5,033 research outputs found

    Population pressure and the microeconomy of land management in hills and mountains of developing countries:

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    Concerns about harmful environmental impacts are frequently raised in research and policy debates about population growth in the hills and mountains of developing countries. Although establishing wildlife corridors and biosphere reserves is important for preserving selected biodiverse habitats, for the vast majority of hilly-mountainous lands, the major ecological concerns are for the sustainability of local production systems and for watershed integrity. What matters for sustained use of those lands not only is the number of producers but also what, where and how they produce. Evidence from empirical research indicates that population growth in hills and mountains can lead to land enhancement, degradation, or aspects of both. This can be explained by extending induced innovation theory to address environmental impacts of intensification. Increases in the labor-land endowment ratios of households and in local land demand and labor supply make the opportunity cost of land relative to labor increase. As a result, people use hilly-mountainous land resources more intensively for production and consumption, thus tending to deplete resources and significantly alter habitats. But, at the same time, capital- and labor-intensive methods of replenishing or improving soil productivity may become economically more attractive, production systems that enhance the land if the expected discounted returns are greater than those of systems that degrade the land. Users will choose production systems that enhance the land if the expected discounted returns are greater than those of systems that degrade the land. In addition to population change, other factors—market conditions, local institutions and organizations, information and technology about resource management, and local ecological conditions—determine the returns from various production systems.Environmental impact analysis., Population density.,

    Sustainability and Replicability of Multiple-Use Water Systems (MUS)

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    The concept of multiple-use water services and systems (MUS) has received increasingattention in international water and development fora and has emerged as a promising wayto enhance the social and gender equity and productivity of water systems designed forsingle use, e.g. for irrigation or water supply. In Nepal, several MUS models have beenpiloted and implemented for more than a decade by the International DevelopmentEnterprises (iDE) and a few other development organizations. Whereas the short-termbenefits of these systems on gender relationships, women's empowerment, nutrition andhealth have been documented, the sustainability and resilience of these systems has not yetbeen analyzed. The latter is the focus of the research study presented in this report, whichwas conducted by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) in Western Nepalas part of the USAID-funded Market Access and Water Technology for Women (MAWTW)project

    Water and poverty linkages: case studies from Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka - Project report 1

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    Water resource management / Water harvesting / Poverty / Hydroelectric schemes / Water potential / Irrigation water / Population / Sanitation / Food security / Waterborne diseases / Disease vectors / Public health / Soil degradation / Drought / Case studies / Women / Households / Wells / Domestic water / Environmental sustainability / Agricultural development

    Climbing the water ladder: multiple-use water services for poverty reduction

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    Multiple use / Models / Water productivity / Research projects / Water supply / Domestic water / Irrigation water / Water governance / Poverty / Gender / Rural areas / Wells / Water harvesting / Runoff / Water storage / Water purification / Appropriate technology / Costs / Local government / Non governmental organizations / Case studies / Ehiopia / Nepal / Zimbabwe / Bolivia / India / Colombia / Thailand / South Africa

    Water poverty in the northeastern hill region (India): potential alleviation through multiple-use water systems: cross-learnings from Nepal Hills

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    Water poverty index / Construction / Multiple use / Water storage / Farming systems / Villages / Social aspects / Drip irrigation / India / Nepal / Nagaland / Mon district / Lampong Sheanghah

    Implications Of Bulk Water Transfer On Local Water Management Institutions: A Case Study of the Melamchi Water Supply Project in Nepal

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    To mitigate a drinking water crisis in Kathmandu valley, the Government of Nepal initiated the Melamchi Water Supply Project in 1997, which will divert water from the Melamchi River to Kathmandu city's water supply network. In the first phase, the Project will divert 170,000 cubic meters of water per day (at the rate of 1.97M3/sec), which will be tripled using the same infrastructure as city water demand increases in the future. The large scale transfer of water would have farreaching implications in both water supplying and receiving basins. This paper analyzes some of the major changes related to local water management and socioeconomics brought about by the Project and in particular the changes in the local water management institutions in the Melamchi basin. Our study shows that traditional informal water management institutions were effective in regulating present water use practices in the water supplying basin, but the situation will vastly change because of the scale of water transfer, and power inequity between the organized public sector on one side and dispersed and unorganized marginal water users on the other. The small scale of water usage and multiple informal arrangements at the local level have made it difficult for the local users and institutions to collectively bargain and negotiate with the central water transfer authority for a fair share of project benefits and compensation for the losses imposed on them. The process and scale of project compensation for economic losses and equity over resource use are at the heart of the concerns and debates about the Melamchi water transfer decision. The Project has planned for a one-time compensation package of about US$18 million for development infrastructure related investments and is planning to share about one percent of revenue generated from water use in the city with the supplying basin. The main issues here are what forms of water sharing governance, compensation packages, and water rights structures would emerge in relation to the project implementation and whether they are socially acceptable ensuring equitable distribution of the project benefits to all basin communities. In addition, these issues of the Melamchi project discussed in this paper are equally pertinent to other places where rural to urban water transfer projects are under discussion
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