Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
SpringerLink
Log in

Impacts of Outmigration on Land Management in a Nepali Mountain Area

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Identifying Emerging Issues in Disaster Risk Reduction, Migration, Climate Change and Sustainable Development

Abstract

This study examines the impacts of migration on land management in a mountain area of Nepal, complemented by insights from a smaller case study in Bolivia. Migration to cities and abroad increasingly leaves behind fragmented families and the elderly. Livelihoods as well as the management of land are affected by a changing labor force, traditional knowledge, remittances, and other consequences of migration. In this study, we explore how these issues affect land and its management, and what measures and strategies are being taken by the people left behind. Mapping methodology from the World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT) was used to assess land management practices in a subwatershed in Western Nepal. In combination with other research methods, the mapping enabled a better understanding of the impacts of migration on land degradation and conservation. Preliminary findings reveal negative as well as positive impacts. The main degradation problem found was the growth of invasive alien plant species, while overall vegetation and forest cover had increased, and some types of degradation, such as soil erosion or landslides, were even reduced. A feminization of agriculture has also been observed in the Nepali case study, in contrast to the Bolivian case which revealed that whole families were migrating, with mostly men temporarily returning to manage the land. The findings of this study suggest that a more differentiated and context-specific view is required when looking at the impact of migration on land management.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Nepal Conservation Approaches and Technologies, http://www.icimod.org/nepcat

  2. 2.

    Ecosystem Based Adaptation Programme, Nepal, http://ebaflagship.org/ecosystems/mountains/nepal

References

  • Adhikari B, Di Falco S, Lovett JC (2004) Household characteristics and forest dependency: evidence from common property forest management in Nepal. Ecol Econ 48(2):245–257. doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2003.08.008

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andersen LE (2002) Rural-Urban migration in Bolivia: advantages and disadvantages. Documento de Trabajo, 5

    Google Scholar 

  • Black R, Bennett SRG, Thomas SM, Beddington JR (2011) Climate change: migration as adaptation. Nature 478(7370):447–449

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Carswell GM, Lindblade KA, Tumuhairwe JK (1998) Mitigating the relationship between population growth and land degradation: land-use change and farm management in Southwestern Uganda. AMBIO 27(7):565–571

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis J, Lopez-Carr D (2010) The effects of migrant remittances on population–environment dynamics in migrant origin areas: international migration, fertility, and consumption in highland Guatemala. Popul Environ 32(2-3):216–237. doi:10.1007/s11111-010-0128-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis J, Lopez-Carr D (2014) Migration, remittances and smallholder decision-making: implications for land use and livelihood change in Central America. Land Use Policy 36:319–329. doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2013.09.001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Graaff J, Amsalu A, Bodnár F, Kessler A, Posthumus H, Tenge A (2008) Factors influencing adoption and continued use of long-term soil and water conservation measures in five developing countries. Appl Geogr 28(4):271–280. doi:10.1016/j.apgeog.2008.05.001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DFID (1999) Sustainable livelihoods guidance sheet. UK Department for International Development, London

    Google Scholar 

  • EbA (2014) Ecosystem and ecosystem services of panchase: an overview. EbA, Kathmandu

    Google Scholar 

  • Findlay AM (2011) Migrant destinations in an era of environmental change. Global Environ Change 21(Suppl 1):S50–S58. doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2011.09.004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foley JA, Ramankutty N, Brauman KA, Cassidy ES, Gerber JS, Johnston M, Mueller ND, O’Connell C, Ray DK, West PC, Balzer C, Bennett EM, Carpenter SR, Hill J, Monfreda C, Polasky S, Rockstrom J, Sheehan J, Siebert S, Tilman D, Zaks DPM (2011) Solutions for a cultivated planet. Nature 478(7369):337–342, http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v478/n7369/abs/nature10452.html#supplementary-information

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gartaula HN, Visser L, Niehof A (2012) Shifting perceptions of food security and land in the context of labour out-migration in rural Nepal. Food Secur 4(2):181–194. doi:10.1007/s12571-012-0190-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gautam AP, Webb EL, Shivakoti GP, Zoebisch MA (2003) Land use dynamics and landscape change pattern in a mountain watershed in Nepal. Agr Ecosyst Environ 99(1–3):83–96. doi:10.1016/S0167-8809(03)00148-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gerrard J, Gardner R (2002) Relationships between landsliding and land use in the Likhu Khola Drainage Basin, Middle Hills, Nepal. Mt Res Dev 22(1):48–55. doi:10.1659/0276-4741(2002)022[0048:rblalu]2.0.co;2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ghimire A, Upreti BR (2012) Migration, mobility and development: enhancing our understanding in Nepal, SAs RCO Discussion Paper 6. South Asia Regional Coordination Office of National Centre of Competence in Research North-South and Nepal Centre for Contemporary Research, Kathmandu

    Google Scholar 

  • Gisladottir G, Stocking M (2005) Land degradation control and its global environmental benefits. Land Degrad Dev 16(2):99–112. doi:10.1002/ldr.687

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • GoN (2012) National population and housing census 2011. GoN, Kathmandu

    Google Scholar 

  • GoN (2013) District and VDC profile of Nepal. GoN, Kathmandu

    Google Scholar 

  • Grau HR, Aide TM (2007) Are Rural–Urban migration and sustainable development compatible in mountain systems? Mt Res Dev 27(2):119–123. doi:10.1659/mrd.0906

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gray CL (2009) Environment, land, and rural out-migration in the Southern Ecuadorian Andes. World Dev 37(2):457–468

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harden CP (1996) Interrelationships between land abandonment and land degradation: a case from the Ecuadorian Andes. Mt Res Dev 16(3):274–280. doi:10.2307/3673950

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hurni H (2000) Assessing sustainable land management (SLM). Agr Ecosyst Environ 81(2):83–92. doi:10.1016/S0167-8809(00)00182-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jaquet S, Schwilch G, Hartung-Hofmann F, Adhikari A, Sudmeier-Rieux K, Shrestha G, Liniger HP, Kohler T (2015) Does outmigration lead to land degradation? Labour shortage and land management in a western Nepal watershed. Appl Geogr 62:157–170. doi:10.1016/j.apgeog.2015.04.013

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaenzig R, Piguet E (2014) Migration and climate change in Latin America and the Caribbean. In: Piguet E, Laczko F (eds) People on the move in a changing climate, vol 2, Global migration issues. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 155–176. doi:10.1007/978-94-007-6985-4_7

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Khanal R, Watanabe T (2006) Abandonment of agricultural land and its consequences. Mt Res Dev 26(1):32–40

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kollmair M, Banerjee S (2011) Drivers of migration in mountainous regions of the developing world: a review. In: Project F (ed) Migration and global environmental change. UK Government, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Liniger HP, Van Lynden G, Nachtergaele F, Schwilch G (2008) Questionnaire for mapping land degradation and sustainable land management (QM), WOCAT, LADA, DESIRE. CDE Bern, FAO Rome, ISRIC Wageningen

    Google Scholar 

  • Maharjan A, Bauer S, Knerr B (2012) International migration. Evidence from Nepal. International Migration, Remittances and Subsistence Farming, Kathmandu

    Google Scholar 

  • Munroe DK, van Berkel DB, Verburg PH, Olson JL (2013) Alternative trajectories of land abandonment: causes, consequences and research challenges. Curr Opin Environ Sustain 5(5):471–476. doi:10.1016/j.cosust.2013.06.010

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • NIDS, NCCR (2011) Nepal Migration Year Book 2010. Nepal Institute of Development Studies (NIDS), National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) North-South South Asia Coordination Office, Kathmandu

    Google Scholar 

  • Nijenhuis G (2010) Embedding international migration: the response of Bolivian local governments and NGOs to international migration. Environ Urban 22(1):67–79. doi:10.1177/0956247809356182

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oven KJ, Petley DN, Rigg JD, Dunn CE, Rosser NJ (2008) Landslides, livelihoods and risk: vulnerability and decision-making in Central Nepal. Paper presented at the First World Landslide Forum, Tokyo, Japan

    Google Scholar 

  • OXFAM (2009) Bolivia: climate change, poverty and adaptation. OXFAM International, Bolivia

    Google Scholar 

  • Paudel KP, Dahal D, Shah R (2012) Study report on abandoned agriculture land in mid-hills of Nepal, Status, causes and consequences. Australian Centre for International Agriculture Research, World Agroforestry Centre, Forest Action, IUCN, Nepal

    Google Scholar 

  • Petley DN (2010) On the impact of climate change and population growth on the occurrence of fatal landslides in South, East and SE Asia. Q J Eng Geol Hydrogeol 43(4):487–496. doi:10.1144/1470-9236/09-001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piguet E (2013) From “Primitive Migration” to “Climate Refugees”: the curious fate of the natural environment in migration studies. Ann Assoc Am Geogr 103(1):148–162. doi:10.1080/00045608.2012.696233

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raya RB, Sharma S (2008) Impact of land use in water quality of Phewa Lake, Pokhara, Nepal. Paper presented at the World Lake Conference

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwilch G, Bestelmeyer B, Bunning S, Critchley W, Herrick J, Kellner K, Liniger HP, Nachtergaele F, Ritsema CJ, Schuster B, Tabo R, van Lynden G, Winslow M (2011) Experiences in monitoring and assessment of sustainable land management. Land Degrad Dev 22(2):214–225

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scoones I (1999) New ecology and the social sciences: what prospects for a fruitful engagement? Annu Rev Anthropol 28:479–507

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seddon D, Adhikari J, Gurung G (2002) Foreign labor migration and the remittance economy of Nepal. Critical Asian Stud 34(1):19–40. doi:10.1080/146727102760166581

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sudmeier-Rieux K (2011) On landslide risk, resilience and vulnerability of mountain communities in Central-Eastern Nepal. UNIL, Lausanne

    Google Scholar 

  • Sudmeier-Rieux K, Gaillard J-C, Sharma S, Dubois J, Jaboyedoff M (2012) Chapter 7 Floods, landslides, and adapting to climate change in Nepal: what role for climate change models? In: Climate change modeling for local adaptation in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan region. Emerald Group Publishing, Bingley, pp 119–140. doi:10.1108/S2040-7262(2012)0000011013

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Thapa G, Weber K (1995) Status and management of watersheds in the Upper Pokhara Valley, Nepal. Environ Manag 19(4):497–513. doi:10.1007/bf02471963

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tiffen M, Mortimore M, Gichuki F (1994) More people less erosion: environmental recovery in Kenya. John Wiley, London

    Google Scholar 

  • UNDP (2012) Multi Hazard Risk Assessment Study and Development of Strategic Implementation Plan Phewa Watershed Area, Kaski

    Google Scholar 

  • UNU-INWEH (2011) Guidelines for the Preparation and Reporting on Globally-relevant SLM Impact Indicators for Project-level Monitoring. United Nations University, Hamilton, ON

    Google Scholar 

  • Upreti BN, Muller-Boker U (2010) Livelihood Insecurity and Social Conflict in Nepal. South Asia Regional Coordination Office, Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) North-South., Kathmandu

    Google Scholar 

  • Valdivia C, Seth A, Gilles JL, Garcia M, Jimenez E, Cusicanqui J, Navia F, Yucra E (2010) Adapting to climate change in Andean ecosystems: Landscapes, capitals, and perceptions shaping rural livelihood strategies and linking knowledge systems. Ann Assoc Am Geogr 100:818–834

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warner K, Hamza M, Oliver-Smith A, Renaud F, Julca A (2010) Climate change, environmental degradation and migration. Nat Hazards 55(3):689–715. doi:10.1007/s11069-009-9419-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warren A (2002) Land degradation is contextual. Land Degrad Dev 13(6):449–459. doi:10.1002/ldr.532

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • WOCAT (2014) Sustainable land management. https://www.wocat.net/en/about-wocat/vision-mission/sustainable-land-management.html. Accessed September 20, 2014

Download references

Acknowledgements

This 2-year study (2012–2014) was funded by the Swiss Network for International Studies, based in Geneva. We would like to send sincere thanks to the communities and people who helped us during the fieldwork. We are grateful to our partners in Nepal, G. Shrestha, S. Devkota, G. Subedi, and P. Baral; and in Boliva, E. Cuba and A. Machaca. We also thank Tina Hirschbuehl for language editing this chapter.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Development and Environment CDE, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

    Gudrun Schwilch, Stéphanie Jaquet & Hanspeter Liniger

  2. International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN, Kathmandu, Nepal

    Anu Adhikari

  3. Group of Risk Analysis – Institute of Earth Sciences (ISTE), University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Michel Jaboyedoff, Ivanna M. Penna & Karen Sudmeier-Rieux

  4. Institute of Geography, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland

    Raoul Kaenzig

  5. Nepal Center for Contemporary Research NCCR, Kathmandu, Nepal

    Bishnu Raj Upreti

Authors
  1. Gudrun Schwilch
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Anu Adhikari
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Michel Jaboyedoff
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Stéphanie Jaquet
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Raoul Kaenzig
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Hanspeter Liniger
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Ivanna M. Penna
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Karen Sudmeier-Rieux
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Bishnu Raj Upreti
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gudrun Schwilch .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Risk-group - Institute of Earth Sciences Faculty of Geosciences and Environment, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Karen Sudmeier-Rieux

  2. Institute of Geography and Sustainability Faculty of Geosciences and Environment, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Manuela Fernández

  3. Geological Survey of Norway, Trondheim, Norway

    Ivanna M. Penna

  4. Risk-group - Institute of Earth Sciences Faculty of Geosciences and Environment, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Michel Jaboyedoff

  5. School of Environment, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

    J.C. Gaillard

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Schwilch, G. et al. (2017). Impacts of Outmigration on Land Management in a Nepali Mountain Area. In: Sudmeier-Rieux, K., Fernández, M., Penna, I., Jaboyedoff, M., Gaillard, J. (eds) Identifying Emerging Issues in Disaster Risk Reduction, Migration, Climate Change and Sustainable Development. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33880-4_11

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation