WHY Is Our Work Essential?
Climate change has caused rising temperatures and shrinking of the ‘water towers’ of the HKH (Hindu Kush Himalayan) region, that is home to 230 million people that are now facing unprecedented risks in terms of reduced irrigation water, food scarcity, and other climate-related disruptions.
Although Zangskar has been continuously inhabited for more than 4000 years, aridity may have prompted villages like these ruins above Karsha to be abandoned centuries ago.
Now even the oldest settlements of Zangskar like Kumig are being abandoned as more and more fields are left fallow each year. Climate Z explores the collaborative & decentralized adaptations to these risks in Zangskar region, which may provide a model for adaptation to disruptions elsewhere in the HKH.
Why Adapt to the Climate Crisis?