, economic, and political origins of the disaster as root causes rather than geophysical or biological factors that cause natural hazards.

According to Blaikie et al. (1994), vulnerability is rooted in the unequal distribution and allocation of resources and power among different groups of people. People who are socio- economically marginal and live in environmentally marginal regions tend to be of minimal importance to those who hold economic and political power (Blaikie et al., 1994). Therefore, social, economic, and political processes at the regional and global levels, including trade liberalization, structural adjustment programs, the promotion of export-oriented cash-crop production, urbanization, epidemic disease, and environmental degradation, tend to reinforce the vulnerability of those who are already marginalized (Blaikie et al., 1994). Through these processes, people who are economically and politically marginalized tend to stop trusting their own methods for self-protection and lose confidence in their own local knowledge (Wisner et al.,

2004).

Blaikie et al. (1994) also develop the Access model to supplement the PAR model to show how changes in vulnerability over time can release individuals or households from being at risk. The Access model focuses on the ways vulnerability is generated or alleviated in the social, economic and political processes that distribute assets, income, and other resources within a society (Blaikie et al., 1994; Wisner et al., 2004). This concept largely derives from Sen‟s

9 entitlement theory which addresses the causes of famine. According to Sen (1981), famine is not created by droughts and insufficient food stock, but by the inability of social groups to command food access through market and customary means (Blaikie et al., 1994; Turner et al., 2003). The marginalized groups‟ entitlement to food tends to be denied or lessened through the operation of social, economic, and political processes (Blaikie et al., 1994).

The Access model is also reflected by Chambers and Conway (1992)‟s sustainable livelihood concept (Wisner et al., 2004). A livelihood comprises the capabilities, assets, and activities required for a means of living (Adger et al., 2006; Wisner et al., 2004). In this concept, vulnerability refers to “the susceptibility to circumstances of not being able to maintain a livelihood” (Adger, 2006: 5). The extent to which individuals or households can maintain or enhance their livelihoods is determined by their access to five forms of capital: human (skills, knowledge, health, etc.); financial (savings, credit, etc.); natural (land, water, forest resources, livestock, etc.); physical (infrastructure, technology, equipment, etc.); and social capital

(networks, institutions, organizations/groups, etc.) (Chambers and Conway, 1992; Wisner et al.,

2004).

The concepts of access, entitlement, and sustainable livelihood, are helpful to explain why certain social groups are differentially at risk (Turner et al., 2003). However, they are not without their shortcomings. First, these concepts tend to be reduced to the questions of poverty

(Turner et al., 2003) due to overemphasis on access to financial capital. Economic poverty debates often lead to analysis at the household level, and overlook power dynamics within a household. The Access model particularly focuses on access to accumulative resources at the household level, not at the individual level. This is based on the egalitarian assumption that accumulative resources are evenly distributed among intra-household members. Due to intra-

10 household gender politics, however, women and girls tend to suffer from the discriminatory allocation of power and resources, specifically food in times of crisis (Agarwal, 1989, 1990; Sen,

1990). The prevalent culture of son preference in South Asia often results in a sex bias against girls in breastfeeding, food, health care, nutrition (Agarwal, 1989; Messer, 1997; Miller, 1997) as well as education. If there are household economic constraints, girls and women are usually the first to give up household resources. From a gender perspective, it is crucial to focus on individual resource control, meaning ownership and empowerment, rather than simply focus on the use rights of resources, meaning access.

Secondly, due to their focus on economic rather than social aspects, such as social networks, the analyses of entitlement and access tend to emphasize people‟s weaknesses and limitations (Turner et al., 2003; Wisner et al., 2004). This masks the recognition that people are not passive (Hewitt, 1997; Turner et al., 2003), but capable of bringing about change (Wisner et al., 2004). In general, women possess less access to resources (Blaikie et al., 1994), which is easily translated as women are more vulnerable to hazards (for example, Denton, 2000, 2002;

Cannon, 2002; MacGregor, 2010; Nelson et al., 2002). Despite this prevalent discourse, even poor, underprivileged women in the Third World use a range of strategies to protect their lives and livelihoods from hazards (for example, Chowdhury, 2001; Mitchell et al., 2007). Almost everyone has some capacity for self-protection and group action (Wisner et al., 2004). The concepts of entitlement and access, however, tend to give more weight to class than other factors, such as gender.

Finally, both the Access and PAR models fail to integrate ecological and physical dynamics into social systems (Adger, 2006). In order to emphasize the social causation of risk, the PAR model separates a natural disaster hazard from social processes. As Blaikie et al. (1994)

11 themselves point out as its weakness, the PAR illustrates how social, economic, and political processes generate vulnerability in the pre-disaster context, but does not illustrate how natural hazards themselves affect people. Similarly, while the concepts of access and sustainable livelihood include natural capital, they do not necessarily take into account how human activities or other capital affect the quality of natural capital or resources. The model lacks the perspective of the human interaction with nature and the environment. Thus, the consequent ecological and biophysical dynamics of risk remain unquestioned in these concepts (Adger, 2006).

2.2. Feminist Political Ecology

Unlike the PAR model by Blaikie et al. (1994), feminist political ecology by Rocheleau et al. (1996) approaches environmental crises through gender differences in the ways human beings relate to the environment. Rocheleau et al. (1996) argue that global economic, political, and environmental changes have differently affected men and women in resource use and allocation and in environmental management. These varying impacts result from not only inequitable political and economic structures, but also the ways men and women differently relate to nature and the environment (Rocheleau et al., 1996). Feminist political ecology categorizes gender differences in relation to nature into experiences of, responsibilities for, and interests in nature and the environment (Rocheleau et al., 1996).

This categorization is based on relevant feminist theories, including ecofeminism, environmental feminism, and feminist post-structuralism. First, whether taking an essentialist or socialist position, ecofeminists often focus on a close connection between women and nature as both are oppressed by patriarchal institutions and dominant Western world view. Based on essentialism or an idealistic perspective, Shiva (1988) argues that a natural connection between

12 women and nature gives women the special understanding of ecosystem and environmental protection (Nightingale, 2006). Agarwal (1992) who has challenged such essentialist thinking focuses on the material practices, including a gender- and class- (caste/ethnicity-) based division of labor and distribution of property and power, which structure people‟s interaction with nature and interests in particular resources and ecological processes (Agarwal, 1992; Nightingale, 2006;

Rocheleau et al., 1996). Similarly, feminist poststructuralists, including Harding (1986), explain gendered experience of environment as a manifestation of situated knowledges that are shaped by gender, race, class, ethnicity, and age (Rocheleau et al., 1996). Finally, from a liberal feminist perspective of many environmentalists, women are participants and partners in environmental protection programs (Rocheleau et al., 1996).

Drawing from these views, feminist political ecology deals with the complex context in which gender, interacting with class, race, culture, and national identity, shapes responsibilities for, experiences of, and interests in the environment (Rocheleau et al., 1996). The complex context includes the legal and customary institutions by which people‟s distinct access to and control over resources are determined by responsibilities and power relations (Nightingale, 2006).

Feminist political ecology also involves the concerns of political ecology that focuses on the social, political, and economic processes which shape environmental policies and practices

(Rocheleau et al., 1996). Thus, feminist political ecology does not confine its focus to gender differences at the grassroots level, but seeks to understand local experience in the context of global and national processes of environmental and economic changes (Nightingale, 2006;

Rocheleau et al., 1996). Its analytical framework comprises gendered knowledge; gendered environmental rights and responsibilities; and environmental politics and grassroots activism.

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First, feminist political ecology focuses on how knowledge and science are structured and legitimatized in favor of some social groups over others (Reed and Mitchell, 2003). Gender relations influence what counts as knowledge (Cope, 2002). In fact, a science of survival is largely in the hands of rural women in the developing world (Rocheleau et al., 1996). There are multiple environmental sciences practiced by diverse groups of rural farmers (Rocheleau et al.,

1996), as many rural women employ their indigenous knowledge of species varieties and the processes of natural regeneration (Agarwal, 1992). However, the dominant and most visible structures of environmental science tend to be dominated by men, specifically from the industrialized world (Braidotti et al., 1994), who mistreat those women‟s knowledge of everyday life (Agarwal, 1992; Harding, 1987; Rocheleau et al., 1996; Shiva, 1988,).

Shiva (1988) argues that Third World women‟s special knowledge of nature has been systematically marginalized through the impact of modern science (Agarwal, 1992). “Modern reductionist science, like development (including the green revolution), … has excluded women as experts, and has simultaneously excluded ecology and holistic ways of knowing which understand and respect nature‟s processes and interconnectedness as science” (Shiva, 1988: 14).

This illustrates the separation of knowing and doing (Rocheleau et al., 1996) and of ideological and realistic science (Braidotti et al., 1994). From a feminist perspective, science is not value- free or universal (Harding, 1987). It is instead highly contextualized or situated (Braidotti et al.,

1994). Harding (1987) argues that alternative ways of knowing and ways of learning on the basis of everyday life, women‟s experience, and explicitly stated values should be developed

(Rocheleau et al., 1996).

Secondly, gender, intersecting with class, race, and culture, also shapes environmental rights of resource access and control as well as responsibilities to provide and manage resources

14 for households and communities (Agarwal, 1992; Rocheleau et al., 1996). Gendered environmental responsibilities and rights are applied to productive resources, such as land, water, trees, and animals, or the quality of the environment (Rocheleau et al., 1996). Socially structured gender division of labor tends to shape gender division of resources (Agarwal, 1992; Reed and

Mitchell; 2003) as well as gender division of space/domains (Rocheleau et al., 1996). Gender division of resources does not simply mean gender differences in terms of access to and control over the types and quantity of resources, but also in terms of the quality and value of resources, inputs, products, and assets (Rocheleau et al., 1996). Thus, the mechanism by which gender relations shapes gender division of labor and gender division of resources appears to reinforce each other.

However, gender division of resources and gender relations are not fixed, but change over time through social, economic, and political processes (Nightingale, 2006).According to

Nightingale (2006), changes in access to and control over resources reshape gender relations as well. Through local institutions, men often possess legal resource ownership while women often possess customary resource use rights (Agarwal, 2003; Rocheleau et al., 1996). In Kenya, for example, elderly men used to exercise control and allocate resources among themselves and to women and children. Although women‟s use rights were overall controlled by these men, women‟s livelihoods were secure to some extent (Rocheleau et al., 1996). Patriarchal land reforms, however, have deprived women of their customary access to and control over land and consequently marginalized them (Nightingale, 2006; Rocheleau et al., 1996). Similarly, the green revolution changed previous gender division of labor as men took responsibility for cash-crop farming and women remained in subsistence farming (Boline et al., 1998; Mies and Shiva, 1993;

Shiva, 1988). This not only impoverished women, but also marginalized women‟s indigenous

15 knowledge and role for subsistence farming (Mies and Shiva, 1993; Shiva, 1988). Thus, the relationships between gender and the environment vary over time.

Finally, feminist political ecology emphasizes the importance of women‟s involvement in the environmental movement. This is largely based on Agarwal (1992:119)‟s argument:

(W)omen, especially those in poor rural households in India, on the one hand, are

victims of environmental degradation in quite gender-specific ways. On the other

hand, they have been active agents in movements of environmental protection and

regeneration, often bringing to them a gender-specific perspective and one which

needs to inform our view of alternatives.

Feminist political ecology focuses on women‟s role as key actors in activism.

In fact, Third World women‟s involvement in environmental activism reflects the fact that many poor women have faced further constraints on their livelihoods, specifically in times of environmental and economic crisis (Rocheleau et al., 1996). Structural adjustment programs, in particular, severely affected poor women in the developing world by insufficient food provision, rising cost of living, declining services and eroding economic and environmental conditions (Boline et al., 1998; Fonchingong, 1999; Rocheleau et al., 1996). Governments and international organizations rarely prioritized the needs of these marginalized people to sustain their livelihoods and surrounding ecosystem.

Thus, local women‟s involvement in environmental activism can reveal how social, economic, and political institutions and processes affect the linkages between gender and the environment. More importantly, this can lead to a sense of women‟s agency and empowerment

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(Reed and Mitchell, 2003), which can bring about new perception of women‟s roles as key actors

(Rocheleau et al., 1996).

In short, both natural disasters risk theory by Blaikie et al. (1994) and feminist political ecology (Rocheleau et al., 1996) emphasize the importance of understanding the complex local contexts in which social, economic, and political processes at the global or national level translate the existing unequal distribution of power and resources into marginalized people‟s further vulnerability to economic and environmental hazards (Blaikie et al., 1994). In this sense, pre-existing power dynamics largely differentiate among different social groups of people in adaptive capacity and consequent vulnerability (Adger et al., 2006; Tanner and Allouche, 2011).

On the other hand, adaptive capacity and vulnerability are not fixed, but change by internal changes and external forces. The external forces include both supports from external organizations at the local level and unavoidable social, economic, and political events, such as a civil war and economic recession, which take place at the national level. The former tends to improve individual and community‟s knowledge and skills and access to information, technology, and resources while the latter may affect food and livelihood security status at the individual or household level and environmental and infrastructural conditions at the local level.

Gender relations also vary by time, place, and culture (Enarson and Meyreles, 2004). As feminist political ecology emphasizes, structural gender differences in responsibilities shape men‟s and women‟s distinct indigenous knowledge, experiences, and access to and control over resources (Rocheleau et al., 1996). Due to dominant gender relations, gendered division of labor and gendered division of resources tend to be carried over from generation to generation, on the one hand. However, the changes in resource availability which result mainly from environmental degradation also reshape gender relations and gender division of labor (Nightingale, 2006), on

17 the other hand. Social, economic, and political institutions and processes at not only lower but also higher levels are influential in terms of reshaping the relationships between gender and the environment. Based on the recognition of variable relationships between gender and environment, climate vulnerability and adaptive capacity appear to largely be shaped by social, economic, and political processes differently from one person to another and from one context to another.

Based on these recognitions, I develop conceptual framework on how gender intersects with caste, ethnicity, and age to affect vulnerability and adaptation to climate change and how people are exposed to and adapt to climatic and other social and economic risks at global, national, and local levels (see Figure 1).

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Chapter 3: Literature Review

In this chapter, I begin by briefly touching on recent climate change literature to understand the major discourses on vulnerability and adaptation to climate change. Secondly and more importantly, based on the recognition of the linkages between social processes and environmental and climatic risk and between gender and the environment, the rest of this chapter focuses on the review of relevant literature and existing studies on gender and natural disasters or climate change.

3.1. Recent Climate Change Literature

Modified from the PAR model, current climate change literature focuses on vulnerability to climate change with a human-ecology coupled framework. According to the Inter- governmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC), vulnerability to climate change is defined as

“the degree to which a system is susceptible to and is unable to cope with adverse effects of climate change” (Adger, 2003: 2). The key elements of vulnerability are the stresses to which a system is exposed, its sensitivity, and its adaptive capacity (Adger, 2003; Polsky et al. 2007;

Smit and Wandel, 2006; Turner et al. 2003). The stresses are not necessarily confined to environmental, but also include socioeconomic stresses (Adger, 2003; O‟Brien et al., 2004).

Adaptive capacity is defined as “the ability or potential of a system to respond successfully to climate variability and change, and includes adjustments in behavior, resources, and technology”

(Adger et al., 2007: 727).

In the developing world, specifically the least developed countries (LDCs), climate change is taking place in addition to their struggles with economic growth and sustainable development (Tschakert, 2006). In this sense, development and adaptation to climate change

20 presents a challenge to pre-existing unequal power relations and future livelihood strategies for those who have already been vulnerable in these countries (Tanner and Allouche, 2011). The

LDCs have already faced a variety of stresses, including foreign debts, trade liberalization

(O‟Brien et al., 2004), civil conflicts, and deforestation (Smit and Wandel, 2006; Tschakert,

2006). The effects of climate change may be translated into more profits for the rich and privileged and more burdens for the poor and underprivileged (Adger et al., 2006; Tanner and

Allouche, 2011) as the PAR model shows. As feminist political ecology implies, these effects vary from one individual to another because adaptive capacity is differentiated at the individual level, not at the household level. Exposed to resulting risks to poverty, food insecurity, and environmental degradation, those individuals, including already poor women, children, and the elderly, are the most vulnerable to climate change (Tschakert, 2006).

Due to an increasing climate justice or equity perspective, policy responses to climate change, including the IPCC, have recently taken adaptation into account, especially for the LDCs and their vulnerable people. Adaptation refers to “adjustments in a system‟s behavior and characteristics that enhance its ability to cope with external stress” (Smit and Wandel, 2006: 282).

Based on the timing of climate change, adaptations can be either reactive if they are fast-onset; or proactive if they are slow-onset (Smit and Wandel, 2006). Development interventions for proactive adaptations tend to aim to improve adaptive capacity, thereby reducing vulnerability

(Smit and Wandel, 2006). From a gender perspective, Roy and Venema (2002) call for improvement in the capabilities of the vulnerable, specifically poor women, to adapt to climate change and to empower them to act as agents of change. Similarly, Hemmati and Röhr (2009) argue that if climate adaptation policies are tailored to respond to the interests and needs of both women and men, and to further the goal of gender equality, they will be more effective. Thus, it

21 is very important to take into account a variety of perspectives from different social groups of people in order to lead improved measures and mechanisms (Hemmati and Röhr, 2009).

3.2. Recent Literature on Gender and Natural Disasters/Climate Change

Gender aspects of natural disasters and climate change have not been well researched

(Enarson, 1998; MacGregor, 2010; Nelson and Stathers, 2009). Empirical studies on climate change vary by sector, such as agriculture and water resources, and by scale, such as country, regional, and community levels. However, those data are rarely disaggregated by gender or other social factors. Similarly, disaster social scientists predominantly conduct quantitative research where they take into account gender only as a demographic variable (Fothergill, 1998; Bolin et al., 1998). Few feminist scholars and gender specialists have not focused on climate change or they have attended to gender relations as factors increasing women‟s vulnerability to disasters

(Enarson and Meyreles, 2004; MacGregor, 2010). MacGregor (2010) argues that a lack of research is due to authors‟ fear of treading into dangerous essentialist territory. If there are, their studies focus mainly on the impacts associated with women‟s vulnerabilities, such as post- disaster stress (Fothergill, 1998; Enarson and Meyreles, 2004). Therefore, they often fail to focus on women‟s coping strategies or adaptive capacity, except some case studies and field reports, including Chowdhury (2001) and Mitchell et al. (2007). With available empirical studies, I review gender-specific implications of natural disasters and climate change in terms of vulnerability and adaptive capacity below.

Whether a natural disaster is fast-onset or slow-onset, it is a long process classified into several stages, including preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation (Drabek, 1986).

Empirical studies on natural disasters illustrate gender-specific vulnerability and coping

22 strategies or adaptive capacity in each stage. These studies also suggest that gender differences in impacts, adaptive capacity, adaptation, and needs for adaption are closely related to context- specific structural inequalities between men and women in responsibilities, division of labor, cultural norms, access to and control over resources, and decision-making power.

In the first phase of preparedness, regardless of gender, the poor often involuntarily reside in disaster-prone areas (Blaikie et al., 1994). Due to gendered division of labor and domains, however, poor women are more likely than their men to be exposed to risk from environmental hazards. In her case study in flood-prone areas, chars, in Bangladesh, Chowdhury

(2001) explains that while male dwellers are usually engaged in wage-labor outside chars during day time, female dwellers always stay at home and are thus more at risk. Drawing on the 1991 cyclone in Bangladesh, both Ikeda (1995) and Cannon (2002) stress that due to gender roles, their lack of literacy, their lack of mobility, and their seclusion from public places, women had less access to information on the cyclone, specifically for evacuation. Similarly, strict cultural norms constrained women to make a decision on evacuation and evacuate by themselves, but they needed to wait for their male members‟ decision and be escorted by them to shelters.

When disasters occur, women tend to be disproportionately impacted in terms of mortality, morbidity, and injury (Demetriades and Esplen, 2008; Fothergill, 1998; MacGregor,

2010). This is largely determined by gender relations, specifically in terms of lower physical capacity, division of labor and domains, and cultural norms/institutions. It is estimated that 90 per cent of the victims of the 1991 cyclone in Bangladesh were women and children (Cannon,

2002; Ikeda, 1995; Khondker, 1996). Similarly, more women died in the 2004 tsunami in

Indonesia, India, and Sri Lanka (Oxfam, 2005). Cannon (2002) connects the causality of

Bangladeshi women‟s higher mortality with their weakness, resulting from their relatively poor

23 health conditions and malnutrition status. The 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka shows that many women were preparing for breakfast at home and were washed away while their husbands had already been off to sea for fishing and were safe (Oxfam, 2005). Muslim women in Sri Lanka delayed evacuating due to fear of the shame attached to leaving the house and moving in public without putting on a scarf (Rosa, 2005). Women‟s clothing, sari, and relative inability to swim restricted their mobility and survival in the tsunami in Sri Lanka (Rosa, 2005) as well as floods in Bangladesh (Cannon, 2002; Demetriades and Esplen, 2008).

In the third stage of response and recovery, women tend to play a significant role as food providers while their contribution is often invisible (Fothergill 1997). Bolin et al. (1994) argue that media repeatedly shows desperate and crying women with their babies and reinforces the image of women as victims. The relief worker, Bari (1992: 58) explains how poor women in

Bangladesh cope with the cyclone:

Because coping with poverty is tougher for women in general, the aftermath of the

cyclone and tidal wave hit them the hardest. Their men may have lost the fishing

equipment necessary to earn a living, their children may have died and their homes

and belongings were washed away but at the end of each day it was the wife/mother

who had to cook for whoever survived in her family. In all the relief lines I saw,

women stood first. They were the ones collecting bits of wood and bamboo to

rebuild the houses. As is customary, they dealt with the children and lack of food.

This reveals that women are not only victims, but active agents who cope with the disaster.

Similarly, Paolisso and Ritchie (2002) show that women survivors of Hurricane Mitch well

24 assessed the losses of their agricultural products and coped with the disaster based on their knowledge and social networks.

As Bari (1992) illustrates, women tend to bear a disproportionate share of invisible unpaid work as food and resource providers and care-givers (Demetriades and Esplen, 2008;

Fothergill, 1998). After floods, fetching water becomes much more difficult, and it might be contaminated (Cannon, 2002; Faisal and Kabir, 2005). Those women who are responsible for fetching water might become weaker in association with water-borne illness which might be more widespread among women, who are nutritionally disadvantaged (Cannon, 2002). Women‟s increased workload often results in more stress than men (Kumar-Range, 2001) and constrained them from doing income-generating activities (Demetriades and Esplen, 2008). Women‟s self- sacrificing efforts, however, tend to be taken for granted or are invisible because their role as food providers and care-givers post-disaster is an extension of the pre-disaster roles and often takes place in private places (Bradshaw, 2001; Fothergill, 1989).

More importantly, women survivors‟ increased unpaid duties and limited income opportunities tend to exacerbate their economic insecurity and dependence on their husbands

(Bradshaw, 2001; Demetriades and Esplen, 2008). Losses of harvest and livestock from floods in

Bangladesh have a disproportionate impact on women, many of whom rely on food processing, cattle, and chickens for their cash income (Baden et al., 1994). By losing their homes, the poor women who used to do home-based small business lose income, workplace, and production tools

(UN DAW, 2004). Unlike men, these women cannot as easily seek outside work (Kumar-Range,

2001) due to their domestic duties and limited mobility. In a study in post-Mitch Nicaragua, many women survivors prioritized their role as care-givers, and could not go back to pre-disaster productive work as quickly as their husbands (Bradshaw, 2001). As a result, the proportion of

25 women in productive activities declined in absolute numbers and relative to men‟s employment in income generating activities (Bradshaw, 2001). Bradshaw (2001) also shows that these women survivors could not resist violence by their husbands due to social stigma, their economic dependence on their husbands, and their fear of abandonment by their husbands (Bradshaw,

2001).

In addition, women survivors, specifically those who became widows, tend to suffer from lack of property rights. In patriarchal Sri Lankan societies post-tsunami, many widows were not allowed to claim the property which used to be legally owned by their husbands (Oxfam, 2005,

Rosa, 2005). Instead, their male family members or relatives had the rights to claim the land, which marginalized the widows (Oxfam, 2005; Rosa, 2005). Widows post-tsunami also had difficulty in having access to cash payments and rations because families registered for government and insurance purposes in their husbands‟ names (Oxfam, 2005). Similarly, in many of the post-famine emergency relief programs in Africa, a male-headed household is considered as a model for food provision (Bolin et al., 1998). They often fail to pay special attention to female-heads and the women who are abandoned by their husbands (Bolin et al., 1998).

In the stage of mitigation and preparation, women tend to be excluded from the planning processes of disaster programs, which often take place in public spaces, to mitigate and prepare for the next hazard, such as floods (Khondker, 1996). Through their everyday practices and group actions, however, women exercise their coping strategies according to their responsibilities. In her case study in Bangladesh, Chowdhury (2001) illustrates that women‟s indigenous knowledge and innovative technology play a crucial role in environmental management and the protection of their lives and livelihoods. For example, these women increased food security by composting kitchen waste to produce soil-enriching fertilizer and

26 prepared for floods by securing fodder for their livestock, planting trees around low houses to protect against strong winds, and selecting fast-growing seedlings to make soils more stable

(Chowdhury, 2001).

Similarly, in their comparative case study on climate adaptation in Bangladesh, India, and

Nepal, Mitchell et al. (2007: 12) show that some Bangladeshi women who live in flood-prone areas try to store seeds in high places within the house and take livestock to safer places before the floods come. Mitchell et al. (2007: 12) also quote a story of a woman farmer in Bardiya district, Nepal:

I am one of the women farmers who are growing off-season vegetables and bananas.

These crops suffer less than paddy when there is a flood or a drought. I started to grow

vegetables in a kitchen garden to sell. There is no alternative other than changing our

cropping patterns to reduce the risk of crop failure.

On the other hand, Mitchell et al. (2007) show the difficulty faced by women farmers in

Nepal. Some women farmers who participated in their study said that changing the way seedbeds are prepared and selecting crop varieties (mixing local and hybrid types) according to the local context could be helpful techniques. However, Mitchell et al. (2007) observe that hybrid seeds are often more expensive and some crops tend to be labor intensive, which might thus put more burden on women. They also add that these seeds require knowledge and skills, which can be constraints for those women who are more likely to be illiterate or lower educated and have limited access to information and opportunities to acquire new skills.

Similarly, some farmers in Nepal responded that finance has remained the barrier for them to use “labor-intensive technologies (through machine/equipment); initiating multiple

27 cropping and intercropping practices; changing cultivation to more easily marketable crop varieties or flood and drought resistant crops; and investing in alternative irrigation facilities difficulty” (Mitchell et al., 2007: 13). Other women farmers in Nepal insisted on their needs for extension workers‟/veterinary‟s visits and skill training to allow them to increase their income through alternative livelihoods (Mitchell et al., 2007). On the contrary, in her studies on community forestry programs in northern India, Agarwal (2001) shows that cultural norms about female seclusion and limited mobility constrain women farmers to contact extension workers who are exclusively men and attend the training programs which are overnight and held outside the community (Agarwal, 2001).

In short, there are few empirical studies on gender and natural disasters/climate change.

Limited studies tend to focus on how men and women are differently impacted by and respond to the events and how gender differences relate to such different impacts and responses between men and women. However, the analyses rarely address differences within the groups of women.

Their focus is mainly confined to gender relations at the household or community levels.

Therefore, the analyses rarely involve the connections of social processes at higher levels to the consequences of these natural and socioeconomic events and changes at the grassroots level.

Furthermore, these studies do not carefully examine both the negative and positive aspects of women‟s coping/adaptive capacity. As a result, there are few case studies which thoroughly explore, from process to process, the holistic picture of the linkages between gender and natural disasters/climate change.

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Chapter 4: Research Methodology

This chapter details the research methodology by which I addressed the primary research question: How does gender intersect with caste, ethnicity, and age to affect human vulnerability and adaptation to climate variability? First, I briefly describe more-specific research questions as well as the objectives of the preliminary and field research in Nepal. Then, I describe what aspects of feminist research approaches I took into account, what feminist goals guided the research and how I placed myself as a researcher in relation to those whom I studied in the field research. Drawing from the classification of research strategies by Yin (2003) and Creswell

(1997), I also describe why I chose a case study approach and why it best fit my research objectives. Before describing the research methods, I describe Nepal in terms of geographic and demographic characteristics, economic conditions, gender, and political issues as well as natural disasters and climate change. Also, I describe the two research sites and why I selected these sites. Finally, I describe the research methods, including how data were collected, how their validity and reliability were assessed and how they were analyzed.

4.1. Specific Research Questions

After the preliminary research in July 2008, I conducted the field research from January to March 2009 in Nepal. The preliminary research was first focused on the collection of secondary data and information on climate change in Nepal and meeting with some key persons working on climate change issues in Nepal. Next, based on the information collected, I focused on the site selection through visits to several candidate sites. The field research sought to establish the gender implications of climate change by addressing the research question: How does gender intersect with caste, ethnicity, and age to affect human vulnerability and adaptation

29 to climate variability? To achieve this goal, I developed the substantive research questions. The sub-questions, which were asked in all types of interviews in the field research, covered four dimensions: 1) risks perceptions and experiences; 2) human vulnerability and adaptive capacity;

3) adaptation practices; and 4) needs for adaptation. To examine differences in each dimension between men and women and among different social groups of people, I also took into account the social and economic events and gender relations which were specific to the research sites.

To examine how recent climatic and environmental changes affected livelihoods and gender relations at the household and community levels over a couple of decades, I first tried to identify the pre- and post-disaster socioeconomic conditions and gender relations which were specific to the research sites. The second set of the sub-questions pertained to the four dimensions of risks perceptions and experiences; vulnerability and adaptive capacity; adaptation practices; and needs for adaptations.

1) Socioeconomic conditions and gender relations:

 Changes in population and family structure since 1990

 Changes in financial resources, including income sources (on-farm and off-farm

employment),

 Changes in natural resources, including water, land, livestock, and forest products,

 Changes in gendered division of labor, knowledge, networks, access to and control over

resources, and

 Changes in gender relations in terms of decision-making power

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2) Sub-questions are:

- Risk perceptions and experiences

 What kinds of environmental and climatic changes have people witnessed over a couple

of decades?

 What did people experience from the changes, such as intensified natural disasters?

 What kinds of climatic/environmental risks (problems) are people exposed to?

 How are those risks distributed between men and women and among different

caste/ethnic groups of people?

 If there are any differences in the types and level of stresses/risks, what factors affect

such differences?

- Vulnerability and Adaptive Capacity

 How do recent environmental and climatic changes, such as intensified natural disasters

and decreased amount of rain, affect the food and livelihood security of people at the

household and individual levels?

 If there are any differences in the security level between men and women or among

different social groups of people, what factors affect such differences?

 How are socioeconomic events/changes related to the adverse effects of climate

variability?

- Adaptations practices

 How do men and women farmers respond to current climate variability, especially

decreased amount of rain?

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 If there are any differences in the type and level of responses or adaptations, what factors

affect the differences?

 What kinds of supports from I/NGOs or local government are available?

 If any support is available, how are those supports distributed between men and women

and among different social groups of people in terms of access to information, training

opportunities, and financial resources?

- Needs for adaptation

 What kinds of constraints do vulnerable people face in order to reduce their risks and

proactively adapt to climate variability and why?

 What kinds of adaptation needs do men and women or different social groups of people

have?

 If there are any differences, what factors affect such differences and why?

 How have men and women or different social groups of people tried to solve the

problems and meet the needs?

4.2. Feminist Methodology

For all the processes of the field research, including design, data-collection, and data- analysis, I incorporated a feminist methodological approach. According to Creswell (1997: 83), feminist research approaches aim to “establish collaborative and non-exploitative relationships, to place the researcher within the study so as to avoid objectification, and to conduct research that is transformative.” First of all, according to one ontological assumption, realities are subjective and multiple, as there are the realities of the researcher, those of the individuals being studied, and those of the audience interpreting a study (Creswell, 1997). “Traditional” methodologies, such as ethnography, which are biased towards the male perspective (Beetham

32 and Demetriades, 2007) tend not to view Third World women as “knowers” and tend to ignore their realities. Based on the key aspect of gender-sensitive methodologies, I tried to ensure the voices of those men and women studied were represented for all the processes.

Who represents or speaks for whom in qualitative research is an issue of power relations.

Feminist scholars from the Global South argue that the relationships between the researcher and the researched reflect the imbalanced power relations between the North and South or the colonizer and the colonized (Beetham and Demetriades, 2007; Min-ha, 1989; Naples, 2003).

Traditional ethnographic research tends to interpret the indigenous culture of Third World society and people through Western knowledge and Eurocentric values (Min-ha, 1989). These pre-existing power relations can further disadvantage the researched through the research process

(Beetham and Demetriades, 2007). Based on this recognition, I put special attention to my position as a Japanese researcher. Unlike Western or European researchers, I could share a part of Nepali cultures and values which are based on Buddhism. However, participants in my research and I may also not be free from imbalanced power relations because I am from a developed country. In this light, I took into account the hierarchical power relations, not only between local men and women and between higher-caste and lower-caste groups, but between those whom I studied and myself. Through the research process, I paid special attention to the voices of the marginalized.

Unlike traditional ethnographers, I report the realities of those who were studied, reflecting their voices and interpretations and mutual dialogues between the researcher and the researched. In this sense, the field research involved a knowledge-production process through collaborative relationships between the two groups. Knowledge, however, had to be produced from the perspective of the researched. That is what they knew, not what I knew. To ensure this,

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I use the extensive quotations of stories of the research participants, especially the marginalized, and use an engaging style of first-person narratives in the following findings chapter.

The ultimate goal of feminist methodology is social change (Naples, 2003). The knowledge-production process of research is supposed to empower even poor rural women through their active participation in the research and transform the gender relations faced by both research parties. Unlike traditional ethnographers, I did not treat the research participants as passive objects of the research, but active agents who could share their own knowledge and experiences and take a leadership role in adapting to climate variability. Through dialogues with them, I tried to bring out their „awakening‟ or self-esteem as agents. As Lather (1991) suggests, knowledge production itself can correct the invisibility and distortion of poor rural women‟s indigenous knowledge and experiences in ways that improve their unequal social status. The following finding chapter which includes such correction might contribute to visualizing their knowledge and developing climate adaptation policies which are more gender sensitive.

4.3. Research Strategy

The main purpose of the field research was to understand the linkages between gender, intersecting with other socioeconomic factors, and climate variability, which were specific to the regional context and also applicable for other regions and countries. Based on the advantage of the case study approach to address complexity and context-specificity (Creswell, 1997; Yin,

2002), I conducted a case study for my dissertation research. The cases I explored are the water- induced-disaster-prone areas of Kabilash and Kumroj village development committees (VDCs),

Chitwan district, Nepal, where local men and women farmers were exposed to future risks and responded to recent climate variability. Focusing on the gender relations and other

34 socioeconomic factors specific to the sites‟ context, I explored how multiple factors could differentiate between men and women and among different social groups of people in coping with and adapting to climate variability.

There are a few other reasons why I chose case study based on the classification of research strategies by Yin (2003) and Creswell (1997). First, case study is more appropriate to address a “how” question rather than “what,” “why,” “how many,” and “how much” questions

(Yin, 2003). My core research question is a “how” question while some of my sub-questions are

“what” and “why” questions. I did not necessarily focus on “what” differences existed between men and women in climatic risks, impacts, adaptations, and needs. Rather, I focused on “how” such differences were affected by the context-specific structural differences not only by gender, but also by caste, ethnicity, and age and how the differences were affected by gendered roles, division of labor, cultural norms, access to and control over resources, and decision-making power.

According to Creswell (1997), case study focuses on developing an in-depth analysis of a single case or multiple cases. Another key characteristic of case study is to “study a system bounded by time and place, such as a process, event,” (Creswell, 1997: 112) or community. My research focus is the specific places of flood/landslide-prone areas of Kabilash and Kumroj

VDCs, where men and women had experienced intense floods/landslides and had struggled with the adverse effects of unpredictable rainfall patterns, which matched the characteristics of case study. Creswell (1997: 37, 65) characterizes phenomenology as its focus on “understanding the concept or essence of experiences about a phenomenon.” In one sense, climate change is a phenomenon which people in the research sites had experienced. However, I did not focus on the meaning or concept of what they had experienced through climate change. Rather, I focused on

35 the processes by which different social groups of people had differently experienced climate variability and change. Thus, the case study best fits my research purpose and focus.

4.4. Research Sites

4.4.1 Nepal

Map 1: Nepal

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(1) General Information

Nepal is characterized by highly diverse geography and topology as well as ethnicity, religion, and culture. It is usually divided into three ecological areas: the mountain; hill; and

Terai regions. These three ecological belts run east to west and are vertically intersected by river systems flowing from north to south. The mountainous northern region, bordering China (Tibet), has eight of the world‟s ten highest mountains, including Mt. Everest, with subarctic to arctic climate. The hill region varies from around 800 to 4,000 meters in elevation with subtropical to alpine climate. The Terai region, bordering India, is mainly fertile downstream basins of three major Himalayan rivers: the Koshi, Narayani, and Karnali with tropical to subtropical climate.

Nepal is an ethnically, linguistically, and religiously diverse country which is administratively divided into 5 development regions, 15 zones, 75 districts, and 58 municipalities and 3,913 VDCs. The population of Nepal in 2008 was estimated at approximately 28.8 million with annual growth rate of 2.1 per cent.1 It includes more than 60 different ethnic groups, speaking 100 languages while about a half of the population‟s mother language is Nepali.

Around 81 per cent of the population are Hindu and 11 per cent are Buddhists, between which there are minimal differences in terms of ideology in Nepal (ADRC, 2009). Those who have

Indo-Aryan and Hindu background are mainly descendants of migrants from north India and the hill and Terai regions. With caste-based privilege, they used to dominate Nepali politics, in particular, over many years. Many of early inhabitants of Kathmandu Valley, Newar, still concentrate in Kathmandu and many of them engage in business. On the other hand, Madhesh or indigenous people in Terai and the descendants of the Tibetans who tend to remain in their original places have been oppressed as minority as well as mongoloid people, such as Gurung,

1 http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/nepal_nepal_statistics.html

37

Magar, and Tamang, who spread over rural, hill areas. Unlike Indo-Aryan people, many of those indigenous groups of people are Buddhists and speak their own language other than Nepali language.

Nepal is one of the least developed countries in the world. Disparities in income, literacy rates, and health conditions lie between the rich and poor and between urban and rural areas as well as between men and women. Nepal‟s gross national income (GNI) per capita for the year

2008 was USD 400,2 which ranked among the lowest in the world. More than 55 per cent of the total population earned under USD1.25 per day, which is the international poverty line, and more than 30 per cent of the total population lived under the national poverty line during 2000 and

2007 (UNDP, 2009). The poorest 10 per cent of the total households shared only 2.7 per cent of the national income/expenditure while the richest 10 per cent shared 40.4 per cent.3 Similarly, rural population using improved drinking-water sources and sanitation facilities accounted for only 88 per cent and 24 per cent while the portion of urban population accounted for 94 per cent and 45 per cent, respectively.4 According to the Nepal Living Standard Survey 2003-2004, the adult literacy rate for the rural area was only 43 per cent while that for the urban area was 73 per cent (CBS Nepal, 2004). Similarly, the adult literacy rate for women was only 44 per cent whereas that for men was 70 per cent (UNDP, 2009). Almost all indicators in human development demonstrated such critical disparities among different social groups of people and between rural and urban areas.

Opportunities for improvement in the Nepali economy remain slim due to domestic political instability and global economy crisis. Agriculture accounted for 40 per cent of the gross

2 http://data.worldbank.org/country/nepal 3 Ibid. 4 http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/nepal_nepal_statistics.html

38 domestic product (GDP) which was over USD12 billion for the year 2008 while industry accounted for 20 per cent (CBS Nepal, 2009). Around 74 per cent of the total 11.8 million working people engaged in agriculture (CBS Nepal, 2009). Main exports of carpets and apparel to India, the US, and Germany were hit by current global recession. Tourism also dropped due to a decade of political events. According to the Nepal Labor Force Survey 2008, around 2.5 million people aged 15 and over were unemployed. In search of work, many Nepali people have migrated to India, the Gulf countries, and Malaysia. Although remittance had once accounted for

15 per cent of GDP and the ratio of remittance to foreign direct investment was 302 per cent

(UNDP, 2009), demands for migrant labor continued to be low due to the global economy crisis.

According to United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA), the 2009 annual inflation rate reached 13 per cent. Prices for electricity, gas, and other fuel in

2006/2007 were equivalent to over three times as high as those in 1995/1996 (CBS Nepal, 2009).

People‟s livelihoods were seriously affected by domestic political instability and global economy.

(2) Political Conditions

After a decade of civil conflict from 1996 to 2006, Nepal has undergone extensive political transition from a monarchy to a federal democratic republic. Until a peace agreement was signed in November 2006, Maoist rebels continued their armed struggle against the government. According to UN OCHA, the conflict resulted in the loss of almost 15,000 people‟s lives and massive destruction of buildings and infrastructures throughout the country. During the conflict, the transportation of people and commodities was frequently disrupted by bandh or blockades, which exacerbated Nepal‟s already stagnant economy. In the Constituent Assembly

(CA) elections held in April 2008, Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists (CPN-M) could not win more than a half of the seats, but held the largest number of the seats and led a new coalition

39 government. The country was declared a Federal Democratic Republic, as well as a secular state, on May 28, 2008, ending the 240-year-old monarchy.

In spite of the successful CA elections, political and civil tensions remain in Nepal. Four months after the election, Prime Minister Puspa Kamal Dahal was finally appointed by the new government. However, he struggled with how to integrate Maoists‟ solders into the military with other leading and opposition parties and was forced to resign in May 2009. The government led by Maoists was not sustained even for one year at that time. Since a new coalition government of 22 political parties also caused power-sharing conflicts and political tensions even afterwards, the CA could not solve critical political issues, including the establishment of a new Constitution.

As of May 2011, the Interim Constitution was extended for another 6 months without the establishment of the Constitution. In May 2011, the CA selected Dr. Baburam Bhattarai from current Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists (UCPN-M) as prime minister for the first time after the 2008 election. However, long-lasting fuel shortages and power cuts, mainly caused by such instable governance, weak economy, and limited rainfall, increased civil tensions and drove people to conduct bandh all over the country. Nepal‟s peace building process, with the support of United Nations Mission in Nepal, has a long and difficult route.

(3) Gender

Although equality for all before law was guaranteed by the existing Constitution, de facto rights for women and disadvantaged caste and ethnic groups are still limited in Nepal. The

Nepali government signed and ratified Convention on Elimination of All Forms of

Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1991. As a national machinery for gender mainstreaming, Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare was established in 1995 and

40 the National Commission for Women was formed in 1992. Based on the Platform for Action in the Fourth World Conference on Women, declared in Beijing in 1995, the government revised the National Plan of Action on Gender Equality in 2004. Similarly, gender mainstreaming was integrated into Nepal‟s 10th Five Year Development Plan 2003 to 2008 as a key strategy for poverty reduction (Bhadra and Shah, 2007).

Despite the legislation, gender- and caste-based discrimination has been embedded deeply in the Hindu and patriarchal societies as Dalits or the untouchable and minor ethnic

(indigenous or non Indo-Aryan) groups of women have suffered from dual discrimination.

Cultural preference of boys is reflected in boy‟s lower infant mortality rate, lower underweight rate, and higher school enrollment rate than girls. Based on their relatively lower educational level, women have fewer working opportunities in rural areas in particular, which increases the feminization of poverty and feminization of agriculture. The 2001 Census shows that about 73 per cent of economically active women engaged in agriculture. According to Human

Development Report 2009, the proportion of women holding positions as legislators, senior officials, and managers was 14 per cent while that of women engaging in professional and technical work was 22 per cent. Women‟s wage or salary was estimated at about 60 per cent of men‟s (UNDP, 2009). In spite of their contribution to agricultural production, the proportion of women owning land was only 1per cent. Thus, gender disparities in human development indicators and inequality in access to/control over resources and assets/property remain large and serious in Nepal.

Women and other socially disadvantaged groups of people used to be excluded from political opportunities until Maoists‟ political parties, such as CPN-M and UCPN-M, established a strong political will of social inclusion. Through their struggles, Maoists aimed to involve the

41 disadvantaged, including women, Dalits, and Madesh and other non Indo-Aryan indigenous groups, into politics so that those oppressed groups could socially and economically benefit from national policies. At the CA elections in April 2008, each political party was obliged to put up women, Dalits, and Madesh and other indigenous groups for proportional-representation candidates according to the quota developed. Even in single-seat electrical districts, the number of women candidates reached 367, which accounted for around 10 per cent of the total candidates. Out of 397 female candidates, 29 were elected directly while 168 seats are reserved for women as part of proportional-representation. As a result, 34 per cent of the Assembly is composed of women. Thus, social inclusion became a key symbol of a new Republic although de facto social inclusion has not yet been achieved.

(4) Climate Change and Natural Disasters

Warming is taking place in Nepal as in other regions in the world. Country averaged mean temperature increases of 1.2 degrees Celsius and 3degrees Celsius projected by 2050 and 2100 (Agrawala et al., 2003). Due to warming, glacial retreat in the Himalayan region, including Nepal, is increasing and will continue to increase in all global warming scenarios (IPCC, 2007).

Associated with the fast retreat of glaciers in the Himalaya, glacial lakes have been formed and more frequently caused glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) in recent decades (ADRC, 2009).

Some of GLOFs have seriously affected Himalaya region and downstream region, including

Terai (ADRC, 2009). United Nations Environmental Programs (UNEP) and International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) identified 3,252 glaciers and 2,323 glacial lakes in Nepal, and 20 out of the lakes were estimated to be potentially dangerous to cause

GLOFs (ADRC, 2009). They also suggested that a GLOF would seriously impact agriculture, roads, and power stations in Himalaya and downstream regions and around 20,000 to 25,000

42 people are exposed to its risk.

However, the risk of a glacial lake outburst is not limited to intensive floods. According to Agrawala et al. (2003), continued glacial retreat can reduce dry season flows fed by glacier melt while the monsoon might intensify under climate change. With the reduction and possible disappearance of the glaciers, regional water availability is decreasing and the changed regional hydrological system is affecting crop productivity. The IPCC (2007) estimates that declining

Himalayan glaciers and snow cover will likely reduce water availability and crop yield will decline by 10 to 30 per cent by the mid-21st century in some South Asian countries, including

Nepal.

Thus, variability in both monsoon- and winter- rainfall patterns in Nepal is increasing, and daily rainfall during the monsoon is predicted to become more erratic and intense (ISET

International and ISET Nepal, 2008). According to Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA), more than 100 floods and landslides occurred during the monsoon season every year. Above all, floods and landslides in August 2007 affected over 100,000 households in 47 districts out of the

75 districts, which is over 60 per cent of the country. Similarly, floods in Koshi River in August

2008 were the most devastating as they caused the damage of USD 3 billion, which is almost equivalent to 10 per cent of Nepal‟s GDP (ADRC, 2009). Nepal used to be prone to fast- or sudden-onset natural disasters, including landslides, and floods, due to fragile geography and steep topography (ADRC, 2009). Those disasters are mainly triggered by hydrological and seismic factors (ADRC, 2009). Most of the locations in Nepal receive 80 per cent of total rainfall during the months between June and September, the monsoon season (UNDP, 2009). Intensified variability in rainfall patterns during the monsoon and dry seasons contributes to enhanced

43 variability in river flows (Agrawala et al. 2003), which reflects in the risk level of floods and crop productivity.

According to UN OCHA, as a result of recent floods and droughts as well as high prices and the impact of political/civil tensions, more than 3.4 million people are food insecure. The mid- and far-west regions, in particular, have been disproportionately affected by droughts for current years. More than 40 per cent of the population is undernourished while every other child under five is chronically malnourished. According to a joint assessment conducted by the World

Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 2007, 42 out of the 75 districts were food deficient and 38 per cent fell below minimum food security requirements. Deficient rainfall in the dry season 2008 resulted in a severe drop in crop production across the country (UNDP, 2009). A current joint assessment conducted by WFP,

FAO, and Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MoAC) in 2009 reported that the production of wheat and barley in 2009 declined by 14.5 per cent and 17.3 per cent, respectively

(UNDP, 2009), which affected an estimated 1.5 million people in the central and far-western regions. It identified additional 707,000 individuals requiring urgent food assistance because of drought-induced failure of such winter crops and high food prices.

In addition to food insecurity, decreasing energy, including electricity and firewood, is a critical problem faced by Nepal. Due to the decline of rain during the dry season, available hydropower throughout the country has drastically decreased, which has seriously affected an already inactive economy and the life of people. Similarly, the decline of rain as well as monsoon heavy rain and resulting landslides have caused a drastic decline in forest areas, which partly contribute to on-going warming and decline of underground water. It has also disproportionately affected the population who exclusively depend on firewood for energy.

44

Under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of United Nations Framework Convention on

Climate Change (UNFCCC), some small-scale projects, aimed to shift to natural energy, such as solar and biogas, were implemented by some organizations, including the Annapurna

Conservation Project (ACAP).

(5) Policies on Natural Disaster Management and Climate Change

In Nepal, both legal and institutional frameworks on disaster risk management and climate change adaptation are in the final process of development whereas implementation is a present and near future challenge. After 4 amendments of the Natural Disaster Relief Act which was enforced in 1982, a new Disaster Risk Reduction Act is in the process of documentation as of 2009. Disaster risk management programs were first integrated into the 10th Five Year

National Development Plan 2002 to 2007. With the support of United Nations Development

Programme (UNDP) and European Commission (EC), National Strategy for Disaster Risk

Management was also developed in 2008. For systematic implementation of those policies/programs, the government formulated relevant committees at all the levels while the networks of the committees were not always functional, especially at the local level. After a long preparation period, Climate Change Policy and Local Adaptation Plans of Action (LAPA) have just been developed in 2011 and 2010, respectively while National Capacity Self-Assessment

(NCSA) Project was implemented from 2005. Once those policies and action plans were developed, a next challenge for the government is implementation. Similar to the disaster risk management policies, a restricted budget, limited technical capacities, insufficient data/information, and not-functional networks represent real challenges.

45

The institutional setting is another critical constraint to the development and implementation of climate change related policies. There is a parallel institutional structure in which Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) takes responsibilities for natural disaster issues whereas Ministry of Environment (MoE) for climate change issues. Due to a lack of coordinating capacity of both ministries, the existing disaster risk management policies have not been integrated into the climate change policies which are in the process of elaboration. In spite of needs for an integral approach with coordinated action in the sectors of agriculture, forestry, water resource, and economic development, the MoE has not fully involved those relevant sectors‟ line agencies into the development process of the policies. How to link climate change with disaster risk management and sustainable social and economic development at all the levels remains unsolved.

46

4.4.2. Kabilash and Kumroj VDCs, Chitwan District

Map 2: Chitwan District, Narayani Zone, Central Region, Nepal

Note: Chitwan district in red; Narayani zone in read and deep gray; Central development region is in red, deep gray, and light gray (Other areas in pink)

Map 3: Chitwan District

47

Map 4: Kabilash and Kumroj VDCs in Chitwan District

Kabilash VDC

Chitwan National Park

Kumroj VDC

The research sites of Kabilash and Kumroj VDCs are both located in Chitwan district in Terai which belongs to Narayani zone, Central development region (see Map 2). As seen in Map 3 and

4, Kabilash VDC is located 10 to 15 kilometers north to the center of district headquarter,

Bharatpur which is the seventh largest city of Nepal. This VDC stretches along a part of

Narayangharth-Mugling Highway which connects between Kathmandu and India via East-West

Highway. The elevation of this area ranges from 200 to 900 meters (JICA, 2008). Jugedhi Khola or River, a major tributary of Trishuli River which is a part of Gandaki River systems, runs through the VDC. Narayani River runs in the edge of the VDC along the Highway. Based on sub-tropical climate, temperature in this area ranges from 6 to 25 degrees Celsius in the dry season and from 25 to 40 degrees Celsius in the monsoon season (JICA, 2008). According to the VDC

48 record, the total amount of precipitation through May to December 2008 was 965.8 millimeters and the days of rain over 20 millimeters during the period was 14 days.

According to the 2001 National Census, the area of Kabilash VDC is 50.46 square kilometers (RRN, 2007) and its total population was 5,513 (male: 2,765 and female: 2,748) with

985 households (see Table 1). The major ethnic groups of Gurung (48.6 per cent), Tamang (11.1 per cent), and Magar (6.5 per cent) reside in the hill area whereas Brahmin (5.6 per cent) and

Chettri (3.1 per cent) occupy the plain/market area of the VDC (see Figure 2). As of 2001, more than a half of the total population possessed their own agricultural land and some animals and engaged in rain-fed farming and animal husbandry for a living (CBS/UNFPA, 2002). However,

13.1 per cent of the total population had none of agricultural land, livestock, and chicken (see

Figure 3). About two thirds of the population had no economic activities other than agriculture while some men migrated to cities or abroad and few people did business (see Figure 4).

Illiteracy rate for 6 years of age and over in 2001 was relatively high and school enrollment rate for 6 years and 16 years of age was also low (see Table 1). Available public services in the VDC were confined to minimum education, health care, and veterinary services while some supports from external organizations were available (see Table 1).

49

Table 1: Profile of Kabilash VDC

Area in Sq. km. 50.46 Household # 985 Population 5,513 Male 2,765 Female 2,748 Main Occupation Agriculture Illiteracy Rate (6yrs and over) 45.7 %

School Enrollment Rate (6-16 yrs) 50.1 % # of Health Services 1 # of Livestock Services 1 # of Schools 6 External Organizations which have Practical Action, JICA, Red Cross, ever supported people in the VDC RRN, UNICEF, etc.

Source: CBS Nepal/UNFPA Nepal, Population Census 2001 RRN, Baseline Survey Report on Disaster Preparedness and Sustainable Livelihood Development Project, Chitwan, Nepal

Figure 2: Population in Kabilash VDC by Caste/Ethnicity Category

Brahaman Chettri 5.6% 5.6% 3.1% Dalits 4.6% 7.0% Gurung 3.7% 9.8% Tamang 6.5% Magar 11.1% Newar 48.6% Chepang(Praja) Muslim Others

Source: CBS Nepal/UNFPA Nepal

50

Figure 3: Agricultural Resources Possessed by Population of Kabilash VDC

3.6% agricultural land only 0.1% 13.1% 8.7% livestock only poultry only 21.4% land and livestock 50.9% land and poultry

1.2% livestock and poultry 1.0% land, livestock and poultry none of all

Source: CBS Nepal/UNFPA Nepal

Figure 4: Rate for the Households in Kabilash VDC that Engaged in Non Agricultural Economic Activities

having economic activities

not having economic activities 3.4% 0.9% 6.7% manufacturing 0.6% trade/business

33% transport 27.3% services 67% others

Source: CBS Nepal/UNFPA Nepal

51

Kumroj VDC is located around 20 kilometers southeast to the center of Bharatpur. Unlike

Kabilash, Kumroj is fully located in the plain while no main road passes through the VDC. There are two rivers, Rapti and Dhungrela Rivers, which join inside the VDC. As seen in Map 3 and 4, its east side adjoins Chitwan National Park and most of the VDC areas are set as a Buffer zone of the Park. Inside the zone, people are restricted in the number of days they can collect forest resources from the Park and in return, they can benefit from some buffer zone development and community forest programs, including financial and technical supports for the construction of a biogas facility.

As evident in Table 2 below, according to the 2001 National Census, the total population of Kumroj VDC was 7,561 (male: 3,644 and female: 3,917) with 1,448 households and major caste/ethnic groups are Brahmin and Taru. Similarly to Kabilash, most of the population depended on agriculture and animal husbandry. Compared to Kabilash, however, household land-holding size in Kumroj was larger and fewer of the households in Kumroj had no agricultural land and animals (see Figure 5). While the rate of the households that engaged in non-agricultural economic activities was much lower than that in Kabilash (see Figure 6), many households maintained their livelihoods with cash crop and milk production. Illiteracy rate for the population of Kumroj in 2001 was lower than that of Kabilash as school enrollment rate for

Kumroj in 2001 was higher than that of Kabilash (see Table 2).

52

Table 2: Profile of Kumroj VDC

Area in Sq. km. 19.06 Household # 1,448 Population 7,561 Male 3,644 Female 3,917 Main Occupation Agriculture Illiteracy Rate (6yrs and over) 39.1 % School Enrollment Rate (6-16 years) 58.9 % Health Services 1 Livestock Services 0 Schools 6 Forest Management Types Buffer zone External Organizations which have Rapti Irrigation Project, Buffer-zone ever supported Community Forest, Small Farmer Development Project, Agricultural Development Bank, RRN, etc. Source: CBS Nepal/UNFPA Nepal & RRN

Figure 5: Agricultural Resources Possessed by Population of Kumroj VDC

1.4% 3.4% agricultural land only

13.9% 0.4% livestock only 24.5% poultry only land and livestock

0.5% 53.6% land and poultry 2.3% livestock and poultry land, livestock and poultry none of all

Source: CBS Nepal/UNFPA Nepal

53

Figure 6: Rate for the Households in Kumroj VDC that Engaged in Non Agricultural Economic Activities

having economic activities not having economic activities 1.0%

manufacturing 19.2% 15.4% 4.8% 7% trade/business transport 59.6% services 93% others

Source: CBS Nepal/UNFPA Nepal

As mentioned previously, I conducted preliminary research to select these sites. First, I selected Nepal as a study site because it has been exposed to the risk of climate variability, including warming, glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), and a decrease in water. Nepal which is one of the least developed countries (LDCs) is particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate variability. In addition, I have sufficient knowledge about Nepali culture and language skill which were developed through my working experience in Nepal from April 1995 to July

1997. To identify the most suitable sites for the field research, I first met relevant professors, researchers, and experts working on climate change or disaster risk management in Nepal and collected information through the preliminary research. On the basis of the information and suggestions given by those key informants, I first selected five candidate VDCs in Makwanpur and Chitwan districts, including Kabilash and Kumroj, which were all water-induced-disaster- prone areas.

As a result of my site visits and interviews with some local authorities and people, I found that Kabilash and Kumroj VDCs best met two criteria which I developed for site selection.

54

One criterion was that local people were aware of their risk and had taken action to adapt to climate variability even with limitations. The other one was that climate variability, intersecting with other socioeconomic and environmental stresses, had already affected people‟s livelihoods and gender relations. First, as shown in Table 3 below, people in Kabilash and Kumroj VDCs recently and frequently experienced intensive disasters, such as landslides and floods, they were more aware of future risk than those in other VDCs. Unlike other flood-prone VDCs, Kabilash

VDC, in particular, were prone to fast- and sudden-onset disasters, including debris flows (RRN,

2007). With local authorities‟ leadership, especially in Kabilash, networks for community risk management and hazard maps were developed. With the support of external organizations, simple check-dams as well as large-scale dams were constructed partly in debris-flow- and flood-prone areas of Kabilash and Kumroj VDCs. Women in Kumroj, in particular, took initiative and sandbagged a lower river side to protect their residences and property from a flood.

55

Table 3: Disaster Profile of Kabilash and Kumroj VDCs

Kabilash Kumroj

Year 2003 2006 1993 2002

Type of Landslides/Debris Landslides/Debris Floods Floods Disasters Flows/Floods Flows/Floods

18 people were 5 people were Some houses were swept away killed. killed. many houses were flooded. 55 houses were 21 houses were Hundreds of people had to live in swept away. swept away. shelters/camps from a short term to a 206 households 150 households Losses/ long term. damages were evacuated. were evacuated. Drinking water systems, trails/roads, A bridge, agricultural land, bridges, agricultural land, forests, irrigation/canals, some biogas irrigation/canals were broken. facilities were broken.

Red Cross, Rapti Irrigation Project, Supports by Buffer-zone Community Forest, Red Cross, Gorkha Welfare Society, external Small Farmer Development Project, Practical Action, JICA, RRN, etc. organizations Agricultural Development Bank, RRN, etc. Source: Developed by author based on the interviews with local authorities/people

For the second criterion, due to the adverse effects of past intense natural disasters and on-going climate variability, the level of food and livelihood security in Kabilash and Kumroj

VDCs was more seriously affected than that of other VDCs. Many poor households in Kabilash, in particular, had already been forced to diversify income sources through male family members‟ migration or labor wages. Serious loss or damage of land from the past disasters and a current decline in crop production accelerated this tendency. Recent high costs for agricultural inputs and children‟s education had also severely affected the livelihoods of many farmers in both

VDCs. Furthermore, forest resources in Kabilash were degraded mainly because of overcutting due to increased population and past landslides while forest resources in Kumroj were strictly controlled by the Park. Changes in livelihoods and available resources seemed to be reshaping

56 gendered division of labor and gender relations in both Kabilash and Kumroj. Based on those findings from the preliminary research, I chose Kabilash and Kumroj VDCs for research sites.

Empirical studies on the linkage between gender and climate change are still limited in

Nepal although this topic is an emerging hot topic. One of the available empirical studies in

Nepal is a case study conducted in Terai in 2007 by an international NGO, Action Aid. While this study focuses on women‟s adaptive capacity and needs for successful adaptation, it does not thoroughly explore relationships of structural differences between men and women or among different social groups of people to differential vulnerability and adaptation to climate variability.

Another study, conducted by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development

(ICIMOD, 2007) was not empirical, but based on the existing documentations which are confined to the Himalayan region. In both Kabilash and Kumroj VDCs, some international and local organizations have implemented disaster risk management projects as well as income generating activities. However, they have not collected or documented detailed or case-study- based data and information, focused on gender aspects of climate variability. Thus, my field research in Kabilash and Kumroj VDCs was expected to contribute to not only an understanding of site-specific gender implementation for vulnerability and adaptive capacity, but also the development of gender-sensitive climate adaptation plans for action at both national and local levels.

4.5. Research Methods

To address the core and substantial research questions, I used three methodological approaches: 1) review of secondary data; 2) key informant and focus group interviews; and 3) in- depth interviews. During the preliminary research in July 2008, I visited relevant government

57 institutions, including Department of Hydrology and Meteorology under Ministry of

Environment and Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) Nepal, I collected necessary secondary data, such as climate data in Chitwan district over several decades, the 1991 and 2001 national census data, and the Nepali Living Standard Survey 2003-2004. From relevant international and local organizations, including Action Aid, Practical Action, Japan International Cooperation Agency

(JICA), Rural Reconstruction Nepal (RRN), ICIMOD, and UNDP, I collected their documentations, including baseline survey reports, around the research sites. For the first step, I reviewed the secondary data collected and explored climatic, agricultural, and socioeconomic characteristics in Nepal and research sites. Based on the documentations collected, I also reviewed the intersection of the effects of climate variability with existing economic and political crises as well as the link of gender with climate variability.

Secondly, I conducted all forms of interviews, including key informant, focus group, and in-depth interviews, in Kabilash VDC from January 18 to February 18, 2009 and in Kumroj

VDC from February 19 to March 2, 2009. Based on the research questions, I prepared questionnaires for the interviews, as well as consent forms for interview participants, in both

English and Nepali with the support of a Nepali translator who is familiar with climate change issues in Nepal. During the field research, I was first based in Kabilash VDC and conducted semi-structured key informant interviews with a high-school teacher and two NGO staff members working on disaster risk management issues there. These representatives were asked to describe any key changes in local climate, people‟s responses to the changes, and the intersection of these climatic changes with other existing economic crisis, environmental degradation, and political tensions. They were also asked to describe about how structural differences by sex,

58 caste/ethnicity, and age affected vulnerability, adaptive capacity, adaptation practices, and needs for adaptation.

Then, I conducted four sessions of semi-structured focus group interviews in 4 different communities, including Biretar, Kare Khola, Barlang, and Jugedi, in Kabilash VDC. The main purpose of the focus group interviews was to understand changes in climate, risk perceptions, adverse effects of past landslides/floods, coping strategies, and needs for effective adaptations, which were shared among participants for each session. At the same time, I also focused on gender- and caste-based differences in risk-perceptions, responsibilities, access to and control over resources, indigenous knowledge and technology, and decision-making power for adaptation across participants for different sessions. Through snow-ball sampling, mainly helped by a field worker for United Nations Children‟s Fund (UNICEF)‟s community development activities, I collected 5 to 7 participants who were relatively long-term residents with a variety of age and educational level range for each session. To motivate women, in particular, to speak out, the participants selected were separated by sex. Thus, I formed only women‟s focus groups in

Biretar and Kare Khola and only men‟s focus groups in Barlang and Jugedi.

On the basis of findings from the key informant and focus group interviews, I made minor revisions for the in-depth interview questionnaire and tested the revised one with a couple of people before starting the in-depth interview in Kabilash VDC. Through snow-ball sampling, I selected 20 women farmers and 19 men farmers who included Brahmin/Chettri, Dalits, and

Gurung, Tamang, and other indigenous groups of people (see Figure 7 and 8). The age of participants ranged from 22 to 60 and education level from illiteracy to BA (see Figure 9 and 10).

Regardless of caste/ethnicity, most of the participants were small-size-land-holding farmers (see

Figure 11). All the in-depth interviews were conducted at the houses of the participants where

59 confidentiality could be kept and they could feel more comfortable. Based on semi-structured questions, I interviewed and took notes on what each participant described: his or her observation of current changes in natural disasters, rainfall, and natural resources; adverse effects of these changes for his or her food and livelihood security; vulnerable groups and reasons; his or her coping strategies and adaptation practices; and needs for adaptation.

Figure 7: Participants in In-depth Interviews in Kabilash and Kumroj VDCs by Gender

21 20 20 19 19 18 18 Men 17 Women 17

16

15 Kabilash Kumroj

Figure 8: Participants in In-depth Interviews in Kabilash and Kumroj VDCs by Caste/Ethnicity

30 26 26 Brahaman/Chettri 25

20 Indegineous (Gurung, Tamang, Magar, Newar, 15 etc.) Minor Indegeneous 10 9 (Chepang, Maji, Taru, Dharai, etc.) 5 5 Dalits (Damai, Sarki, 2 2 2 2 Sonar, etc.) 0 Kabilash Kumroj

60

Figure 9: Participants in In-depth Interviews in Kabilash and Kumroj VDCs by Gender and Age Range

10 9 9 9 8 8 7 6 6 6 20's 5 30's 4 4 4 4 4 40's 3 3 3 3 3 3 50's 2 60's 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 Men Women Men Women Kabilash Kumroj

Figure 10: Participants in In-depth Interviews in Kabilash and Kumroj VDCs by Gender and Educational Levels

16 14 14 12 12

10 8 illiterate 8 7 1st to 6th 7th to 10th 6 5 4 4 SLC or more 4 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 1 0 0 Kabilash Kabilash Kumroj Kumroj Men Women Men Women

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Figure 11: Caste/Ethnicity Based Land-Holding-Size of Participants in In-depth Interviews in Kabilash and Kumroj VDCs

16 15 14 13 12 10 9 8 6 6 5 6 4 4 4 3 4 2 1 1 1 Landless/Small-scale 2 0 0 0 0

0 Medium-scale

Large-scale

Indigeneous Indigeneous

Minor Minor

Brahaman/Chettri Brahaman/Chettri

Indegineous/Dalits Indegineous/Dalits Kabilash Kumroj

Similarly, I conducted semi-structured key-informant interviews with a local NGO worker and community health-care volunteer in Kumroj VDC. I also observed the meetings of two groups in Gawai and Ghokrela which were both formed for saving and disaster management purposes by a local NGO, Rural Reconstruction Nepal (RRN) and discussed relevant issues with participants. Those interviews were mainly aimed to identify similarities and differences between

Kumroj and Kabilash VDCs in socioeconomic conditions, gender relations, and the link of such socioeconomic factors to local climatic risk, impacts, and adaptation practices. Based on the revised semi-structured questionnaire for in-depth interviews, I interviewed 18 female farmers and 17 male farmers who were selected through snow-ball sampling as shown in Figure 7 above.

Unlike Kabilash, the majority of the participants were Brahmin/Chettri and a few minor groups of people, such as Dalits, Taru, and Dharai, and the participants‟ age ranged from 21 to 67 (see

Figure 8 and 9). Compared to the participants in Kabilash, the participants in Kumroj had higher educational levels and their land-holding-size was larger (see Figure 10 and 11).

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As recording procedures for interviews, I used protocols, a predetermined sheet to log information learned during the interview, which is introduced by Creswell (1997). By using the interview protocols, I could not only systematically take notes during the interview about the responses of the respondents, but also sketch whatever ideas came into mind in observing the respondents. Upon the approval of the respondents, all interviews were tape-recorded. All of the tape-recorded interviews were transcribed in Nepali and translated into English by the author after she left Nepal. For time saving, the focus group interviews tape-recorded were transcribed in Nepali and translated in English by the local translator during the field research.

For data analysis, I took three steps, based on the analysis strategies recommended by

Creswell (1997). First, I read through all information and data collected in order to obtain a sense of the overall data. Then, I wrote findings in the form of memos and reflective notes which was an initial step to write summaries of field notes. The second step was to reduce the data. For this,

I looked at the field-notes and transcriptions to see if there were key words or metaphors used frequently by participants in the interviews. Then, I developed initial codes to sort the text into categories. To support each category, I looked for multiple forms of evidence. Initially, I developed 25 to 30 categories of information, and reduced these to five to six in the end. Based on the sorted and reduced information, I interpreted the data. In order to make sense of the data, I interpreted the data based on hunches, insights, and intuition, and generalize to some extent. The final step was to present the data in text.

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4.6. Limitations

Since I focused on the increasing climate variability and adaptation practices which were going on in Kabilash and Kumroj VDCs, Chitwan district, Nepal, research findings are context- specific. They may not fully be applicable to other countries and regions which are exposed to different types of risks/stresses and have differential biophysical, ecological, socioeconomic and cultural contexts. There is a concern with the level of the relationships which I built with the participants in my interviews in Kabialsh and Kumroj VDCs. Although I had once been to

Kabilash VDC, could speak their language, Nepali, and was familiar with local culture, I still needed time to build trustful relationships with participants and verify the accuracy of their responses. Based on the feminist methodology, I tried to build better relationships with them and listen carefully to what they said to me without suggesting what I expected to hear so that I could ensure the validity of the data collected as much as possible.

4.7. Validity and Reliability

In order to verify the accuracy of findings from the field research, I used a couple of methods. For improving credibility, I applied triangulation, peer debriefing, and member checking (double-checking). As described above, I used multiple research methods, such as the review of secondary-data, key-informant interviews, and in-depth interviews, which worked for triangulation. Based on findings from key-informant and focus groups interviews, I revised semi- structured questionnaire for in-depth interviews and checked the accuracy of findings from in- depth interviews with those from the key-informant and focus groups interviews. For peer debriefing, I asked a few practitioners working for local NGOs who are familiar with gender and climate change issues in local context. For selective member checking, I confirmed with a couple

64 of actual residents whenever I doubted the reliability of what I had heard from my respondents in their interviews. I also asked the representatives and staff members of relevant local NGOs to check the contents of my report. In order to have a higher level of reliability, I used tape- recording while I could not use peer examination among all research parties because I could not afford to visit the research sites again.

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Chapter 5. Findings from Field Research in Kabilash and Kumroj VDCs

In this chapter, I illustrate key findings from the field research from January to March

2009 in Kabilash and Kumroj VDCs, Chitwan district, Nepal. Quoting the voices of participants,

I address the research question: How does gender intersect with caste, ethnicity, and age to affect human vulnerability and adaptation to climate variability and change? The findings show that individual risk perceptions and responses to climatic variability were not simply affected by only gender or poverty. Rather, the intersection of structural inequalities shaped risk perceptions and responses. Similarly, I show how recent socioeconomic and political changes which took place at both local and global levels were influential. Taking into account the difference of levels, I first illustrate how the local or internal factors, intersecting with national/global or external factors, affected individual risk perceptions, experiences, and vulnerability and adaptive capacity over time. Secondly, I focus on a critical gap between the actual coping/adaptive capacity of vulnerable people and imagined one which was represented by privileged people based on their biases. Thirdly, I focus on how and why the different social groups of people, including men and women, responded to climate variability differently. Finally, I address how gender relations in terms of responsibilities and access to and control over resources were affected in the context of climatic and environmental changes.

5.1. Risk Perceptions and Experiences of Climatic and Environmental Changes

Due to the difference of his/her socioeconomic background, each respondent in Kabilash and Kumroj VDCs was exposed to different types and levels of risks, ranging from fast-onset life-threatening risks to slow-onset food and livelihood insecurity risks. Almost all respondents witnessed similar climatic and environmental changes, such as warming, intensified natural

66 disasters, and unpredictable rainfall patterns, over the last couple of decades. Debris flows as well as landslides and floods in 2003 and 2006 in Kabilash particularly killed several people and took almost everything, including houses, agricultural land, and animals, away from many people in a moment. On the other hand, current unpredictable rainfall patterns, especially the decreased amount of rain during the dry season, gradually threatened their food and livelihood security over the long term. Based on these experiences, the respondents viewed such changes as threats to their lives and food and livelihood security.

Whether the risks perceived were life-threatening or food insecure ones, they were not equally distributed among the respondents. Due to the different types and intensity of natural disasters, location, gender, age, and access to information on and technology for disaster management, the level of individual risk perceptions varied across VDCs and communities and even within the same social group of people and household. While almost all respondents claimed that they were at risk and vulnerable to on-going and future climatic hazards, they also differentiated their own risk level and vulnerability from others. Key points for their risk assessment were: 1) whether or not the climatic and environmental hazard perceived was life- threatening; 2) whether or not his/her resident area was prone to any life-threatening hazard; and

3) whether or not he/she could save his/her life from the hazard. Based on their experiences, knowledge, ideology, and biases, the respondents referred to the timing and intensity of natural disasters for the first point; while they mentioned location, physical capacity for evacuation, and access to information and technology for the second and third points.

Unlike fast-onset natural disasters, the slow-onset drought/famine which resulted from the decreased amount of rain was perceived as less of a life-threatening risk and less of a priority for many respondents. However, the risk level of food and livelihood insecurity also varied

67 across places and even within the same household. Many respondents considered that the risk of food and livelihood insecurity depended largely on individually available resources and capacity which was structured by gender, caste/ethnicity, age, and location. Looking at the risk of life- threatening natural disasters and of food and livelihood insecurity separately, I illustrate how the characteristics of climate variability and socioeconomic factors, intersecting with one another, affected the level of the risk perceptions and experiences below.

5.1.1. Life-threatening Risks of Intensified Natural Disasters

(1) Timing of the Occurrences of Natural Disasters

Due to its geographical characteristics, Kabilash VDC, which consists of both mountain and plain areas, was prone to floods, landslides, and debris flows. On the other hand, Kumroj

VDC which is located in the plain area was prone to only floods. The different types of natural disasters resulted in different timing of their occurrences. For example, debris flows could be categorized as faster-onset disasters rather than floods. To many respondents in Kabilash, fast- onset debris flows were life-threatening risks because they tended to occur all of a sudden and not give them enough time to evacuate to a safer place. Thus, the difference of the types of natural disasters and the timing of their occurrences differentiated between people in Kabilash and Kumroj DVCs in their risk levels.

Based on the voices of respondents in both VDCs, protecting their own lives was their top-priority in the event of any extreme climatic events or natural disasters. As a result, many survivors from past disasters had abandoned and lost their important belongings and animals in order to save their lives. Many respondents in Kabilash particularly witnessed that past debris flows occurred so instantly that many local people failed to escape early enough. One of the

68 female survivors in Khola Ghari, Kabilash explained about her difficulty with responding to an unexpected and instant event:

At the moment our house was about being washed away, my husband said to me, “Let‟s run away now. Otherwise we will be washed away.” Right after I got out of the house, I thought about bringing some money with me. When I was trying to go back inside, huge stones were coming down. So, I couldn‟t go back. If I had gone back, I would have died.

Similarly, the man in Simaltar, Kabilash who lost his house from the 2006 debris flow explained:

Because it was urgent, I couldn‟t bring anything out of my house. I couldn‟t bring money or other belongings with me. All the belongings were just washed away with the house. I didn‟t even think about bringing any stuff with me because I struggled to survive.

Thus, those respondents experienced debris flows as the most life-threatening risk because of the fast-onset occurrences.

Past intensive floods in Kumroj, on the other hand, were not as fast-onset as Kabilash‟s debris flows, which resulted in different impacts between the two VDCs. The relatively slow- onset floods in Kumroj gave people more time not only to let them escape, but also to put some food stock and belongings at a higher place in their houses and move animals to a higher or safer place. One woman in Gauwa Pari, Kumroj described her experience:

At the time of the 2002 flood, we could move some kitchen stuff and food stock up to the loft of our house. We could also bring our cattle inside the house and bounded it in a pillar with a rope so that they wouldn‟t be washed away. We were all standing up on a bed. Our family and animals could survive although our house‟s floor was flooded.

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Similarly, a woman in Gauwa Wari, Kumroj witnessed:

Our house is located higher than others around here. So, at the time of the 1993 flood, we told neighbors to evacuate to our house. Many of them came to our house with their belongings and animals.

Another woman in Bairiya, Kumroj explained about her lesson-learnt:

As my husband said, we took out some important things, documents, and food and brought them with us. We evacuated to a higher place with our animals and could survive ourselves from the

1993 flood. From this experience, I learned that we can protect our lives if we move to a higher place in advance.

Due to the relatively slow-onset occurrences, those respondents in Kumroj were not necessarily exposed to as life-threatening risks as those in Kabilash. As those respondents experienced, the timing of the occurrences of natural disasters was one of keys to determining whether or not their risks were life-threatening.

(2) Location

The findings also show that in spite of the similar timing of the occurrences of natural disasters, individual risk perceptions and vulnerability were different among respondents even in the same VDC and community. Many respondents in Kabilash and Kumroj differentiated the risk level according to location. Most of them viewed the river-side area as exposed to the most life- threatening hazard while all areas in Kumroj were flood-prone. Based on their experiences, intense floods, such as the 1993 flood in Kumroj, could first reach river-side residences at the

70 faster speed and attack them more seriously than any other residences away from a river. One female survivor in Bairiya, Kumroj explained:

We have lived in this river-side area for generations. The 1993 flood occurred at midnight. We went outside to check the water level of this river around 1am. At that time, we saw the river flooded only in the upstream site which is far away. So, we went inside and went back to sleep.

Right after then, a very big flood attacked us. It didn‟t take even 10 minutes for the flood to reach here. We survived by some means. But we couldn‟t bring any clothes, food, or stuffs with us. We also left 8 animals in a shed and all of them died.

Her experience was quite different from the experiences of those who lived far from a river and could save not only their own and animals‟ lives, but also important items from the intense floods.

However, all river-side locations were not necessarily subjected to life-threatening floods.

One woman in Gauwa Pari, Kumroj explained about the differential level of risk, caused by the level of land:

We are very at risk because our house is right next to a river. And here is lower than the river.

We have sandbagged the river bank to protect from future floods. But if any big flood like the

1993 one occurs, it might not work out.

The man who lived in Gauwa Wari, the other side of Gauwa Pari, supported her idea:

We are at risk because we live very close to a river. But our side is higher than the river and the other side, so our house was not so seriously affected by the 1993 flood.

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Thus, those residents in the river side, especially the lower side, were exposed to the higher risk of floods in Kumroj VDC.

In Kabilash, whether in mountain or plain areas, most of the respondents who lived in the river side were aware of their exposure to the risk of landslides and debris flows. They described their helpless situation in which there was “no time and no place to escape.” One woman in Sti

Khola, Kabilash explained:

Our house is just located between two rivers. We cannot go to the right or left. Even if we run up to the upland, there is also the risk of landslides. So, there is nowhere to escape for us.

Similarly, the woman in Khola Ghari, Kabilash who faced the risk of landslides and floods said:

We are at risk of both landslides from the upland and floods here in the downstream site. Trees, stones, and all will be washed down here along a flooded river. We can be washed away by a debris flow in a moment. We are most vulnerable.

Regardless of the difference of hill and plain residences, most of the respondents who lived far away from a river perceived less risk from life-threatening hazards. The man in Barlang,

Kabilash who lived in the hill side compared his risk to the risk of people living in the downstream site:

In the case of landslides, we can go to the upland for evacuation. We are not as dangerous as those who live in that downstream site. Landslides here are not life-threatening disasters.

Similarly, one woman in Beldhada, Kabilash said:

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Here, Beldhada, is not as dangerous as Khola Ghari down there. Khola Ghari faces the risk of both landslides and floods. That‟s why there were more victims in Khola Ghari at the time of the

2003 flood.

As shown, location in Kabilash and Kumroj ranged from fast-onset disaster-prone areas to slow- onset disaster-prone areas, which differentiated the level of life-threatening risks. Thus, location was one of the most critical factors to differentiate individual risk perceptions.

However, it is critical who lived in safe and unsafe locations. One of the reasons why people lived in the location of life-threatening hazards was their lack of information or knowledge on the location and unfamiliarity with it. Secondly and more importantly, due to caste-based occupational and economic reasons, Dalits and minor indigenous groups of people tended to live in such marginalized and unsafe places. First, unlike people in the mountain and hill regions, people in Terai tended to more freely move from one to another place, looking for a better livelihood. As a result, those who relatively recently moved into a disaster-prone area tended not to know about its past disaster history. One Dalit woman in Sti Khola, Kabilash said:

I didn‟t know anything about past natural disasters. So we moved here several years ago. This land was affordable for us, too. If I had known it in advance, I would not have moved here.

On the other hand, one Gurung man who lived in the mountain side of Kabilash from his birth explained his experience:

This area is surrounded with mountains. But we were not affected by past disasters so much. I know that here is not as dangerous as other places. So I encouraged my relatives to move in here.

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Thus, information and knowledge on the location is essential for people to avoid the risk of future life-threatening hazards.

However, some people could not always afford to live in safe places even if they knew what places were safe to live in. It depended mainly on the availability of financial resources and caste-based occupation. Many respondents in both Kabilash and Kumroj pointed out that Bote and Maji people, fishing caste/ethnic groups, as the most vulnerable because they lived very close to a river in both VDCs. Similarly, Chepang people lived in the middle of deep forests, where landslides often took place, in order to hunt and collect firewood and herbs. Their places of residence were determined by a caste system which relegated them to live in life-threatening disaster-prone areas, which was further perpetuated by occupational and economic reasons for their residence rather than because they chose to live in vulnerable locations. Thus, location, one of key factors to affect the level of risk, was largely shaped by structural inequality, such as caste/ethnicity, in Kabilash and Kumroj as other places in Nepal.

(3) Gender

In addition to location, many respondents raised gender and age as critical factors to determine the level of human vulnerability to the life-threatening risks of natural disasters, such as debris flows. In Kabilash, many respondents considered women, children, and elderly people as the most vulnerable due to their limited physical capacity for evacuation. Unlike Kumroj,

Kabilash was prone to fast-onset debris flows, whether or not he/she could escape from a dangerous place early enough was a key to survival. One man in Jugedi, Kabilash said:

Women, children, and elderly people are all at risk. They are physically disadvantaged. They cannot run fast or cross a flooded river. And women are in sari, so they cannot walk fast or run.

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In Kabilash which was prone to life-threatening disasters, such as debris flows, limited physical capacity for evacuation could increase risk perceptions and vulnerability.

Unlike their physical disadvantage, some female respondents viewed women‟s exposure to and vulnerability to life-threatening hazards from different perspectives. For this, they emphasized women‟s roles and responsibilities as a mother. One woman in Jugedi, Kabilash said:

Women cannot leave their children behind. They try to protect the children by all means. But men tend to be selfish and just run away by themselves.

Similarly, a woman in Biretar, Kabilash explained:

Women are usually more attached to their children than men. Men are free from such attachment, so they can leave their houses immediately. But women are worried about children, houses, and livestock. So, women cannot take as quick action as men can.

Unlike men‟s view of women‟s lower physical capacity, women‟s roles and responsibilities as a mother or care-giver could also increase their exposure to life-threatening risks and prevent them from safe evacuation.

Women-specific risk perceptions were not confined to the moment of evacuation, but even after a disaster. Some women had to take responsibility as a food provider under much pressure and stress while others experienced difficulty living with other survivors in a temporary housing/shelter. One woman in Sti Khola, Kabilash said:

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Even if we can escape and survive with our children, we, women, are concerned about food for children. Men tend not to care about such a matter. But women have to search for food. We cannot leave our children hungry. That‟s why women are more at risk and more pressured.

Similarly, one female respondent in Gauwa Wari, Kumroj said:

After a flood occurred, women are pushed into more difficult position. Men can go see friends and chat about the flood. But women are very worried about what they can get and cook. If there is no food, women cannot take their responsibility and get more stressed.

Such gendered division of labor or responsibilities could result in women‟s and men‟s differential level of post-disaster anxiety, pressure, and stress.

In addition, the risk perception specific to women also results from the experience of a post-disaster life in a temporary housing/shelter. Many respondents in both Kabilash and Kumroj had lived in a temporary housing/shelter from several days to several months. One female survivor in Bairiya, Kumroj talked about her tearful hardship in a temporary shelter:

Right after the 1993 flood, our family went to a “camp” in Bharatpur and lived there for 6 to 7 months. At that time, I was pregnant. Around 8 months. I was very cold there because rain drops came into our plastic tent. The environment of the camp was not good, very dirty. Under such bad conditions, I experienced a miscarriage. Before then, we went back and forth between our damaged house and the camp by walk. We had to clean and repair the house. We couldn‟t afford for bus tickets. So, I don‟t know whether the camp‟s conditions or walking long distance for many times caused my miscarriage.

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Unlike urban rich families, poor rural families in Nepal sometimes had no health facility around their resident areas or could not afford to pay for regular medical checks. Pregnant women were usually forced to work until they delivered a birth to a baby. Thus, pregnant women felt even more fear, anxiety, or stress even in the post-disaster period than other women.

(4) Access to Information and Technology

The risk perceptions of intensified natural disasters were largely generated by the unpredictability of rainfall patterns and of the occurrence of natural disasters. In spite of their perceptions, almost all respondents had no information and knowledge on on-going and future climate variability and change. This was partly because the government of Nepal had delayed making projections for future climatic changes and for developing adaptation policies due to a lack of relevant data and human and financial resources. Any accurate and detailed weather forecasts were not available in rural Nepal in particular. As current rainfall patterns were not predictable any longer, intensified natural disasters became more threatening to the lives of many respondents.

Some respondents witnessed current unpredictable rainfall patterns, saying, “We cannot know when it rains and when it doesn‟t rain as we could before.” One man in Biretar, Kabilash explained about a critical change:

It used to rain even a little regularly throughout the year. Even when it continued raining for 7 days or more, it didn‟t cause any intensive landslide or flood before. We didn‟t have as heavy rain as we do now. Nowadays, a landslide and flood can occur if it rains even for 3 hours. Rain has become harder and come down at one time.

One woman in Khare Khola, Kabilash explained about her feeling of fear:

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We don‟t know when a flood occurs. It can occur any time if it‟s in the monsoon season. It occurs all of sudden. If it occurs at night, we cannot see or go anywhere. We might fail to escape and die.

Thus, people expressed their concern that they could not predict rainfall patterns based on their past experiences and knowledge, which increased their risks perceptions.

In addition to an almost total lack of accurate information on climate variability, cultural ideology on the relationship of humans to nature reflected in their passive behavior and attitudes toward the future risks of extreme climatic events. Elderly and uneducated participants particularly took the uncertainty or unpredictability of climate variability for granted. For them, climate variability was a matter of nature which was beyond human ideas, agency, and technology. One old uneducated woman in Beldhada, Kabilash said, “What can we do? We just pray for God.” Similarly, a man in Kusntar, Kabilash expressed his helplessness before nature,

We don‟t know about nature. We don‟t know when a flood occurs. It is about nature. That‟s why we are at risk.

Their risk perceptions resulted partly from a lack of information. Regardless of accessibility to information, however, those relatively old and uneducated respondents showed the passive behavior or attitudes toward future climatic events which were based on their cultural ideology.

More respondents than those who took passive attitudes toward future climate variability and change considered that some natural disasters could be controlled by hard structures, such as check-dams. Both educated and uneducated respondents recognized the effectiveness of such hard structures whether the structures were small or large-scale. This was not necessarily based on the information and knowledge given, but rather their own experiences. Due to their mobility,

78 men tended to have more access to information and knowledge on the hard structures for disaster management. However, uneducated or female respondents gained their knowledge of the function and effectiveness of the structures through their interactions with grass-roots-based

NGOs, such as Rural Reconstruction Nepal (RRN). Thus, they tended to doubt the effectiveness of whatever they had not yet seen with their own eyes or had not heard detailed explanation.

For example, one woman in Kusntar, Kabilash explained:

For the first time when I heard about gabion boxes5 from RRN, I was wondering if they can really work. I had never seen them before. So, I didn‟t know how they work. But I realized that they are useful when I saw them working.

Similarly, one uneducated man in Dasdhunga, Kabilash who had no information on the large- scale dams constructed near his residence doubted their effectiveness:

I don‟t know what organization constructed those dams. I heard that those dams were constructed to prevent floods. It has been almost 2 years since they were constructed. But it hasn‟t rained so much for the last couple of years. I don‟t know how those dams will work out when a big flood occurs.

Based on their experiences, many respondents developed their knowledge on the effectiveness and limits of technology. For those uneducated people, it was important not only to have access to information and technology, but also to understand how to utilize such information and technology.

5 Gabion boxes, woven with wire and filled with large stones inside, are to be placed along the river side so that they will protect the bank from intensive floods.

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In fact, some early warning system was available in both Kabilash and Kumroj while most of respondents did not know of its existence or did not trust its performance. With the support of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the early warning system which consisted of the automatic rain gauge connected to the computer system for data collection and automatic warning was developed in 2008 in Kabilash. For its effective function, the Kabilash

VDC formed a committee with the person-in-charge in each ward who could lead local people to early and safe evacuation on the arrival of an early warning message from the VDC office. In the neighboring VDC of Kumroj, there was a tower from which warning for evacuation was supposed to be advised with siren blaring. However, the number of those who knew about such systems was very limited in both VDCs. One educated man in Gawai, Kumroj said:

A tower was constructed in a place called „Piyari‟ some years ago. If a flood occurs, people there blare siren to warn. The siren is supposed to reach here, too. But I don‟t think people here know about this. They are not educated, so they might not know.

Such existing early warning systems tended to be unknown, especially for uneducated people.

Some of the respondents who even knew about the early warning system did not trust in its accuracy or effectiveness until they saw its practical performance. One uneducated woman in

Ghokrela, Kumroj described:

We had RRN‟s training on disaster management and early warning. We visited some places where a tower was constructed for early warning. I have realized that we have to construct a tower to warn people for evacuation.

Similarly, one man in Dhungrela, Kumroj described his distrust in the weather forecast based on his experiences:

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There is no early warning system here. We don‟t know when a flood occurs. We listen to radio.

But things are like this. It suggests us to evacuate, but there is no flood on that day. Instead, a flood occurs on next day. That‟s why we are always scared.

What a male teacher in Barlang, Kabilash said supported their trust or distrust in unfamiliar technology:

Based on the early warning message sent from the VDC, we will give warning to people through

FM radio. We have developed a hazard map and identified unsafe areas and what households had disabled, old, or small children. We have also collected the cell phone numbers of many people for early warning. Last year, we formed our committee and had a rehearsal for early warning. But we don‟t know how it will go when a landslide/flood really occurs.

Regardless of the type of early warning system, people‟s own experiences were the ultimate standard to trust or distrust in its performance for their lives.

The early warning system in Kabilash and Kumroj needed not only to have information disseminated of its existence and role to local people, but also to be improved functionally. Some respondents pointed out that the system would not be available for entire areas. One male teacher in Simaltar, Kabilash explained about his concern:

Even though early warning system is available in most parts of Kabilash, it would be useless for us here. Phone calls usually do not reach here because of the high mountains surrounded. If it rains hard, it would be more difficult to receive a phone call here.

Similarly, an educated man in Gawai, Kumroj said:

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I have known that there is a tower for warning. But it‟s not close enough, but far away. I don‟t think we can hear siren blaring.

In addition to a lack of information, the uncertain function of the early warning systems could prevent both the uneducated and educated from evacuating to a safe place in advance. People who were aware of the early warning systems and technology also knew their limitations.

5.1.2. Risk of Food and Livelihood Insecurity

(1) Adverse Effects of Past Natural Disasters

According to many respondents in Kabilash and Kumroj VDCs, unpredictable rainfall patterns, especially the decreased amount of rain during the dry season, were the second most critical risk after the risk of life-threatening natural disasters, such as debris flows. Changes in rainfall patterns and the amount of rain were not a future risk, but on-going risk faced by those who were already poor and those who had been severely affected by past natural disasters.

Those respondents who lost productive sources, such as land and canals for irrigation, from the past disasters and did not have income sources other than agriculture had already suffered from a shortage of food stocks and financial burdens for years. One female survivor in Gauwa Wari,

Kumroj talked about her long-lasting hardship:

The 1993 flood damaged most of our land with sand. We had to take out sand from the land and make damaged soil better. We borrowed some money from „Saano Kisan‟ 6 (small-scale farmers in Nepali) and hired people to make the land better. Even after we took out sand, our production was still a little. We couldn‟t get enough crops for a long time. Our production is enough for our consumption. But it‟s not enough to sell to make money for agricultural expenditure.

6 A governmental organization which lends money to farmers only for agricultural purposes

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Although those respondents survived the disasters, they continuously faced financial burdens after the disasters.

Many respondents witnessed that intensified natural disasters had occurred more frequently in both Kabilash and Kumroj for the last couple of decades. Before returning to pre- disaster living conditions, affected people tended to be put into further hardship by yet another disaster. One man in Gawai, Kumroj explained:

Our land was severely damaged by the 1993 flood. We hired some people to take out sand and put manure on the damaged land. It took us many years to improve the damaged land. But when the land was almost as good as before, we had another intensive flood again. The land was damaged again. Only recently our production has become better.

A woman in Gauwa Pari, Kumroj explained about much pressure from her debt:

We first had an intensive flood in 1987. In order to improve the land damaged, we borrowed some money from „Saano Kisan.‟ We thought we can pay back this loan by selling crops from this land and by selling trees planted in another land. But another flood occurred in 1993 again.

All trees and paddy were washed away by the 1993 flood. Collection letters keep coming from ‟Saano Kisan.‟ But we have no land to make money. We explained about our situation and asked them to waive the debt. But they said there is no regulation for such a case. We were just let down.

The risk faced by those respondents was not life-threatening risk, but the financial risk affected their welfare for the long term and eventually exacerbated their vulnerability to on-going and future climate variability.

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(2) Available Water by Location

While almost all respondents in Kabilash and Kumroj shared similar perceptions of on- going changes in rainfall patterns and the amount of rain, the risk of food and livelihood insecurity was unevenly distributed. Unlike the plains in Kumroj, much of the agricultural land in Kabilash is located in the hill area. If it did not rain, there would be little water available for irrigation during the dry season in particular. Without available water for irrigation, technologies such as a motor, canals, and hybrid seeds were not useful in Kabilash. A man in Dasdhunga,

Kabilash said:

There is no farmer here who uses a motor to pump water for irrigation. What to do with a motor if there is no water in a river. Whether rich or poor, farmers here will be all affected if it doesn‟t rain.

Similarly, a man in Sti Khola, Kabilash explained about his helpless situation:

As it has not rained, there has been no water in both a river and canals for irrigation. We can have enough water only during the monsoon season. Whether we build new canals or change to hybrid seeds, that will be of no use. I wish we could have enough rain and water during the dry season as well.

Accessibility to water for irrigation during the dry season varied by location, which often shaped the level of food and livelihood security.

Similar to the decreased amount of rain, delayed rain had also resulted in the total loss or serious decrease in agricultural production for many farmers in Kabilash in particular. One man in Barlang, Kabilash witnessed a serious change:

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We are supposed to plant paddy in Asar (May/June) or Sraun (June/July) month. But we cannot plant at the right time any longer. For some years, it has rained only in Bhadra (July/August) month. In that case, seeds were germinated and seedlings also over-grew by Bhadra month. So, many farmers had to throw away the seedlings. In my case, I grazed animals and let them eat the seedlings. It was very sad.

Similarly, a woman in Barlang said:

It has not rained in Asar month for the last several years. Even when it rained at that time, there was only a little rain. There hasn‟t been enough rain to plant paddy. If we postpone planting paddy according to rain, there will appear more pests. And the production of rice will decrease.

Another woman in Barlang, on the other hand, pointed out her difficulty:

Due to a change in rain, manure doesn‟t work out very much. If it rains hard, manure can be washed away. If it doesn‟t rain, manure can get dry. Our production tends to decrease due to both cases. How can we increase the production?

Many respondents supported those farmers‟ experiences by saying, “It doesn‟t rain when we need, but it rains when we don‟t need.”

The current drop in agricultural production, followed by the decreased amount of rain and delayed rain, had threatened already-poor farmers to further food and livelihood insecurity.

The woman in Barlang above explained about her experience one year before:

It didn‟t rain at all during the last dry season. So, all of the maize seeds we planted died before they came out. We seeded again, but we couldn‟t harvest as much as we usually can. Our production of maize dropped down very much.

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Another woman in Biretar, Kabilash described her hardship

We were poor from the beginning. We lost some land from the floods, and our production has also decreased. So, we haven‟t had enough food stock and have become poorer. But, our lack of food stock is not only because of the floods. This is rather because of a lack of rain. We have canals for irrigation here. But there is no water in a river and we cannot irrigate our land.

People around here have faced the same problem.

Thus, current decreased amount of rain or delayed rain had put those farmers in Kabilash who had no or limited water for irrigation at further risk of food and livelihood insecurity.

(3) Wealth and Access to Information and Technology

In Kumroj, the on-going changes in rain had affected rich and poor farmers differently.

Unlike in Kabilash, some water was available even during the dry season in Kumroj. However, all farmers could not necessarily utilize it for irrigation. There was a critical difference in access to water between those who had and those who did not have access to a generator/motor by which they could pump up water from rivers, canals, or the underground. The former had struggled with the increasing cost of fuel for a generator while the latter had suffered from the serious loss in agricultural production caused by limited water/rain. Thus, poor farmers in

Kumroj were more at the risk of food and livelihood insecurity.

Unlike in Kabilash, some financial and technical supports from external organizations were available in Kumroj, especially for relatively larger-scale farmers. For both commercial and family-consuming purposes, those farmers produced rice twice a year and wheat or kidney beans once a year. Based on the external supports, many large-sized-land-holding respondents utilized a shared generator although a few of wealthy respondents had their private generator or motor.

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They could avoid a total or serious loss in their agricultural production while they were forced to spend more for fuel for a generator. One man in Bairiya, Kumroj explained:

We can get enough water for irrigation during the monsoon season because it rains enough. But it doesn‟t rain enough during the dry season and land and crops get dry. So, with the support of an organization, our group of 6 to 7 farmers bought a generator in 1999. They also told us how to pump underground water from a well with a generator. We need to irrigate 3 to 4 times for paddy. Recently, we have to use the generator almost every time. So, our expenditure is quite a lot.

A woman in Gauwa Wari talked about the cost and benefit of using a generator:

We have to often use a generator for irrigation during the dry season. This is because of a lack of rain. Even though we can earn income by selling rice, we have to pay for fuel and other costs.

We have to take out a loan for such costs every time. After leaving some rice for our family use, we sell the remaining rice and get money. But we can just pay back the loan with the money.

The financial and technical supports from external organizations were essential for those farmers to reduce the risk of food and livelihood insecurity. However, these supports tended to be available and effective for relatively rich farmers.

In addition to access to a generator/motor, whether or not farmers could afford to utilize a generator due to fuel costs was a key to reducing the risk of decreased and delayed rain and consequent food and livelihood insecurity. In fact, land-renting respondents experienced difficulty in repaying their loans for the increasing cost of fuel for a generator as well as a deficiency of food stocks. Based on unequal distribution of resources and power in Nepal, landless or small-sized-land-holding farmers had previously or currently engaged in shared

87 cropping under inequitable conditions. While they could receive a half of the total production, they had to contribute their labor and share with their land-owners all the costs, including the cost of fuel for a generator. A landless woman in Bairiya, Kumroj said:

We had financial hardship from the very beginning. We are the landless. We cannot earn income through “adhyan” (shared cropping). We cannot get enough food, either. We have to hire tractors and use a generator during the dry season due to a lack of rain. Fuel for a generator costs us a lot. We have to pay for those costs with money, but we have no money. We just have to keep borrowing money. We have to put 2 cattle as collateral for loans. A lot of agricultural expenditure caused our hardship.

Thus, unpredictable rainfall patterns, intersecting with pre-existing structural inequality and on- going inflation of fuel cost, had brought more financial burdens and risk of food insecurity to those who were already poor.

Based on the experiences of some respondents in both Kabilash and Kumroj, wealth or available resources were not fixed, but changeable with climatic changes and socioeconomic events over time. In Kumroj, shared cropping was not confined to originally landless farmers, but those who lost land from past floods. After the 1993 and 2002 floods in Kumroj, some of the affected respondents had been forced to start share cropping with some land owners. One woman in Bairiya, Kumroj who was seriously affected by the 1993 flood explained:

We lost three fourth of our total land from the 1993 flood. The remaining land was also damaged with sand, so we couldn‟t farm any crop any longer. Instead, we had to farm through “adhyan”.

Through “adhyan,” we could make 4 to 5 month food stock. But due to a lack of rain, our production through “adhyan” dropped down. We had to pump up underground water with a

88 generator. The generator was our land owner‟s. But we had to share the cost of fuel. Fuel was very expensive. This time, we quit farming through “adhyan.” We cannot benefit from “adhyan” at all. It costs us a lot. We also have to give a half of the total production to the land owner. After paying for the costs of tractors and fuel, nothing will be left for us.

Decreased and delayed rain caused both pre- and post-disaster landless farmers to suffer from the dual burdens of a lack of profit from shared cropping and of increasing fuel-cost for a generator.

The respondents in Kumroj who had no access to a generator shared the similar risk perceptions of food and livelihood insecurity as most respondents in Kabilash. If it did not rain enough, farmers in Kumroj had to share water from public canals for irrigation with other famers.

However, it was not easy for them to bring enough water to their land. One man in Dhungrela,

Kumroj explained about his difficulty:

It doesn‟t rain when it is supposed to rain, especially during the dry season. The amount of rain has also decreased. So, it is very problematic to bring water to our land. If your land is close to a canal, it is much easier. But our land is very far from a canal. Most of water just disappears before it reaches our land. Because water in a canal should be shared with other farmers, we have to wait until our turn comes. It is very hard to bring water to our land.

Similarly, a woman in Ghokrela, Kumroj said:

We haven‟t had enough rain or water when we plant paddy during the dry season. TV and radio keep saying, “Farmers cannot plant crops due to a lack of rain all over Nepal.” We have to irrigate by turn. Seedlings don‟t grow enough with limited water. They can well grow only when it rains. We don‟t have a generator or motor. We don‟t have money to buy it. Even if we take out a loan, we have no way to pay it back.

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A man in Gawai, Kumroj also explained:

There hasn‟t been enough water in a canal for irrigation. We have faced a serious problem. We have to fight with other farmers for water. Everyone needs water, right? We cannot get as much water as we want. So, our production hasn‟t been good.

In Kumroj where water for irrigation was available, a lack of access to a generator as well as a lack of financial resources for fuel cost for a generator had largely determined the risk level of food and livelihood insecurity to which farmers were exposed.

Decreased amount of rain or delayed rain resulted in not only a decrease in crop production and increase in expenditure for fuel costs, but also increases in expenditure for additional labor and pesticide costs in Kumroj. One woman in Gauwa Pari, Kumroj explained:

I don‟t have a well or a generator. I have relied only on rain and a canal. If I can bring enough water from the canal, it would be okay. Otherwise, I cannot plant any crop. Last time, I couldn‟t well take care of water for irrigation. Then, our paddy land got a lot of weeds. I had to hire more than 30 people for weeding. How could I hire them by paying money? I hired them through

“parma” (exchange of work).

One man in Gauwa Wari, Kumroj supported her saying:

Rich farmers can buy their own generator or motor, not like our shared one. They also can buy as much fuel as they want. But we cannot afford. If rain and water are not enough, more weeds will appear. We have to take them out, and our labor increases. Otherwise, we need more pesticide.

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Thus, those who had no access to a generator or could not afford for the high fuel cost had faced not only the risk of drastic decrease in crop production, but also additional labor costs. Under the context of such climate variability as decreased or delayed rain, the pre-existing wealth conditions, in particular, shaped farmers‟ accessibility to a generator as well as access to information and technology from external organizations.

In spite of their active interventions in Kabilash and Kumroj, external organizations had given their beneficiaries limited information on future climate change and counter-measurements.

As described above, this was mainly because there was a lack of data and the government had not developed detailed projections and had not implemented climate adaptation policies. Even the farmers who had access to agricultural extension workers, including junior technical officers

(JTOs), had not been advised for any adaptation strategies and technology. As a result, most respondents had ended up either using a generator with high costs or exclusively depending on rain or unreliable canals for irrigation. One man in Kumroj explained his needs:

I need more information. Information on the varieties which don‟t need so much water if such varieties are available.

Access to reliable information on projected changes and effective adaptation strategies was key to farmers‟ preparedness for the future risk of food and livelihood insecurity.

5.2. Imagined and Actual Adaptive Capacity

5.2.1. Critical Gap between Imagined and Actual Adaptive Capacity

Almost all respondents in Kabilash and Kumroj considered the poor or socially- disadvantaged, including Dalits, minor indigenous groups of people (non-Indo-Aryans), and women, as the most vulnerable. Due to their biases, the rich or privileged tended to overlook the

91 actual adaptive capacity of lower-caste or poor people. In the discussions of focus groups, especially upper-caste or educated men‟s groups, blamed Dalits, minor indigenous groups of people, and women for their lack of education and awareness as the main cause of their vulnerability. A few male participants in a focus groups interview in Jugedi, Kabilash discussed:

We, Brahmin and Chettri people are clever. So we know what places are prone to landslides and floods. But lower-caste and indigenous people cannot distinguish between safe and risky places.

That‟s because of their lack of education.

However, in contrast to the opinions of the Brahmin man, one Dalit uneducated woman in Sti

Khola, Kabilash understood and explained the risk she faced in her in-depth interview:

We are very at risk. Once the rainy season starts, I wonder if there is heavy rain and a landslide occurs. If our house is washed away, we will face the serious problem of where to live and how to make our livelihood. We don‟t stay long at our house during the rainy season. We leave for the field right after eating breakfast and stay there for almost a whole day. We stay in a shed near the field overnight if it rains hard. This is because it‟s too late to escape once a landslide occurs here. If a landslide occurs, both rivers will get flooded and there will be no way to escape for us.

Thus, what the rich or privileged imagined or stereotyped did not necessarily reflect the actual vulnerability or adaptive capacity of the poor or socially-disadvantaged.

Similarly, other male educated participants in the focus groups interview in Barlang,

Kabilash viewed the behaviors and life-style specific to minor indigenous groups, such as

Chepang people, as problematic. These men pointed to such behaviors and life-styles as resulting

92 in the lack of education, poverty, and consequent vulnerability of those minor groups of people.

One male participant in Barlang, Kabilash criticized:

Chepang people live in the corner of a forest for collecting herbs and firewood and hunting.

They live far away from a school area. If they can get any subsidy from school, they might go to school for it. Otherwise, they won‟t go because they like hunting better. Since they don‟t study, their awareness is low.

Similarly, a male participant in the focus group interview in Jugedi, Kabilash described:

Dalits and indigenous people are vulnerable. This is not because of money. Rather it‟s because of culture-based behavior and a lack of education. Even if they have money, they cannot use it properly. They don‟t think about using the money to move to a safe place. If they have money, they put the first priority on eating, drinking, and smoking.

However, such viewpoints from the privileged tended to exclude the fact that the socially- disadvantaged did not necessarily choose to live in that way, but rather that they lived in marginalized areas due to limited resources under an unequal caste system.

In fact, a few privileged respondents in the focus groups interview in Jugedi, Kabilash were aware of their own advantages based on their caste and location. One privileged man in

Jugedi explained how he had benefitted from development programs:

Whether you live in mountain or plain areas in Kabilash, development level and living conditions could be different. There is a big difference whether you live in No. 1 ward or other wards. Every development program comes to our ward first and constructs any facilities from here.

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Similarly, another man in Jugedi said:

Upper-caste and educated or experienced people have lived in safe places for generations. So, it is also true there are only unsafe areas left for Dalits and indigenous people to live in.

Thus, some privileged people simplified the causes for the vulnerability of the socially- disadvantaged to their lower educational levels. Their lower educational levels resulted more from the unequal distribution of resources by caste/ethnicity and gender rather than individual laziness or ability.

Based on their socioeconomic disadvantages, many lower-caste or poor respondents in

Kabilash and Kumroj were faced by not only the risk of recent increasing climate variability, but also other socioeconomic risks. One Dalit woman in Sti Khola, Kabilash explained about her family‟s struggle with climatic and economic risks:

My husband used to migrate to India, but he hasn‟t gone to work during the rainy season any longer. He works very hard during this dry season to buy food and to send our kids to school.

During the rainy season, he doesn‟t go anywhere, and stays here to protect us from a landslide.

If he migrates, he can make money and we won‟t suffer from money‟s problem. But if he migrates, he might worry if we might be washed away. So, whichever he chooses, it‟s a hardship for us.

As other socially-disadvantaged people, her problem was rooted from structural inequality by caste, gender, and location which shaped her educational and income levels and consequent vulnerability.

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Exposed to such multi-risks, vulnerable people had to focus on not only how to protect their lives from future disasters, but also how to maintain their livelihoods through agriculture.

However, this point was often overlooked by the privileged. One privileged man in Jugedi,

Kabilash gave an example indicating that he considered those socially-disadvantaged people as ignorant:

After the 2003 disaster, VDC bought and prepared some substitute land for victims and those who live in very dangerous places. But none of them have moved there. They just like living in their own place even though it‟s dangerous.

One Dalit man in Sti Khola, Kabilash, however, expressed a reason different from the one imagined:

I have known we have to move to a safe place based on our experience in 2003. But we don‟t have money. Our VDC prepared some land for us. But they bought the land there not based on our needs, but their interests. The land was so small that it was limited to residence only. And it was also far from our agricultural land. Agriculture is essential for our life, so we didn‟t move there.

Thus, whether supports were from the government or local/international organizations, they did not always meet the needs of vulnerable people since the actual vulnerability or adaptive capacity of the vulnerable tended not to be assessed properly, but based on biases.

Based on such experiences over time, many socially-disadvantaged respondents in

Kabilash and Kumroj did not trust local authorities or privileged people. Public information and resources were not always distributed equally among people in both VDCs. Many socially- disadvantaged or poor respondents considered that authorities or privileged people did not view

95 them as important and would not help them. One Tamang woman in Sti Khola, Kabilash expressed her negative feeling against authorities in Kabilash:

We didn‟t know that VDC bought land for the victims. Only recently, we have known it. VDC people don‟t give us any information.

Similarly, a poor woman in Dhungrela, Kumroj was fully aware of the impact of inequality and complained about unequal distribution of relief supply:

Even if the government or any organizations give us anything, the privileged will take it all. The privileged will never share with us. Nothing will be left for us.

A poor woman in Gauwa Pari, Kumroj also described her distrust in authorities:

VDC people and other political members just think about their benefit only, not our benefit. We are uneducated. So, no one helps us.

Thus, socially-disadvantaged people were marginalized not only materially, but also psychologically.

Faced by a lot of difficulties, some of the respondents who were viewed as ignorant by the privileged showed how they coped with past and future risks. A Chepang uneducated woman in Beldhada, Kabilash talked about her coping strategy:

Due to the 2003 landslide, we lost some land and all fruit trees. Because our food stock is enough only for 5 months, we have to earn money. I planted mango seeds in our backyard in my own idea. I expect to sell them in the future.

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Similarly, a Chowdry (Taru) man in Ghokrela, Kumroj showed his careful thinking about creating income sources other than agriculture:

After the 1993 flood, I decided to migrate somewhere. I had no other choice because our food stock was not enough at all. I thought if I could get any skill, it would be good. I thought I should learn and get any skill. Around that time, one of my acquaintances was looking for some welders and asked me to go with him. I thought I can always get a job if I get the skill of welding. And I went to Pokhara with him. I was trained there for several months and worked as welder for a couple of years. Now I can earn some money from welding.

Thus, minor indigenous groups of people were not always ignorant or helpless as privileged people imagined.

Among upper-caste groups of people, there was a stereotyped idea of Chepang people as environmental degraders. Some male participants in a focus group interview in Barlang,

Kabilash, were critical against the rural institution of shifting cultivation which was mainly practiced by Chepang people. They pointed to shifting cultivation as the main cause of a landslide. Chepang people, however, explained that they did not necessarily cause landslides, but worked to protect their land from future landslides. One educated man in Barlang, Kabilash criticized:

Chepang people live close to a forest. For shifting cultivation, they clear forest land and put fire on it. In that way, they make their land weaker and weaker and cause landslides. Because their awareness level is low, they are vulnerable to landslides.

A Chepang woman, on the other hand, explained about her coping strategy:

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After the 2003 landslide, I planted some seedlings for fodder and firewood in any land where a landslide might occur in the future. I did so because I expected the seedlings to make the land stronger. No neighbor planted seedlings. But I saw some people in another village doing, so I planted.

Similarly, one Chepang man in Beldhada, Kabilash said:

I brought some seedlings from our forest and transplanted them in the land weakened by the

2003 landslide. I didn‟t plant them because someone said to me. I thought by myself that the seedlings will hold the soil and protect from a landslide. Here is a landslide-prone and very risky place. But I think the seedlings planted will protect the soil and we can get safer.

Regardless of gender, age, and educational levels, Chepang people were not always environment degraders, and some were rather protectors of the environment. Because of the biases rooted deeply in Nepali society, there was a critical gap between the imagined adaptive capacity of the socially-disadvantaged and their actual capacity.

Another critical gap between imagined and actual adaptive capacity was found for women. One male participant in the focus group interview in Jugedi, Kabilash emphasized the inferiority of women‟s capacity:

Unlike men, women, children, and old people have lower knowledge and memory level. They don‟t know how to protect themselves from a natural disaster.

Similarly, a man in Dasdhunga, Kabilash referred to women‟s ignorance in his in-depth interview:

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Men can escape in advance by checking the water level of a river. But women don‟t think about escaping until water comes into a house. They don‟t know when they should run away.

However, those women who had experienced past disasters were not as ignorant as imagined.

Based on her own experience, a female participant in a focus group interview in Khare Khola explained about her preparedness:

If the water level of a river rises, we should run away immediately. After a river gets flooded, a bridge might be washed away and we cannot escape this side. The bridge was washed away by the 2003 flood. So, we have to escape before a river is flooded. This is what we have learned from the 2003 flood.

Similarly, many of the uneducated female participants in both focus groups and in-depth interviews who lived close to a river said, “We don‟t sleep at all, and keep watching the water level of a river so that we can escape early enough.” Regardless of education level, many women had utilized their own experiences, knowledge, and networks and prepared for safe evacuation similarly to men.

5.2.2. Changing Adaptive Capacity with External Interventions

The adaptive capacity of socially-disadvantaged people was not necessarily fixed as imagined or stereotyped. The adaptive capacity of poor and marginalized people was improved by their own newly-gained experiences, but also external interventions, such as local/international NGOs‟ financial and technical supports. Unlike men who had mobility, many of the uneducated women who stayed at house had no access to technical information on disaster management until they were provided information by grassroots-based NGOs, such as Practical

Action and RRN. One woman in Kusntar, Kabilash said:

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In the beginning, I doubted about what Practical Action was talking about. They provided us with gabion boxes and seedlings for bank protection. I was wondering whether or not their way of protection was effective. But I have witnessed with my own eyes that those things have prevented floods. Now I know that they are right.

Similarly, a woman in Khola Ghari, Kabilash explained:

We have constructed some gabion boxes in the river-sides as Practical Action gave us some wire.

The gabion boxes are so strong that they have protected our land and canals. I had no knowledge and had never seen gabion boxes before. Now I know where and how to put gabion boxes.

One uneducated Tamang man in Biretar, Kabilash talked about knowledge and experiences gained from NGOs‟ support:

Putting gabion boxes and planting seedlings were both new to us. Practical Action and RRN came here and taught us such new things. We could also have new experiences. We didn‟t plant seedlings for land protection. NGOs gave us knowledge on what and how to do.

Thus, regardless of educational levels, those participants gained new knowledge and technology through external interventions. Technical and financial supports from organizations at the grassroots level improved the adaptive capacity of poor and uneducated people.

Based on their initiative, one of women‟s groups in Gauwa Pari, Kumroj, which was organized by a local NGO, RRN had protected their lower-leveled bank with sandbags and seedlings. RRN provided financial and technical support to the group to construct this simple

100 structure while the members of the group and their family members contributed their labor. One young woman in Gauwa Pari said:

We knew that if we sandbagged, we could prevent a flood. This is because at first, RRN took us to one of their model areas and we saw some gabion boxes and sandbags constructed there.

After coming back, we discussed in the group and requested RRN to support us to sandbag and protect our houses and land. With RRN‟s support, we also planted some seedlings of sweep grass.

Now we are going to plant some more.

Another woman explained about RRN‟s support:

RRN supported us to place sandbags along this river side. We (not only women members but also their husbands and other family members) contributed our labor for the construction. We worked for around 15 to 20 days. For our labor, RRN gave each of us some rice and beans per day. I hope the sandbags will well protect us.

Thus, poor uneducated women could take such collective action, involving their husbands and other family members, and attempted to protect their resident area with their own initiative if appropriate supports at the grassroots level were available. In the context of top-down risk management or adaptation to climate change, on the other hand, the adaptive capacity of poor and uneducated women tended to be overlooked based on privileged men‟s bias. Without better understanding of their actual capacity, any supports for adaptations could result in inefficiency and ineffectiveness.

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5.3. Different Responses to Climatic and Environmental Changes

Due to differences in socio-economic backgrounds, respondents in Kabilash and Kumroj responded to intensified natural disasters and unpredictable rainfall patterns differently.

Available resources particularly had affected individual attitudes to and motivation for coping with or adapting to such changes. Some poor women felt “powerless” and expressed passive attitudes to the changes while other women were “confident” to resist against the adverse effects of the changes with their coping strategies. Many poor men had diversified their income sources by engaging in wage labor work or migrating to cities while a few men had proactively shifted to cash crops which did not need as much water as rice and other food crops. Those different responses were largely affected by their economic status, including assets, incomes, and savings at the household level, which was closely related to caste/ethnicity. Female-headed households or women who had no control over such household resources were more economically disadvantaged. Regardless of household economic status, gender discrimination often shaped unequal distribution of resources within the household, which constrained the coping and adaptive capacity of even women who were not from poor families.

The level of vulnerability and adaptive capacity could not be simply categorized by only caste/ethnicity and gender, however. It also varied by other factors at the individual and household levels. Individual income, educational/knowledge level, decision-making power, and access to supports from external organizations differentiated available resources and consequent adaptive capacity not only between men and women, but also even between women. One woman in her early-thirties who had elementary-school-level education in Khola Ghari, Kabilash raised a very important point which I focus on my research:

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All women are not the same. There are a few educated women who work outside and earn income. But most of women stay at home and do only agricultural work. Women used not to be allowed to go out or stay overnight outside. My husband doesn‟t complain even if I go out for training and come back in a few days. I have also had equal power to make a decision on our household income. In the beginning, I didn‟t have it. But I have gained my power for the last several years. Those women who don‟t have their own income or don‟t have equal power as men are more vulnerable.

Her bargaining power with her husband was not uncommon among Gurung couples. In addition, her educational status could increase her self-esteem and power while her relatively young husband was not as bound to the traditional gender roles/responsibilities.

The diversity of women was a key to understanding how gender intersected with other socioeconomic factors to affect human vulnerability and adaptive capacity in both VDCs. It also meant that the actual adaptive capacity of women and other socially-disadvantaged people was not necessarily fixed as imagined or stereotyped. Human vulnerability and adaptive capacity could be improved with changes at the individual, household, or local level in terms of accessibility to information, technologies, financial resources, and networks which were often supported by external organizations. Also, they could negatively be affected by unavoidable forces at the national or global level, such as economic recession and political instability, over time.

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5.3. 1. Wealth and Needs for Cash because of Increasing Climate Variability

The level of wealth at the household and individual levels tended to affect individual behaviors or attitudes toward adaptations to climate change. Regardless of gender, the respondents who did not have enough cash tended to be passive to increasing climate variability and had almost no hope to resist against on-going climatic and economic crises. They felt helpless and had almost no motivation to take action. One poor woman in Khare Khola, Kabilash described the helplessness stemming from a lack of money:

Everything is driven by money. If you have money, you can buy anything. I wish I could buy land in a safe place and live there. If I had money, I could buy irrigated land and wouldn‟t suffer from a shortage of food any longer. … We lost all our property. Now we have to go to work for rich farmers. And we, poor people can just buy and bring food back home. We work very hard for days, but it won‟t bring us anything other than food.

An indigenous woman in Biretar, Kabilash also talked about her weakness:

Only with hope, what can we do? Hope can do nothing. We cannot afford to educate our children. We could have done anything if our parents had given us education. We are very weak.

What can we do?

Similarly, a poor woman in Dhungrela, Kumroj said:

We haven‟t looked for anything. We don‟t have money. Whatever we start doing to increase our income, we need money. Without money, we cannot do anything.

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Those poor women could not afford to invest in adaptations, but they could only meet their survival needs. Poverty often discouraged people from taking action and forced them into passivity to the difficulties they faced, which tended to result in a vicious circle of poverty.

If natural resources, information, and technology were available, cash was the most essential for effective adaptations to current climate variability, such as decreased water and firewood, in Kabilash and Kumroj. Respondents in Kumroj, in particular, suffered from increasing needs for cash and resulting financial burdens. As described previously, underground water and technical and financial supports from external organizations were available in Kumroj, where upper- and middle-income households had invested in a shared or private generator/motor while poor households could not. Even among those wealthier farmers, some could afford the high fuel costs while others could not. On the other hand, those who could not afford such investment had to use money for renting and fuel costs or ended up giving up irrigating by a generator. While access to a generator reduced the risk of food insecurity, it generated differential financial burdens to farmers according to their wealth levels.

Technical and financial supports from external organizations had not necessarily reached or benefitted all farmers in Kumroj. One man in Gawai, Kumroj complained about insufficient support from an organization:

One organization supported some farmers‟ groups to buy a generator if they could afford to dig a well by themselves. We had no money to dig a well. So, we couldn‟t get a generator at that time.

We can plant paddy only when water is available in a canal. There is no way if there is no water in a canal. We have to check water over night and irrigate our land. It is very hard without water.

I wondered if we should buy a motor for the last couple of years. But we don‟t have money to buy

105 it. We are not in the financial condition to buy it. If any organization provides a loan with easy term, we can buy it.

Thus, when external organizations aimed to improve agricultural productivity with their financial and technical support, their support often resulted in benefitting only those farmers who could afford the initial investment which the organizations recommended. Those who did not have minimum resources tended to be excluded from the support and suffer from further difficulties caused by delayed or decreased amount of rain.

Similarly, decreased forest resources, such as firewood, had affected poor and less poor households differently in Kumroj in particular. Unlike Kabilash, Kumroj VDC is located in the buffer zone areas of Chitwan National Park. In the areas, community forestry and biogas had been introduced and promoted through the government‟s development program since 1996. To reduce the pressure of human needs in the degraded forests of the Park and buffer zone areas, some incentives, such as a loan for a biogas facility, were provided the members of user groups.

Upper- and middle-income members had taken out a loan from the program and built biogas facilities. On the other hand, those who did not have biogas had to buy the regulated quantity of firewood from their user committee or the Park. Those who could not afford to buy firewood were forced to go far into their community forests or the Park and steal firewood from there.

Some of the respondents in Kumroj who did not have biogas facilities pointed out insufficient supports from the buffer zone program. A woman in Ghokrela, Kumroj explained about her difficulty taking out a loan:

Many villagers have built biogas facilities with the support of the buffer zone program. They took out a loan and paid back with monthly payment. We might not be able to pay even with monthly

106 payment. If we cannot pay back, we will be embarrassed. That‟s why we haven‟t built it.

Everything has resulted from our lack of money.

The man in Ghokrela, Kumroj who could not afford to buy firewood described:

We don‟t have biogas. We don‟t even use a stove with sawdust or wheat-dust. I have heard that the buffer zone program supported for this stove. But I didn‟t get it because it was not free but we needed to buy it anyway. We couldn‟t afford even for it. We are not allowed to collect even dead wood from our forest or the National Park except for a few days when they are open. We have to buy it from our user committee instead. But we cannot buy it. We just have to steal it from either the Park or our community forest.

In spite of accessibility to external supports, those poor households could not take or benefit from the supports due to their financial deficit. A lack of biogas had disproportionately affected the poor, especially women who mainly went far into the forests, taking the risk of stealing firewood, and cooked with firewood, bearing the health risks from smoke.

The support for biogas facilities had directly benefitted only the members who could take out a loan from the program. However, this partial shift of fuel to biogas reduced the pressure in the forests and the emission of carbon dioxide to some extent, which indirectly benefitted even those who did not have biogas. One woman in Gauwa Pari, Kumroj explained about the positive effects of biogas:

As it was getting more difficult to get firewood, we built a biogas facility 2 years ago. We took out a loan from the buffer zone program. It was originally NRs 20,0007 and was discounted by

7 USD1=approximately NRs 84.5 as of the exchange rate on December 2011 (http://www.xe.com/ucc/full/).

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NRs. 2,000 since we chose to mix both manure and human toilet. Now we don‟t need to buy firewood. We don‟t have to breathe smoke and can cook faster with biogas. It is great benefit for us.

On the other hand, a man in Gawai, Kumroj pointed out needs for special incentives for the poor:

Our population might continue to increase. It is not possible to conserve forests only by prohibiting cutting trees. We also need to use biogas instead of firewood. The program has to give a loan without any interest. There should be a special arrangement for the poor so that they can build biogas facilities.

Similar to a generator, a biogas facility was not the adaptation which everyone could afford to apply. In order to reduce the pressure of needs for firewood and preserve already-degraded forests, the program should have targeted even those who could not afford the biogas facilities.

5.3.2. Needs for Cash because of Social and Economic Changes

External forces which pushed those who were already poor to further deficit were not only climate variability, but also on-going social and economic events and changes. With growing awareness of the importance of education, educational costs had taken a lot of household income for many of respondents in Kabilash and Kumroj. The sharp rise of prices, including agricultural inputs, had also threatened most of the household livelihoods. In addition, the shift of traditional exchange of work, so-called parma, to a monetary system had also accelerated their needs for cash. First, one poor woman in Ghokrela, Kumroj said:

Our food stock lasts only for 5 to 6 months now. There is no main income source. We sell some milk and vegetables. We can earn NRs. 3,000 to 4,000 per season. We have only small land, so

108 we can earn only little money. And we have to bear the cost of our children‟s education and household needs with the limited income.

Similarly, one young woman in Gauwa Pari, Kumroj said:

My father works for a dairy and earns NRs. 3,000 per month. But his salary is not enough at all.

My brother and I go to college and need NRs. 500 for each of us per month. Although we did share cropping, we could get only food stock for 2 months from it. After paying for fertilizer, seeds, tractors, labor wages, and fuel for a generator, almost nothing was left for us. So, we go to do wage agricultural work on Saturdays during busy season. But the money we earn from that covers only a part of our education and agricultural expenditure.

In one sense, it was a wise investment to educate children for future income. However, it was uncertain if they could get a job due to a lack of industries and jobs in rural Nepal in particular.

According to many respondents in both Kabilash and Kumroj, the prices of agricultural input, such as chemical fertilizer, had been rising as had other input costs. In addition, people had to pay for labor costs due to the shift of the traditional institution of exchange work, parma, to hiring laborers with wages. One man in Barlang, Kabilash explained about the increasing price of fertilizer:

The price of chemical fertilizer is getting higher and higher. When we started using it some years ago, it cost only NRs. 6 or 7per kg. But now it is NRs. 25 or so. Although it‟s expensive, we have to use it. It‟s almost a habit both for us and the soil. We cannot do only with manure. Without fertilizer, our production will decrease by a half or so.

A man in Jugedi, Kabilash explained about the institutional change:

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If you and your neighbors work for each other in farming, it is called “parma.” Those who have money can hire people by paying money instead of “parma.” If men migrate, women have to hire people with the money sent by men. This change has started around 10 years before.

According to a female participant in Kumroj, wage rates for men and women increased from

NRs. 150 to NRs. 200 and NRs. 90 to NRs150 per day only in the last one year. Thus, social and economic changes, intersecting with climate variability, had brought about more needs for cash.

Social and economic changes, intersecting with decreased amount of rain, had disproportionately pressured the livelihoods of the poor, especially those women who headed the households. One poor woman in Gauwa Pari, Kumroj whose husband had just migrated abroad had to take double responsibilities for agriculture for her husband. She explained about her multiple burdens:

We used to hire only 5 to 6 people to plow when my husband was here. Plowing is men‟s work, so I cannot do. Now I have to hire 10 to 12 people now. This time, I got a lot of weeds in our land due to a lack of water. I had to hire around 30 people for weeding. How could I afford to hire those people? I have no money. It has been only 3 months since my husband migrated. He hasn‟t yet sent any money. I have already worked for some of those people through “parma” but not yet for others.

As it did not rain enough or at the right time, those farmers who depended on agriculture for a living were forced to bear even high fuel and labor costs by all means. In addition, due to a shift to a monetary system, the poor ended up suffering from the double or triple financial burdens.

Such climatic and socioeconomic changes most seriously affected those poor women who headed the households.

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5.3.3. Structural Constraints by Caste and Ethnicity

Ability to diversify household income sources and increase the income varied between respondents in Kabilash and those in Kumroj. Lower caste, low educational levels, or limited productive resources, including land and animals, constrained many respondents from making such adaptations. In each VDC, a couple of young male and female participants, who were upper caste, highly educated, and had connection with local authorities, had engaged in teaching at school or doing office work. Most of relatively upper caste and well-off respondents in Kumroj had earned income by selling milk, kidney beans, or paddy seeds while several respondents in

Kabilash sold goats for meat. In lower caste or poor households in both VDCs, however, one or more family members had migrated to cities/abroad or engaged in wage agricultural/other labor work. Those men who migrated abroad were usually in debt even after they worked abroad for a couple of years because they borrowed a lot of money to pay brokers before they left. Regardless of the costs to migrate abroad, not all men could get good jobs there and some men turned out to come back without returning the debt. Since women were supposed to stay at home to take care of children and animals, migration was confined only to men. Those women who were left home could not always expect remittance from their husbands or sons because of such uncertainty. In order to earn their own cash, uneducated poor women in Kumroj engaged in agricultural labor work while those in Kabilash sold firewood or local alcohol for cash.

The limited income sources and low income level were mainly determined by unequal access to and control over resources within the community and the household as well as limited educational level. Pre-existing social structures, including caste and gender, shaped this unequal distribution. Without improving the structural inequality, the pre-determined adaptive capacity of

111 those poor and marginalized people could not be improved. One Dalit man in Sti Khola,

Kabilash explained about his chronic poverty:

We have still struggled with food and money problems. Whether it rains or it doesn‟t rain, our life will never go well. This is because we don‟t have enough land and income. That‟s why we are so weak.

Similarly, a poor woman in Dhungrela, Kumroj explained about her helpless life:

We are poor. Our income has never been stable. My husband got his leg hurt a couple months ago. Since then, he has not worked and made any money. I borrowed some money to buy his medication. To pay back the money, we had to sell one cattle which was all we had. Now we have nothing to sell. We don‟t have any irrigated land, either. We cannot cultivate vegetables to sell. Our food stock won‟t last until the next harvest period. What can we do? It‟s very difficult because we have no income source and we are poor.

Thus, the pre-existing social structures, such as caste, tended to perpetuate the lower adaptive capacity of the poorest of the poor in particular. Without external interventions, their adaptive capacity could not be improved, but could still remain or even be exacerbated.

The structurally unequal distribution of resources by caste and gender had been rooted in

Nepali society and could not be easily transformed even with external interventions. Similar to the buffer zone development program, local NGOs, including RRN, had not necessarily involved the poorest of the poor into their income generating programs. A lack of basic resources, such as land and irrigation, which could not be addressed by NGOs, had constrained the poorest of the poor from starting any activity. One poor woman in Khare Khola, Kabilash said:

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I am thinking if we had land, we could do something. Due to no water, we cannot cultivate vegetables. We lost land with irrigation. We cannot farm even paddy now.

Similarly, one man in Dasdhunga, Kabilash expressed no use of organizations‟ support:

Those who have access to irrigation can farm any cash crops and make money. But I cannot farm vegetables because of a lack of water here. Some villagers have taken training on vegetable cultivation, but I haven‟t. What can I do with training? It‟s no use because I have no irrigation.

Even if I try to plant some seedlings for oranges, I lost land and no land is left to plant them.

Support from grassroots-based NGOs did not necessarily reach the poorest of the poor who should be the first to benefit from. Such external interventions were useful only when people had minimum resources to take advantage of the support.

In addition, the poor who did not have enough land and regular income had difficulty with shifting from their original income-generating activity to new ones. Whether they shifted to vegetable or fruit cultivation, they had to maintain their livelihoods by some means until they harvested and sold vegetables or fruits. One poor woman in Biretar, Kabilash explained her concern:

It takes around 3 months to harvest and sell vegetables. We can get money only after 3 months.

In the case of local alcohol, I go to forest and bring some firewood back on the first day, make alcohol on the next day, and can go sell on the third day. If we stop making alcohol for vegetable cultivation, we have no source to make money in the next few months.

On the other hand, the man in Barlang, Kabilash who shifted to banana cultivation explained how he could get through the transition time:

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We don‟t have a lot of land, but small land only. Banana cultivation is available even for poor people. It takes around 14 months for banana seedlings to grow enough and get ripen for sale.

It‟s very fast to grow and get ready for sale, compared to other fruits. After waiting for 14 months, bananas will give you good income. Rice and maize are ready only after 3 months, but income is small. If there is another income source and maintain your livelihoods, you can wait even for 14 months. In my case, almost at the same time, I started working for a dairy.

Thus, it was not easy for poor farmers to search for and shift to another income source while there was no stable income source. Those poor farmers could not afford to invest not only money, but also time.

5.3.4. Structured Constraints by Rurality

Structural inequality also existed between urban and rural areas. The rural areas of Nepal, including Kabilash and Kumroj, had been economically disadvantaged in terms of not only job opportunities, but also transportation systems and the market. Due to the civil war lasting from

1996 to 2006, some infrastructure was destroyed and the main roads connected to cities were often blocked by both the military and Maoist group. In addition to pre-existing inequality between urban and rural areas, the civil war seriously affected the poor economy of those rural areas. One of the men in Gawai, Kumroj who had engaged in vegetable cultivation described:

We have earned good income from vegetables. But we faced serious problems when roads were closed and shops were closed due to Maoists‟ rebellions. This conflict was over in 2006. So it‟s okay after then.

The woman in Barlang, Kabilash whose husband, a member of Maoist group, was killed by the military explained about her hardship:

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My husband is dead. He was killed by the military during the civil war. I had a lot of hardship after then. I lost my husband and our land was washed away by the 2003 landslide almost at the same time. I had to get through both hardships by myself because my children were small at that time.

Even after the civil war, unstable politics and bad governance constrained the rural economy from being stimulated.

Due to a lack of a market and transportation systems, some respondents in Kumroj were discouraged or hesitated to cultivate vegetables while others made efforts for earning incomes from vegetable cultivation. First, a man in Bairiya, Kumroj said:

RRN gave us some vegetable seeds. But we haven‟t cultivated vegetables for sale, but only for family use. There is no market near here to sell vegetables.

Similarly, some women in Kabilash who started making candles with financial and technical supports from RRN had faced the problem of a lack of a market. One man in Botedap, Kabilash talked about his wife‟s experience:

With other members, my wife has started making candles to sell. RRN provided her group with training and some money to buy the frames to make candles and raw materials. But the prices of raw materials are getting higher and higher. And there is no market around here to sell. So we decided to go to Besisahar (3 to 4 hours away by bus) where our relative does business in the market.

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Whether agricultural or non-agricultural products, there was a critical problem of a lack of a market in such rural areas. This was one of the challenges which could not be easily solved by external organizations.

Next, in spite of the market‟s problem, some men and women in Kumroj had engaged in vegetable cultivation to compensate for deficient food stocks and bear the costs of family needs.

This was based on their motivations and efforts to carry heavy vegetables to the distant market by walk or bicycle. One man in Bairiya, Kumroj explained about why they engaged in vegetable cultivation:

We started vegetable cultivation because we can earn money even from our small land. We can also get enough vegetables for our consumption, and don‟t need to buy them. My wife and I work together. But I go to sell vegetables to shops or restaurants in the National Park by myself. I carry 40 to 50 kilograms of vegetables by bicycle. It takes me 30 minutes or so to get there. We can earn enough income to educate our children and save some money.

Similarly, a man in Gawai, Kumroj said:

We used to sell some food crops and manage for agricultural expenditure. But our food crops became enough only for our family consumption after we lost land. Since I also needed money for my son‟s education, I started vegetable cultivation with my wife. I had taken training from

Care Nepal before. My wife has just taken it from RRN. Our workload has increased after starting vegetable cultivation. We have no free time. My wife goes to sell vegetables to the

National Park. She cannot ride a bicycle, so she goes there by walk. She carries around 40 to

50kgs of vegetables and sells them each time.

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A young woman in Gauwa Pari, Kumroj talked about her hope to generate income from vegetable cultivation:

We have just started vegetable cultivation for sale. We had a problem of water for irrigation. So, we borrowed NRs. 8,000 from our saving group of RRN and made some arrangements for water.

We hope we can pay back this loan by selling vegetables. We are thinking to cultivate and sell vegetables twice a year. But there is a big problem of the market here. There is no market nearby.

Villagers here are not accustomed to buying vegetables. We don‟t have time to carry vegetables to the market every day, so we cannot make money every day.

Because of a lack of a market and transportation systems, additional labor and time consumption had to be always borne by those rural people if they needed or were motivated to generate income.

In Nepal, the unequal distribution of power and resources was also structured between buyers and sellers or shop-keepers and farmers. Without equitable negotiation, farmers were often forced to accept whatever price shop-keepers or buyers asked. Those buyers often took unfair advantage of poor farmers‟ urgent needs for cash to pay back a loan for agricultural expenditure. One man in Dhungrela, Kumroj explained about his powerlessness to buyers:

Those who have power exploit those who are powerless. We are the powerless. Business people come to us and buy some crops from us. They buy those crops at very low price. We have to sell the crops even at the low price. We need cash to pay for hiring tractors and laborers. We also need cash because we might get sick and have to buy some food and pay for children‟s education.

Similarly, the woman in Biretar, Kabilash who sold local alcohol for a living complained:

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Now inflation is going on. Food, goods… everything is expensive. But our income from alcohol is still little. The rate of alcohol has never risen although other things are getting more and more expensive. If we raise its price, people won‟t accept the new price. If they don‟t buy, we cannot make even small money.

To meet needs for cash, those who were placed in the powerless position were forced to accept such inequitable prices. As a result, their incomes remained insufficient to invest in adaptations, they could only maintain their minimum livelihoods.

In spite of the governmental policy on the promotion of cooperatives, it had not been executed very much by the government or NGOs in Nepal. Under unstable market prices, small- scale farmers, in particular, were exposed to the risk of drastic declining prices and consequent large losses. The man in Gawai, Kumroj who engaged in vegetable cultivation criticized the lack of intervention by the government:

There is no good economic environment for farmers. In fact, the government is supposed to take a responsibility for protecting farmers from severe market‟s impacts. They are supposed to encourage farmers to form groups like cooperatives. But they have not done anything so far.

When we cultivate and sell vegetables by individuals, there is more hardship than doing by group.

Under an unequal power relationship with shop-keepers or middle men, many farmers would not be able to increase their income in agriculture whether or not they were affected by climate variability. The interventions of the government or NGOs to form cooperatives would help the powerless to gain bargaining power for increasing their incomes and adapt to both socioeconomic and climatic crises.

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5.3.5. Different Adaptive Capacity between Men and Women and between Women

(1) Job Opportunities

Gender was a key factor to determine the unequal distribution of power and resources and adaptive capacity at all the levels. Men and women even within the same household responded to climate variability differentially. Due to gender roles and responsibilities, available income sources for uneducated poor women, in particular, were limited to agriculture if there was no intervention from external organizations. One woman in Barlang, Kabilash explained about limited job opportunities for women:

Men can make money from other than agriculture. But women have no job and no money. There is only agriculture for women. After some land was washed away by landslides and floods, our agricultural production has decreased. Women have got more hardships.

A woman in Sti Khola, Kabilash also said:

Women have no job. Women cannot go to work outside. Women have to stay at home and do house work. Even though there is some money, it might be taken by a husband. How can women get money? They cannot.

Similarly, a woman in Bangesal, Kabilash described gender inequality:

Men can go wherever they want. But women have to stay at home and take care of kids and animals. Even if we go do agricultural work, women‟s wage is much less than men‟s. This is so not only in our community, but all over Nepal. Men and women are unequal in Nepal.

The cultural ideology as well as material realities that women should stay at home constrained women‟s mobility and income-earning potential. Furthermore, unequal gender relations in the

119 patriarchal society differentiated job opportunities and wage/salary rates between men and women, which consequently differentially shaped men‟s and women‟s adaptive capacity.

(2) Access to and Control over Financial Resources

More importantly, the unequal gender relations affect who controls income and resources at the household and community levels and consequently adaptive capacity at the individual level. In non-Indo-Aryan or indigenous households, such as Gurung, Tamang, Magar, and

Chepang, women tended to have control over the income they earned, but not what men earned.

Men‟s income was not necessarily used for family needs or saved for future climatic or economic crises. Some indigenous women blamed men for spending their limited money for alcohol, not family needs. One Gurung woman in Bangesal, Kabilash said:

Even if men migrate somewhere, women who are left at home don‟t know how much men earn and spend by themselves. Even if men finish all the money they earned, they won‟t be blamed.

Women just have to wait until men send money. So, women get more burdens.

Another indigenous woman in Biretar, Kabilash explained about women‟s sense of powerlessness:

Only we, women, make and sell local alcohol. Men don‟t want to carry such heavy bottles of the alcohol on a long way to the market. I don‟t complain to men even if they spend their money for alcohol or gambling. What use? It‟s no use. I might be threatened or beaten.

Thus, it was unwise for those poor women to depend on men financially and to challenge their husbands due to the risk of physical violence by their husbands. A lack of reliable income and physical security caused their anxiety and vulnerability.

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The unequal gender relations had also affected women‟s use of financial resources, such as loans and credits. Regardless of gender, people in Kumroj had access to a loan, provided by local organizations/program, such as „Saano Kisan,‟ buffer zone development program, and

RRN, if they belonged to the saving groups of the organizations/program. Conditions for loans, including repayment term and collateral, sometimes prevented poor women from borrowing money although those were more reasonable than private lenders‟. One woman in Ghokrela,

Kumroj explained about women‟s lack of land ownership:

All our land is under my mother-in-law. When my father-in-law passed away, he transferred all his land to her. People usually don‟t do this. They don‟t put women‟s names. This is because they don‟t trust women. So, women cannot take any loan without the agreement of those who have land ownership.

A poor woman in Gauwa Pari, Kumroj pointed out insufficient assistance:

Even if I want biogas, I cannot afford for it. The Buffer zone program provides our group members with a loan of maximum NRs. 10,000 for the construction of a biogas facility. But NRs.

10,000 is not enough at all. How can I make the remaining money? I have to even take out another loan to buy cattle for manure. I don‟t have any income. How can I pay back these loans?

Similarly, a poor woman in Dhungrela, Kumroj explained about the difficulty of taking out a loan due to a tight repayment term:

I wish I could raise some goats. Even if RRN provides us with a loan of NRs. 4,000, we cannot pay it back in 4 months. This is their regulation. That‟s why we cannot start doing anything.

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In spite of the local NGOs‟ approaching them with opportunities for loans, the poorest of the poor could not fully use the assistance to invest in adaptations.

Women from both poor and upper-caste households reported a lack of control over household resources. Even in upper-caste households, income and assets were often controlled by men. In that case, men tried hard to meet their own needs, but not always women‟s needs.

One woman in Gauwa Wari, Kumroj whose husband had a formal job and earned monthly salary, explained a power relationship with her husband:

We bought additional land several years ago and a motor for irrigation recently. Both issues were raised by my husband. I didn‟t disagree because I thought they would benefit us. We have borrowed some money from „Saano Kisan‟ and Agricultural Development Bank. My husband keeps his salary with him and goes to pay the interest of the loan. I don‟t know how much he borrowed or how much he has already paid back. I have never asked him.

Similarly, another woman in Gauwa Wari said:

My husband goes to buy fertilizer, pesticide, seeds, and so on. He sells rice by himself and keeps the money earned from the rice with him. Since money is with him, he takes out a loan for those things and pays it back by himself. If I need money, I ask him.

Both women wished they could raise improved species of goats or more goats to generate income, but their needs had not been met. The first woman above did not belong to a RRN‟s saving group and had no access to the seed money which RRN provided each group. Although the second one belonged and had access to the seed money, she had to give it up to other poorer members.

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The women in Kumroj who had control over financial resources, including loans, had taken responsibilities to cope with and adapt to climate variability and other social and economic forces which took place at the national or global level. Educational level was one of the keys to empower women to play a main role in managing household income and debt issues. A woman in Gauwa Wari, Kumroj who had some education had taken a responsibility to take out a loan from „Saano Kisan‟ and pay it back since she was the member of its saving group. She said:

We had difficulty in returning our former loans within the term due to the 1993 flood. Maybe, such situation lasted for some years. But I have well managed for the last several years. I have been evaluated as a good borrower and got a „green card‟. Now I can take out a loan with a

1per cent lower interest (11.5 per cent). I am very proud of this.

Similarly, an educated woman in Ghokrela, Kumroj compared herself to other women:

Many women don‟t know even how much interest they need to pay if they take out a loan. But I know about our loan because I take it out by myself and take a responsibility to pay it back. We couldn‟t pay the interest in the beginning. Our agricultural production was not good for 5 to 7 years after the flood. But we have been able to pay back according to the regulations for the last several years. That‟s why I‟ve got a „green card.‟

Those women‟s control over financial resources, including loans, was mainly due to their educational background as well as their bargaining power with their husbands. Otherwise, their husbands or other family members would have never trusted them and allowed them to deal with the household income and debts issues. Women‟s control over financial resources was essential for their making a decision on what adaptation practices to invest in, how much to invest in them,

123 and when to invest in them. Without control, many women in Kabilash and Kumroj were forced to be passive dependents.

The findings show that having their own income source and enough income affected women‟s self-esteem. Some women were confident in solving any problems by themselves and motivated to invest in adaptation practices to future climate variability. One educated young woman in Kusntar, Kabilash, who had got a teaching job at pre-school, explained about her current easiness:

I‟ve got a teaching job one year after my husband migrated to Malaysia. It has been almost 2 years since I started this job. With my salary, I can bear most of the expenditure, such as food and my son‟s education fee now. I don‟t need to wait for my husband‟s remittance any longer.

Even if he doesn‟t send money, I can continuingly get salary. I think I can solve any problems by myself now.

Due to her relatively stable salary, she could gain control over it and make her own decisions on how to use it by herself. This process contributed to the development of her self-esteem and sense of agency.

(3) Bargaining/Decision-making Power within the Household

A lack of bargaining power with men was one of key constraints for many female respondents to take action in starting any income-generating activities. Those women who had no control over household resources often could not start any activity without men‟s agreement if they needed to invest some seed money or take out a loan. One woman in Barlang, Kabilash explained about men‟s decision-making power within the household:

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Men usually make a decision within the household. Women can speak out, but they don‟t have the right to make a final decision. Whatever women want to do, they have to first ask men. If men agree with women‟s idea, there would be no problem. But if not, men tend to disturb women. In my case, I lost my husband and was alone, so I could decide to do vegetable cultivation by my self.

Similarly, an uneducated Tamang woman in Sti Khola, Kabilash said:

I decided to do vegetable cultivation. My husband has never complained about my decisions. He has never disturbed whatever I tried to start doing. He is different from other men. He has never threatened me or controlled me.

On the other hand, one young woman in Gauwa Pari, Kumroj explained about her parents:

My mother first talked about starting vegetable cultivation. She said although we have to spend a lot of money in the beginning, we had better start vegetable cultivation for making money. My father agreed with her idea. Then, my father went to go buy fertilizer, pesticide, etc. because he keeps his salary with him. So, whatever my mother said, if my father didn‟t agree, we could not have done vegetable cultivation.

Thus, it was a fundamental condition for women to increase their bargaining power with men within the household when they aimed to start any income-generating activity as one of adaptations to climate variability.

On their own initiative, two women in Kabilash above described how they had taken responsibilities and decided how to use their profits. One of the two, a widow, described her confidence:

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Right after I lost my husband, the 2003 landslide occurred and washed away some of our land. It was a very tough time. So, I decided to do vegetable cultivation to make money. My children were small at that time, so I needed money to educate them. I had some experience from my childhood. I also had taken training from Practical Action. We can get enough vegetables from our small land. So, we can make enough money. I can forget about hardship if I get income. My workload has increased, but income has also increased. I can buy whatever I need. I feel I can maintain my livelihood without any hardship. I have saved some money. Otherwise, my life would be hard.

Similarly, the other woman above said:

My husband has made money from labor work. But I thought I also need to make money by myself. If a landslide occurs and our house is washed away, we have to buy land in another place. If we have money, we can buy it. We might get sick. If we have enough savings, we can buy medication. So, I decided to cultivate vegetables and make money from this. When my mother-in-law passed away last year, we had to spend a lot of money for monks and other expenditure. We paid for that with our savings.

With control over financial resources or decision-making power within the household, some women in Kabilash and Kumroj had succeeded in generating enough income as one of effective adaptations. However, those women who had no bargaining power with their husbands could not utilize the supports of external organizations at all.

Under patriarchal institutions, many men in Kabilash and Kumroj dominated the position of managing the income earned through vegetable cultivation or animal husbandry. They cited women‟s illiteracy or other household responsibilities as the main reason that they played the

126 role rather than their wives. While labor was shared with or taken mainly by women, women did not always enjoy profits as men did. One man in Khola Ghari, Kabilash explained:

My wife is not educated. She also has to take care of kids and has no time. I belong to our

RRN‟s group, so I took training. I taught my wife what I learned from the training. We engage in vegetable cultivation together. Unlike other crops, there is a lot of work to do for vegetables. We have to take care of them and keep watching if there is any pest every day. This is not possible to do by one person, but two.

Similarly, a man in Dasdhunga, Kabilash who engaged in animal-raising talked:

My wife usually stays at home more than I do. So, she mainly takes care of animals. But when we sell animals, I take a responsibility. We talk to each other about when we will sell them. But I decide their prices. My wife doesn‟t know about business. Since I have experiences, I can negotiate and decide final prices. But she cannot.

Unlike such a man‟s stereotypical view of uneducated women with small children, some women played a main role in growing cash crops and exerted control over the income they earned. As shown previously, one uneducated Tamang woman who has small children in

Kabilash enjoyed playing a main role in cultivating and selling vegetables and controlled the income earned from vegetable cultivation. She differentiated her case from other women‟s in terms of her husband‟s attitudes toward her. As cited her idea previously, her husband had never disturbed her decisions and had never tried to control her. Although she was uneducated and had responsibilities for child-care and household chores as other women, she played a main role and controlled over the income earned. Thus, women‟s illiteracy and gender roles/responsibilities

127 were not always real causes for men‟s playing a role and controlling over the income, but rather unequal gender relations.

(4) Access to Information and Technology

Women‟s limited mobility and lower educational level resulted in limited access to information. Both in Kabilash and Kumroj, many men responded that they usually went to take advice on pests, fertilizer, or seeds from shop-keepers or junior technical officers (JTOs).

General information on training opportunities or other development programs tended to reach men faster than women farmers. The widow woman in Barlang, Kabilash above explained about her experience:

While my husband was still alive, he had belonged to a men‟s group in this community. All information came from this and other men‟s groups. This is true even now. After my husband died, I haven‟t had as much information as before. For example, men can get information on any development programs even before such programs come, but we know only when they come. We knew about RRN after they came here. But RRN supports men and women equally. So there is no difference in access to their information.

Referring to her husband and brother, an uneducated woman in Gauwa Wari, Kumroj said with a laugh:

I have never taken training. If any training is available, my husband or his brother goes. Those who farm don‟t take training, but those who don‟t farm take training.

A lack of access to information directly affected access to opportunities to gain knowledge.

Unlike the local NGOs working at the grassroots level, the government‟s or international

128 organizations‟ top-down development programs should take into account to mobilize information, opportunities, and resources to the socially disadvantaged, including women.

Based on the information men had, some households in Kabilash and Kumroj had taken some adaptation strategies. First, one educated man in Bangesal, Kabilash talked about the rice varieties new to him:

One varieties of „Gaia‟ doesn‟t need so much water. Since we get some production of this rice, we don‟t need to buy that portion of rice. It‟s only one or two-month food stock because we don‟t have enough land to plant this varieties. It has been around 5 years since we started planting

„Gaia‟. This was new to us. I saw other farmers in another place planting this.

The young educated woman in Gauwa Pari, Kumroj above talked about access to information:

We used to use our local seeds only. But this time, we bought improved seeds in the market and planted them for paddy. My father decided this. The seeds were expensive, but we can expect for more production. We can get some information from radio and news paper, but more information from other farmers. Since my father works for a dairy, JTOs also come to sell their milk and give information and advice to my father. My brother and I also get some information from school education.

Women‟s mobility as well as educational level affected their accessibility to information, which consequently affected the extent which people could cope with or adapt to climate variability.

Two men in Barlang, Kabilash had proactively adapted to climate variability, especially unpredictable rainfall patterns. Those men, who were not highly educated or wealthy, had been well aware of the risk of climate variability and had access to information about cash crops

129 which did not need much water. With the support of Practical Action, they visited one of the model areas where banana cultivation was promoted as an effective adaptation, and learned how to do banana cultivation. A younger man explained:

We used to produce rice, maize, and millet, but we could have only 3-month food stock. When it rained a little, it was not enough even for 3 months. I thought we might face more serious food problem in the future. So, I decided to shift from those crops to banana.

The other old man also explained:

Before shifting to banana, we used to produce rice, maize, and wheat. Those were not enough at all, so we needed any other income source to buy food. Banana cultivation is a good way to make income. We can get much more income from banana than the crops. With the income earned from banana, we can easily manage our food and family needs. We can even save some money.

Based on the initial information gained from the NGO, those men took proactive action and succeeded in increasing household incomes and reducing the risk of on-going and future climate variability.

The two men‟s flexibility, strong motivations, and bargaining power with other family members also contributed to their successful adaptations. Even after seeing their success, few people in Kabilash had shifted to banana cultivation or any other cash cropping. Many farmers still clung to their traditional institution of food cropping and hesitated to take the risk of doing something new. In fact, those two men had strong resistance from their family members. The younger man explained about the process:

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I decided to replace banana for food crops. But my parents insisted on food cropping. “We had to plant rice, maize, and millet. Otherwise, there would be no food for us,” they said. I tried to convince them and said to them, “We have to change our cropping patterns. Otherwise we will face a more serious food problem.” They still disagreed with my idea. So, without telling them, I just took out all the beans which my parents had already planted. Then, I planted some seedlings of banana. Now there are bananas and vegetables in our land instead of rice, maize, and millet.

Similarly, the older man said:

At first, my wife disagreed with my idea. She insisted on planting paddy. She just kept saying,

“We should not change to banana. If we don‟t plant paddy, what can we eat?”After talking to each other again and again, I could convince her finally. We planted banana instead. I won her

(laugh). After we shifted to banana, our income has increased. She is happy now.

To take drastic action, such as changing cropping patterns, people had to take a risk. Those men who had control over household financial resources could take such a risk. On the other hand, those women who had no bargaining power with their husbands and no control over the resources were constrained from taking action and consequently adapting to future climate variability.

5.4. Impacts of Climate Change on Gender Relations

Unequal gender relations, one of the key causes of women‟s limited adaptations, were not fixed, but could be improved by supports from external organizations and could be worsened by unavoidable external forces, such as social, economic, and political events or changes. The environmental and economic degradation in Kabilash and Kumroj, followed by climate variability, had changed pre-existing gender relations. Taking into account changes in gendered

131 responsibilities, space, and access to and control over resources after the past natural disasters, I show differential impacts and responses to climate variability between men and women and between women in Kabilash and Kumroj.

5.4.1. Changes in Gendered Responsibilities, Space, and Access to Resources

In Kabilash and Kumroj, women took more responsibilities at home in rebuilding their livelihoods and preparing for future crises, especially when men migrated abroad or engaged in wage labor work. According to participants in focus groups interviews in Kabilash, men‟s migration was accelerated by the serious losses and damages of agricultural land from the 2003 flood/landslide. One woman in Khare Khola, Kabilash described the unfair distribution of responsibilities and risks between men and women after men migrated:

Men migrate to cities and are not here during the rainy season. That time is the most dangerous time. So they do not face as much risk as women. If a flood occurs, women have to make all decisions, such as where to escape and what to do. Women have to bear all the responsibilities and pressures by themselves.

Similarly, a woman in Bangesal, Kabilash said:

After my husband migrated to a city for a long-term, my workload has increased. In addition to my chores, I also have to do whatever my husband did before. If any political member invites for a meeting, I have to attend it. Usually this is men‟s responsibility. And I also have to participate in our community‟s heavy labor work for my husband.

Thus, differentiated gendered responsibilities resulted in the differential space where men and women lived and worked and the differential risk to which men and women were exposed.

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With decreased manpower and limited resources, those women who were left at home had to cope with or adapt to current unpredictable rainfall patterns. In Kumroj, the households which had no access to a generator had to irrigate their land by sharing limited water with others.

To make such an arrangement for irrigation was men‟s responsibility unless men migrated. One woman in Ghokrela, Kumroj explained about difficulty with irrigation:

Since everyone is looking for water, it is very difficult to bring limited water into our land during daytime, not so much at night. But it is very dangerous to go check water at night because there might be animals, such as elephants, lions, and so on.

The woman in Gauwa Pari, Kumroj whose husband migrated abroad explained about the accumulated hardship faced by her:

I have to do all work by myself now. I have to plow for him. I also have to check water in a canal and irrigate our land. Since I have small kids, I cannot leave them alone and go check water in the canal at night. As a result, I couldn‟t well take care of water this time and got a lot of weeds.

The emergence of a lot of weeds meant women‟s additional labor or financial burden to hire more people to weed if they could not afford the time. Decreased water for irrigation, intersecting with men‟s migration, had seriously affected the poor women left alone at home in terms of their workload or paying for more labor costs.

Past intensive natural disasters destroyed some infrastructure, such as a small bridge, canals, and drinking water systems in Kabilash and Kumroj. Most of the broken drinking water system remained unrepaired due to financial difficulty while the broken canals were mainly re- constructed with men‟s manual labor. As a result, a lack of sufficient drinking water system

133 nearby had disproportionately affected the women and children who mainly took responsibility to fetch water. One woman in Sti Khola, Kabilash described the broken drinking water system:

The source of our drinking water was broken by the 2003 flood. It has not yet been repaired. Our

VDC has not helped us to repair it. So, we have drunk water from a river since then. We have no other choice and have to drink it even if we get sick. Now we have to go to a river and carry water back here. Either my daughters or I do this work.

Similarly, a woman in Barlang, Kabilash said:

Our drinking water system was seriously damaged by the 2003 landslide. It has not been fully repaired. We used to get drinking water near our house. But we have to go far down there to get water now. It takes me around 20 minutes or more to go, get water, and come back. But there is only little water during the dry season.

The impacts of past floods and landslides on access to drinking water were equal for men and women within the same household. However, the women who played a main role in fetching water had to bear more time and labor than men.

Forests in Kabilash, in particular, were degraded by past landslides as well as by over- cutting of trees and uncontrolled grazing by increased population over the last couple of decades.

Decreased fodder and firewood affected the women who exclusively depended on community forests for those resources and mainly took responsibility to collect them. All of the respondents in Kabilash and some poor respondents in Kumroj depended on firewood for cooking because biogas, gas ranges, or special stoves for charcoal/sawdust were not available or affordable.

Current strict control by user committees also made it more difficult for women to collect firewood and fodder in a short time. One woman in Sti Khola, Kabilash explained:

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Men go for wage labor work and don‟t go to a forest. So they don‟t know how much firewood and fodder have decreased. We cannot get as much as we could before. We have to go far away to search for firewood and fodder now. If there had been no landslide, we could have more firewood and fodder. Our user committee prohibits us to cut raw wood, so we have to go far away to search for dry one. We usually leave for the forest around 7 in the morning and come back with some firewood/fodder only around noon. It takes around 5 hours.

Similarly, a woman in Kusntar, Kabilash described her hardship due to her husband‟s migration and decreased forest resources:

While my husband was here, he also went to forest. While he was taking care of our son at home,

I could go to forest and do other work after coming back. Now he is not here. I have to cook, feed my son, send him to school, and do all work by myself. Then, I also have to go to teach.

Nowadays, we have to go far away to get firewood and fodder. When can I afford the time to go to forest? I have to go to forest two times a day on Saturdays when is my day-off. I have a lot of hardship because my husband migrated and don‟t have anyone else at home.

Such an institutional change to community forestry, followed by decreased firewood and fodder, had affected the workload and working time of those women while it would benefit them and their next generations in the future.

Those women‟s traditional and new responsibilities were all unpaid work. Their increasing responsibilities resulted in an increase in their labor and did not lead to any increase in their control over household incomes or resources. Since they could not rely on their husbands‟ remittance, many poor women in Kabilash and Kumroj were driven to take on the additional role in generating income. Local NGOs, such as RRN, encouraged those women to shift from selling

135 firewood or local wine to selling vegetables or candles, providing each group with training and seed money. This was aimed not only to increase their incomes, but also to avoid any criticism from upper-caste people that selling firewood and alcohol was an inappropriate way of earning income. While the NGOs contributed to increasing some women‟s motivation and self-esteem, gender inequality in terms of responsibilities, control over resources, and bargaining power at the household and community levels remained unchallenged. As a result, many women could not start any activity due to a lack of time, manpower, productive resources, or money. To transform the unequal distribution of not only resources, but also responsibilities was a key to increasing the opportunities of those women to have more access to information and earn more income.

In fact, income-generating activities were carried out mostly based on women‟s voluntary efforts. As long as adaptations depended on only women‟s efforts, they were not necessarily sustainable. The woman in Gauwa Pari, Kumroj whose husband migrated abroad described her difficulty with earning income:

There is a lot of work women have to do. Women take care of kids, do household chores, and take care of animals. And women also have to earn income. I have to stand on my own feet by earning income. I always think how I can generate income in mind. From the morning till the night, I wonder if I can make and sell candles, sell fruits, or work as a “peun” (janitor) at school.

There is no job available for uneducated people like me. This time I will try to make money through vegetable cultivation. I haven‟t taken any training from RRN, but I can do it based on my experience. I will go sell even to the National Park by bicycle. I feel I can make it.

In spite of her motivation, it seemed that she could not afford the time to accomplish all the work by herself.

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Although almost all female respondents shared the similar difficulty of time management due to double or triple responsibilities, the type of an available income generating activity or work place varied among those women. For example, younger women who had small children preferred any activity which they could do at home. On the other hand, older women could engage in agricultural work outside their home, which were usually limited to only several months a year. An old woman who lived with only her husband said:

I cannot afford the time to join RRN‟s activities or their meetings. Women have to do a lot of work. I have to go to cut fodder for animals, cook, and wash clothes. There is no other person who does such house work for me. And I have to go to work. I make money by carrying manure from a shed to field, planting paddy, weeding, and harvesting crops. When I go for agricultural work, I get up very early in the morning and go to cut fodder. I feed animals with fodder and water and clean up their manure. And finally I leave for work. I have no time to spend for RRN‟s activities.

The difference of age and family structure often differentiated among women in the available way of earning income and available work place. For successful adaptations and sustainable development, external organizations should address how to decrease women‟s responsibilities at the household level as well as introduce activities suitable for their conditions.

The share of household chores with other family members was instrumental to women‟s time management and successful adaptations in terms of gaining access to information and technology and increasing their own incomes. A woman in Khola Ghari, Kabilash described the importance of her husband‟s understanding and help:

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Men travel around freely. When we, women go out, we ask men to do house work or chores for us. Men usually don‟t agree with us. Some men are not like others. When I went to attend training on candle-making the other day, my husband took care of our kids. I was away for 3 days. He cooked and sent the kids to school. How can women do without sharing work with men?

Without challenging the unequal distribution of responsibilities, opportunities for training and knowledge and skill development tended to confine only to men and women who took fewer household responsibilities or had other female family members.

5.4.2. Changes in Decision-making and Control over Resources

Unequal gender relations led to not only the unequal share of household responsibilities, but also unequal processes for developing knowledge and making a decision between men.

Unlike poor women, those women who had access to biogas or forest resources in their private land did not take the problem of decreased forest resources seriously. Similarly, many of male respondents in Kabilash were not directly impacted, so they considered the problem as less urgent. On the other hand, men in Kumroj who bought firewood and fodder by themselves were more sensitive about decreased forest resources. Biogas became widespread to reduce the expenditures as well as to reduce the workload of women. Whether or not decreased forest resources were urgent was not determined by those women who frequently went to their forests and were very familiar with the forests‟ conditions. Instead, what the men who dominated decision-making processes perceived or thought was often counted as a fact.

Based on women‟s or main collectors‟ overwork, forest resources were continuingly supplied to each household. Such women‟s efforts tended to be overlooked or be taken for

138 granted because of daily-based gendered responsibilities and unequal gender relations. One woman in Kusntar, Kabilash described differential impacts between men and women:

Firewood and fodder have decreased. But this is not a problem for men at all. Why is it a problem for men? It‟s women‟s responsibility to think about what to do and how to do for the problem. That‟s why women get more hardships than men.

Similarly, a woman in Gauwa Pari, Kumroj said:

Women are more affected by decreased firewood and fodder. It is women who have to search for firewood and fodder and bring them back home. There is no hardship for men. This is the responsibility women are supposed to take for. Men just go to play cards or drink alcohol.

On the other hand, a man in Dasdhunga, Kabilash said:

It takes longer to collect firewood now than before. It might take 3 to 4 hours, increased by one hour or more. But I don‟t perceive the risk of a shortage of firewood and fodder very much. They are available anyway. The most serious risk for us is floods.

Similarly, another man in Dasdhunga said:

Trees in our forest have decreased, compared to before. Now firewood and fodder are not available nearby, but very far away. But they are available anyway. We have enough manpower to go to collect.

Based on such men‟s opinions, community forest committees did not strictly regulate grazing and did not regularly plant additional seedlings while some committees collected some money from users and hired a couple of guards to watch their forests. The voices of women were not

139 heard or were not counted as important as privileged men‟s, especially in the top-down scheme of the government or external organizations.

In spite of strategic interventions by Maoists, one of the government‟s ruling parties, the involvement of women and marginalized groups of people in decision-making processes was still limited in Kabilash and Kumroj. The quota of the marginalized groups of people for formal committees, including community forest committees, was not necessarily ensured. As other communities in Nepal, all wards in Kabilash and Kumroj either took over the ownership of their forests from the government or were in the process of filing work. Regardless of the ownership, their forests were all managed by their committees and user groups. Although the total number of committee members varied by wards, female members did not account for even a third for each committee in Kabilash. There were only three female members out of 13 in each committee for

Ward 2 and 9. Men usually participated in their user groups‟ meetings unless they migrated.

Thus, those women who mainly collected and managed forest resources made very few decisions on the forests.

As a result, women and marginalized groups of people did not always know what was decided by their user committee and had almost no control over public resources, such as profits earned by selling wood in their forests. One woman in Biretar, Kabilash explained about the distribution of the profits from their forest resources:

Both men and women might register as the member of our user group. But the income earned by selling wood is distributed by households, not individuals. We have two forests in our ward. So we hope that those forests will be divided into men‟s and women‟s forests.

On the other hand, a Dalit man in Sti Khola, Kabilash explained about his feeling of exclusion:

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Each member of our user group raises NRs. 15 per month to hire a guard for our forest. We are a member of the user group and sometimes attend the meeting. But I don‟t know very much about what is discussed and what is decided. We, poor people, don‟t know. We just obey whatever is decided by our committee.

Due to exclusion from decision-making processes or a lack of decision-making power, those who exclusively depended on community forests had almost no voice and consequently had no control over their forest resources.

Many of women and marginalized groups of people had informal networks, developed by

NGOs or by themselves. Only through the networks did these people have access to some limited resources and participate in decision-making processes. One poor woman in Biretar, Kabilash talked about her saving group,

I belong to a RRN‟s group for saving and micro-credits. We raise NRs. 20 per person per month for our fund. All members can borrow some money from the fund if necessary. I also borrow some money when we have to buy fertilizer for paddy and maize. Fertilizer is very expensive.

Otherwise, we cannot buy it.

Similar to the members of a women‟s group in Gauwa Pari, Kumroj who collectively placed sandbags to protect the river bank, a woman in Jugedi, Kabilash described how her mother‟s group coped with the broken drinking water system:

Our drinking water system was broken by the 2003 flood. All pipes were washed away. It was a serious problem for us, women. So our mother‟s group discussed and raised the money of NRs

29,000 for repair. Although there was a bit support from our VDC, the total money we raised was not enough. We couldn‟t repair it fully, so we still face the problem.

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Women‟s autonomy or agency existed even before external organizations started their support while there were limited resources available for the informal networks. Thus, external organizations had responsibilities to promote more women‟s collective agency with their financial and technical support.

In the context of climate variability in Kabilash and Kumroj, pre-existing gender relations were not transformed to more equal ones, but rather exacerbated. Due to gendered responsibilities, women were left alone at home and took all the responsibilities for house chores and agricultural work. In addition to such responsibilities, many poor women also needed to generate income with limited resources. However, their burdens were overlooked or their contributions were taken for granted. As many of those women were excluded from formal decision-making processes, their voices were rarely heard and their needs were rarely reflected in any plans for VDC development programs and community forests. Many women and marginalized groups of people had informal networks, developed by NGOs or by themselves.

However, their resources were few and their agency was limited within the networks. Without challenging the unequal distribution of responsibilities and power, the vicious cycle of unequal gender relations and women‟s vulnerability were not improved.

5.5. Chapter Summary

The increasing climatic variability, taking place in Kabilash and Kumroj, threatened people‟s lives and their food and livelihood security for the last decade in particular. However, risk levels varied by both climatic conditions, such as intensity and timing, and socioeconomic factors, such as location, access to information and technology, educational levels, and wealth which were usually shaped by gender, caste/ethnicity, and age. First, almost all respondents in

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Kabilash and Kumroj witnessed climatic and environmental changes, including warming, intensified natural disasters, unpredictable rainfall patterns, decreased natural resources. Out of these changes, many respondents regarded intensified debris flows as the most life-threatening risks while they regarded floods and droughts as less life-threatening risks. Whether the timing of the occurrences of disasters was fast-onset or slow-onset affected the risk perceptions of the respondents.

Secondly, life-threatening risks also depended on location and physical capacity as well as other socioeconomic factors to affect adaptive capacity. Most of the respondents regarded people living in the river side as the most at risk of life-threatening fast-onset disasters. Similarly, women as well as children and elderly people were considered as the most vulnerable because their lower physical capacity and sari, a traditional dress, constrained them from escaping.

However, some women emphasized that women tended to fail to escape because they had to protect their children and animals as mothers and caretakers. A lack of access to accurate information and technology, including early warning system, also constrained old uneducated people, in particular, from escaping. Based on their cultural ideology, those people often took climatic changes as a matter of nature and were fatalistic about the changes. Apart from climatic conditions, key factors of location, human survival capacity, educational levels, and access to information and technology to affect human adaptive capacity were mainly shaped by pre- existing structural inequality by caste/ethnicity, gender, and age in both VDCs.

Next, current delayed and decreased amount of rain during the dry season affected local people differently by their wealth levels. The farmers who had lost land or taken out a loan for damaged land due to past disasters disproportionately suffered from additional financial and food-stock deficit. Many farmers in Kabilash ended up giving up farming during the dry season

143 if water from a river or canal was not available due to limited rainfall. Those poor farmers, including Dalits and minor indigenous groups of people, were forced to engage in agricultural or other wage labor work or sell firewood and local wine to maintain their livelihoods. On the other hand, in Kumroj where underground water was available for irrigation, access to a generator/motor to pull up underground water differentiated the level of food and livelihood security among farmers. Whether in Kabilash or Kumroj, vulnerability to food and livelihood insecurity largely depended on household wealth levels as well as access to financial and technical supports from external organizations.

A critical gap exists between imagined and actual human vulnerability and adaptive capacity. Due to power relationships, the voices of the vulnerable tended to be represented by local authorities or other privileged people who held biases. As a result, few development programs that addressed past disasters benefitted the vulnerable, which caused poorer people to distrust authorities and privileged people. Some privileged or educated men in Kabilash stereotyped the lower-caste, minor indigenous groups, and women as ignorant, unaware of risks, and incapable of reducing risks on their own. However, in stark contrast to the views of privileged people, most of the marginalized groups of people were well aware of their own risks.

They explained that they lived in risky places because they could not afford to buy land for their residences and farming in safe places. Some of the minor indigenous people who were blamed for causing landslides had actually planted seedlings on their fragile land for land protection.

Similarly, many uneducated women had planned their evacuation routes based on their knowledge and experiences. To make the actual adaptive capacity of the vulnerable visible, the unequal distribution of power should be challenged. Without transforming the structural

144 inequality which keeps them uneducated and poor, the voices of lower caste and minor indigenous groups of people and women cannot be heard.

Adaptive capacity was not fixed, but changed when any technical and financial support from external organizations was available. In such cases, such external interventions should challenge structural inequality by caste, gender, age, or rurality which affected individual and local factors, including a lack of information and technology, infrastructure, and financial and natural resources. It is also important for external organizations to address how to respond to unavoidable social, economic, and political events/changes other than increasing climate variability. Needs for cash were accelerated by decreased food stocks and increasing costs for children‟s education, agricultural inputs, and laborers. Whether or not technical and financial supports from NGOs were available, poor farmers with limited human, natural, and financial resources could not even start vegetable cultivation. Although those who had no or limited land produced non-agricultural products, such as candles, they had faced the problem of a lack of a market. Many farmers were forced to sell their crops at very low prices because they lacked bargaining power with shop keepers or middle men. Without challenging such structural inequalities and on-going social and economic changes, external organizations could not succeed in improving the adaptive capacity of the vulnerable.

Adaptive capacity varied between the rich and poor, between men and women, and even between women. Some women in Kabilash and Kumroj were confident in resisting against climatic or economic crises with their coping/adaptation strategies while others felt helpless and powerless due to a lack of education and financial and natural resources. Unlike men, women had almost no chance to migrate to cities and earn income from employment other than agriculture because of their responsibilities at home and limited educational levels. A lack of

145 land ownership and decision-making power constrained even women from rich households from taking out a loan for their initiatives, but always forced them to ask for men‟s permission. Under unequal power relationships, including gender relations, uneducated women who had no bargaining power at the household and community levels were marginalized. They tended to be exploited for their labor and have no control over the income earned from their activities. On the other hand, those men and women who had bargaining power and some experiences and knowledge with vegetable cultivation enjoyed both responsibilities for and benefits from the activity and were confident in coping without any difficulty.

Differences between women in their attitudes and responses to increasing climate variability and other crises depended largely on their self-esteem and motivation levels. The elf- esteem levels, mostly shaped by gender, caste/ethnicity, age, and resulting wealth, educational levels, skills, and control over household resources, affected their motivation to do extra activities. Since women from upper-caste wealthy families did not necessarily have control over household resources if they were uneducated, their self-esteem and motivation were often limited.

On the other hand, even uneducated indigenous women, if they had bargaining power with their husbands, had sufficient self-esteem and motivation to play a main role in diversifying household income through vegetable cultivation. Compared to Hindu‟s stronger influence for patriarchal gender relations, indigenous women had relatively more bargaining power with their husbands than Indo-Aryan women. However, poor, uneducated women often admitted their helplessness and had little motivation to take action in adapting. It was not simply a matter of control, but a matter of no available resources they could utilize for any adaptations. Thus, external organizations were supposed to target those women who did not have even minimum resources and empower and motivate them to successfully adapt. In reality, however, external interventions

146 did not reach the poorest of the poor or were not fully utilized by them, which generated further differences among women.

In the context of increasing climate variability, pre-existing gendered responsibilities, space, and access to resources changed. This change reshaped or exacerbated women‟s adaptive capacity and gender relations because external organizations did not challenge the unequal gendered division of responsibilities, resources, and power. Many men increased their access to cash and escaped from flood-prone areas by migrating to cities or engaging in outside work while women who were left alone at home had to take dual and triple responsibilities and manage their livelihoods, remaining exposed to the risks of climatic or economic crises. In addition, many poor women were pressured to generate income with limited resources and manpower. Similarly, the drinking water system and forest resources damaged by the past disasters had disproportionately affected women and children, who took primary responsibility for collecting water and firewood. However, those problems were not taken seriously by men and wealthier women who had no responsibility to collect the resources or who had biogas facilities and were not directly impacted. Without their participation in decision-making process, the voices of the marginalized groups of people, such as Dalits, minor indigenous people, and women, were rarely heard and their needs were rarely reflected in any decisions. Their agency and access to resources were limited to the informal networks formed by local NGOs. The lack of a challenge to unequal distribution of responsibilities, resources, and power led to worsening adaptive capacity for the poor, uneducated women in particular.

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Chapter 6. Conclusion

With the fruitful empirical data, this research leads to better understanding of how gender intersects with other socioeconomic factors to affect human vulnerability and adaptation to climate variability and change. More importantly, key findings can be utilized to develop more equitable and gender-friendly adaptation policies. Increasing climate variability and change were not future risks, but on-going events which had already impacted the food and livelihood security of local people. Intersecting with the economic and political crises which took place at national and international levels, past and recent extreme climatic events and changes in rainfall patterns disproportionately affected marginalized men and women farmers. It is urgent for both policy makers and practitioners to take into account key gender implications in future policies and practices so that already-vulnerable people can successfully adapt to climate change. Below, I first discuss the key findings, focusing on what „risks‟ and „vulnerability‟ meant to people in the research sites and how individual adaptive capacity was shaped. Then, I describe how the key findings contribute to relevant theories in conceptualizing the gender implications of climate change in terms of vulnerability and adaptive capacity. Finally, I recommend the direction of policy and practical interventions as well as future research areas.

First, to most respondents „risks‟ meant life-threatening conditions. Risk level was determined mainly by whether or not the intensity of the climatic hazards to which the respondents were exposed were life-threatening and by whether or not they were able to save their own lives from such hazards. The timing of climatic events was another key factor that affected their risk perceptions. Famine, which is slow-onset, was not considered a life- threatening disaster to most of the respondents. Similarly, floods tended to occur slowly enough for people to evacuate to safe places although they often damaged agricultural land and irrigation.

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On the other hand, the debris flows which washed away everything at one moment were considered the most life-threatening disasters. Based on such ideas, many respondents looked at the minor indigenous groups of people who lived in debris flow-prone areas as the most vulnerable. Women, children, and elderly people were also considered as the most vulnerable because they could not evacuate to safe places as fast as adult men.

The ideas of „risks‟ and „vulnerability‟ were largely affected by their cultural ideology about nature. Many respondents, especially elderly and uneducated people, showed their passive attitudes toward climatic events and changes because of nature‟s uncertainty. They considered natural disasters as the acts of God and insisted on their powerlessness before nature. Although large-scale dams and early warning systems had already been developed in Kabilash, many uneducated respondents did not know what structures were constructed, for what purposes, and by whom. Under top-down procedures, important information was shared only among local authorities and among some educated men. On the other hand, local/international NGOs tried to disseminate information and technology to even uneducated stakeholders in constructing small- scale check-dams. Such participatory risk management programs contributed to the knowledge development of those who were excluded from top-down development programs. In spite of the limit of technology, external interventions, including top-down development programs, owed responsibilities to disseminate information and technology and mobilize human and financial resources at the grassroots level. They also should aim to change the passive attitudes of local people toward climate change by showing the effective function of any early warning systems and hard structures for disaster management.

Although floods and famine did not immediately kill people, they had a long term impact on the food and livelihood security of farmers, especially the poor. Some respondents

149 said, “We can get through any hardship as long as our lives are survived.” Others said, “If an intense disaster occurs and washes away our land and irrigation, how can we live?” Many of the respondents who lost large land holdings from the past disasters were no longer self-sufficient and suffered from debts. In addition to the burdens from the past disasters, current rainfall- pattern changes and the decreased amount of rain had affected the various types of farmers differently. In Kabilash VDC, those who had no water during the dry season were forced to give up farming during the dry season. In Kumroj VDC, those who had access to generators had financially suffered from increasing cost for fuel. Landless farmers who engaged in share cropping were forced to shoulder further burdens by giving up share cropping or sharing increasing cost for fuel. Thus, the risk of slow-onset disasters to food and livelihood insecurity was largely affected by individual or household economic status.

Lack of wealth and education, as well as self-esteem, resulted from structural inequality by caste/ethnicity and gender in Nepal. In spite of their potential, marginalized people tended to be forced to believe in their powerlessness in everyday life. For example, girls were often taught their inferiority to boys and men by their adult family members while marginalized groups of people were viewed as the ignorant and useless by those who had power at the community level.

Regardless of wealth, some women who had some school education or had bargaining power with their husbands were so self-confident in their income-generating activities that they believed that they could overcome any crises by themselves. Several men who were not well- educated, but flexible in adjusting their attitudes toward changing climate had successfully shifted from food crop agriculture to banana cultivation. However, many other respondents felt too powerless and hopeless to cope with or adapt to climatic and economic crises. This was not only because they were poor, but also because they believed that they were not capable and

150 abandoned by the government and local authorities. Some local authorities, including upper- caste educated men, overlooked the coping/adaptive capacity of women and lower-caste/minor indigenous groups of people. Despite such a bias, some Chepang people tried to protect their fragile land from future landslides by planting seedlings. Similarly, even uneducated women prepared their evacuating routes for future disasters based on their experiences and knowledge.

Due to unequal power relationships, the voices of the marginalized were hardly heard and whatever those who had power spoke were often taken as facts by the government and external organizations that usually implemented top-down development programs.

Even in rural Nepal, traditional life-style relying on self-sufficiency and social capital had largely been replaced by reliance on the cash economy over the last decade. Increasing and diversifying household income was essential for not only adapting to climate change, but also for meeting increasing household needs for cash income. The ability to increase cash income was often affected by educational levels, wealth, and access to and control over resources. Those factors were heavily structured by gender and caste in rural Nepal. Structural inequality between urban and rural areas negatively impacted rural areas which lacked adequate markets nearby and transportation systems. Information, technology, and seed money provided by some NGOs had benefitted those who had minimum resources. However, such supports did not necessarily reach those who did not have even minimum resources or those women who were dominated by their husbands and could not make independent decisions. Even the local NGOs that worked at the grassroots level could not fully address the structural inequality of gender and caste. How to target those who were excluded even from development processes at the grassroots level is a key to improving their livelihoods and preventing them from falling into further financial crises.

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As climate and the environment changed, pre-existing gender relations in terms of responsibilities, space, and access to and control over resources also changed. Due to a drastic decrease in agricultural production after the past natural disasters, many men migrated to cities or abroad or engaged in wage-labor work. Women remained at risk of future disasters, staying at home to take care of their children and animals. In addition to their original house chores, they were forced to take over their husbands‟ previous responsibilities. Due to the effects of the past landslides and recent decreased amount of rain, forest resources and water were less available, which increased women and children‟s working time and workload. Those women who exclusively depended on community forests for firewood and fodder were forced to shoulder more burdens than those women who had biogas for cooking and their private land with firewood and fodder. Similarly, those women who had no other women in the household had to perform all the chores by themselves. Poor women who could not rely on their husbands‟ income started selling local alcohol or firewood, but the income earned was limited. Thus, the processes of environmental and climatic changes had not only affected gender relations, but also widened socioeconomic differences among women.

The double and triple roles and responsibilities played by those women who were left alone at home increased their unpaid work. Many of those women who held limited power in their households and communities received limited benefit from such unpaid work. In both research sites, women‟s access to public information and participation in decision-making processes were still limited. The number of female members in community forest users‟ committees was fewer than a third of the total number. Information on the government‟s and foreign donors‟ development and training programs was institutionally shared only among men‟s groups. Women‟s networks were limited to informal ones, such as traditional mothers‟ groups

152 and the saving groups formed by some NGOs. However, some women could not be involved even in the informal networks due to their house chores. Other women could not take action for income generating activities because they could not borrow loans without their husbands‟ permission. Without bargaining power with their husbands, women‟s workload had increased, but their access to and control over household resources had remained limited. In many cases, women were exploited as laborers and did not play a main role as actors in adapting to climate change.

The key findings discussed above have theoretical implications for addressing human vulnerability and adaptation to climate change. First, human vulnerability to climatic and environmental changes is changeable, interacting with socioeconomic and political events, across levels and over time. As a political economy perspective emphasizes, human vulnerability is affected by the environmental degradation which is going on at the local level, but also the social, economic, and political events and processes which take place at national and global levels.

Unlike the concept of Pressure and Release (PAR), human vulnerability is not necessarily isolated from, but rather interacts with environmental hazards. As many respondents in the research sites witnessed, environmental hazards, such as landslides, are caused by not only heavy rain, but also the human acts of over-deforestation and grazing. As natural resources decreased, poor women farmers who were left alone due to their husbands‟ migration particularly experienced more pressure from the decreased resources due to their responsibility and dependence on them, which increased environmental hazards and their vulnerability. Thus, human vulnerability is affected by human interactions with social, economic, political, and environmental events and processes across levels and time.

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Next, the research findings indicate that the impacts of past and on-going climatic and environmental changes varied not only between men and women, but also between women even in the same communities. Human vulnerability to increasing climate variability is largely affected by the extent to which people depend on rain and the environment for their food and livelihood security. As political economy theory points out, the unequal distribution of resources, including land with irrigation and off-farm income, usually exists in rural communities of developing countries. Unlike essentialist ecofeminism, women do not universally depend on rain-fed agriculture and forest resources and are not equally vulnerable to climate variability. In the research sites, women who had access to a biogas facility for cooking or their private land with firewood did not need to depend on degraded community forests. As a result, they were not as vulnerable to the decreased resources in the community forests as other women who had no access to a biogas facility or their private land. As feminist political ecology conceptualizes, regardless of gender, keys to affect vulnerability and adaptive capacity are relation to nature and responsibilities as well as knowledge and access to and control over resources.

Risk and vulnerability to climate variability and change are not entirely shaped by economic poverty. As a political economy perspective emphasizes, those who have power can successfully adapt to climate change due to their sufficient wealth and resources while the powerless cannot. However, the powerless are not forced to be passive and helpless victims by only economic poverty. Those whose voices are not heard are defined as helpless by the bias of those who have power, which deprives them of their self-esteem as actors. Through unequal processes, those who do not have power often increase their hopelessness and mistrust against those who seize the resources allocated even for the powerless. As Blaikie et al. point out, people become vulnerable by being marginalized not only materialistically, but also psychologically. As

154 exemplified in the rural communities in Nepal, self-esteem and strong motivation to take action as actors are as essential as wealth and resources and access to information and technology to increase human adaptive capacity.

As a feminist political ecology approach suggests, the processes of climate adaptations can include the element of activism for gender equality. Women take responsibilities for not only reproductive work, such as house chores, but also productive work, such as agriculture, animal husbandry, and other income generating activities. Due to unequal gender relations, their responsibilities and roles are often overlooked or taken for granted. As a result, many women are excluded from the adaptation processes in which they could collectively play role as actors. With appropriate supports from external organizations, women can utilize adaptation as good opportunities to transform the existing unequal gender relations. Based on their actual adaptive capacity and needs, those women whose voices used to be marginalized should successfully adapt to climate change by increasing their self-esteem and bargaining power with men at the household and community levels.

In light of the theoretical implications discussed above, some policy and practical recommendations emerge. First, any interventions for climate adaptations should be planned and implemented in the context of development policies and strategies. For this, it is essential for the government to well coordinate between relevant line-ministries and departments to mobilize limited resources in effective and efficient ways and keep consistency in development and climate adaptation policies and strategies. It is also important for policy makers to identify current and future social, economic, political, and environmental risks, causes, and counter- measures. All the systems from the low to high levels that are exposed to the risks should have their adaptive capacity improved. This is because human vulnerability and adaptive capacity are

155 shaped by not only localized climatic and environmental events and changes, but also global/national social, economic, and political changes, over time. Thus, successful adaptation to climate change is an integral part of sustainable development which relies on broader global, national, and local systems and natural and human systems.

Next, it is very important to understand the actual vulnerability and adaptive capacity of each system. It is critical whose voices are included in doing so. At the global level, the vulnerability of developing countries can be undermined by the industrialized countries that dominate the discourses of climate change policies at the global level. At the local level of developing countries, the adaptive capacity of marginalized people is often overlooked by local authorities due to their biases. Even if external organizations try to help vulnerable people improve their adaptive capacity, they do not necessarily directly listen to the voices of the vulnerable. In many cases, they may talk to the authorities and tend to believe in the stereotyped representation of the vulnerable by the authorities. Therefore, the planners and practitioners of external organizations have to take into account the unequal processes of development and climate adaptation. In the processes, the vulnerability and adaptive capacity of those systems and people that do not have power tend to be represented, not based on their voices, but the voices of those ones that have power. Thus, it is important for policy makers to develop climate adaptation policies based on the voices of all stakeholders. Similarly, practitioners need to take feedback on what they learn from the field to the policy-making process.

Whether or not vulnerable people, especially poor women, can successfully adapt to climate change largely depends on the extent which external interventions at the grassroots level can address the structural inequality of gender and caste/ethnicity. In Nepal, numerous governmental and non-governmental organizations implement saving and loan programs at the

156 grassroots level. However, there are few organizations that address strategic gender needs, including how to let men share women‟s overloaded work and how to increase women‟s bargaining power relative to men at both household and community levels. As a result, many women who cannot afford time tend to be excluded from NGOs‟ activities and resulting training opportunities while they provide their labor for their husbands‟ cash-cropping. The extent of women‟s participation and agency varies by households. If there are enough women in the household who can share house chores, women can easily attend the meetings and income generating activities supported by external organizations. If women have bargaining power with their husbands, they can make decisions by themselves on how to invest in different adaptation practices. On the other hand, other women are often excluded from such development programs.

In order for already-vulnerable women not to fall into further deficit, it is important for policy makers and practitioners to target not only gender practical needs, but also gender strategic needs in the processes of adaptations to climate variability and change.

To achieve successful adaptations, it is important for policy makers and practitioners to take into account how to change the passive attitudes of vulnerable people toward climate change.

Based on accurate information and data, policy makers and practitioners should develop and implement effective climate adaptation policies. However, people do not always follow such policies or strategies because of their ideology, which is reflected in their passive attitudes. Such a case is not always confined to old or uneducated people. Even young, educated people may not trust in hard structure for disaster prevention and early warning systems for safe evacuation if they have not seen or realized the actual function of such technology. Practitioners who work with people at the grassroots level particularly should not only increase vulnerable people‟s

157 access to information and technology, but also convince them on how such technology is useful and limited by showing or explaining the details of the actual function.

Policy makers and practitioners have another challenge of how to reach the poorest of the poor who are excluded from many development programs even at the grassroots level. The poorest of the poor tend to be least self-esteemed and least motivated to adapt to climate change since they believe themselves powerless and helpless. Whenever people try to start any adaptation practice, they need money and minimum resources. However, the poorest of the poor tend to have no irrigated land even if they want to cultivate cash crops. In such a case, useful external interventions include suggestions on the alternative income-generating activities which do not require even minimum resources. In the rural areas where there are few markets nearby, it is important for external organizations to provide their beneficiaries with useful expertise on marketing. In addition to financial and technical supports, the staff members of external organizations are expected to increase the self-esteem of the poorest of the poor, in particular, and motivate them to pro-actively respond to climate change.

Thus, it is one of the most critical challenges that external organizations attempt to break the unequal power relations and processes so that the poorest of the poor can gain their self-confidence, change their helpless and passive attitudes, and successfully adapt to climate change. Financial and technical supports are only useful for those who are motivated as actors to successfully adapt to climate change. All men and women do not necessarily have self- confidence or motivation to cope with economic crises and adapt to climate changes. Gender, caste/ethnicity, educational levels, knowledge, skills, wealth, and age might affect the level of their self-confidence and motivation. Even older uneducated poor women can be empowered and motivated to take action if they realize that they are capable and that they are needed by their

158 communities and societies. Being oppressed by patriarchal religious and cultural institutions, many women as well as Dalits and minor indigenous groups of people are forced to believe in their worthlessness and powerlessness from their birth. To reduce their vulnerability and improve their adaptive capacity, they need to realize that they are capable by themselves or with external interventions. In this light, external organizations must take on very important role in challenging the existing structural inequality of gender and caste/ethnicity and empowering the men and women who believe that they are not capable.

Based on the important concept of a feminist methodology approach, my field research was aimed to help marginalized participants, in particular, realize and question about the unequal distribution of the risks and impacts of climatic and environmental changes. Based on their recognition through the interviews, I also expected them to not only take action in successfully adapting to climate change, but also question and attempt to transform the existing structural inequality of gender and caste/ethnicity in the future. I believe that my interviews gave them a good opportunity to think and realize about differences among different social groups of people and even among their family members in terms of vulnerability and adaptive capacity. This opportunity also reminded them of everyday life-based unequal distribution of power and resources as well. My interviews could be the first and important step toward the future goals of successful adaptation to climate change and transformation of unequal power relations.

In this light, future research strategy could be ethnography-based research by which participants can be empowered and motivated to take action in meeting gender strategic needs through their interactions with the researcher and developing their new knowledge. For this, the researcher should take much longer time to experience on-going climate variability, as well as other social and economic events, with the participants and observe how they actually respond to

159 them differently from or similarly to others. One possible future research areas could be what is going on within the government or external organizations. After understanding the actual gender implications of climate change in terms of human vulnerability and adaptive capacity, it is important to understand the constraints faced by policy makers and practitioners at the higher levels. Both what is going on at the grassroots and policy levels should be integrated or fed-back into the planning process. Findings from such research may contribute to improving the adaptive capacity of the government and external organizations that take responsibility to improve the adaptive capacity of vulnerable people.

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APPENDIX A

Questionnaire for Key Informant Interviews

 General information of key informants  What is your organization‟s name and position?  What kinds of responsibilities do you take for this community?

 Local risks  How do you view local climatic change over time in terms of rainfall patterns, temperature, water availability, and natural disasters, such as floods and droughts?  How do local people perceive the risk of climate variability? Why do you think they perceive so?  How has such climatic change impacted on the livelihoods and food security and health conditions of local people?  In addition to climatic risk, are there any socioeconomic or political problems faced by local people? If so, what problems are they?  How have these problems interacted with the change in rainfall patterns, temperature, water availability, and natural disasters and affected the livelihoods and food security of local people?  What are the government‟s and local authority‟s responses to such climatic change? How do you assess the local government and local authority‟s responses?

 Vulnerability and adaptive capacity  Who do you think are most seriously affected by such climatic change? Why do you think so?  How do you think about differences between men and women and among different caste and ethnic groups of people in the negative impacts of the change and capacity to cope with them? If there are differences, what do you think such differences stem from?

 Adaptation practices  What kinds of agricultural extension services and training programs available for local people so that they can successfully adapt to change in rainfall patterns, water availability, and natural disasters? If so, who provides the services and programs?  How is information on the extension services and training programs disseminated to local people and who has an opportunity to take the services and training?  What types of agricultural and other practices have local farmers used in order to minimize potential damages/losses caused by changing rainfall patterns and temperature, decreasing water availability, and increasing natural disasters?  Change in agricultural practices in terms of technology/skills, inputs (fertilizer and seeds), crop species, crop patterns, etc.:

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 Change in livestock types:  Protection of human and animal lives and assets:  How do you think such practices are effective or not? Why do you think so?  How do you think local people have learned the ways for such practices?  Do you think men and women farmers employ different types of practices/measures to cope with changing rainfall patterns, decreasing water availability, and increasing natural disasters? If there are differences, what do you think such differences stem from?

 Adaptation needs  What do you think local people need most to cope with the negative impacts of such change and minimize the risk of potential damages/losses? Why do you think so?  What do you think local government or NGOs should do in order to improve local community and people‟s capacity to cope with the negative impacts of the change and minimize the risk of potential damages/losses?  How do you think men and women have different needs for successfully adapting to such change? Why do you think so?

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APPENDIX B

Topics for Focus Group Discussions

 Have you experienced any natural disasters, such as floods and landslides, for the last 5 to 10 years? Talk about your experience.  When  How you coped with them  Impacts on the environment and your livelihoods (agriculture/non-farm activities)  Lesson learnt

 Do you perceive any change in local climate and environment for the last 5 to 10 years? Talk about the change you perceive.  Intensity and frequency of natural disasters  Rainfall patterns for monsoon and winter seasons  Temperature  Availability of natural resources (water, forest products, etc.)

 Have you ever heard about climate change? How did you know about it? Talk about what you know and what you think about it?

 What are possible impacts of changing climate (e.g. rising temperature, fluctuated rainfall patterns, etc.) or natural disasters on your life and livelihood?  Agriculture/animal husbandry  Non-farm activities/migration  natural resources and environmental conditions  Responsibilities in a household and community

 How would you like to change your life if floods or landslides become frequent and intense?

 Have you ever taken action for changing climate, scarce natural resources, and intensified natural disasters in order to prevent such impacts? Talk about your strategies?  What you have done  How effective or not effective  Needs

 Do you think that all community members share the same level of risks of natural disasters and changing climate? Why do you think so?

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 Differences between men and women  Differences between different caste/social groups  Differences among different age groups  Differences among people live in different locations

 Who do you think is the most vulnerable to natural disasters and changing climate?  Why  Key factors to determine their lower capacity to cope with natural disasters

 Are there any differences in roles/responsibilities for preventing severe losses/damages from natural disasters between men and women or between the elderly and youth? Discuss differences.

 Do you think that the government, VDC, and NGOs responsible for protecting your life and livelihoods from natural disasters and changing climate? Talk about their roles and responsibilities.

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APPENDIX C

Questionnaire for In-depth Interviews

1. Risks, Vulnerability, and Adaptation (1) Change in natural disasters  Have you ever been affected by any natural disasters, such as floods and landslides? If so, talk about your experience (when, what types of disasters, how you responded to, how you/your family members were affected by, etc.)?  Have you ever perceived any change in natural disasters over time?  If so, what are characteristics of the change?  What do you think has caused the change and why do you think so?  Have intensified natural disasters impacted on your life in any way? If so, what were serious effects for you?  any change in local environment (soil/land, water & forest resource, etc.)  any change in your or your family members‟ health conditions  any change in assets/income and livelihood (agriculture, animal husbandry, etc.) any change in men‟s and women‟s role/responsibility in the household  any change in power relationships (decision-making power) between men and women in the household and community  How have you coped with or protect from such adverse effects?  Why have you taken such strategies/measures?  How effective were your strategies/measures? Why do you think so?  Do you think you are exposed to the risk of next natural disasters? Why do you think or not think so?  What else do you need for protecting your life and livelihood from next natural disasters? Why do you think so?  Who do you think are most vulnerable to the risk of next natural disasters? Why do you think so?  Do you think men and women, the rich and poor, or the elderly and youth are differently affected by natural disasters? If so, what are main differences among these different social groups of people and what makes such differences?  Is the government, VDC, or NGO taking action or measures for protecting your life/livelihood from the intensified natural disasters? If so, how effective are their action/measures and why do you think or not think so?

(2) Change in rainfall patterns  Have you ever perceived any change in rainfall patterns over time?  If so, what are characteristics of the change?  What do you think has caused the change and why do you think so?  Have changed rainfall patterns impacted on your life in any way? If so, what were serious effects for you?  any change in local environment (soil/land, water & forest resources, etc.)

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 any change in your or your family members‟ health condition  any change in livelihood (agriculture, natural resources, etc.) and income  any change in men‟s and women‟s role/responsibility in the household?  any change in power relationships (decision-making power) between men and women in the household?  How have you coped with or protect from such adverse effects?  Why have you taken such strategies/measures?  How effective were your strategies/measures? Why do you think so?  Do you think you are exposed to the risk of such adverse impacts of changed rainfall patterns? Why do you think or not think so?  What else do you need for protecting your livelihood from changing rainfall patterns? Why do you think so?  Who do you think are most vulnerable to changing rainfall patterns? Why do you think so?  Do you think men and women, the rich and poor, or the elderly and youth are differently affected by changing rainfall patterns? If so, what are main differences among these different social groups of people and what makes such differences?  Is the government, VDC, or NGO taking action or measures for protecting your life/livelihood from changed rainfall patterns? If so, how effective are their action/measures and why do you think or not think so?

(3) Change in natural resources‟ availability  Have you ever perceived any change in the availability of water, firewood, and fodder over time?  If so, what are characteristics of the change?  What do you think has caused the change and why do you think so?  Has a decrease in water, firewood, or fodder‟s availability impacted on your life in any way? If so, what were serious effects for you?  any change in your spending time for collecting these resources  any change in your or your family members‟ health conditions  any change in your livelihood (agriculture, animal husbandry, etc.) and income  any change in men‟s and women‟s role/responsibility in the household?  Is there any change in power relationships (decision-making power) between men and women in the household?  How have you coped with or protect from a decrease in natural resources‟ availability?  Why have you taken such strategies/measures?  How effective were your strategies/measures? Why do you think so?  Do you think you are exposed to the risk of such adverse impacts of a decrease in natural resources‟ availability? Why do you think or not think so?  What else do you need for protecting your livelihood from a decrease in natural resources‟ availability? Why do you think so?  Who do you think are most vulnerable to a decrease in natural resources‟ availability? Why do you think so?  Do you think men and women, the rich and poor, or the elderly and youth are differently

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affected by a decrease in natural resources‟ availability? If so, what are main differences among these different social groups of people and what makes such differences?  Is the government, VDC, or any NGO taking action or measures for protecting your life/livelihood from a decrease in natural resources‟ availability?

(4) Climate change  Have you ever heard about climate change?  If so, how did you know about it?  What do you think about it?

2. Activities‟ Profile (1) Agriculture  Do you farm any agricultural crops?  If so, how much land do you have and what types of agricultural crops do you farm?  For what purpose do you farm each crop?  Who else engages in farming those crops in the household and who does what activities?  Yourself:  Your spouse:  Your father (in-law)/mother (in-law):  Your sons/daughters:  Others (laborers):  How much time do you usually spend for farming per day?  How important is farming to your livelihood and why is it so?

(2) Livestock  Do you raise any livestock?  If so, how many and what types of livestock do you raise?  For what purpose do you raise each livestock?  Who else engages in grazing and taking care of the livestock in the household and who does what activities?  Yourself:  Your spouse:  Your father (in-law)/mother (in-law):  Your sons/daughters:  How much time do you usually spend for taking care of the livestock per day?  How important is the livestock to your livelihood and why is it so?

(3) Natural Resources  Do you use any natural resources, such as firewood, fodder, and water?  If so, how far do you need to go for collecting/fetching those resources?  Are forests and water facility private or commune (public) ones?  For what purpose do you use these resources?  Who engages in collecting and managing those resources?  Yourself:  Your spouse:

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 Your father (in-law)/mother (in-law):  Your sons/daughters:  How much time do you usually spend for collecting firewood/fodder and fetching water per day?  How important are these natural resources to your livelihood and why is it so?

(4) Non-farm Activities  Do you or other family members engage in any non-farm activities?  If so, who engages in what type of a non-farm activity?  How important is such a non-farm activity and why is it so?

3. Demographic and socioeconomic profile  Location (village name/ward #)  Caste/ethnicity  Age  Length of living in the village  Marital status and family structure  Educational attainment/literacy  House type (material used for roof, wall, etc.)

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Atsuko NONOGUCHI

Permanent Address: 52 Habu-Hattome, Sonobe, Nantan-city, Kyoto 622-0056 Japan

E-mail address: [email protected], [email protected]

1. Educational background May 2012 expected to obtain PhD in Rural Sociology from the Pennsylvania State University (PSU), PA, USA

May 2000 obtained MA in International Development from Clark University, Worcester, MA, USA

March 1992 obtained BA in English Language and Literature from Kyoto Sangyo University, Kyoto, Japan

2. Relevant Working Experiences Dec. 2004 to Mar. 2005 worked as a consultant on girls’ education and gender mainstreaming for JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency)’s new project aimed to improve girls’ schooling in Yemen

May to Oct. 2003 worked as a gender expert for JICA’s gender mainstreaming project in Cambodia

Apr. 2001 to Apr. 2003 worked as a program officer for JICA Cambodia Office

Apr. 2000 to Mar. 2001 worked as a junior gender expert for JICA Headquarters in Tokyo, Japan

Jan. to Jun. 1998 worked as a research assistant for ECFA (Engineering and Consulting Firms Association) in Tokyo, Japan

Sep. to Dec. 1997 worked as a training coordinator for JICA research and training institute in Tokyo, Japan

Apr. 1995 to Jul. 1997 work as a field worker for JICA/JOCV (Japan Overseas Cooperative Volunteers)’s community forestry project in Nepal

3. Awards & Scholarship Fall 2011 & Fall 2006 scholarship from PSU’s Japanese Alumni Association Sep. 2008 research grant from National Committee for UNIFEM, Japan May 2008 research grant from College of Agricultural Science, PSU