No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
Indigenous Knowledge of Chepang in Disaster Risk Reduction
Abstract
The Chepang community of Nepal has been knowingly and unknowing utilizing their indigenous knowledge in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in the form of societal functioning and cultural rituals. The study outlines best practices from indigenous knowledge interlinked with scientific knowledge and its contribution to DRR. Chepang community has developed mitigation and preparedness knowledge within their context, based on knowledge passed down from previous generations. The indigenous knowledge of Chepang has worked as the practiced indigenous solution to minimize the risk of natural hazards. Those applied skills can be documented as traditional innovation and technology. The study shows that the proper incorporation of positive aspects of indigenous knowledge of Chepang in the development plan will be a win–win for the indigenous Chapang community and local government. However, due to a lack of social innovation and handover approaches, indigenous knowledge of Chepang has not transformed adequately to the present generation. Furthermore, the younger generation’s lack of commitment and learning attitude is a significant threat in preserving that knowledge and skills.KeywordsIndigenous knowledgeChepangNepalDisaster risk reduction
Limited information is available on the expectations and experiences of the Kham Magars, an indigenous community in Nepal, regarding the value of school education. This study delves into the expectations and experiences of school education among the indigenous Kham Magar community in Nepal, using the Expectation Value Theory as a framework. Through qualitative analysis of narratives from community members, multifaceted expectations emerge, including access to education, employment opportunities, active participation, teacher respect, and equal representation. The study further highlights that the Kham Magar community initially places a high value on education, driven by their efforts in establishing schools and their deep respect for teachers. However, over time, challenges arise due to diminished realization of expected benefits, language barriers, and a focus on traditional agricultural practices, all of which impact the sustainability of formal education. Despite valuing education, the community's aspirations may not always align perfectly with formal schooling, underscoring the importance of incorporating cultural integration into the curriculum. Ultimately, the findings of this study contribute to a better understanding of indigenous expectations towards education, thus emphasizing the necessity for implementing inclusive and sustainable development policies.
The complex geology and undulating terrain made Nepal vulnerable to natural disasters like landslides. Benighat-Rorang Rural Municipality (RM), in the Dhading district of Nepal's Bagmati province, has experienced several minor to massive landslides that have harmed both nature and civilization. This study examines the factors influencing landslides in the Benighat-Rorang RM by analyzing soil structure, geology, land cover, geo-morphology (primarily slopes and aspects), fault lines, drainage density, weather data, and road density to generate a comprehensive Landslide Susceptibility Mapping (LSM). The LSM will help in identifying landslide-prone zones (high to low), which will, in turn, enable stakeholders to implement appropriate mitigation measures across the landslide-induced rural municipality. The current study intends to create Landslide susceptibility zonation mapping within and around the studied area by applying the AHP method while taking into account the optimal set of geo-environmental parameters to identify regions at risk of future landslides. Speed) are among the fourteen geo-environmental elements used for this research. Using the field verification approach, the results of this procedure have been validated, which can be observed in an estimated success rate curve. Meteorological factors, such as temperature, rainfall, relative humidity, surface pressure, and wind speed, have been examined regarding landslide susceptibility. Thus, an integrated assessment of landslide susceptibility was applied to the area to identify inhabited areas vulnerable to or at risk of landslides. Furthermore, the placement of public amenities throughout the research zone was considered while conducting the social vulnerability risk analysis. Finally, landslide susceptibility zonation, climatic factors influencing landslide susceptibility, and social vulnerability assessment results of the study area have been combined to generate a risk map identifying landslide-prone municipal facilities and vulnerable communities. This study will help in building resilient landslide communities through effective spatial urban planning that incorporates regional risks induced by landslides with infrastructure development and management strategies.
The abnormal geology and terrain of Nepal made it vulnerable to natural disasters like landslides and flash floods. Benighat-Rorang Rural Municipality (RM), in the Dhading district of Nepal's Bagmati province, has experienced several minor to massive landslides that have harmed both nature and civilization. This research investigates the enduring landslide conditioning factors in the study area (Benighat-Rorang RM), such as lithology, soil, geology, land cover, geomorphology (primarily slope and aspect), fault line, drainage density, meteorological data, road density, in order to generate a robust LSM for the study area. The LSM will help in identifying landslide-prone zones (high to low), which will, in turn, enable stakeholders to implement appropriate mitigation measures across the landslide-induced rural municipality. The study is based on currently available remotely sensed data adopted, including geospatial, remotely sensed, and meteorological data, and employs an expert-driven Analytical Hierarchical Processes (AHP) approach. Using the field verification approach, the results of this procedure have been validated, which can be observed in an estimated success rate curve. Environmental factors, such as temperature, rainfall, relative humidity, surface pressure, and wind speed, have been examined regarding landslide susceptibility. Thus, an integrated study on landslide susceptibility was applied to the area to identify inhabited areas vulnerable to or at risk of landslides. Furthermore, the placement of public amenities throughout the research zone was considered while conducting the social vulnerability risk analysis. Finally, landslide susceptibility zonation, climatic factors influencing landslide susceptibility, and social vulnerability assessment results of the study area have been combined to generate a risk map identifying landslide-prone municipal facilities and vulnerable communities.
In the context of earthquake risk, a vulnerability and resilience perspective has changed a purely technological orientation in facing natural hazards. One aspect of this change is the increasing awareness to include indigenous, traditional knowledge, community-based action, and local practices as well as experience from historic events in earthquake hazard management. Various research has shown that indigenous knowledge has an important role in avoiding undesired impacts from hazards. The involvement of indigenous knowledge into hazard management has been accepted as a fruitful approach by many countries. In Indonesia, the indigenous response to natural hazards, especially towards earthquakes, is to adapt the house constructions according to the hazards from their surrounding living environment and these have been tested and proven for many centuries. But while such indigenous knowledge has existed for centuries, learning requires more than just remembering, it needs to be translated into new actions. This paper highlights connections between knowing and acting on disasters, as manifested in house construction, and how this resonates with the concept of resilience.
Final master thesis defense at Institute for Geoinformatics (ifgi) University of Munster, 2017.
Swidden or shifting cultivation is a widespread yet controversial land-use in the tropical forest–agriculture frontier. In recent years, the extent of land under swidden and the people who rely on it for subsistence and income have declined. We report swidden land-use changes in two central hill districts of Nepal by indigenous Chepang communities—a stronghold of swidden cultivation in mountainous Nepal. Despite a common trend of swidden decline, as in other parts of South and Southeast Asia, we found that swidden is important in the life and livelihoods of smallholder rural Chepang farmers in the area. Swidden cultivation was found to be more important to farmers with limited off-farm opportunities and in areas where alternative land-uses were scarce. We discuss biophysical, socio-economic, institutional, and other key drivers affecting farmers’ decision to shift away from or continue with swidden in the area. Using linear mixed effect models, we also examined households’ attributes that may expedite swidden decisions in the area. Our study recommends greater access to alternative land-use(s) and other income-generating options for the wellbeing of smallholder indigenous Chepang farmers, as well as the sustainability of this age-old land-use practice.
The vulnerability assessment can identify the potential threats generated by climate change to people such as indigenous. However, the vulnerability assessment of the indigenous community to climate change has been a greater challenge for evaluating and determining in the developing countries. This paper intends to determine individual vulnerability and its extent due to climate change in Kailali, Chitwan, and Rautahat districts of Nepal. Three focus indigenous groups (Chepang, Tharu, and Musahar) and a total number of 180 households were interviewed by a structured questionnaire during the household survey for primary data. The findings of the study showed that Musahars are more exposed and sensitive to climate change impacts than Chepangs and Tharus. However, Chepang has a higher adaptive capacity than Tharu and Musahar. This study results could be useful for the preparation of effective Livelihood program and plan in these indigenous communities as well as appropriate for other indigenous communities and similar areas.
Natural disasters like floods, cyclones, tidal surges, river erosions are nothing new for the people of the coast of Bangladesh. They have been living with natural disasters from time immemorial and have developed their own coping strategies in facing the challenges of the calamities. Indigenous knowledge of the local community practiced over time enabled them to withstand the vagaries of nature. Their very survival strategy helped them to save their community, when external help was yet to arrive. They continue to nurture such knowledge in their myths, beliefs, and traditions. The paper introduced various features of the coast of Bangladesh and described varied faces of disaster, like floods, cyclones, tidal surges, river erosion common in that region. Elaborating some success stories, the paper puts emphasis on the local knowledge and wisdom in the management of natural resources, conservation of biodiversity, disaster risk reduction, combating climate change, etc. Functional knowledge of the local people gained over the generations has proved to be very effective when technical solutions proved to be wrong. Unfortunately, all the local knowledge and practices are in oral form and remained underutilized and undocumented. Such knowledge runs the risk of disappearance in the event of a major disaster that may cause wiping out of the whole community. The paper emphasized on their proper documentation, so that our future generations could benefit from such a knowledge.
This entry outlines three aspects of ethnographic research. First, we describe in what way ethnographic research implies a distinct way of knowing. Second, we discuss the use of qualitative methods in ethnographic research. Third, we take up the role of writing, which is both a way of documenting research as well as an analytical tool in the research process. The entry concludes with a summary of the strengths and limitations of ethnographic research in public administration and policy studies.
This study was conducted with the objective of analysing the role of forest plant resources in the food security of Chepangs, a highly marginalized indigenous nationality in Nepal. Shaktikhor Village Development Committee (VDC) in Chitwan district and Handikhola VDC in Makawanpur district were purposively selected as the study sites. A total of 120 households, 60 from each VDC were randomly selected for the purpose of household survey conducted using semi-structured interview structure. Relevant information was also collected through key informants' interview and group discussions. It was found that the average food self-sufficiency of the study community is 7.3 months, while 37.5% of the households are not able to meet the minimum daily calorie requirement of 2,344 cal/AE/day prescribed for the hills. Collection of forest products for consumption and sale forms an important coping strategy to overcome food self-insufficiency for 71.2% of the households. Wild tubers form the staple food of the Chepangs during the period of food shortages, and they play an important role in bridging the hunger gap when the stored food grains are depleted and new harvests are not yet available. Forests play an important role not only in the food security of the Chepang community, but also in the fulfilment of their food diversity and nutritional requirements. There is, thus, a need to exploit the potential of these wild foods so as to complement the staple food crops so that the food security situation of the Chepang community can be improved.
Drought is one of the major constraints limiting crop production worldwide. Crop growth models predict that this issue will be more severe in future. Drought impairs normal growth, disturbs water relations, and reduces water use efficiency in plants. Plants, however, have a variety of physiological and biochemical responses at cellular and whole organism levels, making it a more complex phenomenon. The rate of photosynthesis is reduced mainly by stomatal closure, membrane damage, and disturbed activity of various enzymes, especially those involved in ATP synthesis. Plants display a range of mechanisms to withstand drought, such as reduced water loss by increased diffusive resistance, increased water uptake with prolific and deep root systems, and smaller and succulent leaves to reduce transpirational loss. Low-molecular-weight osmolytes, including glycinebetaine, proline and other amino acids, organic acids, and polyols also play vital roles in sustaining cellular functions under drought. Plant growth substances such as salicylic acid, auxins, gibberellins, cytokinins, and abscisic acid modulate plant responses toward drought. Polyamines, citrulline, and several enzymes act as antioxidants and reduce adverse effects of water deficit. Plant drought stress can be managed by adopting strategies such as mass screening and breeding, marker-assisted selection, and exogenous application of hormones and osmoprotectants to seeds or growing plants, as well as engineering for drought resistance. Here, we provide an overview of plant drought stress, its effects on plants’ resistance mechanisms and management strategies to cope with drought stress.
This article attempts to seek the understanding and perception of Chepang on the practices of khoriya cultivation. It tries to explain the relationship of Chepang people to their traditional khoriya land by assessing the socio-cultural and economic importance in their life. Chepang’s indigenousness is closely connected to khoriya cultivation and the land is their ethnic and indigenous identity. The practices of shifting cultivation have to be understood holistically within the domain of social and cultural analysis. However, their relationship to their khoriya land and the agricultural practice cannot be understood only in measurable indicators and specific manners. For Chepang, shifting cultivation is a good ecological adaptation to their surrounding environmental settings based on indigenous knowledge and skills developed in the particular geographical setting on basis of trial and error. To understand culture, history and everyday life of the Chepang, knowing all about their traditional agricultural practice i.e. shifting cultivation is very significant. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/dsaj.v5i0.6367 Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology and Anthropology Vol. 5, 2011: 247-62
Nepal is highly vulnerable to natural and human induced disasters. Complex geology, variable climatic conditions, active tectonic processes, rapid urbanization, unplanned settlements, lack of public awareness, increasing population, weak economic condition and low literacy rate have made her vulnerable to disasters. Therefore, advanced technology and adequate resources are needed to alleviate the disasters in Nepal. Training and other educational programmes are extremely needed to raise awareness. Nepal needs proactive Disaster Management Act and Policy for disaster risk reduction activities.
Occasional Papers in Sociology and Anthropology - Volume 6, 2000
Water is the most important and scarce production resource, and with changing climate the importance of this resource increases significantly. Increasing efforts are being made in research and education to maximize the water use efficiently with the concept of ‘crop per drop’ to increase crop water productivity with a good blend of science and indigenous knowledge. Nepalese farmers are adapting the best to water scarcity through adoption of sustainable soil management and the use of crops with minimum water requirement, among other options. This paper attempts to deal with the neglected issues of using local crops and indigenous knowledge and technologies for increasing water productivity. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/hn.v11i1.7204 Hydro Nepal Special Issue: Conference Proceedings 2012 pp.50-53
Shifting cultivation, which is still prevalent in the uplands of eastern Bangladesh, contributes significantly to forest loss
and is the main cause of land degradation. This paper presents the causes and consequences of shifting cultivation and its
potential land use alternatives. The analysis presented is primarily qualitative with a supplementary quantitative analysis
of the causes of forest loss by logistic regression. The results of the study show that traditional land practices, exacerbated
by poverty and associated with a lack of technical knowledge is the main cause for the continuation of unsustainable shifting
cultivation. Population pressure, inadequate land for cultivation, low education levels, policy planning and implementation
without local participation are all factors that influence farmers’ decision to continue shifting cultivation. Intensive land
management through agroforestry is a promising alternative that can sustainably manage the remaining forest resources. If
adopted, such systems potentially provide good economic returns, and may significantly reduce rural poverty.
KeywordsEthnic minorities–Shifting cultivation–Deforestation–Poverty–Agroforestry
Contribution of indigenous knowledge in developing more effective drugs with minimum or no side effects helped to realise importance of study of indigenous remedies and the conservation of biological resources. This study analysed indigenous knowledge regarding medicinal plants use among the Chepang communities from ward number 3 and 4 of Shaktikhor Village Development Committee located in the central mid hills of Nepal. Data were collected in a one-year period and included interviews with traditional healers and elders. Chepangs are rich in knowledge regarding use of different plants and were using a total 219 plant parts from 115 species including one mushroom (belonging 55 families) for medicinal uses. Out of these, 75 species had 118 different new medicinal uses and 18 of them were not reported in any previous documents from Nepal as medicinal plants. Spiritual belief, economy and limitation of alternative health facilities were cause of continuity of people's dependency on traditional healers. Change in socio-economic activities not only threatened traditional knowledge but also resource base of the area. Enforcement of local institution in management of forest resources and legitimating traditional knowledge and practices could help to preserve indigenous knowledge.
Earthen road construction has resulted land degradation in the Tankhuwakhola watershed of Dhankuta district, eastern hills of Nepal. The community living near the highway has dramatically changed in their way of living with the adoption of commercial crops. As a result, the people who lived far from the access of roads have interested in the expansion of agricultural link roads to their community. The local government had prepared a District Transport Master Plan (DTMP) and identified 25 rural earthen road schemes in the Tankhuwakhola watershed. The local people have also given high priority to road construction for increasing access to markets, education, health services and other facilities. The analysis of both spatial and non-spatial data reveals that the watershed area losses 1.8 million cubic meter soils due to the cause of earthen road construction. As a result, the area is suffering from the problem of the landslide, soil erosion that ultimately result of land degradation. This paper concludes that the acceleration of land degradation has exerted to the sustainability of population-resource relation. The watershed area has been producing more profitable commercial crops for exporting outside from the hills since the construction of the Koshi highway. The watershed needs an integrated watershed management program to address human-induced vulnerability and sustainability of watershed resources.
Chepangs, one of the underprivileged indigenous, politically and socially marginalized nationalities of Nepal, are facing the consequences of climate change owing to their livelihood dependency on natural resources. This study intended to find out the perception and impacts of climate change on the livelihood of Chepangs living in fragile mountain slopes of Bhumlichowk area (the then Village Development Committee), Gorkha district, Nepal and explored some of the adaptation measures adopted by them. Impact assessment was conducted through analysis of meteorological data and people's perception on climate change in relation to their livelihood respectively applying Mann-Kendall statistical trend test and generalized questionnaire survey and Participatory Rural Appraisal tools. The results depicted rise in temperature in recent years in comparison to the past years while precipitation showed variable pattern. The maximum temperature increase was more pronounced than minimum and mean temperature. In case of seasonal mean temperature trend, highest increase occurred during monsoon season. The consequences of these changes affected mainly agriculture sector with decrease in crop production resulting food scarcity. Other impacts like increased intensity of disasters and declining Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) were also observed.-174 The socioeconomic vulnerability assessment showed that Thumka village, a community within the study area has the highest vulnerability index (2.50) to climate change because of its weak adaptive capacity. People have already perceived the environment changes at their locality and though having poor local adaptive capacity, adaptation measures like shifting sowing, agro-forestry, terracing etc. are being adopted by them. Strengthening their practices incorporating scientific knowledge is therefore envisaged to enhance the adaptive capacity of local people. It is also imperative to formulate and integrate adaptive strategies and plan in development plans of the study area which indeed will support the community to adapt with the impacts of climate change.
This study was carried out in Wards 3 and 4 of Shaktikhor Village Development Committee (VDC), which forms a bottleneck in the Barandavar forest that connects the Chitwan National Park with the Mahabharat Range (mid-hills) in the north. The intent was to analyse the Chepang indigenous community, their dependency and pressure on the forest, their traditional management methods, the potential for community-based forest management and other related issues. The study method included open-ended interviews with four District Forest Office (DFO) staff, 15 key informants, a socio-economic survey of 250 households, data collection on household consumption of forest products and an analysis of land cover changes from the years 1970 and 2000. Chepangs were found highly dependent on a forest whose area has decreased by 12%, resulting in a reduction in species used by the Chepang for their livelihoods. Economic development based on non-timber forest products (NTFPs) has potential to decrease forest dependency and help conservation but the oligopoly (a limited number of suppliers and sellers) nature of the market, policyrelated problems and limited DFO technical staff has prevented people from enjoying NTFP-based economic benefits. The Chepang traditional management practice was found to be environmentally friendly but at times of increased population pressure on the forest these traditions broke down. Lack of trust between Chepangs and non-Chepangs, and the absence of mediation from the DFO obstructed the formation of community organizations to manage the forest.
Occasional Papers in Sociology and Anthropology - Volume 2, 1990
This study analyzes the factors influencing the adoption of various adaptation practices by a highly marginalized indigenous community in the remote rural Mid-Hills of Nepal. The analysis is based on a household survey conducted among 221 Chepang households selected randomly. A multivariate probit model was used to analyze five categories of adaptation choices against a set of socio-economic, institutional, infrastructural, and perception variables. Perception of rainfall changes, size of landholding, status of land tenure, distance to motor road, access to productive credit, information, extension services, and skill development trainings are all influential to enable households to deviate away from traditional coping strategies and adopt suitable practices to adapt to climate vagaries. Policies and development activities should be geared to address these determinants in order to facilitate adaptation.
The importance of being a Pande: a performative reading of the shamanistic practices in Chepang community
- R Adhikari
Adhikari R (2010) The importance of being a Pande: a performative reading of the shamanistic
practices in Chepang community
Chepang-then and now life and change among the Chepang of Nepal (First)
- D Beine
Beine D (2012) Chepang-then and now life and change among the Chepang of Nepal (First). Blurb
Central Bureau of Statistics G. of N. (2011) National population census 2011. http://dataforall.org/
dashboard/nepalcensus/
Use of indigenous knowledge in strategies for disaster risk reduction for flood disaster
- R Dhungel
Dhungel R (2011) Use of indigenous knowledge in strategies for disaster risk reduction for flood
disaster. http://dspace.bracu.ac.bd/xmlui/handle/10361/1819
Indigenous knowledge for disaster risk reduction in South Asia Google Scholar
- P C Joshi
- V Devi
- Mps Marahatta
Changing pattern of socio-cultural life of chepang community: a case study of Dahakhani VDC of Chitwan. Department of Nepali History
- R Karmacharya
Social exclusion of the Chepangs in the era of post-political revolution in Nepal-a case study of Dhading District
- B Khanal
Khanal B (2014) Social exclusion of the Chepangs in the era of post-political revolution in Nepal-a
case study of Dhading District. University of Bergen, Bergen
Indigenous knowledge for disaster risk reduction in South Asia Karmacharya R (2015) Changing pattern of socio-cultural life of chepang community: a case study of Dahakhani VDC of Chitwan
- P C Joshi
- V Devi
- Mps Marahatta
Joshi PC, Devi V, Marahatta MPS (2008) Indigenous knowledge for disaster risk reduction in South
Asia
Karmacharya R (2015) Changing pattern of socio-cultural life of chepang community: a case
study of Dahakhani VDC of Chitwan. Department of Nepali History, Culture and Archaeology
Tribhuvan University, Nepal