Preserving Nepal's Mountains: Climate Change, Migration, and Youth's Role in the Future

Nepal has been facing some major threats due to the environmental change and disasters. Nepal is the country known for having the most mountains, eight of the of the 10 highest mountains on the planet, with heights exceeding 8,000 meters. Climate change, environmental degradation, as well as disasters, have been recognized as significant drivers of human mobility worldwide, and Nepal is no exception. While there is limited specific data available on migration solely attributed to climate change in Nepal, the country is vulnerable to several environmental factors that can lead to migration and displacement. Despite emitting only 0.1% of the world's greenhouse gases, Nepal is significantly affected by the impacts of environmental change. Even if the global temperatures do not pass the 1.5-degree global warming threshold, the Himalayan region is expected to experience a temperature increase of 1.8 degrees due to a phenomenon known as the 'altitude effect' In mountainous regions like the Himalayas, this effect can amplify the warming experienced, causing temperatures to increase more than the global average. It is 10th most climate-affected country in the world according to the long-term Climate Risk Index covering the period 2000-2019.

Climate and Human Mobility

The Himalayan region in Nepal, including districts like Solukhumbu, Mustang, Dolpa, and Manang, has witnessed the impacts on human mobility due to glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) and glacier retreat. These areas are highly susceptible to the impacts of climate change, and communities living in the vicinity of glacial lakes were relocated to safer areas. Data has shown that GLOF risk is the highest in eastern Nepal. There are 42 dangerous lakes within Koshi river basin alone, such as Lower Barun, Imja, Tso Rolpa, and Hongu. The bursting of one of these lakes would send a wall of water and debris downstream with greater due to height potential of region and slope failures along with human losses and even trigger self-destructive moraine failure. Recently, sudden draining of small supraglacial lake on Lhotse Glacier led flood surge of 6 m, with estimated instantaneous discharge of 1500 m3/s, and minor damage downstream in Chukung village. There is also the danger of cross-border GLOFs. In the past, the bursting of relatively small glacial lakes in Tibet caused major damage in Nepal. In one of many cases, flood as result of the drainage of Zhangzangbo glacial lake in Tibet in July 1981 had damaged Sun Koshi Hydroelectricity project, destroyed two bridges and extensive sections of the Arniko Highway with economic loss was in the order of US$ 3.0 million. A similar glacial surge of Gelhaipuco lake in 1964 had caused damaged highway and 12 Trucks losses.

Environmental change has also disrupted the biodiversity and ecosystems in Nepal. Changes in temperature and rainfall patterns have affected habitats, altered ecosystems, and threatened the survival of various plant and animal species. In some cases, indigenous communities who depend on these ecosystems for their cultural and subsistence needs face displacement and migration when their traditional resources are no longer available. In Terai region, disasters associated with floods have resulted in displacement and migration in districts such as Sunsari, Saptari, Sarlahi, and Dhanusa. Indeed, even in hilly regions, there have been numerous reports of migration driven by water scarcity resulting from the depletion of aquifers. These underground water reservoirs can leave communities without a reliable and accessible source of water for their daily needs and agriculture. In such situations, people are often faced with the dilemma of either embarking on journeys that span several days to secure a water supply or abandoning their homes and farmland, opting to migrate to the Terai region.

Youth’s urban mobility

Like many countries in the world, the youth in Nepal has limited access to resources, limited decision-making power, and limited voice in shaping policies. Additionally, the youth in the mountainous region has been deprived of some basic needs due to challenging topography.  When Upper Mustang region received less than 200mm of rain annually, the households in the village of Dhey were relocated to Thangchung in 2009 due to a lack of water. Similarly, eighteen households from village of Samjong were relocated to another village in 2016 due to acute drought. Youth migrants have additional challenges in terms of social integration, access to education, healthcare, and employment opportunities. In a survey conducted by UNICEF in several countries in Asia, 78% of respondents in Nepal stated that climate change had affected their education or studies, and 18% responded that it had affected their journey to school . For example, young female aged 19 from Nepal said that “Climate change has adversely affected our education. It has also damaged the structure of our school. Due to climate change, we have to face many problems to reach school from home, which has a direct impact on education.”

On the hand, the population data shows and increase in cities and in the Terai region, while it highlights a decrease in other hilly and mountainous region.  For example, the Sherpa youth’s number is affected directly by environmental change, as they are deeply culturally and physically tied to the Himalayas. They have evolved to become superhuman mountain climbers, extremely efficient at producing the energy to power their bodies even when oxygen is scarce. With the mountains melting, tourism extinction can be major threat for them.

Youths face discrimination even in their own country as they have different way of living or talking and take time to adapt to their new surroundings. Youths migrating to cities often face challenges related to limited living space, as they are led to live in overcrowded areas with high rent costs, limited public spaces and pressure on services, among others.  In an interview by Bayers et. al and his project members during the phase of community consultation for their study of areas in Tsho Rolpa, most of the people who were interviewed in Tsho Rolpa were elderly men, women, and young girls. This was because many young men had left for Kathmandu to find work in the trekking and tourism sector. When asking about their perceptions of Tsho Rolpa, threat of a GLOF, and mitigation efforts to date, they were afraid of GLOF from Tsho Rolpa and shared that, “we can’t sleep at night.”

They also shared that they had little idea of how to reduce their risk to floods and other natural hazards, nor how to protect the valley and their personal assets. They had little understanding of how the newly installed early warning system worked, whether it worked, and what to do in case they received warning of an impending flood.

Expectations from Youth

A renowned Buddhist monk and author, Shunryu Suzuki, once said, “In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few”. This suggests that the youth, who are receptive to new ideas and solutions, can play a vital role in tackling climate and migration challenges in Nepal. Investing in youth-centered resilience building and adaptation measures can have long-term benefits. Nepal has a number of national, international and youth led organizations mitigation and adapting to environmental change in various ways. The research and research grants, technology and innovation, resilience building and adaptation measures, grassroots movements, advocating for climate action, raising awareness, providing platforms for participation, case study and investments are various actions that are being implemented by the Nepalese government.

Youths can bridge the gap between teens, middle-aged people, and seniors because they are more flexible and have more time than other groups. A study done by ODI, suggests young people, the largest cohort in developing countries, are endowed with both creativity to produce fresh ideas for good governance and rights to participation, accountability and transparency. Investments that help young people meet their socio-economic needs, including those for equity, better governance, greater social cohesion, higher-quality education and more income generating opportunities can help young people become agents of active partners in peacebuilding, increasing national security and reducing the chance of civil disorder nationally and globally. There is around 10% increase in literacy rate in Nepal, so Middle aged and senior citizens have huge expectations from the Youth here. The actions against climate change is to be accelerated more to reduce disasters from climate change which is only possible by active youth participation. In the survey conducted majority of respondents (96%) said that they would like to do something to address climate change with the necessary support, including teaching their community (31%) or starting an organization to address climate change (20%), among others. 50% of respondents said that they wanted to learn about “all” aspects of climate change.

Conclusion

In order to minimize and address displacement related to the adverse impacts of climate and environmental change, there must be support from all levels and effective actions to save mountains of the Himalayas. Sustainable land management, carbon pricing and market mechanisms, reforestation, sustainable transportation and energy efficiency should be done with strong policy frameworks, technological advancements, and individual actions to contribute to mitigating climate change and creating a sustainable future. It will only be possible through national and international cooperation partnerships. Actions should be taken soon here as Earth has only one country having numerous Himalayas and it’s here in Nepal.

About the author: 

Rajan Kumar Sah is a passionate Writer, Researcher, and Engineer from Nepal. I have a Bachelor in Civil Engineering from Thapathali Campus, Tribhuvan University. I have been involved with several Youth initiatives and National and International organizations based on climate change, literacy, plastics free movement, energy, and advocacy for enhancements. My interests align with structural engineering, environment engineering, water resources, architecture, climate change, artificial intelligence, and green technology. I am committed to SDGs, global awareness, and Innovations.

This article is part of the IOM Blog Series: Youth Voices on Migration, Environment and Climate Change