Migration, remittances and forests : disentangling the impact of population and economic growth on forests

International migration has increased rapidly in recent decades and this has been accompanied by a remarkable increase in transfers made by migrants to their home countries. This paper investigates the effect of the rural economic growth brought about by migration and remittances on Nepal's Himalayan forests. The authors assemble a unique village-panel dataset combining remote sensing data on land use and forest cover change with data from the census and multiple rounds of living standards surveys to test various inter-relationships between population, economic growth and forests. The results suggest that rural economic growth spurred by remittances has had an overall positive impact on forests. The paper also finds that remittances caused an increase in rural wages and an increase in income, but a decrease in land prices. Considered together, however, the relationship between forests and remittances is driven largely through the income channel, indicating that the demand for amenities provided by forests in the rural Nepali setting may have been more important than factor prices in influencing land use changes for the period of the study.Population Policies,Environmental Economics&Policies,Forestry,Climate Change and Environment,Wildlife Resources

Determining carbon abatement cost through the integration of remotely sensed land cover observations and biogeochemical model

This paper estimates the economic returns of carbon abatement through biological sequestration in the forests of Nepal under future REDD policy. Using sequential remotely sensed land cover observations and a biogeochemical model, this paper attempts to estimate the contemporary and future ecosystem carbon trends. The paper applies the General Ensemble Biogeochemical Modeling System (GEMS) and examines how effective carbon sequestration can be through a sustainable forest management approach. This study uses a case example of the Bara district of Nepal for the period of 1970-2010

Determinants of Deforestation in Nepal\u27s Central Development Region

The process of deforestation in the Central Development Region (CDR) of Nepal is diverse in space and time, with rapid deforestation still occurring in areas outside the national parks and wildlife reserves. This paper identifies the spatial driving forces (SDFs) of deforestation in CDR for 1975-2000 using satellite data of 1975 (MSS), 1990 (TM), and 2000 (ETM+) along with socio-demographic and socioeconomic variables. Radiometrically calibrated satellite images are individually classified into seven distinct classes and merged together to cover the entire CDR. Classification accuracies are also assessed. Areas of land use and cover within the areas of each Village Development Committees (VDCs) and municipalities are calculated from the classified images by overlaying vector files of 1,250 VDCs. A transition matrix is generated for 1975-1990 using classified images of 1975 and 1990 and then this product is used to further develop another transition matrix for 1990 - 2000 with the classified ETM+ 2000 images as the final stage. The VDCs vector layer of land use and cover areas is overlaid on the transition matrices to calculate deforestation areas by VDCs for 1975-1990 and 1990-2000. A digital elevation model (DEM) compiled from 35 ASTER scenes taken on different dates is used to examine areas at different elevation levels: 30- 1,199 m, 1,200 — 2,399 m, 2,400- 4,999 m, and \u3e5,000 m. Only the first three elevation levels are used in the analysis because area \u3e 5,000 m is under permanent snow cover where human related forestry activities are almost negligible. Biophysical and socioeconomic information collected from various sources is then brought into a geographic information systems (GIS) platform for statistical analyses. Six linear regression models are estimated using SAS; in effect, two models for each elevation range representing 1975-1990 and 1990- 2000 periods of change to identify SDF influences on deforestation. These regression analyses reveal that deforestation in the CDR is related to multiple factors, such as farming population, genders of various ages, migration, elevation, road, distance from road to forest, meandering and erosion of river, and most importantly the conversion of forestland into farmland.\u2

Effect of unplanned urban growth on human health and sustainable development: A spatial analysis of the urban growth patterns in Nepal

This paper first provides a spatial analysis of Nepal’s urban growth patterns from historical perspectives. Second, it geovisualizes urban morphologies of the Kathmandu metropolitan area using ESRI made CityEngine to display how unplanned concrete jungle would not only exert stresses on urban lives through increased heat waves and greenhouse gases, but also from increased urban vulnerabilities. Third, the paper analyzes urban sprawls and their unintended but irreversible environmental consequences on human health and sustainability. Fourth, it develops land use/cover metrics using remote sensing techniques to determine the ratio of built-in structures and open spaces. The ultimate goal of this paper is to provide a framework for the development of twenty-first century cities in South Asia

USE OF POULTRY LITTER AND OTHER BIOMASS IN ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION AND ITS IMPLICATION FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Poultry litter is a byproduct of poultry production which has potential to cause water quality problem if it is not applied properly on land as a nutrient source. Using survey information available from Louisiana broiler producers, we found that broiler litter is not cost‐effective to transport farther than 24 miles from the production facilities given the crops grown in the region and other prevailing cost parameters. Alternative to broiler litter use on land as crop nutrients is its use as electricity production through combustion. We found that biomass‐electricity conversion is cost prohibitive if three small plant operations are established. It can be profitable if one large size plant of 10.5 MW is constructed, litter is available free, transportation cost is low and construction cost of electricity plant falls at the lower range. Regional and state level economic impacts (multiplier) of using broiler litter for electricity was found to be in the range of 1.4‐1.5 and 1.42‐1.55, respectively for the capital expenditure and 1.21‐2.67 and 1.27‐1.94 respectively for the operation cost. Detail environmental impact assessment may be needed to assess the full benefits of poultry litter‐electricity production.broiler, breakeven transportation distance, poultry‐electricity production feasibility, impact factor, Production Economics, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, O13, Q42, Q53,

Measuring quality of life of the Central Development Region of Nepal by integration of remote sensing and census data

Our research adds to the growing number of remote sensing–based analyses that deal with land-cover dynamics, land use and cover changes in the Center Development Region (CDR) of Nepal during the last three decades. This study spatially identifies deforestation areas by using transition matrices for the periods of 1975-1990, 1990-2000 and 2000- 2005. It uses simple regression analyses for finding relationships of the above variables with deforestation

Urban sprawl in Kathmandu Valley of Nepal from 1964-2003: a challenge for urban policy makers and planners

This paper analyzes the conditions of the five cities—Bhaktapur, Kathmandu, Kirtipur, Lalitpur, and Madhyapur Thimi— that comprise the Kathmandu Valley conurbation and exhibit the typical characteristics of the nation’s primate city (Bhattarai, 2003). It examines the patterns and causal processes of urban sprawl for the period 1955 and 2003 by utilizing both spatial and aspatial data. It analyzes the patterns of historical aspects of the Kathmandu Valley’s settlements that acquired the characteristics of a European feudal urban agglomeration in the mid-18th century, combining political, administrative, and craft production functions (Bhattarai, 2003). Our analyses reveal that since the early 1970s, the Kathmandu Valley has become structurally differentiated into two distinct urban ‘spaces’ (KVMP, 2001). The first ‘space’ is the traditional urban core characterized by narrow alleys, cul-de-sac streets, and loops serving the densely populated area. The second ‘space’ surrounds the city core, a less populated periphery, with uneven residential densities, ranging from dense concentrations (\u3e700 people ha-1) to relatively open developments (10 person ha-1) with rural interstices

Searching for an Environmental Kuznets Curve in Carbon Dioxide Pollutant in Latin American Countries

This study utilized a semiparametric panel model to estimate environmental Kuznets curves (EKC) for carbon dioxide (CO2) in 15 Latin American countries, using hitherto unused data on forestry acreage in each country. Results showed an N-shaped curve for the region; however, the shape of the curve is sensitive to the removal of some groups of countries. Specification tests support a semiparametric panel model over a parametric quadratic specification.CO2, forest acreage, environmental Kuznets curve, Latin American countries, semiparametric regression model, Agribusiness, Environmental Economics and Policy, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, C14, C33, Q23, Q53,

Performance comparison of adapted delaunay triangulation method over nurbs for surface optimization problems

Traditionally NURBS (Non-Uniform Rational Basis Spline) are used as the basis for defining free-form surfaces as they can define non-regular surfaces with minimal control points. However, they require parameters such as knot vectors and weights to configure a surface. Similarly, DT (Delaunay Triangulation) is proven and used widely for meshing, rendering and surface reconstruction applications, but its capability in freeform surface design for optimization is untested. Thus, this paper proposes Adapted Delaunay Triangulation (ADT) method which can generate a surface from scattered data points without any parameters. The paper presents a comparison of the performance of ADT method and NURBS fitting method for surface generation from scattered 3D coordinate points. This method was suggested so that the generated surface could be used in Stochastic Optimization Algorithm (SOA) methods and computational fluid dynamics applications (CFD) simultaneously. Data points that other 3D point clouds fitting methods would ignore as outliers are included in ADT method. Small change in each data point during optimization cycle should show a distinctive change in its output as SOA approaches depend on such differences for its optimal performance. Special consideration has been made for fast processing and rendering of the surface with minimum complexity (removing parameters such as knots and weights) and storage requirements as SOA methods demand generation of numerous surfaces to solve any problem

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Emissions in Latin America: Looking for the Existence of Environmental Kuznets Curves

We estimated environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) for carbon dioxide for 16 Latin American countries using nonparametric, semi-parametric, and parametric specifications. Results indicated that most of the Latin American countries are still in the rising portion of the EKC with respect to CO2 pollution.Environmental Economics and Policy,