AN ASSESSMENT OF CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT ON THE LIVELIHOODS OF FARMERS AT DELING VILLAGE IN SOUTHERN BHUTAN
Lekh Raj Galley & Kinzang Dorji
Lekh Raj Galley: Ministry of Education, Chhukha, Bhutan.
Kinzang Dorji: Samtse College of Education under the Royal University of Bhutan.
ABSTRACT
This study was conducted in Deling Village under Chhukha district in Bhutan as a case study to investigate the impact of climate change on farmers livelihoods. Data was collected through a semi-structured interview with farmers (n=8) and government officials (n=3), and field observations. In addition, the study also analysed the climate data such as variability of temperature and precipitation data of the past 26 years (1996-2021) collected from the National Centre of Hydrology and Metrology, and crop production records from District Agriculture Statistics (2004-2021). Analyses revealed that the farmers’ practices of new crops and vegetables production in the village, an outbreak of pests and diseases, changes in plant phenology and vegetation, rural-urban migration, the emergence of vector-borne diseases, and macro-parasites in animals were mainly attributed to changes in temperature and rainfall patterns in the region. Therefore, this study suggests that climate variability has brought with its pests and diseases, changes in plant and animal species, the drying up of water sources in lean seasons, and erratic heavy rainfall during monsoons in the region, which has resulted in flash flooding and frequent land erosions in the communities. To cope with the impacts, farmers have developed adaptive strategies in their own ways to cope with it. Thus, the findings of this study are useful to the relevant stakeholders on the impact of climate change at the local level in planning and developing the climate change adaptation process. Therefore, this study suggests a relentless need to address these challenges both from short and long-term policy perspectives.
Keywords: Climate change, livelihood, impacts, and coping mechanism.