Abstract ID: 3.11783 | Accepted as Talk | Talk | TBA | TBA

Conventional loss and damage assessments have been increasingly criticised for its inability to capture grounded experiences of loss felt by communities, often overlooking the intangible dimensions that carry profound psychological, emotional, social, and cultural implications. While the term non-economic loss has emerged to describe these aspects, the study advocates for invisible loss as a more suitable concept. Taking a pluralistic value-based approach to encapsulate multiple relational subjectivities of Himalayan communities, this study explores the concept of “invisible loss” in the context of floods in the settlements of Lubrak and Kagbeni, Mustang. The findings reveal that Lubrak, being more isolated, experienced greater cultural loss, while Kagbeni, influenced by tourism and modernisation, faced tensions between maintaining tradition and adapting to socioeconomic changes. While this reflects a core-periphery dynamics, emotional losses, particularly a diminished sense of place and identity, were central across both communities. By relying on a core-periphery comparison, the study highlights how experiences of invisible loss vary significantly, emphasising the need for inclusive adaptation strategies that enable communities to live a life they value in the places they belong.