Change Adaptation Socioecol. Syst. 2015; 2: 45–56 Keywords: Out-migration; land abandonment; land use pattern; cropping pattern; driving forces; fruit crops; Garhwal Himalaya. 1 Introduction Climate change is a global phenomenon that has negative impacts on social and ecological systems [1]. It is one of the greatest environmental, social and economic threats the world has ever faced [2, 3]. Currently, its pattern is changing fast and developing countries are worst affected [4]. It is because of that developing countries are the most vulnerable to climate change [5]. Future impacts of climate change are expected to be more intense [6]. In Africa, vulnerability to climate change is higher, leading to severe consequences in social and ecological aspects [7]. Climate change is known to increase the frequency and intensity of disasters as result of increasing average temperature, changes in average annual precipitation, irregular rainfall patterns and an increasing number of extreme weather events, particularly intense rainfall events. The impact of climate change on agriculture [8,9], ecosystems [10], health [11,12] and water resources has been widely observed. A report shows that water and agricultural sectors are likely to be severely impacted by climate change, which will markedly affect crop yield, water and agriculture systems in different parts of the world [13]. Linkages between climate crop performance and food security were illustrated by Mega and Silva [14]; Lobell and Gaurdji [15]; UNFAO [16] and Rowhani et al. [17]. The impact of climate change in the Garhwal region has been seen as food insecurity, land abandonment and large-scale rural-urban migration. Mountain systems count among the most important natural areas providing key ecosystem services to society [18]. They cover about 24% of the total earth’s area. About 10% of global livelihoods and well-being relies directly on mountainous resources, and they are DOI 10.1515/cass-2015-0005 received February 1, 2015; accepted September 30, 2015 Abstract: Mountain regions are highly vulnerable to climate change, as they are ecologically fragile, tectonically and seismically active, and geologically sensitive. The main objectives of this study are to examine socio-ecological transformations and to illustrate the major driving forces – climate change, education and waves of modern civilization – in the Garhwal Himalaya. Data on socio-ecological systems and their patterns of change were accumulated from primary and secondary sources and through participatory rural appraisal. We present a case study where household level surveys were conducted in two villages. A total of 37 households were surveyed. Additionally, marginal farmers and extension workers were interviewed. Questions on population, migration, cropping pattern and livestock were answered by the head of the surveyed households. Population size was decreasing due to out-migration. The whole Garhwal region experienced 15.3% out-migration, while migration from the two villages was observed at 50% during the period 1990-2014. Similarly, changes in land use and cropping patterns and in the livestock population were observed. There was a decrease in the extent of land under cereals (24%) and fruits (79%), a decrease in fruit production (75%), and a decrease in the number of livestock (76%). Climate change was observed as a major driver of the decrease in production and productivity of cereals and fruits, leading to land abandonment. Education, on the other hand, was a major driver of out-migration. Further, extreme events through climate change happened more frequently and changed the landscape. This study reveals that an increase in infrastructural facilities to create jobs and sustainable land management can control out- migration and can enhance land capability. Case Studies Open Access © 2015 Vishwambhar Prasad Sati licensee De Gruyter Open. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License. Vishwambhar Prasad Sati* Climate change and socio-ecological transformation in high mountains: an empirical study of Garhwal Himalaya *Corresponding author: Vishwambhar Prasad Sati, Mizoram University Aizawl, Mizoram India, E-mail: vpsati@mzu.edu.in Unauthenticated Download Date | 11/16/19 5:58 AM