IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i19p12386-d928879.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Household Vulnerability to Flood Disasters among Tharu Community, Western Nepal

Author

Listed:
  • Til Prasad Pangali Sharma

    (Key Laboratory of Digital Earth Science, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100094, China
    University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
    Institute of Fundamental Research and Studies, Kathmandu 44600, Nepal)

  • Jiahua Zhang

    (Key Laboratory of Digital Earth Science, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100094, China
    University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China)

  • Narendra Raj Khanal

    (Central Department of Geography, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu 44613, Nepal)

  • Pashupati Nepal

    (Central Department of Geography, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu 44613, Nepal)

  • Bishnu Prasad Pangali Sharma

    (University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
    Central Department of Geography, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu 44613, Nepal)

  • Lkhagvadorj Nanzad

    (Key Laboratory of Digital Earth Science, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100094, China
    University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China)

  • Yograj Gautam

    (Department of Geography, University of Bergen, P.O. Box 78005020 Bergen, Norway)

Abstract

Monsoon floods are frequent in the Tarai region of Nepal and claim thousands of lives and substantial numbers of properties every year. Certain human activities are more affected than others in the case of the same hazard. This study analyzes vulnerability to flooding among Tharu households. Data were collected by employing household surveys, group discussions, and key informant interviews in the Thapapur Village Development Committee (VDC) of Kailali district, western Tarai, Nepal. The analysis presented in this study is based on the theory that underpins the pressure and release (PAR) and access models. The results show that Tharu people are the major inhabitants in the study area and they prefer to live within their community; many ex-bonded laborers (marginalized people) choose this location for residence. Human causalities have been reduced in recent years due to easy access to cell phones, which has facilitated effective flood warnings with suitable lead times, but agriculture production loss and other losses are still high. Agricultural land is not only an important natural asset but is also considered a financial asset due to its high price and private ownership. The study concludes that subsistence agriculture-based households with small landholding sizes and less income diversification are highly vulnerable to flooding. Improper resettlement of ex-bonded laborers and land fragmentation due to separation of family members are the most prominent factors resulting in small landholdings. The results can guide government authorities to develop proper flood management strategies for the people living in the lowlands (particularly the Tarai region) of Nepal.

Suggested Citation

  • Til Prasad Pangali Sharma & Jiahua Zhang & Narendra Raj Khanal & Pashupati Nepal & Bishnu Prasad Pangali Sharma & Lkhagvadorj Nanzad & Yograj Gautam, 2022. "Household Vulnerability to Flood Disasters among Tharu Community, Western Nepal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-19, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:19:p:12386-:d:928879
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/19/12386/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/19/12386/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Leach, Melissa & Mearns, Robin & Scoones, Ian, 1999. "Environmental Entitlements: Dynamics and Institutions in Community-Based Natural Resource Management," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 225-247, February.
    2. Ellis, Frank, 2000. "Rural Livelihoods and Diversity in Developing Countries," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198296966.
    3. Frank Ellis, 2000. "The Determinants of Rural Livelihood Diversification in Developing Countries," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(2), pages 289-302, May.
    4. Wei Liu & Jie Xu & Jie Li, 2018. "The Influence of Poverty Alleviation Resettlement on Rural Household Livelihood Vulnerability in the Western Mountainous Areas, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-15, August.
    5. M. Monirul Qader Mirza & Ajaya Dixit & Ainun Nishat, 2003. "Special issue on Flood Problems and Management in South Asia: Preface," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 28(1), pages 1-1, January.
    6. Bebbington, Anthony, 1999. "Capitals and Capabilities: A Framework for Analyzing Peasant Viability, Rural Livelihoods and Poverty," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 27(12), pages 2021-2044, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ana Momčilović Petronijević & Predrag Petronijević, 2022. "Floods and Their Impact on Cultural Heritage—A Case Study of Southern and Eastern Serbia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-25, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gujun Pu & Alice Chang-Richards & Suzanne Wilkinson & Regan Potangaroa, 2021. "What makes a successful livelihood recovery? a study of China’s Lushan earthquake," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 105(3), pages 2543-2567, February.
    2. Harry W Fischer & Ashwini Chhatre, 2016. "Assets, livelihoods, and the ‘profile approach’ for analysis of differentiated social vulnerability in the context of climate change," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 48(4), pages 789-807, April.
    3. Walelign, Solomon Zena & Lujala, Päivi, 2022. "A place-based framework for assessing resettlement capacity in the context of displacement induced by climate change," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    4. Chen Wang & Guoqing Shi & Yongping Wei & Andrew William Western & Hang Zheng & Yan Zhao, 2017. "Balancing Rural Household Livelihood and Regional Ecological Footprint in Water Source Areas of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-20, August.
    5. Clay, Nathan & King, Brian, 2019. "Smallholders’ uneven capacities to adapt to climate change amid Africa’s ‘green revolution’: Case study of Rwanda’s crop intensification program," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 1-14.
    6. Nathan Clay, 2018. "Integrating livelihoods approaches with research on development and climate change adaptation," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 18(1), pages 1-17, January.
    7. Shah, Sameer H. & Angeles, Leonora C. & Harris, Leila M., 2017. "Worlding the Intangibility of Resilience: The Case of Rice Farmers and Water-Related Risk in the Philippines," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 400-412.
    8. Rao, Nitya, 2017. "Assets, Agency and Legitimacy: Towards a Relational Understanding of Gender Equality Policy and Practice," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 43-54.
    9. Debelo Bedada Yadeta & Fetene Bogale Hunegnaw, 2022. "Effect of International Remittance on Economic Growth: Empirical Evidence from Ethiopia," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 383-402, June.
    10. Soltani, Arezoo & Angelsen, Arild & Eid, Tron & Naieni, Mohammad Saeid Noori & Shamekhi, Taghi, 2012. "Poverty, sustainability, and household livelihood strategies in Zagros, Iran," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 60-70.
    11. Hendrawan, Dienda C P & Musshoff, Oliver, 2022. "Oil Palm Smallholder Farmers' Livelihood Resilience and Decision Making in Replanting," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322441, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    12. Jon D. Unruh, 2008. "Toward sustainable livelihoods after war: Reconstituting rural land tenure systems," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 32(2), pages 103-115, May.
    13. Porro, Roberto & Lopez-Feldman, Alejandro & Vela-Alvarado, Jorge W., 2015. "Forest use and agriculture in Ucayali, Peru: Livelihood strategies, poverty and wealth in an Amazon frontier," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 47-56.
    14. H.M. Tuihedur Rahman & Gordon M. Hickey, 2020. "An Analytical Framework for Assessing Context-Specific Rural Livelihood Vulnerability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-26, July.
    15. Mostafa Shaaban & Carmen Schwartz & Joseph Macpherson & Annette Piorr, 2021. "A Conceptual Model Framework for Mapping, Analyzing and Managing Supply–Demand Mismatches of Ecosystem Services in Agricultural Landscapes," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-19, January.
    16. Diane Kapgen & Laurence Roudart, 2023. "A Multidisciplinary Approach to Assess Smallholder Farmers' Adoption of New Technologies in Development Interventions," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 35(4), pages 974-995, August.
    17. Elijah Yendaw & Augustine Tanle & Akwasi Kumi-Kyereme, 2019. "Analysis of livelihood activity amongst itinerant west African migrant traders in the Accra metropolitan area," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 9(1), pages 1-21, December.
    18. Muhammad Zada & Syed Jamal Shah & Cao Yukun & Tariq Rauf & Naveed Khan & Syed Asad Ali Shah, 2019. "Impact of Small-to-Medium Size Forest Enterprises on Rural Livelihood: Evidence from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-17, May.
    19. Fan, Shengyue & He, Miao & Zhang, Tianyu & Huo, Yajing & Fan, Di, 2022. "Credibility measurement as a tool for conserving nature: Chinese herders’ livelihood capitals and payment for grassland ecosystem services," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    20. Matthew D. Turner & Molly Teague & Augustine Ayantunde, 2021. "Livelihood, culture and patterns of food consumption in rural Burkina Faso," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(5), pages 1193-1213, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:19:p:12386-:d:928879. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.