People’s climate knowledge versus scientists’ climate knowledge: a study of apple farming communities in Western Himalayas, India

Abstract

Climate change in the Himalayan mountain region is an important component of global climate change. Several studies have provided evidence for climate change in this region as well as insights into its dynamics. Most of these, however, have focused on the physical aspects of climate change. As a result, these studies have paid relatively less attention to its social and economic dimensions. This paper examines the social-economic impacts of climate change by focusing on how apple farmers in the Shimla district of the Western Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh in India have been experiencing climate change and responding to it. It also compares the apple farmers’ knowledge of climate change to that of the scientists. This study is based on a combination of primary and secondary data. Primary data was collected through semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Newspaper accounts, meteorological records and government reports were consulted for secondary data.