FEATURES NEWS THE RISING NEPAL (DAILY)

By Jhabindra Bhandari

DURGA Prasad Poudel, 40, of Anandpur in Chitwan has spent almost twenty years of his life in Terai. His family has been enjoying a happy life since he migrated from Baglung - a hill district in the Western Development Region to the fertile land of Chitwan where agriculture is the mainstay of rural economy. In the locality, there are almost hundred migrant families of small farmers. All of them rely heavily on subsistence farming for livelihood.

Tough

These families were much frustrated due to limited cultivable land in the hills. To survive with meagere agricultural resources was tough. Furthermore, they acutely lacked food security, education, transportation, communication and economic opportunities.

"Here we have easy access to education, health and social services including communication and information. Our socio-economic life has drastically changed now, " says Durga with confidence.
Hence for individuals, migration is often a rational and dynamic effort to seek new opportunities in life. Hundreds of people, especially from hill districts like Baglung, Lamjung, Tanahun, Dhading, Parbat, Kaski, and Gulmi migrate to Chitwan every year. Apart from improved farming, Chitwan is particularly rich in wildlife, tourism, bio-diversity and ethnic diversity.

"We have cultivable lands where we grow crops and vegetables for livelihood. And, we have never experienced any food crisis yet like in the hills," says Heera Mani Kharel who migrated to Chitwan from Gulmi a decade ago.

Migration is, in fact, a complex process that draws attention of demographers, sociologists and economists. It has wider socio-economic impacts on individuals, families and communities. According to United Nations Multi-lingual Demographic Dictionary, migration is a form of geographic or spatial movement involving a change of usual residence between clearly defined geographical units. With the growing advancement of science and technology, migration is increasingly recognised as an important factor for population change and its distribution.

Evidently, migration is taking place all over the world and it may be of different forms. The only cause of rural to urban migration in the country is apparently visible. Compared to rural - urban migration, rural to rural and urban to urban migration are relatively limited in developing countries. The mounting challenges of health care, education, employment, transportation, and communication services in the remote hills have forced the rural people to migrate in the Teari and urban cities for an improved livelihood. The trend of such migration is ever increasing in the least developing countries. In the present context of political conflicts, people have to leave their places of residence for a variety of reasons - causing migration.

Similarly, seasonal migration is on rise for economic opportunities. Interestingly, people migrate to plains due to acute cold weather in the high mountains in the winter and are again back to their homes during spring. There are both 'pull and push' factors determining migration. These largely include social, economic, demographic, political and geographic determinants. As all know by now, rural poverty, unemployment, and lack of agricultural resources are the pushing factors for migration.
The widespread social causes have overwhelming impacts on migration. Marriage is one of the most important social determinants responsible for migration. Similarly, in a very complex situation like caste and class discrimination, poor social security and natural calamities, migration becomes more vibrant. In addition to this, demographic determinants such as age, sex, and population growth and density affect the size and direction of migration. The recent trend of migration indicates that young adult population migrate most for education and economic opportunities. Similarly, geographic and political determinants also play a significant role in migration.

On the other side, international migration is also increasing in this era of modernisation and globalisation. It is found that such migration is largely due to international economic imbalances, poverty and environmental degradation, combined with absence of peace and security, human rights violations and so on.

According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) report on International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), it is estimated that the number of international migrants in the world, including refugees, is in excess of 125 million, about half of them in developing countries.
The report further mentions that the main receiving countries in the developed world registered a net migration intake of approximately 1.4 million persons annually, about two thirds of whom originated in developing countries in the recent years. This type of migration is believed to have great potential of facilitating the transfer of skills and contributing to cultural enrichment. This entails the loss of human resources for many countries of origin, however.

Migration is definitely a development issue. Like many developing countries in the world, Nepal is also experiencing rapid population growth and urbanisation. In the recent years, attention has been paid to rural - urban migration in particular. Urban cities are regarded as centers of economic growth that offer numerous employment and economic opportunities for socio-economic development. However, experience shows that inequitable allocation of development resources, adoption of inappropriate technologies and lack of access to available land are also giving a push to migration.

Response

In this context, government should adopt sustainable regional development strategies that offer tangible benefits to rural as well as urban people. Side by side, the government should also strengthen their capacities to respond to the pressing needs and choices of urban population.

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