Freelisting data.

Mountainous regions are affected the most by climate change across the world. The livelihood of highlanders primarily depends on livestock farming and natural resources. In Bhutan, yak farming and sale of Cordyceps sinensis (caterpillar fungus)remain the main source of income for most highlanders. We conducted a study to understand the impact of climate change on the community livelihoods in Bhutan. A cross-sectional survey was conducted and interviewed 132 household heads, two focus group discussions of 20 respondents (10 in each group), and key informant interviews (n = 5) in two highland communities (i.e., Laya and Lunana) of Gasa district in northern Bhutan between August 2019 and February 2020. The study revealed that the caterpillar fungus (78.8%) is the major source of income for highland communities which overtook the yak farming practices since its legalization in 2004. More than 80% of households have abandoned yak farming due to its poor economic return because of the decreased utility of yak for meat purposes and other socio-cultural related practices. The majority of the respondents (91%) expressed concern that climate change is posing a threat to the growth and subsequent harvest of caterpillar fungus. The highland people reported emergence of insects/vectors in their community and mosquitoes were the most frequently reported (85%) insect. A small proportion of respondents (1.5%) were concerned about the grazing habitat of the yaks due to the change in the botanical composition of the rangeland. Given that there is a decrease in caterpillar fungus, which is the main source of income for highland communities, this study calls for a climate-resilient community-based economic opportunity for the sustainable livelihood of highland communities. Furthermore, we recommend a detailed study of the negative impacts due to climate change on freshwater resources, the distribution of vectors and vector-borne diseases, and rangeland ecology in the highland.全球范围内，山地生态系统受气候变化的影响最为显著。高地居民的生计主要依赖畜牧业与自然资源。不丹境内，牦牛养殖与冬虫夏草（Cordyceps sinensis）售卖仍是多数高地居民的主要收入来源。本研究旨在探究气候变化对不丹高地社区生计的影响。本研究于2019年8月至2020年2月期间，在不丹北部加萨县的两个高地社区（拉亚与卢南纳）开展研究：通过横断面调查访谈了132名户主，组织2场焦点小组讨论（共20名受访者，每场各10人），并开展关键知情人访谈（n=5）。研究结果显示，冬虫夏草（占比78.8%）是高地社区的主要收入来源——自2004年合法化以来，其收入占比已超越牦牛养殖。由于牦牛肉用价值下降，加之受社会文化相关习俗影响，牦牛养殖的经济收益低迷，超过80%的家庭已放弃该养殖活动。绝大多数受访者（91%）表示担忧，认为气候变化会威胁冬虫夏草的生长与后续采收。高地居民报告称其社区内出现了昆虫/媒介生物，其中蚊子是被提及频次最高的昆虫（占比85%）。仅有少数受访者（1.5%）担忧，牧场植物组成发生变化会破坏牦牛的放牧栖息地。鉴于作为高地社区核心收入来源的冬虫夏草产量有所下降，本研究呼吁为高地社区打造具备气候韧性的社区型经济发展路径，以保障其可持续生计。此外，本研究建议针对气候变化对高地淡水资源、媒介生物及媒介传播疾病的分布，以及牧场生态系统造成的负面影响开展专项详细研究。