The Impact of Climate Change on Education and Community Resilience in Laya
As climate change accelerates, it affects every aspect of life, leaving no sector untouched. In high-altitude communities like Laya, where the splendor of the Himalayas meets the resilience of tradition, the climate crisis poses significant challenges for students, teachers, parents, and the broader community.
Many residents in Laya report noticeable changes in weather patterns, characterized by rapid shifts between warmth, cold and unpredictable snowfall and rainfall.
“The first impact of climate change is the disruption of the school calendar due to erratic weather patterns,” said Pema, a teacher at Laya School.
She explained that harsh winters and unpredictable monsoon seasons not only delay school openings but also lead to class cancellations during crucial learning periods.
Pema said that for students already contending with high altitude, the loss of classroom time exacerbates educational inequalities. “The weather has been very unpredictable; one moment, the students are learning math, and the next, we might need to send everyone home due to unforeseen weather,” she said.
These fluctuations interrupt the academic year, disrupting lessons and examinations, and ultimately diminishing the quality of education.
Having taught at Laya School for nearly three years, Pema shared that teachers are adapting their teaching methods and materials to cope with these disruptions. “Adapting lesson plans to fit the realities of climate change has become a necessity,” she said, adding that her colleagues have also started incorporating lessons on climate change into their curriculum.
Parents in Laya are increasingly concerned about the quality of education their children receive as climate change impacts schooling. “Education is our children’s best chance for a better future,” said Karma, a parent. “But with climate change disrupting classes, I am worried they are falling behind compared to students in other schools.”
Parents often struggle to balance their responsibilities, such as caring for their livestock affected by erratic weather, with ensuring their children attend school. This balancing act complicates the learning experience and impacts both students and teachers.
Young learners in Laya frequently show signs of stress and anxiety linked to environmental uncertainties. “The weather has been warmer compared to last year,” said Pema, adding that, some students wish to attend schools at lower altitudes, believing better weather conditions would enhance their ability to study.
Mental health resources in Laya are limited, although the school does have a counselor to support students when needed.
Namgay, a grade nine student said, “Unlike before, we can’t wear our traditional Laya dress because it is too hot in the summer. Our school allows us to wear alternative clothing along with the gho and kira.”
Namgay also shared that there was a time he considered dropping out of school to tend to yaks and pursue other business activities. However, due to climate change, the herbs critical for these businesses are dwindling each year, prompting him to focus more on his education.
The challenges brought on by climate change are compounded by limited resources. The school often lacks adequate infrastructure to address these difficulties, such as heaters for harsh winters, making it hard to maintain a consistent learning environment.
Power outages during the winter and low voltage even when power is available render heaters ineffective. However, improvements such as good flooring and half-wood paneling in some classrooms help retain warmth.
Extracurricular activities face similar challenges due to inadequate facilities. Pema mentioned that recruiting a sports coordinator was difficult after the former coordinator retired, even after announcements were made through the Dzongkhag.
“We encountered significant challenges, but we finally hired a new sports coordinator in April this year, which has improved the situation compared to when a teacher had to volunteer for the role,” she said.
Pema Jamtsho, a local leader and Mangmi in Laya said that they have been advocating for climate change awareness and strategies to mitigate its impact. “We are witnessing warmer weather compared to last year, and we have even experienced floods and landslides that we hadn’t seen before,” he said.
The gewog administration encourages the community to avoid tree cutting, harvest medicinal herbs carefully, and manage waste responsibly.
Despite the challenges, the Laya community is working collectively to adapt to climate change and support education. These efforts include acknowledging the shifts in climate and addressing them through community-driven initiatives aimed at mitigating its impacts.
According to a UNICEF report launched in 2021, young people living in Bhutan are among those at risk of the impacts of climate change, threatening their health, education, and protection. UNICEF released ‘The Climate Crisis Is a Child Rights Crisis: Introducing the Children’s Climate Risk Index,’ the first comprehensive analysis of climate risk from a child’s perspective.
It ranked countries based on children’s exposure to climate and environmental shocks, such as cyclones and heat waves, as well as their vulnerability to those shocks, based on their access to essential services. It ranked Bhutanese children as the world’s 111th most vulnerable.
According to the study, Bhutan is carbon negative and while children in Bhutan are at a relatively lower risk to climate change in comparison to its neighbors, Bhutan’s dependence on climate sensitive sectors such as hydropower and agriculture makes it vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
A large majority of Bhutanese depend on farming and forestry for their livelihoods, sectors that are prone to increasing climate induced hazards such as landslides, mudslides, and flash floods during monsoon.
Many existing settlements are situated in increasingly hazard-prone areas such as steep slopes or flood-prone riverbeds, which expose them to high degrees of risk.
Such climate and environmental hazards, the report points out, negatively affect children’s access to key essential services, which reduces their resiliency and adaptive capacity, further increasing their vulnerability to climate and environmental hazards. “Thus, a vicious cycle is created, pushing the most vulnerable children deeper into poverty at the same time as increasing their risk of experiencing the worst and most life-threatening effects of climate change,” the report stated.
The story is supported by UNICEF Bhutan through JAB for the journalism reporting grant on climate change and children
Sherab Dorji from Thimphu
