ABSTRACT
The Hindu Kush Himalayan region is a highly diverse and dynamic area geographically and culturally. Scientific evidence indicates that climate change affects the local socio-ecological systems with potential to cause long-term transformations directly or indirectly. This, coupled with other drivers, especially changes in demography, livelihood resources, gender relations and socio-economic structures, have aggravated the vulnerabilities of the communities to changes in climate. This study, set in three different elevations in the state of Uttarakhand, explores and unpacks the dynamics relating to the roles and responsibilities that govern rules, norms and practices that are defined as gendered institutions. The study modifies the IAD framework through a gendered lens to portray how patterns of gender relations within different socio-economic groups are impacted with changing climate in the study sites with respect to two main activities: accessing water and agriculture-related activities. Using empirical evidences, the study indicates that across study sites, men and women perceive climatic variability concurrently yet differently. Further, the disaggregated information collected on gender, class and caste showed how the gender-selective nature of the division of labour represents a strong dichotomy between ‘reproductive’ and the ‘productive’ activities. This was largely manifested in the existing social conformism in all the study sites, which presents critical challenges influencing social relations, position and mobility, predominantly for women and men from the marginalized and lower-caste communities of Uttarakhand.
