Central Department of Population Studies

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Vol III, Population and Development in Nepal: Some Issues, November, 1993

Integrating Population and Development in Nepal
Parthiveshwor Prasad Timilsina
Timilsina's paper on examines the issues of integrating population and development at the grass root level. He says "the method of integrating these two depends on the style of development. Formulation of mere policy may not be sufficient condition to integrate them". He outlines the basic features of population and development nexus with respect to population growth and technological change and innovation which have created burden on the existing resource base. He further examines how the government policy and programmes are integrated with population activities. He concludes that "the development activities are not based always on the information on population dynamics. It is guided by other socioeconomic variables". He suggests the need for activating local governments to assess the population dynamics and launch their development programmes at the local level.

Urbanization and Migration in Nepal Bal Kumar KC and Bhim Raj Suwal K.C. and Suwal present a scenario of urbanization and migration in Nepal. Drawing data on the level of urbanization and internal as well as international migration from 1952/54 to 1991 censuses, they focus on increasing urbanization of Nepal as a result of increasing rural to urban migration. Urban centres of Nepal grew from 10 in 1952/54 to 33 in 1991 with 6 times increase in urban population from 285,798 persons to 16,95,719 persons. Similarly, internal migration volume increased from 1.9 per cent of the total population in 1961 to 7.7 per cent in 1991. Both internal and international migration contributed 22.3 per cent of the total urban population in Nepal. The authors conclude that internal migration to the Tarai from the hill was mainly because of agriculture and the development of infrastructure while immigrants came to the Tarai due to marital relations. The consequences of both internal and international migration are attributed to low agriculture productivity in the hills and preferential employment opportunities for immigrants in Nepal. They conclude that "internal migration is indicative of immense disparity in development among regions. If properly managed, the process of internal migration can be effective instrument for adjusting population and resources to strengthen the process of national development. Internal migration ......... can be beneficial if it is regulated properly".

Population and Environment in Nepal
Chandra B. Shrestha
Prof. Shrestha examines the interrelationship between population and environment in Nepal. He elaborates this theme by presenting scenarios of population growth and distribution of Nepal, structure of Nepalese economy, management of environmental resources and pressure on land, forest, pasture land, and water. Fast population growth and unbalanced distribution of population have negative effect on environmental resource bases. He says "at present the forest area is considerably reduced, pasture area is deteriorated, the extent and severity of landslides and erosion is higher, water flows are lower, sources of water are dried up, yields of major crops are lower, and villagers have to cover larger distances for collecting fuelwood, fodder, timber and fetching drinking water". Faulty management and structure of the economy are attributed to be responsible for increasing the intensity of environmental degradation in Nepal.

Gender and Development: Approach to Population Planning
Jyoti Tuladhar
Tuladhar examines the issues of gender and development in population planning. She describes gender in terms of social construct, the notion of power, equality and equity, condition versus position, and gender division of labour. She examines the population policy of Nepal with respect to women's development and argues that these policies and strategies fail to incorporate "the underlying issues beneath the low status or subordination of women in Nepal". The recognition that women have different lives, needs and priorities from men must be included in development planning.

Family Planning and Family Welfare in Nepal
Pancha K. Manandhar
Manandhar assesses the current family planning and family welfare programmes of Nepal. She narrates the historical perspective of main organizations involved in family planning and analyses the programme effectiveness of family welfare programme. She reiterates the health and population policies in the Eighth Plan (1992-1997). She concludes that "we have not been successful to know the attitudes of vast majority of people to child-bearing behavior and fertility aspiration of those who do not yet use family planning contraceptive". She suggests that promoting and ensuring women's access to education, providing gainful employment, and eradicating their poverty would greatly contribute to their development and this in turn would help reduce population growth in Nepal.

Population Problems and Policies in the SAARC Region
Som P. Pudasaini
Pudasaini throws light on the population problems and policies in the SAARC region. He examines the population dynamics of the seven SAARC countries in light of population growth, birth and death rates, contraceptive use, age structure and urbanization. Socio-economic status of these countries has been examined in terms of GNP per capita, life expectancy, adult literacy, and infant mortality rates. Pudasaini examines the broader population policies and prospects of these countries as well as community specific population policies. He concludes that "most governments consider a host of socioeconomic and environmental problem that have arisen ... from rapid population growth, uneven spatial distribution, young age structure, high fertility and high mortality and morbidity to be unfavourable for their national development plans and programmes". He suggests the need for a more concerted effort to regulate population growth in these countries, except of course in Sri Lanka.

World Population Growth and Distribution with Special Reference to SAARC Region
Govind Subedi
Subedi discusses the world population growth with emphasis on the population of SAARC countries. World's population growth has been attributed to have passed through three phases: rapid expansion, fertility driven and relatively constant growth. He also discusses the pattern of population growth by developed and developing regions and by continents in light of demographic parameters and implication on age structure. The demographic condition of the SAARC countries has been examined. He brings out several conclusions based on the data presented in his paper. He concludes that world population growth has passed through distinct phases since the Second World War. "A sizeable variation in population dynamics still exists between developed and developing regions." But population dynamics among the SAARC countries does not vary widely except in Sri Lanka. He further says that "the spatial distribution of population in these countries can have long-lasting effect on rural urban populations. The huge rural to urban exodus may possess a serious challenges in major agglomerations in terms of preserving and maintaining environment, supplying clean water, maintaining of sewerage disposal and providing health services."