Geographical Journal of Nepal

Climate change policy instruments in agriculture sector: From policy to adaptation practice at local level in Nepal

Tue, 19 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The current study explores synergies between climate change policy instruments and agriculture sector, reviews identified gaps and understands the translation of policy instruments at local level in five sample municipalities of three ecological regions. Understanding the adaptation actions and knowledge on implementation practices at household level is as the objective of this study. It adopted qualitative research approach using both primary (KII, FGD and household survey) and secondary data (review of existing policy documents) based on qualitative document analysis, (QDA). The study found that, policy and programs formulation at national and sub-national level in different period, are designed within the same setting from national to local level but there is divergence in programs formulation and implementation methods. Capacity and understanding of policy instruments has resulted different policy output which implicate farmers’ response to implementation practices. It is found that municipal authorities are implementing climate friendly agriculture programs without explicitly declaring climate action. The farmers are practicing autonomous adaption in agriculture with limited understanding and technical knowledge of long term climate change effect on farming. This has resulted maladaptive practices, which has contested planned climate change adaptation plan and programs. It devaluates the effort and resources spent by national and international institutions on CC policy instrument formulation and implementation. The need of field based demonstrative understanding and awareness campaigns for smallholder farmers is anticipated. It concludes that, flexibility of policy instruments through regular improvements and modification aids context-specific localization provide custom solutions. The custom solution match the traditional and existing adaptation practices assuring ownership at ground level.

Landslide susceptibility mapping of the main boundary thrust region in Thungsingdanda-Bandipur section of Nawalparasi and Palpa Districts, Gandaki and Lumbini Provinces, Nepal

Kabi Raj Paudyal, Rupendra Maharjan, Birat Shrestha — Tue, 19 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This research assesses the results of a landslide susceptibility analysis employing frequency ratios (FR). It was conducted in collaboration between CNES/Airbus and Maxar Technologies using Google Earth. Landslides in the Thungsingdanda-Bandipur area were identified through imagery with a 50 cm spatial resolution. A comprehensive dataset for training and testing was established based on the landslide inventory. Nine causative variables: slope, aspect, relief, distance from the stream, distance from the road, curvature, distance from the thrust, geology, and land use were used. FR ratings were assigned to these causative variables based on training events. The resultant landslide susceptibility map was generated by integrating causative variables with their respective FR ratings. The validation rate, determined using the ROC-AUC curve, was found to be 82.2 percent. Notably, distance from the thrust (MBT), land use, and distance from the road emerged as the more influential factors among the nine causative variables in landslide occurrences.

Agricultural land abandonment and its impact on soil erosion in the Madi Watershed, Gandaki Province, Nepal

Ravi Sitaula, Puspa Sharma, Chhabi Lal Chidi — Tue, 19 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Agricultural land abandonment is the crucial issue of land use /land cover change in many parts of the world and it is directly related to soil erosion in the mountain areas. Nepal has also faced heavy agricultural land abandonment from the mountain regions in the last two decades. This study is concerned with agricultural land abandonment and its impact on soil erosion in the Madi Watershed, Gandaki Province of Nepal. This study used high-resolution aerial photography and Google Earth images to map cultivated land and its abandonment in 1995 and 2020. The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model has been used to estimate soil erosion. Studies revealed that more than 40% of the agricultural land was abandoned from 1995 to 2020 and there is higher spatial variability of abandonment intensity. High altitude and steeper slope areas have a higher intensity of abandonment than in lower altitude and lower slope gradients. There is a significant impact of abandonment of agricultural land on reducing soil erosion from 1995 to 2020. The average rate of soil erosion was quite high in 1995 but decreased to 51.5 percent in 2020. There are higher rates of reduction in soil erosion at higher altitudes and marginal lands like steeper slopes and the areas having lower solar radiation because of the higher proportion of agricultural land abandonment. Thus, it can be concluded that agricultural land abandonment during the last 25 years significantly impacts soil erosion control in the study area.

Exploring place attachment: Insights from post-Gorkha earthquake resettlement planning in Nepal

Sanjaya Uprety, Barsha Shrestha — Tue, 19 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This study investigates the relationship between place attachment and resettlement planning in Nepal post the Gorkha Earthquake of 2015. Focusing on functional place dependence, it analyses place attachment within the Panipokhari Integrated Settlement, designed for the Thami community in Dolakha district. Using "residential satisfaction" as a parameter to measure the influencing factors of place dependence, data were collected through a Likert scale survey, interviews, and observations. The analysis encompassed Cronbach's Alpha for reliability (α = 0.825), mean satisfaction scores for evaluation, and Spearman’s rank correlation to explore relationships between residential satisfaction parameters and place dependence factors. The study revealed significant correlations, highlighting varied influences on place attachment. Notably, social connectivity, represented by nearness to relatives (r = 0.720, p = 0.000), exhibited a strong positive correlation. Similarly, infrastructure amenities like electricity (r = 0.532, p = 0.000) displayed a relatively strong positive correlation, while access to health facilities (r = 0.447, p = 0.002) demonstrated a moderate positive correlation. Moreover, settlement planning components—kitchen gardens (r = 0.623, p = 0.000), open spaces (r = 0.578, p = 0.000), settlement layout (r = 0.549, p = 0.000), and cattle sheds (r = 0.574, p = 0.000)—significantly correlated with increased attachment. Additionally, housing design factors like immediate exterior spaces (r = 0.730, p = 0.000), spaces for life cycle rituals (r = 0.771, p = 0.000), and social events (r = 0.663, p = 0.000) and building performance factor winter thermal comfort (r = 0.606, p = 0.000)displayed substantial positive correlations. Acknowledging study limitations, it offers insights for planners and policymakers, stressing holistic approaches for sustainable resettlement. Future research should explore diverse factors and contexts, emphasizing the dynamic nature of place dependence. Ultimately, the study underscores the intricate relationship between satisfaction parameters and place attachment, urging comprehensive resettlement strategies.

Contribution and compatibility of public open space in disaster management: Perception and experience from Kathmandu Metropolitan

Krishna Prasad Timalsina, Bhim Prasad Subedi, Kanhaiya Sapkota — Tue, 19 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Despite the extensive literature on public open space (POS) in urban settings, its role in disaster risk reduction and management(DRRM) as perceived and experienced by its residents is limited. Taking a case from Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC), this paper analyzes the role and suitability of POS in DRRM. It focuses on: (a) how urban residents perceive and experience the linkages between POS and DRRM, (b) how they utilized the POS during disasters, and in what ways they were instrumental in helping disaster victims,and (c) to what extent the existing POSs are compatible for DRRM in dense urban areas. This study uses qualitative research methodology employing POS inventory taking, key informant interviews, in-depth interviews, and field observation as research instruments. The result of the study shows that people's perception on the use of POS during disasters was very positive and these spaces were intrinsically utilized during disasters in the metropolitan Kathmandu. However, their effectiveness and compatibility in DRRM were contingent upon contextual factors, the inherent nature and types of POS, and the extent of accessibility to them.

Experience of girls on menstrual hygiene and health

Durga Uprety — Tue, 19 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This study explores and analyses the lived experiences and challenges faced by girl in menstrual hygiene and health during their menstruation in school. While exploring the experiences the study related to liberal feminism prospect as girls' personal experiences in menstrual hygiene and health followed the empowerment theory of three key dimensions i.e. agency, resources, and achievements, and applied phenomenological study designed. Information was collected and analyzed by transcribing the record in the native language, coding, creating themes, and interrelationships of themes. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Results show that girls were able to empower, foster confidence, and change individuals and society through schools and retain them in the school education system. Better service and an enabling environment from colleagues, teachers, and family are important. This is drawn from the study that, peer education and boys’ involvement in menstrual hygiene and health issues in school education and service improvement as well as health promotion are recommended to be treated as a priority in the future.

Use of remittance and Coronavirus pandemic in Nepal

Suman Kharel, Rajan Binayek Pasa — Tue, 19 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Remittance based economy of Nepal has been badly affected by the Corona virus pandemic. In this study, we analyze the household and social level use of remittance by the remittance recipient households before and after the pandemic. We adopted cross-sectional study design to collect data from 777 randomly selected respondents residing in Chautara Sngachwokgadhi (Mountain region), Galkot(Hill) and Mithila (Tarai) municipalities in Nepal. We used a reliable questionnaire tool having 0.8 cronbachalpha, and we visited the respondents from 6th June- 18th October 2022. The study found that the remittance recipient households have good access to households, educational, financial and health facilities. A significant amount of remittance also has been used to donate to the youth club, medical treatment seeker, school/college and community level (public moral hazard) after the Coronavirus pandemic. Remittance and agriculture were the major source of family income in each ecological region. However, remittance has failed to increase agriculture production and distributions (domestic household hazard) and also failed to increase entrepreneurship development in the local levels. This study can be a reference for developing evidence-based policies for minimizing public moral hazard and domestic household hazards caused by remittance in developing countries like Nepal.

Community forest, environment conservation and rural livelihood

Rajendra Kumar Pokhrel, Anju Pokhrel Gautam — Tue, 19 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The study analyses the economic benefit to rural people derived from the community forest and the role of community forest in the livelihood of the rural people. For this purpose, Khajure Community Forest of Dang district was selected. This article analyses interactions among economic development, the environment, and natural resource use pattern. Community forestry promotes sustainable management of forests by the local community for their collective benefits and promotes equal rights regardless of caste, ethnicity and gender. Community Forest Users’ Group highly depend on CF for their basic households needs such as fuel wood, grass, fodder and timber. Community participation in managing forest has contributed to forest conservation, scientific utilization of forest products and social inclusion which ultimately fosters community ownership in management and use of natural resources. But there are problems in CF governance and benefit sharing. The main issues of community forest are elite dominance in decision-making, social exclusion, and unequal benefit sharing. Rural people go through the exploitation of forest resource haphazardly for their survival. Exploitation of natural resources, including forest resource, contribute to global environmental problems and climate change. Electric cook stoves could be a good, clean fuel source while also helping to reduce the trade deficit. Scheduled firewood collection has resulted to shortage of fuel wood and has increased dependency on cow dung cake for daily cooking. Socio-economic condition of community members has remained as the obstacle for fuel shifting towards modern and clean energy that produces no smoke and no indoor air pollution, and thus, reducing respiratory diseases. Fuel transition has great positive impact on forest conservation,too.