Role of Remittances in Building Farm Assets in the Flood Affected Households in Koshi Sub-Basin in Nepal

Abstract

The impacts of future climate change could be significantly reduced if people were better able to cope with present climate risks. The role of human mobility, particularly labor migration and remittances, has received little attention in the adaptation policies in Nepal. Instead, migration is perceived as a challenge to development and adaptation goals. This is partly due to the lack of empirical evidence on the relationship between migration, environmental stressors, and CCA. This chapter examines the role of remittances in building farm assets such as farm size, livestock, irrigation, and farm mechanization, which are an important component of a rural household’s adaptive capacity. Circular migration in search of employment and higher earnings has for long been a defining feature of the livelihoods of many households in the Sagarmatha Transect of Koshi sub-basin of Nepal. Remittances are an important component of recipient household income. A major share of remittances is spent on food, healthcare, loan repayment, education, and consumer goods. There is little investment of remittances in measures pertaining to disaster preparedness (e.g. insurance). Common household responses during floods and the immediate aftermath are reactive and short-term in nature, and those between two flood events include some low-cost structural measures. A significant positive association between remittance recipient status of a household and farm size is observed. However, the longer duration for which a household receives remittances is more likely to reduce the size of its farm holding.