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Gender Differences in Climate Change Perception and its Impacts in the Ladakh Region of the Western Himalayas

Kacho Khan, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)
Aparajita Chattopadhyay, International Institute for Population Sciences, India

Ladakh region in the Western Himalayas is unique with its cold and arid climate. A small variations in climate in this fragile ecosystem will make livelihood difficult. The changing pattern of climate are not well understood due to limited monitoring facilities operated in this region. People's perception and understanding of men’s and women’s need in climate change can be an important asset when it comes to climate change adaptation. This study analyses the gender differences in climate change perception and its association with different socio-economic indicators. The study involves 270 households where male and female respondents were interviewed in equal ratio in the nine villages of Ladakh Himalayas. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics. The results showed that the awareness of climate change were higher among the male respondents due to their higher education and better access to mass communication than the female respondents. The perceived climatic changes like high temperature and low rainfall have led to reduction in stable grains like barley and buckwheat and forced the community members to depend more on the market foods. The study could be useful in designing men and women needs in climate change policies which will help in appropriate climate change adaptation strategies.

Keywords: Environmental studies, Gender, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Qualitative data/methods/approaches

See extended abstract.

  Presented in Session P1.