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The purpose of this paper is to explore the process of disaster adaptive housing upgrading in informal settlements from social vulnerability perspective. It examines the mode and extent of disaster adaptive upgrading in two South Asian cities—Khulna, Bangladesh and Kathmandu, Nepal. With an exploratory qualitative research approach, it focuses on built-environmental adaptation at household and community levels. Empirical findings reveal that, the apparently vulnerable communities have intrinsic adaptive capacities of upgrading their housing conditions with minimal cost and maximum efficiency. These capacities are shaped by the community's collectivism and mutual help that enable them to survive despite the lack of development induced climatic and non-climatic urban problems. In the process of self-help upgrading, the status of tenure security and scope of alternative livelihood and finance are found to be the most crucial factors shaping the households' perception of vulnerability and the extent of their involvement in adaptation practices. The research outcomes shed light on the issues surrounding vulnerability and adaptive capacity of the informal settlements and recommend policy implications towards strengthening community-led upgrading in an informed manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper focuses on smallholders' perceptions of environmental variability and its impacts, their responses, and the role of Water Users' Associations (WUA) in governing the irrigation system in response to observed environmental changes. Our research recognizes that farmers' adaptations emerge from placed-based experience, yet adaptation policy and programmes may not recognize the heterogeneity of place-based experience. Fifteen farmer-managed irrigation systems from five districts of Nepal were selected as research sites, representing different ecological regions. Data were collected from household surveys and key informant interviews; the quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Our study reveals that the perception of environmental change differs across the ecological gradients and irrigators' physical position along the irrigation canals. Labour scarcity, investment in technology, access to non-farm income, information on environmental variability, and sociodemographic factors also influence irrigators' perceptions. Irrigators responded by adjusting irrigation amounts, improving irrigation infrastructure and altering irrigation rules, and using local knowledge and technology. WUA assist irrigators by mobilizing labour for canal maintenance, managing water distribution, monitoring irrigation systems, and collecting service fees. Our finding supports policy initiatives that recognize the importance of WUA, the differential and situated experience of climate risk, and the need for place-specific adaptation options for Nepalese farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the vast temporal and spatial footprints of the rangelands of Nepal's lower Mustang district, herder landscape-making practice and agency unfold. Herders in Mustang today are at the forefront of radical change. They negotiate the complexities of declining fodder, erratic precipitation and shifting demographics through actions in the field. Yet the agencies of these herders—largely transient labourers from marginalised communities—are ignored. Through the lens of herder practices in situ, this article examines the intra-active nature of their agency and the conditions through which it is ignored and obstructed, emergent and critical to the present and possible futures. This research is part of a larger effort to demonstrate that agencies emerging from land-based practice and relations on the ground have profound importance, particularly in a development context dominated by foreign aid agencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy plays a crucial role in both climate change mitigation and adaptation in highly climate-vulnerable nations such as Nepal. This paper reviews various types of renewable energy technologies and their status, potential for adoption, relationship to climate change, and mitigative and adaptive roles in Nepal. Nepal has installed micro-hydro projects, solar power, improved cooking stoves, biogas technology, improved water mills, and wind energy to mitigate and adapt to climate change. There is a growing potential for renewable energy development in Nepal, such as hydropower, solar, wind energy, biogas, and improved cooking stoves. Roughly 70% of Nepal's energy consumption is generated from traditional energy sources while renewable energy accounts for approximately three percent. The gradual increase in the use of renewable energy has reduced greenhouse gas emissions and enhanced carbon sequestration. By adopting renewable energy technologies, Nepal has reduced emissions by 221,129 tCO 2 e from 2017 to 2018. Nepal's second Nationally Determined Contribution targets a 15% increase in national energy use from renewables with a reduction of 23% of CO 2 emissions by 2030 using biogas and improved cooking systems. Furthermore, a significant increase in the adoption of renewable energy has become a pivotal strategy in adaptation to climate change in social, health, and economic sectors resulting in time savings, alternative income sources, improved health and educational status, local job opportunities, and the promotion of social capital. The benefits of adapting to climate change and mitigating CO 2 emissions via renewable energy are significant at the local, national, and international levels. This study recommends that the government of Nepal focus work on energy policy reviews to address local energy demand and climate change issues by utilizing renewable energy resources at the local level, which has global implications. • Suitable, potential renewable energy technologies in Nepal. • The relationship between energy and climate change. • Relevant data on energy and climate change in tables and figures. • Social, economic, and environmental benefits of renewable energy. • Climate change adaptation and mitigation via renewable energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]