Assessment of the vulnerability of farmers toward climate change: a case from Chitre-Parbat of Nepal

Climate change impacts are visible, ranging from local, national, and regional to the global scale. It disproportionately impacts the poor and those dependent on natural resources for their day-to-day livelihood activities. With an objective to assess the vulnerability of farmers to climate change, this study was conducted in the Chitre Village Development Committee (VDC) of the Panchase protected forest of Nepal. Seventy-one household surveys, two focused group discussions, and three key informant interviews were conducted to collect primary data. Temperature and precipitation data (from 1980 to 2020) were taken from the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology in Nepal. The maximum and minimum temperatures and pre-monsoon, post-monsoon, and winter rainfalls have increasing trends, while the monsoon rainfall has a decreasing trend. The maximum temperature has increased by 0.0415 °C per year, and the annual rainfall has increased by 0.619 mm per year. Different parts of the study area have different levels of exposure, sensitivity, adaptive capacity, and vulnerability. The greater the adaptive capacity, the lesser the vulnerability and the vulnerability index. Adaptive strategies must be incorporated with local knowledge and institutional support to achieve climate resilience.