Investigating institutional limits to climate adaptation: a case study of landslide in the mountains of nepal

A growing body of research analyses institutional dimensions of adaptation and disaster risk management at the local level, highlighting the positive role of local institutions. However, the question of when institutions could also limit adaptation is much less explored. Drawing on the case of a landslide in the Nepal Himalayas, this paper advances the concept of ‘institutional limit’, for examining the extent to which local institutions can deliver adaptation outcomes. We show how existing public and community institutions have limited households’ capacity to respond to the risk of landslides. The case study demonstrates at least four limits of local institutions: a) inertia created by the social norms and structure embedded in the existing institutions; b) redundancy wherein conventional formal and informal institutions are less relevant to tackle the new challenges posed by climate change; c) fragmentation of institutional efforts involving poor horizontal and vertical coordination among organisations; and d) accountability lapses rooted in the wider political system. We show that most of the local institutions identified in the literature as important sources of resilience have failed to tackle landslides in the highly stratified and politically volatile situation of the Nepal Himalayas where the case study is located. We argue that the notion of ‘institutional limit’ can enhance our understanding of what institutions can (or cannot) deliver for effective local adaptation. These findings have major implications for the optimism placed on the role and capacity of local institutions to adapt to climate change or manage disaster risks.