Himalayan Vulnerabilities and Resilience

Abstract

Home to unique physiography, geology, steep terrain, heavy monsoon rain, and high seismic activity, the Himalaya are vulnerable to both anthropogenic and natural disasters, such as glacier retreat, avalanches, flooding, landslides, droughts, earthquakes, and the destruction of ecosystems. This chapter begins with a review of the literature on vulnerabilities, hazards, resilience, and adaptability, followed by Himalaya specific characteristics that contribute to both vulnerability and resilience. Resilience is helpful to achieve sustainable development goals through the strengths that can help overcome vulnerability to change. Institutional resilience depends on factors such as flexibility, adaptability, self-organization, collaborative learning, funding, and institutional mission, vision, and goals. Fragility, therefore, makes the Himalayan environment and the communities livelihood more vulnerable to changes, including natural and human-made disasters and climate change. The Himalayan characteristics, both biophysical and social, also provide various opportunities, such as niches for specific products, activities, and services that offer a comparative advantage over plains and other regions of the world.