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CHAIRPERSON

Dr Michelle Ann Miller, Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore

ABSTRACT

Remittances have become one of the major sources of income for many communities in developing countries around the world today. Nepal, a landlocked, politically volatile and earthquake hit country in South Asia, ranks third in the world in terms of remittances, representing over 29.2% of its GDP (World Bank, 2015). This figure was only 16% of a share of GDP in 2006. About 4 million adult males (of 27 million population) have left Nepal to engage in wage labour in the Middle East and elsewhere. While it is increasingly recognised that this phenomenon has huge implications to social, economic and environmental conditions in rural Nepal, there is no solid analysis of how and to what extent has remittance economy affected the life and livelihoods of Nepalese villages. The aim of this paper is therefore to critically explore persistence and change in Nepal with a closer analysis of some consequences of remittance economy at the local level. Drawing upon a longitudinal research spanning over 20 years in Lamjung district of western Nepal, this paper highlights that remittance economy has not been that great for Nepal, especially for the poorest of the poor people. While it is not to underplay the contributions of remittance economy in enhancing income and livelihoods of some households, its negative consequences cannot be underestimated and ignored. They are manifested variously, such as in the form of feminization of agriculture, increasing gender injustices in farm activities, and negative impacts to family and social values, culture and practices. As many adult males away from the villages, productive lands are under-utilized, leading to the decrease in food production and acute food insecurity; in a country that has a chronic food insecurity problem. Moreover, village feminization combined with rapid migration and ongoing national political crisis has led to the collapse of local deliberation practice. There is no elected local government for 15 years, with no effective use of local democratic space. In the midst of such unprecedented changes, however, some social phenomena persist – the marginal role of women in household and communal decision-making has not changed, lower caste disadvantage persisted and poverty gap increased. Clearly, there is a disconnect between the amplified narrative of remittance as good without critically understanding and addressing social and environmental issues at the local level. This requires major rethinking in the way remittance economy is being used in global and national policy and practice reforms around the world.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Krishna K. Shrestha is Senior Lecturer in Development Studies at the School of Social Sciences, University of New South Wales, Australia. He is a human geographer with research interest encompassing political ecology, climate change adaptation, development planning and disaster governance, in particular the intersection of the four with his work on Social and Environmental Justice. His research gives particular attention to the ways in which problems of equity and justice are linked to systems of social hierarchy and political and economic control. The role of unequal power relations in a politicized environment is a central theme. He is currently working on several research projects on food and livelihood security, climate justice, disaster resilience and urbanization in a changing climate – in Nepal, India and Australia. If you wish to contact Krishna, please email krishna.shrestha@unsw.edu.au.

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