Vulnerability and impacts of climate change on forest and freshwater wetland ecosystems in Nepal: A review

Title
Vulnerability and impacts of climate change on forest and freshwater wetland ecosystems in Nepal: A review
Publication Date
2017
Author(s)
Lamsal, Pramod
Kumar, Lalit
( author )
OrcID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9205-756X
Email: lkumar@une.edu.au
UNE Id une-id:lkumar
Atreya, Kishor
Pant, Krishna Prasad
Type of document
Journal Article
Language
en
Entity Type
Publication
Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Place of publication
Netherlands
DOI
10.1007/s13280-017-0923-9
UNE publication id
une:22501
Abstract
Climate change (CC) threatens ecosystems in both developed and developing countries. As the impacts of CC are pervasive, global, and mostly irreversible, it is gaining worldwide attention. Here we review vulnerability and impacts of CC on forest and freshwater wetland ecosystems. We particularly look at investigations undertaken at different geographic regions in order to identify existing knowledge gaps and possible implications from such vulnerability in the context of Nepal along with available adaptation programs and national-level policy supports. Different categories of impacts which are attributed to disrupting structure, function, and habitat of both forest and wetland ecosystems are identified and discussed. We show that though still unaccounted, many facets of forest and freshwater wetland ecosystems of Nepal are vulnerable and likely to be impacted by CC in the near future. Provisioning ecosystem services and landscape-level ecosystem conservation are anticipated to be highly threatened with future CC. Finally, the need for prioritizing CC research in Nepal is highlighted to close the existing knowledge gap along with the implementation of adaptation measures based on existing location specific traditional socio-ecological system.
Link
Citation
Ambio, 46(8), p. 915-930
ISSN
1654-7209
0044-7447
Start page
915
End page
930

Files:

NameSizeformatDescriptionLink