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Withdrawing from agrarian livelihoods: Environmental migration in Nepal

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Abstract

Although about two-thirds of Nepalese families depend on agriculture as their major source of income, the agriculture is mostly rain-fed and it has been adversely affected by water hazards and the subsequent degradation of resources. Based on case studies from three different geographical regions in Nepal, this research examines how environmental factors cause decreasing crop production and push people to abandon agriculture and accept emigration for employment. The research findings suggest a chain of push factors starting from drought or erratic rainfall causing water hazards, which impacts on depletion of crops and livestock, losses in income and employment and increased human mobility and emigration. The paper argues that the Government of Nepal and development partners can be more effective in enabling agrarian families to cope with the water hazards and shocks by formulating pro-poor mitigation and adaptation policies and strategies, focusing both on ‘rapid-onset’ and ‘slow-onset’ water hazards.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Archaeology and Anthropology, the Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia

    Binod Chapagain

  2. School of Environmental Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Albury, 2640, Australia

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Correspondence to Binod Chapagain.

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Chapagain, B., Gentle, P. Withdrawing from agrarian livelihoods: Environmental migration in Nepal. J. Mt. Sci. 12, 1–13 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-014-3017-1

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