First Annual Himalayan Policy Research Conference (2006)

At the time Nepal is planning for an unprecedented task of forming constitution through a constituent assembly of people’s representatives, restructuring of Nepal into a federation of autonomous or semi-autonomous states has been prominently proposed by some scholars, the Federation of Indigenous Nationalities, and some major political parties, like the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists), the Communist Party of Nepal (UML), Jana Morcha, and Nepal Sadbhawana Party. To my knowledge there are at least 14 proposals already made, which can be classified into two groups. Proposals in one group consider the meeting of political aspirations and demands of ethnic and indigenous nationalities the main objective of federal restructure. Accordingly, those proposals demarcate states by subdividing Nepal based on ethnic/nationality concentration. The proposals in the next group demarcate states on geographical and/or topographical basis, on broad arguments of improving governance through local control of governments and/or on some economic arguments like demarcating states by major river basins to economically harness hydropower potential of the country. Which type of federation proposal is better?

As in most other poor countries, the poverty reduction strategies and policies in Nepal are primarily informed by periodic cross-section household income data that provide estimates of static poverty rates. Interestingly, however, the focus of these policies appears to be chronic or long-term poverty—poverty that is not necessarily reflected in cross-sectional survey data. While estimates of poverty at specific points in time might correlate with chronic poverty to some extent, such estimates are more representative of poverty that is transient in nature. Hence, an issue of interest is the extent to which there is an overlap between the factors that explain transient and chronic poverty.

This paper, from the sociology of South Asia perspective, clearly reveals a consensus on the significance of trade relations and increased social mobility both within and across the nations of South Asia as factors that could enhance an overall economic integration of the region. It also examines the debates on the matrix of relationship between development and discontentment in North East India involving cross-border movement, social mobility and trade relations. The discourse also showed a changing attitude towards North East region. This paper attempts to examine the contours of the debates on development and discontentment, rather than executing an in-depth analysis of the policies and strategies of the government.

Studying economic inequality is increasingly important because of its multidimensional effects on human and societal well-being. This paper examines economic inequality in Kathmandu using wealth, income, and consumption as its indicators. Amidst the finding that wealth, income, and consumption have mutually reinforcing relationships, recent survey data indicate that high income many not necessarily accumulate into wealth as normally expected. Data also show that the household and householder characteristics somewhat differ when it comes to explaining disparities in household wealth, income, and consumption. The suggestion that spatial segregation, human capital and capability, inheritance, and household composition are important determinants of economic inequality—with almost no systematic role for discrimination—provides enormous implications for policies aimed at curbing economic inequality in Kathmandu.

Association for Himalayan Policy Research: Through various scholarly activities, NSC aims to create a global network of scholars, professionals, and policy practitioners interested in the policy and development of Nepal and the Himalayan region. Eventually, NSC plans to create an Association for Himalayan Policy Research. Journal publications and Himalayan-focused conference at Wisconsin University are important activities contributing to this collaboration, and our initial attempt to create this network has been very successful. Many scholars from the US, Europe, Far East, Australia, and Nepal are joining this network.

Although Nepal is an extremely insignificant emitter of global carbon – emitting less than 0.1% of global emissions - it is burdened by a disproportionately high degree of vulnerability to the adverse effects of climate change. Nepal’s exposures include the possibilities of increased GLOF (Glacial Lake Outburst Floods) phenomenon, the melting mountains syndrome, and decrease in agricultural production, increase in vector borne diseases, loss of important bio-diversity assets and change in the hydrological cycles and resulting effects. Given her limited financial resources, and a weak institutional capacity, the changing climate will likely reduce Nepal’s GDP, increase the society’s disease burden, and cause additional human deaths.

Prolonged exposure to biomass and tobacco smoke can damage the lens of human eyes. Epidemiological studies conducted in developed and developing countries have established an association between smoke and lens opacity (cataracts). In our earlier epidemiological study conducted in the eye hospital at western Terai region of Nepal, we had found rate of lens damage (cataracts) two times higher among women who cooked with solid fuel (wood, dung cake, crop-residues) in unvented stoves than women who cooked with clean burning fuel-stove (LPG, bio-gas, kerosene and electric heaters). Damaged lens (lens opacity) or cataract is still the most important cause of blindness in Nepal despite the presence of a network of eye hospitals throughout the country. In Nepal compared to men, more women have cataracts but their access to cataract related services is lower. There is no medicine available to cure cataracts. Only cure is through surgery, but this is not equally available and affordable to all. Thus, benefits of cataract prevention are obvious in the country where its prevalence is very high and access to medical services is very low. To investigate how we can prevent and delay lens damage or cataract formation among women, we conducted a lens opacity study among women (n=20) who visited Regional Tuberculosis Center and Manipal Medical College in Pokhara. These participants had no previous diagnosis of cataracts or any lesion in the lens. The major objectives of this study were to investigate pre-clinical measures of lens damage among women with no diagnosis of lens opacity, to investigate their exposure level to cooking smoke and environmental tobacco smoke, and to investigate whether environmental tobacco smoke and cooking smoke correlate with severity of lens opacity/insult.

One of fundamental strategies in community-based conservation is people receiving benefits from conservation projects are more likely to express positive attitudes towards conservation. As a result, various forms of compensation and economic incentives are provided to local people to reduce park-people conflicts, and to influence the people’s attitude towards conservation. Nepal, being a leader in integrating conservation and local development, implemented a policy in 1976 to address the legitimate needs of local people residing in and around protected areas by allowing them the restrictive use of park resources. Since then, people in lowland Terai are given permits to harvest thatch grass from protected areas for a limited period every year. Thatch grass is traditionally used by the people in Terai as a building material in the roof of houses. In recent years, the grasses are also used as raw materials in the paper industry. Based on a case study in Shukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve, this study describes policy of issuing permits for grass harvesting, and its impact on people’s attitude towards conservation.

This paper has sought to examine the factors that have contributed to the economic growth of Nepal and Bhutan. After a brief discussion of the economy and growth strategy of each country, standard growth models for Nepal and Bhutan are developed and estimated. The results indicate that domestic capital has been a significant source of economic growth in Nepal whereas foreign aid has not had any appreciable effect on growth. The reverse is true for Bhutan.

In this paper, the problem of evaluating a new ecologically damaging project undertaken by a locally dominant firm is studied. Often the total cost of undertaking such a project tends to be under evaluated for several reasons. One major reason is due to the failure to anticipate the rise of several small fringe firms in different regions and the impact of competition with them. This paper uses recent advances in game theory to present a game theoretic model to evaluate such a project in the context of what happened in Nepal when Arun project was mulled by the Nepal Electricity Authority in 1990s.

The 1971 Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, especially for Waterfowl Conservation (hereafter referred to as Ramsar) is historically and currently important from several standpoints. It came into force in 1975 and is the oldest of the international conservation conventions and the only one that protects one general ecosystem type. Through the main text and various policy documents published over the past 30 years, Ramsar provides signatory nations with many general and specific guidelines for conserving and managing wetlands resources and their associated wildlife. Here we consider the implementation of Ramsar within Nepal, a Party since 1987, based on the country’s national policy that came into force in 2003. The most important (and oldest) Ramsar site in Nepal is Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve. It is important biologically as 1) the habitat for the last Nepalese population of wild Asiatic buffalo, 2) an overwintering site for several dozen species of ducks and geese and, 3) a stopover site for dozens of species of shorebirds that overwinter along the coasts of India, Bangladesh and Myanmar. Thus, in spite of its inland location, Koshi Tappu is significant for the conservation of species that use marine resources throughout their life cycle. Koshi Tappu is also under increased threats of encroachment and resources (e.g. fish, grasses) are harvested regularly by local residents.

Our study seeks to answer what rate of economic growth will achieve a one percentage-point reduction in the level of poverty, as measured by the popular headcount ratio. We also recognize that income distribution might change in response to growth and may in turn have an effect of its own on poverty. In particular, do initial inequality and level of development matter in the subsequent realization of poverty? Finally, we examine if some seemingly important variables, such as trade and human capital, also have a significant influence on poverty. For obvious reasons, these findings can have significant implications for policy.

South Asia has a wide range of experience with democracy. While India’s democracy has proved resilient and exemplary, the foundations for democratic governance in other countries in the region are still fragile. The 1999 coup in Pakistan derailed the country’s experiment with democracy since 1988. With the success of the April 2006 movement, Nepal recently started another attempt at transition to democracy- a process disrupted by the May 2002 dismissal of the national parliament by King Gyanendra. The varying level of success of different South Asian countries with democratic governance offers rich contexts to learn about the dynamics of democratic transition and consolidation. Dwelling on the experiences of India, Nepal and Pakistan, this paper focused on the role of elite cooperation or conflict in the process of democratic transition and/or consolidation. The main thesis underlying this paper is that the role of national elites (defined broadly as leaders and activists) is central to understanding democratization process in a developing country like Nepal. The paper argues that the absence of factors that are considered preconditions for the success of democracy such as higher level of income, liberal values and tolerant culture is somehow compensated by the vanguard role of elites if they learn to cooperate with each other to build and sustain democratic order.

This paper investigates the relationship between relative deprivation and the escalation of the civil conflict in Nepal. Poverty in Nepal decreased substantially between 1995 and 2003, which seems puzzling given the political instability and the raise and strengthening of the insurgency. We hypothesize that increasing differences in welfare among different groups - i.e., relative deprivation as opposed to absolute deprivation - can help explain this puzzle. The hypothesis is tested with data from 2 national-representative household surveys, matched with information regarding mass abductions by the Maoists, obtained from an extensive search of newspaper articles. The identification strategy relies on the fact that the months following finalization of the second round of data collection were characterized by a geographical escalation of the conflict. The paper shows that households with relatively large land holdings have gained disproportionately from recent growth, resulting in relative deprivation of the (near) landless. Land ownership is used as a proxy for socio-economic status, to reflect the importance that is attributed to land in Nepali society. The paper then shows that recruiting by Maoists through mass abduction of young people is more important in districts where inequality has increased. We find, in particular, that the expansion of Maoist recruitment activities beyond their initial heartlands occurred in districts where the relative deprivation of the (near) landless, had increased significantly in the preceding period.

Trafficking is a major part of the social and economic structure of Nepal. Currently, very high numbers of young girls are taken from Nepal into India as trafficked sex workers. It is estimated that 5,000 to 7,000 girls are trafficked to India each year (Poudel & Carryer, 2000). There are many factors contributing to the continued practice of sex trafficking in Nepal, including poverty, migration (due to both high levels of poverty in rural areas and the Maoist insurgency), and the low status of women in Nepali society. The current research is focused on the status of women as a contributing factor to trafficking. Nepali women are encouraged to accept their submissive position in life without complaint and are discouraged from trying to control men. Even though 50 percent of rural Nepali children are enrolled in primary school, only 23 percent of girls attend secondary school. Girls are often sent off to find work to supplement family income, denying them a chance to receive a full education. Even today, an educated Nepali woman is seen as a potential threat to her husband (Asian Development Bank, 2003).

Sex trafficking, the coercion of girls and women into forced prostitution, is a global problem. South Asia is a particular trouble spot for trafficking. Source countries in this region include Bangladesh, Vietnam, Myanmar (Burma), and Nepal. Destination countries include India and Thailand (Farr, 2005). The present research focuses on sex trafficking from Nepal. Although accurate figures are difficult to obtain, the best estimate is that 5,000 to 7,000 Nepali girls and women are trafficked each year, primarily to India, and at least 200,000 Nepali girls and women currently work in Indian brothels (Huntington, 2002).

The paper will discuss various forms of political exclusion of socio-cultural groups in Nepal during the democratic period, 1990-2002. The groups considered are: dalit, indigenous nationalities, madhesi, Muslims, and women. The paper will discuss seven forms of exclusion: (1) exclusion from access to citizenship, (2) exclusion from governance, (3) exclusion from public policies, (4) cultural discrimination, (5) symbolic exclusion, (6) exclusion from civil society, and (7) socioeconomic inequality.

Although different theoretical arguments have been developed for understanding civil wars, very few efforts have been made to study their impact. This paper attempts to bridge this gap by providing a systematic explanation of conflict-induced internal displacement. We use sub-national data from Nepal to explain whether or not conflict is directly responsible for displacing people, as is generally assumed, or whether there is an indirect link between conflict and displacement. We argue that internal displacement occurs as a result of the direct as well as indirect impacts of civil war. Both the government and the rebels are involved in violating human rights during conflict that causes direct threat to civilians’ life and forces them to flee. But civil war also leads to deterioration in economic conditions that causes a plethora of problems for people living in the conflict-hit area. Destruction of the local economy creates insecurity in the form of the lack of employment opportunities as well as other social services such as education, health, and communication. These problems, which are more indirect causes of internal displacement, also force people to flee home during conflict.

Little is known about the effects of migration and mental health in general, however even less is known about internal migration despite the fact that more persons move within their own countries. Population studies predict that there will be a continuous growth in both internal and international migration in the coming years. Within developing countries internal migration has important social and economic consequences. For this paper I use large representative sample of adults residing in Kathmandu, Nepal to investigate the utility of stress process model for understanding effects of migration. Because our sample contains both migrants and non-migrants, we are able to compare the importance of common and unique sources of stress and access to social support as they affect urban dwellers in general. Results show that migrants and non-migrants differ only slightly in socio-demographic makeup. Migrants face more chronic sources of stress and have more social support problems. However, eventful stress is the only direct predictor of distress for both migrants and non-migrants. Lower access to social support indirectly affects migrants’ distress.

This paper analyzes the conditions of the five cities—Bhaktapur, Kathmandu, Kirtipur, Lalitpur, and Madhyapur Thimi— that comprise the Kathmandu Valley conurbation and exhibit the typical characteristics of the nation’s primate city (Bhattarai, 2003). It examines the patterns and causal processes of urban sprawl for the period 1955 and 2003 by utilizing both spatial and aspatial data. It analyzes the patterns of historical aspects of the Kathmandu Valley’s settlements that acquired the characteristics of a European feudal urban agglomeration in the mid-18th century, combining political, administrative, and craft production functions (Bhattarai, 2003). Our analyses reveal that since the early 1970s, the Kathmandu Valley has become structurally differentiated into two distinct urban ‘spaces’ (KVMP, 2001). The first ‘space’ is the traditional urban core characterized by narrow alleys, cul-de-sac streets, and loops serving the densely populated area. The second ‘space’ surrounds the city core, a less populated periphery, with uneven residential densities, ranging from dense concentrations (>700 people ha-1) to relatively open developments (10 person ha-1) with rural interstices.