ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the issues of differential impacts of climate change, and climate injustice in relationship with Dalit communities, the most marginalized and vulnerable populations in Nepal. It demonstrates that landlessness and near landlessness among Dalits is a major risk factor for climate injustice and conversely, that equitable provision of land rights is a powerful means to buffer the effects of the climate crisis. This can help Dalit communities engage productively and form an empowered position in negotiating government policies and programs on climate mitigation, adaptation, and reparation for loss and damage. Secure land rights can also provide incentives for Dalits to invest in long-term land stewardship through the adoption of sustainable land management practices and the development of climate-resilient infrastructure. Developing and implementing these policies will require a transformation in the content and process of federal, regional, and local government policies that address the historical legacies of caste discrimination that has subjected Dalits to social, economic, and ecological marginalization. The relationships between caste discrimination and climate change offer some important insights into the emerging field of environmental and climate justice in Nepal and elsewhere in the Global South.
