Outmigration and its consequences in the Mountains of Nepal: An example of southern Sankhuwasabha, Nepal

Abstract

This paper attempts to examine the consequences of depopulation especially in the Mountains of Nepal. Moreover, it also aims to find out the trends and causes of depopulation. This paper is prepared by both primary and secondary data. The primary data is collected through an online questionnaire to migrants' workers from the study area. The records of in-migration and out migration is collected from the website of Department of National ID and Civil Registration, Nepal as secondary source. Similarly, the other required population data is acquired from the National Statistics Office (NSO) to prepare this paper. The study reveals that there is a higher tendency of out-migration than in-migration which may cause depopulation. Lack of employment opportunities, educational and health facilities are the main causes of higher out-migration in the study area. This study also found that the impacts of outmigration on the origin communities such as changes in land use and land cover, lack of productivity, loss of rural production, increases the coverage of forest/vegetation area, increasing the activities of wild animals. This study may contribute to build a deeper understanding of migration dynamics in rural Nepal, shedding light on the multifaceted implications for both migrant individuals and their communities of origin. The results of this study will be highly beneficial to the policy makers and planners to address the widespread challenges due the depopulation in Nepal.