14. Climate Change and Its Impacts on Land Use/Cover Change and Food Security in Nepal

Nepal is rich in natural resources, biodiversity, etc., but several of them are endangered; climate change, overexploitation, etc. could be the potential reasons. Several studies suggest that high-altitude areas are more vulnerable to climate change, and thus the majority of the mountainous regions in Nepal are in the extreme risk condition due to the adverse effect caused by climate change and global warming. The recent study shows that the average temperature is increased by 0.04 °C per year in the Terai and 0.08 °C per year in the Himalayas since 1980. It means the higher the altitude, the higher the increase in rate. Therefore, the mountain region is more vulnerable in comparison to the Terai plain area of Nepal. Although there is a contribution of climate change in the vegetation growth in the Higher Himalayas, most parts of the country are facing the adverse impact of climate change especially in the agricultural sector. Eventually, changing climate has an adverse effect on the land use and land cover along with the food security of the mountainous region. Nepal government is actively working to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change specially climate change-induced disasters and to ensure the proper use of the available land. Several land use policies have been formulated for the sustainable agricultural development and to preserve the ecosystem and biodiversity.