Social Impact of Farmland Abandonment and Its Eco-Environmental Vulnerability in the High Mountain Region of Nepal: A Case Study of Dordi River Basin
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Area
2.2. Household Data and Sampling
2.3. Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and Key Informants Interview (KII)
2.4. Selection of Farmland Abandonment Driving Factors and Multivariate Regression Analysis
2.5. Delineation and Characterization of Abandoned Farmland
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Determining Driving Factors of Farmland Abandonment
3.2. Impact on Social System
3.2.1. Indigenous Labor Exchange System “Parma”
3.2.2. Irrigation Management System
3.2.3. Drinking Water Management
3.2.4. Social Practice, Rituals and Festive Events
3.2.5. Indigenous Governance Systems, Practices and Other Infrastructures
3.3. Farmland Degradation and Eco-Environmental Vulnerability
4. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Explanatory Variables | Definition | Expected Relationship to Farmland Abandonment (FA) |
---|---|---|
A. Environmental/Locational | ||
Elevation | Elevation of each household recorded by GPS | Households located at higher elevations are more likely to have a higher number of abandoned farmlands |
Market access | Nearest market center for household use (km.) | Households located near to market centers are expected to adopt commercial farming |
Accessibility of road | Distance to vehicle passable road (meter) | Households located closer to roads are more likely to adopt commercial farming |
B. Land Characteristics | ||
Farm distance from residence | Minutes travel to farmlands | Farmlands far from residential houses are more likely to be abandoned |
Productivity | Annual production (kg) | Farmlands with less productivity are more likely for abandonment |
Irrigation Access | An availability of farmer managed irrigation canal (Yes = 1, No = 0) | Farmlands having no irrigation facilities have a higher likelihood for abandonment |
C. Household Characteristics | ||
Household size | Total household members | Households with a bigger family sizes are expected to continue farm activities |
Household head age | Age of household head (years) | Households with an older head are more likely to abandon farmland |
Household head Schooling year | Schooling year of household head | Households head with a higher education are more likely to abandon farmland |
Living places | Land owner living (same villages = 1, other areas = 0) | Farm owners living in the same villages are more likely to continue farm activities |
Access to credit | Yes = 1, No = 0 | Households having access to credit are more likely to start up a new enterprise while abandoning their land |
D. Physical Capital | ||
Ownership of Farmland | Total Farmland owned by Households (Ropani) | Households owing large number of farmlands are more likely to abandonment |
Livestock Value | Livestock monetary value (NPR). | Households owning many livestock are less likely to farmland abandonment |
E. Income Sources | ||
Farm Income | Annual income (Nepalese rupees) | Households having higher crop income are less likely to be abandoned |
Livestock Income | Annual income (Nepalese rupees) | Households with more income from livestock are less likely to be abandoned |
Remittances (labor out migration, pension and seasonal migration) | Annual income (Nepalese rupees) | Households with sufficient remittances more likely to abandonment |
Salary and business | Annual income (Nepalese rupees) | Households members with salary/pension are expected have less abandonment |
Wage labor (agricultural and non-agriculture) | Annual income (Nepalese rupees) | Households having good quality of house are expected have less farmland abandonment |
Explanatory Variables | B-Coefficient | Standard Error | Significance |
---|---|---|---|
A. Environmental/Locational Characteristics | |||
Elevation (meter) | −0.001 | 0.0009 | 0.188 |
Market access (km.) | −0.088 | 0.2051 | 0.668 |
Road accessibility | 0.010 | 0.0034 | 0.004 ** |
B. Land characteristics | |||
Farm distance from residence (required time) | 0.127 | 0.0614 | 0.039 ** |
Productivity (kg) | 0.000 | 0.0003 | 0.125 |
Irrigation access | 1.455 | 1.9443 | 0.454 |
C. Household characteristics | |||
Household size | −0.361 | 0.1764 | 0.041 ** |
Household head age | 0.056 | 0.0227 | 0.013 ** |
Household head schooling year | 0.070 | 0.0799 | 0.380 |
Household head living places | 1.457 | 0.6824 | 0.033 ** |
Access to credit | −1.538 | 1.1619 | 0.186 |
D. Physical capital | |||
Ownership of farmland (Ropani) | 0.095 | 0.0312 | 0.002 ** |
Livestock value (NPR) | 4.131 × 10-6 | 2.681×10-6 | 0.123 |
E. Income sources | |||
Farm income | 1.585 × 10-5 | 3.822 × 10-5 | 0.678 |
Livestock income | 1.576 × 10-7 | 4.472 × 10-6 | 0.972 |
Wage labor | 1.766 × 10-6 | 2.971 × 10-6 | 0.552 |
Salary/Business | 2.777 × 10-6 | 1.021 × 10-6 | 0.007 ** |
Remittances (labor migration, pension, seasonal migration) | 5.650 × 10-6 | 2.334 × 10-6 | 0.016 ** |
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Chaudhary, S.; Wang, Y.; Khanal, N.R.; Xu, P.; Fu, B.; Dixit, A.M.; Yan, K.; Liu, Q.; Lu, Y. Social Impact of Farmland Abandonment and Its Eco-Environmental Vulnerability in the High Mountain Region of Nepal: A Case Study of Dordi River Basin. Sustainability 2018, 10, 2331. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10072331
Chaudhary S, Wang Y, Khanal NR, Xu P, Fu B, Dixit AM, Yan K, Liu Q, Lu Y. Social Impact of Farmland Abandonment and Its Eco-Environmental Vulnerability in the High Mountain Region of Nepal: A Case Study of Dordi River Basin. Sustainability. 2018; 10(7):2331. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10072331
Chicago/Turabian StyleChaudhary, Suresh, Yukuan Wang, Narendra Raj Khanal, Pei Xu, Bin Fu, Amod Mani Dixit, Kun Yan, Qin Liu, and Yafeng Lu. 2018. "Social Impact of Farmland Abandonment and Its Eco-Environmental Vulnerability in the High Mountain Region of Nepal: A Case Study of Dordi River Basin" Sustainability 10, no. 7: 2331. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10072331