Agriculture remains Nepal’s principal economic activity, employing 66 percent of the population. Natural disasters such as floods, landslides, snow avalanches, glacial lake outburst floods, hailstorms, thunderstorms, cold waves, hot waves, drought and epidemics threaten agricultural productivity, and cause poverty and food insecurity. Poor, marginalized and disadvantaged groups of people, women and children are hardest hit by such disasters. The Disasters Inventory System (1971-2005) shows an increasing trend of disasters and associated impacts. In the last thirty years in Nepal, over USD 1 billion have been lost through climate-related natural disasters, an average of nearly NPR 2 500 million per year. An additional threat derives from global warming and the resulting repercussions of climate change in the Himalayan environment, which are likely to further increase the number of climate-related hazardous events and their social, economic and environmental impacts. Observed data indicate consistent warming and a rise in maximum temperatures at an annual rate of from 0.04 to 0.06°C. This is more pronounced in high-altitude regions than in Terai and Silwalik regions. The widespread impact of natural hazards and climate variability is attributed to insufficient public awareness, absent or inadequate preparedness, a lack of coordination among government agencies, inadequate financial resources, and the low level of technical know how and skill in managing climate-related risks and natural disasters. In addition, the majority of climate-related and disaster risk reduction projects and activities in agriculture relate to reactive responses. There is thus a need to strengthen preventive and preparedness actions in agriculture, livestock and related sectors from national to local level. National strategies and policies for proactive disaster risk management (DRM) should be strengthened along the lines of the Hyogo Framework of Action and transfer the results of research related to DRM and climate change adaptation (CCA) for field-level action through the extension system.
#StrengtheningCapacities #DisasterPreventionAndPreparedness #ClimateRiskManagement Agricultural Sector
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Publisher:
GON-FAO
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(2012
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Type / Script:
Progress Report
in English
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Keywords:
POVERTY, FOOD SECURITY, NATURAL DISASTERS, DISASTER PREVENTION, DISASTER PREPAREDNESS, CAPACITY BUILDING, AGRICULTURE, CLIMATE CHANGE, TECHNICAL COOPERATION, ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION, AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY, HUMANITARIAN EMERGENCIES, DISASTER-PRONE AREAS, RISK MANAGEMENT
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Thematic Group:
FAO
:
Food and Agriculture Organization
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Thesaurus:
13.02.00
- Disaster Prevention, Preparedness And Relief
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Reference Link:
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