Urbanizing flows : growing water insecurity in peri-urban Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

Abstract This paper draws on participatory research with 47 household water managers over the dry, pre-monsoon, and monsoon season, alongside expert knowledge of water management in Nepal's Kathmandu Valley. Doing so, it presents the perspectives of water managers to highlight three dimensions of water security that existing approaches often overlook. First, experiences of water security vary greatly between households over the year, even within a relatively small geographic area. Second, social connections and landownership play an important role in mediating these experiences. Third, coping with poor water supply places a burden on certain household members. This paper argues that addressing water inequities and insecurities demands research, development and policy responses to look beyond the main pipe network and engage with the variety of ways in which households secure water.

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A Precarious Confluence: Neoliberalism, Race, and Water Insecurity

Kalfou A Journal of Comparative and Relational Ethnic Studies ◽

10.15367/kf.v5i2.210 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Michael Mascarenhas

Keyword(s):

First Nations ◽

Indigenous Peoples ◽

First Century ◽

People Of Color ◽

Water Insecurity ◽

The Core ◽

Marginalized Groups ◽

Racial Projects ◽

The Us ◽

Us Cities

Three very different field sites—First Nations communities in Canada, water charities in the Global South, and the US cities of Flint and Detroit, Michigan—point to the increasing precariousness of water access for historically marginalized groups, including Indigenous peoples, African Americans, and people of color around the globe. This multi-sited ethnography underscores a common theme: power and racism lie deep in the core of today’s global water crisis. These cases reveal the concrete mechanisms, strategies, and interconnections that are galvanized by the economic, political, and racial projects of neoliberalism. In this sense neoliberalism is not only downsizing democracy but also creating both the material and ideological forces for a new form of discrimination in the provision of drinking water around the globe. These cases suggest that contemporary notions of environmental and social justice will largely hinge on how we come to think about water in the twenty-first century.

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Knowledge and Use of Emergency Contraceptive Pills among Bachelor's Level Female Students of Kathmandu Valley

Journal of Health Promotion ◽

10.3126/jhp.v8i0.32990 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

pp. 109-118

Author(s):

Bhu Dev Jha

Keyword(s):

Sexual Intercourse ◽

Unwanted Pregnancy ◽

Sampling Technique ◽

Female Students ◽

Kathmandu Valley ◽

Sources Of Information ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Unprotected Sexual Intercourse ◽

Emergency Contraceptive ◽

Emergency Contraceptives

Emergency Contraceptive Pill (ECP) is used for preventing pregnancy after having unprotected sexual intercourse, contraceptive failure or forced sex. The use of ECP within 120 hours of sexual intercourse could prevent unwanted pregnancy and its adverse effects particularly unintended childbirth and unsafe abortion. The study, therefore, aimed to assess knowledge and use of emergency contraceptives among Bachelors level female students from Kathmandu Valley. A descriptive cross-sectional study was undertaken from August to November 2017 among 347 female students who were studying at the Bachelors's level. A random sampling technique was used to select study participants and a structured self-administered questionnaire was used to assess the knowledge and use of ECP after securing informed consent. Epi data and SPSS version 22 were used for data processing and analysis. The mean age of the female students was 21.5 years. Overall, 91.4% of the respondents had ever heard about emergency contraceptives. The main sources of information were radio or television, the internet and newspapers. About 4.6% of the undergraduate female students used ECP. Age, marital status, use of contraceptives and knowledge of ECP used within 72 hours were significantly associated with use of ECP. Although the findings of this study showed a high prevalence of knowledge among respondents, the improvement of female students’ knowledge on specific details of ECP and its advantages/disadvantages and timely utilization needs to be considered for any future awareness programmes.

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Performance of existing water treatment plants of Kathmandu valley

Nepalese Journal of Engineering ◽

10.3126/njoe.v1i1.22 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Bhagwan Ratna Kansakar

Keyword(s):

Water Treatment ◽

Kathmandu Valley ◽

Water Treatment Plants

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Urbanization and Changes in Cropping Patterns at Kathmandu Valley

Nepal Journal of Science and Technology ◽

10.3126/njst.v7i0.581 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 7 ◽

pp. 113 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Raj Man Shrestha

Keyword(s):

Urban Areas ◽

Cropping System ◽

Considerable Change ◽

Rapid Expansion ◽

Leafy Vegetables ◽

Kathmandu Valley ◽

Rapid Urbanization ◽

Average Growth ◽

Cropping Patterns ◽

Agriculture Land

The increase of population in Kathmandu valley is bringing a considerable change in cropping system. Rapid urbanization and introduction of new agriculture technology have encouraged the valley’s farmers to change their cropping patterns from traditional (low value crops) to new crops (high value crops). According to numerous studies made in Nepal, the change is seen considerably in winter crops than in summer crops and the land under cultivation of green leafy vegetables is increasing rapidly in the urban and semi-urban areas. An average growth of population at 3 % in the valley during the period 1951-2001 has resulted in the rapid expansion of area under urban coverage (24.6 % growth per year from 1984 - 2000) has made agriculture land of Katmandu valley to decline per year by 2.04 % (836.27 ha per year). If this trend of decline in agriculture land in Kathmandu valley continues in future too, it is expected that there will be no agriculture land left over by two and half decades in the valley. The planners should take note of this fact that if fertile land of Katmandu valley is to be preserved for agriculture necessary planning is urgently needed. <i>Nepal Journal of Science and Technology</i> Vol. 7, 2006

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Tree Diversity Conservation Initiatives in Sacred Groves of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

Nepal Journal of Science and Technology ◽

10.3126/njst.v19i1.29768 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

pp. 60-68

Author(s):

Laxmi Joshi Shrestha ◽

Mohan Devkota ◽

Bhuvan Keshar Sharma

Keyword(s):

Tree Species ◽

Management System ◽

Survey Methods ◽

Belief Systems ◽

Decisive Role ◽

Diversity Indices ◽

Kathmandu Valley ◽

Sacred Grove ◽

Sacred Groves ◽

The Government

The study was conducted in two sacred groves of Kathmandu Valley, Pashupati Sacred Grove, and Bajrabarahi Sacred Grove, aiming to analyze the diversity of tree species and their role in conserving biodiversity. Parallel transects with concentric circular plot survey methods were applied for data collection. During the study, 23 tree species belonging to 22 genera and 15 families were recorded in Pashupati sacred grove, whereas only 19 tree species belonging to 16 genera and 13 families were recorded from Bajrabarahi Sacred Grove. The Shannon-Weiner diversity indices were higher (H=1.91) in Pashupati Sacred Grove compared to Bajrabarahi Sacred Grove, with 1.80 Shanon-Weiner Indices. Three types of forest were recorded from Pashupati Sacred Grove, namely the Schima-Pyrus forest, Myrsine-Persea forest, and Quercus-Myrsine forest, and only one Neolitsiacuipala forest from Bajrabarahi Sacred Grove. The sacred grove is one of the pioneers and community-based management regimes of the forest resource management system. It plays a decisive role in biodiversity conservation as it associated with many taboos and belief systems, thus providing a better opportunity for conservation compared to that of the government management system.

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Geographies of Doing Nothing–Internal Displacement and Practices of Post-Disaster Recovery in Urban Areas of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

Social Sciences ◽

10.3390/socsci10030110 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 110

Author(s):

Alexandra Titz

Keyword(s):

Urban Areas ◽

Evidence Base ◽

Internal Displacement ◽

Kathmandu Valley ◽

Reconstruction Process ◽

Internally Displaced ◽

Secondary Displacement ◽

Displaced People ◽

Durable Solutions ◽

Post Disaster

Disaster-related internal displacement is on the rise in many countries and is increasingly becoming an urban phenomenon. For many people, as in the case of the earthquake disaster 2015 in Nepal, protracted or multiple disaster displacements are a lived reality. While the drivers of displacement are relatively well understood, significant uncertainties remain regarding the factors that trigger prolonged or secondary displacement and impede ending of displacement or achieving durable solutions. The purpose of this article is to illustrate and theorise the discourse of reconstruction and return that shapes experiences, strategies, and policies in order to gain a better understanding of the obstacles to pursuing durable solutions that are still shaping the reality of life for urban internally displaced people (IDPs) in Kathmandu Valley. I use the concepts of ‘fields of practice’ and ‘disaster justice’ to provide insights into the theorisation of the links between social inequality, structural forms of governance, and the reconstruction process itself. Findings demonstrate that the application of these concepts has great potential to expand our understanding of ‘realities of life’ and practices of IDPs, and thus contribute to a more differentiated evidence base for the development and implementation of appropriate disaster risk reduction policies and practices.

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