Women’s Empowerment at the Frontline of Adaptation: Emerging Issues, Adaptive Practices and Priorities in Nepal

In the Hindu Kush Himalayas, climate change is threatening the livelihoods of those directly dependent on agriculture and the natural resource base. Rural women are disproportionately vulnerable to the impacts of climate change due to their socially constructed roles and responsibilities and relatively poor economic and social positions. This publication aims to help fill major knowledge gaps in relation to the impact of multiple drivers of change on women in Nepal and women’s role in adaptation to climate change and managing natural resources. It examines the impacts of climate change in Nepal, and how the resulting increase in rural women’s workload has affected women’s health, income, safety, nutrition and social, economic, and political empowerment. The study inventories positive adaptive practices at the community level as well as those promoted by state and non-state institutions. It also offers recommendations for women sensitive adaptive practices.