The Struggles of a Herder from Rasuwa, Nepal

This case study details the experiences of Pasang Norchel Tamang, a traditional herder in the Ammachodingmo Rural Municipality of Rasuwa, Nepal, illustrating how climate change and infrastructure development are undermining the livelihoods of marginalized communities dependent on high alpine pastures.

• Since 2015, decreasing rainfall and rising temperatures have depleted water sources and reduced the quality and quantity of pasture grasses, leading to a decline in cattle productivity and household income.
• Climate-induced heat stress and water scarcity have caused severe biological impacts on livestock, including a 50% reduction in the fertility rate of yaks and Chauris, and unprecedented instances of miscarriages.
• The economic strain of declining productivity has forced herders to increase herd sizes to maintain income, leading to increased debt and the withdrawal of children from school to provide necessary labor.
• Infrastructure projects, specifically hydropower development, have increased community vulnerability by fragmenting pastures and blocking access routes through haphazard road construction and dam placement.
• Environmental degradation has forced herders to migrate to higher altitude pastures earlier than planned and seek external grazing lands, such as Tibetan grasslands, which requires paying a tariff of NRs 100 per animal.

APA

Basnet, U. (2023). The Struggles of a Herder from Rasuwa, Nepal. Global Resilience Partnership. https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/the-struggles-of-a-herder-from-rasuwa-nepal/

Chicago

Basnet, Umesh. The Struggles of a Herder from Rasuwa, Nepal. Global Resilience Partnership, 2023. https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/the-struggles-of-a-herder-from-rasuwa-nepal/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Basnet |first1=Umesh |title=The Struggles of a Herder from Rasuwa, Nepal |publisher=Global Resilience Partnership |date=27 June 2023 |url=https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/the-struggles-of-a-herder-from-rasuwa-nepal/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{basnet2023struggles, author = {Basnet, Umesh}, title = {{The Struggles of a Herder from Rasuwa, Nepal}}, institution = {Global Resilience Partnership}, year = {2023}, month = jun, url = {https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/the-struggles-of-a-herder-from-rasuwa-nepal/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }