Abstract Panel


Authors Information
SequenceTypeName TitleFirst NameLast NameDepartmentInstitute / Affiliation
1 Author Ms. Tenzin Yangkey Geography University of Arizona
Abstract Information
TrackID
:
IUAES23_ABS_W5119
Abstract Theme
:
P108 - Pastoral mobilities and ecological variability, responses to socio-political stressors, and contextual adaptabilities in South Asia
Abstract Title
:
“We are the last generation of Tibetan refugee pastoralists”: An analysis of Tibetan refugees navigating political and climate change in the Indian Himalayas.
Short Abstract
:
In this paper, I examine how Tibetan refugee pastoralists in Ladakh perceive climate change and its impact on their livelihood. Tibetan refugee pastoralists relocated to the region in the 1960s following the Chinese occupation of Tibet. By studying Tibetan pastoralists’ strategies to adapt to the changing physical, political, and socio-economic environment, I will detail how their political status as stateless refugees in India interacts with their ability to adapt to the changing stressors.
Long Abstract
:

Herding in the Ladakh region is a common yet dwindling practice as Ladakh faces changing political and socio-economic conditions. In the Changthang region of Ladakh, Changpa (Ladakhi) and Tibetan refugee pastoralists continue to practice herding and support their livelihood. However, in the last few decades, they have faced compound challenges sustaining their traditional herding livelihoods due to urbanization, youth migration, and generational change. In this study, I look at how Tibetan refugee pastoralists from one of the eight Changthang locations perceive climate change and its impact on their livelihood. Tibetan refugee pastoralists relocated to the region in the 1960s following the Chinese occupation of Tibet. By studying Tibetan pastoralists’ strategies to adapt to the changing physical, political, and socio-economic environment, I will detail how their political status as stateless refugees in India interacts with their ability to employ specific livelihood strategies and adapt to the changing stressors. This paper also seeks to render the Tibetan experience visible in the climate change discourse and illustrate what climate justice means to the Tibetan refugees in South Asia today.

Abstract Keywords
:
Tibetan refugee, political precarity, climate change