scholarly journals From Royal Canal to Neglected Canal? Changing Use and Management of a Traditional Canal Irrigation System in Peri-Urban Kathmandu Valley

Author(s):  
Anushiya Shrestha ◽  
Dik Roth ◽  
Saroj Yakami

AbstractIn this chapter we discuss the changing uses and management of a traditional canal irrigation system against the background of processes of urbanization in Kathmandu Valley in Nepal. Until urbanization of Kathmandu Valley took off in the 1980s, the management of stream-fed canal irrigation systems had been a priority of both state agencies and the population that depended on agriculture-based livelihoods. The name rajkulo (royal canal) given to these systems expresses the historical interests of (royal) state actors in canal maintenance and management. Fed by a stream called Mahadev Khola in Dadhikot, a peri-urban village in Kathmandu Valley, Mahadev Khola Rajkulo is such a traditional canal irrigation system. Using an in-depth case study of this system, we analyse the interlinkages of demographic, socio-environmental, economic and local political dynamics with the changing canal uses and management. More specifically, we discuss how and why various actors became associated with, or dissociated from, canal use and management in recent times, and what these processes mean for water access, rights and security. We reflect on the implications of these changes for canal management and canal-related conflicts, against the background of national urban policies that formally aim to conserve agricultural land in Kathmandu Valley, but stimulate urban expansion in practice.

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 174
Author(s):  
Daniel Ugih Echoh ◽  
Norizan Md Nor ◽  
Salfarina Abdul Gapor ◽  
Tarmiji Masron

Rice is an important staple food in Asia. However, modernization and rapid development have reduced and threatened the practice, especially maintaining traditional hill rice cultivation, as in this case study by the Iban in Kuala Tatau located in the largest state in Malaysia, called Sarawak. It is important to understand the problems and challenges of this issue to ensure food security among the rural population in Sarawak, particularly the Iban. Therefore, this paper aims to discuss the issues and problems faced by rice farmers in Kuala Tatau, Sarawak. The respondents were Iban farmers in Kuala Tatau; named Sungai Semanok and Kuala Serupai, were selected as it is at a great distance from urban areas named Bintulu, and they still practices paddy cultivation. For the purpose of obtaining the data, qualitative research methods through in-depth interview techniques, group discussion and observation were utilized and the data were analyzed using content analysis. The results showed that the rice sector faced major problems such as the decrease of the number of farmers and a weak system in the distribution of subsidies. However, there were differences shown in results between the two villages as well, which were in term of inadequate agricultural land, and issues on drainage and irrigation system, depending on the distance of the village from urban area, transport facilities, and other issues as discussed in the following section.


Author(s):  
Dipti Bakare

Abstract: Urbanization may be a process having a serious impact ashore use characteristics. Basically, as an impression of urbanization, the world is observed with rapid change within the land use character of agricultural land. Generally, the agricultural land is employed for various development activities like industrial establishments, residential colonies and other urban infrastructure during the method of urbanization. it's necessary to possess a periodical assessment of land use change for the developing populated area , which helps to make a decision the longer term expansion strategies for the world. Nashik city is located in the state of Maharashtra in the western part of India. It is one of the most dynamic cities of India with a rapid growth rate due to migration from various parts of Maharashtra. The Nashik city is presently spread over an area of 264.15 sq. km. with a periodical increase in municipal corporation boundary during the last few decades. As a result of urbanization and expansion of municipal corporation limits, the city has undergone drastic changes in land use character. In this study, land-use change is quantified for the existing six zones of Nashik city during the last 30 years using remote sensing and GIS. The study has analysed the relationship between urban expansion and the loss of agricultural land because of an increase in a built-up area and other land use. The study present excellent scenario for land use change during the year 1991, 2001, 2011 and 2020. This can surely guide the development strategies for the study area of Nashik. Also the study can be extended for conducting a suitability analysis to assess future change of land use based on various criteria. Keywords: Land use, Remote sensing, GIS, Supervised classification, Urbanization, Agricultural land loss


Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 1751
Author(s):  
Rap ◽  
Zaag

This article provides an ethnographic example of a practice-based approach to water governance. It presents the situated case study of a canalero (canal operator) in the everyday water distribution of an irrigation system in Western Mexico. The canalero represents the low-ranked field operators at the frontline of many water provision organizations around the world, thereby providing a wider relevance to this case study. In spite of different waves of modernization that aimed to reduce ‘the human element’ and control water flows from a distance, canaleros still operate the manually adjustable gates and intakes in many medium and large open canal irrigation systems. Through a precise documentation of the daily routines of administering water, money, and data flows, anticipating shortages and mediating between conflicting demands, we conceptualize their semi-autonomous field of competent action. In contrast to a rule-based or normative approach to water governance, we will argue that the canaleros’ cognition and competencies in mediating multiple resource flows are embodied and situated in specific social, technical and spatial arrangements for water provision. However, this field of professional competence is not clearly delineated and gets regularly contested in practice. The water operators deal with these ‘problems of control’, by drawing on their situational knowledge and embodied cognition acquired on-the-job. This case study outlines a framework for a practice-based and decentered study of water governance, focused on cognitive processes in water provision arrangements.


GeoEco ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 188
Author(s):  
Baiq Rindang Aprildahani ◽  
Chrisna Trie Hadi Permana ◽  
Surya Tri Esthi Wira Hutama

<p><em>While carrying out its essential duties to provide adequate foods for people, the agriculture sector is facing sustainability issues. The study presents a case study of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), whereby an increase of urban expansion activities has begun to create a centrifugal force to the province that is popularly called as the granary of Indonesia. Urban settlements slowly leapfrogged to the outskirts and reduced the size of prime agricultural lands. Moreover, existing planning policies were unable to control the situation and many farmers leave their jobs because the setback of farmers wellbeing. The size of agricultural land is highly influential towards farmer motivation to stay engaged in the farming sector. Applying qualitative methods, this study examined the minimum area of agriculture land (focusing on paddy field) to promote farmer’s well-being following three steps of the analytical framework: total agricultural production estimation, the average well-being estimation, and the prediction of minimum land provision for the average well-being. After all, one of the key important findings reveals that</em><em> </em><em>the average of minimum agricultural land to ensure famers wellbeing for the whole NTB Province is </em><em>0.74 Ha.</em> <em></em></p>


2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdul Ghapar Othman ◽  
Nurul Hanisah Jizan

Urbanization is the process of transforming a characteristically rural society into an urban one. The urban population is growing at an increasing rate while the rural population is declining, giving rise to imbalances in the development between urban and rural areas. The government’s strategy is to distribute the development to the major settlement centres in the rural areas, which are experiencing the same effects of urbanization as the urban areas in terms of changes to the use of land, especially the reduction of agricultural land and the increase in built-up areas. This study used the method of overlay in GIS applications to investigate land use changes, the speed of urban expansion and direction of development that has taken place from the period 2001 to 2018 in the town of Kuala Nerang, Kedah. This town has undergone a change in its status from a main settlement centre to a district administrative centre. Agricultural lands, which were targeted for development in the rural areas, have been converted into built-up areas. The speed of urban expansion has been slow, although some areas have recorded a higher rate. The development is moving towards the west along the main road connecting the major towns in this part of the state. The functions of the district administrative centre have influenced land use changes.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 46-55
Author(s):  
Sunaina Karmacharya

 Urban expansion of Kathmandu Valley is taking place at the fast rate challenging urban managers and planners of the city. In-migration has resulted in the unplanned urban growth of the city with the shortage of serviced land for urban development in Kathmandu. So Land Readjustment (LR) technique has been used as urban land development tool by the government. There are twenty two LR projects completed, and some of the projects are ongoing in the valley. The overview of the Land Readjustment technique of Kathmandu Valley has been done to explore the required measures needed to reform the existing legal and Institutional Framework and procedure of LR. Among the implemented LR projects, Nayabazar Land pooling has been selected for the case study as almost all the plots have been developed. Now, it is a dense residential neighborhood. The instruments used for research are literature study, in-depth interviews with different stakeholders of LR projects and landowners. Field visit and questionnaire survey in case study area are conducted regarding the street network and open space of the area. The existing system of LR technique is studied relating it with international experience mainly the case of Germany and Japan to draw positive inferences to explore the wider scope of LR technique for the comprehensive development in urban areas.


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