Open Space Implications in Urban Development: Reflections in Recent Urban Planning Practices in Nepal

Open space has various implications in urban development planning and has been integrated in recent urban planning approaches and practices in Nepal. The open spaces are not only important for (re)shaping the urban form but are also important for enhancing urban social life and disaster risk management, particularly for dense cities. As most of the cities in Nepal have been growing haphazardly, the cities lack sufficient open space. However, the value of open space in dense cities like Kathmandu has been recognized more after the Gorkha Earthquake 2015 as the open spaces were extensively used for risk relief, treatment, recovery, and rehabilitation during and after the earthquake. With this background, this paper presents the major planning initiatives in Nepal and discusses how recent urban plans have provisioned and initiated open spaces development by reviewing concurrent urban planning practices, particularly reviewing Periodic Plans, Integrated Urban Development Plan, Smart City Plan, and Land Development Plan. The development of open areas has not been given much attention in the earlier urban planning practice but recent urban development planning has emphasized with a special focus which is very important for sustainable and safer city development and is expected to address the current bulging urban issues of spatiality and sociability. Therefore, it is very important for integrating open space implications in city planning and such open space should be conceptualized according to the city’s geography, landscape as well as socio-cultural contexts.

Financial Self-Help Associations among Far West Nepalese Labor Migrants in Delhi, India

Labor migration to India is the most important source of income for people in Far West Nepal. To better understand the effects of labor migration, a research analyzing why and how migrants invest their money in financial self-help organizations was undertaken. Fieldwork was conducted in the communities of origin in Nepal and migrant communities in India. Based on the study, the paper provides an overview of the existing financial self-help associations, their strengths and weaknesses, accessibility and possibilities of benefits and losses for the migrants and their families. The major conclusion is that migration helps to improve income or security but can also undermine a household's financial situation by perpetuating debt and dependency

Variation in grain zinc and iron concentrations, grain yield and associated traits of biofortified bread wheat genotypes in Nepal

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the major staples in Nepal providing the bulk of food calories and at least 30% of Fe and Zn intake and 20% of dietary energy and protein consumption; thus, it is essential to improve its nutritional quality. To select high-yielding genotypes with elevated grain zinc and iron concentration, the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth HarvestPlus Yield Trials (HPYTs) were conducted across diverse locations in Nepal for four consecutive years: 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, and 2018–19, using 47 biofortified and 3 non-biofortified CIMMYT-bred, bread wheat genotypes: Baj#1, Kachu#1, and WK1204 (local check). Genotypic and spatial variations were found in agro-morphological traits; grain yield and its components; and the grain zinc and iron concentration of tested genotypes. Grain zinc concentration was highest in Khumaltar and lowest in Kabre. Likewise, grain iron concentration was highest in Doti and lowest in Surkhet. Most of the biofortified genotypes were superior for grain yield and for grain zinc and iron concentration to the non-biofortified checks. Combined analyses across environments showed moderate to high heritability for both Zn (0.48–0.81) and Fe (0.46–0.79) except a low heritability for Fe observed for 7th HPYT (0.15). Grain yield was positively correlated with the number of tillers per m2, while negatively correlated with days to heading and maturity, grain iron, grain weight per spike, and thousand grain weight. The grain zinc and iron concentration were positively correlated, suggesting that the simultaneous improvement of both micronutrients is possible through wheat breeding. Extensive testing of CIMMYT derived high Zn wheat lines in Nepal led to the release of five biofortified wheat varieties in 2020 with superior yield, better disease resistance, and 30–40% increased grain Zn and adaptable to a range of wheat growing regions in the country – from the hotter lowland, or Terai, regions to the dry mid- and high-elevation areas

Continuity and Change in Population Movement: From Inside a Rural Nepali Community

PhD University of Hawaii at Manoa 1993Includes bibliographical references (leaves 337–356).Most research on territorial mobility is based on an epistemology developed from the western intellectual tradition and there is an absence of perspectives from inside the local cultures to which movers belong. This study is set within the broader question of whether there is continuity or discontinuity in that behavior summarized in the term 'human territorial mobility.' It takes an interpretive stance, where understanding the meanings of human behavior is given more prominence than normative positions. A focus on rural societies of South Asia, particularly ones that are more traditional, is assumed to provide a view from inside such society and to offer alternative conceptions of mobility. It is an approach to people's mobility that is holistic and integrative, but with a particular concern for the historical, cultural, ethnic, and social dimensions. The analysis is based on eighteen months field work in Namsaling, a village located in the eastern hills of Nepal. Information derives from a range of instruments: field census, ongoing mobility registers, family genealogies, life histories, folk sources, and participant observation. Particular attention is paid to folk sources, because these are important to illuminate the context, feelings, and attitudes of people, whether movers or stayers. From time immemorial, territorial mobility has been an essential component in the lives of rural individuals and their households, as it manifests the cultural, economic, social, and ethnic groupings of society. In both the rural typology and the world views elicited from field data, territorial mobility displays separations of time, space, activity, and place; it also expresses rural actions as a collective consideration of meanings, social groupings, and stages in a lifecycle. Unlike more industrialized societies, mobility does not entail the abandonment or rejection of a rural 'home' for another 'reach,' but rather full participation in social, cultural, and economic lifestyles. This inquiry demonstrates that the issue of continuity or discontinuity in mobility over long period of time is complex, being neither exclusively one nor the other. Many forms of mobility have endured, some have been modified, and some have dissipated, just as other new ones have emerged. There has been continuity and also change

New figures for old stories: Migration and remittances in Nepal

Labour migration and remittances are major economic main-stays for Nepal’s economy. However, there is still insuffi-cient documentation on scale and significance of this proc-ess. Estimations of migration figures suggest that real num-bers are several times higher than official statistics show. Therefore this article contributes to the emerging debate of the last years comparing latest national statistics with own empirical data. The paper concludes that the total numbers of migrants calculated by the authors closely corresponds with official statistics, while amount of remittances seems to be higher indeed, highlighting once more that labour migra-tion and remittances are an important mainstay of Nepal’s economy.Nepal ; labour migration ; remittances

Utilization of adolescent friendly health services and its associated factors among higher secondary students in mid-western Himalayan mountainous district of Nepal.

Adolescent friendly health services (AFHS) are designed to make health services accommodate the unique needs of adolescents. AFHS are characterized by three basic characteristics (programmatic, health facilities and health service providers) that should be applied. However, limited is known about the use of AFHS in the context of Nepal. This study aimed to assess the extent of AFHS utilization and associated factors among higher secondary students in the Jumla district of Nepal. A cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted in October-November 2017. Data were collected from a random sample of 528 aged 16-19 years old using a self-administered survey in their classroom. Adjusted Odds Ratios (AOR) and a 95% confidence level were estimated to measure the strength of association between the outcome variable (utilization of AFHS) and independent variable using multivariable logistic regression. Knowledge related to AFHS, measured by a seven-item scale, was based on information about the availability of AFHS. More than two-thirds (67.05%) of adolescents had utilized AFHS at least once in the last twelve months before the survey. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, knowledge level [AOR = 14.796, 95%CI (5.326-41.099)], cost of services [AOR = 2.971, 95%CI (1.764-5.003)], satisfaction from services [AOR = 1.817, 95%CI (1.037-3.185)] and availability of waiting room [AOR = 1.897, 95%CI (1.096-3.283)] were significantly associated with the utilization of AFHS. The utilization of AFHS was less than the country's target of universal utilization in this study. Adolescents' knowledge level about AFHS was importantly associated with its utilization. Utilization increases with lower service costs, client satisfaction, and availability of waiting rooms in the health facility. The health planners should make efforts to create a conducive environment for the adolescent by training the AFHS providers, particularly those who work in government institutions, and strengthening the awareness creation strategies among adolescents to increase the utilization of the services