Climate resilience planning in mountainous regions in Nepal

This policy brief outlines the climate vulnerabilities of Nepal, particularly in its mountainous and urbanizing areas, and identifies systemic barriers to local climate action. It highlights a lack of technical capacity, financial constraints, and jurisdictional confusion following Nepal's shift to a federal structure. The authors recommend establishing 'resilience cells' to coordinate government efforts, integrating climate indicators into local budgeting, and adopting integrated planning tools to combine mitigation, adaptation, and disaster risk reduction.

• Nepal is highly vulnerable to climate change, ranking as the tenth most climate-affected country globally for the 2000-2019 period. Projections indicate that temperatures in Nepal may rise by as much as 1.8°C, even if global warming is limited to 1.5°C. The country faces increased frequency and severity of flash floods, landslides, and droughts, with agriculture being particularly vulnerable as over 70% of agricultural land is rainfed.
• Nepal has established several national policy instruments for climate resilience, including the Second Nationally Determined Contribution, which targets a 28% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 2011 BAU levels by 2030. Other key frameworks include the National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA), the National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), the National Climate Change Policy of 2019, and the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2017.

APA

Rahul, Sadhukhan, B., Udas, E., Agrawal, N. K., Maharjan, A., & Rana, P. J. B. (2022). Climate resilience planning in mountainous regions in Nepal. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/2022-07/Climate%20Resilience%20Planning%20in%20Mountainous%20Regions.pdf

Chicago

Rahul, Bedoshruti Sadhukhan, Erica Udas, Nand Kishor Agrawal, Amina Maharjan, and Pradyumna J. B. Rana. Climate resilience planning in mountainous regions in Nepal. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2022. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/2022-07/Climate%20Resilience%20Planning%20in%20Mountainous%20Regions.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Rahul |last2=Sadhukhan |first2=Bedoshruti |last3=Udas |first3=Erica |last4=Agrawal |first4=Nand Kishor |last5=Maharjan |first5=Amina |last6=Rana |first6=Pradyumna J. B. |title=Climate resilience planning in mountainous regions in Nepal |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=June 2022 |url=https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/2022-07/Climate%20Resilience%20Planning%20in%20Mountainous%20Regions.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rahul2022climate, author = {Rahul and Sadhukhan, Bedoshruti and Udas, Erica and Agrawal, Nand Kishor and Maharjan, Amina and Rana, Pradyumna J. B.}, title = {{Climate resilience planning in mountainous regions in Nepal}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2022}, month = jun, url = {https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/2022-07/Climate%20Resilience%20Planning%20in%20Mountainous%20Regions.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }