Flash News: From the Christian Science Monitor, December 7, 2007, a reputable newspaper published in Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
Climate Change Could Cause Political Turmoil in Nepal and Elsewhere
In a December 2007 article, Mark Sappenfield, wrote that climate change could cause turmoil in Nepal and pointed to some statistics which already place stress within Nepal as population shifts from one part of the country to another. Such stresses will likely cause more work for CNSP as more Nepalis seek either refugee status or to immigrate to Canada. Here is part of the Sappenfield article:
'Nepal: Unforeseen flash point
When it came to climate change fueling conflict, "Nepal was not on people's watch list," says Marc Levy, a political scientist at Columbia University. But several experts now say the country's Maoist insurgency has received a substantial boost from global warming.
During the past decade, a change in precipitation patterns and the shrinking of glaciers – events linked to climate change – have put added stress on Nepal's impoverished western hill districts. "There is a lack of irrigation," says Bishnu Upreti of the National Centre for Competence Research in Kathmandu, Nepal. As snowmelt and glacial runoff have been interrupted, he says, "it has caused a lot of tension."
Maoists have used this to their advantage. These areas "were expecting help from the government, but the government was not able to handle the difficulties," Mr. Upreti says. Maoists stoked these frustrations to turn people against the government.
Many highland Nepalis have left, overcrowding lowland districts along the border with India. Twenty years ago, 18 percent of the population lived in these districts, which make up one-fifth of Nepal's area. Today, nearly half of all Nepalis live there.
Says Geoff Dabelko, director of the Woodrow Wilson Institute's Environmental Change and Security Program in Washington: "It's becoming harder for people in the highlands to earn a living." '
Click for full article: CSM Article on Climate Change and Nepal
