Central Department of Population Studies

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Vol V, Population and Development in Nepal, June 1996

Demographic Determinants Of Infant Mortality In Nepal
Prakash Dev Pant
This study examined the demographic differentials in infant mortality in Nepal employing the nationally representative sample surveys, the 1976 Nepal Fertility Survey (NFS) and the 1986 Nepal Fertility and Family Planning Survey (NFFS). The direct estimation technique for infant mortality levels and logistic regression were the major tools of data analysis. The length of the preceding birth interval from both the NFS 1976 and NFFS 1986 emerged as the most important demographic determinants of infant mortality in Nepal. Most of the influence of mother's age at childbirth and birth order of the child on infant mortality was due to the length of birth interval. Sibling competition for mother's care, tangible resources and health care as a path through which birth spacing is likely to influence child survival prospects is not ruled out in this study. Intervention to increase spacing between births, raising the age at marriage and increasing the use of contraception, will contribute to further improvement in the child survival prospects in Nepal.

Population Growth and Migration in Kathmandu City
Pushp Kamal Subedi
Internal and international migration are the main factors to increase population in Kathmandu City. Socio-economic and cultural factors are also responsible for an increased volume of internal migration in Kathmandu city. The majority of international migrants coming to Nepal are engaged as skilled an semiskilled workers in trade and service oriented professions. Most of immigrants have come from India. Indian immigrants have a strong hold on trade an commerce. A large number of Indian immigrants work in Kathmandu city as vendors, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, tailors and barbers, thus, monopolizing the informal sectors. Indian immigrants virtually displace Nepalese traders and business man in Kathmandu city.

The Causes Of Unmet Need In Nepal
Govind Subedi
This paper deals with the causes of unmet need of contraception in Nepal. Data are used from the NFHS, 1991. There is a wide variation in unmet need of contraception according to women's age, number of living children, rural-urban residence and women's education. Districts level analysis of unmet need shows that potential demand for contraception exists in both relatively more accessible and less accessible districts. Districts with low prevalence rate have also low unmet need. Most outstanding reasons stated not intending to use contraception in future are health concren, lack of knowledge and unavailability. Social and cultural factors are the undrelyning barrier to contraceptive use in Nepal.

Effect Of Sex Preference On Family Planning In Nepal: An Analysis Of Unmet-Need
Yogendra B. Gurung
Using the data set from NFFHS 1991 Arnold method has been used to examine the effect of sex preference on unmet-need for family planning in Nepal. The Effect of sex preference is found to be strong. It begins with no or less son(s) than daughter(s) and becomes minimal after achieving desired number of sons and daughters in the family. In other words, women desire to space only for waiting for the hope of getting son. Otherwise, they desire to limit or tend to shift their need to limit childbearing.

Characterizing The Progress In Family Planning Programme In Nepal: An Application Of The Us Framework Of Classification
Bhim Raj Suwal
Compared with the evidence from the Thailand's progress in family planning programme, Nepal' s family planning programme took 10 years more to move out of emergent and launch stages. Hill/mountain and Far Western regions lag behind in terms of attainment of higher level of contraceptive prevalence rate. The central development region is found a little ahead in this respect .As fertility in most of the districts ranges between 5.0 to 6.6 births per woman without any variation with the condition of increasing level of contraceptive prevalence rate up to the consolidation stage particularly in mountain and hill districts, it seems that impact of increasing contraceptive acceptance also has not been remarkably important in reducing fertility in Nepal before attaining mature stage. Barring some exceptions, attainment of contraceptive prevalence rate lower than 50 per cent in the hill districts might not have been effective in fertility reduction in the context of Nepal. Attainment of the medium level contraceptive acceptance has been somehow effective in attaining lower level of fertility in Tarai region. The relationship between the contraceptive prevalence and fertility is solely determined by the condition of those limited number of districts with high level of contraceptive prevalence rate (about 40% or more) with relatively low level of fertility.

The Innovation and Diffusion of Contraception in Kathmandu
Ram Hari Aryal
Overall analyses show that appreciable proportions of women in Kathmandu were attempting to control their fertility, and there has been a remarkable consistency in the levels of current contraceptive use among different age and educational groups. It was found that education levels were highly associated with contraceptive use, however the innovation and diffusion process has also influenced uneducated women in Kathmandu. In Nepalese social hierarchy, the caste system is especially important because if the educated higher social classes adopt something new, then it will be diffused to other lower caste groups (Niraula, 1991). It is hoped that this trend to increased contraceptive use will continue in the future because greater parental contraceptive use will encourage the next generation to use contraception more effectively. In this context, Caldwell and Caldwell (1978: 11) are of the view that when respondents or their husband's knew that their own parents had practiced contraception, they were much more likely to have done so themselves, and women with mother who had abstained from sex for unusually long periods were more likely than other respondents to use this means. This indicates that in a society where small family systems are established, contraceptive methods are likely to be handed down from one generation to another (Caldwell and Caldwell, 1978: 11). Similarly, the fertility decline theory suggests that once the transition has begun and couples have adopted birth control, they are more likely than before to perceive the advantages of small families (Retherford, 1985; Van de Walle and Knodel, 1980). However, when looking at the national aggregate contraceptive prevalence rates, this degree of controlled fertility is the exception and not the rule in the country. Increased use of contraception is a result of socio-cultural and economic change which discourages big family size and availability through the family planning program. It can be concluded that although the impact of family planning programs at the national level is minimal, family planning programs are lowering the cost of obtaining contraceptive services in Kathmandu, resulting in high use of contraception. Overall analyses suggest that education is one of the most important factors in determining contraceptive use in Kathmandu.

Variations In Demographic And Socio-Economic Characteristics Of Major Ethnic Groups Of Nepal : Some Implications
Devendra Chhetry
This paper analyses the 1991 Population Census data on socio-economic characteristics of the ethnic groups of Nepal. For the purpose of analysis, three indicators that capture the variations in literacy status, economic activity, particularly in the non-agriculture sector, and fertility behaviour of the 29 major ethnic groups are used. The associations among the three indicators are measured. Educationally disadvantaged ethnic groups are identified and their disadvantages are analyzed. Inequality in the spread of literacy over the major ethnic groups is measured.

Agricultural Land Resettlement and Environmental Consequences in Nepal with Reference to Land Settlement Regions in Chitwan and Nawalparasi
Kanhaiya Bhakta Mathema
The increase in population and its growth rates has driven the people to cultivate on very narrow terraces to the utmost physical limit of the slope leading to degradation of environmental resources due to inappropriate use of land resources.

Forest in the lowlands has a bleak future because of its increasing accessibility and immense population pressure evidenced by large-scale encroachment. Conservation of forest for environmental purposes would be meaningful both in the erosion prone highlands with steep slopes and the lowlands where there is the pressure of increasing human numbers.

The problem of land erosion caused by the absence of essential vegetation cover in the form of floods, sediment yields and drought, in the sample villages needs immediate attention to maintain necessary balance between mankind and environment in the region.

Gurung (1988: 90) holds the view that lowlands forest areas with potential clearance need to be resettled in order to affect optimum utilization of limited land resource. But it is my contention that such a policy yields considerable land area for resettlement and agricultural expansion and thus, it disregards the possibility of environmental deterioration which is already in the motion even in the lowlands of the South.

The close inter-rtelations between crop production, livestock, and forest resources of the average traditional subsistence agriculture of the hills indicates that one or more hectare of forest are required to support one hectare of arable land (Ives and Messerlie, 1989: 67).

Moreover, government policy and priority which are mainly in persistence of land settlement to hasten the pace of economic development through increased agricultural production programmes are the underlying causes of extensive deforestation in the country.

It seems rather very difficult to avoid the conclusion that the prudent course of action is to halt migration of population to the south in order that `population-forest-environment' trap be avoided as soon as possible.

The matter of fact is that these marginal people find often refuge in marginal environment which is too fragile for standard agriculture and thus they quickly degrade natural resource base through deforestation and degradation of forests.

One of the important ways to check the destruction of forest and forest products such that environmental degradation could be checked is to reduce population growth which is growing at a rate of 2.1 per cent at present.

Particular attention must be given to finding environmentally sound ways of increasing food production both in the hills and the Tarai. In this way, conservation of soil and restricting land erosion should become a top priority in the agricultural system in those areas. Productivity must be restored of the degraded land. This is essential if crops are to be grown for biomas fuels as well as for food.

As has been suggested by Hugo (1992), there is a need for "resource conservation ethics" to save the resources, particularly forest, from further depletion and degradation. For this restrain on population growth is a must that would ease out pressure on forest land such that its degradation can be restricted. At this juncture, it is pertinent to quote Hugo (1992:150) who says, "Clearly it is most important to adopt approaches to the use of resources which are based upon the long term conservation of those resources and passing them on intact to future generations".

The unhealthy practice of lopping tree leaves for fodder has disturbed the environment. The tree leaves that produce wood from atmospheric carbon dioxide are used as fodder for the livestock. This results in rapid depletion of forest cover adversely affecting environmental quality.

Health And System Of Family Planning Service Delivery In Nepal: Problems And Issues In Context Of Icpd Programme Of Action
Keshab Prasad Adhikari
Quality of care on the family planning , primary health care and reproductive health deserves a great concern of both quality of service and personnel on the field. It is crucial to reduce both fertility and mortality through improving maternal and child health status. Considering this, ICPD's Programme of Action called all nations to respect individuals right on the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of the physical and mental health, and to take all appropriate measures to ensure equality between men and women, universal access to health-care services, including reproductive health, family planning and sexual health. Owing to the poor vital rates and family planning and health status of the people HMG/N is dedicated to implement a comprehensive health and population policy aimed at bringing about correction on the existing vital rates by the year 2000 AD. The policy divided health care services into three: preventive, promotive and curative health services with a provision to reaching at the grassroots level through its hierarchy of established organizational structure having a provision of satisfactory community participation.

Cairo Conference and Nepalese Population Policy
Bidhan Acharya
Nepal has adopted population policies from its First Five Year Plan. The policies are more extensively elaborated in the plan documents of Third Plan and onwards. But until the current Eight Plan, Nepalese population policies are much focused on the family planning programmes. The International Conference on Population and Development, Cairo, 1994 has a comprehensive approach relating mainly socioeconomic development, empowerment of women and reproductive health issues to the population dynamics. It nicely lists the essentials of population policy and overall development, including the depiction of required resources to successfully implement the programmes. Nepalese policy lacks some of the inevitable factors and many of them are mentioned without their modus operandi. The reality in Nepal is that the family planning programmes must be strengthened through high priority policy measures. But the over-dependency on the foreign aid may collapse it after the withdrawal of assistance. Therefore, the population policies in Nepal should adopt the socioeconomic development strategies as ICPD has suggested, and sustainable family planning programmes to improve the quality of life.