Geographic Analysis of Livelihood Strategy in Jagritinagar Squatter Settlement, Kathmandu
Rajip Adhikari, 2009
The general objective of this study is to analyse the urban poverty issue from the livelihood and vulnerability perspective in Jagritinagar squatter settlement of Kathmandu Metropolitan City. The specific objectives are:
* to examine the socio-economic condition of the people of Jagritinagar squatter settlement
* to explore the types of livelihood means
* to assess the strategies adopted by the squatters
* to analyse the vulnerability context of the people in Jagritinagar squatter settlement
Abstract of Master Thesis at Tribhuvan University.
Livelihood Options of Dalits, an Analysis with Reference to Land Resources
Study in Dhangadi Municipality
Samana Adhikari, 2008
Dalits are considered as synonymous to landlessness. They do not have enough land to support their family. They have to depend on landlords for their subsistence. Many studies are conducted on the issue of Dalit, their empowerment, caste untouchability, their access and control over resources. However, no reports have been found addressing their livelihood options or about the decent jobs they can perform. This study has attempted to examine the various options available and adopted by the Dalits and their level of standard within their own community.
"The system of participatory (or joint) forest management was commenced in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan in 1996 through Asian Development Bank's funded project. These forest reforms seek to initiate the process of eliminating the main causes of forest depletion through participation of local communities. Nevertheless, despite decades of the donor's interventions the deforestation rate in NWFP is still alarming. In this paper we have attempted to analyze the participatory forest management in Northwest Pakistan through livelihood lenses. More specifically this paper explores the impact of joint forest management initiatives on financial assets and livelihood strategies of local people. The overall results indicated that majority of the respondents were not dependent on the natural resources for their cash income rather they had adopted diverse non-natural resource based activities such as migration, labour etc. The results also indicated that the main priorities of the local people were financial and food security; where as the NWFP model of joint forest management gives more emphasis on forest protection and regeneration. Although the joint forest management enhanced the social assets of the local communities yet the omission of immediate financial benefits from the institutional changes in the forestry sector of NWFP was a barrier in motivating the local people in forest protection and was one of the main issues hindering the effectiveness of the forest reforms process."
Constitutional arrangements for peripheral areas in India reflect the national government’s instrumentalist attempts at decentralising bureaucratic and administrative control in far-flung (essentially hill) areas. Karbi Anglong is one of the two hill districts in Assam where there are special constitutional provisions for indigenous ethnic groups to elect and run their own councils. The constitutional provisions allow for nominal control over forest and land by allocating certain areas of the territory to the Autonomous Council, which then re-allocates these areas to its political constituencies. This article explores the reasons why, despite the constitutional efforts at decentralisation of powers to Autonomous Councils, violence between different ethnic groups and the state continues to define the civic and political discourse in
Anglong district.
In: Geiser U, Rist S, editors. Decentralisation Meets Local Complexity: Local Struggles, State Decentralisation and Access to Natural Resources in South Asia and Latin America. Bern: Geographica Bernensia, pp 191-215.
Michel Bassand, Lena Poschet, Sebastian Wust, 2003
In: Schneider M, Eisinger A. editors. 2003. Urbanscape Switzerland: Investigations and Case Studies on Topology and Regional Development in Switzerland. Basel, Birkhäuser.
Reflections on the conceptual framework of the NCCR North-South based on a comparative study of international labour migration in Mexico, India and Kyrgyzstan
International labour migration has become a strategy against poverty in many parts of the developing world. By remitting their earnings to the families they leave behind, migrant labourers have become a primary source of livelihoods for many of the world's poorest nations. The long-term consequences of this practice on local development are the subject of this study, based on reseach conducted in three rural communities in Mexico, India and Kyrgyzstan.
"Urban agglomerations continue to be defined primarily by spatial and demographic criteria which signal their position within the domestic and international urban networks. We consider that these criteria are overly static, and lack indicators of both the potential inherent in medium-sized cities, and the risks they are prone to. On the occasion of a research action project conducted jointly with the Urban Management Program for Latin America and the Caribbean (PGU–ALC/HABITAT), we attempted to gain a deeper understanding of medium-sized cities in order to see more clearly what varied relations they entertain with their immediate or more distant environment. [...]"
In: Dansereau F, Navez-Bouchanine F, editors. 2002. Gestion du développment urbain et stratégies résidentielles des habitants. Paris: L'Harmattan (Collection Villes et Entreprises)
"The slum is not only a manifestation of mismanaged urban planning in the countries of the South. The existence of slums worldwide is also a sign that the slum is a crucial element of contemporary urbanisation. This article will attempt to define this phenomenon and understand its causes. Adequate policy responses are then suggested. Without finding appropriate solutions to the housing problems of a majority of urban dwellers, public and private decision makers will not be able to meet the challenges of sustainable development."
To ‘‘review the urban question’’ in terms of sustainable development, the premise is formulated that improving infrastructures, equipment and services to preserve the natural and built urban environment is costly and generates expenses of all kinds—at economic and social levels. Without the introduction of equalisation mechanisms, these expenses will increase inequalities between different parts of the urban population...
Waste collection and transportation at the community level in Ho Chi Minh City
A case study
Jean-Claude Bolay, Thi Lang Bui, Gian Tran Pham, Ngoc Du Thai Thi, 2002
In: Flury M, Geiser U. 2002. Local Environmental Management in a North-South Perspective. Issues of Participation and Knowledge Management. vdf Hochschulverlag Zurich & IOS Press Amsterdam.
"Development-related questions have been raised periodically for over forty years. Development cooperation, in its turn, is also controversial, especially since its role is to make good intentions real, i.e. transform them into projects, programmes and other policy instruments generating investments that are much more pertinent than mere declarations of intent. Starting from an overview of the links between the profit-oriented trends of the globalisation process, and the non-profit aims pursued by the ''development cooperation world'', this article outlines the specific role that the scientific community plays or will have to play in international exchanges in order to steer the fundamental changes that contemporary societies are going through for the benefit of the greatest number."
If we define actors (social, political, economic) as groups having a distinctive public profile and defined interests vis-à-vis the system they seek to preserve, replace, or simply change, then it is extremely difficult to speak of actors in Cuba. Because of the way in which Cuban society has evolved over the past several decades and the unique characteristics of its political system, the emergent actors referred to here (those that have appeared in the past decade as a result of a changing society) are all larval, with little or no organization, and scripts so surreptitious as to be incomprehensible to the uninitiated....
"La frontera dominico-haitiana está marcada por profundas asimetrías y el predominio de una relación de intercambio desigual que supone la transferencia de valores desde Haití a República Dominicana. Las relaciones transfronterizas resumen esta contradictoria relación, pero al mismo tiempo constituyen la única forma de supervivencia para más de medio millón de haitianos que habitan la región. Este artículo discute la historia de esta relación y sus tendencias actuales, incluyendo la formación de regiones económicas y complejos urbanos binacionales. La debilidad de las políticas públicas de regulación y la agresiva acción de los actores del mercado generan un escenario muy contradictorio que pudiera conducir a conflictos por el uso de los recursos compartidos, la explotación de la fuerza de trabajo haitiana y la agitación de posiciones nacionalistas."
"The Dominican/Haitian border is signed by profound asymmetries and the predominance of a relation of uneven exchange in benefit of Dominican Republic. Transborder relations summary this contradictory relation, but at the same time constitute the only form of survival for more than half million of Haitians that inhabit the region. This article discusses the history of this relation and its present tendencies, including the formation of economic regions and urban binational systems. The weakness of regulatory public policies and the aggressive action of the market generate a very contradictory setting that could lead to conflicts by the use of shared natural resources, the exploitation of the Haitian labour force, and the agitation of nationalist positions."
In: Tulchin JS, Bobea L, Espina Prieto MP, Hernández R, Elizabeth Bryan E, 2005. Changes in Cuban Society since the Nineties. Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, pp. 35-51
"A lo largo de décadas de coexistencia en una misma isla, Haití y República Dominicana han construido una fuerte relación de interdependencia, que en la actualidad opera como una subordinación creciente y fragmentada del e spacio haitiano a la economía capitalista dominicana, y un potencial surgimiento de regiones económicas binacionales en función de la acumulación global. La construcción ideológica racista antihaitiana en República Dominicana es también un ingrediente activo de esa relación. Para los sectores políticos e intelectuales democráticos de ambos países esto plantea un reto que solo podrán superar a partir de la crítica de las relaciones objetivas entre sus sociedades. Invito al lector a leer cuidadosamente el siguiente párrafo: La desnacionalización de Santo Domingo, persistentemente realizada desde hace más de un siglo por el comercio con lo peor de la población haitiana, ha hecho progresos preocupantes. Nuestro origen racial y tradición de pueblo hispánico no nos deben impedir reconocer que la nacionalidad se halla en peligro de desintegrarse. La influencia de Haití ha corrompido la fibra sagrada de la nacionalidad. La vecindad de Haití ha sido y sigue siendo el principal problema de la República Dominicana. Entre el peligro supuesto y el beneficio tangible."
A la recherche des déterminants institutionnels du bien-être des populations sédentaires et nomades dans la plaine du Waza-Logone de la frontière camerounaise et tchadienne
"Cette contribution présente les articulations d’une étude actuellement en cours dans la région du Logone et Chari au Cameroun et dont le but est d’oeuvrer pour l’élaboration des savoirs et des connaissances pour le développement pastoral. De nombreux groupes de populations sédentaires et nomades vivent dans cette localité et dépendent des plaines inondées du Sud du lac Tchad pour leur subsistance. Or, les ressources naturelles connaissent de grandes variations saisonnières et deviennent parfois la propriété des groupes sédentaires. De ce fait, les éleveurs nomades éprouvent de nombreuses difficultés pour accéder non seulement aux pâturages et à l’eau, mais aussi aux services de santé de qualité (centres hospitaliers, médicaments efficaces). L’ambition ici est de définir de nouvelles conditions institutionnelles d’accès aux soins de santé pour les populations sédentaires et nomades. En fait, la plupart des problèmes auxquels sont confrontés les nomades de nos jours seraient dus à l’inadaptation des règles formelles en vigueur aux stratégies de survie des populations rurales. Celles mises en place à l’époque pré-coloniale ne sont plus opérationnelles. L’on pourrait conclure, sous forme d’hypothèse à vérifier, que la définition de nouveaux cadres institutionnels de gestion des ressources naturelles pourrait contribuer à l’amélioration des conditions de santé des pasteurs nomades."
"In Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province, international donors found it difficult to find non-governmental organisations relevant to their purposes. Because donors were uncomfortable with the local conditions and regional traditions, they simply overlooked possible contacts."
"Von Geographischer Entwicklungsforschung wird häufig Praxisrelevanz gefordert, die sich etwa in Begleitforschungen zur Entwicklungszusammenarbeit (EZA) äussert. Solch anwendungsorientierte Forschung ist wichtig, thematisiert aber nie das Instrument der Entwicklungsintervention und deren Grundannahmen selber. Der Artikel argumentiert deshalb für eine Forschung zur Entwicklung als soziale Praxis, mit deren Hilfe die Wirkungsweise der EZA als eine soziale Arena der Politikformulierung und -umsetzung begriffen wird. Diese analytische Perspektive wird am Beispiel der stark genutzten Wälder Nordwest-Pakistans eingesetzt. Trotz intensiver Entwicklungsanstrengungen in den letzten zwanzig Jahren geht es den Wäldern heute so schlecht wie zuvor. Durch eine Perspektive von Entwicklung als soziale Praxis wird deutlich, dass zwischen der Formulierung von Entwicklungspolitiken und ihrer praktischen Umsetzung grosse Unterschiede bestehen, welche häufig im Spannungsfeld zwischen «Projektwelten» und der realen Alltagspraxis der Beteiligten begründet liegt."
"Forests in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan are under heavy pressure. Often, local people are blamed in this regard for their exploitative resource use. The present paper, however, searches for an understanding of the ongoing processes by analysing the livelihood strategies and daily practices of representatives of the local state and donor project experts. Insights show that policy formulation at the provincial capital is not implemented in a functionalist manner at lower levels of the administration. Instead, many processes and acts of translation within the wider context of livelihood strategies take place along the actual practice (rather than the discourse) of policy formulation and implementation through the various scales from the head offices of donors in the North to the provincial capital in the South, to the regional centres and, finally, to the forests in the Hindukush-Himalayan mountains."
"An understanding of the current policies that conjugate the conservative interests with the develompental demands needs an analysis of the sustainable development concept. This study examines how the environmental change is perceived by a farmer comunity located in a Biosphere Reserve. We observe how the policies promoted by the globalising development tear down progressively the universe of meanings of the farmers. Thus, their particular view of the natural, productive and social cycles goes through a crisis, creating a dependence based on the incomprehension and ignorance of external factors. This analysis leads us to address some ideas for the management of protected natural areas, taking into consideration all the actors, interests and notions involved in order to achieve an integrating and communicative sustainable development."
Establishment of conservation areas has become a standard strategy for protecting biodiversity. Different categories are distinguished, such as those that aim at enhancing local participation. Although rapid evolution has taken place since the 1970s, stimulating participation still challenges conservationists. Understanding the complex issues impacting on participation is a first step in finding more effective methods of conservation. The present article addresses this issue by contrasting farmer and conventional perspectives on conservation. A differentiation between ecologically oriented biodiversity conservation perspectives and livelihood-oriented resource diversity perspectives is proposed. A case study from western Mexico illustrates both perspectives.
Student Workshop Proceedings on Peace-Building in Nepal
Safal Ghimire, A. Nahikian, 2009
The document contains the results of discussions held during a visit to Nepal by Harvard University students, co-hosted by the NCCR North-South and Kathmandu University.
In: Jeff McNeely, Tom McCarthy, Andrew Smith, Linda Whittaker and Eric Wikramnayake, editors. 2006. Conservation Biology in Asia. Kathmandu: Society for Conservation Biology Asia Section and Resources Himalaya Foundation, pp. 45-61
Most contemporary discussions on African development since independence forty years ago emphasize the notion that Africa is still “mal parti”. Many show discontent for what has been achieved in this time, despite that “Africa works” as is suggested by Chabal and Daloz in their widely discussed book (1999). I will focus on the issue of sustainable development in Africa. This will be illustrated by the presentation of a common property resource management research project (on fisheries, pastures, wildlife, water for irrigation, and forests). The question of why the overuse of natural resources and conflicts over resources are occurring in modern day Africa is addressed here. This research project is called “Common Property Institutions and Power Relations: Resource Management, Change and Conflicts in African Floodplain Wetlands”. It focuses on six African floodplain wetlands in semi-arid zones (Internal Niger Delta in Mali, Hadejia-Jama'ara in Northern Nigeria, Logone Floodplain in Northern Cameroon, Pangani Floodplain in Tanzania, Okavango Delta in Botswana and Kafue Flats in Zambia (Haller 2001)) [...].
"Migration across national borders is increasingly being seen as a strategy to alleviate poverty, to reduce vulnerability to crises and to support recovery once a disaster – be it a flood, an accident, or a business failure – has struck. This article aims to shed some light on the relationship between transnational migration, vulnerability and resilience. Whereas vulnerability relates to potential physical, social, economic and other damage, resilience means the capacity to survive, adapt to and bounce back from crisis and disaster (IFRC, 2004). The paper looks at migration on different levels, from individual women and men moving or staying back migrating or staying home, to the national level where aggregate population and remittance flows are counted."
Analyzing the Effect of Economic Class and Status on Disaster Vulnerability in Parsauni and Pratapur VDCs of Nawalparasi District
Surya Raj Joshi, 2009
Recently, there has been a shift in disaster Studies and the need to study disaster through sociological perspective is increasingly being stressed. However, in the context of Nepal the studies about these relations are rare. Being a society with long existing social disparity it is a matter of study if socioeconomic factors have played a role in influencing the vulnerability of people.
The study found that social factors are major criteria for disaster vulnerability. Poor and marginalized people take disaster as a part of their life, while the richest have very little concern for it. Thus, the study concludes that poverty and different social and economical disparities are responsible for disaster vulnerability.
"Labour migration and remittances are major economic mainstays for Nepal’s economy. However, there is still insufficient documentation on scale and significance of this process. Estimations of migration figures suggest that real numbers are several times higher than official statistics show. Therefore this article contributes to the emerging debate of the last years comparing latest national statistics with own empirical data. The paper concludes that the total numbers of migrants calculated by the authors closely corresponds with official statistics, while amount of remittances seems to be higher indeed, highlighting once more that labour migration and remittances are an important mainstay of Nepal’s economy."
Indian agricultural development in the context of economic reforms
Causes of change and issues for a future reform agenda
Marion Künzler, 2006
Master's Thesis, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
"This work examines the influence of reforms in the 1990s regarding the agricultural development in India. Many studies have analysed the impact of these reforms but most of them focused on foreign trade or the industry and service sector rather than on the agricultural sector. [...]"
Climate Change and its Impacts on Agriculture: Farmers' Perception and Adaptation Measures: A Case Study of Jagatpur VDC of Chitwan District
Roshna Maharjan, 2009
Climate change is a global problem with local impacts. The poor are hit hardest and are most vulnerable to its impact, as they cannot afford mitigation measures. Poor and marginalized people live on marginalized land, which makes them more vulnerable to disasters brought about by climate change such as floods and landslides.
The changes in rainfall patterns and temperature have made agricultural production risky. A large part of Nepal’s population depends on agriculture and therefore even a small change in climatic conditions affects the lives of people to a high extent.
"In a report of the Environmental Change and Security Program, Richard Matthew and Bishnu Raj Upreti review the broad dynamics of Nepal’s current civil conflict and argue that environmental stress and population factors have played significant roles in creating the underlying conditions for acute insecurity and instability.
Through a brief case study of the Koshi Tappu Wetland area, the authors show that this situation is evident not just in the Maoist strongholds of western Nepal, but even in remote areas of the east, thus encircling the capital region."
"It seems to be increasingly recognised worldwide that the aims of nature conservation or of regional planning can only be achieved with adequate involvement of the concerned communities themselves. This article analyses the social processes during the proposed extension of the Swiss National Park between 1996 and 2000 from a participatory viewpoint. It is based on an analysis of relevant newspaper articles and in-depth interviews with representatives of involved stakeholders. Considering that participation is a very popular, yet contested term, we distinguish between normative (i.e., the aim is participation) and instrumental (i.e., the aim is to achieve predefined goals) participation, notions that supplement rather than exclude each other. While the local population rejected the majority of the proposed extensions of the Park, results show that this should not be perceived as a failure of the process. That the outcome was not perceived by local people to be satisfactory could be explained by the lack of awareness of the basic principles of participatory processes, like openness and transparency of planning, a sufficient timeframe, and independent mediation. These organisational shortcomings resulted in fundamental opposition from groups of local stakeholders and constrained the future development potential of the region."
"In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird untersucht, wie die UNESCO Biosphäre Entlebuch (UBE) und das UNESCO Weltnaturerbe Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn (JAB) visuell und verbal kommuniziert wurden. Bei beiden Vorhaben handelt es sich um Modellregionen für eine nachhaltige Entwicklung, denen die jeweiligen Bevölkerungen in Volksbefragungen zustimmten. Die Analyse der Informationen zu den Vorhaben lässt erkennen, welche Vorstellungen die an der Bildproduktion beteiligten Akteure mit nachhaltiger Entwicklung verbinden. Konkret wird dabei aus humangeographischem Blickwinkel analysiert, welche Raumnutzungen oder Raumaneignungen gemäss den Bild gewordenen Vorstellungen unterschiedlicher Bildproduzierender in einer sich nachhaltig entwickelnden Region erwünscht sind. [...]"
Stellt die internationale Arbeitsmigration eine Chance für Nepal dar? Trägt sie zur Reduzierung von Armut bei? Können insbesondere arme Haushalte durch die Arbeitsmigration nach Indien ihren Lebensunterhalt sichern? Immer häufiger betonen internationale Entwicklungsorganisationen die wachsende Bedeutung und das grosse Potenzial der Migration. Gleichzeitig hat sich die Migrationsforschung facettenreich weiterentwickelt und befasst sich u.a. auch mit der Frage, wie Migrationshaushalte eine plurilokale Lebensunterhaltsstrategie meistern. Der Artikel zeigt Beispiele von Organisationsformen, mit denen Migrierende aus Far West Nepal die Möglichkeit schaffen, in der Megastadt Delhi ihre Existenz zu sichern.
Labour migration to India is a very important livelihood strategy for people living in marginal areas of Nepal. How is this strategy embedded in the local context? Which institutions shape the migrants' everyday life in India? What are the opportunities to improve the crucial institutions for money transfer and money saving? These questions are on the research agenda of an ongoing project at the University of Zurich, Switzerland.
In: Jones G, Leimgruber W, Nel E, editors. Issues in Geographical Marginality: Papers presented during the Meetings of the Commission on Evolving Issues of Geographical Marginality in the Early 21st Century World, 2001-2004. Grahamstown: Rhodes University.
"This paper examines the household livelihood strategies under agrarian distress in Pulpalli Panchayat of Kerala. It also looks at the relationship between household assets and livelihood strategies. The negotiations of institutions by the marginalized and depressed sections of the society were analysed in detail."
CDS Working Paper no. 396. Trivandrum, Kerala, India: Centre for Development Studies.
"This study examines the impact of agrarian distress on the different socio-economic groups, the strategies of livelihood adopted by households and the local institution in shaping these strategies. The study is based on the data collected from in-depth socio-economic enquiries conducted in Upputhara Panchayat in Idukki District. An important conclusion of the study is that the strategies of livelihood framed in response to a shock could vary across households depending on the extent of their asset ownership."
CDS Working Paper no. 392. Trivandrum, Kerala, India: Centre for Development Studies.
"This paper examines the factors and process underlying agrarian distress in Kerala by undertaking the case studies of three villages situated in Wayanad and Idukki districts namely, Cherumad, Kappikkunnu and Upputhara. The impact of distress on household livelihoods and indebtedness and how they cope up with the situation are examined with entire village and intra village analysis of data. The process of agrarian distress which resulted in suicides were analysed through a few in-depth studies."
CDS Working Paper no. 397. Trivandrum, Kerala, India: Centre for Development Studies
"[...] This paper examines some micro-level studies on tenancy in Kerala, more specifically, its prevalence across locations and crops, characteristics of lessors and lessees, the terms of lease, and the income derived from lease cultivation and in the light of the analysis, argues for institutionalised arrangements for the expansion of lease cultivation, rather than sterner measures to check it. [...]"
CDS Working Paper no. 378. Trivandrum, Kerala, India: Centre for Development Studies.
"This paper examines the various dimensions of livelihood risk as informed by a in-depth case study of an agrarian village namely, Cherumad in Kerala. The livelihood risk in Cherumad since the last quarter of the 1990’s has been unique and unprecedented in their nature and intensity. The effect of price risk and productivity risk of crops became an income risk to the farming community. For agricultural labour too it was an income risk with double effects of wage risk and employment risk. These risk have resulted in a general fall in the living standards of people."
CDS Working Paper no. 394. Trivandrum, Kerala, India: Centre for Development Studies.
"In the coastal regionns of India, a complex and ecologically responsive farming system has evolved over centuries. In this system, rice an fish cultivation alternates trough a mechanism of water control. This paper discusses the evolution of the socio-political and institutional arrangements in such and integrated farming system (Know as kaipad cultivation) in Ezhome Panchayat in Kerala that emerged out of collective action, and documents how they could not be sustained. The decline of kaipad cultivation has been adversely affecting the livehoods of a segment of agricultural labour households, especially the women and the elderly. They are several constraints to the revival of this cultivation. Nevertheless, reviving this is vital for ecorestoration and to ensure justice to the disadvantaged people."
Pre-conference Proceedings. University of Bern, Switzerland, 2–4 July 2008
NCCR North-South, 2008
NCCR North-South Dialogue, No. 21
Acces to Land Resources: Livelihood Strategy of Ex-Kamaiyas of Kailali District
Mahima Neupane, 2008
Kamayia is an agriculture-based bonded labour system, practiced in the Terai belt of Nepal.
This study attempted to understand the livelihood status and strategies, the vulnerability and coping strategies of Ex-Kamayias with a main focus on their livelihood strategies in combination with land resources.
Livelihood strategy of the street food vendor in Kathmandu city: A case study of Jawalakhel, Gongabu and New Road Area
Soney Pandey, 2008
In Kathmandu City, there are many Street Food Vendors selling pre-cooked, packed food and food to be cooked on the spot. Most of the Street Food Vendors are migrants from rural areas of the country and usually poorly educated or illitarate.
This study attempts to examine the socio-economic conditions of Street Food Vendors, their livelihood strategies, the vulnerability of their context and the consumers' perception of the street food.
Livelihood Strategy and Occupational Vulnerability of Street Ice Cream Vendors in Kathmandu Valley
Indra Prasad Paneru, 2008
Urban centers are dynamic places for different business and exchange activities. Earning their livelihood by street ice-cream vending in urban Kathmandu is also a business for a group of people.
This study examines the livelihood strategy and assets, socio-economic background, migration status, working condition and occupational vulnerability of street ice-cream vendors in Kathmandu valley.
"Paul-Henry Chombart de Lauwe est connu en France et ailleurs en Europe pour avoir été un pionnier de l'anthropologie appliquée dans les années 30, puis, après-guerre, pour avoir participé à " l'invention " de la sociologie urbaine. Mais un autre aspect de ses travaux est valorisé dans les pays du Sud, notamment en Amérique Latine : c'est là qu'il a su inaugurer un champ d'études avec des chercheurs de terrain particulièrement engagés dans la transformation culturelle de leur société ; c'est également dans le Sud qu'il a énoncé les principes de la "recherche-action", dont l'élément central est la participation des habitants aux projets, qu'ils soient riches ou pauvres. C'est ainsi que l'on peut dire qu'il n'est pas étranger à l'actuelle reconnaissance de la culture des quartiers, cités, barrios ou favelas."
A unique atlas presenting threats, vulnerabilities and risks in Bolivia has just been published (in Spanish). The atlas is considered a highly relevant instrument for improving the management and mitigation of the ever-present natural risks in Bolivia.
According to Hernan Tuco, Vice-Minister of Civil Defence of the Bolivian Government, the atlas will serve as a “reference to the national, departmental and municipal authorities for taking decisions regarding containment and prevention of major disasters”.
Within the framework of the NCCR North-South, the atlas is a direct result of the Transversal Package Project (TPP) on ‘Social Vulnerability and Resilience’ and a related PAMS (Partnership Actions) project. The atlas was developed as a joint-venture between the Vice-ministry of Civil Defence and researchers of the NCCR North-South, OXFAM and the Foundation for Participatory Communitarian Development (Fundepco). The team of authors were lead by Luis Salamanca of the NCCR North-South.
This paper discusses the historical experience with civil society and decentralisation in the State of Kerala, India. The paper tries to address three separate, but related, questions: firstly, what conclusions can we draw from the literature on the conditions for the success of civil society organisations in social transformation? Secondly, what are the lessons that the history of Kerala provides on the potential and role of social movements in the development process? Thirdly, how has the interface between civil society organisations and democratically elected institutions changed with the increased decentralisation of power to local people in Kerala?
In: Geiser U, Rist S, editors. Decentralisation Meets Local Complexity: Local Struggles, State Decentralisation and Access to Natural Resources in South Asia and Latin America. Bern: Geographica Bernensia, pp 275-310.
An Urban Monitor as support for a participative management of developing cities
Alexandre Repetti, R. Prélaz-Droux, 2003
"Urban management is a complex process, which requires a sizeable information base and a large coordination between the actors who are managing the city. In developing countries, this management is made even more difficult by a lack of financial means and technical skills. For this reason among others, the classical instruments for planning are inefficient. Starting from this fact, this paper proposes a participative planning and management tool, developed through a concrete case study: the city of Thiès, in Senegal.
Participation, individual capacities and coordination have been identified as key factors for improving the efficiency of the system of actors in charge of the urban management. Therefore, the proposed method focuses on information, communication and training. In parallel, an Urban Monitor (participative system of geographical information and indicators) has been developed and implemented, for an improvement of the information and communication structuring.
This original approach allows combining the concepts of Research Action Training with participative methods and the new information and communication technologies. Based on a dynamic and geographical view of the urban planning, it integrates tools adapted to the contextual specificities. Through these original aspects, it opens great perspectives in the fields of participative urban management and the implementation of good governance."
The many benefits of compost to agriculture, the environment and society are
often poorly understood and little appreciated. As a result, compost producers
around the world face great difficulties selling their high-quality products.
This book is designed to help compost producers in low and middle-income
countries run viable initiatives by unlocking the financial value of their product. It includes practical advice, templates and inspiring examples of how
marketing techniques have been used in composting initiatives around the world.
Dübendorf, Zurich: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag).
Factors Influencing the Gender Disparity in Primary School Participation
A Case Study in Rupandehi District, Nepal
Lilith Schärer, 2005
Master's Thesis, University of Zurich, Switzerland
"This thesis examines the patterns of gender inequality in primary school participation and the different causes for the gender gap in primary school participation in the area of Lumbini, Rupandehi District, Nepal. Within the framework of the goals declared at the World Education Forum in Dakar in 2000 of achieving universal primary education by 2015 and eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005, this study focuses on girls as a social group, which in Nepal, as in many other developing countries, is disadvantaged in educational opportunities. [...]"
Pakistan has very low forest cover, but these forests are very diverse in nature and of significant importance for the livelihood security of millions of rural people who live in and around these forests. Policies, institutions and processes form the context within which individuals and households construct and adapt livelihood strategies, on the other hand these institutionally shaped livelihood strategies may have an impact on the sustainability of natural resource use. The present paper aims to critically analyse the forest policies of Pakistan. Implications for sustainable forest management and livelihood security of forest dependent people are also given.
PhD Thesis, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan
Most of the natural forests of Pakistan are located in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP). High rate of deforestation has brought into focus the shortfalls of traditional state controlled top-down systems of forest management. The participatory approach of forest management was started through Asian Development Bank’s funded Forestry Sector Project (FSP). The province's Forest Department was reformed, and village level committee were formed to join the forest department officials in preparing and implementing local resource use plans. The FSP developed and implemented these processes in a number of villages, expecting the reformed forest department to spread the concept throughout NWFP. This thesis analysed the impact of participatory forest management on livelihood assets, vulnerability and livelihood strategies based on a comparison of project villages with non-project villages; and thereby identifying the issues supporting or hindering the effectiveness of forest reforms and decentralisation process.
This book attempts to unterline the livelihoods perspective of participatory or joint forest management initiatives in NWFP. The main aim is to understand the linkages between rural livelihoods, the role forests play in the livelihoods and the impact of (changing) forest governance on these livelihoods.
The analysis revealed that in the NWFP model of joint forest management, the provincial Forest Department maintains the priorities of forest conservation, while local people's top priorities are to secure the financial means they require for living and related basic needs. The book shows that this divergence of expectations was not taken into consideration during the reform process. Mistrust and lack of effective communication between main stakeholders are identified as another factor hindering the effectiveness of the participatory approach. Likewise the interventions had not taken care to include the poor and marginalised sections of the community.
To order this publication, please contact Regina Kohler at the Division of Human Geography, Department of Geography, University of Zurich.
Donor-driven participatory forest management and 'Local Social Realities': Insights from Pakistan.
This paper analyses a participatory forest management initiative in the milieu of local social realities (such as customary forest use, power relations and livelihood concerns) and the actors who are part of these realities. The paper shows that the donor-driven decentralisation of forest management did not consider traditional practices of forest use, nor did it attempt to engage customary institutions and local civil society in the process. Though new institutions (joint forest management and Village Development Committees) have been established for implementation of participatory forest management and land use plans at the village level, the paper shows that responsibility delegated by the state to these institutions concerns protection of the forests rather than management. A mismatch between local livelihood concerns and the institutional change process is also revealed.
In: Geiser U, Rist S, editors. Decentralisation Meets Local Complexity: Local Struggles, State Decentralisation and Access to Natural Resources in South Asia and Latin America. Bern: Geographica Bernensia, pp 249-273.
This conference paper examines past and current land use and its impact on land resources, as well as the formation of new livelihood strategies in a post soviet environment. The paper explores the case of a side valley (the Sokuluk River Basin, SRB) of the Chuy valley in northern Kyrgyzstan. This semiarid, and intensively irrigated area is one of the country’s most important breadbasket.
Open Science Conference on Global Change in Mountain Regions, Perth, Scotland, 2-6 October 2005
Socio-Economic Study and Livelihood Conditions of Dalits of Geta VDC in Kailali District
Shristee Singh, 2008
Dalits are considered as one of the most disadvantaged groups because the process of social stratification and job distribution in the past has resulted in their present socio-economic plight and their entire and perpetual backwardness. Hence, most of the Dalits even today remain poorest of the poor. Even though many of the Dalits carry on with their caste based and service oriented traditional occupation as well as agricultural work, the significant return to the service they render and landlessness have made them face appalling poverty. Therefore, the main object of this study was to examine the socio-economic and livelihood conditions of Dalits, their household level food security with respect to land holding size and their living standard.
Since the beginning of the 1990s, the Indian natural rubber sector has been affected by trends towards trade liberalisation, a reduced role of the State, and organisational reforms. Rubber cultivators in Kerala - around 1 million holders cultivating an average 0.5 ha of rubber plantation - have been affected by these processes in different ways. It is hypothesised that growers - especially the ones located in agro-ecologically marginal rubber areas - are coping with these changes with diversified income-generating strategies. The book shows that the different types of holdings have specific management strategies and ways of dealing with risks. Furthermore, there is evidence that specific local institutions and organisations can hinder and/or support the income generation of the different types of holdings.
"International labour migration is a main livelihood strategy for many people in Nepal. This article analyses the migration process from the perspective of migrants and their non-migrating household members, exploring the institutional regulations that structure the organization of migration and the cash flows involved. The results are based on a case study conducted in Sainik Basti, Western Nepal, in 2002. The article shows that for different destinations there are specific ways of organizing migration. These country specific ways of organizing migration demand specific assets from prospective migrants and their household members and, therefore, influence their choice of destination. Savings are remitted back home mainly by carrying them personally or by using the hundi system. [...]"
Based on existing research about the importance of migration, questions need to be raised about how Nepalese migrants live in receiving countries, what individual or structural backgrounds enable migrants and their families to benefit from migration, and what prevents them from doing so. How do migrants manage their daily lives, how do they gain access to resources, and what are their reasons for doing so?
The principal aim of the study is to enhance understanding of the process of migration and its contribution to the livelihoods of people from rural areas in Nepal. It also aims to help develop interventions that will maximise the benefits of migration.
"Worldwide, an increasing number of people are diversifying their income sources through migration. This mobility in most cases involves only parts of the family migrating, and this results in people's livelihoods taking on a multi-local dimension. Scholars have been studying this increasing mobility and multi-locality by applying either a livelihoods approach or one of transnational migration, but they rarely combine the two. However, one major criticism of both approaches is that they do not make the link to other existing social theories and do not therefore permit any fundamental analysis of the relationship between the subject and society, the power relations within a society and the changes human mobility effects to power relations. To address this criticism, I shall discuss existing innovative research and propose Bourdieu's Theory of Practice as a means to fill this theoretical gap."
"Kann Migration zur Reduzierung von Armut beitragen? Immer häufiger betonen internationale Entwicklungsorganisationen die wachsende Bedeutung und das große Potenzial der Migration. Gleichzeitig hat sich die Migrationsforschung facettenreich weiterentwickelt und befasst sich unter anderem auch mit der Frage, wie Migrationshaushalte eine plurilokale Lebensunterhaltsstrategie meistern. Der Artikel zeigt Beispiele von Organisationsformen, mit denen Migrierende aus dem ruralen Nepal die Möglichkeit schaffen, in der Megastadt Delhi ihre Existenz zu sichern. Dabei wird ersichtlich, dass der Beitrag von Migration zur Existenzsicherung weit über die Bedeutung von Geldüberweisungen hinausgeht."
In: Social Research Center (AUCA), editor. Kyrgyzstan Today: Policy Briefs on Civil Society, Migration, Islam, Corruption. Bishkek: American University of Central Asia, pp 108-113.
In: Social Research Center (AUCA), editor. Kyrgyzstan Today: Policy Briefs on Civil Society, Migration, Islam, Corruption. Bishkek: American University of Central Asia, pp 108-113.
In: Rotberg F, Swain A, editors. Natural Resources Security in South Asia: Nepal's Water. Stockholm: Institute for Security and Development Policy, pp 15-65.
Nepal's armed conflict (1996-2006) has created enormous impact in biodiversity, the economy and society. This paper discusses only the impacts on biodiversity.
The main negative impacts documented from the study were: A loss of unique habitats for wildlife within ecosystems once the vegetation for such specialised habitat were destroyed; loss of medicinal plant resources after the forests were used as battlefields; and severe disruption of conservation activities, leading to intensified unsustainable exploitation as law and order was broken down by the armed conflict.
This book critically examines the decade long armed conflict and its impacts on various sectors, explores opportunities and challenges for Nepal's peace process and future development. It will be a valuable reference book for readers who are interested in:
Nepal's power, politics and political change;
land conflict and its relation with politics;
environmental stresses created by the armed conflict;
dynamics of internal displacement;
hydroconflict and its political implications on Nepal and beyond;
public legitimacy issue in making post conflict constitution;
relationship between the armed conflict and tourism and potentials of tourism sector in promoting peace;
reorienting of development in the post-conflict situation;
various impacts of the armed conflict;
role of women in Nepal’s peace process;
debate on the security sector restructuring after the armed conflict and challenges and opportunities for Nepal to achieve inclusive democracy, durable peace and economic prosperity.
Nepal is known as one of the world’s most conservation-friendly countries, with more than 18% of its total area as protected areas. However, because of the top-down, bureaucratically oriented, exclusionary governance systems practised in the protected areas, there is tension between park authorities and local people that ultimately causes livelihood insecurities. Most of the sufferers from the poor conservation governing systems in Nepal are poor, marginalised and indigenous people. As indigenous people are the victims of protected area management systems, an intense debate on the property rights and prior rights of indigenous people has emerged. To shed light on this debate, the author has employed the conceptual framework of legal pluralism, thereby providing better understanding of the conflict between the customary rights exercised by the indigenous communities and the formal legal arrangements of the state.
In: Geiser U, Rist S, editors. Decentralisation Meets Local Complexity: Local Struggles, State Decentralisation and Acces to Natural Resources in South Asia and Latin America. Bern: Geographica Bernensia, pp 217-248.
Nepal is at a crossroads of fundamental socio-political transformation. Facilitating and sustaining such transformation requires new vision, new constitutional framework, new institutional arrangement, new instruments and new commitment. Conduct, action and behaviour of the political parties, judiciary, security (military, armed police, civilian police, intelligence and other security related institutions) and bureaucracy are some of the fundamental institutions that determine success or failure of materializing fundamental sociopolitical transformation. Hence, substantial reorientation of these institutions is a precondition to make them relevant to the changing political context. This paper discusses the restructuring of military, one of the fundamentally important security components of security sector, from the conflict transformation2 and peace building perspective. The objective of this paper is to initiate a constructive debate on the need and approach of restructuring of Nepal Army in the changing political context. The paper brings argument that the relevance of transformation of Nepal Army is essential at the present context.
Nepali Journal of Contemporary Studies VII(1): 69-94
"Der mit Landwirtschaftsressourcen gut ausgestattete südindische Bundesstaat Kerala ist seit Jahrhunderten in den Weltmarkt eingebunden. Aber selbst in der heutigen Phase der Globalisierung und Liberalisierung weisen die Märkte für Keralas Agrarprodukte Merkmale auf, die nicht nur internationale Verhältnisse zwischen Angebot und Nachfrage widerspiegeln, sondern von zahlreichen sozialen und politischen Institutionen auf verschiedenen räumlichen Ebenen geprägt sind. Solche „real existierende globale Märkte“ werden im Beitrag am Beispiel von Cashew und Kautschuk besprochen."
"This paper describes two experiences with community-led upgrading programmes in precarious settlements in Ho Chi Minh City and discusses how and why these are more effective and appropriate than the city’s "redevelopment" and relocation programmes. Although rapid economic growth has meant improved material conditions for much of the city’s population, it has also had a negative impact on the environment and on the poorer groups whose living conditions are deteriorating, especially in the precarious settlements on vacant lots, along canals and on the city outskirts. The city has plentiful water, but large sections of the population are not reached by piped water and sewers. Although relocation programmes are better managed here than in most cities, many who are relocated suffer a drop in income, a steep rise in housing costs and a disruption to their social networks. The paper ends with some reflections on the changes needed in government attitudes towards citizens."
The NCCR North-South is hosted by the University of Bern
and funded jointly by the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation
