Observed climate change impacts are increasing pressures unevenly across space and
amongst social actors who possess differential capacities to cope with and adapt to
change. Governance of environmental resources plays an important role in this
capacity to adapt, particularly in an era of unprecedented social and environmental
changes. What is less known is the degree to which and the extent that environmental
governance shapes differential adaptive capacities. Nepal has been identified as one
of the most vulnerable countries to climate change, with availability of water resources
a prime concern. Using qualitative methods conducted during a five-week span of
fieldwork in two communities in the middle hills of central Nepal, this research
examines how water governance provides a barrier or bridge for the adaptive capacity
of socially diverse actors.