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50 Himalayan groups link climate disasters to governance failures

Over 50 social and environmental organizations have united under the ‘People for Himalaya’ campaign, asserting that the recent

By Ground report 12 Mar 2024

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More than 60 organizations demands ban on major infrastructure projects in fragile Himalayan region

Over 50 social and environmental organizations have united under the ‘People for Himalaya’ campaign, asserting that the recent spate of climate disasters in the Himalayan region is not merely a natural occurrence but a direct consequence of systemic governance failures and policy-induced actions.

Himalayan coalition highlights environmental vulnerabilities

The coalition, comprising groups from diverse Himalayan states including Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, has voiced concerns over the tragic land subsidence in Joshimath and the devastating floods along the Teesta river, among other incidents in 2023. These events have brought to light the vulnerability of the region and the dire consequences of environmental neglect.

Researchers warn of the impending impact of dry winters, predicting severe manifestations in the near future1. The ‘Himalaya, Disaster and People’ dialogue, held in late February, saw climate scientists emphasize the dual threats of extreme weather events and gradual climatic shifts, both of which pose significant risks to the Himalayan ecosystem and the communities dependent on it.

publive-image — Mandakini left bank broken bridge rudraprayag sangam. Photo Credit: Mukerjee/commons.wikimedia

Top-down, market and techno-managerial solutions, implemented through international loans and poorly designed climate finance projects, have destroyed and replaced local societal and livelihood resilience. These structural and policy changes disable the Himalayan states from building resilient policies.

All the Himalayan groups from the Himalayan region expressed during the two-day dialogue in Himachal that, in case of extreme events, the relief offered by the center remains insufficient and focused on relief only, with no regard for prevention and rehabilitation.

In 2023, despite demands from both Sikkim and Himachal Pradesh, the disaster authorities did not declare these disasters as ‘national disasters’. Presently, gram sabhas and municipal bodies have little opportunity to participate in post-disaster governance planning and climate-resilient policy development.

Himalayas face drought threat

A study indicates that if global temperatures rise by 3 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, up to 90% of the Himalayas could face year-long droughts. This alarming projection underscores the urgent need for global temperature control measures to prevent such catastrophic outcomes.

The declaration highlights the disproportionate impact of these disasters on marginalized groups, including marginal farmers, Dalits, forest dwellers, and women, who bear the brunt of these calamities despite contributing the least to their cause. It criticizes the reckless development of infrastructure, such as mega dams and highways, which has led to significant environmental degradation.

Furthermore, the document condemns the replacement of local resilience with market-dependent solutions and poorly designed climate finance projects, which have had detrimental effects on Himalayan societies. It also points out the inadequacy of post-disaster support from central authorities, which has focused more on relief than on prevention and rehabilitation.

Despite pleas from affected states like Sikkim and Himachal Pradesh in 2023, the central government has not officially recognized these events as “national disasters,” leaving the region in a state of precarious uncertainty.

Exposure to drought

The researchers found that pollination in India reduces by half at 3-4°C global warming, compared to a quarter reduction at 1.5°C. If we limit warming to 1.5°C, half the country can act as a refuge for biodiversity, compared with 6 per cent at 3°C, they said.

With 3°C warming, the team projects that severe droughts of longer than one year over 30 years will expose more than 50 percent of the agricultural land in each of the studied countries. This represents a very large increase in the exposure of agricultural land to drought which the team found.

However, if we limit global warming to 1.5°C, we can reduce the increase in exposure of agricultural land to drought by between 21 per cent (India) and 61 per cent (Ethiopia), and also decrease economic damages due to fluvial flooding. This occurs when rivers and streams break their banks and the water flows out onto the adjacent low-lying areas.

The researchers said that if we avoid increases in human exposure to severe drought, they would also be 20–80 per cent lower at 1.5°C than at 3°C across the six countries. They projected that economic damages associated with sea-level rise would increase in coastal nations, but at a slower rate if warming is limited to 1.5°C. They also warned that the world needs to make more effort to reduce global warming, as current global policies are likely to result in 3°C of global warming.

The assessment of risk considers the additional risks due to anthropogenic or human-induced climate changes that correspond to the elevated global warming, compared with the baseline of the risk levels in 1961-1990, when the warming was approximately 0.3°C above pre-industrial levels.