Presentation short abstract

Himalayan pastoralists adapt to climate and labour shifts through multiscalar and temporal flexibilities across pastoral systems, yet institutional rigidities deepen marginalisation. Through lived realities, changing animals and waterscapes, I trace the locally contested climate adaptations.

Presentation long abstract

Pastoralists in South Asia's Himalayan region are experiencing challenges with the labour shifts and climate variabilities (Singh and Kerven, 2023), through erratic rainfall, flash floods, and changing snowfall patterns—factors critical to sustaining livestock in the resource-scarce high-altitude landscapes. Meanwhile, traditional knowledge systems that once enabled resilience are themselves evolving along with the changing labour regimes. Amidst these entanglements of climate variability, labour transitions and knowledge change, key questions emerge: how are Himalayan pastoralists sustaining or evolving their way of life? How do they interpret and respond to climatic uncertainties? Are they adapting or becoming increasingly vulnerable? What role do local institutions play in supporting or hindering their responses? This study draws on empirical research and expounds the adaptive strategies/flexibilities employed at multiple scales in pastoral system of Indian Himalaya in response to climatic and labour changes. Contributing to theme of the panel, through stories and anecdotes around the lived realities and climate experiences, changing animal compositions and waterscapes, it also highlights how institutional rigidity results in further marginalisation of the poor pastoral households. It aims to engage with the dialogue around the flexibilities and rigidity across the spatial and temporal scale in the agro-pastoral system of Western Indian Himalaya.