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Paper short abstract

This study examines how climate shocks affect livelihoods and migration decisions in Lubra, a 14-household Indigenous Bon community in Mustang, Nepal, using mixed methods to assess impacts on income, food security, and adaptation, migration, or relocation choices.

Paper long abstract

This paper investigates how climate shocks are transforming livelihood security and migration decisions among the Indigenous Bon community of Lubra Village in Mustang, Nepal. Lubra, with only fourteen households, lies in a climate-sensitive trans-Himalayan region experiencing intensified glacial melt, erratic rainfall, and recurrent flash floods. These climatic disruptions have damaged farmland, reduced agricultural yields, and heightened uncertainty about the long-term viability of the settlement. For Bon community, whose spiritual traditions emphasize deep ecological relationships and place-based identity, environmental change carries both material and cultural consequences. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study combines a household survey with semi-structured interviews and group discussions to capture both measurable impacts and lived experiences. Quantitative data assess shifts in income, food security, livestock, and livelihood stability following recent climate shocks. Qualitative narratives provide insight into how households interpret these changes, the coping strategies they employ, and the factors shaping their choices between in-situ adaptation, temporary migration, or potential relocation. The paper situates Lubra’s experience within broader debates on climate justice and Indigenous resilience, highlighting how small communities negotiate the pressures of environmental change while protecting cultural continuity. Rather than framing relocation as an inevitable response, the study emphasizes the community’s own aspirations, concerns, and imaginaries of a dignified future. The findings aim to offer localized evidence to inform culturally sensitive climate-resilience and relocation planning for of Lubra Village in Barhagaun Muktichhetra Municipality and contribute to understanding how Himalayan Indigenous communities navigate climate risks, mobility decisions, and the challenge of sustaining heritage in rapidly changing environments.