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precipitation, atmospheric carbon dioxide content, the incidence of extreme
events and sea level rise are the main climate change-related drivers which
impact agricultural production (Adams 1998). Climate change, however,
is considered as posing the greatest threat to agriculture and food security
in the 21st century, particularly in many of the poor, agriculture-based
countries with their low capacity to cope effectively (Darwin and Kennedy
2000, Adams et al. 1995). Mountain agriculture is already under stress
as a result of population increase, industrialization and urbanization,
competition over resource use, degradation of resources and insuffi cient
public spending for rural infrastructure and services. The impact of climate
change is likely to exacerbate these stresses even further. The outlook for
the coming decades is that agricultural productivity needs to continue
to increase and will require more water to meet the demands of growing
populations. Ensuring equitable access to water and its benefi ts now and for
future generations is a major challenge as scarcity and competition increase.
The amount of water allocated to agriculture and water management choices
will determine, to a large extent, whether societies achieve economic and
social development and environmental sustainability (Iglesias et al. 2000,
Easterling et al. 1993).
Food security and rural livelihoods are intrinsically linked to water
availability and use. Food security is determined by the options people
have to secure access to own agricultural production and exchange
opportunities (Parry et al. 1999). These opportunities are infl uenced by
access to water. Making these water-livelihoods linkages is important for a
more complete understanding of the nature of vulnerability of households
to climate-related hazards such as drought, and the multi-faceted impacts
that water security has on food and livelihood security (Rawat et al. 2011).
In order to highlight such linkages, there has been a move in recent years
towards looking at water issues through sustainable livelihood frameworks
(Rosenzweig et al. 1999). One main feature of climate change adaptation
at the local level is its attempt to increase the resilience of populations to
climate-related hazards. This means assessing the populations at risk of
water and food insecurity. First, lack of access to adequate water supply, both
in quality and quantity, for domestic uses can be a major cause of declining
nutritional status and of disease and morbidity. Second, domestic water is
often a production input. Such production is essential for direct household
consumption and/or income generation. Third, the amount of time used
to collect water, and related health hazards, can be immense, especially for
women and girls, and has been well documented (Iglesias 2007b).
This chapter reviews current knowledge about the relationships
between climate change, community food security and livelihood in the
Himalayan region. Climate change and land-use degradation affects
community food and livelihood through accelerating several hydrological
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