Overview

The Kathmandu Valley in the middle mountain region of Nepal has a baseline environment increasing urbanization wìth limited urban planning and development. This unplanned urbanization is compromising the provision of ecosystem goods and services - such as flood attenuation, soil stabilization, ground water recharge and thermal regulation – across the valley. Climate change impacts of increasing rainfall intensity and temperature, coupled with shorter rain seasons, are greatly exacerbating these baseline problems, resulting in an increased frequency of flooding, landslides and droughts. The population within the valley is, as a result, increasingly vulnerable to climate change and its impacts, which pose threats to infrastructure, agricultural land and the safety of local communities. Women, children, the elderly and the urban poor in the valley are particularly vulnerable to the climate change impacts given their marginalized status. Women are disproportionately affected because they perform the role of primary caregivers in households, which results in them frequently remaining in hazardous areas during extreme rainfall in order to care for other vulnerable members of the household. The urban poor are also disproportionately exposed to climate hazards, mainly because they frequently settle on marginalized land that is highly exposed to climate hazards.