HI-AWARE Operationalizing adaptation, and lessons learnt for policy and practice: TERI’s experimentation in the Himalayan region

What is HI-AWARE? Five year research project Hindu-Kush Himalayan Region – Focus on Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra river basins

Why the HKH region? - All of Asia likely to warm during this century, with lock-in of 2o C global average temp rise. - Warming in HKH mountains likely to be around 3-4 oC by end of century, well above global average. - Winter precipitation is projected to increase in Tibetan Plateau whereas summer monsoon is generally likely to increase in South Asia. - Extreme rainfall as well as drought events are likely to increase.

Enhance the adaptive capacities and climate resilience of the vulnerable in the mountains and plains of the river basins of the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region, through the development of robust evidence to inform people-centred and gender sensitive climate change adaptation policies and practices.

Weather appropriate sustainable agriculture practices

Where is this happening? What are we doing? Consolidating lands Alternative crops (high value; horticultural; and cash crops) Improved farm practices - Protection of lands from wildlife encroachment Where is this happening? Huddu, Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand

Why we are doing what we are doing? The state is exposed to numerous hazards The mountainous terrain and unstable ground adds to the sensitivity of the population Agriculture, which is predominantly rainfed, is turning more risk-prone due to weather changes Scattered land holdings Outmigration is alarming in certain pockets and prevailing in the others

About the intervention: - The inclusivity approach - Multistakeholder process employed for the implementation phase - Views of locals and experts taken into consideration - Helps in robust and inclusive decision making enabling long-term viability of interventions The reflexivity approach – “learn and adjust” All through the process of employing the intervention, there were multiple reiterations with the stakeholders and a co-learning process was established to ensure the effective implementation of the pilot

What did we learn? Below par outcomes aren’t always a negative outcome Importance of targeted livelihood interventions Community voices and their importance in livelihood interventions Partnerships across levels are the way forward to address complex adaptive issues Need for Generalised Knowledge Claims (GKC) in SES to effectively upscale adaptation

Thanks For more information: www.hi-aware.org Contact: Ganesh Gorti, TERI Ganesh.Gorti@teri.res.in Design elements: Debabrat Sukla, ICIMOD