All 12 gram panchayats studied across four districts are adapting, from new crops to revived springs_
_🔹 25 solutions co-developed with communities and officials could be supported by more than 30 existing government policies and schemes_
*Shimla, 31 October 2026*: Farmers in Bajaura who moved from apple to pomegranate and now persimmon, women’s groups in Thana Kashoga reviving their baoris, and one of the state’s first village disaster management committees in Shoghi are among the adaptation efforts under way in all 12 gram panchayats studied across Mandi, Kullu, Sirmaur and Shimla districts. The findings are from a new independent study by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), supported by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), and launched today. The study was released by Shri Duni Chand Rana, IAS, Managing Director – Horticultural Produce Marketing and Processing Corporation (HPMC); H. P. Agro Industries Corporation Ltd., Shimla and the Additional Secretary, Shri Nishant Thakur, HPAS at a multi-stakeholder dialogue at Hotel Peterhoff, Shimla, in the presence of Dr Amina Maharjan, Senior Livelihoods and Migration Specialist ICIMOD and IPCC Lead Author – Adaptation, Impacts and Vulnerability, and Mr Rajeev Ahal, Executive Director, Himalayan institute for Transformative Action (HITA). Report link: https://www.ceew.in/publications/how-can-himalayan-communities-anticipate-risks-and-adapt-changing-climate
The CEEW study, *How Can Himalayan Communities Anticipate Risks and Adapt to a Changing Climate? Evidence from 12 gram panchayats in Himachal Pradesh*, documented community-led adaptation through field visits and focus groups. Every one of the 12 panchayats reports socio-economic impacts from a changing climate, and notably, each one has taken adaptation measures. The CEEW team used strategic foresight to take this further, brainstorming with the communities on how they could anticipate risks and take action before future disasters hit. In July 2025, more than 60 community representatives, officials and NGOs met in Shimla for another strategic foresight exercise. Strategic foresight brings together scientific evidence, local knowledge and the views of different stakeholders to explore plausible futures, then works back to the actions that can be taken today to achieve desirable ones. The exercise produced 25 anticipatory adaptation solutions across five sectors: actions that reduce harm before an impact is felt.
*Farmers are changing what they grow*. In Sandhu, Shimla, community members report that natural farming has spread to more than 20 families after it proved profitable and more resilient to extreme climate events. In Bajaura, Kullu, the shift to persimmon came as plant viruses began hitting pomegranates. In Parara, Sirmaur, people have adopted integrated farming, combining garlic with special apple varieties.
*Villages are bringing natural water sources back*. Thana Kashoga, Sirmaur, once had 35 perennial baoris, or spring-fed water tanks, and only 10 remain. Trained by the People’s Science Institute and Centre for Business and Entrepreneurial Development, women’s groups now clean them monthly, and five springs have been revived, with five or six more under way.
*Panchayats are organising for disasters*. Shoghi, near Shimla, set up its village disaster management committee with the NGO ADRA India after the 2023 landslides and floods, and has since trained villagers in first aid and evacuation. Few villages in the state have one so far.
The Himachal Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (HPSDMA), which supported the study, launched The Aapda Rakshak Scheme in 2026. The CEEW study recommends training and equipping panchayat-level disaster management committees, including with CEEW’s Gram Panchayat Climate Resilience Calendar, and anchoring village planning in gram panchayat development plans, using the more than 30 existing policies and schemes that could support these solutions. It also suggests the National Disaster Management Authority could set up a foresight cell, and disaster management authorities could adopt forecast-based financing, which releases funds when pre-agreed risk thresholds are crossed.
*Shri Duni Chand Rana, IAS, Managing Director – Horticultural Produce Marketing and Processing Corporation (HPMC); H. P. Agro Industries Corporation Ltd., Shimla*, said, “CEEW’s research draws on ground-level evidence from across Himachal Pradesh, capturing how Gram Panchayats are experiencing climate extremes and identifying measures to strengthen their resilience. Increasingly frequent flash floods, cloudbursts and heavy rainfall are disrupting lives, essential infrastructure, horticulture, supply chains and tourism. Rising temperatures and changing snowfall patterns are also affecting apple flowering, harvesting and fruit quality, threatening local livelihoods. These interconnected risks highlight the need to integrate anticipatory action and strategic foresight into development planning, ensuring that infrastructure, institutions and communities are better prepared for future climate extremes.”
*Shri Nishant Thakur, HPAS, Additional Secretary – Revenue, Disaster Management, HPSDMA*, said, “Recent floods and landslides have caused over INR 20,000 crore in losses and damages in Himachal Pradesh, highlighting the need to strengthen disaster preparedness. The state is leveraging GIS, rapid incident reporting systems and emerging technologies to identify risks and improve response. Our focus is now on shifting from reactive to proactive measures, developing Gram Panchayat-level disaster management plans with support from research institutions. Communities will always be the first responders during emergencies, building local preparedness critical to resilience.”
*Shreya Wadhwan, Programme Lead and co-author on the study, CEEW*, said, “The cases we documented follow one pattern: a local champion, such as a farmer, a women’s group or a village committee, and a supporting hand from a krishi vigyan kendra, an NGO or a government scheme. Where both are present, impact multiplies. The next step is to make such pairings the norm, so that panchayats can act before a hazard becomes a disaster.”
*Dr Amina Maharjan, ICIMOD*, said, “The Hindu Kush Himalaya is warming faster than the global average, and what happens in its mountain villages impacts the 1.9 billion people downstream. Himachal’s panchayats show that adaptation can start with villagers, and the experience of Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan shows that building foresight into climate adaptation and disaster management is possible. We hope this evidence travels across the region.”
*Mr Rajeev Ahal, Executive Director, HITA*, said, “Climate adaptation requires states, districts and villages to work together to map risks, plan responses and implement strategies suited to their local contexts. As geography, livelihoods and climate impacts continue to evolve, state-level strategies must be built from the ground up, integrating on-ground realities and local learnings into sub-national and national planning. This will also help us anticipate and plan for different future scenarios, building on the foundation of ground realities today. He also highlighted that Himachal Pradesh can become a leading example in the HKH region by scaling this initiative to 100+ villages.”
*Read the full study released at the event:*
*How Can Himalayan Communities Anticipate Risks and Adapt to a Changing Climate? Evidence from 12 gram panchayats in Himachal Pradesh*, by Ahana Chatterjee, Meet Kumar, Srishti Mandal, Taveri Rajkhowa and Shreya Wadhawan, here – https://www.ceew.in/publications/how-can-himalayan-communities-anticipate-risks-and-adapt-changing-climate
Note: The study combines a literature review, field visits and focus group discussions in 12 gram panchayats, selected through purposive sampling across four districts, a two-day multi-stakeholder consultation in Shimla in July 2025, and two training-cum-consultation workshops in November 2025. Findings describe these panchayats and are not representative of Himachal Pradesh as a whole. Impacts and adaptation practices are community-reported, literature-supported, and validated through departmental consultations, and the 25 solutions are outputs of a foresight exercise, not estimates of avoided loss._
