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vulnerability patterns and dynamics
Food security, livelihood strategies and differential
vulnerability patterns
Vulnerability, reflected here as food insecurity outcomes or households' perceived
persistent ability to access sufficient food, is highly differentiated both between
and within villages (
Figures 11.3
and
11.4
)
. Informants relate food insecurity
mostly to seasonal and inter-annual variations in weather conditions; but our
analysis also shows that food security is a result of the complex interactions of
diverse livelihood strategies and that various social and political relations are
central in determining access to these strategies and thus driving differential
vulnerability patterns.
Food insecurity is most intense around February/ March when food stocks
have been depleted after the October/November harvest and the snow still
prevents people from travelling to Tibet to buy food. A second period of stress
for food-insecure households is in May/June, also between harvest times.
The analysis of household data identified changing climatic conditions, with
decreasing rain in Lower Humla, more unpredictable precipitation in Upper
Humla, and less snow during winter, as a major stress factor for most households.
In Khankhe, lack of rain has been considered an increasing problem for the past
eight to ten years, while in the two villages of Upper Humla unpredictability of
rain is reported to have created challenges for the past five years. Observations
related to changes in precipitation are in line with the expected impacts of
climate change in the region (Ministry of the Environment of Nepal 2010).
However, the severity of stress due to climatic variability is perceived
differently among the three villages, as well as by different households within
the same village. In the relatively food-secure village of Khaagaalgaon, the
unpredictability of rain was not viewed as a main concern for food security,
25
20
15
Food secure households
Food insecure households
10
5
0
Khaagaalgaon
Syaandaa
Khankhe
Figure 11.3
Number of semi-structured interviews in the three villages categorized
into food-secure and food-insecure households
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