Grasping Climate Vulnerability in Western Mountainous Nepal: Applying Climate Vulnerability Index

ABSTRACT

This study examines the relationship among the magnitude of climate vulnerability, location, and altitude of the catchment areas of Sot Khola subwater basin in western mountainous Surkhet, Nepal, by building Climate Vulnerability Index (CVI) and by using clusters based on the primary data sources. A household survey covering adaptive, sensitive, and exposure levels was conducted in 642 households of the catchment areas for the primary data set. The study has built the CVI of Sot Khola subwater basin’s catchment areas, which provides sufficient evidence of heterogeneity in vulnerabilities of households across locations and altitude of the catchment areas. In all clusters, all households are vulnerable at different levels. About 69% households in all clusters are vulnerable, and of them 31% households are highly vulnerable. The lower cluster of the catchment areas (Lekhagaon and Kunathari) are more vulnerable than the upper cluster of the catchment areas (Gadhi), except the lower cluster of Gadhi. Therefore, the altitude and magnitude of climate change vulnerability have negative correlation in case of water-induced disasters. In case of climate change vulnerability, households’ socioeconomic characteristics and magnitude of climate change vulnerability have also negative correlation.

KEYWORDS:

• Climate change
• vulnerability
• water basin
• water-induced disasters
• flood

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Acknowledgments

I acknowledged the University Grants Commission (UGC) for providing the PhD Fellowship, 067/068. This is its output research paper.