Humla, Nepal’s northern-most district that shares a border with Tibet, suffers from climate change-induced livelihood breakdown and the increasing outmigration of communities.

To highlight this crisis that Humla locals are facing, the Centre for Social Innovation and Foreign Policy (CESIF) organised a discussion on Friday, bringing together experts, local representatives and mediapersons.

Some of the leading climate change campaigners of Humla have arrived in capital Kathmandu to highlight their plight. But when they wanted to brief the issue to Prime Minister Sushila Karki, she reportedly denied meeting them.

During the event, the campaigners shared the pain and suffering from climate change and how the political leaders have continued to ignore them.

Local representatives from Limi Valley in Humla and policy experts documented the growing risks confronting long-established settlements in the region and elaborated on their collective decision to resettle due to these risks.

The Limi Valley consists of three villages—Halji, Til, and Jang (Zhang)—situated at elevations ranging from approximately 3,700 to 4,100 metres along Nepal’s northern frontier with the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) of China.

The valley is home to an estimated 1,200 people, whose traditional livelihoods have historically depended on high-altitude farming, yak-based animal husbandry, and trans-Himalayan pastoral practices. In more recent times, due to an agreement between Nepal and China in 2002, Limi's residents have sought employment and economic opportunities in Taklakot, TAR.

The region is recognised as a high-altitude biodiverse landscape and is home to the only surviving population of wild yaks in the Nepali Himalaya. The valley also carries deep civilisational and religious significance. The Halji Rinchen Ling Monastery, founded in the 11th century, remains one of the oldest intact monasteries in Nepal. Additionally, Lapcha La Pass in Limi holds exceptional cultural and spiritual value, as it is the only site within Nepal from where Mount Kailash and Mansarovar Lake in the TAR can be viewed.

Local representatives, including ward chair Paljor Tamang and activist Mangal Lama, emphasised that climate change is now the primary driver of the valley’s crisis. They noted that rising temperatures in the High Himalayas are intensifying climate variability, disrupting seasonal cycles, and increasing the frequency of destructive flood events. In Til, recurring floods and river-driven erosion have repeatedly damaged homes, agricultural land, and basic infrastructure, accelerating displacement pressures. The delegation stressed that these impacts are already forcing communities to consider relocation, not as a choice, but as a survival necessity.

Til village was highlighted as the most severely affected settlement. Repeated flooding, culminating in a major event in 2025, has destroyed homes and productive land, pushing residents toward permanent displacement. Jang village has experienced near-total depopulation, with the delegation stating that the settlement has declined from more than 60 households to only two households remaining now.

Speakers further stressed that climate vulnerability has been intensified by long-term livelihood disruption. A bilateral agreement with China regulating cross-border movement and grazing access has significantly reduced seasonal pasture availability for yak herding, weakening the valley’s traditional animal husbandry economy. With agricultural and livestock systems collapsing, many residents increasingly depend on cross-border wage labor. This coping mechanism abruptly failed during the COVID-19 period, as border closures eliminated income opportunities and further worsened food insecurity.

The delegation emphasised on their collective decision in late 2025 to relocate the three villages of the valley to Takchi, the ancestral settlement area of the Limi people. Speakers argued that this approach should be seen as an organised “shift” rather than a chaotic abandonment of the region. They said that the shift to Takchi was agreed upon to mitigate the rapid pace of outmigration, the impact on livelihood and security from climate change-linked natural disasters, including a GLOF event that swept away several fields and homes in Halji village in 2011, and to benefit from the economic opportunities provided by tourism to the valley.

Reflecting upon the urgency of the situation, ward chair Tamang questioned the limited attention given by the state to the multiple crises and asked the government to mitigate the conditions the people of Limi find themselves in. Lama contrasted development across the border in TAR with the lack of basic infrastructure and services on the Nepali side, asking why communities are denied both the option of state support at home and sustainable opportunities across the border. Yanchen Tamang, a local resident of Limi Valley, shared that the depopulation of villages has created deep uncertainty among those who remain, particularly as families witness the breakdown of community life and local institutions.

The discussion concluded by emphasising that while climate change is the immediate trigger of the crisis, the obstacles to adaptation and relocation have become governance challenges.

The delegation noted that administrative restrictions, especially, Restricted Area regulations, complicate mobility, disaster response, and planned relocation efforts, including to Takchi. Participants stressed that without urgent state engagement and policy flexibility, climate-induced vulnerability in Limi may turn into irreversible displacement.