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The right to practice shiftingcultivation as a traditional occupation

in Nepal

A case study to apply ILO ConventionsNos. 111 (Employment and Occupation) and 169

(Indigenous and Tribal Peoples)

K.P. Aryal and E.E. Kerkhoff

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Copyright © International Labour Organization 2008

First published 2008

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The right to practice shifting cultivation as a traditional occupation in Nepal. A case study to apply ILOConventions No. 111 (Employment and Occupation) and 169 (Indigenous and Tribal peoples)

Kathmandu, International Labour Office, 2008

ISBN 978-92-2-121452-6

Published in partnership with ICIMOD

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Photo By

K.P. Aryal (Fig. Cover, 4, 5, 13, 14b, 15, and 19)

E.E. Kerkhoff (All the others)

Printed by Jagadamba Press for the ILO

Printed in Nepal

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Acknowledgements

Many individuals and institutions have contributed to this study and made it possiblefor us to complete it. Therefore, we wish to thank all the community members andrespondents of Dhading, Chitwan, Gorkha and Sankhuwasabha districts for sharingtheir views and insights as well as their time and hospitality.

It would be impossible to name all the people who helped to make our time enjoyable andeffective, but the following people and organisations deserve special thanks. They are Mr.Janak Chepang, Mr. Rana Bahadur Chepang, Mr. Yeman Chepang, Ms. Laxmi Gurung, Ms.Vijaya Subba, Ms. Sabhita Pandhak, Mr. Padam Gurung, Mr. Kapil Kafle, and Mr. MahendraGurung. We wish to thank the Nepal Chepang Association, NEFIN, NFDIN, CAED, CDO, theChepang Cooperative at Chitwan, the DDC office (Chitwan), DADO offices (Chitwan, Dhadingand Sankhuwasabha), DFO offices (Chitwan, Dhading and Sankhuwasabha), MBNPCA,CEAPRED, LFP-Sankhuwasabha, FORWARD, CSRC, and the MoFSC.

Our sincere thanks go to Ms. Sarah Webster from the ILO (SRO-New Delhi) for entrustingus with this assignment and providing technical backstopping support on the ILO Conventions.We learned a lot from her analytical questions, informative comments, and encouragementthroughout the process. We further received important additional inputs from Dr. EklabyaSharma, Dr. Michael Kollmair and Mr. Xitij Rai from ICIMOD, and Mr. Tim Whyte from ILO.

This study was funded by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Nepal office,while ICIMOD provided substantial input in terms of staff time. We are very grateful toboth these organisations and hope this initiative will open the way for futurecollaboration, especially on the topics of shifting cultivation and indigenous peoples.

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Executive summary

Many indigenous peoples (or nationalities) in Nepal practice shifting cultivation; it istheir traditional occupation and part of their cultural identity. It is an integrated farmingsystem, locally known as khoriya or basme, and considered by many as the only viableoption for the steep slopes they inhabit. Government and development organisations,however, find it unproductive and wasteful of natural resources and see it as a sign ofunderdevelopment. This has resulted in a hostile policy environment, which eitherdiscourages shifting cultivation or ignores its existence. Recent research, however,has found that the unsupportive policy environment is the main reason for increasedpoverty and land degradation in shifting cultivation areas, rather than inappropriateland use by the farmers themselves.

It is in this context that the study aimed to apply the ILO’s Discrimination (Employment andOccupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) and the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention,1989 (No. 169), as tools to defend the right of indigenous peoples to practice shifting cultivationif they wish to do so. Convention No. 111 protects shifting cultivators against discrimination inemployment, including the right to freely choose one’s occupation. It is strongly interlinkedwith Convention No. 169, which recognises the right of indigenous peoples to maintain theirdistinct cultural identity.

Two cases were analysed as part of the study. One is the case of Sankhuwasabha district,where shifting cultivation is most commonly practiced by the Sherpa, Rai and Shingsaindigenous nationalities. The other is the case of the Chepang indigenous nationality thatpractices shifting cultivation mainly in Dhading, Gorkha, Chitwan and Makwanpur districts. Apolicy review was also undertaken, in order to come up with useful recommendations. Itincluded the current policy environment and debate on shifting cultivation, tenure andmanagement of land and other natural resources, on indigenous peoples and on povertyalleviation and social inclusion.

Several issues emerge when the ground-reality of the cases is compared with the rightsprotected in the conventions. The key issues found to be related to the right to practiceshifting cultivation were: rights to land, natural resources and minerals; displacement; accessto (government) services and facilities, health care, education and vocational training (includingagricultural and forestry extension); access to employment, employers’ and workers’organisations, and traditional economies; consultation and participation in decision-making;customs, traditions and customary law; the need for special measures and undoing pastharm; and governments’ responsibilities.

The present policy framework for shifting cultivators clearly does not meet obligations underConvention No.111. While blanket polices do exist to address the needs of the poor, thesepolicies fail to address the needs of the most vulnerable – in this context, shifting cultivators.

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Most issues will remain relevant even if (ex-) shifting cultivators decide to engage inother occupations or use the land for other purposes. Even when shifting cultivatorsare forced to look for alternative options, they should be given the right inputs andopportunities to diversify their occupations. As it is, they often end up discriminatedagainst and vulnerable to exploitation in the mainstream labour market. TheConventions in question were found to be very applicable, although capacity buildingis needed to spread awareness on their content and effective application on a widerscale.

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Acronyms

ADB Agriculture Development Bank

CAED Centre for Agro-Ecology and Development

CBS Central Bureau of Statistics

CDO Community Development Organisation

CDO Chief District Office or Officer

CIAT International Centre for Tropical Agriculture

CEAPRED Centre for Environmental and Agricultural Policy Research

CSRC Community Self-Reliance Centre

DADO District Agriculture Development Office

DDC District Development Committee

DFID Department for International Development

DFO District Forest Office or Officer

DNPWC Department of National Park and Wildlife Conservation

DSCO District Soil Conservation Office

EFA Education For All

FECOFUN Federation of Forest User Groups of Nepal

FORWARD Forum for Rural Welfare and Agriculture Reform for Development

HMGN His Majesty’s Government of Nepal

HNPR Himalayan National Park Regulations

ICIMOD International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development

ILO International Labour Organisation

IP Indigenous Peoples

LFP Livelihoods and Forestry Programme

masl meter above sea level

MBNPCA Makalu-Barun National Park and Conservation Area

MoFSC Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation

NCA Nepal Chepang Association

NEFIN Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities

NFDIN National Foundation for Development of Indigenous Nationalities

NFE Non Formal Education

NGO Non Governmental Organisation

NPC National Planning Commission

NPWC National Parks and Wildlife Conservation

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NTFP Non Timber Forest Product

PRA Participatory Rural Appraisal

SEACOW School of Ecology, Agriculture and Community Works

SODEC Social Development Centre

TRPAP Tourism for Rural Poverty Alleviation Programme

UN United Nations

UNDP United Nation Development Programme

VDC Village Development Committee

Conversion Rates1 pathi 5.6 litre

1 man 40 kg

1 ropani 508.72 m2

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Acknowledgements............................................................................................................... iExecutive summary .............................................................................................................. iiAcronyms.............................................................................................................................. iv

1. Background ................................................................................................................. 11.1 Shifting cultivation and indigenous peoples in Nepal .............................11.2 Background to the study .............................................................................21.3 Overview of the report .................................................................................3

2. Research Questions and Methodology .................................................................42.1 Aim and objectives of the study .................................................................42.2 Study Approach and Methodology .............................................................42.3 Limitations to the study ...............................................................................52.4 Study area ......................................................................................................5

3. Theoretical background ...........................................................................................83.1 Concepts ........................................................................................................8

3.1.1 Indigenous Peoples ..........................................................................83.1.2 Shifting Cultivation ..........................................................................9

3.2 ILO Conventions Nos. 111 and 169 and their relevance toshifting cultivation ......................................................................................113.2.1 ILO convention 111 on Employment and Occupation ...............123.2.2 Relevance for indigenous peoples ...............................................123.2.3 Relevance to farmers .....................................................................123.2.4 Scope of the study .........................................................................133.2.5 Understanding and relating the terms and provisions ..............13

4. Current policy environment and debate .............................................................. 164.1 On shifting cultivation ................................................................................164.2 On land tenure ............................................................................................16

4.2.1 Kipat .................................................................................................174.2.2 The Rana and Panchayat regimes ................................................174.2.3 Cadastral survey and land registration .......................................18

4.3 On tenure and management of natural resources ..................................194.3.1 Community forestry .......................................................................194.3.2 Leasehold forestry programme ....................................................194.3.3 Protected area network .................................................................20

4.4 On indigenous peoples ..............................................................................204.4.1 Indigenous nationalities in Nepal .................................................20

Table of Contents

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4.4.2 Current political developments ....................................................214.4.3 Policy issues for indigenous nationalities ..................................224.4.4 Political representation: the Nepal Federation of

Indigenous Nationalities (NEFIN) .................................................234.5 On poverty alleviation and social inclusion ............................................24

5. Case of the Sherpas, Rais and Shingsas of Sankhuwasabha ...........................255.1 Traditional occupations of indigenous peoples .....................................255.2 Characteristics and requirements of the shifting

cultivation practice .....................................................................................275.2.1 State and importance of shifting cultivation ...............................275.2.2 Rotation of crop fields: pattern and cycle ...................................275.2.3 Fallow forests .................................................................................285.2.4 Crop production and productivity ................................................295.2.5 Wild food collection .......................................................................305.2.6 Livestock herding ...........................................................................305.2.7 Organisation of labour ...................................................................315.2.8 Gender division of labour ..............................................................315.2.9 Community-based organisations .................................................325.2.10 Market linkages, credit and infrastructure ..................................335.2.11 Local employment opportunities ..................................................33

5.3 Land-use change and its impact on livelihoods .....................................335.3.1 The relative importance of shifting cultivation ........................... 335.3.2 Land registration problems ...........................................................345.3.3 Land grabbing .................................................................................365.3.4 Community forestry .......................................................................365.3.5 Large cardamom cultivation .........................................................375.3.6 Land use change and impact on livelihoods ...............................39

5.4 Government programmes and services ..................................................395.4.1 Makalu-Barun National Park and Conservation Area

(MBNPCA) .......................................................................................395.4.2 The District Forest Office ..............................................................395.4.3 11 Kha Board ..................................................................................405.4.4 Federation of Forest User Groups of Nepal ................................405.4.5 District Agriculture Development Office (DADO) ......................415.4.6 Political representation and advocacy .........................................415.4.7 Development organizations ..........................................................41

6. Case of the Chepang .............................................................................................. 426.1 Traditional occupations of Chepang and relative importance of

shifting cultivation .....................................................................................426.2 Characteristics and requirements of the shifting cultivation practice .43

6.2.1 Rotation of crop fields: pattern and cycle ...................................436.2.2 Crop production and productivity ................................................446.2.3 Wild and uncultivated foods .........................................................446.2.4 Customary institutions ..................................................................456.2.5 Local employment opportunities ..................................................46

6.3 Land-use change and its impact on livelihoods .....................................486.3.1 The relative importance of shifting cultivation ........................... 486.3.2 Current land tenure situation ........................................................486.3.3 Community forestry programme ..................................................486.3.4 Leasehold forestry programme ....................................................49

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6.4 Government programmes and services ..................................................506.4.1 National Foundation for the Development of Indigenous

Nationalities (NFDIN) .....................................................................506.4.2 District Agriculture Development Office (DADO) ......................516.4.3 District Forest Office (DFO) ..........................................................516.4.4 Citizenship registration .................................................................516.4.5 Political representation and advocacy:

the Nepal Chepang Association ...................................................526.4.6 The Chepang Mainstreaming Programme ...................................526.4.7 Chepang Hill Trail ...........................................................................536.4.8 Chepang medicinal plant cooperative in Saktikhor ...................546.4.9 Prithivi Highway, agricultural cooperatives and

collection centres ...........................................................................56

7. Issues related to ILO Conventions Nos. 111 and 169 ........................................577.1 The right to practice shifting cultivation ..................................................577.2 Land rights ..................................................................................................597.3 Displacement ...............................................................................................617.4 Rights to natural resources and minerals ...............................................627.5 Access to services and facilities ...............................................................63

7.5.1 Citizenship certificate ....................................................................637.5.2 Social security ................................................................................647.5.3 Indebtedness, debt servitude and access to credit ....................64

7.6 Health care ...................................................................................................657.7 Education .....................................................................................................657.8 Vocational training .....................................................................................677.9 Access to employers’ and workers’ organisations ................................687.10 Employment and traditional economies ..................................................687.11 Consultation and participation in decision-making ...............................697.12 Customs and traditions and customary law ...........................................707.13 Special measures for ethnic minorities and undoing past harm ..........707.14 Governments’ responsibilities ..................................................................70

8. Discussion and Conclusions ................................................................................. 718.1 Assessment of the policy situation ..........................................................718.2 Questions on how the Conventions apply to various stakeholders ....728.3 Applying ILO Conventions Nos. 111 and 169 ..........................................73

9. Recommendations ................................................................................................. 74

10. Bibliography ............................................................................................................ 78

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1.1 Shifting cultivation and indigenous peoples in Nepal

In Nepal, shifting cultivation is locally known as khoriya or bhasme (in the eastern part). It isa traditional farming system for many indigenous peoples and strongly linked to their cultureand identity; only certain ethnic groups have the expertise to make it work. This expertise isbased on their indigenous knowledge as well as their specific cultural customs and practices.It is mostly practiced in areas where permanent cropping is not possible, because ofsteepness, mostly in areas with more than 30 degree slope. In fact, the term khoriya refersto land that is too steep for permanent (terrace) cultivation. This is one reason why shiftingcultivators generally belong to the poorest farmers.

Indigenous peoples or “nationalities”, as they are known in Nepal (Janajati in Nepali) accountfor almost 40% of the population and comprise 59 distinct groups, each with their ownlanguage, culture and belief system. The main shifting cultivators are the Chepang, Magar,Sherpa, Rai, Limbu, Tamang and Gurung (not in order of importance).

Fields are cleared of (forest) vegetation on a rotational basis after which they are cultivatedfor one or two years. After the cropping phase, the land is left fallow for up to 12 years andforest regenerates. Land clearing is usually done through slashing and burning, which is whythe term slash-and-burn is often used instead. However, this rotational agroforestry practiceshould not be confused with the clearing of forest for permanent cultivation.

In recent decades, the pressure on these lands has increased, causing a considerableshortening of the fallow period. Since fallow forests are the main source of soil fertility, sucha shortening greatly jeopardises short-term food security as well as long-term sustainability.Factors that have contributed to the shortening of fallows are the allocation of shiftingcultivation land for other purposes (i.e. community forestry and cardamom cultivation), aswell as population pressure. The communities themselves are growing and there is increasingimmigration from other parts of Nepal to certain areas.

Although shifting cultivation is practiced in many hilly areas of Nepal, the government anddevelopment organisations have been discouraging it and ignoring its existence. It is seen asa sign of underdevelopment, with the result that most policy makers claim it no longer existsin Nepal. They have criticized it as being unproductive, destructive of forests and wildlife andwasteful of natural resources. Even the current state and prevalence of shifting cultivation inNepal are not well known, although it is reported to be practiced in over 20 districts (out of 75)(Regmi et al 2005).

This lack of interest is the reason why as yet no answers have been found as to how shiftingcultivation as a farming system can meet the increasing demands of larger populations in a

1C h a p t e r

Background

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Figure 1: Shifting cultivation is mostly practiced on the steepest slopes: above the terraces inGorkha (left) and Sankhuwasabha (right)

contemporary society. Recent research shows that shifting cultivators themselveshave developed innovations within their traditional farming system to meet thechallenge of enhancing productivity levels without having to expand the area underproduction (Regmi et al 2005; Kerkhoff and Sharma 2006).

According to Kerkhoff and Sharma (2006), for those farmers who depend on shifting cultivation,the replacement of shifting cultivation by permanent agriculture or forestry activities wouldresult in:

Reduction of the total area available for shifting cultivation and subsequentshortening of the fallow phase, resulting in reduced productivity and food security.Increased dependency on external market and political forces for whichcommunities and their institutions are little prepared or supported, thus increasingtheir vulnerability.Environmental degradation, which takes place in such areas where the traditionalshifting cultivation practice has been distorted and acceptable alternatives havenot been found.Transformation of tenurial regimes from common property in which everyonegets a share, to private property, resulting in landlessness and poverty.

1.2 Background to the study

This case study on indigenous peoples’ practices of shifting cultivation in Nepal is part of anoverall ILO study on indigenous peoples’ rights to lands, territories and resources anddiscrimination in employment and occupation.

For the consultants, the opportunity to apply international conventions to promote the interestsof shifting cultivators was a new idea. Like most researchers and policy makers working withnatural resources and indigenous peoples, they were unaware of the applicability of ILOConventions Nos. 111 and 169 to our particular case. This and the collaboration with the ILOoffice demonstrated promising opportunities to provide important new dimensions to ongoingresearch and advocacy work on shifting cultivation, which the consultants have been involvedin for four years.

At the initiative of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD),researchers from Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Myanmar, Nepal and North East India havejoined hands to take a fresh and unbiased look at shifting cultivation to come up with

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1 The findings of this initiative have been published in ‘Debating Shifting Cultivation in the EasternHimalayas: farmers’ innovations as lessons for policy’ (Kerkhoff and Sharma 2006), and the debatecontinues on the Jhumia Network at <http://in.groups.yahoo.com/group/jhumias>.

a new perspective on its development. In their opinion, if millions of farmers maintaintheir practice, despite so many government efforts to replace it with alternatives, theremust be something to it that makes sense. Therefore, the aim was to find farmers’own innovations and good practices. The hope was that these might prove to be theway out of the current situation, where farmers’ own practices are increasinglydiscouraged, while alternatives are not taking effect.

The unsupportive policy environment was found to be the main reason for increased povertyand land degradation in shifting cultivation areas, rather than inappropriate land use by thefarmers themselves. Therefore, in October 2004, a policy dialogue workshop was held, whichled to the adoption of the Shillong Declaration on Shifting Cultivation in the Eastern Himalayas(Kerkhoff and Sharma 2006). Its main message was that shifting cultivation should beimproved, rather than replaced by alternatives, and this has been advocated ever since.1

1.3 Overview of the report

The study presented here intends to provide insights into the Nepali Government’s policiesand programmes on shifting cultivation as a traditional occupation of indigenous peoples(see chapter 4), and match them with ground-realities of the communities where these policiesare intended to take effect (see chapter 5 and 6). With help of the provisions of ILO ConventionsNos. 111 and 169, issues can be identified in relation to the impact of policy on communities.These are presented in chapter 7. Lessons can be learned too, on how these ILO Conventionscan be used in future to promote the rights of shifting cultivators, as is discussed in chapter8. Recommendations for the Government of Nepal, for development professionals, for ILOand for the shifting cultivators themselves will be presented in chapter 9.

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2.1 Aim and objectives of the study

Aim

To prepare a case study on indigenous peoples’ right to practice shifting cultivation in Nepal,with specific reference to ILO Conventions No. 111 and No. 169.

Specific objectives

1. To document the main characteristics of shifting cultivation as traditionally practiced bythe Chepang, Sherpa, Rai and Shingsa indigenous nationalities of Nepal (see cases inChapters 5 and 6).

2. To describe the natural resources (including land, forest, crop and animal biodiversityand water) on which shifting cultivators depend for their livelihoods, and present a briefhistory of the resource tenure in the villages under study. (See cases in Chapters 5and 6).

3. To review and document the current legal and policy framework concerning shiftingcultivation in Nepal, and the rights of the Chepang and Sherpa indigenous groups topractice their traditional occupation and access the required land and natural resources(see Chapter 4).

4. To identify relevant current legal and policy issues in reference to international standards,in particular ILO Convention No. 111, and relevant national legislation and policies,particularly:

Discrimination in employment and occupationAccess to employment and occupationLand and natural resource rights (See Chapter 7)

5. To develop a set of recommendations on how to increase shifting cultivators’ access totheir traditional forms of employment and occupation, reduce discrimination and secureland and resources tenure in the case of indigenous people. (see Chapters 8 and 9)

2.2 Study Approach and Methodology

The study approach included: (a) a literature review; (b) field visits to interview and interactwith the shifting cultivators and make observations; and (c) consultations with governmentrepresentatives, relevant institutions and other concerned stakeholders.

2C h a p t e r

Research Questions andMethodology

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Ten days were spent in each of the study sites, in which we tried to meet as manyfarmers as possible, sometimes individually and sometimes in focus groups, includingmen and women, elders and children, and members of the IPs concerned, as well asmany others. The strategy during this process was to find out about any cases ofdiscrimination and go to the places concerned to meet key informants. The interviewswith farmers and key informants were semi-structured and held in an informal mannerin order to give interviewees the opportunity to share the expertise they had to offerand elicit their honest opinions. Since the field sites were quite remote, it was notpossible to inform anyone in advance of our visit. As a result we mostly spoke withindividual farmers and small groups who had a few minutes to spare, but no elaboratePRA tools could be applied. At each study site, one or more research assistants werehired from the local community, to direct us to the relevant places, and help identifythe key informants and stakeholder groups.

At the district headquarters, the relevant district-level government offices and developmentagencies were visited or telephoned. In Kathmandu, the relevant government agencies werevisited, as well as a considerable number of key experts and institutes. Extensive deskresearch was done to review literature, analyse the various relevant policy documents andunderstand the working of the ILO Conventions. Intensive interaction with the experts at ILOand the parallel research team in Bangladesh were also very important to ensure the scientificrelevance and significance of this research.

2.3 Limitations to the study

During the field visits most people turned out to be very busy working in the stone quarries(Chepang), digging the roads (in Sankhuwasabha) or carrying local market products.Therefore, by the time they had some free time, they were quite exhausted and could not talkto us for very long.

An extensive search for relevant literature was done, but it was difficult to find any usefulinformation on the shifting cultivation farming practice itself. This topic has attracted littleattention in Nepal, as most professionals believe that it does not exist anymore, despiteample evidence in the field to prove the contrary. Much of the research that has been done isbiased against the practice and is aimed at finding ways to control it, rather than beingappreciative and interested in understanding it.

The literature that is available on indigenous cultures has its limitations too, because whenagriculture is described, the distinction between shifting cultivation and permanent agricultureis often missing, making it difficult to decide on the relevance. In anthropological literaturetoo, perspectives matter, but are sometimes difficult to discern. Titles like “The Happiness inWildness of the Chepangs” (Swoveet 1992), for example, which have even been quoted inmore respectable publications, clearly reveal the problem of over-romanticising, which isdiscriminatory in its own way.

2.4 Study area

The study looked into two cases: the Chepang in Gorkha, Dhading and Chitwan districts ofcentral Nepal; and the Sherpas, Rais and Shingsas in Sankhuwasabha district in easternNepal. There are marked differences in the situation of the shifting cultivators in the two sites.The two sites have been strategically selected for the reasons presented in table 1. The tableshows the contrasting features of the sites, which to some extent reflect the diversity ofsituations of shifting cultivators in Nepal, to which the findings and recommendations

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should apply. It should be noted that there is no overlap, nor even a common border,between the lands of the Sherpas and Rais and that of the Chepangs. In everyday life,these two groups have nothing to do with each other, and in fact, many may not knowthat the other group also practices shifting cultivation. They may not even know ofeach others’ existence. They are independent from each other, and yet they couldshare and exchange such a wealth of experience.

The specific villages have been selected during the field visits on the basis of aspects suchas the diversity of traditional practices, tenurial arrangements and incidence of discrimination.Details on the study sites are given below.

The first study site was in Sankhuwasabha, which is one of the districts where shiftingcultivation is still found on a comparatively larger scale (Regmi et al, 2004). Its indigenousgroups are Sherpa, Rai and Shingsa, and shifting cultivation is still practiced among all ofthem. Other ethnic communities that have entered the area more recently are Gurung, Tamangand Magar, as well as the Hindu caste groups.

This large district in north eastern Nepal, its capital town being Khandbari, has major landmarkssuch as the Arun river and Mt. Makalu. The Arun valley is one of the wettest areas of Nepal,with an annual rainfall of around 4000 mm, which mostly falls in the monsoon (June toSeptember). The natural vegetation in the area where shifting cultivation is practiced is generallycharacterised by high species diversity. There are subtropical and temperate mixed broadleafforests, dominated by Shima – Castanopsis, Rhododendron and Alder.

Nowadays, the main area for shifting cultivation is the buffer zone area of the Makalu-Barunnational park, which is on the northern border with the Tibet Autonomous Region of China.Here, shifting cultivation is practiced in the least distorted form. However, the villages weretoo far to reach within the timeframe of this study. Instead, we were able to interview a fewfarmers from this area when they were in Khandbari.

Characterisation of the two study sites

Feature

Traditional occupationthey are known for

Poverty, marginalisationand lifestyle

Land shortage

Remoteness

Landscape

Sherpa/Rai(Sankhuwasabha)

Other more prestigiousoccupations, such asmountaineering and BritishArmy

Rais and Sherpas as peoplesrelatively strong botheconomically and politically

Fallow cycles up to 12-13years, even today

Physically remote, but betterconnected with wider society

At high elevation up to 2000-2500 masl

Chepang

Shifting cultivation andhunting gathering

Chepangs poorer and moremarginalised

Severe land shortage andunsustainable cyclespredominant

Near national highway, butculturally more distant

Churia range (750 – 1200masl)

Table 1:

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2 VDCs are the smallest administrative units at village level in Nepal3 Tole is a Nepali word referring to a hamlet or small cluster of households within a larger

village. In Nepali villages it is common for ethnic groups and castes to each have their ownneighbourhood or tole within the village or even in the city.

The three village development committees (VDCs)2 that were visited for the purposeof this study were Num, Machhepokhari and Dhiding, which are not in the buffer zone.Here, shifting cultivation used to be a major practice in the past, but it is slowly beingreplaced by other land uses. The main focus was on Mude village, where the shiftingcultivation practice is still relatively undistorted. This village counts 33 households(all Sherpa), and is situated in Num VDC. It lies on a ridge at an altitude of 1800-2000masl. It is about a day’s walk away from Khandbari, along a ridge which has Dhidingto the west, Num to the north and Machhepokhari to the east.

The second study site was the area of the Chepangs. The region where the Chepangtraditionally live, and continue to do so today, consists of the southern part of Dhading district,the western part of Makwanpur, the northern part of Chitwan and the southern part of Gorkha.They live in small, isolated settlements along the steeper slopes of the Mahabharat range atelevations of 500 to 1200 metres. Tamangs live higher and Brahmans, Chhetris, Gurungsand Newars live lower than the Chepangs along the same range of mountains” (Bista1967:118). It is on these steeper slopes that the Chepangs practice shifting cultivation (khoriyain Nepali), which are typically remote in access, marginal in agricultural production and lackcash-generating opportunities. Accurate data on the true extent of shifting cultivation in thisarea is unavailable.

The Jogimara, Bhunglichowk and Saktikhor VDCs of Dhading, Gorkha and Chitwan districtsrespectively were visited during the field study. Group discussions and individual interactionswere made with the locals, as well as people working in the respective villages whether fromgovernmental or non-governmental offices. Besides the field study sites, representativesfrom Makwanpur districts were also consulted.

Thumka Danda (Bhunglichowk VDC) can be reached via a cable bridge across the Trisuliriver (which flows along the Prithivi highway) and a steep climb of about two hours. Kamidanda(Bhunglichowk VDC) is accessible via another cable bridge further down river and aboutthree hours’ walk. Laitak (Jogimara VDC) is located two hours’ walk up hill on the other sideof the Prithivi highway. Saktikhor is about 15 kilometres north of the Mahendra Highway,departing from the famous square for tourists - Sauraha Chowk in Chitwan district.Except for Thumka Danda, all other villages are of mixed ethnic composition, although allhave their own area or tole.3 This makes a big difference in terms of access and control overresources, as well as discrimination. It needs mentioning that most Chepang people live inmuch more remote areas than these, which are up to a whole day walking distance from theroad head.

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3.1 Concepts

3.1.1 Indigenous Peoples

In his study on the ‘Problem of Discrimination against Indigenous Populations’ (UN 2007),Jose R. Martinez Cobo adopted a working definition of indigenous peoples:

‘Indigenous communities, peoples and nations are those which, having a historical continuitywith pre-invasion and pre-colonial societies that developed on their territories, considerthemselves distinct from other sectors of the societies now prevailing on those territories, orparts of them. They form at present non-dominant sectors of society and are determined topreserve, develop and transmit to future generations their ancestral territories and their ethnicidentity, as the basis of their continued existence as peoples, in accordance with their owncultural patterns, social institutions and legal systems.’

The ILO takes a practical approach to identifying indigenous and tribal peoples. ILO ConventionNo. 169 does not actually define who are indigenous and tribal peoples, but instead describesthe peoples it aims to protect. The Convention covers both ‘indigenous’ and ‘tribal’ peoples,elements of which include:

Traditional lifestylesCulture and way of life different from the other segments of the nationalpopulation, e.g. in their ways of making a living, language, customs, etc.Own social organisation and traditional customs and lawsSelf-identification

The distinction made between ‘indigenous’ and ‘tribal’ is that along with the above mentionedcriteria, ‘indigenous’ may also imply ‘living in historical continuity in a certain area, or beforeothers “colonised” or came to the area. However in terms of treatment, no distinction ismade between the two. Rather, the challenge is ‘to improve the living and working conditionsof indigenous and tribal peoples so they can continue to exist as distinct peoples, if they wishto do so’ (ILO 2003: 7). The use of the term “indigenous” is controversial for many governmentsin Asia and Africa, who claim that their entire population is ‘indigenous’ to their country.

The definition of indigenous peoples as described by Mr. Cobo exists as an almost mirrorimage in the Nepali context with the old Constitution’s ‘law’ of janajatis. The old Constitutionestablished that indigenous peoples in Nepal, to name of few, are peoples with attachmentsto territories, distinct cultures, religions and languages and a non-recorded history of theirmigration and settlement time. Certain ethnic groups prevalent in Nepali society, such asDalits and migrated Hindus and Bengalis, do not fit this category because their actual settlement

3C h a p t e r

Theoretical background

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can be traced to a certain period of time. Such groups follow greater Hindu beliefs, donot have a unique language (instead speak mainstream languages such as Nepali orHindi) and finally do not have a cultural attachment to certain territory.

For example, these migrated Hindus and Bengalis are scattered all over Nepal from the eastto the west, whereas indigenous Nepalis have a particular area to which they belong. However,with that said, the definition of janajatis in the old Constitution encompasses certain groupsthat are not necessarily indigenous to Nepal but rather part of a late migratory pattern. Theseinclude the Sherpas and the Shingsa, who are all in fact late migratory groups from the Tibetregion. However, since they fulfil all the criteria for being identified as ‘indigenous peoples’ inNepal, they are therefore part of this greater janajati circle.

3.1.2 Shifting Cultivation

The term shifting cultivation is often used interchangeably with the terms ‘slash-and-burn’ or‘swidden’ agriculture. A wide variety of practices across the globe fall under these terms, butnot all can be considered shifting cultivation. In fact, slash-and-burn is a land clearing method,which is used by many for the permanent clearing of land (Kerkhoff and Sharma 2006).Shifting cultivation is characterised by a short ‘cultivation phase’ of a few years followed by arelatively longer ‘forestry phase’, usually referred to as the ‘fallow’ (Kerkhoff and Sharma2006). Fujisaka et al. (1996) define ‘traditional’ or ‘integrated’ shifting cultivation as the form inwhich indigenous communities clear and cultivate secondary forests and leave parcels toregenerate naturally via fallows of medium to long duration. This is the type of shifting cultivationthat is common in Nepal, where it is known as ‘khoriya’ and ‘basme’ (Kerkhoff and Sharma2006).

In this study, we understand shifting cultivation to be an integrated farming system, not merelya land clearing practice - which means it meets with certain “standards” to be defined asshifting cultivation. In other words, it has certain basic tenets which are usually in place; themain ones being forest fallows, controlled burning, customary regulatory institutions andindigenous knowledge and skills. Although there are variations in the farming system acrossdifferent ethnic groups and geographic locations, there are certain characteristic elementsthat are essential for its proper functioning. These tenets need to be understood before anyanalysis and policy dialogue can take place. In fact, under pressure of development, manysystems have become distorted in recent decades and these fundamental elements havedeteriorated. In our understanding, the development of shifting cultivation is only sustainableif these basic tenets are respected; unlike with the forced adoption of alternatives, which aremore like conversions to other farming systems.

Fallowing is a common practice in many agricultural systems, but specific to shifting cultivationis that there is forest growth on the fallow land. The fallow is called ‘lhose’ in Nepali. Thefallow forests are an integrated part of the shifting cultivation farming system and are essentialto recuperate soil fertility and structure after cultivation and to provide a range of products tomeet household requirements (e.g. bamboo and wild foods) and socio-cultural functions. Infact, it is these fallow forests that make agricultural production possible on extremely steepslopes in the first place, and it is these that take up most of the space in the shifting cultivationlandscape.

Forest fallows require some major adaptations, such as controlled burning for land clearingand the rotation of plots (not necessarily of settlements). If farmers are not able to clearsome of the forest when it is no longer needed, they might not allow it to grow so high on theirland in the first place. It is a common misunderstanding that slashing and burning would be‘easy’ or ‘labour extensive’ as compared to land preparation in settled agriculture. In fact, it

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often requires the cooperation of all community members and good organisation tokeep the fires under control.

Rotation takes place both in time and in space. A particular plot is cleared and cultivated forone or two years with annual crops. Usually other perennial crops are grown in between orafter these, before the land is left for the forest to regenerate and the farmers clear thesubsequent plot. After the forest has sufficiently regenerated, or when the land is neededagain, it is cleared once again. Farmers usually clear a new plot for annual crops every year,but the other plots are by no means ‘abandoned’. They are managed as fallows, because thefarmer will be using them again in a couple of years. In space, this results in a patchy landscapeof plots with annual crops, perennial crops, bamboo (early fallow species) and forests. Rotationrequires access to much larger areas of land than permanent agriculture, which is often notunderstood by outsiders.

The rotational cycle is defined as the cropping phase and the fallow phase combined. Itslength and changes therein, are often used as an indicator for the ecological sustainability ofthe system. There are studies which point to fallow phases of 20-30 years, implying that thislength is required for ecological sustainability (e.g. Ramakrishnan 1992), but this is based onthe understanding that fallows should grow until primary forest regenerates. From the farmers’perspective, however, secondary forests better serve their purpose, providing enough biomass

Figure 2: Shifting cultivation landscape with crop fields and fallows at various stages(Sankhuwasabha, Nepal)

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to maintain soil fertility, and enough forest products to meet their requirements. Thiswould mean a fallow phase of around 10 years is sufficient. This figure can be takenas a ‘rule of thumb’, although the ideal length of the rotational cycle depends on thequality of the land, which is determined by the type of vegetation, steepness, altitude,and aspect. At higher elevations, more time is needed for forest regeneration, so fallowsshould be longer and use up more space. Social aspects to determine the ideal fallowlength are further: the land holding size, family size and labour availability.

During the slashing and burning, large trees are left on the field for ecological and practicalreasons. In practical terms, they are too thick to cut and burn and too heavy to carry off thefield. In ecological terms, they serve as mother trees, helping the fallow forests to regeneratefaster and with more of the preferred species. They also help to prevent erosion and landslidesduring the cropping phase.

In shifting cultivation, land preparation usually involves only slashing and burning - no ploughingis undertaken. Maize is sown with the help of a dibbling stick and millet is broadcast on thefield. As compared to ploughing, such techniques reduce the risk of soil erosion. Soil fertilityis an issue, however, because the soils in these high-rainfall areas are relatively porous andsteep and need high levels of organic matter to bind the soil together. Animal manure is onlyavailable to those who have livestock, but chemical fertilizers cause a breakdown of organicmatter so are used only sparingly. Also, agrochemicals are too expensive for most subsistencefarmers.

Traditionally, shifting cultivators form groups to work the land together in a labour sharingsystem called parma. Since the work is very strenuous, working together in a group makesit more enjoyable and productive. In remote fields, the group further ensures protection incase of accidents or wild animals. For certain activities, like the controlled burning, a group isneeded to prevent the fire from spreading to other areas. This is common among shiftingcultivators of many different ethnic communities.

Unlike permanent farmers who focus on the plot level, shifting cultivators usually managetheir land and natural resources at a landscape scale. This planning of the rotational patternis required to make optimal use of local resources and protect fragile parts such as streambanks. Such management requires organisation and coordination, for which mostcommunities have customarily developed institutions (Kerkhoff and Sharma 2006). Insociological terms, institutions comprise shared norms, values, traditions, beliefs, religion,rules, regulations, laws, civil society organisations, and government agencies. It is all ofthese that form the ‘rules of the game’ in a society (North 1990). These institutions, particularlythose in charge of land holding and management, play a significant role in the tenure system,the organisation of labour and cultural identity.

3.2 ILO Conventions Nos. 111 and 169 and their relevance toshifting cultivation

The objective of this study is to see how the provisions of ILO Conventions Nos. 111(Discrimination in employment and occupation) and 169 (Indigenous and tribal peoples) canbe applied to the case of indigenous shifting cultivators in Nepal. Both Conventions Nos. 111and 169 provide for equality of opportunity and treatment of indigenous workers, no matterwhether they are engaged in wage employment or work in the informal economy, including inthe subsistence economy and rural and community-based industries as well as other traditionallivelihood activities.

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Because Convention 111 is based on the right to engage in the work or occupation ofone’s choice without distinction on grounds such as race, colour ethnicity orindigenous identity, a national policy in the context of Convention 111 needs to createa conducive environment for allowing indigenous and tribal peoples to engage intheir traditional livelihood activities, if they decide to do so.

3.2.1 ILO Convention 111 on Employment and Occupation

The objective of Convention 111 is to provide everyone with equal opportunities and equaltreatment in accessing employment and occupation, with a view to eliminating anydiscrimination in respect thereof. The terms “employment” and “occupation” include accessto vocational training, access to employment and to particular occupations, as well as termsand conditions of employment.

Convention 111 defines discrimination as “any distinction, exclusion or preference made onthe basis of race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin,which has the effect of nullifying or impairing equality of opportunity or treatment in employmentor occupation.” (Article 1.1.a.) In accordance with this definition, a situation or treatment isdiscriminatory if it involves the following three elements:

1. Facts which constitute a difference in treatment.

2. A ground on which the difference of treatment is based (sex, race, etc.).

3. The negative result of the treatment: an impairment of equality of opportunity andtreatment. (this means no special measures need to be taken for rich members ofindigenous peoples, even if they are of the same group)

Intent is not a necessary element of qualifying certain acts or situations as discriminatory.

Under the Convention, the government is required to repeal any directly or indirectlydiscriminatory legal provisions, policies or practices. It must end discrimination that is doneby public authorities but must also ensure that mechanisms are in place to addressdiscrimination perpetrated by private actors.

3.2.2 Relevance for indigenous peoples

Discrimination based on ethnicity or belonging to an indigenous people is covered under thegrounds of race, colour and national extraction. The Convention therefore intends to eliminatediscrimination and lack of equal opportunities experienced by indigenous workers due to thevery fact that they belong to indigenous peoples.

It is important that the principles of Convention 169 are taken into account when promotingequal opportunities and treatment of indigenous peoples within the framework of ConventionNo. 111. This is because Convention No. 169 complements Convention No. 111 by providingdetails of necessary measures to ensure that the specific human rights and dignity ofindigenous and tribal peoples are respected.

3.2.3 Relevance to farmers

It is important to realise that Convention 111 covers not only wage employment, but is alsomeant to ensure equality of opportunity and treatment in respect to self-employment. This iscovered in the term “occupation”, which means the trade, profession or type of work performedby an individual, irrespective of the branch of economic activity to which he or she belongs orhis or her professional status.

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Farmers are recognised as non-wage-earners; therefore some of the provisions ofthe convention may not be applicable to them. However, some common characteristicscan be discerned for the purposes of effective equality of access to these occupations.These include access to material goods and services required to carry on theoccupation in question (ILO 1996). Examples of such goods and services are land andinvestment credit, but in the case of shifting cultivation many more goods and servicescan be added to the list, including other natural resources such as forests (includingmany different goods), water, crops, and livestock. Services include governmentfacilities such as extension services, subsidies, administration, etc. The right to equalaccess to particular occupations further includes the right to freely choose one’soccupation (ILO 1996). This becomes relevant in light of the many efforts bygovernment and non-governmental organisations to control shifting cultivation, whichthey consider an unsustainable and unproductive type of land use.

3.2.4 Scope of the study

The study examines the applicability of two conventions, which although are interrelated,provide for different rights. Convention no. 111 protects the rights of people who are orcould be shifting cultivators, while Convention No. 169 protects the rights of indigenouspeoples. Not all shifting cultivators are indigenous peoples, and not all people of aparticular indigenous people are shifting cultivators, or even associated in any way withshifting cultivation.

This study focuses on those members of indigenous peoples who do practice shiftingcultivation. However, the question remains whether certain provisions should be made forthem because they are a shifting cultivator (thereby including all other shifting cultivators) orbecause they belong to a certain indigenous people (thereby including all other members ofthat people). Therefore, it is important to distinguish the rights of shifting cultivators as anoccupational group, from those of indigenous peoples as an ethnic group. This is furthercomplicated by the fact that there are hardly any farmers who depend solely on shiftingcultivation for their livelihood. Most indigenous shifting cultivators have additional occupationsto which the ILO Conventions apply. As we will see in the results, these include wage labourin agriculture, stone quarrying, road digging, shop keeping, portering, handicraft production,and tourism-related work. Activities like hunting, fishing and gathering of wild foods andproducts make up a large part of most shifting cultivators’ food security. Technically these‘additional occupations’ should be considered as separate, but will be covered in the studynonetheless.

Furthermore, even the indigenous shifting cultivators are not a homogeneous group. Amongthem are men, women, the elderly, children, disabled people and others who may bediscriminated against on different levels. Also, the same issues which apply to most Nepali’sare relevant for shifting cultivators too, even more so because they belong to the poorestsection of society - for example, the occurrence of child labour, gender-based discriminationin labour and remuneration, and inequitable terms of trade for agricultural and forest products.These issues have not been looked into very systematically due to time constraints, butwhere incidences of discrimination were encountered during the course of the study, theyhave been reported.

3.2.5 Understanding and relating the terms and provisions

This raises issues regarding the way the terms and provisions stated in the conventionsshould be understood. In this section we explore whether and how the terms and provisionscould be applicable to any farmers who practice shifting cultivation, which in some cases

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may require taking a broad understanding of the terms and adjusting our commonunderstanding of these.

In the following table we give an overview of the various issues that indigenous shiftingcultivators are facing, which could fall under the coverage of the two ILO conventions. Thefirst column presents the issues, the second column shows how these issues are coveredin Convention 111, and the third column gives the relevant articles from Convention 169 thatapply.

Rights covered in ILO Conventions No. 111 and 169

Issues

Right to practice shiftingcultivation

Land rights

Displacement

Natural resources andminerals

Services (govt.) for practicingSC (credit, infrastructure,administration, etc.)

Employment and traditionalconomies

Access to mployers’ andworkers’ organisations

Rights covered in C. 111(based on ILO 1996)

Right to practice a traditional occupationand right to freely choose an occupation

Access to resources required for theiroccupation

Related to access to land, because theyare displaced from the land they know tounknown land, where their traditionalknowledge and practices are notapplicable.

Access to resources required for theiroccupation

Access to services required for theiroccupation(citizenship, land, credit, healthcare)

Access to other occupations, self-employment, and public service

Access to employers’ and workers’organisations (paragraph 2(f) ofRecommendation No. 111)

Relevant articles in C. 169(based on ILO C. 169 and

ILO 169 Manual)

Arts. 14.1, 19 and 23 Traditionaleconomies

Art 5. To recognize, protect andrespect values and practices of IPs

Arts. 13, 14, 17, 18 and 19 on Landand Land Rights

Art. 16 on Displacement

Arts. 7.3 and 7.4 on environmentalimpact and protectionArts. 15.1 onNatural Resources and 15.2 onMineralsArt. 23 on hunting, fishing,trapping and gathering

Art. 4 citizenshipArt. 12 on protection against abuse oftheir rightsArt. 20.3 (c) on protection againstcoercive recruitment, bonded labourand dept servitudeArt. 24 on social securityArt. 25 on Health-care

Art. 20 EmploymentArts. 14.1, 19 and 23 Traditionaleconomies

Arts. 6 and 7 on participation indevelopment and decision-makingArt. 20.2 (d) on employers’ andworkers’ organisations

Table 2

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Issues

Consultation andparticipation in decision-making

Customs and traditions andcustomary law

Education

Vocational training (shouldinclude: agricultural andforestry extension, researchand development)

Special measures for ethnicminorities and undoing pastharm

Governments’ responsibilities

Rights covered in C. 111(based on ILO 1996)

C. 111 provides for cooperation betweenthe government and workers’ andemployers organizations, as well as“other appropriate bodies” in the contextof designing and implementing a nationalequality policy (Article 3.a)

Terms and conditions of employmentinclude social security (this is not justprovided by employers, but in case ofindigenous shifting cultivators also by thecustomary institutions and culturaldimension of the practice)

Right to education influences theopportunity to access employment and abroader range of occupations and makeswork more productive and remunerative.Education includes universal free andcompulsory education as well as literacyand non-formal education.

Right to vocational training to make workmore productive and remunerative.

Art. 5.2: special measures for ethnicminorities are not deemed discriminatory

Art. 3: declare and pursue a nationalpolicy by methods appropriate to nationalconditions and practice

Relevant articles in C. 169(based on ILO C. 169 and

ILO 169 Manual)

Art. 6 on consultation, participation,and development of IP’s owninstitutions and initiatives and consentArt. 7 on participation anddevelopment Preamble: Self-management,

Art. 8 on customs or customary law;Art. 24 on social security

Arts. 26 and 29 Equal right toeducationArt. 27 on specific needs andindigenous knowledge and values Art. 28 LanguagesArt. 31 Eliminating prejudices

Art. 19(b) to promote landdevelopmentArts. 21 and 22 on vocational trainingArt. 23 on rural industries, subsistenceeconomy and traditional activities

Arts. 4 and 20.1

Art. 2: for developing co-ordinatedand systematic action

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4.1 On shifting cultivation

In Nepal there is no specific policy to deal with shifting cultivation, but the practice is affectedby a diverse range of policies, varying from forest and agriculture to rural development. Whilethere are examples of favourable policies, in general the thrust is against the practice eitherin the policies themselves, in legislation or in their implementation.

The policies that affect shifting cultivation were documented by Regmi et al (2005). Landtenure laws constitute a major constraint upon environmentally sound agricultural/landmanagement practices in Nepal. The initial land survey and mapping process did not allowthe registration of shifting cultivation land. Furthermore, the Land Act and Land ManagementAct have made provisions for land registration for permanent farming, but complexities in thebureaucratic process make it difficult for farmers to actually do so (Bajracharya et.al. 1993).Families without registered land also have difficulty in obtaining their Nepali citizenship. Otherrelevant policy areas include: (a) forest nationalization and management and community andleasehold forestry; (b) land use related policies including on soil conservation, watershedmanagement and pastureland; (c) the Ninth and Tenth National Five Year Plans (resp. 1997-2002 and 2002-2007); (d) the Agricultural Perspective Plan (1996-2016); and (e) theEnvironmental Action Plan (1993) (Regmi et al 2005).

There is a clear gap between farmers’ reality and government policy, in which farmers’ traditionalpractices are discouraged, while alternatives promoted by governments are not taking effect(Kerkhoff and Sharma 2006). Land and land-use policies are generally insensitive to thespecific needs of shifting cultivators and implementation in shifting cultivation areas hastherefore been slow. Many of these are blanket policies that are not supported by informeddecision-making; they are often political and do not reflect ground realities of local farmers(many of whom are indigenous) and their practices. Some government programmes haveignored the shifting cultivation areas altogether, stating that conflict with farmers or with othergovernment agencies prevents successful implementation. Many policy- and decision-makersat lower administrative levels think that shifting cultivation does not exist anymore (Regmi etal 2005).

4.2 On land tenure

Land and resource tenure regimes have changed a number of times in the history of Nepal.This has affected the management of the shifting cultivation farming system and led to someof the issues that have arisen today. Below we elaborate on the details of each system.

4C h a p t e r

Current policy environmentand debate

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4.2.1 Kipat

In the past, the area under study belonged to a kingdom called Manjh-Kirant or Middle Kirantwhich was inhabited by the Rais. Old records indicate that the Rais formerly occupied amuch larger area than that in which they are found today, especially towards the north-west(Bista 1967).

The land was managed under a common property regime called kipat. The term kipat refersboth to the way the common property was customarily arranged as to the type of land rightgiven by the King. When King Prithivi Narayan Shah conquered these parts to unite Nepal,both Rais and Sherpas got the kipat right to the lands they traditionally occupied. “Almost allKirati land used to be under the kipat system, whereby the people exercised inalienablecommunal rights over the land. The Kiranti kipat was tax free and included dominion over allcultivated lands, forests, streams and rivers within its bounds.” In this system, taxes werenot raised from the land, but from each household. (Bista 1967). Each Rai family used tohave its own land, which it would work itself. A Rai farmer on this land was called a kipatiya,but any farmer of another ethnic group on the same kipat was called raiti and subject to taxeson this land, which he paid to the Rai (headman) of the village (Bista 1967).

Until 1928, the Chepangs also used to enjoy kipat rights, although unlike the Rais and Limbus,this issue is not commonly known and seems to be from a distant past. Nowadays, little isknown about the specific characteristics of their customary tenure regime as the elders wetalked to only remember the system of mukhiyas and jimmawals that were introduced duringthe Rana regime. What is certain, however, is that community land was not used as an ‘openaccess’ resource. Community members could not do whatever they wanted or hold on tocertain resources against the interests of the community as a whole. This was acknowledgedduring the recent interactions with the community and the Nepal Chepang Association (seebelow).

4.2.2 The Rana and Panchayat regimes

In the second half of the 19th Century, other powerful people who were patronised by theKing got feudal rights to land, called birtha. These feudal rulers were called jimmawals,and they had mukhiyas who worked as revenue collectors, maintained law and order,and solved local conflicts. Even the headmen who managed the kipat system becamerevenue collectors. During this time, many of the common property regimes got dismantled.In the Chepang villages, Chepangs themselves were selected as mukhiyas and jimmawals.During the Panchayat era (from around 1962 to 1990), the pradhan pancha (village head,but not indigenous) was responsible for the village administration, but their place has nowbeen taken by the VDC. Still, decision making is mostly done by the elder people of thevillage.

The mukhiyas were the ones who distributed the common property land among individualhouseholds, thereby fixing the plot boundaries community members adhere to till this day. Todemarcate their land boundaries, people chipped a little bark of boundary trees, or usedstones and other natural materials. Farmers still have records of land tax payments madeduring this time. The size of the land that was allocated depended on how much tax theycould afford to pay, and traditional use patterns. Individual land holdings made it possible forfarmers to sell their land to non-kipat holders and use it as collateral for getting loans fromwealthy people. It facilitated taxation and from then on the land could be inherited, sold, andmortgaged.

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In 1957 the feudal system was abolished, as well as all kipat rights. Farmers’ land wasto be surveyed and titled, while the remainder became government forest land. All theland in Sankhuwasabha has been surveyed and since then farmers can get their plotsregistered and titled. However, in reality, many communities still adhere to thetraditional boundaries, as was explained to us by all farmers we talked to. As isconfirmed by Daniggelis (2003), some communities still maintain the customary kipatsystem of land management and tenure among themselves, even though the kipatright has been abolished by the government.

One of the reasons for maintaining the old boundaries is based on a sense of indigenouspeoples’ rights. Therefore, the status of the kipat right is still debated in this region. Feudalrights were granted to strengthen the Rana’s control over the country, whereas the kipat rightwas granted to specific indigenous peoples so they could maintain customary managementof the land under common property. With the abolition of the feudal system, the kipat rightwas removed as well, although historically it was given for a different reason and purpose.

There are practical reasons too for maintaining the old boundaries. In fact, the rotation offields and fallows has always gone through a fixed pattern, which has been establishedthrough long-term experience with the quality and characteristics of the land. Before landreform, farmers always had the same rights to all plots, whether they were under crop, early,or mature fallows. Even fallow plots will one day be cultivated again, so they too are consideredas part of their agricultural land.

If after land reform they would have to restrain themselves to their current crop fields (forwhich they have been able to get land rights), it would mean they couldn’t open up new fieldsanymore. However, they cannot stay on the plot where they were, because it can only becultivated for 2-3 years.

Therefore, they maintain traditional boundaries, unless such unregistered land is allocated toanother form of land use by the government. To date, farmers have not entered into communityforests or the national park to clear land for shifting cultivation, as was verified by the districtforest officer. This makes sense too, because the forests there are usually mature and clearingthem is considered very labour intensive.

After the land reform process, herding has reduced considerably too. Herding was an importanttraditional occupation, but since the rights to kharkas were no longer recognised, and pastureswere reforested under the community forestry programme, free grazing and trade caravanshave been much reduced.

4.2.3 Cadastral survey and land registration

The cadastral surveyors aim to cover the entire country in cycles of 40 years. They measureall the plots, give them a registration (kita) number and classify them into one of five classes,based on land use at that time. This classification is used to assess to the level of tax thatneeds to be paid. Shifting cultivation as such is not officially recognised as a type of land use,nor are fallows identified as fallows. Instead, all plots that are identified as shrubbery, bushesor degraded land are most probably shifting cultivation fallows. Since the land survey, farmerscan register their land in their name. The farmer is required to demonstrate that he hastraditionally occupied the land by showing crop or crop residues or ploughing marks. It is notpossible to register land as common property.

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4.3 On tenure and management of natural resources

The government identifies all non-registered land as ‘government forest’. However,this includes large tracts of land that have been used or occupied by indigenous peoplessince generations, but for which they have no registration certificate. Communitieswhose villages fall within recently demarcated ‘protected areas’ are banned fromclearing their land using slash and burn techniques (Regmi et al 2005).

4.3.1 Community forestry

Government forest in the hills is required to be handed over to the communities as communityforest. This community-based forest management policy was first manifested in the MasterPlan for the Forestry Sector (1988) and legally backed by the Forest Act 2049 (1993) andForest Regulation 2051 (1995) (Regmi et al 2005). As a result of this policy, much of theunregistered, previously shifting cultivation, land has now come under the community forestryprogramme. While the government claims that it is giving government forest back to thepeople, there are some households whose entire area of land used for shifting cultivationland comes under ‘community forestry’, leaving them landless. This said, the communityforestry programme has been beneficial for most local communities, especially for securingthe availability of fuel wood and other forest products. It has also helped put a halt to forestdegradation. Problems of elite domination in forest user groups are increasingly dealt with byintroducing good practices for equity and good governance.

In terms of Convention No. 169, which protects the rights to lands traditionally-owned andoccupied by indigenous peoples, it is likely that most of the land currently handed-over ascommunity forests was previously occupied by indigenous nationalities. One reason for thisis that prior to unification of Nepal, most land would have been part of the ancestral land ofone or more of its indigenous peoples. Secondly, the land handed over is the land nearest tocurrent settlements, which communities have been using traditionally for forest productsand to which they have relatively easy access.

Even if the farmer who previously used land now utilised for community forestry becomes amember (called ‘user’) of the forest user group, the benefit he gains from the land and forestare greatly reduced. For one thing, community forestry is practiced under strict rules, includingbans on annual crops, the use of fire, hunting and extraction of stone and sand. Furthermore,the forest is managed as common property; benefits have to be shared with all other users.And lastly, since those farmers who lost their land are usually among the poorer, moremarginalised sections of society, they are usually not in the executive committee of the forestuser group, where power is concentrated. Therefore, forest user group membership doesnot make up for the loss of large tracts of shifting cultivation land. There are no cases ofshifting cultivation being practiced in community forests, although there may be rare casesof accidental spread of fires during burning.

4.3.2 Leasehold forestry programme

The Hills Leasehold Forestry and Forage Development Project is a government programmeto promote leasehold forestry. The basic idea behind it is to give the poorest communitymembers access to degraded lands, which they can use for forestry purposes. The poorestcommunity members are identified and organised in small groups of about 7-10 members.They are then given a 40-year lease on small patches of degraded forest, which can be usedfor growing tree and grass fodders, NTFPs and other (non-horticultural) fruit trees. The reasonthey get only degraded forest is that otherwise the pressure from dominant groups

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may become too strong for them to hold on to their lease. What is good about thisprogramme is that it specifically identifies and targets the poor and that gendermainstreaming has been quite successful (personal observation). In its initial designan integrated approach was adopted, whereby it was the shared responsibility ofdistrict forest office, district livestock office and other departments. This was donewith a view to increasing the poor people’s access to government services.

4.3.3 Protected area network

The National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (NPWC) Act, 1973, is the key instrument inprotecting biodiversity within the protected areas system in Nepal, which is administered bythe Department of NPWC. It recognises six categories of protected area, including nationalpark, conservation area and buffer zone. Section 3 of the NPWC Act prohibits hunting anyanimal or bird, building any house, hut or other structure, clearing or cultivating any part of theland, harvesting, cutting, burning or damaging any tree, bush or other forest product, andmining within national parks or protected areas. Other legislation and regulations are: (1) theAquatic Animals Protection Act, 1961; (2) the Himalayan National Park Regulations (HNPR),1979, and (3) the Buffer Zone Management Regulations, 1996, and Buffer Zone ManagementGuidelines, 1999 (HMGN/MFSC 2002).

The HNPR, 1979 provides for people living within national parks to collect natural resourcesfor their daily requirements and allows people to graze their domestic animals on parkrangelands. No provision has been made for handing over parcels of park land to communities,however communities “can organise harvests and grazing plans so long as they are consistentwith the parks’ objectives.” (HMGN/MFSC 2002: 67). The latter might mean an opening fornegotiation for shifting cultivators, but considering the current perspective of the conservationcommunity, it is unlikely that anything related to shifting cultivation would be acceptable toany parks’ managers (HMGN/MFSC 2002).

The Buffer Zone Management Regulations (1996) and Guidelines (1999) intend to facilitatepublic participation in the conservation, design and management of buffer zones, amongother things and makes provisions for 30-50% of the park revenues to be retained forcommunity development activities in the buffer zone (HMGN/MFSC 2002).

4.4 On indigenous peoples

4.4.1 Indigenous nationalities in Nepal

Indigenous nationalities in Nepal account for almost 40% of the population and currently 59distinct groups are officially recognised by the Government of Nepal. On the basis of variousindicators, the Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities has classified these peoples/nationalities into five major categories: (i) endangered groups; (ii) highly marginalized groups,which includes the Chepang and the Singsa; (iii) marginalized groups; (iv) disadvantagedgroups, including the Rai and Sherpa; and (v) advanced groups.

According to Dahal (2003), although today indigenous nationality groups are found scatteredacross the country, many continue to occupy a particular habitat. The same is the case forthose groups studied in relation to shifting cultivation. Although the Rais and Sherpas havelarge communities, members of which have moved to urban areas and other countries aroundthe world, those who practice shifting cultivation still do so in the area of eastern Nepal originallyinhabited by their forefathers. In the case of the Chepangs, there are only very few who haveleft their traditional habitat in the lower hills of central Nepal.

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These groups vary greatly in size as well as socio-economic development and power.Their social position and status have been greatly influenced by the ‘evaluation’ theygot when they were incorporated into the Hindu caste system. At that time, dependingon their situation and cultural habits, they were characterised as ‘alcohol drinkers’ ornot, ‘touchable’ or ‘untouchable’, and ‘enslavable’ or ‘non-enslavable’, and their castewas determined accordingly. Even though the caste system and untouchability haveofficially been abolished, the discriminatory habits of larger society have remained.The Sherpas have gained social status as mountaineers and inhabitants of MountEverest, while the Rais have gained economic power as members of the British Gurkhaarmy, but on the other hand prejudices about their drinking habits remain. TheShingsas are a lesser known group, whose distinct status has only recently beenrecognised. They used to be grouped under Sherpas and commonly referred to as‘Bhote’ (literally meaning Tibetan). The Chepangs are much fewer in number than theRais and Sherpas. They are economically much weaker and their social status is muchlower.

The collective term for indigenous nationalities used in Nepal is Janajatis. The topic ofjanajatis is a very fragile one since it has just recently been established who is and who is notjanajati (through the enactment of the National Foundation for the Development of IndigenousNationalities Act 2001) and also because some people do not necessarily agree with thedistinction. So although, thanks to the persistence of indigenous organizations and activists,the government has officially recognized fifty nine distinct groups of janajatis in Nepal, theirrecognition is once again often only in terms of policy rather than practice.

Nepal, acknowledging the relative socio-economic deprivation of Janajatis, does makeprovisions for affirmative action like reservation of seats in education and governmentemployment, through Article 25.3 of the 1990 Constitution, under the directive principles andpolicies of the state. However, janajatis have generally faced tremendous problems inactualizing this provision due to structural discrimination rooted in society and reflected in thepolitical system itself.

4.4.2 Current political developments

Nepal is currently undergoing radical political transformation, away from a government led bythe Monarchy to a Federal Republic system. Elections for the formation of a ConstituentAssembly, which will script a new Constitution for the country, were expected to be held inJune 2007, but have not yet taken place. Therefore, Indigenous peoples are using this time ofchange to press for adequate political representation in the new system.

At the moment, the interim government follows the interim Constitution of Nepal (amended)and has the ‘all-inclusive’ provision set for everyone including women, marginalized peoplesand janajatis. Until the Constituent Assembly is formed and a new Constitution is drafted,basically everyone within this inclusive provision is entitled to their rights. However, this provisionis only in policy and not practice, hence the reason rural and janajati peoples are still verymuch marginalized and lacking in political representation.

The indigenous peoples’ movement in Nepal look to change this all with the creation of afederal state by acquiring autonomy through geographical location. In other words, in everyregion, the majority will receive the majority of the seats and the minority will receive theminority of the seats in the government. In accordance to the population ratio of that vicinity,there will not only be social inclusion but more importantly proportionate social inclusion. Thecurrent government fears that with this geographical autonomy, many of those currently inpower will be ousted not only from the government but also from the nation. However

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janajatis argue that they are not looking to discriminate non-indigenous persons butrather trying to have their say in issues that involve their region. In the past this hasnot been the case since centralized bureaucrats have always decided the livelihoodsof people in regions which they have not even visited.

One of the government’s targeted initiatives aimed at indigenous nationalities, which hasattained high visibility at the national level, is the establishment of the National Foundation forDevelopment of Indigenous Nationalities (NFDIN). The NFDIN was established in 2002 throughthe NFDIN Act 2001 to work for the upliftment of indigenous nationalities. Apart from NFDIN,the government’s Five-Year Plans have recently begun to include indigenous nationalities asone of the targeted beneficiaries of their policies and programs. The Ninth Plan (1997-2002),under the chapter on social security, contained a section on indigenous nationalities. This isthe first time they were specifically mentioned as a target group in the fifty-year history ofNepalese planned development efforts.

Following the reinstatement of multiparty democracy in 1990 the existence and identities ofindigenous nationalities were constitutionally recognized. However, their problems and issueswere not addressed properly and were seen from a development perspective, rather than arights-based one (Limbu 2005: 44).

4.4.3 Policy issues for indigenous nationalities

Limbu (2005) further identifies the following problems and issues arising from the impact onNepalese laws on indigenous nationalities:

a. Discriminatory laws and decisionsb. Exclusion of indigenous nationalities in judicial administrationc. Double standard between indigenous nationalities and non-indigenous nationalities in

legislation and in practiced. Preferential treatment given to Khas Hindus and to issues related to their identities in

laws, policies and in practice at the cost of negatively affecting non-Hinduse. Absence of full recognition of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous

nationalitiesf. Absence of recognition of the customs and customary laws of indigenous nationalitiesg. Lack of access to justice for indigenous nationalitiesh. Absence of the right to fair hearing given that Khas-Nepali is the language of official use.

(Limbu 2005:47)

In the Ninth and Tenth Five Year Plans, government policy addresses the indigenouscommunities for the first time in a separate chapter. In 1998, in the Ninth Five Year Plan(1997-2002), the government presented its policy to explore the specific knowledge and skillsof indigenous and disadvantaged groups and utilise them in development activities, therebyrecognising their specific role in development. The Tenth Five Year Plan (2002-2007) alsohad a separate chapter on strategies to protect, promote and utilise the traditional skills,technology and special information (knowledge) of indigenous nationalities. The fact that theskills and capacities of ethnic groups were underestimated as a national asset was one ofthe main challenges identified for the Ninth Plan. Others included: weak implementation oftargeted programmes; lack of involvement of indigenous peoples in developing programmes;and lack of protection and conservation of culture, language and knowledge of those groupswhich are at present becoming extinct.

With regards to ILO Convention 169, Limbu identifies the following areas of partial and non-consensus with the prevailing Nepalese laws, which related to shifting cultivation:

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“Although prevailing Nepalese laws have not given recognition to the relationshipbetween natural resources and indigenous peoples as comprehensivelyenvisaged by the Convention, the Nepalese laws have nonetheless recognizedthe dependency on resources of a limited number of indigenous nationalitiesmaking their living by fishing in rivers, lakes and ponds.” However, in anothersection he states that “provisions of Article 49 of the Forest Act 2049 BS haveprohibited livelihood related activities of indigenous peoples in national forests.For example, there is a prohibition on clearing land for cultivation in communityforests and severe penalties for its violation. Furthermore, peoples who havetraditionally occupied and utilized lands, but do not have the official documentationto prove it, have been displaced by the establishment of community forests.”(Limbu 2005:63)

“If we compare the provisions related to indigenous nationalities in the prevailingNepalese laws and in ILO Convention 169, it can be seen that some fundamentalissues are yet to be included in Nepalese laws. In particular, these are the right toself-identification, the right to delineate one’s own priorities, the right to consultation,participation and representation, issues of identification, recognition and the rightsover land and the guarantee of benefit sharing of national laws, policies anddevelopments. Also of crucial importance are issues of access to justice and thefruits of development on an equal footing with the rest of society and the recognitionin judicial administration of customary laws.” (Limbu 2005)

The indigenous nationalities of Nepal, their representative organizations and the federation ofthese organizations, the Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (NEFIN), made theratification of ILO Convention No. 169 one of the express agendas of their movement. Thegovernment supported the ratification in various programs and fora organized by indigenousnationalities (ILO & NEFIN 2005), and formally ratified ILO Convention No. 169 in September2007.

4.4.4 Political representation: the Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities(NEFIN)

NEFIN is an autonomous and politically non-partisan, national-level umbrella organization.NEFIN currently consists of 59 indigenous member organizations widely distributed throughoutNepal, including the NCA. Its aim is to document, preserve and promote cultures, languages,religion, customs, and traditions of the indigenous nationalities of Nepal, and to assist themin developing and obtaining equal rights. (NEFIN Home page)

Two major objectives of NEFIN, which are very relevant to the case study, are:

To facilitate the development of language, literature, script, religion, culture andeducation of indigenous nationalities and assist in the preservation and promotionof their rights.To lobby the government to comply with the Universal Declaration of HumanRights and other instruments including ILO Convention No. 169 and UN Declarationon the rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Rights to land, natural resources and biodiversity protection and preservation is stated as amajor priority area, but at present there is not much attention on this. NEFIN is well awarethat the Chepangs, as well as many other indigenous shifting cultivators, do not have landtitles, but due to the issues of state transformation taking centre stage, a specificprogramme to address this issue has yet to be designed. According to Mr. Ram

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Bahadur Thapa Magar, Joint Secretary of NEFIN, land and resource rights are certainlya prime issue. He also indicated that since the ratification of ILO Convention No. 169in September 2007, issues related to shifting cultivation would be high on NEFIN’sagenda. .

4.5 On poverty alleviation and social inclusion

The poverty reduction strategy of the Tenth Plan

“is based on four overarching approaches: achieving sustained high and broad-based economic growth, focussing particularly on the rural economy; acceleratinghuman development through a renewed emphasis on effective delivery of basicsocial services and economic infrastructure; ensuring social and economicinclusion of the poor, marginalized groups and backward regions in thedevelopment process; and vigorously pursuing good governance both as a meansof delivering better development results and ensuring social and economic justice.”

Particularly noteworthy, the Tenth Plan seeks, as an integral part of its poverty reductionstrategy, to bring the marginalized sections of the population and backward regions into themainstream of development and to make visible progress in reducing existing inequalities.

What could be significant for shifting cultivators is that the poverty reduction strategy intendsto focus more sharply on the rural economy, social inclusion and better delivery of social andeconomic services and infrastructure, as the primary means of accelerating humandevelopment, particularly among the poor and neglected groups and areas (HMGN/NPC2003).

As part of the approach to social inclusion of “deprived communities”, for service delivery,“the respective line ministries will be required to give equal attention to deprived communitiesto ensure that they are served as well as others. [In targeted programs,] equal opportunitieswill be provided for deprived communities. […] The National Academy for the upliftment ofindigenous people, which will be created, will monitor these activities. Affirmative action in anumber of important areas (such education, health, participation in public service,administration, political life and at the community level) would be taken to help achieveprogressive results in this regard, until such time as these communities become sufficientlyempowered to stand on their own, and fight for their rights.” (HMGN/NPC 2003: 57-58)

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5.1 Traditional occupations of indigenous peoples

Sherpa, Rai and Shingsa (also known as Lhomi and often simply called ‘Bhote’ by the Nepalese)are indigenous communities of this area. Shifting cultivation, wild food collection and huntingare the traditional occupations of these groups in this area, whereas at higher elevations,Sherpas and Shingsas are further known for their yak-based pastoralism. In the area of thestudy, it is the Sherpas who are most dependent on shifting cultivation. Their shifting cultivationareas are still very large, probably because their land is less suitable for other forms of landuse; which means it is in less demand from other communities. The Rais, who used topractice shifting cultivation on lands at a slightly lower elevation, have hardly any land left forthis purpose as most has been converted to cardamom plantations and community forests.Other ethnic communities that have entered the area more recently are: Gurung, Tamangand Magar. They are also indigenous peoples of Nepal, but are not originally from this areaand shifting cultivation is not common among them. Hindu caste groups are also represented,but they are very much a minority in number and do not practice shifting cultivation.

A wealth-ranking has not been done in these areas, except among forest user groups (byLFP), but that did not reveal peoples traditional occupations other than farming. However,common opinion among people interviewed was that none of the ethnic groups are consideredpoorer or richer than the other, just different because of their culture and traditional habitat.For example, the Sherpas and Shingsas usually reside at higher elevations. In Num, Dhidingand Machhepokhari it was reported that all of the shifting cultivators had access to land insome way or other; in cases where their own official holdings were very small they were ableto borrow land from others, sometimes for free and sometimes for a minimal charge. It iscustomary to bring a gift to the landowner when going to ask for his land. Landlessness in thearea only seems to be an issue among Dalits.

All groups have their representatives in local and district government bodies. Similarly, allgroups have rich and powerful as well as poor members within their communities. Amongthe major janajati groups of the study area (Rai, Sherpa, Gurung and Shingsa) there is noethnic discrimination. A certain group may feel slightly more powerful, because it is in themajority in a particular place (Rais in Dhiding, and Gurungs in Machhepokhari), but no onefeels discriminated against by the other groups.

Historical evidence of traditional occupations of indigenous groups in the areas is asfollows:

5C h a p t e r

Case of the Sherpas, Rais andShingsas of Sankhuwasabha

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Sherpa:

According to Bista (1967), the Sherpa economy is directly related to its mountainenvironment and includes field agriculture, animal husbandry, trade and morerecently mountaineering. Solu is the lower part of their traditional area, which issimilar to the area of the study in Sankhuwasabha. The people of this area haveconsiderable scope for agriculture and grow maize, wheat and potatoes, in contrastto the more pastoral activities of Khumbu (upper part). “Solu people export largequantities of potatoes to the areas in the south. Farming in Khumbu is limited toonly a few patches of sandy soil on ledges.”(Bista, 1967: 186). The field agriculturementioned in this brief description is mostly shifting cultivation. The animalhusbandry is mostly pastoral herding of yaks and their cross-breeds.

Shingsa:

“The upper Arun Valley in the district of Sankhuwasabha is perhaps one of theroughest and most difficult regions of the entire northern border. This is where theShingsa people live, in settlements that are often completely cut off from oneanother, and effectively blocked from any communication with Tibet. Trade, then,is almost entirely to the south, reaching as far as the Terai. […] The Shingsassubsist almost entirely on field agriculture and manage to raise enough maize,barley, wheat, potatoes and especially millet – their main diet – to be consideredself-sufficient.” (Bista, 1967: 197).

In this case too, the field agriculture mentioned can be understood as mostly shiftingcultivation, with ploughing being applied in the more level areas. Traditionally, eachvillage used to be governed by a headman called pembu or gova. During the Rana andpanchayat times, the pembus and govas were the administrative agents of thegovernment, charged with maintaining law and order in their domain, collectinggovernment revenues, touring government officials, settle disputes and levy fines.These offices are hereditary, and date back till the 18th century (Bista, 1967: 197-198).

Rai:

“Shifting cultivation is also practiced by Rai farmers. Some of their dry fields,usually small clearings in the forest, are left fallow for two or three years beforethey are ploughed and planted again. One farmer may have several such fieldsand shift from one to another in successive seasons. Before the land is ploughedthe grass and dry undergrowth are burned away, supplying the soil with ashresidue.” (Bista 1967: 38)

Of major importance in the Rai economy is the employment of many into the British andIndian Gorkha regimes, as well as their temporary wage labour in the eastern Terai. A fewlivestock are usually kept around the house for immediate needs, but livestock herding is nottheir traditional occupation.

Despite the importance and history of shifting cultivation, a group of farmers who practiceand identify with it cannot be clearly delineated. Both Sherpas and Rais are well known ethnicgroups in Nepal, but unlike the Chepangs, they are not known for their shifting cultivation. Atthe same time, they can identify several food items and natural products that are considered‘typical’ for their culture and which come from shifting cultivation. Examples are ‘malingo’,which is a type of bamboo that grows in fallows of a certain age, and ‘chiraito’ which growsespecially well after the land is burned. There is certainly a cultural dimension to the

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practice of shifting cultivation, in the sense that only certain ethnic groups have theexpertise to make it work. However, on the part of the Rais and Sherpas encounteredduring the fieldwork, there is certainly no compulsion to practice shifting cultivationfor cultural reasons, as is the case with many ethnic groups in North East India. Farmerspractice shifting cultivation when it is the only viable option on the land, particularlyon marginal slopes, that they inhabit. As a result, where they have a choice,considerable numbers from these communities have left in search of better optionselsewhere.

5.2 Characteristics and requirements of the shifting cultivationpractice

In eastern Nepal, shifting cultivation is known as “basme”. It is a traditional and customarypractice that has undergone various adaptations as a result of socio-political changes in itshistory. However, its basic tenets have been maintained to a large extent, especially in theremotest areas of northern Sankhuwasabha. Being an age-old practice, it has left its markon the landscape which is valued for its ecological diversity.

5.2.1 State and importance of shifting cultivation

According to Nepali et al (1990) shifting cultivation is a traditional farming system practicedby 10-20% of the population in the Makalu-Barun National Park and Conservation Area. Sharmaand Khatri-Chhetri (1995), in their study of Makalu and Yaphu VDCs, found that in 1995, out of31 villages, 16 were fully dependent on shifting cultivation, 9 were equally dependent onshifting cultivation and rain-fed terrace cultivation and in 6 villages shifting cultivation waspracticed only for the production of millet seedlings. These figures are still relevant, as farmerstell us that shifting cultivation is practiced like before in the buffer zone, though not in theactual park.

The importance of shifting cultivation in the livelihoods of the Sherpa, Rai and Shingsa farmersin Sankhuwasabha as a whole has never been studied. Similarly, the amount of land undershifting cultivation as compared to other land uses has never been quantified. A reason maybe that shifting cultivation is not perceived as an integrated farming system or a bona fideland use, such as rain-fed and irrigated terraced agriculture.

5.2.2 Rotation of crop fields: pattern and cycle

In the case of Sankhuwasabha, each farmer has a number of plots in different places acrossthe landscape, one of which is currently used for crops, while the others are under fallows inof increasing age. Certain communities organise their plots in ‘blocks’, where all the plotsthat need to be cleared and burned in a particular year are adjoining, but this is not the casehere. The fields of one household are not adjoining either. Rich farmers have more or largerplots, on some of which they may have a land title. Many shifting cultivators have homegardens and rain-fed terraces as well. Controlled burning is also used for the fields that areallocated for thatch grass production (khar bari), but these are not part of the rotational cycle.They are burned annually to increase production.

The rotational cycle varies from four to twelve years in length, including one year of croppingand three to eleven years of fallow. Settlements remain in one place, but small makeshifthouses or “yakshas” can be erected in faraway fields when there is a lot of work to do or inthe season when the crops need protection. In Sankhuwasabha, the practice is restricted tothose areas that are too marginal for permanent agriculture. Sharma and Khatri-Chhetri

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(1995) report shifting cultivation being practiced on slopes of > 40%, with shallowsoils. Considering these factors, a farming practice that can still be productive canhardly be considered unsophisticated.

If the land available to a family for shifting cultivation is reduced, there are three coping options:(i) they can shorten the fallow length; (ii) reduce the plot size per year; or (iii) open up a plot inselective years only. Richer farmers tend to do the latter, while poorer farmers do a combinationof the first two and look for land to borrow from others. The choice also depends on labouravailability. If the plot size is too small, cardamom may be a better option, but money isrequired for the initial investment.

5.2.3 Fallow forests

In the past, the Rais and Sherpas of Sankhuwasabha managed their land under a commonproperty regime called kipat, which prevents the fallows from being cut-up into too manysmall patches. While tenure has become more individualised, customary village-levelarrangements still play a role in allocating fields to different families according to labouravailability and other factors. This is confirmed by Sharma and Khatri-Chhetri (1995). Farmersusually maintain preferred species such as gogan (Sauraria nepalensis) and alder (Alnusnepalensis), thereby influencing species composition of the fallow forests.

Figure 3: Fallows around Num at various stages of regeneration

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5.2.4 Crop production and productivity

The main crops grown on shifting cultivation fields are maize, millet and soy bean,and these are intercropped with several other less prominent vegetable crops likecucumber and pumpkin. Potatoes are also a major crop and barley.

Ash from the burning and nitrogen-fixing tree species in the crop fields (the alders) are themain sources of soil fertility. Manure is only useful in those areas that can be reached bylivestock, but areas that are too steep or too inaccessible are also common. Use ofagrochemicals is very limited here.

Crop productivity can vary significantly from year to year; a major factor being if the fire doesnot burn well, which can happen because of bad weather or because the slash hasn’t driedproperly. In such cases the farmers already know that the crops will not grow very well andhence will have to get into debt that year. They may still sow the seeds, to see if anythingcomes up.

In recent years, the productivity of shifting cultivation land has gone down in those areaswhere tradit ional practice have become distorted, such as in Dhiding andMachhepokhari. Farmers from Dhiding estimate a reduction of about 40%, stating

Figure 4: After slashing, the tree stumps are left on the field to conserve soil and speed upregeneration, this field is ready for the cultivation of finger millet

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that land that used to give five pathis is now producing only three. Shifting cultivationland size is measured not in area, but according to how much maize or millet can beharvested from it. This reduction in productivity is caused by several factors, includingthe following:

(1) Grazing is no longer practiced, so there is no fertilization other than through slashingand burning.

(2) Damage by deer and other wildlife (black bears and porcupines). With the emergenceof community forestry and the ban on hunting, there is increasing damage bywildlife.

(3) Hail storms form a high risk at higher altitudes, although farmers say that maizeand millet are more resistant to this kind of damage than other crops (Sharmaand Khatri-Chhetri, 1995).

(4) The best land has been extracted for cardamom farming, leaving only small, less fertilepatches in between for shifting cultivation.

(5) Land availability has been reduced by the community forestry. This and populationpressure have caused the reduction in cycle in many places, which has not beencompensated by other means.

Among the Shingsas, only the poorest do shifting cultivation – i.e. those who do not ownlivestock. At this altitude they can grow barley, buckwheat, wheat, millet, soy bean, uplandrice, pumpkin and several other crops. Chemical fertilizer and other inputs (cement, tractors)are increasingly available from China at relatively low costs, but the farmers on the mostmarginal lands show very little interest.

5.2.5 Wild food collection

Farmers in Dhiding told us that they do collect wild foods, but for vegetables and side dishes,rather than as their staple diet. Daniggelis (1994; 2003) has extensively documented the useof wild foods in the upper Arun valley, based on fieldwork in what is now Yaphu VDC. Forcenturies, ‘wild’ plants have been an important source of emergency food that acts as abuffer against shortage. These wild plants flourish in disturbed open areas such as fallowswidden fields (Wilken 1970), and have importance in the livelihoods of rural people, especiallypoor and women. “They are especially of nutritional significance to reproductively active womenand children who tend to be at greater nutritional risk than adult males” (Daniggelis 2003: 84).Rai and Sherpa women collect wild foods from all areas held in common property, includingforest land, swidden fields and fallows and most grass and pasture areas surrounding theirvillages. This practice is crucial in that it provides food during seasonal and emergency foodshortage periods. Seasonal food shortage can last around two and a half months and is feltmost acutely just before the harvest. Among Rai communities, it can last as long as sixmonths (Daniggelis 1994; 2003).

5.2.6 Livestock herding

Livestock is an important component of the shifting cultivation farming system in most placeshere. Farmers may own a few cows and goats, which can graze on the fallows or on specifiedgrazing areas. Not all shifting cultivators have livestock, because in some areas the land istoo steep, but for many it forms an important source of livelihood as well as soil fertility. In thepast, the specified grazing grounds called kharkas used to be officially recognised by

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the state; livestock owners paidtaxes and had user rights, but nowthese areas are consideredgovernment forests and mostlytaken up in community forests.

This livestock system is entirelydifferent and separate from thetranshumant pastoralism that ispracticed at high altitudes (above3000 masl), with large herds of yaksand their crossbreeds, or sheep.However, large trading caravans ofdonkeys, sheep, goats and also yaksused to come down through theareas where shifting cultivation iscommon, to exchange agriculturaland l ivestock products and fortrade.

5.2.7 Organisation of labour

The parma system of labour sharingis still common among the Rais andSherpas. Farmers can work theirown land, but also borrow or rentothers’ land based on mutualunderstanding. When the seasonstarts, farmers form groups andfind out available land which theycan work. Most land holders acceptgifts of raksi4 or a chicken in return, but this also depends on the success of theharvest; for example, in some places up to a third of the harvest is given to the landholder. This system is different from share cropping where the land owner would gethalf the harvest. The strong coordination and close community ties within thecommunities, especially those where shifting cultivation is still common, make thisform of informal arrangements possible. Community members often meet to makeplans and resolve any problems that may occur.

In Mude village, the Sherpas still have this land and labour sharing system. In thepast, when the land was managed as common property, the plot size was adjusted tothe labour availability of the group. Nowadays, with the land being allocated toindividual households and partly titled, group size is rather adjusted to the landavailable.

5.2.8 Gender division of labour

According to Daniggelis (2001: 66-7), the gender division for Rais and Sherpas isquite similar and is not rigidly defined by sex or social group, because all familymembers contribute to subsistence. Domestic and subsistence activities overlap.

4 Locally distilled liquor, made of millet or rice

Figure 5: Selling wild vegetables at the district market

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Women perform the majority of all agricultural tasks such as hoeing, weeding,harvesting, selecting seeds for cultivation, applying manure to the fields, as well asprocessing (husking, winnowing and grinding). It is also predominantly women whomilk animals and produce other animal products, cut grass and fodder for the livestock,carry food to the fields for communal working parties, cook, clean and wash clothes.Men assist when crops are threatened by wild animals and particularly when womenare ill. Predominantly male tasks include: ploughing, chopping wood, collecting malingo(Arundinaria aristatla), trekking and trading, constructing and maintaining terraces andbuilding houses (Daniggelis 2001). For shifting cultivation, slashing is done by bothmen and women, because it is very labour intensive.

Gender discrimination is an issue, as men’s work is considered to be of greater valuethan women’s. Daily wages for agricultural labour are in general higher for men thanfor women across Nepal. According to Daniggelis (2003: 87), in the case of the Raisand Sherpas, discrimination is also evident in the fact that men receive one and a halftimes more food than women. Daniggelis further points out that “long-distanceseasonal labour migration increases the number of female-headed households whomust rely on kin networks to carry out male-defined tasks.” (Daniggelis 2003: 87) Thetraditional labour-sharing practices that exist in these communities at least make it

possible for women to exchange theirlabour for men’s labour, and vice versa.This is why it is important to maintain andsupport such practices and the social andkin networks they depend on.

Men, women and children collect wild foodsin the swidden fallows. There is no genderdivision of labour in digging up wild yams,which are an important staple for the Raisduring the lean season. Several wild tubersrequire labor ious processing. Youngchildren gather wild fruits, and chiraito (amedicinal plant) is collected by all, men,women, and children (Daniggelis 2001) .

5.2.9 Community-based organisations

There are farmers’ groups across thedistrict, which have been formed by manydifferent NGOs as well as the DADO. Apartfrom these there are several saving-and-credit groups, and there are mothers-groups. One such farmers’ group inSankranti village, has existed for 17 yearsand has 39 member households, all ofwhom are Sherpa. Despite the years ofconflict the group is still active in manyareas and collaborates with a number ofNGOs. There have also been years whenno one worked with them and not muchhappened, but they were there wheneveran NGO wanted to do some work. Theiractivities include vegetable gardens, potato

Figure 6: Sherpa ladies selling their soybean crop at the district market.

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farming and small scale tea-selling. In the shifting cultivation fallows they are tryingto grow tea and grass fodders.

5.2.10 Market linkages, credit and infrastructure

Most of the shifting cultivation products are only for home consumption. Farmers donot sell the maize and the millet, because they make chang (a local alcoholic drink) outof it. Soy bean is the only product they bring to the market, at Rs. 50 per kilo. TheSherpas who live in the buffer zone areas have to carry it for many days, so they onlycome to the market every few weeks. The adults all carry loads and if the childrencome along they carry the food, which gets lighter on the way.

Access to credit is much better than among the Chepangs. There is the agriculturedevelopment bank and also a number of saving-and-credit groups. Taking loans fromcardamom traders, based on their future harvest, is also common. The consequence is thatthey have to sell their harvest through that trader and cannot lose their negotiating position.

The rural road is now under construction which brings hope for local people in terms ofproduct marketing and increases access to other basic services. However some peoplethink it will threaten their traditional livelihood options. According to them, in-migration forbusiness and other purposes will increase in the area which will ultimately threaten their oldpractices and marketing system.

5.2.11 Local employment opportunities

If the crops fail in the remote northern areas, there are only a few other options for earningmoney, such as portering or working in the fields for other people. If they are unable to findalternative work, the farmers become heavily indebted.

At the time of the field visits, most farmers were working on the road (digging and rock-breaking). It is heavy labour, but pays quite well, at a time when there is not much other workto do on the land. Men, women, elderly and young are all found along the road; some alsohave babies and small children to look after while they work. We did not do an ethnic breakdown,but our impression was that there were people from all ethnic groups and castes. They haveorganised themselves in groups, with each group working on a particular segment of thetrack. Most of these groups are ethnically quite homogeneous, although diversity amonggroups also exists. In our impression, anyone who is physically able and who manages tojoin a group can access this employment.

Pay is between 150-200 rupees per day depending on how fast they work and the kind ofmaterial (sand, soft rock, hard rock) they have been digging and removing. Every month,progress is measured and the group members are paid as per the days of work they havecontributed. These rates are equal for everyone, irrespective of gender or ethnic background.They take leave only on Saturdays. The dug up stones are used again in the gabion boxes,which are knotted by skilled labourers from outside.

5.3 Land-use change and its impact on livelihoods

5.3.1 The relative importance of shifting cultivation

For a considerable number of indigenous farmers in Sankhuwasabha, shifting cultivation istheir major source of livelihood; with some farmers depending on it completely as a means oflivelihood. This is mostly in the northern VDCs, where many farmers’ entire land

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Figure 7: A road diging team at work

holdings are unsuitable for permanent agriculture or even livestock. In Num,Machhepokhari and Dhiding the area under shifting cultivation is reducing, withcardamom cultivation and community forestry coming up in its place. However, itcontinues to form a major part of farmers’ livelihood and food security.

In Num, the idea of having to give up shifting cultivation is unthinkable for the farmerswho practice it. In Machhepokhari and Dhiding, extensive rotation is no longer possible,because the original plots have become too small and intersected. However, controlledburning on a small scale is still used for finger millet germination and chiraito cultivation.

There are a number of drivers of land-use change in this area, including the need tocope with and adjust to recent socio-economic, demographic and political changesas well as the emergence of new options. In Sankhuwasabha, the land reform andprivatisation process coincided with the emergence of community forestry andcardamom cultivation. This raised the interests of non-traditional users for marginalshifting cultivation land, resulting in land grabbing. The three combined have greatlychanged local land use practices, causing a reduction of the land area under shiftingcultivation in the less remote areas.

5.3.2 Land registration problems

The cadastral survey was done very late in Sankhuwasabha district, as compared to otherdistricts (only in 1993-95). This is one of the reasons why there is still a lot of land left to beregistered in people’s names. In shifting cultivation areas, the land registration rules

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have caused much confusion and resentment. A major reason was that land couldnot be registered if it was to be used for shifting cultivation.

Secondly, fallows - especially those with mature forests on them - are not recognisedas agricultural land, because there are no signs of any agricultural activity. With afallow phase of around ten years and the cropping phase one or two years, only oneor two out of 11-12 plots were eligible for registration. For the remainder, farmerscould not prove that they traditionally occupied the land, so registration was notaccepted.

Apart from this, it has been widely recognised that the land registration process wasunfair and inaccessible for many. Rich and powerful people could register large tractsof land, even forested parts, while poor people who did not pay bribes could not evenregister their crop land. Marginal farmers, especially from remote areas, often did notunderstand how the registration process worked. The rich and powerful claimed moreland than was theirs, including that of others. Even those who had sufficient proof oftheir ownership, such as previous land tax receipts, could not register all their land.This shows the inefficiency and partiality of the staff and officials involved in theprocess. Furthermore, there is a land ceiling of 3.75 ha for rain-fed farm land in thehills. Sustainable shifting cultivation which produces enough and which has longrotations requires much more than that.

An example of the difficulties with the land registration process is given in the case of Mude.To date, only around 70% of the land is officially registered. When the land of the Sherpa

Figure 8: Machhepokhari landscape where shifting cultivation is slowly replaced by terracesand cardamom farming

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community from Mude was registered, they could not find out how the surveyors andland administrators were operating. The way they have delineated the land is completelydifferent from the traditional boundaries, and many people’s land has been registeredin other people’s names. This caused major conflict in the community, with the resultthat the community has now decided to stick to their original boundaries. However,they fear that if the survey office comes again, conflict will ensue. A complication isthat the land tax has to be paid by the person who has registered it, whereas it is used(for free) by the traditional owner. This has gone well until now, but the question iswhat will happen when the land is converted to a cardamom plantation, as is alreadyhappening in places. This increases the value of and income from the land, and so thesharing of benefits will come under debate again. The change of land value is reflectedby the fact that land can be borrowed against a token fee for shifting cultivation, butfor cardamom plantation the share-cropping system applies. Some people have alreadystarted planting cardamom on their land, which has actually been registered by others.

5.3.3 Land grabbing

There are a number of land disputes involving mostly local elites, in which they have claimedlarge areas of government land/ community forest for various reasons. Most have also paidbribes to the land registration office to get the land registered in their name. For example,there was a person who had first registered a small parcel of land (2-4 ropani) at the landregistration office, but now on the map 200-400 ropani of land are shown under that registration(kita) number. Another person had registered 4455 sq m of the land for cardamom cultivationand a processing plant, but later it appeared on paper as 24455 sq m! When it was discovered,it was filed in the court for further action. Other farmers plant cardamom in forest that is notlegally theirs. They say they will be able to register it, when the cadastral survey will comearound again, because then they can show their crops.

Land grabbing does lead to conflicts in the communities, but it is very expensive for poorfarmers and even for forest user groups to take such cases to court or ask for the land andboundaries to be surveyed again. Still, several cases have been reported and filed in thedistrict court. Copies of the land registration maps are kept at district, regional and nationallevel; comparison among these shows where such land claims have been granted illegally atthe district level. The Federation of Forest User Groups of Nepal (FECOFUN) provides legalsupport to forest user groups in such cases of conflict.

There are indigenous local leaders who claim land because it was their kipat and others whoclaim it as their shifting cultivation land. However, they usually belong to local elites and takethe role of absentee landlords, who have large tracts of land in their name, but never come tocare for it, leaving the work to the wage labourers. They may slash and burn the forest once,before using the land for permanent cultivation or cardamom plantations.

5.3.4 Community forestry

The forest user groups in Machhepokhari, Dhiding and Num are functioning very well, andrun a number of economic and conservation activities. We found some examples of goodpractices for equitable forest use. Through participatory wealth ranking, the poorest householdshave been identified and get priority for opportunities to market non-forest products and tocultivate cardamom inside the community forest. For the latter only a minimal levy needs tobe paid to the forest user group.

Richer and more powerful people dominate the executive committees, but ethnicdiscrimination was not noticed during the field study. It is common that members of a

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certain ethnic group get overrepresented in the committee of a particular forest usergroup, but across the groups only Dalits seem to be discriminated againstsystematically.

5.3.5 Large cardamom cultivation

The change to large cardamom (Amomum subulatum) production has been the farmers’own doing and so far it has been a positive experience as it is becoming the major source ofcash income for farmers. These days all farmers seem to be going in for cardamomfarming - a process which has been ongoing for the past 15-16 years. In Dhiding,almost four-fifths of the original shifting cultivation land is under cardamom by now.In Machhepokhari only two-fifths of the original shifting cultivation land is undercardamom, because it has a different micro-climate (east-facing slope). This hasreduced and dissected the shifting cultivation land, taking out the most productiveparts.

Large cardamom is considered to be a very suitable crop for this kind of sloping land,especially those parts which are moister on the sides of the rivulets. It was the farmersthemselves who brought the large cardamom agroforestry system to eastern Nepalfrom Sikkim (India) where it is a traditional practice. Only later did the agriculturedevelopment bank start providing loans and the District Agriculture DevelopmentOffice planting material. It is popular because it hardly requires any labour input andis much less prone to pests and diseases than other crops.

Figure 9: Large cardamom crop in Dhiding

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There are market fluctuations, but no one reported a loss so far. Large producers sellup to 70 man per year, while small farmers may produce 2 man/ year. It is estimatedthat income from cardamom ranges from 200-300 thousand rupees for those whohave lots of it, to 10-15 thousand for those who have little. The largest producersusually live at the district headquarters rather than near the villages. There is abusinessman in Hile who trades the cardamom, as well as chiraito (Swertia chirayita),which is a medicinal plant that grows well during the early fallows. He has his ownporters to transport the chiraito from the collectors to the business centre. Some peoplesell their cardamom through the middlemen who lent them money, but sometimesfellow villagers or people from nearby towns also act as middlemen. They do havesaving-and-credit groups, but no cooperatives yet. FORWARD and SODEC are twoNGOs are working on this.

If farmers have appropriate land available, they can grow it in a community forest. Thefew landless people (only Dalits) engage in sharecropping of cardamom. Some farmershave become heavily dependent on this single cash crop, with the result that if it fails,returning to shifting cultivation as an alternative option is no longer possible.Furthermore, the support services from the ADB and DADO are no longer availableand market linkages are quite informal and create dependency on traders.

Figure 10: Porter working for a chiraito trader

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5.3.6 Land use change and impact on livelihoods

It is difficult to estimate how much of the original shifting cultivation land has beenregistered; the estimate by the group from Mude was around 70%. One person fromDhiding stated that of his land only one-fifth was registered, while the remainder wasturned into ‘panchayat forest’ and now community forest. However, it is not possibleto say how representative these figures are.

The communities were also asked how much of their traditional shifting cultivationland had come under community forestry, how much had been planted with cardamomand how much was still remaining. The response was that during the land registrationof 1993, large tracts of land were not titled and subsequently got taken up undercommunity forestry. On land that was registered, cardamom has been planted insuitable places, with the main limiting factor being the cash or credit to fund the plantingmaterial.

5.4 Government programmes and services

5.4.1 Makalu-Barun National Park and Conservation Area (MBNPCA)

The MBNPCA was established in 1992 and includes an adjacent inhabited conservation areaas a buffer. In the national park area, local communities who previously inhabited the areahave been banned. However, in the conservation area (or buffer) local people are organisedinto conservation committees to support and benefit from conservation activities.

It is mostly Sherpas, Shingsa and Rai who practice shifting cultivation in this buffer zone,even though nowadays it is illegal. The park authorities see it as a problem, especially theDFOs, but rather than punishment they try to raise awareness on conservation and providetechnical support. There is no specific programme on shifting cultivation. No one has workedin the park for the past 10 years because of the Maoist conflict. The farmers reported thatthey have never had any contact with the agriculture extension services or forest rangers. Intheir village there is a national park office and a police post, but only the police have recentlyresumed their duties again. The rights to agriculture extension and other support services,as provided in Conventions Nos. 111 and 169 (see table 2), become an issue here.

District-level government officials report that shifting cultivation is no longer a major practicein the Makalu-Barun national park, while farmers claim to be practicing it as they did in thepast. The main reasons for this difference of opinion could be that only very few governmentstaff have visited the area in recent times and many do not actually know what they arelooking at; only recognising shifting cultivation when they see recently burned fields. In themeantime, farmers are happy that there are no government officials around to control them,so they can use the land as they always have.

The park officials are also unaware that farmers depend on shifting cultivation for their livelihood,pointing to the terraces and cardamom plantations which are also available. They are underthe impression that farmers do it for additional income, therefore banning would not be aproblem.

5.4.2 The District Forest Office

In the past, the practice of shifting cultivation was banned, and farmers from Mudeand Machhepokhari report that rangers from the nearby range posts would sometimespunish or fine farmers for clearing land. However, the arrival of the Maoists in their

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area (around eight to ten years ago), saw all government offices closed down, withthe result that government control has much reduced.

In the perception of the current District Forest Officer, shifting cultivation is a traditionalkind of agroforestry, which is not necessarily negative. It is not the shifting cultivatorswho are causing encroachment, but rich and powerful people from the districtheadquarters who appropriate land for cardamom plantations. They may also useslash-and-burn for land clearing, so may resemble shifting cultivators.

There is also a District Soil and Water Conservation Office in Sankhuwasabha, buttheir activities are restricted to one watershed and mostly on-demand basis. Theyhave no programme for or against shifting cultivation.

5.4.3 11 Kha Board

In districts where there are many land disputes, the so-called 11 “Kha” Board Act provides fora board to be set-up to deal with land claims and check the land survey. Per case a committeeis formed with the DFO and people from the CDO, the survey department and others, as wellas one or two representatives from the respective VDC and community. There is already alarge file with all the cases, but it is mostly better off people who make use of this facility.

The DFO is aware of the fact that in the past only people who paid a bribe got their landregistered. However, it is only the people who can afford and understand the procedures thatmake use of this regulation, so it is mostly about cases between (rich) farmers and thegovernment - which means the Forest Office. Cases involving land rights or land claims ofsubsistence-level farmers have, so far, never come before this board. The procedure is thatan individual (and also a forest user group), can file an application for the board to look into aboundary dispute. The committee looks into the case, usually by involving the local communityand asking them if the individual has a rightful claim based on historic use. If needed, thedistrict level files can be compared with those that are kept at regional and national level. Ifafter the committee decides, the applicant is not happy, the process is taken to the court.

If a forest user group wants to make an application, they can pay for it from their funds, andFECOFUN provides them with legal support. In community forest areas it is getting easier tocontrol the land grabbers, especially if the forest user groups are strong. This has implicationsfor the previously good relations between the forest and the Land Survey Office. However,outside the community forests - like in the shifting cultivation areas - it is very difficult forfarmers to get their land rights.

5.4.4 Federation of Forest User Groups of Nepal

The federation of community forest user groups is a grassroots-based organisation, whichalso advocates for forest user groups rights and related issues at the national level. A similarorganisation for farmers does not exist in Nepal. No figures are available on the representationof indigenous peoples in this organisation. In Sankhuwasabha, it supports forest user groupsto resolve conflicts with powerful individuals in case of land grabbing. They have already wontwo cases, revealing corruption in the land titling process, causing the government staffconcerned to lose their jobs. The chairman confirms that there is no conflict betweenforest user groups and shifting cultivators.

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5.4.5 District Agriculture Development Office (DADO)

The DADO has no programme for shifting cultivation areas. During the Maoist conflict,they were only allowed to work in an area of 3 km around Khandbari. The staff membersclaim that they have limited manpower and incentives to go to remote areas, but someNGOs are active there, including on agricultural extension. The DADO works withexisting farmers groups, stating that these groups are only active when an NGO comesalong with a programme. An indication of the lack of interest is the fact that the mainofficer in charge said he doesn’t know what shifting cultivation is; “I have heard thisterm for the first time here.” Together with the Agriculture Development Bank theyhave a programme to promote cardamom, for which they provide planting materialand training. However, farmers never mentioned the DADO’s role when we askedthem and only acknowledge the support of the ADB.

5.4.6 Political representation and advocacy

In Sankhuwasabha, NEFIN has recently opened an office, but rights to natural resourcesor traditional occupations are not part of their advocacy agenda. They are now workingon language and cultural rights. The chairman is aware about the issues related toshifting cultivation and believes that farmers only practice it out of need, not to getaccess to additional land. In his opinion, forcing people to stop is not a workableoption. He is a teacher and claims that there is not much of a language problem in theschools. Only people from remote areas may have problems, but everywhere else thechildren are mixed with Nepali-speaking children, so they can learn. A villager told usthat only small children go to school, the older ones have to work. Language is not aproblem, because there are Rai and Sherpa teachers. The shifting cultivators fromSankhuwasabha are not affiliated to any social or advocacy groups in Kathmandu.Although there is a strong Sherpa community in the capital, they don’t deal with anyagricultural or natural resource rights-related issues. This raises the issue ofrepresentation – i.e. to what extent urban-based advocacy groups represent theinterests of their indigenous counterparts in the rural areas?

5.4.7 Development organizations

Currently the Livelihoods and Forestry Programme of DFID is the only InternationalDevelopment Agency working in the area, but they are focusing on community forestry, notland use in general. The Mountain Institute is an American INGO which has helped establishthe Makalu-Barun national park, which is nowadays managed by the Nepal government. Itwas active in conservation related activities till 15 years ago. There are several NGOs workingSankhuwasabha, and some of them are in the shifting cultivation areas. In general, their workis not related to the issue of shifting cultivation or indigenous peoples’ rights. Their workingarea is limited to a few selected VDCs, and they do specific development activities, such associal mobilisation, health, education, drinking water, small-scale irrigation and vegetablefarming.

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6C h a p t e r

Case of the Chepang

6.1 Traditional occupations of Chepang and relative importanceof shifting cultivation

The Chepang are well known for their practice of shifting cultivation, which is to date, themain source of livelihood for almost all of them. They are also known as hunters and gathererswhose subsistence economy is based on forest resources. It is a livelihood system thatheavily depends on their traditions and values. There is a common saying that if you find aChepang household, there must be khoriya nearby. Furthermore, the Chepang are also knownas Chyobang or Chewang. In their language che means dog and pang means arrow(Manandhar, 2002), which reflects one of their traditional occupations; hunting with the helpof dogs and bows and arrows. Once a year, they worship the bows and arrows used inhunting.

Figure 11: Women and children at Hiklung, Gorkha

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According to Bista (1967:120) “Chepangs make a distinction between two economicgroups, those who have developed a purely agricultural economy and others whostill partly depend on food-gathering, hunting and fishing.” The former is known asthe Pukunthali and the latter as the Kachhare Chepangs. In reality, this distinctionseems based on other aspects as well, and nowadays the impression is that bothdepend on shifting cultivation and hunting-gathering.

The Chepang’s population is only 52.237 people, which is 0.23% of total population ofNepal. With a literacy rate of only 13.9 per cent, they are considered to be one of themost marginalised communities of Nepal (CBS 2003). They have their own language,which belongs to one of the Tibeto-Burman strains.

Farming alone is not enough to provide for them; other traditional occupations arehunting, fishing, and collecting edible shoots and roots. These occupations areespecially important during the periods of food scarcity, which they face every year.Wild foods, including root crops, herbs and fruits are collected from the Chepang’sown land or from the nearby forest. Wild foods like Dioscorea deltoidea and Urtica diocaare linked with their traditions and cultural identification. The diversity of the agro-ecological system they inhabit provides the basis for a diverse diet and is the sourceof a wide range of nutritional foods. The Chepangs are also adept at weaving basketsand other items of bamboo, etc and in utilizing plants for beneficial purposes. Mosthouseholds further depend on wage labouring and the sale of home-made liquor foradditional income.

6.2 Characteristics and requirements of the shifting cultivationpractice

6.2.1 Rotation of crop fields: pattern and cycle

For most of the Chepangs, fallowing is the only soil conservation measure they have. Thelength of the rotational cycle is very short in most of the Chepang areas as compared toelsewhere, mostly because they are not able to even meet food subsistence levels. It currentlyvaries from five years to only six months depending upon farmers’ individual circumstances.Those who have more lands will keep a longer fallow, which enables them to grow theircrops in more consecutive years, and vice versa. Hardly any of the land is registered, theChepang have a very high dependency on agriculture. This and population growth have led tofragmentation of the land.

Although the climate in the Chepang areas is favourable to relatively fast forest growth, afallow phase of five years is not considered sustainable without any additional measures,such as improved fallows or additional soil conservation measures. A ‘fallow’ of six months,is more like permanent farming and not sustainable at all.

It is in these parts that farmers have ceased burning the stubble, and instead use the slashedmaterial for mulching. The idea for this innovation came from the farmers themselves, eventhough the benefits of mulching are well-known to agronomists. Covering the soil during therains helps prevent erosion, but more importantly, the nutrients are released more slowlyduring a longer part of the cropping phase, whereas during burning much needednutrients go up in smoke.

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6.2.2 Crop production and productivity

The major crops in Chepang shifting cultivation include: upland rice, maize (Zea mays),wheat, sesame, finger millet (Eleusine coracana), legumes like horse gram, cowpea,soybean, broad bean, black gram and vegetables and fruits like jackfruits, papaya,mangoes, chiuri5, banana, and guava (Regmi 2005). On average, their production issufficient only for about 5 months per year. Only 1 percent of people enjoy foodsufficiency from their own production (Gurung 2006). According to one farmer fromLaitak, the Magars and others are not that interested in khoriya. Sometimes when theChepangs have a good harvest they start doing khoriya on their land too, but withoutthe fallow their efforts are unsuccessful.

6.2.3 Wild and uncultivated foods

Aryal (2007) shows that in Chepang sites of Dhading the uncultivated foods significantlycontribute on food requirement of the household. The average contribution is about 3 monthsa year. The figure shows that 58 % household in Dhading enjoying food more than 3.5 monthsper year from uncultivated sources.

Figure 12: Chepang crop field of the previous year in January

5 Chiuri is the fruit of the Indian Butter Tree (Diploknema butyracea, Aesandra butyracea,Bassica butyracea)

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Wild foods, such as ban tarul (Dioscorea spp), githa/ bhyakur (Doiscorea bulbifera/ deltoidea),tyaguna, jyar, sisnu (Urtica dioca), tanki ko munta (Bahunea purpurea), koiralo (Bahuineavarigieta), kurilo, niuro (Thelyopteris spp.), boke saag, jaluko, chiuri (Bassia butyraceae),and wild mushroom, are collected either from their own land or from nearby forest providinga large bulk of food for the households.

The forest provides them with food during scarce months and some cultural specieslike chiuri have multiple benefits. Chiuri which they call king of fruits, is one of the best-recorded examples known by the social and plant scientists of Nepal. This fruit signifiesa special socio-cultural asset of the Chepang community. They are the best known forusing this fruit in different preparations mainly extracting oil and nectar (Aryal, 2007:31).Mostly, the Chepang conserve chiuri not only for oil and nectar, but they also use it asdowry in their daughters’ marriages. Another interesting fact is that bats are a preferredfood item for Chepangs, and they too are attracted by the chiuri nectar, making iteasier for people generally to hunt them. Sama - Barn Yard Millet (Echinochloa colona)is a traditional crop that grows on the khoriya fallows, and is especially eaten duringcultural festivals.

6.2.4 Customary institutions

In the case of the Chepangs, customary institutions play an important role in promoting theirculture by preserving the society’s links with their ancestors. In social terms, their functionsinclude providing peace and order, solving conflicts, harmonising relations betweengenerations or other interests within the community. Chepang celebrate a range of

Figure 13: Chiuri fruit is ripening on a tree

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ceremonies; common ones include Chandi purnima (in May), Kulpuja (worshiping theancestors) in December, and Ban puja (worshiping for eternal peace) and Diyali (usuallydone after the harvest of paddy, maize, taro (Colocasia esculenta), pumpkin etc.) BhumiPuja (worshipping the land) is done once a year, usually at the base of a chilaune(Schima wallichii) tree.

The most important figure in the Chepang community seems to be the pande, who isa religious and cultural leader, but does not seem to have a role in land tenurearrangements. The pande is responsible for tree tenure, namely of the chiuri tree. Thistree takes a prominent place in the Chepang landscape and is used to demarcatefarmers’ lands. This practice is still maintained nowadays (see 5.3.3. above). Somecases were reported where Chepang-held trees have been chopped down byinsensitive non-Chepang villagers.

The Chepang mostly bury their dead, indicating that their land includes burial sites.This should also be a consideration in discussions on land access and rights.6 Thedead body is bathed and dressed in new clothes and flower garlands, before beingwrapped in a burial cloth. It is buried in a box made of Sal tree bark (Shorea robusta),which is an important hardwood fallow species.

6.2.5 Local employment opportunities

Stone quarrying is increasingly coming up as a source of employment. In Thumka allmen go to the quarry every day to work and even Chepang people from villages thatare several days walk away come to work there. They stay with the contractor who isalso Chepang and return home only once a year. The stone quarry is run by a bigcement company that has bought up land along the river from the Chepangs; who arethen employed as contractors and workers. However, the Chepangs feel increasinglycheated, saying the land and labour have been sold too cheaply. In another village,the same company is trying to open another quarry; the Nepal Chepang Associationmanaged to delay this for some time, however the project is now moving forwardagain.

Figure 14: Stone quarrying at the bottom of the Chepang land

6 Convention No. 169 (Article 13.1) recognises the special relationship that indigenous peoples oftenhave with their land, acknowledging that it is often the basis for not only their economic well-being,but also their spiritual well-being and cultural identity. Indeed the loss of ancestral lands threatenstheir very survival as a community and a people. (See ILO Convention on Indigenous and TribalPeoples, 1989 (No. 169): A Manual , ILO Geneva, 2003, pp. 29).

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Chepang are often found working for low wages and getting paid on a daily basis; feware even in temporary employment. Poverty and extreme food insecurity, perhaps themost prevalent characteristic of their economic exclusion, forces them to work underexploitative conditions. Very few have permanent jobs in government offices. Recently,one Chepang (Kokil Kumar Chepang) joined the Nepal army as second lieutenant,being the first Chepang in an officer level post. At a time when 500 people a day wereleaving Nepal looking for better jobs abroad (in 2005-6), there was only one Chepangamong them – a former school teacher - now working in Malaysia.

In Saktikhor there are only two shops which have been opened by Chepangs, despitethe sizeable Chepang community who inhabit the area. One shop sells VCDs andcheap electronics and the other medicine and vegetables. The lady who runs the VCD-shop made an initial investment of 5-6000 rupees, the rent is Rs. 500 a month, and herhome is 2 hours’ walk away. Her husband buys in the supplies and she sells the goods.The medicine shop is also run by a Chepang who is a qualified community healthworker. He also sells vegetables, but nothing from the khoriya. He says, if there areany khoriya products they are usually consumed by the household; furthermore, thereis no demand from non-Chepangs.

Figure 15: Carrying loads for local businessmen is another form of wage labour, but very low-paid

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6.3 Land-use change and its impact on livelihoods

6.3.1 The relative importance of shifting cultivation

Most Chepangs depend on shifting cultivation and other traditional occupations likewild food collection, hunting and fishing for most of their food security. Additionally,shifting cultivation plays an important role in the integrity of their culture and as suchin their traditional systems of social security. The availability of land and naturalresources is not sufficient for the population who is dependent on them, which includesChepangs and outsiders. This forces farmers to accept low-paid wage labour, oftenunder deplorable working conditions. Two major factors that have negatively affectedthe potential of shifting cultivation to contribute to food security and developmentare: land tenure security and the emergence of community and leasehold forestry.

6.3.2 Current land tenure situation

Land tenure is identified as the single most important issue for most Chepangs.Although they have been tilling the same lands assigned by the mukhiyas, they havenot been able to register it in their name during land reform; with the result that todayofficial ownership lies with the government or non-Chepangs. Those who did notregister their right to land after the Cadastral Survey in 1970 have not been givenanother opportunity to do so, despite the fact that at that time they were not wellinformed about the consequences. Registration meant they had to pay land tax ontheir marginal lands; the rate of which was the same as for productive agriculturalland. Therefore, registering land was an expensive process, particularly consideringthe relatively low productivity of their sloping lands and the fact that they did notreceive annual returns from it. Other reasons why Chepangs have not registered their landsare the complex administrative procedures, which many of them cannot understand andwith which they cannot comply, and also the fact the land cannot be registered for the purposeof shifting cultivation nor as common property.

Indebtedness is another major reason why farmers have lost the ownership of their land,even if they did get it registered at some point. Even today land rights advocates find thatthose Chepangs who did get a land registration certificate often use it as collateral againstloans, and thereby end up in the same situation as before.

Local power struggles further add to the tenurial insecurity. In Kamidanda (Gorkha district),Gurungs kept claiming that some Chepang land is theirs, to the extent that now the Chepangshave to pay them with gifts and favours, known as “sherma tirnu”, to keep using these lands.

6.3.3 Community forestry programme

For the Chepang, the main problem with the community forestry programme is that shiftingcultivation is not allowed in these forests. In their case, the land shortage is so severe thatany further reduction of their access rights has an immediate effect on their food security.What the forest department does not seem to realise is that conserving forests inside thecommunity (or leasehold) forest, comes at the cost of more degradation in the remainingshifting cultivation land. Shifting cultivators grow (fallow) forests on their agricultural land, soif these forests are converted to permanent forests, they lose their fallow function and farmerslose access to their traditional lands.

Secondly, even if the Chepang become forest users within the forest user groups,their participation in and influence on decision-making is very little, as other groups

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try to dominate them. Additionally, most of them don’t have the required skills tobecome a committee member. In one village, the Chepangs reported that a group ofBrahmins wanted to make a community forest and, without consulting with the ranger,they started delineating the area they wanted, which included a large part of khoriyaland. Threats and intimidation against the Chepangs ensued. The Chepangs called ameeting with the ranger, who told the Brahmins they could not take the Chepang’sland without their consent. The Chepangs in question, subsequently consulted withvarious political leaders to try and stop this community forest, but the party leadersare also all Brahmin-dominated. The Maoists, when consulted, said that the Brahminsshould stick to the real government forest and keep out of the Chepang’s land, but itis unclear what support they will provide in solving this issue.

6.3.4 Leasehold forestry programme

Implementation of the leasehold forestry programme has not been successful in the Chepangareas. Annual crops like maize and millet - the staple crops of the Chepangs - are strictlyprohibited, which means that Chepangs are even less food secure than they were previously.Also, because part of their land is taken out of shifting cultivation production, there is increasedpressure on their remaining land. Furthermore, the envisaged close collaboration betweenthe forest and livestock departments has declined and since the Chepangs have hardlyany livestock of their own, production of fodder is also of little use to them.

The field study clearly showed that Forest Office staff force the leasehold programmeon Chepang communities. In one case, an all-Chepang group had been formed, withsome of their traditional land leased out for planting fodder and NTFPs, on theunderstanding, given by the forest department that goats would be distributed to

Figure 16: In discussion with the farmers whose land is now under leasehold forestry

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them by the livestock office. However, the delineated area was the traditional land ofone household, so when the goats did not arrive and the family realised the newarrangement was not profitable for them, the group decided to allow the family togrow maize and millet in-between the fodder crops inside the leasehold forest. Thiswould have worked out fine, if they had not been reported by a Brahmin from aneighbouring village. Subsequently, the concerned farmer was forced to report to theDistrict Forest Office over three consecutive months to state that he would nevergrow crops in the leasehold forest again, on threat of punishment.

In another village the ranger had tried to make the Chepangs form a leasehold group.A feast was organised with goat meat and drinks, after which the community wereeasily convinced. Here too, goats were promised as part of the deal. However, afterhearing this news, the local member of the Nepal Chepang Association informed thefarmers that because of the troubles other Chepangs had encountered with leaseholdforestry, the NCA had made the formation of any more leasehold groups on traditionalChepang land, punishable with a fine.

During interaction with local people, we found that while many are in principle interested inthe programme, it should not be imposed on them and not on their agricultural (khoriya) land.They feel that the government does not have their best interests at heart. First, the policyshould be flexible enough to adapt to local conditions. They say it would be better if they wereallowed to grow annual crops in the leasehold forest and if they themselves could choose thebest option. There are many cases of Chepangs being displaced from their current (ancestral)land because of the formation of community and leasehold forests. In fact, many such caseshave reached the national public media, but the formation process is still going on.

6.4 Government programmes and services

6.4.1 National Foundation for the Development of Indigenous Nationalities(NFDIN)

In 2001, the Parliament of Nepal passed a bill on the establishment of a National Foundationfor the Development of Indigenous Nationalities (NFDIN) that recognised 59 ethnic groups as‘indigenous nationalities’. The main objective of the foundation is the overall development ofindigenous nationalities through plans and programmes related to the economic, social,educational, cultural (language, script, history, arts, literature, knowledge) and technologicaldevelopment of indigenous nationalities. However, its mandate does not cover natural resourcemanagement or traditional forest-related knowledge.

This foundation runs the Praja Bikash Karyakram (Chepang Development Programme), whichis especially focused on the Chepang people and has been running for several years. Althoughthe Chepangs reside in six districts of Nepal, the programme is mainly concentrated on fourdistricts, namely Chitwan, Makwanpur, Dhading and Gorkha. Identifying education as its mainpriority, it provides scholarships and school uniforms for Chepang children, along with othersmall initiatives such as sewing courses and provision of agricultural inputs.

To date, most of the fund is spent on the Chepang student hostel in Saktikhor, where themost promising Chepang students can stay and study at the local government school.In recent years, the role of the Chepang representatives has slightly increased (fromnone) with regard to decision making on this programme. At the same time, however,the programme’s budget had been decreased without any explanation.

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The programme is a good example of a special measure that addresses a felt need ofthe Chepangs – namely access to education. The majority of Chepangs who have aschool leaving certificate (SLC) have come through this programme. The livingconditions in the hostel are reasonable, although food is scarce.

6.4.2 District Agriculture Development Office (DADO)

Interaction with the Chief district agricultural officer made clear that the office does not haveany programmes related to shifting cultivation, neither are they planning any for thenext phase. The reason behind it is that government policies do not recognise shiftingcultivation as an agricultural system. The incentives mechanism and lack of manpowerwere also cited as reasons to discourage initiatives in such areas. People’s willingnessto come for technical support was also reported as low in Chepang communities,which is another reason government officials are reluctant to go to their areas - thecurrent policy being that communities themselves should approach the DADO withtheir problems.

6.4.3 District Forest Office (DFO)

DFO is the main government institution dealing with forest and forest resources at the districtlevel. Community and leasehold forestry are the two current government programmes foreffective management of forest resources through people’s participation. The communityforestry programme has been widely adopted and has been internationally celebrated as asuccess for both forest conservation and poverty alleviation. Realising that the poorest werenot benefiting equitably from access to forest resources, the leasehold forestry programmewas developed and implemented and is also widely practiced in the region. However both failto address the specific needs of shifting cultivators, and the Chepang.

The Chepang feel that such programmes have been developed to control their shiftingcultivation and other rights. In their areas it has been implemented for over a decade, but littleimprovement has been seen in their poverty situation.

One rationale of the community forestry programme was to return the forests to their customaryowners. However the rules are such that for customary users (such as shifting cultivators,hunter-gatherers and herders), it means a considerable loss of access rights. At the sametime there are no policies to strengthen traditional forest user rights and customary tenurearrangements, or compensate those who lost traditional sources of income in other ways. InThumka village for example, there is a small patch of forest, which has been declared sacredby the local priest who, with the help of spirits, ensures its protection. The area is mainly keptas a reserve for emergencies and was actually planted a few decades ago. So far, the forestdepartment has not shown any interest or provided any support. However, if the FD declaredit an official community forest, the farmers fear their usage rights to it would be curtailed.

6.4.4 Citizenship registration

Obtaining a citizenship certificate is a major struggle for most Chepangs and one whichgreatly affects their enjoyment of civil rights. According to one survey done by Nepal PrajaDevelopment Programme, 85% of Chepang do not have citizenship. The study wasdone in 17 VDCs; among 2452 inquiries, 1944 household reported that they do nothave citizenship. Similarly out of 309 households, almost half did not have landregistration certificate (Chepang, 2007).

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According to Ms. Laxmi Gurung from CDO, out of a 100 applicants, only 2 or 3 manageto get their citizenship certificate though the normal channels, because most do nothave any records. The whole application process costs around 5000 Rupees, whichincludes transport, food etc, because even within a VDC distances can be a day’swalk. Mobile citizenship services (sivirs) are sometimes organised, so the officials willstay in a certain place for about three days to do all the necessary paperwork. However,people are often not informed in advance, so only start preparing when the officialsare already there; three days is not enough time to get the paperwork ready. Otherssimply don’t have the required papers (even though they are Nepali).

In fact, the power to grant someone citizenship lies with the Chief District Officer(CDO) of the district where the applicant resides. Normally, it is provided on the basisof the necessary paperwork, but if the CDO has reason to trust the person on his orher word, a signature is sufficient. Whereas most CDOs are not willing to do this, thecurrent CDO of Dhading district is open minded and understanding of the issues. Inhis district, many Chepangs have recently been registered by simply getting arecommendation from the Nepal Chepang Association, as well as from fellow villagers.Though it is based on trust between the CDO and NCA, so far there has been noabuse of this provision.

6.4.5 Political representation and advocacy: the Nepal Chepang Association

The Nepal Chepang Association was established in 1998 and has been affiliated toNEFIN since 2000. Land registration and citizenship rights are their main concern, forwhich they have advocacy and awareness campaigns. According to Mr. Santa BahadurChepang (Chief Secretary, NCA), “People should know we are Nepali and have rightsto our resources too.” The Chepangs are not fairly represented in any of the decision-making bodies that concern them. In the government administration, the Chepangsare only represented at the VDC-level, especially in the four Chepang VDCs in Chitwan.

According to the Nepal Chepang Association, their group is the only one in NEFIN advocatingfor rights to land and other natural resources. “Within NEFIN we are the only ones who havetaken up the land rights issue and although it is important for so many others, NEFIN has nottaken it seriously to date.”7 To date Chepangs have not been represented in the executivebody of NEFIN.

Although they have a large camp in the Chepang area and have stayed in Chepang homes,eaten their food and used their resources, the Maoists are another group who have shownlittle interest in taking up the Chepang issues in their political agenda. The NCA has madeefforts to lobby the CPN (Maoist) party to address their issues. At the time of the field visit,there was a strike going on in the Terai, because the Madeshi’s (lit. people from the plains)feel they are underrepresented in politics, but the Chepangs have nothing to do with themand are not part of this, theirs is a different issue.

6.4.6 The Chepang Mainstreaming Programme

The Chepang Mainstreaming programme is run by four NGOs who are all workingwith the Chepangs on different development issues. They are: (1) the Nepal ChepangAssociation, who are doing advocacy and building local institutions. They have set upvillage working committees and district village committees. (2) FORWARD who are

7 Personal communication with Santa Bahadur Gurung, Nepal Chepang Association, 2007.

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involved with agricultural related work; (3) CAED, who have the SEACOW programmefocussing on education; and (4) CDO who help advocate for citizenship rights andland registration.

The land rights campaign of the CDO advocates for rights on land, water and forests, basedon the idea that those who work the land should own it. The same campaign is going on forother groups in Nepal such as the ex-bonded labourers, landless Dalits and others. Stronglyrelated with this campaign is the citizenship campaign, in which they also play an importantrole. Five thousand people have got citizenship certificates now, with help from thisprogramme.

Mr. Yeman Chepang (NCA) explains that at first they started working on the landrights issue, mainly to get their lands registered, but it turned out to be much morecomplicated than they expected. First of all, there is the issue with the forest departmentwho is now the ‘owner’ of the land. Then there is the problem that almost all thosewho have titles have used them as collateral to get bank loans, which means they stilldon’t have tenurial security. Lastly, there is the citizenship issue: those withoutcitizenship cannot buy land, and those without land cannot get a citizenship. Ms.Laxmi Gurung from CDO further adds that a large portion of the Chepang land hasnot been surveyed, and the Chepang ‘owners’ have not been informed about thoseparts that have been surveyed. Many Chepangs find it difficult even to find out which office isfor what.

The SEACOW programme tries to increase the number of Chepang parents in the schoolcommittees. However, success is limited due to the prejudices of other parents, who arereluctant to share budgetary details of the school with the Chepang parents. This is in conflictwith the right to participation established in ILO Convention 169, Art. 6.1.

6.4.7 Chepang Hill Trail

The Chepang Hill Trail is a new tourist destination, which is based on the pro-poor tourismdevelopment concept. The idea behind it is that the culture and lifestyle of the people as wellas the beautiful landscape can draw many tourists to Nepal and to the areas where poorpeople live. In this way, local people can benefit through tourism-related jobs such as porters,tourist guides, lodge-owners, or by managing a village home stay. As part of the trail, a Chepangmuseum/ visitors’ centre has been established in Saktikhor, where Chepang utensils,handicrafts and cultural items are displayed and visitors can learn more about their specificculture and lifestyle.

Although this new tourist attraction has taken the name of the Chepangs, it has not benefitedChepang households as much as others for whom it was much easier to take the opportunitiesprovided by the TRPAP8. The project does not consider the Chepangs as a specific targetgroup, nor has it made any special provisions for them, stating that this wouldcomplicate project implementation. According to Rajeev Dangol, TRPAP advisor(Dangol 2006); “the Chepangs are extremely shy and introvert and don’t easily speakto strangers. That is the situation we are dealing with.”

8 The TRPAP (Tourism for Rural Poverty Alleviation Programme) was launched in September2001 by the Government of Nepal- Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation with thetechnical and financial assistance from United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)/Nepal, Department for International Development (DFID)/ Nepal and SNV/Nepal.

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There is a successful Chepang-run home stay facility in Uppranggadhi (Dhadingdistrict). The owner confirms that she is the only Chepang who runs a home-stayfacility. There is a committee to manage the home stays, which allocates tourists tothe various families on rotation. The Chepang lady is not a committee member andfeels she gets fewer tourists than the others, because the other group members thinkthat tourists may not want to stay in a Chepang home. No data were available on howmany tourists had visited, nor on their opinions of the different facilities.

Nonetheless, the tourism business has greatly contributed to the family’s income.Since she took the initiative of making a home-stay facility, she has become an examplefor other Chepangs, some of whom are now getting interested in the idea. However,the groups have already been established and the TRPAP-project is phasing out.

Such experiences make the Chepangs feel discriminated-against by most tourisminitiatives. They were also marginalised when an environmental awareness programmewas organised that discouraged shifting cultivation. We assume that its effectivenesswas negligible, but it is surprising that the organisers of the trail had never contemplatedthat indigenous farming practices might attract to tourists.

6.4.8 Chepang medicinal plant cooperative in Saktikhor

A good example of a special (and specific) measure taken on behalf of the Chepang isthe Chepang medicinal plant cooperative in Saktikhor. It is situated at the start of the

Figure 17: Interviewing the Chepang home-stay owner at Laitak, Dhading

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Figure 18: Various medicinal plant products are kept in stock at the Praja Cooperative,Saktikhor, Chitwan

Chepang Trail (together with the Chepang museum), and has a collection centre,storage facilities, a processing plant, and a shop. The most interesting aspect is thatit is based on a niche-product (local medicinal and aromatic plants), that is specific tothe Chepangs. The Chepangs have extensive knowledge and resources in this regard,which gives them an advantage vis-à-vis other groups.

Collectors of medicinal plants need a collection permit from the District Forest Office.This is relatively easy to get because the cooperative has agreed to certain workingareas with the local range post and has given the forest office a deposit of 2 Rs/kg.One hiccup is that sometimes bribes are asked at checkpoints (of police, forest andarmy) during transportation. It should be noted here, that this habit of asking for bribesfor transporting forest products at check posts is common across Nepal and nottargeted at the Chepangs only.

The cooperative is fully run by Chepangs - there are 25 shareholders. Chepangs fromfive VDCs are represented on the board of the cooperative and staff work as per theboard’s guidance and decisions. Their activities include: sales and business-relatedwork, forest (resource conservation) related and management of the processingmachinery. The main challenge is to match market supply and demand. They don’thave much money, so they cannot pay the collectors before the produce is sold.Additional services of the cooperative are agriculture and veterinary services,a telephone, a mill, and a jeep-service to pick tourists up from Sauraha (which many

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tourists pass through on their way to the world-famous Royal Chitwan NationalPark).

In the beginning the cooperative was set-up with extensive technical support fromSNV and SEACOW, who did participatory market analysis and development for thevarious products they had. These NGOs helped them with the initial market linkages,but since two years, the cooperative has been independent. Since then one link hasdried up, but another link has been established with an agro-veterinary company fromDhading.

6.4.9 Prithivi Highway, agricultural cooperatives and collection centres

Nepal’s main highway in the hills, the Prithivi Highway, connects Kathmandu, Pokharaand the Terai. This road cuts right across the Chepangs’ traditional territory, openingit up to the outside world, with all its associated problems. Many older people stillremember the peace and quiet before the construction of the highway and recollectstories of their first encounter with non-Chepangs who stared and pointed at them. Inthe days before the highway, they used to have their own trade links with Newarsfrom nearby towns. These were fortified with strong relations called ‘meet’ in Nepali,in which people can make a friendship official by inviting the whole village to acelebration and announcing it. With the highway came new trade connections and theChepangs could not compete with products from the Terai and India.

In recent years, Chepang farmers have started growing vegetables for the market. Atsome places along the highway, agricultural cooperatives have been formed andcollection centres for short term storage have been built. The cooperatives on thewestern side of the highway (Gorkha) further need a cable bridge to transport theirproduce across the river.

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In this chapter we relate the findings from the field cases to the provisions of ILOConventions Nos.111 and 169 to come up with lessons for policy and developmentpractice. Because of limitations in the scope of the study and in the available secondary,data, it may not be possible to demonstrate clear-cut cases of discrimination. However,there is ample scope to raise awareness on emerging issues and their urgency.

Lessons for policy should reveal how the rights of indigenous peoples to practice shiftingcultivation as their traditional occupation are protected in the current government policyenvironment. The focus is on the government, even though there are many other policyplayers and decision makers, because it is the government that has ratified ILO ConventionsNos. 111 and 169, thereby accepting the responsibility for their implementation. Most lessonslearnt and recommendations will concern policy content, although some attention is alsogiven to the possible processes involved in implementing some of the recommendations.According to Borrini-Feyerabend et al (2004), policy content exists in the form of objectives,statements and instruments, whereas the policy process entails policy making, implementingand reviewing. Furthermore, it is important to understand how policy works as a politicalprocess; who are the key players, what is their position or opinion and influence, and howcan they be convinced?

Policy gaps and issues can arise for example in the case of: (a) differences in priorities andperspectives between decision makers and those affected; (b) misunderstandings orunawareness about opportunities and problems on the ground; (c) lack of legal provisionsand neglect; (d) lacking or failing implementation of otherwise agreeable policies; and (e)conflicting policy statements and instruments.

7.1 The right to practice shifting cultivation

The right to practice shifting cultivation (like the right to belong to an indigenous people) isbased on the principle that people should be allowed to practice shifting cultivation if theywish to do so. Convention No. 111 provides for the right to practice a traditional occupationand the right to freely choose an occupation. Convention No.169 provides for the right toshifting cultivation, acknowledging it as part of the culture that identifies the indigenous peopleswho practice it and that they have the right to “maintain” and celebrate that culture.9 In fact,the agriculture-culture link works both ways; traditional culture (including knowledge, practicesand beliefs) makes people who are indigenous to an area better at farming there. In turn thebenefits from that agriculture enrich their culture, be it with food products, a home for their

9 Relevant articles include Articles 2, 4, 7, 13 and 14 (14.1 specifically mentions shifting cultivators)ILO Convention on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, 1989 (No. 169).

7C h a p t e r

Issues related to ILOConventions Nos. 111 and 169

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ancestors and spirits, or by supporting the necessary social fabric. The strong linkbetween shifting cultivation and culture is shown in celebrations and festivities thataccompany work in the fields, religious ceremonies that worship the land and thetrees (Chepang), and by the many specific words and names in the language of thepeople who practice it.

There are no outright references to shifting cultivation or slash-and-burn as afarming system in any legislative documents in Nepal. This is mainly due to thefact that most policy decision makers are under the impression that the practice nolonger exists in Nepal. There are however, many ways in which shifting cultivation asa practice is made “legally impossible” in official acts and other legislation, irrespectiveof who practices it. Basic tenets like ‘forest clearing’ and ‘controlled burning’are officially banned across Nepal, even in private forests. Officially, anyone who wantsto cut down a tree, even in their own back yard, needs permission from the ForestDepartment. Common property tenure is legally impossible and fallow forests aregreatly discouraged; the better a forest grows, the sooner the government willclaim ownership and control over it. In many places where shifting cultivation istraditionally practiced, the growing of annual (staple) crops is officially prohibited,such as in government, community and leasehold forests. The same is true for huntingand fishing, which are important sources of animal protein and food security for manyshifting cultivators and indigenous peoples.

Legal provisions are one thing, while their implementation is quite another in many cases.Most of the above-mentioned rules and regulations are not actively enforced, particularly asgovernment presence in inaccessible shifting cultivation areas is minimal and of low priority.Government programmes, on paper, may acknowledge the existence of shifting cultivation,but it is mostly referred to in derogatory terms and identified as a problem to be eradicated. Itis mainly the District Forest Offices who are reported to actively punish shifting cultivationrelated activities. District Forest Offices and other projects (Chepang Trail/TRPAP and theMakalu-Barun Conservation Area Project) have organised awareness programmes todiscourage shifting cultivation, pointing to its alleged negative impact on wildlife.

Most policy decision-makers and implementers can be said to be unaware of or ill-informedabout the subject of shifting cultivation and its functioning. This is also true of those lineagencies who are supposed to be the direct service providers at the district level. Theagriculture officer in Sankhuwasabha, who had never heard of shifting cultivation, is a case inpoint. Similarly, the majority of others interviewed seemed to equate shifting cultivation withjust slashing-and- burning for land clearing. Despite this limited understanding, perceptionsand decisions perpetuating the negative stereotype of shifting cultivation are easily made andaccepted, because public opinion in general sees shifting cultivation as a “primitive practicefor lazy farmers”, which has little benefit to anyone.

In this context, a relevant question which needs to be asked is why farmers continueto practice shifting cultivation in the face of so much adversity? Our field-basedfindings show that most farmers practice shifting cultivation because it is the onlyviable option on their marginal land and because they are good at it. This challengesthe widely held views that the practice can be controlled by providing shiftingcultivators with the same options as other farmers, because what may be suitable forother farmers may not be suitable for the marginal lands where shifting cultivationcontinues to be practiced. In places where other viable options are available, farmers(including shifting cultivators) will adopt these if they are found to be better. However,such options should not be forced on people. This is linked to the core principles of

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Convention No. 169 - the right to consultation, participation and the right of indigenouspeoples to decide their own priorities for the process of development10.

Farmers do not practice shifting cultivation because it is simple and cheap, nor becausethey are primitive or backward. In fact, shifting cultivation is very hard work and manyfarmers live below subsistence level. Therefore, while shifting cultivation may requirelow external input, it cannot be considered cheap in regards to labour input. The cases,as well as appreciative literature (e.g. Kerkhoff and Sharma 2006; Daniggelis 1994,2001, 2003) show that shifting cultivation is a sophisticated integrated farming system,which depends on strong community organisation. Proof of sophistication is that itsustains entire communities on some of the world’s most marginal steep slopes.

Protecting the right to practice shifting cultivation has several implications for the government.For one thing, it means that the government should accept shifting cultivation as a bona fideland use type, just like irrigated terraces, rain-fed terraces, or community forestry, and provideit support to an equitable extent. It further means the government should not try to make themadopt other options just for the sake of controlling shifting cultivation. There are exampleswhere new options have been forced on communities with disastrous results for farmers’livelihoods and resource degradation, such as leasehold forestry in the Chepang case (seebelow). Other similar experiences from Nepal as well as other counties are documented inKerkhoff and Sharma (2006).

7.2 Land rights

Loss of land rights is the main issue for shifting cultivators in Nepal, as is evident from bothcases examined here. Most land used for shifting cultivation is not registered, cannot officiallybe registered for various reasons described above, and as a result is allocated to otherpurposes by governments (e.g. community forestry, leasehold forestry or protected areas). Ifthis is not the case, the land is likely to be ‘grabbed’ by rich and powerful people. From ourfield visits it became clear that farmers only practice shifting cultivation on the land they havecustomarily held, which was delineated during the Rana times. This contradicts notions foundin literature and held among policy makers that shifting cultivators are forest encroachers, orthat they use slash-and-burn to secure land for future generations (Sharma and Khatri-Chhetri1996).

Farmers who do not have land ownership certificates face several problems. First of all, theyare perceived as encroachers on government land if they use it for agriculture or grazing.Secondly, all the government forest land has in recent years been turned into communityforests, with the result that access and control of ‘traditional users’ has, in many cases, beenlost. Third, only registered land can be used as collateral to get loans from banks, includingthe Agriculture Development Bank. Tenurial insecurity has a strong impact on landmanagement and food security. For example, some farmers reported that if they could securea land title, they would make terraces on those lands where appropriate. However, given thecurrent situation of insecure tenure, such a major investment is too risky. In cases wherefarmers risk being evicted from their lands, tenurial insecurity can also lead to over-exploitationand reduced fallow phases.

Those farmers who do not have ownership certificates face the risk of being evicted from thelands they have traditionally occupied. In the case of the Chepangs, even when ownership isin the hands of non-Chepangs, Chepangs may still be able to maintain access rights

10 See Articles 6 and 7 of ILO Convention No. 169.

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because most of the land is relatively unproductive, inaccessible and hard to work,thus making it unattractive for non-Chepangs to work it themselves. In those areasthat are now considered government forests, the government can allocate the landfor other purposes. For example, the formation of community and leasehold forestson Chepang farmers’ land is common.

Allowing shifting cultivation requires policy makers to understand that shiftingcultivators need more land area than for permanent farming, because of the need torotate and grow fallow forests. Furthermore, they need to be able to clear these forestswhen it is time for the cropping phase. Policy makers also need to be aware thatpermanent farming is not possible on land where shifting cultivation is practiced. Thecase of the Chepangs shows that reducing the land area to the extent that they cannothave a fallow phase anymore is not sustainable for food security or the environment.Factors such as these are the rationale behind Article 14.1 of Convention No. 169,which states:

“The rights of ownership and possession of the peoples concerned over the landswhich they traditionally occupy shall be recognised. In addition, measures shallbe taken in appropriate cases to safeguard the right of the peoples concerned touse lands not exclusively occupied by them, but to which they have traditionallyhad access for their subsistence and traditional activities. Particular attentionshall be paid to the situation of nomadic peoples and shifting cultivators in thisrespect.”

One thing that needs to be said about the land rights campaign (of NCA and CDO) is thateven under the available legislation, farmers can already register land which they are cropping.However, due to circumstances they are not able to access that right. There are no policyinstruments available, for example, that protect the Chepang against loan sharks and otherpowerful people who want to cheat them off their property.11 It is relevant to note that ConventionNo.169 provides for access to all ancestral lands, irrespective of current ownership, and theconcept of ‘use’ is much broader than just for cropping. It includes, use for hunting, gathering,religious purposes. These aspects are completely missed in the campaign.12

A related issue is the right of peoples to own land under common property regimes. Commonproperty of land is not possible in Nepal, were only private and government property land areaccepted. In the past, strong common property regimes did exist, especially in the case ofthe kipat-holders in Sankhuwasabha, but these have mostly disintegrated over time. As isexplained above, common property has several benefits for shifting cultivation, which is whyfarmers formally still adhere to it, like in Mude. Legal, tax and administrative obligations,however, create many problems.

Common property arrangements in shifting cultivation ensure universal access to land for allfarmers of a community (Choudhury, 2004), whereas after privatisation there is a great riskfor the poorest farmers to become landless. There are no provisions in Nepalese legislationthat protect farmers against landlessness. In the case of the Chepangs, after privatisation

11 Articles 17.3 and 18 recognise the need to protect indigenous and tribal peoples ’ lands from: a)others coming into these lands for their own personal gain without permission from the relevantauthorities; and b) outsiders trying to take the lands of indigenous and tribal peoples away fromthem through fraud or other dishonest means. ILO Convention on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples,1989 (No.169: A Manual), ILO Geneva, 2003, pp. 34.

12 See Articles 13-19 on land rights.

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most of the land ended up in the hands of moneylenders because Chepangs mortgagedland against bank loans. Nowadays it is clear to see that the best lands (i.e. flattertopography) and the best locations (along the highway) have been taken by non-Chepangs, leaving the Chepang with the challenge to survive on the remaining land.In the case of the Rais and Limbus in the east, loss of land in this way was also common;however farmers are slowly becoming more aware on how to protect themselvesagainst such exploitive practices.

In practice, unclarities and disagreements about land rights result in conflict and resourcedegradation. Unruh (2006) therefore promotes the notion of ‘evidence landscapes’, in whichfeatures of the landscape are taken as evidence that stakeholders can use to prove theirprior or current occupation and strengthen their claim to the land. This is useful to managethe disconnection between formal and customary tenure in situations whereinstitutions are lacking, but such evidence can also be brought in formal courts.Landscape evidence can even be formally recognised in policy and legislation. In thecase of shifting cultivation, evidence such as fallow forests (which are discerniblefrom natural or primary forests) and sacred groves can be important for delineatingfarmers’ land, whether it is currently used or ancestral land.

7.3 Displacement

In an attempt to conserve vulnerable resources, governments have considered movingcommunities (settlements) to other areas. So far in the area under study, this seems to havehappened only at a relatively small scale and has been based on incentives rather than directforce. Several Chepang families were offered lands in the plains of Saktikhor (Chitwan district),while Sherpas and Rais are being encouraged to leave their homes in the Makalu-BarunNational Park. Several cases were also reported of Chepangs living in remote parts of theTerai, having been displaced by forestry programmes, land grabbing and general poverty.

Convention No.169 recognises that ‘removal from traditional territories has severe impactson the ways of life, well-being and cultural identity of many indigenous and tribal peoples’ (ILO2003:44). Article 16 is explicit on the impact of displacement of indigenous peoples andprovides detailed guidelines in the event that displacement is inevitable (see ILO 2003: 44-47). Experiences from across the globe have proven that the impact of displacement on(indigenous) peoples is usually severe and can include cultural disintegration, extinction andloss of livelihood resulting in vulnerability to exploitative labour practices.

Furthermore, the fact that indigenous farmers have detailed knowledge and skills that areadapted to their own environment, having been passed on through generations, means thatmoving them to new areas that may not even be ecologically similar renders much of thisknowledge redundant. In turn, their expertise with new resources in a new habitat will neverreach the same level of knowledge and expertise. In Nepal, uprooting communities from theirtraditional lands and resource base remains a real threat. This was confirmed by one of thedistrict level politicians who boasted that he could just move the Chepang out of those fragileareas, so that the forests could grow undisturbed. He went on to say that he would only needto give them a small piece of plain land to compensate for their very marginal land in the hills.What such policy makers fail to realise is that the demand for new ‘fertile’ land in the plains isobviously much higher than for ‘old’ steep marginal land in the hills. As a result, in the casethat Chepang were relocated and provided with land in the plains, they may be even morevulnerable and susceptible to encroachment and land grabbing.

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7.4 Rights to natural resources and minerals

Access to and control over natural resources is as important to shifting cultivators as accessto land because they also depend on these for their livelihood. Denying or hamperingthis access is tantamount to discrimination in employment and occupation underConvention No. 111, as it results in their inability to practice their traditional occupation.There are many resources with specific qualities which shifting cultivators depend onfor their food security and livelihoods. Fallow forests, should be shifting forests, notpermanent as in community or leasehold forestry. The early stages of the fallow, whenthere is grass, shrubbery, bamboo and open forest, provide a wide range of products.Some crops and useful tree and bamboo species may even be cultivated here. In areaswhere the government officially owns and controls the forest (protected areas andgovernment forests), and even in community forests, collection of many products isbanned and punishable in court. Considering the above, it becomes clear howcommunity and leasehold forestry programmes, which are often forced on shiftingcultivators, gravely impact their access to and control over forest resources.

The availability of agricultural crops that are suited to the local harsh environment isimportant, not just of major staple crops but all those “minor” vegetables and spiceswhich are intercropped and contribute to food security and diversity. Shiftingcultivators tend to grow many different varieties of crops to minimise risks of cropfailure. Due to lack of a proper policy to protect agro-biological resources, the erosionof crop genetic resources poses another serious threat to food security. Theconsequences of this will be felt even more when global warming changes local micro-climates, which is more likely to happen in mountainous regions. The high-yieldingvarieties of crops developed at research institutes are not adjusted to roughmountainous conditions and cannot be intercropped as easily with other crops onthe shifting cultivation fields. Another part of plant resources are the wild foodscollected from the fallows and other areas. Occurrence and quality of these dependson the conservation of their natural environment, but this is harmed by the persistentconflicts between government regulations and farmers’ way of life. With distortionsto farming practices and cultural disintegration among shifting cultivators, customaryseed management practices and knowledge on collection and preparation of wild foodsare also lost.

Shifting cultivation lands are steep and soils are shallow; otherwise farmers would probablymake terraces. However, this should not be a reason to disallow farmers to farm theseslopes; rather these soils require special soil conserving measures including temporary treecover to maintain soil structure and the avoidance of chemical fertilizers which damage theorganic matter. Shifting cultivation is organic by default, but this is not recognised or promotedby the government. The current conducive policy for application of chemical fertilizers andlack of appropriate agricultural extension for shifting cultivation discourages organic farmingand proper soil management.

Hunting and fishing are officially banned. Wildlife and fish resources are severely depleteddue to environmental degradation which is not caused by shifting cultivators. While for manypeople these practices may be a hobby or a pass-time, for shifting cultivators, hunting andfishing are traditional occupations on which they heavily depend to supplement their diet,especially in the lean season. There are no legal provisions or special arrangements for theChepang, for example, to enjoy these resources. They have a well known reputation ashunter-gatherers, but this is not officially acknowledged. However, when government officialsare asked why they are not making progress regarding development in the Chepang

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areas, they give the excuse that it is difficult to work with ‘forest people’, which shouldmean ‘who are still dependent on hunting and gathering’.

In terms of mineral resources, there was one case of stone quarrying in the Chepangarea. The site originally belonged to a Chepang family, who owned relatively goodquality land there, which they sold to the quarrying company. Today almost all themen from the community are working at the quarrying sites as labourers and a few ascontractors. With hindsight, the Chepang regret selling the land and feel cheated.Their readiness to sell the land in the first place can partly be attributed to lack ofknowledge on their part of the economic value of property and lack of experience inmaking such decisions, thus making them susceptible to exploitation. Furthermore,they reported having not been given correct information from the company regardingimplications of the deal. With their limited political connections, neither were they in aposition to obtain this knowledge for themselves. The outcome of this is that theyhave no share in profit, financial or otherwise, from the exploitation of their traditionalland and instead find themselves landless. Furthermore, no impact assessment wasdone, as mandated by Convention No.169, which also necessitates an assessment onthe affect on indigenous communities living there. Article 7 on consultation alsorelevant, as is discussed below (see 7.8).

7.5 Access to services and facilities

Both Conventions (Nos. 111 and 169) state that it is the government’s obligation to provideshifting cultivators with the services and facilities they need for their occupation, to an equitableextent as others. An overview of relevant articles is given in table 2, chapter 3.

However, access to basic services like, health, education, drinking water, market andtechnology, is found to be very limited - more so in shifting cultivation areas than elsewhere.The government service centres like health post, post office, agriculture and veterinary servicecentre, range post are relatively far away and ill-staffed. There has been a negligible attemptmade to improve these services. In some villages, farmers said they haven’t seen anyonefrom the agriculture, forest or other such office for the past 2-3 years. As is elaborated here,specific gaps are found in providing citizenship certificates, social security and access tocredit and protection from dept servitude.

7.5.1 Citizenship certificate

As Bhattachan states: “Forest dwellers like the Chepangs have not only lost their land butthey have been denied citizenship certificate by the government, as they have no landregistered. One cannot obtain a citizenship certificate without producing a land certificate.They, therefore, are deprived from getting privileges of the Nepalese citizens.” (Bhattachan,2003)

Chepangs are recognised as Nepalis and pose no threat to national security, but they areunable to meet the bureaucratic requirements for getting citizenship certificates, as is explainedin Chapter 6. The Chepang’s marginalisation in terms of access to information and decision-making processes is evident here because in practice, all these bureaucratic requirementscan be avoided if the Chief District Officer can ascertain in some other way that a particularperson is Chepang and from a particular VDC. Therefore, it depends on the individual officer’spersonal decision which could potentially make it easier for the government to provide allChepangs with citizenships. The problem at the moment appears to be lack of priority andinterest.

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7.5.2 Social security

In Nepal there are no formal government-run social security schemes of any kind,neither for insurance, old-age, unemployment or even extreme poverty. However,traditionally social security can also be derived from being a member of a closecommunity, where the community organises support for those in need or in case ofemergencies. Community support is also very important for the older, disabled orvery poor.

There are various customs prevalent among shifting cultivators which providesuch kind of social security. However, with the demise of the shifting cultivationsystem and the social fabric of its communities, many such social “safety-nets” arebeing lost. As is shown through various examples in Chapters 5 and 6, shiftingcultivators have always depended on their community institutions and each other formanaging their farming system and their community. This enhances social cohesion,as well as the fact that they live in remote small villages and share a strong commonculture.

Examples of good practices include the parma system of labour sharing, which enables theexchange of women’s labour for men’s labour and vice versa, for single parent households.Furthermore, while everyone works to their own ability, benefits are shared equally,which helps the physically impaired and weak. As mentioned above, the fact that peoplemove to another plot every year, and that common property systems are often stillfunctioning, means that each family has to gain access to land every year. This makesit easier to provide at least a small piece of land to all community members, therebyavoiding landlessness. The privatisation and ownership certification of land hasreduced the working of this system, but still most farmers in Sankhuwasabha reportedthat borrowing land (for a small fee) was still quite easy and no one faced a completelack of access to land.

If such systems are to be beneficial to the community and even more so, in the absence ofany government services, these systems need to be officially recognised and supported.Failure to do so may also count as discrimination, or goes against the recognized rights ofindigenous peoples, as such traditional institutions are strongly linked with the culture ofthese peoples and are therefore important for the continued existence of indigenous peoplesas distinctive groups – a right which is clearly enshrined in Convention No. 169.

7.5.3 Indebtedness, debt servitude and access to credit

In his account published in 1967, Bista described the Chepangs as ‘shy’, ‘timid’, ‘illiterate’ andhighlighted that their lack of awareness about the outside world made them vulnerable toexploitation by Brahmins, Chhetris and even Tamangs - “practically every single family isindebted to the Kumain Brahmans” and to a certain extent to others. (Bista 1967: 118). In thisregard, the situation of most Chepangs since 1967 does not seem to have changedsignificantly, as even today the Chepangs are known to be economically disadvantaged andhave to take goods on credit, often in exchange for their labour. When the issue of loanscame up in one of the focus group discussions, a Brahman lady who runs a shop nearbysaid: “that is just how the Chepangs are”. She meant that the Chepangs are still alwaysindebted and often take food and household items from the shops on credit, for which theywill have to pay much more than their worth later. They trust the shopkeepers to keep theaccounts and pay later with a share of the harvest or offering their labour. (As stated insection 5.4.5 most Chepangs have already lost all their land rights.) Consequently

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shopkeepers are in a position to take advantage of this situation, while also securingcheap labour. Lack of literacy also seriously reduces the Chepang’s bargaining power.One reason why this situation remains culturally accepted, is that Chepangs arecategorised as “enslavable” in the Civil Code of 1854 (Panday et al, 2006). Lack ofawareness and correct information makes them increasingly vulnerable in the labourmarket.

Most shifting cultivators have no land titles, so they do not have collateral to access officialcredit. Accessible and cheap credit facilities are much needed to prevent indebtedness andsubsequent unfair remuneration for labour and farm produce. These are provided for underConvention No.111 – non discrimination in access to services, combined with the need for‘special measures’ recognised in Convention No. 169.

7.6 Health care

Disaggregated data concerning the health status of indigenous people is not yet available.However, according to the population census data, few members of marginalised indigenousgroups have toilet facilities (see annex 4, table 10) – an indication that sanitation campaignshave hardly influenced disadvantaged indigenous people. Given increasing contacts fromoutside their remote homesteads, this may well mean an increase in their vulnerability tocommunicable diseases and other health hazards (UNDP 2004:63).

Healthcare is not free and not accessible for the poorest. In Sankhuwasabha, thegovernment is able to offer free healthcare to the poorest with support from the BNMTthere are some hospitals where the Chepangs can get free treatment. However thepoor are usually unaware of this and think the health services will be very expensive.As a result there are still many cases of patients’ simple ailments being left untreated,resulting in permanent damage. It is to address these kinds of problems that in India,for example, the poor (below the poverty line) are identified and special facilities madeavailable to them.

Another issue for the Chepangs is that many policy makers blame their poverty onthe fact that they have many children. Therefore, rather than promoting agriculture orforestry development, emphasis is given to family planning. However, the high levelof child mortality among the Chepangs is not taken into account, nor do they respectthe fact that the total population of Chepangs is very low compared to most otherethnic groups in Nepal. As recently as 1980, the DDC recorded a child mortality rateas high as 200/1000 (Bhattarai et al, 1995). One elderly lady from Thumka remembersa time when a massive epidemic killed many people in her village. A reference to thisis found in Bhattarai et al, (1995:4), which shows a major reduction in populationbetween 2008 and 2018 BS (1935-1945).

7.7 Education

Education is a crucial factor in being able to access employment and is also greatlyempowering, thereby making people less vulnerable to discrimination and abuse. In ruralareas of Nepal, even basic non-formal education has greatly helped to prevent farmers frombeing cheated out of their property and labour. Education is not free in Nepal, and theburden is especially high for poor families in remote areas. CAED is a local NGO thathas a special programme to improve education and reduce discrimination for theChepangs. They identify the following issues.

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Some of the younger generations of Chepangs are in school and college, althoughhardly any of their parents have had a formal education. As in other parts of ruralNepal, children often have to walk long distances to attend the nearest school. Anadditional problem, prevalent among young children of indigenous decent is that theydon’t understand Nepali. As a result, they have difficulty following the classes and theteachers have difficulty keeping the class under control and providing proper care.Parents are not impressed with the results, so do not see the value in schooling,preferring instead to keep the children at home to learn and work there. Attendanceand teachers’ motivation are often very low. The Nepal Chepang Association reportedthat only very few Chepang students (about 150) have passed School level certificate(SLC) and only three individuals who have passed at bachelors’ level.

In mixed schools, there is the issue of discrimination against Chepang teachers and students.In some cases, it was reported that the status of a school was considered low, if there wereChepang students13. As a result, the education status of the Chepangs is poor. The baselinestudy carried out by Regmi et al. (2002) shows that only very few people are educated, themajority of which are women. Low educational attainments are an important aspect of socialexclusion and a significant contributing factor to economic exclusion. Globally, minorities andindigenous peoples struggle to achieve equal levels of education with majority groups (Justinoand Litchfield 2003).

13 Personal communication with CAED staff of the SEACOW project

Figure 19: Primary school with only Chepang children in Thumka village, Gorkha

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Convention No.169, Article 31, states that the right to education includes the obligationto eliminate prejudices – something which is very much needed in Nepal. Discriminationagainst Chepangs is perpetuated by different ethnic and caste groups in Nepal.Discrimination manifests itself in different ways, such as Gurungs, when drunk,imitating Chepangs and openly stating that “Chepangs should be beaten up everynow and then”, to Brahmins who may be seemingly friendly, but cheat them and callthem names behind their backs, in addition to extracting cheap labour from them.Opinions of some school teachers were also revealing: “you definitely need a stick,because they are so dirty.” Discrimination against people working for Chepangcommunities was also evident. For example, a non-Chepang NGO worker feltmarginalised by caste groups in her field area on account of her association withChepangs. At local restaurants, remarks like: “She stays with the Chepangs in theirvillages, so she can eat anything. No need to give her nice food”, were common.

It is significant to note that education in general in Nepal still reinforces the idea ofNepal as one nation with one religion and one people, which makes it difficult forgeneral public to imagine anything different. In a course book for BA Sociology thevarious Hindu caste groups are described as different ethnic groups, but there is nomention of the 59 indigenous nationalities that have been officially recognised.

Special measures to address the dismal situation of the Chepangs have been adopted bythe Praja Development Programme, however these are not sufficient and resources arescarce. What is needed is primary education teachers from their own community. There areprovisions for this in the 1991 constitution of Nepal, also in the Education for All (EFA)programme of the government and donors, but these have so far not been implemented.

7.8 Vocational training

Vocational training, which is explicitly provided for in both conventions includesagricultural and forestry extension, which is again strongly related to the researchand development that go into it. As is shown in the case studies, there are many gapsin the agriculture and forestry extension provided to shifting cultivators. First of all,most shifting cultivators do not have access to any such services. Secondly the contentof such training is not appropriate, i.e. the forest department only offers training toforest user groups on managing permanent forests, but does not have any trainingavailable on management of trees in agricultural landscapes, which would be muchmore useful to shifting cultivators. Current agricultural extension focuses on optionsthat work well in the plains and promotes the use of high yielding varieties andagrochemicals; it has nothing to offer in terms of increasing productivity in shiftingcultivation systems. The common trend is that certain options are forced oncommunities, which often turn out to be failures, leaving the farmers with degradedland and more poverty.

For vocational training programmes to be successful, they need to be formulated with theparticipation and consultation of indigenous peoples themselves; this has not tended to bethe case so far. One exception has been the development of cardamom farming, which wasinitially farmer-driven and only later taken up and supported by the agriculture department.Shifting cultivators are not given credence for their role in the development and constantadaptation of their farming system, with the result that the benefits of shifting cultivation andhow the system could be enhanced are not recognised.

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The agricultural and other research on shifting cultivation is too little and either biasedagainst the practice and looking for ways to control it, or overly-romanticised. Muchof the other agricultural research is not applicable in shifting cultivation areas.

7.9 Access to employers’ and workers’ organisations

Employers and workers organisations in Nepal, in the traditional sense, do not representthe needs of shifting cultivators. According to ILO Kathmandu, some mainstreamtrade unions are beginning to pay attention to the issues raised by indigenous workers.However, actual activities to promote their rights are yet to be developed. There arevarious farmers’ unions in Nepal, and almost all are affiliated with political parties ofNepal. However, none of them concentrate on the issue of shifting cultivators’ rights.

In the context of shifting cultivators, it would be more logical if workers’ organisationscould be understood to include farmers’ organisations, forest users’ organisationsand indigenous peoples’ organisations. While NEFIN is the representative umbrellaorganisation for indigenous peoples, FECOFUN exists for forest users. However, withthe exception of the Nepal Chepang Association (which is affiliated to NEFIN), neitherof these organisations are currently looking into the specific interests of shiftingcultivators. Lack of advocacy on the issue is one of the reasons why issues associatedwith shifting cultivation are not on the national political agenda and shifting cultivators’interests are ignored by both the government and other development actors. Lack ofaccess to employers and workers organisations is another manifestation of the lowvisibility of the needs of shifting cultivators.

7.10 Employment and traditional economies

According to UNDP:

“Although the majority of indigenous people engage in agriculture, some groups,such as the Newars, Thakalis, Marphali Thakalis, Sherpas and Gurungs work inbusiness and industry. Almost one fourth of the indigenous population is engagedin non-farm activities and, with the exception of some highly marginalized groups,indigenous people have a higher proportion of white-collar workers than the Dalits.A few, however, such as the Raute, Kushbadiya, Bankariya, Kusunda, Chepang,Hayu, still depend on foraging (hunting and gathering) and shifting cultivation”(UNDP 2004: 63).

Despite this official data, which are average for all Sherpas, employment opportunities innorthern Sankhuwasabha are negligible. Only those from the rich and politically connectedfamilies have any chance of benefiting from jobs and services in the area. In the case of theChepangs, while jobs may be available in the vicinity, they have difficulty competing for thembecause of their cultural differences, lack of education and discriminatory attitudes againstthem.

Shifting cultivation is usually considered a type of subsistence farming, but research showsthat in fact there could be many opportunities to commercialise some of its products, if onlyappropriate market facilities would be put in place (Kerkhoff and Sharma 2006). In Nepal too,the markets for niche products from shifting cultivation receive much less attention than themarkets for existing commercial products. Also, since many products (e.g. medicinal plants)can also be collected from the wild, there are many legal hurdles in their trade. The need topay bribes at police and forest checkpoints is a result of this, causing the farmers to receivea smaller share of the generated income. Through various means, including market

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infrastructure, removing bureaucratic complexities and training farmers on themarketing of those products for which they have a niche, the terms of trade could bemade fairer.

7.11 Consultation and participation in decision-making

On representation in government and political positions, UNDP states that:

“Because disempowerment processes have stymied the human developmentof indigenous people, they have less decisive influence on policy/decision-makingbodies. They hold only 17% of the seats in the House of Representatives,although their share in the DDCs was 29%, and they have somewhat betterrepresentation in the grassroots-level elected bodies in some districts becauseof the concentrations of their populations. However, their representation in thestate bureaucracy and judiciary is extremely low: 2.4% of the judiciary and 2.3%of the total gazetted positions in government. Moreover, there has been noimprovement in the recruitment of gazetted officers from indigenous people duringthe last 18 years.” (UNDP 2004:64)

There are several issues related to communication and understanding and the rightof indigenous peoples to decide their own development priorities. The Chepang arealmost all shifting cultivators and hunter-gatherers; while their interests are promotedto some extent by the Nepal Chepang Association, there are some reservations as towhat extent NEFIN, as an umbrella organisation, raises their issues. In the case of theRai, Sherpa and Shingsa shifting cultivators, their influence on policy is even lessclear. Their peoples are organised and represented in NEFIN, but their own issuesrelated to shifting cultivation have not been raised. Even at the district level, there is alarge cultural and physical distance between the farmers and the district-level decisionmakers. Farmers have little idea about how to deal with government officials or aboutwhat these offices have to offer, whilst policy makers and district officers have noclue about the existence of shifting cultivation, or its problems and opportunities andhave totally unappreciative and unwelcoming attitudes and objectives.

Participation in decision-making is not sufficient to fulfil the requirements of theConventions. This participation should be done through shifting cultivators’ owntraditional or representative bodies and not through structures imposed from outsidethe community, unless the people have accepted them. Indigenous peoples have theright to be involved in a project, policy or programme at every step along the way,including during the design of a policy, programme or project all the way to itsimplementation and evaluation (ILO 2003:19).

According to ILO Convention 169 (Arts. 6.1 and 6.2), governments have the obligationto consult with indigenous peoples, through adequate procedures and representativeinstitutions, whenever any measure which may have a direct effect on them is explored,planned or implemented. There were several cases where farmers were “consulted”,but not informed and empowered enough to influence the decision-making, so thisdoes not count as consultation as per the standard of the conventions.

The political representation of indigenous shifting cultivators can be much improved,in indigenous organisations and labour organisations as well as local-leveladministration and other decision-making bodies. They should participate at all levelsof decision-making, in politically elected bodies, as well as national and localadministrations (ILO 2003:19).

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7.12 Customs and traditions and customary law

As was explained above in the section on social security, in the case of shiftingcultivation, the customary institutions that govern the communities and their accessto land, provide a traditional form of social security to all community members. Thisprovides an important social safety net, which is especially important for the poorest/weakest members. Examples include the provision of land, which enables them towork under much more favourable conditions than share-cropping. The right to self-management recognised by Convention No. 169 (preamble) is relevant here – i.e.recognition that indigenous peoples are active agents in their own development.

7.13 Special measures for ethnic minorities and undoing past harm

They may be quotas to guarantee rights on a proportional basis, or special education,training and employment programmes (ILO 1996). This provision strengthens the casefor adjusting development efforts to indigenous peoples’ own interests, requirementsand local conditions. The Tenth Plan (HMGN/NPC 2003) provides for special measuresin the form of targeted programmes, while the Praja Development Programme of NFDINis another example. No special programmes currently exist with regards to shiftingcultivation, except those which project it in a negative light.

7.14 Government’s responsibilities

What becomes clear from the case studies is that the government as well as the academicand development professionals are unaware of their responsibilities towards shiftingcultivators. There is no government presence whatsoever in many areas, even beforethe Maoist conflict, and in the event that officials do come, their tendency is to ‘control’,rather than ‘support’ local communities. In light of some of the issues raised in thischapter, it becomes possible to elicit some practical ideas on what the governmentneeds to do in order to comply with its obligations towards indigenous peoples underConventions Nos. 111 and 169.

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8C h a p t e r

Discussion and Conclusions

Shifting cultivation is a traditional occupation that is protected by rights enshrined inILO Conventions Nos. 111 and 169. This is relevant for those indigenous peoples andindividuals who still practice shifting cultivation and are discriminated because of it,but also for those who have already turned to other occupations, but still facediscrimination because they once were shifting cultivators. Raising awareness onand advocating for these rights will therefore remain relevant despite the fact thatmany people may opt out of their traditional occupation in the future.

8.1 Assessment of the policy situation

It is doubtful whether the present policy framework for shifting cultivators meets obligationsunder Convention No.111 – which mandates equality of opportunity and the need to targetvulnerable groups in order to bring them on same level as the rest of the population. Thestudy has found that while blanket polices do exist to address the needs of the poor, asexpressed in the 10th Plan, these policies fail to address the needs of the most vulnerable –in this context, shifting cultivators. These marginalised groups tend to fall through the net dueto a legacy of structural discrimination (e.g. case of the Chepangs’ citizenship; land registrationof fallows; leasehold forestry is specifically for poor, but still no good for shifting cultivationareas). The objective of these policies is equality (everyone has the same rights), whereasindigenous people have the right to maintain their distinctive cultural identity, and to specialmeasures to make them benefit equally despite the different situation they are coming from.There are examples of beneficial policies which can be used by shifting cultivators to claimor advocate for their rights, such the 11 Kha Board, but the majority are either unaware or notin a position to make use of them.

The need for providing equitable access to resources and services is still not widely acceptedin the broader Nepalese society, which may be why political will and constructiveimplementation of existing policies are lacking. Examples are: the agriculture office in Chitwanwhich is only working with the farmers who shout the loudest; the fact that there is noidentification of the poorest or an established ‘below-poverty line’, which would help to targetthem; and, open hostilities towards NGOs that only work with the Chepangs. Reality is thattargeting is not effective and benefits not reaching those who need it most.

A positive exception to the overall negative picture is formed by those policy makers andadministrators who, within the space given to them, dare to take responsibility and interpretexisting legislation to the benefit of shifting cultivators (e.g. a chief district officer who doesprovide citizenship certificates to Chepangs without land titles; forest officers who keep outof farmers’ fallows).

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Some rights may seem impossible to fulfil, in some cases past harm cannot be undone,and in other cases it is difficult to establish whether a development has taken placewith or without the consent of the concerned people. However, having a conducivepolicy environment is a start. Applying a convention is the government’s duty. Even ifthe government fails to comply, if people aware of their rights, they can at least lobbyfor their interests and negotiate viable options even in cases where conditions havechanged. In the case of land rights, protecting current landholdings through registrationis definitely possible, and so is protecting them from land grabbing by forest departmentand non-indigenous groups too. However, providing enough land to maintain theshifting cultivation practice as it was two-three decades ago, or till the unification ofNepal, is not possible anymore. In such a case, the government can at leastacknowledge that the land was unrightfully taken and help farmers to cope with thenew circumstances.

8.2 Questions on how the Conventions apply to various stakeholders

From the study, questions arise on the applicability of the ILO Conventions in the followingcases: 1) elites from indigenous shifting cultivators, who claim (parts of) the previouslycommunal land as private property; 2) indigenous shifting cultivators who use their land forother purposes; 3) those indigenous shifting cultivators who abandoned the practice to lookfor other employment; and 4) non-indigenous people who also practice shifting cultivationbecause it is appropriate for the land they have.

It is normal that there will be competing claims when individual and collective/customaryproperty regimes come into contact, but both individual and collective rights are recognisedby Convention No.169. There are many kinds of people who claim to have land rights formany different reasons. Sometimes it has happened that elite farmers had traditional rightsto the land in the form of common property (kipat), but now they claim it in their own nameand manage it privately. In other cases, rich farmers have cleared forest under the guise ofshifting cultivation, and then used the land for mono-crops or forest plantations. In order tosort out land claims, some form of land commission will have to be set up with all stakeholdersfairly represented.

It should be noted that there is nothing to stop indigenous peoples engaging in otheroccupations if they wish to do so – it need not have an impact on their land rights or claims.They do not have to use land for ‘traditional purposes’ in the present in order to claim traditionalrights. This is partly relevant, because common property is not recognised legally, but alsobecause customary tenure regimes have dissolved.

What happens if people leave their traditional occupation for other work is also crucial to theargument on discrimination – i.e. when shifting cultivation becomes less profitable orsustainable, and indigenous peoples are forced to look for alternative options. When they arenot given the right inputs and opportunities to diversify their occupations, they often end updiscriminated against and vulnerable to exploitation in the mainstream labour market. Thebottom line is they should have the choice to practice, or not practice, shifting cultivation, orany other traditional occupation.

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8.3 Applying ILO Conventions Nos. 111 and 169

The application of the ILO Conventions has opened new avenues in the ongoing debateon shifting cultivation, providing new arguments to convince policy makers. The mostimportant contribution to the scientific and policy debate has been the focus on shiftingcultivation as a traditional occupation, which makes Convention No. 111 applicable.As well as the fact that Convention No.111 can be successfully applied to defend therights of shifting cultivators; something that most researchers, legal experts and policymakers are unaware of.

The rights-based perspective complements the existing, more technical development-based argumentation. Advocating the right to practice shifting cultivation often involvesconvincing policy makers with arguments that show how improving (rather thanbanning) shifting cultivation serves their policy purpose, be it forest conservation,agricultural productivity or socio-economic development. The conventions, with theirrights-based approach, provide a ground for new arguments, because practicingshifting cultivation is a right of people whether it fits policy programmes or not. Inreality, however, it is likely that policy makers still need to be convinced with the oldarguments as well, in order to make them more active towards effective application ofILO Conventions.

Convention No. 169 has added to the debate on the rights of shifting cultivators as membersof indigenous peoples. While shifting cultivators do have rights as farmers, their rights asmembers of indigenous peoples (to which most of them belong) are found to be much betterunderstood, more widely acknowledged and defined more broadly, at least in the internationalarena. The right to land, for example, is different for farmers than for indigenous people.Farmers should have the right to own the land they work (read: plough), but for indigenouspeoples the right to their ancestral lands is being advocated, which is much moreencompassing than just the land they use for agriculture. ILO Convention No. 169, in whichthese rights are defined, brings new understanding of concepts such as land, occupationsand self-identification. A challenge for ILO Convention No. 169 might be that it protects manyrights, with regards to very many topics, ranging from land rights, to spiritual rights andhealthcare. Such a holistic approach is commendable, considering that these things areoften related, but it makes the implementation much more difficult.

The application of international conventions is a skill in itself, which may not be easy to achieveeven for those who are aware of the opportunity. Applying Convention No. 111 to the case ofshifting cultivators requires expertise on the convention, its functions and its areas of coverage,as well as on the technicalities of shifting cultivation, and the specific issues of indigenouspeoples. In this experience, the current case studies are a first, and required an innovativeapproach and interdisciplinary debate. One lesson learnt is that there is definitely a need forcapacity building by the ILO, if these conventions are to be successfully used and applied byother scientists, development practitioners and advocates for indigenous peoples’ rights inthe future.

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Recommendations

In a country like Nepal, with its extreme topographical and ecological diversity andhigh dependence on agriculture, the existence of many different indigenous peoplesshould be seen as a boon. They each bring their own expertise, traditional occupationsand farming practices, which are adjusted to local circumstances. They are embeddedin their culture and language. Decision-makers need to learn to appreciate the benefitsof a multicultural society in which different peoples bring in different sets of skills,knowledge and expertise, and find ways to tap into this wealth.

For this it is important to respect the link between traditional occupations (including shiftingcultivation) and ethnic and cultural diversity and survival, and to recognise the role of shiftingcultivation in providing food security and livelihood for some of the most marginalised sectionsof society.

Furthermore, indigenous shifting cultivators should get equitable access to governmentservices and justice. The pro-poor focus of the 10th Plan needs to be operationalised andimplemented, even if it requires more effort to reach the poorest and address their needsfirst. This will necessarily need proper targeting, through consultation and participation of thepeoples concerned.

Equity further requires special measures. Shifting cultivators have specific needs that stemfrom their distinctive culture, occupation, and the steepness and remoteness of their land.According to the ILO (2003), the objective of these special measures is to bring the livingconditions of indigenous peoples to the same level as the rest of the national population, andto protect their cultures and traditions.

Based on these principles, the following recommendations have been formulated that aresupported by the research findings.

(I) Formally recognise shifting cultivation and accept thatbanning and discouraging this age-old and well integratedfarming system is counter-productive in terms ofdevelopment, food security and environmental conservation

Government officials, researchers and development professionals should acknowledge theexistence of shif t ing cult ivat ion in Nepal, and stop seeing i t as a sign ofunderdevelopment or “backwardness”. They should acknowledge that it can be thebest option for certain sloping land areas.

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Shifting cultivation should be formally recognised as a bona fide land-use method ingovernment plans and records, in the same way as khet (irrigated terraces), bari (rain-fed terraces) are recognised, as are various types of forestry. The many principalcomponents of shifting cultivation that are currently banned or discouraged include:1) forest fallowing (as preference is given to permanent forestry); 2) controlled burning;3) rotation of crop fields (which is constrained by tenurial issues); and 4) hunting,trapping, fishing and collecting wild foods, which are essential for meeting minimallevels of food security and quality for most shifting cultivators. Special measures andprovisions need to be put in place to allow these practices for selected groups on thebasis of their occupation or status as indigenous people, and at the same time ensurethe sustainable management of natural resources. “Such special measures shall notbe contrary to the freely-expressed wishes of the peoples concerned” (ILO ConventionNo. 169, Art. 4.2 (ILO 2003: 14))

(II) Recognise indigenous peoples’ rights to the land and naturalresources required for shifting cultivation, including collectiverights

Securing tenure of land and resources and securing access to shared resources are requiredmost urgently. Indigenous people who practice shifting cultivation tend to depend on a muchmore diverse range of resources than permanent and non-indigenous farmers, all of whichhave to be provided for.

In Nepal, farmers can claim land rights if they can prove they are using it for agriculture, butno other uses are recognised. A much wider range of uses should be accepted, including forlong-term fallows and cultural and religious purposes, to ensure the sustainability of shiftingcultivation. “ILO Convention No. 169 clearly states that indigenous and tribal peoples haverights to the land they traditionally occupy” (ILO 2003: 31), and “the concept of land usuallyembraces the whole territory they use, including forests, rivers, mountains and sea, thesurface as well as the sub-surface” (ILO 2003: 29).

Protecting individual and collective rights involves measures to protect them from landgrabbing by the government, companies and non-indigenous farmers, but also measures tostrengthen customary common property regimes where applicable.

The land titling process and registration procedures should be made more transparent, fair,and better accessible, because in the current situation, even those whose right has beenrecognised cannot benefit because of corruption and misplaced bureaucracy.

Furthermore, the resources have to be protected from degradation and pollution, whichrequires support at the policy level, as well as research and development efforts.

(III) Stop discrimination against shifting cultivators in employmentby providing appropriate and adequate education, skilldevelopment and equitable employment opportunities, andto stop discrimination on the basis of gender, race, poverty oroccupation

Shifting cultivators should be empowered through formal education, NFE andawareness-raising that are appropriate to their needs, in order enable them to negotiatefair deals with employers, businessmen, government officials and others, and to solve

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the problem of perpetual indebtedness and debt servitude. Education that is free andaccessible for all is especially important in shifting cultivation areas. It should also beprovided in indigenous peoples’ mother-tongue, at least up to primary level.

Proper education about shifting cultivation and indigenous peoples is equally important tostop discrimination across wider society and raise awareness on Nepal as a multi-culturalsociety. Awareness should be raised among policy makers and the general public onhow to see things from the perspective of people with a different culture than themainstream. In all Nepali schools and colleges, a more appreciative attitude should becreated towards other cultures.

(IV) Provide for appropriate extension which is supported byappreciative and unbiased research aimed at improvingshifting cultivation, rather than controlling it

Extension efforts that are aimed at controlling and discouraging shifting cultivation should bestopped. The community and leasehold forestry programmes in particular should take theneeds of shifting cultivators into account, and should not be forced on farmers nor applied onexisting fallow lands.

Research and development efforts should focus on identifying, strengthening and up-scalingindigenous good practices and innovations and help to provide appropriate agricultural andforestry extension services and training for shifting cultivators. It should further help to developmarket linkages for local niche products and ensure that farmers get a fair share of incomeand other benefits from their produce and resources. Research should not be biased againstshifting cultivation and should not over-romanticise indigenous peoples.

(V) Strengthen indigenous shifting cultivators’ role in decision-making regarding their development and resources, throughparticipation and consultation

The customary institutions (i.e. organisations, practices and knowledge, customs andtraditions) that are part of the shifting cultivation farming system should be formally recognisedand strengthened; especially the ones that play an important role in shifting cultivators’ culturalidentity and that promote the sustainable management of natural resources.

Participation, consultation and political representation all need to be strengthened, not just tomeet with the standards of the ILO Conventions, but for practical reasons too. Failure torespect farmers’ role in decision-making causes conflict, mismanagement of naturalresources and missed opportunities for development.

Indigenous shifting cultivators should lobby with their respective representative organisationsto get their issues addressed and NEFIN should advocate for their rights.

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(VI) Progressively implement ILO Conventions Nos. 111 and 169,and raise awareness on the applicability of these to protectthe rights of shifting cultivators

This includes bringing national legislation and policy on indigenous peoples in line with theprovisions of Conventions Nos. 111 and 169 – including for shifting cultivators. The ILOconventions should increasingly be used as instruments to advocate rights related to practicingshifting cultivation and other traditional occupations. For this, ILO should raise awarenessand build capacity on the use of ILO conventions, the rights protected therein and theirapplicability to indigenous peoples and traditional occupations. It should also raiseawareness among employers, workers and workers organisations on Convention No.111, with a view to submitting information on traditional occupations and violation ofindigenous peoples’ rights under Convention Nos. 111 and 169.

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