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25 Article

An Analysis of the Soeioeconomic Conditions of the Rural People based on Caste Implications for Suitable Watershed Management in the ,

Rajendra Prasad Lamichhane'i, Masahiro Amano'2,Takeshi Kadota*3 and Akihiko Sasaki*`

ABSTRACT

Watershed management is important in Nepal to stabilize the physical environment and to improve the livelihood of watershed residents. Recently, people's participation has been a fundamental government policy in forestf watershed conservation. Although participation of all the stakeholders is necessary for the success of the program, their participation largely depends upon the extent of the reflection of their needs in watershed managernent activities. With caste-related cliscrimination still prevalent in Nepal, this paper attempted to identify the caste differences as reflected in their sociocconomic condition. The findings revealed that there are wide gaps between the castelethnic groups regarding their socioeconomic cendition. The gap is particularly wide between the higher caste/ethnic group and the lower castes. Radar chart ana]ys{s showed that the local people are more concerned with socioeeonomic problems cumpared to the natural resource aspects, Regression analysis showed that shortage of cereals is the biggest positive predictor variab]e of the concern for food avai]ability. The proportion of Miterate households and livestock population are the other predictor variables. On the other hand, the amount of paddy produced, walking distance to piped water in the wet season, and walking distance to fuelwoocl forest are the negatively related predictor variables of the concern for food availab{lity. Total area of Bariland (rainfed farmland) is the most irnportant negative predictor variable for concern for fuelwood availability, fo]lowed by the area of

Khetland (irrigated farmland). Walking distance to fuelwood forest, production of rnaize and membership in cornmunity forest are the positive predictor variables. The differences in socioeconomic conditions have cleep implications for the participatory approach, as conflict of interest may arise between thc groups with different socioeconomic backgrounds. It is recommended that sueh clifferences in watershed managernent planning be addressed so as to gain broader participation from a]] the stakeholders,

Kaywont: people's participation, caste, watershed management,socioeconomic condition

of 147,481 krn2, has a population of 18,491,097 (CENTRAL INTRODUCTION BuREAu oF STATisTics, 1997) . Dvlore than 80% of the econom- ically active population is involved in farming. Nepal

Nepal, a sma]1 mountainous country covering an area consists of three geographical regions-the Tera{ (plain area), the Hil]s and the Mountains (Fig. 1 ). Forestland is an integral part of the farming system in the Hil]s of Nepa]. Si Dectoral Program, Department ef Agriculture A feature of the integral relationship between the forests and Life Sciences, Faculty of Forest Science and the farming system in the Hills is the significance of Laboratory of Forest Management, University of Tekyo e-mail/ ram[@fr.a,u-tokyo.ac.jp watershed conservation in Nepal, '2Department of Forest Management, Forestry However, past forest policies failed Lo recognize this and Forest Products Research Institute '3 relationship, and were generally counterproductive in for- {Late) Ex-JICA Expert. *4Nippon Koei estfwatershed conservation. AII ferestlands were brought

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26 Lamichhane et al.

848m)77m)

Fig.1 TheGeographicalregions of Nepal

under government control (MAHAT et al., 1986) and state experienced a rnajor paradigm shift in approaches to

ownership was guaranteed through legal arrangements. watershed management. The Iocal people; however, continued to use the forest

resources from the natienal forest, even though it was Past watershed management approach illegal. The continuous exploitation of forests resulted in a Until the late 1980s the Department focused on the decrease in the forest area in the Terai and the degradation large watersheds, implementing activities throughout the

of watersheds in the Hills. His Majesty's Government watershed area. The operational approach was on a

(HMG) of Nepal realized that forest/watcrshed conserva- project basis and many agencies were involved in carrying tion could not be achievecl by the government alone; ancl, out various activities. there was a need for involvement of Ieca] people (NATroNAL Further there was more emphasis on the erosion FoREsTRy PLAN, 1976, as quoted by BAJRAciiARyA, 1992). control aspects such as gully contro], landslicle treatment, Even though the caste system was legally abolished in torrent control etc. Work was carried out in the field either

1963, caste-based discrimination is still alive in Nepal. by directly hiring local laborers or by operating through

Since it is important for all sections of the society to take contractors. The beneficiaries were scarcely involved part in watershed management activities, it is useful to (IvlEiMAN et aL 1985; SHAKyA et al,, 1991 quoted by BoGATi, study the socioeconomic condition of various castefethnic 1996). The projects contributed almost all the costs households fer a more pragmatic watershed rnanagement required for watershed management activities and people's

approach. partlclpatlon was non-exlstent. The main objective of this paper is to analyze the Integration among various line agencies and effective socioeconomic condition of the caste/ethnic households in mechanism for involvement of local people were found to the Kaski District and to cliscuss its implications for water- be lacking in the implementation of such large watershed

shed management in the context of the current par- projects. The iinplementation strategy consisted of top-

ticipatory approach. down planning, implementation and monitoring of water-

shed projects. This approach did not encourage farmers' WATERSHED MANAGEMENT IN NEPAL participation and hence proved to be unsustainable (WAGLEy, 1997). Terrace construction on the hill-sides and planting of

fodder and fue]wood trees are some of the numerous tradi- Current watershed management approach tional watershed management practices in the IIills.

However, at the government level, niore concerted efferts While most of the projects were implemented on a

started after the establishment of a separate Department of broad watershed basis, some projects, which adopted a

Soil Conservation and Watershed Managernent different approach, were already demonstrating some '5 {DSCWM) in 1974. Watershed management is one of the promising results at the grass-roots level in the early 1990

six primary components of the Master Plan for Forestry s. The Tal Rupa Tal Watershed Management Sector (MPFS, 1989). Over the years, the Departrnent has Project (BTRTfWMP) joint]y {mplemented in the Kaski

District by the DSCWM and CARE International, was one

such Project. The Begnas ancl Rupa lake watersheds, the

'S working area of the Project, Then Department of Soil and Water Conserva- consist of 19km2 and 30km2 tlon respectively. The Project adopted people's participatien as

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its fundamental strategy and was considered as a success- text, the definition of watershed management given by ful project in terms of contr{bution of local people and SHARNm et al. (l997) deserves particular attention,

ownership of the completed activities (BoGATi,1996). Sustainable participatory integrated watershed rnan- Lessons from such projects; persistent financial and agement is defined as utilization and conservation of ]and, manpower constraints; the need to produce more visible water, and forest resources, at farm househo]d and commu- impacts in a short time, ancl further strengthening the nity {or given watershed ) level for continttously improved mechanism of peeple's participation, entailed shifting to livelihood and human deve]opment (SHARMA et al., 1997) the sub-watershed approach. At present, functional sub- People's participation is a rich concept which is inter- watersheds of 5-25kmt are identified for management with preted differently in different situations (WoRLD BANK, emphasis on people's partieipation (AcHE'r,1998). The 1996; OLTHETEN, ]995). However, two aspects are found DSCWM implements a wide range of watershed manage- most commonly in descriptions of people's participation, ment activities such as gully treatment, torrent contro], The first is the involvement of the disadvantaged group conservation planting, fruit and fodder tree planting, train- who have been previously excluded in the development ing, extension etc. which are broadly categorized as: process; and, the second is the stakeholders' influence and ･ Land Use Planning control of the developinent processes which affect them. ･ Land Productivity Conservation {Boc;A-r[, 1995; FAO, 1991; OLTHETEN, 1995; SHARMA et al., ･ Development Infrastructure Proteetion 1997; WoRLD BANK 1996). Following this it can be concluded ･ Natural Hazard Prevention that in the people's participation process, people's emp- - Community Soil Conservation owerment is vital so that they can take initiatives and 'Guidelines In 1993, the for People's Participation in contribute to ancl control the development process. Soil Conservation and Watershed Management' was

premulgated by the Department. The Guidelincs makes it METHODOLOGY mandatory to work through the Users' Groups (UG) for detailed planning of activities, {mplementation, mainte- This study is mainly based on the data obtained from nance and fellow-up and benefit sharing, However, the the socioeconomic survey conducted by Japan Interna-

willingness of the people to participate in the watershed tional Cooperation Agency (JICA) in the Western Hills of

management activities also depends upen the significance Nepal. Observations made by this author in the field

of the activjties in their daily life. Hence, it is crucial to surveys in one of the Village Development Committees understand the people's cencerns and their socioeconomic (VDC), the lowest administrative unit in Nepal, have also condition in order to formulate rnore pragmatic watershed been utilized wherever appropriate, A socioeconomic

inanagement policies, Although the guidelines are silent base]ine survey for the JICA Development Study on Inte- about the ultirnate objective of people's participation, they grated Watershed Management in the Western Hills of did however provide an irnpetus for strengthening the Nepal was carried out from December 1995 to September participatory watershecl management approach in Nepal. 1996. This study was conducted in two districts, namely Unlike {n the past when all the cost was borne by the Kaski and Parbat, It covered 19 VDCs in the Kaski district. projects, now the local people have to provide unskilled Thc area covered by the survey is approximately 29,521 ]abor, and the projects or the DSCO (District Soil Conser- ha. vation Office) provide censtruction materials and cash for The survey comprised a Household Survey, wh{ch the skilled labor. Therefore, contribution of unski]led included a survey of the household heads; and a Household

labor by the local people is a condition in the current Members Survey, which included a survey of the househo]d

watershed management approach. members. Approx{mate]y 4,668 households and 10,624

Nevertheless, despite the formulation ef more pro- household members were surveyed in the Kaski clistrict gressive policy measures, there are still preblems to over- (JICA!HMG, 1998). come in the present situution. The tradition of fixing tar- gets is still pursuecl. Despite the wide flexibility demanded Survey method

by the participatory appruach, all the watershed manage- ment activities are fitted {nto the predefined framework. The survey method consistecl of structured question- The voice of high caste and elite dominates the users' naires for the household survey and household mernber groups (KAyAsTHA, 1997; OLTiiETEN, 1995), survey. An administrative survey was conducted through However, recently the need for a paradigm shift from contact with key informants such as school teachers, local the physical target-oriented development strategy to one political leaders, leading farmers etc. The survey team focusing on process strengthening and capacity building of consisted of 5 groups, each having 6 enumerators and a the local peeple has been emphasized (SiiARMA, 1997; group supervisor, These survey groups were supervised by NAGAME, 1997; DANmA 1996; OupHETEN,1995). In this con- the Field Supervisor. The informatien collected by the

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28 Lamichhane et al.

l2 enumerators was verified by the Group Supervisors and the h Field Supervisor. iv 1,Ob･-[e

o.,v･! CASTE SYSTEM IN NEPAL

O.6:tl

As it is diverse in geographica] and ecological setting, O,4---nt･=Jt Nepal is inhabited by various caste and ethnic groups with o.2 diverse culture, social customs and life style. The caste

system was legalized in the entire country in 1854 (BisTA, o.o

1991). AIthough it was legally abolished in 1963, the tradi- o.e o.2 o,4 o.6 o.s 1,o 1.2

tional taboos based on caste are still prei,alent in the OwnershipnfimlundCha)

soclety. Fig, 2 Ownership of farmland by sample househo]ds

Caste composition in the Kasl{i district pcople'sconcerns. Kaski district is inhabited by various caste house-

holds e.g, Brahmin, Chhetri, Thakuri, Gurung, Magar, Land ownership by castelethnic households:

Kunwar, Karni, Damai, Sarl{i etc. In Kaski district, the

sample households consist of 48% BrahminlChhetri, 17% Farmland in Nepal is basically categorized as Khet- Gurung/Magar!Kunwar and 23% DamailKarni/Sarki land {irrigated low]and} and the Bariland (rainfed up- caste households. The rest consist of various other castes. Iand). Rice, maize, wheat etc are grown in the Khetland, For the purpose of this study the sample households have whereas maize, wheat, mustard, millet etc. are grown in the been categorized into the following thFec groups, which Bariland. Fodder trees are mostly grown in the Bari]and. comprise more than 88% of the sample population. The size of the landholding determines food production, anima] fodder, preduction of crop residues, number of

i) Brahmin/Chhetri (BC): livestock to be supported and overall livelihood of a family. Brahmins rank highest in the caste h{erarchy and along with Chhetris they form a majority of the influential i) Overall land ownership pattern in the study area: and wealthy people of traditional Ncpal (Bis'rA, 1996) . The The inequality of lancl ownership among the house- main occupations of Brahmin and Chhetri are farming and holds ln general is illustrated in Fig. 2. It shows that about

govermnent servlce, 80% of the householcls own approxirnately half of the

farmland whereas the remaining 20% own the other half ii) Gurung, Magar and Kunwar (GMK): showing a great disparity. Gurung and Magar are ethnic groups. Gurung and Magar are famous for their service {n the army. They ii ) Househelds without farmlancl:

generally live in the up]and ancl many people work away The number of households without farmland differs frorn home. significantly among the castefethnic groups. About 1.6% of the BC, 5.5% of the GMK and 13.2% of the KDS iii) Karni, Damai, Sarki (KDS): households do not own any farmland. These are the lower caste people, also known as the

occupational caste, Kanii, Damai and Sarki are black- iii) Ownership of Khetland: smiths, tailors and cobblers respectively. They are consid- Both the BC and the GMK own a significantly greater ered as untouchables by the rest of the social groups. The area ef Khetland than the KDS. Ownership of Khetland is

situation of ]ew caste is characterized by their ownership a status symbol in Nepa]. On average, BC households own

of on]y marginal cropland or no land at all, serving higher O.43 ha of Khetland followecl by O.34 ha by GMK and O.07

castes through trade of skiils for food, lack of access to ha by KDS households. About 70% of the KDS households

credit, and poor nutrition and educatien (EvANs, 1997). do not own any Khetland.

SOCIO.ECONOMIC CONI}ITIONS iv) Ownership of Bariland:

OF THE CASTEfETIINIC HOUSEHOLDS The KDS households own an average of O.09 ha of Bariland compared to O.19 ha owned by the BC and GMK The socioeconomic variables considered for the pur- households. Households that do not own any Bariland

ef analysis are land pose ownership, source of cash inceme, coinprise 15.5% of total huuseho]ds for the KDS, but only fuelwood, drinking water, ]ivestock , crop production and 9.3 and 6.7% for the BC and GMK respectively.

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An Analysds of the Socioeconomic Conditionsof the Rutul feoplebased on Ctzste 29

Table1 Source of cash inceme of caste!ethnic householdsTable2 Ownership of private trees by sample households

Source of cash income BC GMK KDS Type of trees BC GMK KDS

People's concern for cash income (score 7818.210.25.96.321.812.67.0O.717.1 7728.83.64.037.47.23.3L3O.414.1 9218.814.35.23.42.4O.4O.2o.o55.3Fodder trees 21.1 17.2 5

Remittance from family members Fuelwood trees 48 8 53 2 10.5

Timber trees Wage from temporary jobs 9.2 12.7 2.2 Private business IIorticultural trees 19.3 9.6 4.6

})ensionSalary Total {no) 98.4 92.7 22.3 from permanentjob BC=Brahmin/Chhetri Se]ling IivestockfDairy proclucts GMK=GurungfMagarfKunwar Selling crops KDS=KamilDamaifSarki Selling forest products Others

BC:=Brahmin/Chhetri unit-%hh tant activity in the rural area. Depending on various GMK=GurunglMagar!Kunwar factors such as ownership of private land, access to the KDS=KamifDamai!Sarki eommunity forest, supply of forest products from the pri- vate lands etc., villagers have to spend considerable time on

fuclwood coHection.

Source of cash income i ) Fuelwood consumption: In the Kaski district, average per capita consumption The sample households derive their income from of fuelwood is 427kg per year. High caste households various sources such as selling crops, selling livestock and consume 429kg, GMK consume 467kg and KDS consume dairy products, pensions, salary from permanent jobs, 422kg of fuelweod per person per year. remittance from family members, wages from temporary jobs, private business and other sources (Table1). The ii ) Households purchasing fuelwood: 'other' sources of income include poultry farming, house About 5.7% of the total households purchase rent, bank interest, wage labor, selling fruit, tailoring, fuelwood. There is not much difference among the castef fuelwood-5.6, mechanics, portering etc. ethnic groups regarding the purchasing of Per The major sources of income for the BC households 5.3 and 6.4% for BC, GMK and KDS respective]y. among the with ara salaries from permanent jobs (22%), remittances from cupita purchasing ishighest GMK 324 kg, and livestock while the BC and KDS 257kg and 235kg respec- family members (l8.2%) , selling creps prod- purchase ucts (20%). The GMK households derive most of their tively. income frorn pensions (37%) and remittances from fami]y members (29%). On the other hand the KDS households iii) Walking distance to fuelweocl forest: 'other approx{mately to mainly derive their income frorn seurces' (55%), The KDS have to walk 65 minutes to 48 minutes by the main]y daily wage labor. They also depend on remittances reach the fuelwood forestcompared

from family members (19%). BC and GMK households. Members of all caste households have a generally

high degree of concern for cash income. KDS household iv) Ownership of private forest:

members have the bighest degree of concern for cash in- About 15% of the sample househo]ds own private

the and 22% come, This is justified by the fact that the BC and the forest.Approximately 20% of BC households GMK households have relatively stable sources of income of the GMK households own private forest, compared to

the total sueh as salaries from permanent job and pensions, compar- only 4.5% of the KDS households. About64% of ed to the KDS households who are mainly dependent on private forest is owned by the BC group, 25% by the GMK, by others. wages from temporary jobs and other sources. 5% by the KDS households and 6%

Fuelwood v) Ownership of private trees by caste heuseholds: Trees on farmland are an important source of fodder,

Wood is the basic source of fue] in Nepal, supplying fuelwood and fruits. The trees found on the farmland are about 73% of the total energy consumption (CBS, 1996). mainly foclcler trees, fuelwoed trees, timber trees and horti-

More than 97% of the households in the Kas]{i district cultural trees. The caste households show a significant

consider it as the major source of fuel for cooking, heating ownership pattern of these various types of trees,

and other related needs. Fuelwood collection is an impor- The BC and GMK households own significantly more

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trees than the low caste. Table2 shows that BC households Table3 Ownership of livestock by sample households

own moro fodder and horticu]tura] trees, whereas the GMK Livestock BC GMK KDS households own more fuelwood and timber trces. CowBuffaloGoatSheepPigChicken 1.01 1.01 O.57

1.5,4 1.23 O.82 vi) Membership of community forest: O.68 O.67 O.23 An analysis was done to examine whether there is any O.06 O.22 O.01 difference among the caste households pertaining to the O.Ol O.04 O.08 membership of the community forest. The analys{s showed 2.87 2.96 1.57 that approxirnately 65% of all the caste groups have become members of the cominunity forest and did not show BC=BrahminlChhetri

a significant difference among the castefethnic groups. GMK=GurunglMagar/Kunwar KDS=KamilDamaifSarki

Drinking water

i ) Source of drinking water: spring in wet season whereas the BC and KDS spend 25.5 The main sources of drinking water in the i-Iills are and 3e.5 minutes respectively. In general, the KDS spend piped water and spring water. A smal] proportiun of the more time collecting drinking water than the other two

also uses river water. four households There are types of caste groups. households based on their use of water in the dry and wet

seasons-the householcls who tise pipecl water in both sea- iii) Walking distance to drinldng water source for KDS

sons, househe]ds who use spring water in both seasons, households based on their location: households who use water in piped wet season and spring Further {nvestigations were made to verify whether water in dry season, and the others who use piped water in the time spent by KDS househo]ds differed with regard to dry season and spring water in wet season. their settlement in caste/ethnic majority wards. The KDS

The GMK households have the highest percentage have to spend more t{ine fetching drinking water regardless

(76%) using piped water in both seasons, followecl by 63% of their settlement in BC or GMK major{ty wards. of the BC households and 59% of the KDS househo]ds.

About 22% ef the BC households and 23% of the KDS Livestock

households use spring water {n both seasons compared to only 11% of the GMK households. As more water is Livestock is an integral part of the farming system in available the wet season, there during are some households Nepal. In the IIills Iivestock rearing is considered as the who use piped water in the wet season and spring water in second most irnportant activity and it contributes about

the dry season. A very sma]1 proportionof the households 27% of the total household income (RAJBHANDARi et al., use water the season and piped in dry the spring water in 1981). In a crepping systems research study conducted in the wet season. Pumdi Bhumdi VDC of the Kaski district, RANA et al. (1981) found that livestock contributed 24% of the house- to drinking water ii)Walkingdistance source: hold income, Five main reasons are given by the farmers There is significant difference in the walking distance for owning livestock (RANA et al., 1981)/ depending on the type of drinking water source. Generally, 1. Cashincome the time taken to get piped water is shorter than for spring 2. Food for household consumption water. Similarly, it takes more time to fetch drinking 3. Draught power water in the dry season than in the wet season. There isnot 4. Compest; and much difference in the time for fetching piped water for i Festivals and other eccasions drinking among the three caste groups. The range is Cattle, buffale, goats, pigs, sheep and chickens are the between minutes 12 for the GMK households in the wet major livestock and poultry raised by the caste househoids

season and 17 rninutes for the KDS households in the dry in the study area.

season. Table 3 shows that both the BC and the GMK heuse- IIowever, there is remarkable difference in the time holds own more livestock than the low caste households. spent on water froin fetching drinking the springs in the dry This is pessibly because the supply ef fodder and forage is season. BC households spend theshortest time of about l4 greater on the farmland. This situation gives the high caste minutes, followed by GMK spending about 35 minutes, households easy access to animal products such as milk, while spend most the KDS have te the tirnei.e.43 minutes meat, butter etc. A larger numbcr of animals also means to fetch drinking water from the spring in the dry season. more manure for crop production. spend only about minutes to GMK 13 fetchwater from the Tree fodder is an important source of feed fer the

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31 An Analys'is of the Socioeconom.ic Conditionsof the Rural feoplebased on Claste

Table4Corrrelation matrix for people's concerns tt h･--=-pa=g:g":enNn o8tsts8E:ti'aE .th.4-.=y."g-.-)g-=iE:o E-r"svEzv=avvEAvesn>,c-b-Nr-geavgkiyin 5vog;a'va-orE skYrr=U-eg---8Jvm >,･-->･.-.gvEAguv h･･.-]=.pa=gEovvopt

iba?!･.e.yg-o-thmvg:-pEgv, la""=.na=y-"v:la veVF-ea=uttse ffggta=:in ze2Etetsin h;Lx.E-8= Concerns i'sgebe--=Efi g'sgsvo=om se'F.tsgn I8.EE8 g"'jat.:lt

Cropproductivity1 Irrigation.,blli491 Landslideso.2eO.031 Flood O.19O.02O.731 Maint.OfterraceO.32O.Z7O,75O.731 Fuelwood-D.06o.oo-O.2or'-O.25-O.311 ' Fodder U.17O.16-O.26-O,15-O.20iellilso1 Forestresources-O.03-O,07-e.11'-O.22-O.33e.74O.491 DrinkingwaterO.25O.28O.06O.09O.18O.06O.IS-O,141 FoottrailsO.42O,32U.26O.33O.46-O.28-O,04-e.23O.391 ElectricilysupplO.17O.28-O,OIO.13O.09-O.26e.oo-e.25-O.OlO.221 MotorableroadsO.37O.48O.08O.TlO,L2-o.lr,O.09-O.18O.20O,46'fi1ii421 CommunicationO.33O.50O.20O.33O,36-O,28-O.06-O.30O.16o.q,tO.28'O.611 HealthfacilityO.11-O.28O.19O,16O,07O.04-O.07O.27-O,08O.02O.06-O.12-O,25I Meeting O.34O.19O.07O.19O.22-O,50-O.29-O.39O.12O.45D･;l2O.32O.27･･lb,1371 WorshipofGodO.18O.38O.10O.24O.21-e.21-O.06-O.i4e.23o.Jrlo,osO,16O.49-O.30O.151 LabourforceO.16o.3eO.22O,17O.21-O.14-O.07O.03e,osO.44-O.02O,IZO.40-O.32-O.04.･e.791 FamilypianningO.11O.15o.ooO.05-O.09O.19O.24O.38o,oc,e.,aoO.Ole.18O.07O.07-D.OlO.37'O,481 NucationofchildreanO.16O.40O.Ol-O.05O.04-O.17-O,02O,06O.IOO.33e,ooO,21U.27-O.06O,30'e.fi2'U,471101411 Se]fEducationO.18o,ooO.28O.19O.09O.13O,09O.46o.ooO.14-O,10o.ooO.02o.'e7O,08e.25'O.36.O.41O.Z9I CashincomeO.21O.26-O.12-e.ol-O.OlO.38O.54'o.:{eO.19O.19O,14e,:l3O.07O.31-O,28O.18O.16O.37O.12O,161 FoodvailabMtyO.11O,IZO.06-O.03o,ozO.05O.23-O.12O.18O,2,iO.2SO.16-O,05-e.18-O.04O.21O.18O.19O.16-O.07el.3s1

animals in the dry season when forage grass is not avail- BC households apply chemical fertilizer to all their crops able. The ownership ef more trees provides the high caste than the other two castes. Genera]ly the KDS h()useholds households with a base for supporting more animals than have the smallest percentage applying chemical fertilizer

the lower castes. to their crops.

Crop production ii ) Crop productivity: Productivity of rice in the Khet]and indicates a c}ear

High castes have higher crop The main crops grown in the study area are rice, differencebased on caste. are mixed maize, wheat, mustard etc in the Khetland, and maize, productivity than the lower castes. There

wheat, millet etc. in the Bariland. Among the crops results in the Bariland. GMK households have the highest

in the Bariland across all crops. Produc- produced by various caste households, rice contributes the crop productivity major proportion. Howcver, it is the highcst in BC house- tivity ef millet is higher in the GMK and KDS households holds (62%), then GMK households {57%) and least (45%) than in the BC households. in the KDS households. All castes produce maize in siniilar proportion Degree of concern of castelethnic households (18-21%), Wheat contributes Iittle to total crop produc- tion {4-7%). There is s{gnificant difference {n the produc- As there are d{fferences in the socioeconoinic condi- tion of millet in the three caste households. Millet contrib- tions of the caste households, so there are significant utes 13%, 18% and 30% to total crop production for the BC, differences in the degree of concern expressed by the caste GMK and KDS households respectively. households. The degree of concern reflects the percent of ''strong household members who answered that they have

i) Use of chemical fertilizer in various crops: concern'' for a particular issue. Generally there are more farmers who apply chemical Thc h{gh caste BC households have a high degree of fertilizer in the Khetland than in the Bariland. More of the concern for cash income, food, crop productivity, irrigation

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32 Lamichhane et aL

Table5 Categoryof concerns of sample houselds MainCategorySub-Category Presentconcerns DegreeofVarianceRadarchartvariable

a.Cropprocluctivity High 1.Productivityb.Irrigation Medium A.Agriculture a.Landslidesandsoilerosion IIigh * 2.Erosion b.FIood IIigh

c.Maintenanceofterrace Medium

a.Fuelwoodavailability Veryhigh * B.Forestry 1.Forestry b.Feddderavailabilty High c.Forestresources Mediuin

a.Drinkingwater IIigh * C.Drinkingwater b.Foottrails High a.Electricitysupply Low b.Metorableroacls I.ow D.Infrastructure c.Communicationfacility IIigh

d.Healthfacility IIigh * ' e.Meetingoncommunitydeve]opmentMedium

1.Culture a.WorshipofGod Medjum a.Laborforceavailability High 2.Labor E.Culture b.Familyp]anning Low t.Medium 3.Educationa.Educationofchildren * b.Se]feducation Low

1.Cash a.Cashincome F,Livelihoodsecurity2.Kind Low a.Foodavailability High *

and drinking water availability. The GMK households groups. have a high degree of concern for cash income, irrigation, I. Fodder availability food, crop productivity,and forest resources. The low Fuelweod availability caste KDS households place their highest degree of concern Forest Resources

for cash income, food, fodder availability, fuelwood availa- II . Crop productivity bility and drinking water avai]ability. Irrigation III. Motorable roads RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOCIOECONOMIC Communication facilities

CONDITIONS OF THE CASTEfETHNIC IV. Landslides and soil erosion GROUPS AND THEIR CONCERNS Maintenance of terraces Floods

Categorization of people's concerns V. Meeting on community deve]opment Electricity supply i) Generalcategor{zationi Health

Since there are too many variables for individual VI. Farnily plann{ng observation, it was necessary to categorize them into Education of children

manageable numbers. A correlatien matrix was construct- Self education

ed for all the concerns (Table 4 ), An initial grouping was VII. Cash income done based on the highest correlation. As a result the Food availability concerns have been categorized into the fol]ewing nine 1]Ifi. Worship of God

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An Analysis of the Sbcioecvnomic Conditions of the RunilPeopgebased on Caste 33

''rlw'caste Armaia vDc-2 Brahninfchhetri majority ward Bhadaur'e' {'amAliJi Aiajorilg'ward

Land sTide and soiT erosion l.and slide and soil erosion }UOi .100 F"e'W O V ' F'iCTW ' " ' 't ' 'T i i i t i

,1 ,l:l,i Ii.1 Ii.I [l[:.1xx!)lll,,.., ll.iltgl,,, lll:aZl･1!)llidren II,,l,tw.,,,l.k,,,

1 ------I Ethnic -2 greup majority ward i' -9 CastefEthnic group-mixed ward

Lnnd slide and soit crosion Land slide and soil erosion TOO IPO- .

F"ei"O d V ' i ' F"e'" i V i 5 'i ' ;:,rili.1.ii,li,kpa,. kIl.1)r,117lli.,,.:1lnlilgllII lll/,,,as1.. :[lailtl::lidren IIenTth Health I

Fig.3 Degree of concern of castelethnic households

Labor force availability variation among the VDCs and the wards within the VDC IX. Drinking water supp]y as well, In VDC, the radar chart is sharply tapered

Feot trails towards the natural resources side because of high cuncern

for drinking water availability, although there is more

ii ) Categorization for radar chart analysis: shaded area on the socioeconomic side. In Mauja VDC, the Radar chart analysis has bcen done in order to under- shaded area in the radar chart forms closer tu a rectangu- stand the characteristics, especially the needs, of the indi- lar shape with re]atively moderate scores fer all concerns,

viduai wards. There are nine wards in a VDC. There are Two distinct trends are observed in this VDC. The ward ]vFDCs 144 wards from 19 covered by the study, Each ward nos. 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 have low concern for lanclslides, while

comprises of 32 to 160 households covering an average area the others have high concern forlands]ides and soi1 erosion.

of l96 ha (5.3-1,199 ha). Ameng them, wards 2, 3, 5 and 6 are ethnic group majority The concerns were further categorized into agricul- wards, and ward 4 is a low caste majerity ward. ture, forestry, drinking water, infrastructure, culture and The VDC has greater concern for fuelwood in livelihoed security (Table 5 ). Wherever appropriate, sub- ward no 7, 8 and 9. Armala-7 is an ethnic group majority

categories have been formed under the main categories. ward, and Armala-8 and 9 are ]ow caste majority wards,

For example agricu]ture is further divicled into productiv- and these groups have only limited access to forest

ity and erosion subcategories. Concern for crop production resources. Although the walking distance to fuelwood and irrigation are {ncluded in the productivity subcategory, forest is shorter than other wards, difficult access to while the coneerns for lands]ides and f]oods have been fuelwood forest can be the reason for high concern for

included in the erosion subcategory. One representative fuelwood availability. AII the wards have a Iarge shaded

concern from each group was selecteci according to their area for secioeconomic concerns. In most ef the wards of degree of variance and relative importance in the group. the Pumdi Bhumdi VDC, the radar chart is tapered to the

The selected concerns are food avai]abi]ity, health facil- socioeconomic side with high concern for food availability.

ities, education of children, lanclslides and soil erosion, In the VDC there is high concern for

fuelwood availability and drinking water availability. landslides,

Among the above six variables considered for the Adoptien of an appropriate strategy for watershed

construction of radar chart, concerns for food availability, management depends upon the characteristics of each

education of children ancl health care facilities are consid- ward. In this context it is desirable to have an understand-

ered as the ones related to socioeconomic aspects, On the {ng of the factors which influence the people's concerns.

other hand, landslides and soil erosion, drinking water

availabi}ity, and fuelwood availabi]ity arc considered as Factors influencing people's concerns the concerns related to natural resources aspects, Generally the people are morc concerned with the Stepwise regression analysis has been conductecl in socioecenomic aspects (Fig.3). However, therc is wide order to determine the factors influencing the concerns for

J Fbx Plann.6:25-,5'7(200pt

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34 Lamichhane et al.

the availability ef fuelwood and food. RR =O.705=O.497=O.478=12.8312

square

i ) Possible predictor variables considered for regression Adjusted R square analysis: Standard errer XL-Shortage of cereals-monthsfyrfhousehold (hh} The above model suggests that area of total Barilancl X2-Illiteracy-% ef economically active population in is the most inlluential predictor variable (negatively) of the ward w{thout any formal educution the concern for fuelwood availability, followecl by walking X3-Livestock population-head/hh (cows, buffalo and distanee to fuelwood forest (positively). Fodder and goats} fuel",ood trees are traditionally grown in the Bariland. X.-Ownership of Bariland-hafhh Therefore, it is natural to have such an influence in the X,-Ownership of Khetland-halhh regression mode]. Although the Khetland is a]most devoid XG-Total Khetland-total area of Khetland-owned and of any trees, ownership of Khetland also has a negative

rented halhh. effect on the concern for the fue]wood availability. rvlem- X7-Total Bariland-total area of Bariland-owned and bership of househo]ds {n community forests is positively rented halhh. related with the concern for fuelwood ai,ailability. Xs-Absentec family rnembers-% in the ward Xg' Produetion of paddy-kgfyr/hh Food availability Xio'' Production of wheat-kglyrlhli Xii-Production of maize-kgfyr/hh Regression model for degree of concern for food availability: Xi2-Production of millet-kg!yr!hh cm=47.142--5.636X,F1,269X,-O.O09Xg-O,088X"+O.261X,-O.176Xn XL:-Floed damage-hafhh Ct=7.036)(tr8.705)(iT2.530)U=-3.156)(t=-3.420)(t=2.927)(t=-2.l79) Xi4-Landslide damage-halhh where Xis-Ownership of horticultural trees-no.fhh CM =Concern for food availabi]ity (score)

Xie-Walking distance to piped water in dry season- Regression statistics: mmutes R =O.779

XiT-Walking distance to piped water in wet season- Rsquared =O.606

mlnutes Adjusted R squared =O.589 Xiu-Walking distance to spring water in dry season- Standard error =8.4091 rnlnutes Shortage of cereals is the most important predictor Xiv-Wall

mlnutes paddy has a negative effect en the degree of concern for X!o-"ialking distance to river water in dry season- food availability, but illiteracy and livestock have a posi- mlnuteF tive effeet. Illiteracy is negat{vely correlated with produc- X2i-Wa]king distance to river water in dry season- tion of paddy, maize, rnillet; tree ownership etc. The poer nllllutes households, especially the Iow castes, have little opportu-

X22-Participation in community forest-% of members nity to get education, In the study area, the il]iterate male in the ward household members comprise 44% in low caste households X2u-No, of trees on farmland-no.fhh (horticultural,compared to 18.4% and 14.6% in the GMK and BC house- fodder, fuelwood and timber trees) holds respectively. The situation is worse in the case of X24-One-way walking distanee to fue]wood forest- females who are 81% {11{terate in low caste households and

mlnutes 51% in the GMK and BC households. Therefore it is

X2s-Forest area in the ward-ha normal to have increasing concern for food availability X26-Proportion of forest area (%) with a higher percentage of il]iterate households in the X27-Population of the ward ward.

Lack of productive livestock can be one of the rea- Fuelwood availabi]ity sons for a positivc relation between concern for food

availability and number of livestock. Wa]king distance to

Regression modcl for degree of concern for fuelwood avail- piped water in wet season is negatively related. Wa]king

abilityiCEPV=65.824+O.217X.-116.629X,+O.083X.-20.526X,+O,OZeX,, distance to the fuelwood forest is also negatively related

with the degree of concern for food availability. AIthough (l=11.220) (t-5.798) (t=-6.005) {t=2.8> (t=･-2.616} (t=2.el6)the effect is very marginal, the probable reasens could be where that those who havc settled un the lower parts of the hills

=Concern CF"' for fuelwood availability (score) with more level terraces have a greater wa]king distance to Regression statistics: the forest.

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An Analysis of the St)cioeconomic Conditions of the Ruvalpeopgebased on dnte 35

Conflicts in community forests have already appeared, IMPLICATION FOR SUITABLE partly because of lack of involvement of Iow caste house- WATERSHED MANAGEMENT holds (PouDEL, I996). This is particularly significant when

more and more forests are being brought under community

Appropriate watershed management is fundarnental management. to stabilize the physical environrnent ancl to increase the Within a VDC, mest of the activities are conducted on preductivity of the watershed resources, The Forest Act a ward basis. So it is important to know the characteristics (1993) emphasizes the direct involvement of the local users of each ward regarding the people's needs, The radar chart in forest management in the forrn of community forests. analysis showed that generally the needs are more for People's participation is a fundarnental strategy in water- socioeconomic aspects such as food availability, health shed management (DSCWM, 1993). facility and education of children. This means that people An impertant assumption is that all the users of will be more attracted to the activities which help to selve community forests are equal-a description made from the the prob]em ef food availability. Radar charts show that perspective of the membership pattern, Also, in watershed foed availability is a high concern for the KDS majority managernent the local people are required to centribute wards whereas education of children is a bigger concern in

unskil]ed laber in order to implement various activ{t{es. the BC majority wards. Thus it is important to implement Here also it is assumed that everybody can participate watershed management activities based on the characteris- equally. tics of the particular ward or community.

This study was basecl on the hypothesis that peop]e's It is obvieus that since the low caste househo]ds own concerns are based on their socioeconumic background and less farmland, they have more concern for food availabil-

the incentive for participation would come from the reflec- ity. The low caste households produce only 43% of cereals tion of their concern in the proposed activities. The analy- compared with the high caste households. Regression sis in this study revealed that there is an apparent gap analysis also revealed that shortage of cereals is the big- among the castefethnic groups regarding their socio- gest predictor variab]e for foed availability. The shortage economic condition. The gap is particularly wide between of cereals is mere prominent for these who have lower crop the upper castes!ethnic groups and the lower caste house- production. Illiteracy is another factor which increases holds. concern for food availability. There is negative correlatien

The lower caste households have Iess farrn]and than between the percentage of illiterate population in the ward the high caste and ethnic group. As found in the regression and the ownership of Khctland (-O.33) and Bari]and analysis, Bariland is the most important factor for concern (-O.27). Eradication of illiteracy wou]d ]ead to wider abQut fuelwood availability, The less Bariland, the greater vision and enhance the analytical capabilities of the local

the concern for the fuelwood avai]ab{lity. Also the walking people to find alternatives for income generation. There-

distance to the fuelwood forest, which is another important fore, stronger measures for the education of local people

factor, is higher for the KDS households, and so concern for are needed.

fuelwood availability is higher for them, Lower crop production, which is partly relatcd to

When the national forests are handed over to the ownership of fewer livestock, means that low caste house-

users' groups, they impose strict rules abeut procluct har- holds have to spend rnore time to solve their hand-to-mouth vesting and access to ferests (GRANEH 1997). Quite often, problems of daily survival. In such cases they will not have access to forests is allowed only for a limited time of the enough incentive to participate in watershed management year. It was observed in the Arrnala VDC that the forests activities which do not bring benefit in a short period. Any are generally open for about twe months in the winter i.e. watershed management activity that emphasizes farmland January-February. The forest users told the authors that does not contribute rnuch to the benefit of the low caste that is free time without major agricultural operations. people. However, the specific time for opening {s further decided The upper castes have more stable sources of income by each forest users' committee. In one of the community compared to thc Iow castes who inainly depend upon their forests where the lew castes are also members, the forest is temporary wage labor to solve their hand-to-mouth prob-

open only for two days, lem. It is evident from the analysis that the low caste

The low caste people who cannet supply much of people have the highest degree of concern for cash income. their own forest products other than from community Therefore the lower castes will be more interested in forests suffer the most due to long closure of the forest. In income-generating activities which bring benefit in the the absence of viable alternatives, the Iower castes have to short term. Only then we can expect them to participate in resort to i]legal means to obtain forest products which the activities re]ated to forestfwatershed conservation. It leads to social conflicts. On the other hand, BC and GMK is necessary to implement income-generating activities in households may obtain fuelwood from their private land. view of their socioeconomic condition.

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36 Lamichhane et ag.

One of their greatest daily concerns is the fetching of together with promotion of environrnental conservation, dr{nking water and fuelwood. It is important to consider even if such endeavors entail changes in the existing policy

how to reduce the time taken for these activities. This will framework, In order to avoid conflicts and ensure equity in

not only reduce the burden of women but also allow them resource distribution, policy arrangements must ensure to be invo]ved in other productive works. I'iped water that the soc{ally and economically disadvantaged people supply, as observed in the above analysis, has been quite get a fair share.

effective in reducing the time taken to fetch drinking water, ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Very little attention has been paid to the soeio- eeonomic condition of the local people in watershed man- The authers extend their sincere acknowledgements agement planning (DscwM, 1996). IIowever, in the par- to Professor Dr. Mitsuhiro MiNowA for his valuable coin- tic{patory approach it is important that househoids of all ments and to JICA for giving permission to use their castes take part in the watershcd management prograrn. clatabase for this study. So unless we consider such differences, the low caste people

will have less incentive to participate in watershed manage- LITERATURE CITED ment activities. This will jeopardize the essence of the

participatory approach of invelving disadvantaged groups AcHE'r, S. H., (1998)/A framework for participatory integrated

in thc watershecl management program and will limit the resource management standards for the mountain areas: lessons

chance of improving their livelihood. from watershed management in Nepal, 20pp

Bts'rA, D. B., (199D/Fatali$m and clevelepment : Nepal's struggle fer CONCLUSION rnodernization. Orient Longman Ltd., India, t86pp BisTA, D. B., (1996}:People of Nepal. Ratna Pustak Bhandar, Kath- mandu,218pp The present policy measures pertaining to forest CEN'rRAL BuRi,'Au oF STATis'rEcs, (1996):Statistical pocket book of watershed conservation have defined the local peeple by a of 'user'. Nepal. CentralBureau Statistics,Kathmandu, 327pp sing]e word It is also assumed that al] users can CEN'rHAL BuRE'Au oF STAvs'rics, (1997)/ Statistical year beok of Nepal. participate equally, The analysis in this study, however, Central Bureau of Statistics, Kathmandu, 403pp revealed that even if the users are similar in their use of a EvANs, C., (1997}/Qualitative evaluation report of the Begnas Tal particular resource, there is a wide gap among them in RupaTal Watershed Management Project (BTRT) for CARE- terms of their socioeconomic conditien. This gap ref]ects Nepal, Kathmandu, 25pp their castefethnic background-the traditional social struc- GRANEH, E. (1997)/The political ecolegy of community forestry in ture in NepaL Nepa]. Verlag fur Entwicklungspolitik Saarbrucken, Germany, 372 analysis showed ownership Statistical that the of ppJICAfDEpiwrNTENT

farmland is an important factor in relation to eoncerns oF FoREsTRy AND WAi'ER REsouRcEs DEvELopMENT,

about foed and fue]woed availability. Those who do not (1997):Conservation of forest resources based on lecal people's own much farm]and have high concern. For them the initiatives JICA, 127pp "n Japanese) public forests are an irnportant source of fuelweod and JICAfHMG, (1998):The development study on integrated watershed other forest products. management in the Western Hills of Nepal Socioeconomic Baseline Survey main report. Japan Ferest Technical Association (JAFTA) Relatively stable sources of income for the upper Kokusaikogyo Co, Ltd., Z37pp castes and ethnic groups place theni in a betLer position KADoTA, T. and NisHioKA, Y., (1994}:Needs of the people in the Nepal than the Iower caste households who have to depend on hill areas and ierestry cxtension. The Tropical Forestry New their daily wage labor. If the households have to spend Series 30/ 2-13(in Japanese) their daily tirne in wage labor, they cannot bc expected to KAyAs'rt{A, B. N., BAJRAcHARyA, K. M. and STTREsHTHA, A., "997) , Final participate in watershed management by making contribu- evaluation Begnas Tal Rupa Tal {BTRT) Watershed Management tions for free. Also they have to spend more time in Project. CARE Nepal Department of Soil Conservation and collection of fuelwood and drinking water which lirnits Watershed Management, Kathmandu, 74pp their opportunity to participate in watershed management MAHA'v, T. B. S., GRiFFiN, D. M. and SitEpiiERD, K. R., (1986)/ Human activities. Their high concern for cash income necessitates impact on some of the forests of the Middle HMs of Nepal, Part-l, implementation of a wide range of measures to improve Mountain Research and Development 6(3): 223-232

their livelihood. In particular, income-generating activities MEi){AN, J. R., AMm'yA, D. B., HA-'KEs, E, G,, SITATcyA, P, M, and

need to be implemented in view of their socioeconemic SEiFMAN, R. M., (1985};Evaluation report Resource Conservation

condition. und Utilization Project Nepa]. International Science and Teehno]-

Inc, It is important that these concerns of the ]ocal people ogy, Washington,D.C.,222pp

MiNis'ri{y oF FoREIGN AFFAiHsfDANIDA, be considered while tmdertaking various watershed man- {19g7):NaturalResource

Management Sector Assistance Program Cornponent agernent activities in order to impreve their livelihood (NARMSAP}

NII-Electronic Library Service JapanJapanSociety Society of Forest Planning

An Analysis of the Sbcioeconofnic Conditions of the RuratPboplebased on Cmste 37

Descriptions.MinistryofFereignAffair$fDANIDA,Kathmandu,88 Sthap{t, Lalitpur, Nepa], 87pp

M. P., Status of watershed management in Nepal ppNAGApt{E, WAGLEy, (1997)/ Gn

I., (1997):Assignment Termination Report. Japan Interna- SHARMA P, N, and WAGLEy M. P. (Eds.) (1997): Status of Watershed

tional Cooperation Agency, 30pp Management in Asia). NetherlandsfUNDPfFAO GCPIRASf161 PovDEL, C. K., (1997): Conflicts jn two community forestry user groups NET.RASf93f062 29-34, 82pp at Kaski District. Nepal Banko Janakari J(1):23-27 (Received 21 March 2000)

in Nepal. Mrs. S, STHAp[T, K. M., (1989):SoilConservation Status (Accepted 20 June 2000)

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