Journal of Agroforestry and Environment
Research Journal of Agroforestry Society of Bangladesh
Volume 11

No. 1 & 2

December 2017

Editorial Board

Professor Dr. M. Sultan Uddin Bhuiya
Chief Editor

Professor Dr. G. M. Mujibar Rahman
Associate Editor

Professor Dr. M. Abul Hossain
Professor Dr. M. Abdur Rahman Sarkar
Professor Dr. Md. Gias Uddin Miah
Professor Dr. A.K.M. Azad-ud-Doula Prodhan
Professor Dr. Md. Abdul Wadud

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Agroforestry Society of Bangladesh
Executive Committee
President:

Professor M. Mustafizur Rahman, Department of Crop Botany, Bangladesh
Agricultural University, Mymensingh.

Vice President 1:

Professor Dr. M. A. Rahim, Department of Horticulture, Bangladesh
Agricultural University, Mymensingh

Vice President 2:

Professor Dr. G. M. Mujibar Rahman, Department of Agroforestry,
Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh.

Treasurer:

Professor Dr. Md. Solaiman Ali Fakir, Department of Crop Botany,
Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh.

General Secretary:

Professor Dr. Md. Abdul Wadud, Department of Agroforestry, Bangladesh
Agricultural University, Mymensingh.

Joint Secretary 1:

Mr. Mohammad Kamrul Hasan, Department of Agroforestry, Bangladesh
Agricultural University, Mymensingh.

Joint Secretary 2:

Dr. H. R. M. Masud Anwar, Central Extension Resource Development
Institute (CERDI), Joydevpur, Gazipur.

Seminar Secretary:

Professor Dr. A.K.M. Azad-ud-Doula Prodhan, Department of Crop
Botany, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh.

Members:

Professor Dr. M. Sultan Uddin Bhuiya, Department of Agronomy,
Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh.

:

Professor Dr. M. Abdur Rahman Sarkar, Department of Agronomy,
Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh.

:

Professor Dr. Masum Ahmad, Department of Entomology, Bangladesh
Agricultural University, Mymensingh.

:

Md. Mijanur Rahman, Agroforestry Improvement Partnership Project(AFIP), Intercooperation, Dhaka:

Mr. ATM Azmal Huda, Director, IC-LEAF.

:

Dr. Md. Akhtaruzzaman, IC-SAAKTI.

:

Convener, National Agroforestry Working Group (NAWG), BARC,
Dhaka.

:

Head, Department of Agroforestry, Sher-E-Bangla Agricultural University,
Sher-E-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka.

:Head, Department of Agroforestry, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science andTechnology University, Dinajpur.
Head, Department of Agroforestry, Patuakhali Science and Technology
University, Patuakhali.
Head, Department of Agroforestry and Environment, Bangabandhu Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Gazipur.
Head, Department of Agroforestry, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet.

Journal of Agroforestry and Environment
Volume 11

Number 1 & 2

December 2017

Content
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

8
9

10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

21
22
23
24
25

Fishing gears around Lam Se Bai, a tributary of the middle Mekong river basin - Yoshimi Fujioka
and Chumpol SrithongComparative eco-resource utilization studies in Asia: Poor management in rich areas and wise use
in poor resource areas - Isamu YamadaInterim survey report on livelihood transition studies in Pursat province, Cambodia - K. Yasuyuki,
K. Satoru, K. Bahadur, H. Mina, K. Sothea, P. Sovatna, H. Oudom, T. Lipean and H. Sokchea
Hydrological environment and Boro rice cultivation in Bangladesh and Assam - Haruhisa Asada,
Daisaku Sakai, Jun Matsumoto and Wataru Takeuchi
Causes and impact of migration from Brekha village, Trashigang Bhutan - Pema Lhendrup
Climate change and its impact on health/livelihood of people’s lives in coastal island of Hatiya
under Noakhali district, Bangladesh - Md. RafiqulAlam
Sustainable utilization of fishery resources in the Andaman coastal areas, southern Thailand Yoshimi Fujioka, Chumpol Srithong, Ryuichi Tabuchi, Makoto Sano, and Pipat
Patanaponpaiboon
Natural disasters in Bangladesh and Japan - comparing its scale and damages - Haruo Uchida
An interdisciplinary study on existing land use and natural resource management in Klong
Sathorn village, northeastern Thailand - V. Jintana, R. Tokrisna, P. Narangajavana, P. Srijantr, P.
Saksoong and S. Durongdej
Dynamics of agroecosystems in the Brahmaputra valley, Assam (India) - Nityananda Deka andA.K. Bhagabati
Rice-based cropping system of different ethnic groups across the Brahmaputra floodplain in
Assam, India - Haruhisa Asada
Practical education for environmental awareness: education children on the arsenic contamination
issue in Bangladesh - Kazuyo Minamide
Identification of traits related to drought tolerance in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) genotypes Mar Mar Win, Kyaw Kyaw Win, P.M Gaur and Khin Soe
Cost and benefit of summer paddy cultivation in Myaungmya township: case study on threedifferent farming practices - MyintThida and Kazuo Ando
The effect of drought and the selling of cultivated farmlands on the livelihood of local farmers in
Bagan-Nyaung U area - Mar Mar Win and Kazuo Ando
Tourist industry and its impact upon socio-economic development of Bagan-Nyaung U area Khin Ohnmar Htwe and Aye Aye Thwe
Farm size categories and agricultural implements used for farming: a case study in Baghaichari
Mukh village, Chittagong hill tracts, Bangladesh - Shishir Swapan Chakma and Kazuo AndoA traditional farmers’ practice of black gram (Mat-pe) (Vigna mungo) cultivation in Maubin
township, Ayeyarwady region, Myanmar - Khin Lay Swe and Kazuo Ando
Rural urban migration and rural depopulation in Ayeyarwady region: a case study of three villages
in Pyarpon township- MyintThida and Kazuo Ando
Contribution of NTFPs to local livelihood: a case study of Nong Sai Sub-district of Nang Rong
district under Buriram Province in Northeast Thailand - Nittaya Mianmit, Vipak Jintana, Pasuta
Sunthornhao, Panan Kanhasin and Shinya Takeda
Geo-environmental changes and human activities in Japanese lowland archaeological site - Shinji
Miyamoto
Indigenous methods on coping with natural disasters in selected areas of Bangladesh - Swapan
Kumar Dasgupta
Swidden farming in rain-green forests of mainland Southeast Asia – Takeda Shinya
Internal labour migration study in the dry zone, Shan state and the southeast of Myanmar – Amina
Maharjan and Theingi Myint
Food security and socio-economic impacts of soil salinization in the central dry zone of Myanmar:a case study - Aung Naing Oo, Kazuo Ando, Theingi Khaung and Moe Tin Khaing

1-14
15-19
21-24
25-39
31-33
35-40
41-47
49-54
55-60
61-66
67-70
71-75
77-81
83-88
89-96
97-102103-106
107-113115-121123-128
129-132
133-137
139-142
143-147
149-154

26
27
28

Extent of forest fire problems – its sustainable development strategies in Bhutan - Sumjay
Tshering
Yield performance of Paw San rice (Oryza sativa L.) group: Paw San morphotype - Min San
Thein, Thaung Kyi, Nang Hseng Hom, Mar Mar Kyu and Khin Lay Swe
Mangrove and their Environment: the role of FREDA with particular reference to Myanmar - U
Ohn

These theses are related to activities of the Department of Practice-oriented
area studies, Kyoto University and two international workshops held in
Yangon, Myanmar, 13-14th, February 2012 and Hathia, Bangladesh, 6-7th,
March 2013. Other theses included in the journal of this volume is notcontained here.

155-157
159-162
163-164

J. Agrofor. Environ. 11 (1 & 2): 1-14, 2017

ISSN 1995-6983

Fishing gears around Lam Se Bai, a tributary of the middle Mekong river basin
Yoshimi Fujioka and Chumpol Srithong1
National Research Institute of Aquaculture, Fisheries Research Agency, Mie 516-0193, Japan, 1Faculty of Fisheries,
Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900, Thailand
Abstract: This study demonstrated fisheries and fishing gears around Lam Se Bai which is one of the secondary tributaries of the
middle Mekong river basin. Fisheries in the Lam Se Bai basin were exclusively small-scale and were considered as a kind ofcommunity-based routine activities for local inhabitants. The fishing activities were dependent on seasonal patterns of flooding andrecession of water level, and a lot of unique fishing gears have been developed through generations of their fishing experience andknowledge on fish behaviors and habitats. In a series of our field surveys, a total of 62 kinds of fishing gears and the related tools wererecognized in and around the Lam Se Bai basin. They were classified into four categories; 16 net fishing gears, 29 trap fishing gears, 3
hook fishing gears, 8 other miscellaneous fishing gears and 6 related tools. Some fishing gears were in common with everywhere else in
Thailand and others were indigenous fishing gears developed predominantly in the Lam Se Bai basin; for example, stake net trap, branchweir trap, bamboo screen trap, basket traps and cylinder traps. Indigenous fishing gears were traditionally made of materials available
locally and easily obtainable, and some of them were designed for a particular hydrological environment and/or target species. Structuresand fishing methods of every fishing gears and the related tools observed in and around the Lam Se Bai basin were described withpictures.
Key words: Fishing gear, indigenous fisheries, fishery resources, inland fisheries, Mekong river.

Introduction
The Mekong is the world's 10th longest river which flows
over 4,900 km2 through six countries; China, Myanmar,
Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Local inhabitants
living along the basin are exclusively associated with thehuge water system of the Mekong river and the numerous
tributaries. For the local inhabitants, a variety ofhydrological systems of rivers, tributaries, channels, canals,
swamps, ponds, reservoirs, floodplains and paddy fields
are important not only for the site of their daily living but
also the ground to obtain natural resources for supporting
their livelihood (MRC 2001, 2007).
The Mekong river basin is considered to support therichest inland fishery resources in the world and theestimated annual production of capture fisheries is 2.1
million tons of which estimated price is 2.1-3.8 billion
US$ (Dugan et al., 2010), in which 0.9 million tons and0.7 billion US$ are recorded in Thailand (MRC 2007).
Fish and other aquatic organisms are main source ofanimal protein for the local inhabitants of the Mekong
river basin, particularly those who live in rural areas, andabout 50-80 % of protein are considered to obtain fromfishery resources (MRC 2001, Dugan et al., 2010). In
addition to the direct contribution of fisheries for theirlivelihoods, there are many additional economic benefits
from engaging in fish processing and marketing.
For various fishing activities, a lot of unique fishing gears
have been developed through generations of fishingexperience and knowledge of fish behaviors and habitats
in the Mekong river basin. Southeast Asian Fisheries
Development Center summarized approximately 150 kindsof coastal and offshore fishing gears in Thailand andclassified them into 12 major categories (SEAFDEC 2004),
but there was little description about freshwater fishinggears. Mekong River Commission reported about fisheriesof the middle Mekong river, particularly in Thailand(MRC 2007). Although they mentioned more than 150
types of fishing gears were recognized throughout theriver basin, only 22 kinds of fishing gears were presented(MRC 2007). Ubon Ratchathani Regional Forest Officepresented pictures of about 10 fishing gears found in thetributary of the middle Mekong river (URRFO 2007). Thai
Baan Research Network summarized fisheries and fishinggears in Songkhram river which is one of the branch of the
middle Mekong river (Friend, 2005). Iwata (2002) and
Iwata et al. (2003) summarized fishing gears found in
Laos of the middle Mekong river. Punswarn (2005) andTapkorn (2010) demonstrated various freshwater fishinggears predominantly observed in the central parts ofThailand.
Despite a lot of unique and indigenous fishing gears were
found in the tributaries and the floodplains in the Mekong
river basin, the knowledge has been still limited thus
causing difficulties for the management and conservationof fishery resources in recent years. We demonstrated inthis study that fisheries and fishing gears around the Lam
Se Bai basin which is one of the tributaries of the middle
Mekong river.
Materials and Methods
In the northeastern Thailand, there is an extensivehydrological network consists of a lot of rivers andreservoirs of the Mekong river basin, in which the Lam Se
Bai is one of the tributaries (Fig. 1). The stream of theLam Se Bai starts from the northern hilly terrain of
Yasothon and Roi Et provinces, in which the main
headstream is originated from hillsides of Phu Pha Nam
Yoi (16°19'56.7"N, 104°19'13.7"E, 421 m above SWL),
Phu Choko Hin Kong (16°22'07.3"N, 104°22'42.2"E, 445
m above SWL) and Phu Tham Yang Diao (16°21'46.0"N,
104°24'21.0"E, 411 m above SWL). The stream flows
toward southward and connects to the Mun river near Ban
Kut Chum village (15°14'26.0"N, 104°46'48.0"E 110 m
above SWL), Ubon Ratchathani province. The straightline distance from the origin to the intersection is about
130 km and the main stream is assumed to be about 270
km. The Mun river is one of the main tributaries of the
middle Mekong river basin, and therefore, the Lam Se Bai
is one of the secondary tributaries of the Mekong river.
The Lam Se Bai is conveniently divided into three parts:
upper, middle and lower streams. The upper Lam Se Bai isthe area from the origin to around the Kut Peng reservoir,
the middle one is from there to the Pa Ao dam and thelower one is from there to the intersection to the Mun river.
In the middle part, the river flows on the border between
Yasothon and Amnat Charoen provinces at altitudes

between 110 and 120 meters above mean seawater level.
Extensive riparian swamps, floodplains, paddy fields, dry
lands, orchard gardens, community forests and small
villages are distributed in this areas (Sano et al., 2011).
The middle Lam Se Bai diverges into a lot of small
branches and streams, and make a hydrological network,
including reservoirs, ponds and swamps. For thesebranches and streams, a lot of names are given; forexample Lam Se Noi, Lam Pla Daek, Lam Phong, Huai
Sam Kha, Huai Khamen, and so on.

The behavior of fishes depended largely on complex
interacting relationships among annual floods, recession
and natural flow patterns, in addition to the extent andquality of flooded forest and the variety of swamp
ecosystems. A lot of fish species living in the trunk of themainstream migrated to the tributaries during the rainyseason for feeding, breeding and nursing (Paulsen et al.,2002). Among 850 fish species recorded from the Mekong
river basin, 135 of which migrated within the river on
certain stages of their life cycle (Dugan et al., 2010). In
the Songkhram river basin which was the longest tributaryof the middle Mekong basin, 58 species out of 124 fish
species migrated for feeding and spawning from the
Mekong mainstream into tributaries from May to July
(Friend, 2005). Thus, the seasonal flooding was largely
concerned with fishing activities by local inhabitants in the
Lam Se Bai basin.
Fishery resources provided fundamental ecologicalservices for local inhabitants living along the Lam Se Bai
basin. Local inhabitants have adapted their livelihoods
over the years to utilize the fishery resources based on a
deep understanding of fish migration patterns, feeding andspawning, flood patterns and fish habitats. A lot of fishinggears have been developed through generations of theirfishing experience and knowledge. Thereby the efficientuse of the indigenous fishing gears depended onunderstanding of fish behaviors, habitat and seasonalenvironmental conditions, and as the results local
inhabitants can utilize sustainably fishery resources. They
sometimes made an agreement by themselves to conserve
fishery resources to keep them in sanctuary.
In the present study, a total of 62 kinds of fishing gears
and the related tools were recognized in and around theLam Se Bai basin. They were classified into four
categories; 16 net fishing gears, 29 trap fishing gears, 3
hook fishing gears, 8 other miscellaneous fishing gears
and 6 related tools. Some fishing gears; for example, gill
net, cast net and scoop net, were in common witheverywhere else in Thailand (SEAFDEC 2006) and othercountries (FAJ, 1996, Kaneda, 2005), and others wereindigenous fishing gears predominantly developed in the
Lam Se Bai basin; for example stake net trap, branch weir
trap, bamboo screen trap, basket traps and cylinder traps.
Indigenous fishing gears were traditionally made ofmaterials available locally and easily obtainable, such asbamboo, branch, wood, rattan, ivy and stone, and some ofthem were designed for a particular hydrologicalenvironment and/or target species. Nowadays, someindustrial materials such as nylon net, polyethylene net
and rope, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), fiber reinforced
plastic (FRP), polystyrene and plastic were used becauseof their advantage of low cost, easy operability and good
permanence. Although fishing has evolved with thedevelopment of fishing gear and fishing operations, many
fisheries experts believed that the increasing use ofmodern fishing gears is one of the major threats
confronting the Mekong's fishery resources (MRC 2007).
Structures and fishing methods of every fishing gears andthe related tools observed in and around the Lam Se Bai
basin were described as follows. Pictures of every fishing

Figure 1. Map of southeast Asia and northeastern Thailand. Lam Se Bai is
one of the secondary tributaries of the middle Mekong river basin.

The hydrological conditions in the middle Lam Se Bai
basin were characterized by seasonal patterns of flooding
and recession, in which the rivers flooded frequently
during the rainy season between June and October(Fujioka et al., 2011). The water level at the Lam Se Bai
dam fluctuated more than 9 m from about 113 m to 122 m
above mean seawater level (Fujioka et al., 2010). Whenwater level of upper dam (Lam Se Bai Dam) exceeded 118
m above mean seawater level, dam gates opened to avoid
water flood in the upper areas.
For about three years from 2009 to 2011, we investigatedfishing activities and environmental conditions mainly inthe middle Lam Se Bai (Fujioka et al., 2010, 2011, 2012).
We selected this areas because various traditional fishingactivities have been still carried out even now. During ourfield surveys, we found a lot of indigenous fishing gears
throughout the Lam Se Bai basin from the headstream tothe lowest end where it connects to the Mun river. In thisreport, we demonstrated fishing gears observed in andaround the Lam Se Bai. Almost all the pictures shown inthis report were taken within the Lam Se Bai basin, butsome pictures taken at the adjacent areas; for example, Chi
river and Mun river, were also used to explain clearly thecharacteristic of fishing gears.
Results and Discussion
In the Mekong river basin, commercial fisheries weredeveloped and most of fisheries products were traded as
fresh fish in local market or as processed products tobrokers (MRC 2001, 2007). However fisheries in the Lam
Se Bai basin were exclusively small-scale and fishermen
preferred compact and simple fishing gears because mostaquatic habitats were too small to introduce large fishinggears. Trawl, surrounding net, seine net, big bag net andother large fishing gears were hardly found in this area.
Fisheries in the Lam Se Bai basin were not commercial
but were considered as a kind of community-based routine
activities for local inhabitants.
2

gears were also exhibited in colored plates at the end of at
the end of description of each fishing gear.
Gill net (Mhong, Khai): Gill net is one of the mostpopular fishing gear for small scale fisheries along theLam Se Bai as well as other river basin. A net wall, with
its lower end weighted by sinker and the upper end raisedby floats, is transversely set toward the path of migrating
fishes at certain depths from the upper to the lower layers.
Fishes are tangled up in the net. The net is sometimes
fixed with woody or bamboo poles to prevent it drifting.
The mesh is rhombi formed made by monofilament nylon
strings and usually one layer. The size of one lot is about
20-50 m long and 0.5-1.7 m high with the mesh size
ranges from 10 to 30 mm, but the bigger net exceeds 4 mhigh with the mesh size 125 mm. Because of simplicity inits structure, principle, operation and low investment cost,
fishermen prefer the gill net for routine fishing activities.
Fishermen set gill net at evening and harvest in the nextmorning, but they can use it all the day round and all theyear round. Gill net is sold in the market and the fishingtackle store. "Mhong" is the northeastern dialect and"khai" is the standard Thai language.

net is made by twisted cotton yarn, with its lower end
weighted by metal chain and the upper end raised by floats.
The mesh size ranges from 15 to 30 mm. In the shallow
waters of rivers, reservoirs and ponds, fishermen surroundsome water areas, sometimes those around the bush shelter
trap (No. 44), by means of handy surrounding net. Handy
surrounding net is found throughout the Lam Se Bai basin.
"Dang" is the northeastern dialect.

Handy surrounding net

Seine net (Uwan tub taling): A large scale fishing
operated collaboratively by several fishermen by means oflong nets and fishing boat. The net is made of twisted
cotton yarn or nylon fiber, with its lower end weighted bysinker and the upper end raised by floats and the size isapproximately 200 m long and 14-20 m high. One side of
the net is set on the beach and another side is brought byfishing boat to surround water areas. Seine net is operated
in the dry season when water depth and water current are
reduced. We found seine net several years ago near thejunction of the Chi river and the Mun river, but it ispresently prohibited by the fisheries law in the river basin.
Seine net is frequently operated in coastal waters(SEAFDEC, 2004, Kaneda, 2005). "Uwan" is the standard
Thai language.

Gill net

Drift gill net (Mhong lai, Khai loy): During the rainyseason, fishermen sometimes make gill net drifting in theriver stream without fixing in certain place. A net wall is
set across the water current and be allowed to drift
according to the current direction. The upper lope isfloating on the water surface and the lower part does nottouch to the bottom. Polystyrol float, plastic float orpolyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle are used for
floating the net. The mesh size varies 30-50 mm
depending on target fishes. Fishermen usually operate thedrift gill net on the small boat with or without engine.
Drift gill net is found in the middle and the lower Lam Se
Bai. "Mhong lai" is the northeastern dialect, in which "lai"means the net follow the water current. "Khai loy" is thestandard Thai language, in which "loy" means floating on
the water.

Seine net

Handy seine net (Pason, Payaeng, Uwan): Handy seine
net consists of two bamboo poles and a shallow bag net
between them. The net is made by twisted polyethylene
fibers or cotton yarn, with its lower end weighted by metal
chain. The mesh size ranges from 3 to 10 mm. Twofishermen handle the poles of each side and walk forward
slowly to collect small fishes and other aquatic organisms.
Handy seine net is operated in the shallow waters of rivers,
reservoirs and ponds of the Lam Se Bai basin. Both"pason" and "payen" are the northeastern dialect and"Uwan" is the standard Thai language.

Handy seine net

Portable lift net, Four-armed scoop net (Sadung lek,
Yor, Yor deun): Square shaped small liftnet which madeof twisted polyethylene fibers and bamboo framework.
Every corners of the net connect individually to curved

Drift gill net

Handy surrounding net (Dang): The word "dang" issometimes used for comparatively large gill net, but at thesame time "dang" means a kind of surrounding net. The
3

arms and are suspended by a long bamboo rod. Fishermen
manipulate it by themselves to lift and down in theshallow waters of riverside, ponds and reservoirs. Ricebran and fermented fish meat are sometimes set in thecenter of the net to attract fishes, but the bait isunnecessary when it is used on the fishway. After sinking
it slowly into the water, they wait several minutes, andfinally draw up from the water to scoop small fishes.
Water depth is less than about 0.5-2.5 m. It can collectevery kinds of small fishes inhabiting the surface layers,
such as river sprat (Clupeichthys aesarnensis), river
abramine (Paralaubuca spp.), rasbora (Rasbora spp.) andother small cypronids. In the Lam Se Bai basin, portable
liftnet larger than 2 m in diameter is prohibited by thefisheries law during the breeding season from 16th May to
15th September every year. Portable liftnet is foundaround Kut Peng reservoir and Pa Ao dam of the middle tothe lower Lam Se Bai. "Sadung" is the northeastern dialect,
while "yor" and "yor deun" are the standard Thai language,in which "deun" means walking. In some cases, "sadung"
represents relatively smaller fishing gear than "yor".

manipulated mechanically to lift and down by means of
the rope and the lifting winch. Mobile pushnet can be
operated only on the flat sandy or muddy substratum.
Every kind of fishes are collected from nearly bottom
layer to the surface layer during the engine-driven boat ispushing the net forward. Two fishermen ride on one
engine boat, one for controlling the boat and the anotheroperate the mobile pushnet at the head of the boat. Mobile
pushnet is frequently operated around the Yasothon damof the Chi river. "Chorn" is the standard Thai language.

Mobile pushnet, Boat dip net

Handy pushnet, Dip net (Chorn, Chorn ka keam): The
structure and the usage are similar to the mobile pushnet,
but handy pushnet is smaller and manipulated by only
human power. The bamboo poles are about 2-4 m long andthey can be collapsible. In the river and stream, local
inhabitants manipulate it with or without boat throughout
the year. Nothing bait is used when it is used on the
fishway. Handy pushnet is observed at the lower Lam Se
Bai basin. "Chorn" is the standard Thai language.

Portable lift net, Four-armed scoop net

Lift net (Sadung yai, Yor prajam tee): Liftnet is a large
boat-mounted fishing gear which is manipulated on thebamboo raft anchored near the riverside. The net isconnected to the top of about 12-17 m long bamboo beam
and operated mechanically by means of the rope and thelifting winch equipped on the raft. About 3-5 m squareshaped net is suspended with four bamboo arms. The meshsize is 20-50 mm depending on the target fishes. Bamboo
fence is sometimes used in order to guide fishes onto theliftnet. Fishermen put rice bran and fermented fish meat in
the center of the net to attract fishes and submerge it near
the bottom layer. After waiting certain times, they lift up
the net over the water surface. Target is various small
fishes inhabiting the middle to the surface layers, such as
sheatfish (Kryptopterus and Micronema) and cypronids(Cyclocheilichthys and Barbonymus). Large liftnet ishardly found in the Lam Se Bai basin, but it is frequently
observed in the middle Chi river. "Yor prajam tee" meansa permanent fishing equipment.

Handy pushnet, Dip net

Cast net (Hae): Cast net is the most popular portablefishing gears in the Lam Se Bai as well as other shallow
waters in the Mekong river basin. Because of the simple
structure and the low investment cost, fishermen prefercast net for their routine small scale fisheries. Although
the operation is required skill, it can be carried out by asingle fisherman, with or without boat.

Cast net

The body is shaped as a bag and made by monofilamentnylon string or twisted cotton yarn. The net size ranges 2-3
m long and 5-10 m in the circumference and the mesh size
is about 20-30 mm. The top of the net has a line so thatcasting and hauling can be more easily. Metal weights (orchain) are connected to every 0.2-0.4 m intervals of thebottom margin to sink the net rapidly. Local inhabitants
operate cast net during daytime throughout the year in
every shallow waters of rivers, ponds, reservoirs andchannels. "Hae" is the standard Thai language.

Lift net

Mobile pushnet, Boat dip net (Chorn sanan): Mobile
pushnet is an indigenous boat-mounted fishing gear
operated widely in the Mekong river basin. It consists of
two main components that are a net and a triangle bamboo
frame of more than 10 m long. The net is made by twined
fiber with the mesh size is about 30-40 mm, and the mouthof it is linked to open widely by means of the bamboo
frame. The bamboo frame is fixed to the head of boat and4Drop net (Toan, Toan lee): A simple fishing method tocollect small fishes and shrimps which are overflowedfrom weir of rivers and channels. Polyethylene net is set
below the weir by means of woody and bamboo
frameworks. Fishermen set continuously the drop net andsometimes collect fishes and shrimps from it by scoop net(No. 54). Drop net is found at Kut Hae and Kut Pengvillages along the upper to the middle Lam Se Bai. "Toan"and "lee" are the northeastern dialect.

poles stands 5-9 m high above the riverbed. About 20-30
m long bag net is installed between pole fences in thecenter of the river with the entry facing upstream andevery kinds of fishes going to downstream are collected by
the net. Several fishermen operate collaboratively the
stake net trap in the rainy season. The production isusually 10-30 kg/day and the maximum one is about 100
kg/day which can be sold about US$ 1,700 (53,000 bahts)
in the market, but the suitable water conditions (waterlevel and current speed) are restricted only a few weeks
every year. Stake net trap is prohibited in the beginning ofrainy season from May to August to conserve the fisheryresources because a lot of migrating fishes come upstream
for mating and breeding in this season (Paulsen et al.,2002). Smaller mesh size than 30 mm is also prohibited byagreement among local inhabitants. A total of 25 stake net
trap is presently installed along the middle Lam Se Bai.
More detailed knowledge is described in Fujioka et al.
(2011). "Pong pang" is the standard Thai language toexpress big bag net and "jip" is the northeastern dialect.

Drop net

Shrimp net (Sai khung): A specialized fishing gear tocollect
freshwater
shrimps,
predominantly
Macrobanchium lanchesteri, in the river banks, reservoirs
and floodplains during the rainy season. The net isapproximately 0.5-0.6 m high and 1-1.4 m wide per one
segment and is vertically stood by means of woody or
bamboo poles. Shrimps are collected in the blind alley ofthe nets. Shrimp net is frequently operated throughout theLam Se Bai basin.

Shrimp net

Stake net trap

Small bag net (Tong pla): A simple fishing method tocollect small fishes coming out from irrigation channels
and paddy fields. Polyethylene bag net is set on the outletof the drain. It is found at Kut Ching Mi village of theupper Lam Se Bai. "Tong pla" is the northeastern dialect.

Small bag net

Branch stake net trap (Jip): Smaller branch stake trap iscalled as "jip". Branch or bamboo fence arranged on theshallow floodplains with facing upstream to guide fishes
into the central parts in which trap net is installed. The net
is made of twisted cotton yarn or polyethylene fibers.
Branch stake net trap is observed only in the peak of therainy season at the shallow floodplains near the Lam Se
Bai dam.

Bag netBag net (Pong pang): Approximately 20-50 m long bag
net which is made of twisted cotton yarn or polyethylene
fibers is installed to block the river stream with the entry
facing upstream. Both side of net are connected to trees orpoles. About 50-70 mm large mesh is used near theentrance to reduce water resistance, and the mesh size isgradually decreased toward backward and it becomes
finally about 15 mm at the bottom end. The production isvery large (ca. 20-30 kg/day), but it is possible to operate
only several days in the peak of the rainy season. Bag net
was formerly operated in the middle Lam Se Bai, but it ispresently prohibited by the fisheries law. "Pong parn" isthe standard Thai language.
Stake net trap (Pong pang, Jip yai): Stake net trap
"Pong pang" is an unique indigenous fishing gear observed
around Na Kae village of the middle Lam Se Bai. The
structure of stake net trap consists of two main
components that are wooden pole fence and a big bag net.
The fences block the river stream and so that the pathwayof migrating fishes to guide them into the bag net. The

Branch stake net trap

Branch weir trap (Luan loub): Branch weir trap "luanloub" is an unique indigenous fishing gear observed withinswamp forests of riparian floodplains in the middle Lam
Se Bai. The structure consists of two main components,
branch fence and fish traps. The branch fence (called as"luan") is made by dried branches of "hualing" tree
(Hymenocardia wallichii) and is arranged verticallytoward the river stream. The branch of this tree is suitableto make the fence because (1) it can be obtain easily in theswamp forest, (2) the form is stable for a long time and (3)the leaves do not fall even when the branch is dried. The
height of the fence is about 1.4-1.8 m and it block thepathway of migrating fishes to guide them into the trap.
Cylindrical shaped fish traps (called as "loub") is installedon the triangular opening near of the bottom of the branch5fence with the entry facing downstream. The trap is about
1.3-1.6 m long and 0.4-0.5 m in diameter and is made by
rattan and covered by splitted bamboo, but cotton yarn or
twisted polyethylene fibers are presently also used. A fistsized stone is put on the trap with strings to prevent it
drifting. The trap does not contain any bait and iscontinuously kept to collect any kinds of fishes inhabitingnear the bottom layer. Every fisherman has 1-9 branch
fences "luan", and a total of more than 200 "luan" may bearranged around Na Kae village of the middle Lam Se Bai.
When collecting fishes, they dive into the water and bring
the trap onto their boat. More detailed knowledge is
described in Fujioka et al. (2011). "Luan loub" is thestandard Thai language.

Marginal trap

The gate trap is made by wood or bamboo and covered by
net or splitted bamboo. When fish enter the trap, it touch
the fine string which is vertically stretched in the center,and then the door will be suddenly shut because thesupported pole is disengaged, so the fish can not escapefrom the trap. The size of a big trap is 2.4 m long x 2.0 mhigh x 0.8 m width, in which the entrance area is 0.8 x 0.4
m. Door trap is found in the floodplains around Na Kae
village in the middle Lam Se Bai. "Jan" is the standard
Thai language.

Door trap

Weir trap, Fishpound (Lee): Weir trap or fishpound"lee" is a kind of gate trap observed around paddy fields
and irrigation canals. The trap is made by woody andbamboo fence which is arranged vertically toward thewater stream to interrupt the fishway. A bag net or
bamboo shelf is installed on the water exit between thefences. When water is flooded from the paddy fields in therainy season, farmers collect every kinds of fishes,
shrimps and other aquatic organisms by means of theirown weir traps. Although big weir traps have been
observed about 20-30 years ago in the Lam Se Bai basin,
they are hardly found in the recent time. Big weir trap isfound in Laos (Iwata, 2002, Iwata et al., 2003), and typicalhuge weir traps can be observed around the Khon water
fall of the Mekong main stream. "Lee" is the northeasterndialect.

Branch weir trap

Bamboo screen trap (Jip lek, Jip noi, Fuak, Pok): The
structure is same as the branch weir trap, but the size issmaller and the fence is made by bamboo screen. Fish trap
is made of small bag net or bamboo trap with the entry isfacing whether upstream or downstream. The trap isinstalled at shallow waters of small channels, rivers andfloodplains and is popular throughout the Lam Se Bai
basin. "Jip" is the northeastern dialect, whereas "fuak" and"pok" are the standard Thai language.

Weir trap, Fishpound

Shrimp trap (Loub khung, Duk khung): Shrimp trap is
a specialized compact fishing gear to collect small shrimps,
predominantly Macrobanchium lanchesteri, in the riverbanks. The shape is cylindrical fan or rectangular box withthe size is about 1.0-1.4 m long. The frame is made of
splitted bamboo or steel which is covered by twisted
polyethylene net. The trap is stand by means of bamboopole with the slit-like entry facing whether upstream or
downstream. Net fences are installed to guide the shrimp
into the trap. Nothing bait is used under the running waters,
but rice bran and fish meat are provided under the stagnant
waters. Fishermen set shrimp traps in the evening andcollect 2-3 times midnight mainly in the rainy season.
Shrimp trap is frequently operated around the Yasothon
dam of the Chi river.

Bamboo screen trap

Marginal trap (Loub duk pla): Marginal trap isstructurally similar to the former two traps, but in this gear,the fish traps are set inside of the fence. The fence is about
15 m long and 1.5 m high and is made by bamboo poles
and cotton net of about 30 mm mesh size. Several
cylindrical shaped fish traps are installed with the entry
facing along the inner margin of the fence. Marginal trap
is observed at the reservoir near Si Than village of the
middle Lam Se Bai.
20. Door trap (Jun, Jun duk pla): Door trap "jun" is anindigenous fishing gear with the specific device to catch
rather big fishes of catfish (Pangasius, Hemibagrus,
Bagarius) and cyprinid carps (Hampara, Barbodes). The
structure consists of two main components that are branch
stake fence and gate trap.
6

Shrimp trap

Funnel basket trap (Sai):Funnel basket trap "sai" is oneof the most popular indigenous fishing gear in the Mekong
river basin. Long and cylindrical shaped fish trap is
weaved by splitted bamboo and rattan with the size of 0.82.0 m long and 0.1-0.5 m diameter. The trap has two
entrances; one is the narrow end and the another is the sideof the trap. The entrance is funnel shaped and becomebottle necked to prevent the escape of fishes after enter the
trap. The trap is horizontally set in the shallow waters ofrivers, streams, channels, ponds, floodplains and paddy
fields to catch benthic fishes during rainy season. Ricebran and fish meat are sometimes put inside as bait, butthey are unnecessary when the trap set on the fishway. The
size, the form and the structure varies according to thetarget species; tube like trap (Sai tor), globe like trap (Sailoy), frog trap (Sai kob), and so on. Funnel basket trap issold at the fishing tackle store in which the market price isabout 6-19 US$ (200-600 bahts). Small funnel basket trap
is used for interior decoration. "Sai" is the standard Thai
language.

Upright basket trap (middle layer type)

Upright basket trap (bottom layer type) (Tum bong,Tum pla kod): Different from the former one (No. 24),
this is a basket trap to collect fishes inhabiting the bottom
layer. The shape is cylinder or bottle like and it is weavedby splitted bamboo and rattan. The fish entrance is openedat the lower side of the trap. The size varies from 1.0 to
1.5 m long and from 0.3 to 0.5 m in diameter. The trap isvertically set on the bottom of the shallow waters of rivers,
streams, channels, ponds, reservoirs and swamps. Maintarget of this trap is river catfishes (Hemibagrus spp.,
Bagarius spp.), walking catfish (Clarias spp.) and spinyeel (Mastacembelus armatus).

Upright basket trap (bottom layer type)

Funnel basket trap

Upright basket trap (middle layer type) (Tum, Tum
pasew): Upright basket trap is an unique indigenous
fishing gear frequently observed throughout the Mekong
river basin. The trap is cylinder or bottle shaped andweaved by splitted bamboo and rattan. The fish entrance is
opened at the bottom of the trap, and inside of the opening,
there is pointed bamboo funnel which prevent the fishes
escaping from the trap. The size varies from 1.2 to 1.8 m
long and from 0.3 to 0.5 m in diameter. The trap is connect
to a long pole and vertically set in the middle layer ofshallow waters of rivers, streams, channels, ponds,
reservoirs and swamps. Main target of this trap is silver
rasbora (Rasbora argyrotaercha) and other small cyprinid
carps inhabiting the middle layer. Natural organic matterssuch as rice bran, fish meat, molluscs, crabs, insects andsometimes dried buffalo dung are put inside as fish bait. In
the rainy season, the trap is set midnight and collect in themorning, but sometimes keep for a few days. There are a
lot of types according to the size, shape and the target
fishes. The basket trap was traditionally weaved by local
inhabitants themselves but recently sold in the market.
"Tum" is the standard Thai language.

Small basket trap (hanging type)

Small basket trap (hanging type) (Tum klom, Tum pla
soi): Because of the compact structure and the low
investment cost, small basket trap is very popular fishinggear for small scale fisheries in the Lam Se Bai basin. The
trap is barrel shaped and weaved by splitted bamboo andrattan. The triangle or rectangle fish entrance is opened at
the lower side of the trap. Inside of the opening, there ispointed bamboo funnel which prevent the escape of thefishes after enter the trap. Rice bran, fish meat, and otherorganic matters are put inside as fish bait. The size is from
0.3 to 0.5 m long and from 0.2 to 0.5 m in diameter. The
trap is vertically hung in the middle layer of shallow
waters of rivers, streams, channels, ponds, reservoirs andriparian swamps. Main target fishes are river sprat(Clupeichthys aesarnensis) and other cyprinid carps.
Small basket trap (bottom type) (Tum larn): This is thebottom layer type of the small basket trap. The trap isapproximately 0.4-0.6 m high, bottle, barrel or bell shaped
7and weaved by splitted bamboo or twisted polyethylene
fiber. The trap is installed on the shallow waters of 0.2-1
m deep with rice bran and termite as fish bait. Main target
fishes are Mystus spp. and Heterobagrus spp., but it cancollect every kinds of fishes inhabiting the bottom layer.

Bai basin. Frog basket trap is traditionally weaved by local
inhabitants themselves but is recently sold in the market.

Frog basket trap

Upright shrimp trap (Tum khung): A compact andportable fishing gear to collect small shrimp(Macrobanchium lanchesteri) in swamps and riverside.
The height is about 0.3-0.4 m and the frame is made by
splitted bamboo covered with twisted polyethylene net.
There are several entrances which are made from the tapof polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle. Rice bran isused as bait. Upright shrimp shrimp trap is sold about 1.41.9 US$ (45-60 bahts) in the market.

Small basket trap (bottom type)

Grass bush trap (Sue noan gin): Cylindrical fish trap
weaved by splitted bamboo, rattan and ivy with the size of
0.8 m long and 0.2 m in diameter. Glasses and branches
are set inside of the trap and it is laid down on thesubstratum from 0.5-2.0 m deep without any bait. The trap
provide habitats for botia (Botia spp.) and sand goby
(Oxyeleotris marmorata). Glass bush trap is observed near
the junction of the lower Lam Se Bai and the Mun river.
The Thai name "sue noan gin" is originated from themeaning that "tiger can eat without any effort (sleep)".

Upright shrimp trap

Pot trap (Thong): Pot shaped large fish trap observed in
the Mekong river basin. The material and structure are issimilar to those of the upright basket trap ("tum"), but thesize is extremely larger (1.5-7.0 m in height and 0.6-1.2 m
in diameter). The trap connects to wooden pole and stands
vertically on the middle to the lower layers of the river tocatch cat fishes, barbs and other benthic fishes. Rice bran,fish, chicken, molluscs, crabs and insects are used as bait.
Although this trap is operated in large tributaries such as
Mun river (MRC 2007) and Songkhram river (Friend,
2005), we have never found it in the Lam Se Bai basin yet.

Grass bush trap (Sue noan gin)

Eel basket trap (Eju): Compact basket trap specialized tocatch swamp eel (Monopterus albus) at the paddy fields,
channels and swamps. The trap is weaved by splitted
bamboo and rattan with the size of 0.3-0.8 m in height and
0.2-0.4 in bottom diameter. Fish meat, smashed apple snail
and crab are packed in cylindrical bait container (named as"kapor") and set it inside of the trap. The upside of the trap
is kept over the water surface and covered by coconut
shell or straw. Eel basket trap is sometimes observed along
the Lam Se Bai basin. "Eju" is the standard Thai language.

Pot trap

Horizontal cylinder trap (Loub, Loub noan): Horizontal(or laying) cylinder trap is one of the most popular fishinggear operated along the Lam Se Bai basin. The shapes arevarious, but mostly cylindrical and are weaved by locallyavailable materials such as splitted bamboo, rattan and ivy.
The size varies 0.5-2.5 m long and 0.3-0.8 m in diameter
depending on the target fishes and the environments. One
or two entrances are opened on the bottom or side of the
trap. Inside of the opening, it has pointed bamboo funnel
which prevent to escape the fishes after enter the trap. The
trap is laid on the substratum of river, reservoirs, ponds,
swamps, paddy fields and floodplains. Fishermen selectthe installation site based on their knowledge about
topography, water current and fish behavior. Fish bait issometimes put in the trap, but it is unnecessary when thetrap is used on the fishway. The trap is traditionally

Eel basket trap

Frog basket trap (Tum kob): A pot shaped small basket
trap to collect frogs (Rana spp.) at the paddy fields andswamps. The trap is weaved by splitted bamboo and therounding entrance is opened near the lower side. Rice bran,fish meat, and other organic matters are put inside as bait.
The size is 0.3-0.4 m in height and 0.2-0.3 m in diameter.
Frog basket trap is frequently observed along the Lam Se

8weaved by local inhabitants themselves but recently soldin the market.

Flexibility trap

Lying trap (Suang, Son): Lying trap is a simple
indigenous fishing gear to collect snakehead (Channaspp.), walking catfish (Clarius spp.) and other small fishes
around paddy fields. It is laid down on the waterwey
between embankment of paddy fields and canals. The sizeis 1.2 m long and 0.15 in diameter. The trap is weaved by
splitted bamboo. Local inhabitants traditionally use lying
trap, but it is currently hardly found in the Lam Se Bai
basin. "Suang" is the northeastern dialect and "son" is thestandard Thai language.

Horizontal cylinder trap

Vertical cylinder trap (Loub yuen, Loub tang): Vertical(or standing) cylinder trap is a variation of bamboo trap.
The shape is cylindrical or beer barrel like and the size
varies 0.3-1.0 m long and 0.2-0.5 m in diameter. It is madeby rattan and splitted bamboo which is covered with
twisted cotton yarn or polyethylene fiber. In the shallow
waters of rivers, channels, reservoirs, ponds, swamps andfloodplains, fishermen set the trap with or without bait atcertain depths according to the target fishes andenvironments. The main target is cyprinid carps and barbs(Paralaubuca, Barbodes, etc.), catfishes (Mystus,
Hemibagrus, etc.), walking catfish (Clarius) andsnakehead (Channa). This trap is observed in Kut Chiang
Mi and Na Kae villages of the upper and the middle Lam
Se Bai.

Lying trap

Snake head trap (Chud): This is an indigenous fishing
trap to catch snakehead around paddy fields. The trap isplaced on the small waterway beside of embankment andtie it up with the sticks. Once enter the trap, the fish can
not go out because it is as same size as the trap. Local
inhabitants have weaved the trap by means of ivy ofclimber plant, Toxocarpus spirei (Family Asclepiadaceae)
until 20-30 years ago, but it is currently hardly found in
the Lam Se Bai basin. They prefer another fishing gear
because fish dies shortly in the trap. "Chut" is northeasterndialect to express the climber plant.

Snakehead trap

Eel trap (Lun): A specialized fishing gear to catch swamp
eel (Monopterus albus) in muddy waterways. The trap ismade by cylindrical bamboo which consists of 4-5
segments and about 0.8-1.2 m long. Small holes are drilled
for fish breath. Nowadays, it is made by polyvinyl chloride(PVC) pipe. Earth worm, smashed or fermented snail, crab
and fish meat are put into the base of the trap to attractswamp eels. The trap is horizontally or diagonally put inthe shallow waterways, usually not deeper than knee level.
Eel trap is observed at the lower Lam Se Bai and the Chi
river. "Lun" is the standard Thai language.

Vertical cylinder trap

Flexibility trap (Loub yued, Eroa): Flexibility trap is avariation of net trap. The frame is made by steel orstainless and covered by twisted polyethylene net, so thatfoldable and easy to carry to fisheries ground. When
spread it, the size is about 2-7 m long and 0.5 m high withfour to ten segments. The fish entrances are alternately
opened near the bottom of each segment. Every kinds offishes can be collected without any bait. Flexibility trap issold about 22-26 US$ (700-800 bahts) in the market and it
introduced around 2005 in Na Kae village of the middle
Lam Se Bai. "Eroa" is the northeastern dialect.

Eel trap9

Botia trap (Bang): The structure is similar to eel trap, but
this trap is specialized to catch cobitid fishes, Botia spp.
The trap is made by cylindrical bamboo which consists of
4-5 segments and about 1.2 m long and 80 mm in diameter.
The trap is laid down on the shallow waters about 0.1-0.3
m deep. Bait is unnecessary because the trap provide only
fish habitat. We found this trap at Nong Kin Phen village
where is located near the junction of the Lam Se Bai and
the Mun river.

the Thailand, but it is is rarely seen in the Lam Se Bai
basin.

Fish trap

Frog trap (Ngaeb, Duk kob): A bag shaped small fishing
trap to catch frogs (Rana spp.) in the paddy fields andswamps. The trap is weaved by only splitted bamboo andabout 20-30 cm in size with the oval shaped entrance.
Insect, fermented fish and crabs are usually used to attract
frog at midnight. Frog trap is frequently observed
throughout the Lam Se Bai basin. "Ngaeb" is thenortheastern dialect and "duk kob" is the general term for
it.

Botia trap

Box trap (Jun pla chon, Jun pla kor): A small woody
box trap to catch snakehead fish (Channa striata) andwalking catfish (Clarius spp.) utilizing the fish behavior tohide in narrow gap. The box size is about 45 x 30 x 20 cm.
The trap is laid on the mud of extremely shallow water
without any bait. Fishes come into the box for mating andbreeding. Although snakehead fish is commonly culturedin Thailand, capture fishing is still performed in thenortheastern Thailand. Box trap is found in Kut Chang Mi
village of the upper Lam Se Bai.

Frog trap

Bush shelter trap, Bush pile trap (Yoa, Klum): Bushshelter trap or bush pile trap is an indigenous fishingmethod in riparian swamps and is categorized as a kind offish attractant device. A bundle of tree branches are
combined each other to make bush basket and submerged
it in the shallow water. Wooden poles stand to connect thebasket to prevent it drifting. The basket provides thepreferred habitats and breeding sites for fishes inhabitingin the bottom layer; for example, snakehead (Channa
striata), sheatfish (Micronema spp.), catfishes and small
cyprinid carps. Every a few days, fishermen collect thesefishes by mean of gill net (No. 1) or handy surrounding net(No. 3) by surrounding the bush basket. This fishing iscollaboratively operated by several fishermen. Bushshelter trap fishing is found in Na Kae village of the
middle Lam Se Bai. "Yoa" is the northeastern dialect and"klum" is the central or the standard Thai language.

Box trap

Catfish trap (Loub pla duk): A small box trap to catchwalking catfish (Clarius spp.) and other fishes inhabiting
the shallow waters of rivers, channels, reservoirs, ponds
and paddy fields. The box size is about 0.3-0.5 m and theframe is made by metallic wire covered with fine wire
mesh or twisted polyethylene fiber. The fish entrance is
opened vertically or horizontally on both sides. Catfish
trap is found in the upper and the middle Lam Se Bai.

Bush shelter trap, Bush pile trap

Bush shelter, Branch shelter (Klum, Ban pla): Local
inhabitants preserve fishes in the reservoirs and irrigation
canals beside of their own paddy fields. They put a bundleof tree branches and bamboo piles in the waters to provide
shelter and habitat for fishes. Branches are also useful as alandmark to protect their fishes from disturbance by othervillagers. Whenever they collect fishes, they remove
branches from the waters, and then they catch fishes bymeans of net. Although the structure is same as the former
one (bush shelter trap), bush shelter is a kind of fish
aquaculture activities. Bush shelter is widely observed
throughout the Lam Se Bai basin, but this method is

Catfish trap

Fish trap (Loub pla, Loub duk pla): Semi-cylindricalshaped trap to catch fishes, crabs and other aquaticorganisms around river sides. The size is about 0.8-1.0 m
long 0.5 m in height and the frame is made of rattan andcovered with twisted fiber net. Chopped fishes are placedin the trap to attract fishes. The pathway is sometimes dug
to guide fishes and crabs toward the entrance of the trap.
This trap is commonly used in the coastal areas throughout
10

prohibited at the public waters. Both "klum" and "ban pla"
are the standard Thai language. This method is also foundin the paddy fields and ponds in Laos and other Asian
countries (Akimichi et al., 2008).

middle and the lower Lam Se Bai basin. "Bed rao" is thestandard Thai language.

Bush shelter, Branch shelter

Plunge basket, Cover pot (Sum): Plunge basket or cover
pot is a simple fishing gear to catch fishes in quite shallow
water mainly at night. The shape is like a conical basket
and is made of splitted bamboo with the surroundings
forked toward the bottom. The size of the basket is about
40-50 cm in height, 40 cm in bottom diameter and 10-15
cm in upper diameter. Termites, Ants or other organic
matters are placed on the water as fish bait. Fishermanholds the top of the gear to wait without moving for awhile. When fish come to snap the bait, fisherman plunged
vertically the basket. The market price of plunge basket is5.4-9.6 US$ (170-300 bahts). In Myanmar, the larger
plunge basket "Inlay basket" is operated with fishing boat
(SEAFDEC 2006). "Sum" is the standard Thai language.

Long line

Hook and line (Bed): Hook and line are popular fishinggears observed in everywhere in Thailand. In general, it
consists of a main line, sometimes a few branch lines, withhook(s) and sinker. Monofilament nylon or cotton yarn areused for lines. The rod is made from natural materials suchas bamboo and rattan, but glass fiber rod is presently used.
Big hook of about 30 mm is used to catch the big catfish(Pangasius larnaudi, P. sutchi and P. siamensis), knifefish(Notopterus notopterus, Chitala ornata), sheatfish(Wallago attu) and so on. Crab, shell, warm, fruit (forPangasius), chicken, rice bran and some other edible
materials are attached to hook as fish bait. During therainy season, big catfish, Pangasius larnaudi, comes to eat
the fruit of "waa tree (Syzygium)" in the floodplain of Na
Kae village. "Bed" is the standard Thai language.

Plunge basket, Cover pot

50. Fish scaring boat (Rua phee loak, Long pla): Fishscaring boat is a very unique indigenous fishing gear.
Large rectangular white board of about 3 m x 0.7 m isinstalled beside of small fishing boat by means of steel
frames and fish net of about 3 m x 0.8 m is installed onanother side of the same boat. In the nighttime of new
moon, fishermen move slowly the boat without engine in
the rivers and swamps. When fishes come up against thewhite board they surprise and spontaneously jump up fromthe water into the boat. Main target fishes are sheatfishes(Kryptopterus limpok and K. cryptopterus) and mud carp
(Henicorhynchus siamensis). This fishing appeared to be
operated until 15-20 years ago around the tributaries of the
Mekong river basin, but it is currently difficult to find it.
We found only one boat on February 2012 at the coast ofTha Khon Mai Yung village where is located near thejunction of the Chi river and the Mun river. More detailed
explanation of this fishing is presented by Punswarn(2005) and Tapkorn (2010). "Rua phee loak" is thestandard Thai language which means "ghost scaring boat".
"Long pla" is the northeastern dialect.

Hook and line

Pitch hook (Bed tong, Bed pak): Several bamboo rods
are set on muddy embankment of the shallow waters ofreservoirs, ponds, channels and paddy fields, to catchmystus (Hemibagrus), walking catfish (Clarius),
snakehead (Channa), and other small fishes.

Pitch hook

Pitch hook is consists of bamboo rod, string and hook. The
rod is about 80 cm in length. Worm, crushed snail,grasshopper, frog, crab and small fish are used as fish bait.
The hooks are usually kept overnight and collect them in
the next morning. Pitch hook is frequently observed in the
Na Kae village as well as other Lam Se Bai basin and issold about 0.1 US$ (3 bahts) per pole in the market. "Bedtong" is the standard Thai language and "bed pak" is thenortheastern dialect.
Long line (Bed roa): Fishermen sometimes make a longline to hanging a series of branch lines with hooks andsuspended it in the rivers, reservoirs and floodplains. A
series of hooks are set at about 1-2 m intervals. Crab, shell,worm, fruit, chicken and some other edible materials areused as bait. Long line is sometimes observed in the

Fish scaring boat

Spear (Chamouk): Spear is a simple fishing gear
consisting of long shaft, usually of wood or bamboo, with11

a pointed head, the tip of which is divided into several tonine. Fisherman use it at nighttime to capture snakehead(Channa spp.), catfish (Clarius spp.) and frogs (Rana spp.).
When he light up on the water, fishes come to the surface,
so that he spear the fishes. Spear is observed throughout
the Lam Se Bai basin, but nowadays it becomes not
popular because fishes decrease and the operation is notefficient.

Long pole scoop net

Scoop basket (Chanang, Takpra): Scoop basket"chanang" is an indigenous fishing tool to collect small
fishes and other aquatic organisms in shallow waters. The
frame is made by rattan and the basket is made of splitted
bamboo or twisted polyethylene fibers. Local inhabitants
have used it about 20-30 years age, but it is currently
hardly found in the Lam Se Bai basin. "Chanang" is thestandard Thai language and "takpra" is the northeasterndialect.

Spear

Harpoon (Chamouk deaw, Chanak, Som sud pla): A
harpoon is a long spear-like fishing gear to catchcomparatively large fishes. It is also consisting of a shaft,usually of wood or bamboo, with one pointed steel tip.
The shaft is longer than the spear and the total length isabout 5-6 m.

Scoop basket

Water scoop (Phoang, Kaso): Water scoop "Phoang" or"Kaso" is an indigenous tool to scoop water in paddy
fields and canals, but it is also used for collecting small
aquatic organisms. It is made of bamboo pole and splitted
bamboo. Local inhabitants have used it about 20-30 years
age, but it is currently not used in the Lam Se Bai basin.
"Phoang" is the standard Thai language and "kaso" is thenortheastern dialect.

HarpoonWater scoop
Other collecting tools: For local inhabitants, handy
collecting is a basic fishing activity to collect shell, crab,
worm and freshwater algae. They sometimes use shovel
and scoop for digging the soil.
Scoop net

Scoop net (Sawing, Takpra): Scoop net "sawing" is a
simple fishing tool to scoop small fishes, crabs, shrimps
and other aquatic animals in shallow ponds, reservoirs,
rivers, swamps and paddy fields. The size is 0.2-0.5 m indiameter and mesh size varies from 3-10 mm according to
the purpose. The frame is made by rattan, steel or plastic,
and the net is made of nylon, polyethylene fiber andtwisted cotton yarn. It is sold 1-3 US$ (30-100 bahts) inthe market and the fishing tackle store. "Sawing" is thestandard Thai language and "takpra" is the northeasterndialect.
Long pole scoop net (Sawoak): "Sawoak" is a kind of
scoop net with a long shaft. It is also a supplemental
fishing tool to collect and carry fishes and other aquaticorganisms. "Sawoak" is the standard Thai language.

Container

Container (Khong): Fishermen keep and carry fishes into
bamboo container, "khong". There are a lot of kinds ofcontainers according to the shape and the purpose. They
are made of locally available materials, splitted bamboo,
ivy, rattan, and twined fiber net and string, but nowadays,
plastic and polystyrol containers are also used. "Khong" isthe standard Thai language.

12

freshwater fishes are cultured into the cage mainly in therainy season.

Aquaculture cage

Acknowledgements: We are grateful to inhabitants andfishermen who gave us a lot of valuable knowledge about
the traditional fishing and village lives. This study was
supported by the Global Environment Research Fund (D0902) of the Ministry of the Environment, Japan. This
study project was implemented in collaboration withseveral Japanese and Thailand research institutes; that is,
National Research Institute of Aquaculture, Japan (NRIA),
Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Japan(FFPRI), Faculty of Fisheries of Kasetsart University,
Thailand (KU) and the Chulalongkorn University,
Thailand (CU), the members to whom our gratitude is due.

Container

Basket (Takra, Kata, Kung pla): Basket type container
is used for routine works of local inhabitants. It is made ofcoconut shell, splitted bamboo and rattan. Water container("khong tak nam") is made of coconut shell and beavailable to carry living fishes with water. Nowadays,
plastic bucket becomes more popular. "Takra" and "Kungpla" are the standard Thai language and "kata" is thenortheastern dialect.

References
Akimichi, T. and Kuroiwa H. (eds.). 2008. People and fish:living with the great Mekong river. Sekaishisosha, 278 pp.
(In Japanese).
Dugan, P., Delaporte, A., Andrew, N., O'Keefe, M. andWelcomme, R. 2010. Blue harvest: inland fisheries as
ecosystem service. World Fish Center, UNEP 64pp.
Fisheries Agency of Japan (FAJ). 1996. Inland fishing gears
and fishing methods in Japan (Naisuimen gyogu gyohou
zusetu). Fisheries Agency, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry
and Fisheries, Japan, 1083pp.
Fujioka, Y., Higano, J., Kuwahara, H., Srithong, C., Tabuchi, R.,
Patanaponpaiboon, P. and Poungparn, S. 2010. Utilizationof fisheries resources supported by swamp forests.
ProceedingsforInternational
workshop“Localconservation and sustainable use of swamp forest in
Tropical Asia, Ranong, Thailand, 66-80.
Fujioka, Y., Higano, J., Srithong, C., Tabuchi, R., Kuwahara, H.,
Yoneda, R., Sano, M., Patanaponpaiboon, P. and Poungparn,
S. 2011 Fisheries activities in floodplain of Mekong Riverbasin. Journal of Agroforestry and Environment 5 (special
issue): 65-70.
Fujioka, Y., Higano, J., Srithong, C., Tabuchi, R., Sano, M.,
Kuwahara, H. and Patanaponpaiboon, P. 2012.Fisheries andfishery resources in the middle Lam Se Bai, a tributary of
the Mekong river basin. Journal of Forest Management, inpress.
Friend, R. 2005. Fish species in the "Paa Bung Paa Thaam" local knowledge of fishers in the lower Songkhram Riverbasin. Thai Baan Research Network, IUCN, 180pp.
Iwata, A. 2002 Indigenous knowledge of villagers in Laos catfish fishing in Savannakhet Province. Japanese Journalof Tropical Agriculture. 46(1): 83-84. (In Japanese)
Iwata, A., Ohnishi, N. and Kiguchi, Y. 2003. Habitat use offishes and fishing activity in plain area of southern Laos.
Asian and African Area Studies, 2, pp. 51-58.
Kaneda, Y. (ed.). 2005. Fisheries and fishing methods of Japan.
Naruyamado-syoten, 228pp.

BasketFish bag (Sai pla, Kung pla): Fish bag is a supplemental
tool to keep and carry the fishes. Local inhabitants preferpolyethylene net bag because it is cheep and stout.

Fish bag

Fish cage, Crawl, Fish preserve (Sai pla, Kung pla):
Fishermen use fish cage or crawl to keep fishes for a shortperiod. The cage is made of metal or bamboo frame,
which is covered by polyethylene net. Polystyrol float,
plastic float or polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle areused for floating the cage.

Fish cage, Crawl, Fish preserve

Aquaculture cage (Krachung, Kung pla, Leang pla):
Fish aquaculture are very popular around the Lam Se Bai
basin, in which cage aquaculture systems are found in therivers, ponds and reservoirs. Tilapia (Oreochromis
niloticus), tapian (improved strain of tilapia), catfish(Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) and some other13

Mekong River Commission (MRC). 2001. Local knowledge inthe study of river fish biology: experiences from the
Mekong. Mekong Development Series No. 1, Mekong River
Commossion (MRC), 23 pp.
Mekong River Commission (MRC). 2007. An introduction to the
Mekong fisheries of Thailand. Mekong Development Series
No. 5, Mekong River Commission (MRC), 54 pp.
Paulsen, A.F., Poeu, O., Viravong, S., Suntornratana, U. andTung, N.T. 2002. Fish migration of the lower Mekong river
basin: implications for development, planning andenvironmental management. MRC Technical Report, No. 8,
Mekong River Commission (MRC), 62 pp.
Punswarn, S. 2005. Fishing gears in local areas (Kruuan mu pla
mon pun baan). Department of Fisheries, Ministry ofAgriculture, Thailand. 124pp (In Thai).
Sano, M., Miyamoto, A., Furuya, N., Patanaponpaiboon, P.,
Yoneda, R. and Tabuchi, R. 2011. Land cover change in Se

Buy River basin, northeast Thailand. Proceedings forinternational workshop: "strategies of local livelihoods forsustainable management of swamp forests", Bangkok, 1-11.
Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC).
2004. Fishing gear and methods in Southeast Asia: I.
Thailand (revisional edition). (edited by A. Munprasit etal.), SEAFDEC, 416 pp.
Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC).
2006. Inland fishing gear and methods in Southeast Asia:
Myanmar. (edited by S. Siriraksophon et al.), SEAFDEC,
184 pp.
Tapkorn, W. 2010. Fisheries technique. Thai Rom Gao Co.Ltd.
48pp (In Thai).
Ubon Ratchathani Regional Forest Office (URRFO). 2007.
Study on the strengthening local communities for the
management of Lamsaebai seasonal flooded forest. Reportof Ubon Ratchathani Regional Forest Office (In Thai).

14

J. Agrofor. Environ. 11 (1 & 2): 15-19, 2017

ISSN 1995-6983

Comparative eco-resource utilization studies in Asia: Poor management in rich areas and wise
use in poor resource areas
Isamu Yamada
The Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, 46 Yoshida-Shimoadachi-Cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 〒 605-8501
Japan, E-mail: yamada@cseas.kyoto-u.ac.jp
Abstract: Tropical rain forests in South East Asia were once the richest forests in the world. But because of the loggings from 1950’s,
almost all the good resources were lost now by excessive exploitation without any consideration of sustainability. On the other hand, inthe poor resource areas like high mountain areas in Eurasian continent or small remote islands in the Pacific, well-thought sustainableutilization of eco-resources were conducted for generations. There are several attempts showing ideal eco-resource utilization intemperate and tropical areas by the people’s own efforts. In the eastern part of Yunnan, China, the villagers started eco cultural village toconserve their historical village and surrounding fine landscapes. These projects were established by the villager’s bottom up wish to
keep their own culture and resources. In the Kitayama forest areas in Kyoto, Japan, foresters were producing beautiful timbers byplanting high density with high pruning techniques. Slow growing of taper trees and artificial waving on the surface of polished pillars
were originated from there. Ladakh in northern India, people using small amount of wood resources with careful management.
Developed areas need to learn from indigenous people’s way of simple life.
Key words: Eco-resources, tropical rain forests, sustainability, indigenous people

Introduction
South East Asia (SEAsia) and East Asia are the highest
population areas in the world. Drastic change ofenvironmental issues were seen in these areas after 1950’s.
Tropical rain forests in SEAsia were once best forest
resource area in the world before 2nd World War. But after
independence of tropical countries, the heavy logging
operation caused the big loss of biodiversity in the area.
On the other hand there are still maintaining sustainable
way of life in the remote parts of the region where thesimple and harmonious life together with nature is still
continued. In the former case, destruction of the rich area
was so quick to lose most of the good forest sites within
50 years. Whereas in the latter case, poor resources arewell maintained for their simple way of life. With
increasing population, we need to consider how to live inthe future. Since the high economic growth could not be
expected any more, we have to learn from indigenous
people’s way of living.
In this paper, I am focusing on the comparative studies of
two extreme areas; rich tropical areas and poor resourcesarea in the remote region, and think over important role ofharbor cities in between them.
Materials and Methods
I have been working in South East Asian tropical rain
forests in more than 40 years starting from 1965. Field
works have been carried out in Indonesia, Malaysia,
Brunei, Philippines to measure biomass in the forests andcontinuous measurement of thousands of trees in thesurvey plots. Part of the results were summarized in mybook (Yamada, 1998). During that time, I have also
conducted interview of the surrounding people in the sites
and found the rich tropical timber resources have gone
within 20 years (Yamada, 1995).
After tropical areas, I have started my works in other typeof the areas such as high mountains and small islands
where amount of resources are very poor. There I foundsustainable way of resource management in Ladakh in
India, and Aru in Indonesia, Kitayama in Japan andYunnan in China (Yamada, 2000; 2006).
Based on those long term research experience, I come tothink over the concept of eco-resources. Eco- resources isa fundamental resource management concept as shown in
Fig. 1. Eco-resource is divided into three parts, one isglobal environmental issues and second is a biodiversity.
Third one is more important related to the human behavior,
named human eco resources, which is divided into threeparts, i.e. one is life resources, second is eco cultural
resource, and the third is spiritual world. The mostimportant is the central eco cultural resources. Most of thenatural scientists who have been working in the global
environmental issues have been concentrating only in thenatural phenomena for many years. Only recently interdisciplinary studies of natural science, humanities andsocial sciences, are conducted. I have been working inmany areas based on this concept for more than 20 years.
All the materials come from my fieldwork.

Figure 1. Diagram of eco-resources concept

Results and Discussion
Disturbance of tropical rain forest in Southeast Asia
after 1950: My first step on SEAsia tropical rainforest
was 1965 to make botanical collection trip to Thailand,
Cambodia and Malaysia. At that time the destruction of
the tropical rain forest was not so severe. In 1969 to 1970,
I spent one year in Bogor National Biological Institutewhere I had my Ph.D. field work in Mt Pangrango, Java,
Udjun Kulon, Sumatra and East Kalimantan, the logging
has just started in East Kalimantan but not so severe. But

after 1970’s, the logging of tropical rain forest inIndonesia and Malaysia has spread with enormous speed
especially in Borneo island which is the center of richresources of tropical timber. For cutting Dipterocarp tress,of which straight bole is suitable to make rotary veneer,most of the areas has been designated as a concession andproduction sharing system was engaged. The logs were
mostly sent to Japan and used for building construction.
Japan, at that time, was a babble economic era so thedemand of the logs were never stopped. In the late 1980’s,
almost all the good forest sites were logged over andIndonesia declared ban on log export. But for inner saw
mill, the loggings were continued and they saw in theirown sawmill and export to outside (Fig. 2). Because of theheavy logging of the area, export amount of log from thisarea is reduced now and many major logging companies
seeks their resources out of the area. In 1988, huge scale offire occurred in the Borneo island which spread all overneighboring countries and 40,000 people are suffered at
one time. This fire is still occurring even nowadays.

People are planting willow trees and poplar trees along theriver. They use their farm land to plant willow seedlingwith dense spacing and the stems were cut so that coppices
are to be grown. These coppices are collected to use forceiling. For the bigger branches, which are used for roof
supporter are trimmed every year. At the first year, they
cut down smaller size branches so that remaining branch
became much bigger. And the second year, they cut bigger
branches. For the bigger stem which is used for the pole ofthe house is also taken from the bigger coppices of popular
trees. For this purpose, main stem is cut and multi stems
are produced. Water is only available near the stream. To
maintain good water resources, one family who are
succeeded from their ancestors are responsible to maintainof water canal and plant willow trees along the stream (Fig.
3).

Figure 3. Cutting willow tree branches in Nyemo, Ladakh
Before entering the Ladakh, I thought it is difficult to getwood materials for daily life. But because of their scarcity
of natural resources they tame their minor resources asmuch as possible. They are all belong to Tibetan Buddists.
Their temple- Gompa is always located in the deep valley.
When we reached the temple, we found many trees areplanted along the stream and all well maintained. The
location of Gompa is splendid. Most of them are built on
the hill top or slope which is surrounded by the gigantic
snow mountains. People are very religious and doing very
humble and sustainable way of life.
(II) Aru islands: Aru islands are located south of New
Guinea Island, Indonesia, which is the second largest
island in the world but Aru are the gathering of small
island which means the area producing resources are not
big enough if it is not well maintained.
People of Aru have their own regulation called sasi-which
is widely known in Wallacea region (Akimichi, 1995). In
the case of Aru, almost all the eco-resources are setting
sasi, e.g. birds of paradise are not allowed to hunt all year
round. This is the most valuable resources in the island sothey have strict regulation for stop hunting every 2 months.
Similar moratorium is set for bird’s nest. Bird’s nest hereis easy to approach which can be found under the ceilingof lime stone cave just behind the mangrove. The
ownership is clear and people watch the outside invadersduring Sasi period, Sea cucumber, hawksbill turtle, Sagoand even planted coconuts and Rambutan have their own
sasi.

Figure 2. Mega rice project sites of peat swamp forests,
Central Kalimantan, Indonesia
Tropical rain forests of SEAsia were the richest bio
resources in the world. Fine Dipterocarp trees are really
the treasure of the area. Since it was abundant in natural
condition, people never think sustainability. Even there aresome sustainable management system like Malayansystem was considered but not widely adopted. In 1969,
wherever we go, we could see beautiful rain forest, butnow, it is very difficult to find such good forests. We lost
one of the most important biological heritage within 50
years.
Eco-resource management of poor resource areas in
the frontier area of Eurasian Continent and remoteisland in the Pacific(I) Ladakh-Shangrila in the sky: After tropical SEAia, I
shifted my interest to remote area in Eurasian continent.
Here I show the field work in Ladakh, which is located in
the mountain top of India surrounded by Pakistan and
China. Before Ladakh, I have been working in China from1990’s and Yunnan and Tibet were my major field. To
compare the situation of Tibet, I have visited Ladakh to
see their life and eco-resources. Ladakh is a high mountainareas beyond Himalaya and very dry area with little
rainfall. Cold temperature and dry land means scarcity ofbio resources. Almost no original forest, except for Juniper.
16

Sasi is a unique autonomous regulation aiming not too
much disturbance of the natural life cycle. The realsustainable way of living is found in these small islands.
To maintain small amount of eco-resources in small land,
this kind of self regulation seems most favorable for thesmall community. No outside regulation can be adopted in
the area (Fig. 4).

by using Kitayama forestry timbers. People in Kitayama
area create new technology to polish the pole by natural
sand which is only found in nearby Bodainotoki waterfall
area. Sand is granite origin and when it is used to polishthe surface of timber, grain of the sand became smashedand fine brilliant surface of the pillar is appeared. To growstraight good pole, they plant seedling densely as much as
10,000 tree per ha. Frequent thinnings and prunings arecarried out until harvesting time for 40 years. The land is
not fertile but rocky soil which is good for slow growthand non-nods good timbers are harvested.

Figure 4. Sago palm in Aru
This similar attitude to minor resources are also found inindigenous people life in SEAsia. For instance, Penan,
who are originally hunting gatherers in the tropical rain
forest of Borneo island, have similar sustainable way oflife. Although most of the Penan people are now settle
down in one place, there are still some people who are
moving around the forests. Since they have to move one
place to another, their daily materials are limited and no
odd things are around. Only very necessary things they
carry and found animals and plants needed in their life.
Their knowledge about the forest are deep and wide.
Almost all the plants and animals are known to use as a
medicines, foods, materials for daily life. They never cut
too many trees, not take too much fruits and animals. They
know their consumption capacity. Since there are no ice
box in the forest, they have to consume what they get in
the day. This is quite natural attitude because if they don’t
think sustainability, they can not survive.
Once they get some products, they share equally in thecommunity. There are many important habitat of them, inwhich they name the place with their memory and keeping
their position always in the forest. Their way of wanderingin the forest is not arbitrary. They know where theirnecessary products are found and remember the place withnaming the spot. These life style is found even in the
traditional forestry area in Japan.
(III) Kitayama forestry: Kitayama forestry area islocated at the north western part of Kyoto city, central
Japan. This area is covered by the medium size mountains
between 500-1,000m level and people here once engaged
in the shifting cultivation on the steep slopes. In the
primary forests in the area, Sugi (Cryptomeria japonica) is
the main species which grow mixed in the broad leaved
trees. From the stump of the big size Sugi more than 1m
diameter, coppice shoots can grow. First stage of forestry
practice are started to cut these coppice pole forconstruction in 600 years ago (Fig. 5). With the demand of
Kyoto city house construction, most of the houses are built

Figure 5. Old stump of Kitayama Forestry Area
I have been visiting this area frequently with many guests
from abroad. They are surprised to see the beautiful
landscape on the steep slopes on both sides of Kiyotaki
river. German forester was very much impressed to see insuch a steep slope plantation. In Germany, they can neverplant trees in such steep slope condition. Final products
peel off bark, sand polished and wrapped carefully andsent to Kyoto.
Many carpenters have personal connection with producers
and come to buy with their own taste and built beautiful
wooden house called Sukiya zukuri. There sometimes
found waving on the surface of timber, which is called
Shibo. Eighty years ago, people create new technology tomake this waving on the surface of timber wiring small
pegs on surface of timber 2 years before cutting. This
make artificial waving and be sold 4-5 times higher pricethan ordinary timbers. Most of the plantation is now using
cuttings from the mother trees. The mother trees are welltreated and make special shape as called Dai sugi. This
special shape tree is used for Japanese garden in many
temples and private gardens in Kyoto. Small sized timbercalled Taruki is also obtained from the stump and speciallyused for tea room.
Kitayama was once the richest forestry area in Japan aswell as in the world. Their way of forestry practice isalways based on their daily observation and practices in
the forests. Their deep insight to the forest and create newtechnology make unique artificial forestry area. WheneverI visited Kitayama forestry area, I found very thoughtful
local practical knowledge are succeeded in this area forgeneration to generation.
(IV) Eco cultural village in Yunnan: Yunnan is locatedat the south western part of China bordering to continental
southeast Asia. There are nearly 50 minority groups living
17

in the mountains and in the basins. They have own
autonomous policy and keeping good tradition. One 600
year historical village in eastern part of Yunnan, thevillagers are starting to build eco-cultural village bythemselves. They built small museum in the village where
they stored traditional tools and historical documents andtheir techniques are also practiced in here so that young
generation can learn from their ancestors. Songs and music
are practiced in this museum.
This village is surrounded by the lime stone hills and lakes
which are used for eco tourism inviting whole Yunnan
population. The important point of this project is that all
the design is done by villagers headed by young village
head and some supporters from local government anduniversity professors. It is very unique in China because
most of the local activities have been mostly decided fromthe central government top down policy. This eco-culturalvillage project is purely bottom up basis and they havetheir own regulations not to damage traditional landscapeso that they don’t use modern material for the renovationof the houses and roads. Surrounding sacred places aremaintained not changed and total area is declared as anature and cultural resources. This project is not touristic
purpose but many people are visiting now from all over
China and villagers entertain outsiders by traditional local
food. Fig. 6 shows their activities.

forests. There are many conflicts between logging
companies and Penan people in the 1980’s up until now.
This trend is not confined in SEAsia, but in Amazon inSouth America and even in Crayquot in Canada thelogging of primary forest create conflicts between loggers
and indigenous people. Many international NGO and NPO
groups supported indigenous people and some of the area
was kept untouched because of the strong international
movement, especially at the occasion of UNCED in Rio deJaneiro in 1992. But after that, logging are still continuing
in many places and the rate of the destruction of the world
forests are still very high.
Whenever I spent among the indigenous people, I feelvery comfortable with their simple way of life, They takeonly what they need for the day. Not with high demand
like the people in the modern society, they are happy andsatisfied and share their products equally in thecommunity. Human relations are so good so that eachpeople help each other when it is needed. The humanrelations in the modern world is quite different from them.
We are losing many important basic culture and mentally
important factors with losing forest. Forest is a simple
world where we can see many organisms are living
together. For millions years, trees, insects, animals andmicro organism are survived comfortably. There are many
good relationship by which we learn how the livingorganisms behave each other. Biodiversity conservationmeans to keep the variety of these millions creaturesinteraction.
The attitude of indigenous people is good example for the
future of human life. We have to keep more simple life.
The term “sustainability” is the word made by modern
people but reality is existed in the life of indigenous
people. Their daily life itself is the sustainable life. The
summary of forest and human society are as follows:.

Figure 6. Eco cultural village in Yunnan
There are now five similar eco-cultural villages in Yunnan.
To learn from this village, visitors from other provinces
often visited. This is an ideal case in China to put
important value on their own local history.
Forest and human society
As mentioned above, there are two opposite faces. One is
rapid decrease of rich forest areas without any sustainable
management and the other is bottom up traditional way ofmanagement by indigenous people. In the case of tropicalrain forest, not so much destruction occurred before theSecond World War. But after many tropical countries
made independence from western developed countries,
they need financial basis for development. Timber is themost easy and abundant resources for the tropical country
to get income from natural forest. The speed of loggings
were very quick starting from the Philippines in 1950’s
and come to Indonesia and Malaysia in 1960’s onward.
Within 20 years, most of the good sites were logged overand logging operation invade deeper and deeper in theRole of Harbor cities in East and SEAsian
From wide scale view, there exists three part in the easternpart of Eurasian continent. One is mountainous Tibetan
and Himalayan regions in the north western part of eastern
Eurasian continent. And the second is the tropical lowland
in maritime world which include big islands like Borneo,
Sumatra, New Guinea, and so on. In between them, there
are many harbor cities like Hong Kong, Singapore, Kobe,
Yokohama, Bangkok, Tenjin, Shanghai and so on. This
area has a long trade history of the eco resources from18

both areas. Especially after the opening of the market in
China, 1980, huge amount of material flow areconcentrating in this region. Tropical timbers export are
now decreasing more than half compared to 1970-80’, but
most of them are sent to China. To satisfy 13 billion
people’s demand, world trade are focusing to China. But
with high speed development, many obstacles such as
severe pollution, rich and poor gaps, mental and spiritualdisorders, are frequently occurred in the area.

Production of industries are so high without any regulation
to protect from pollution. As a result, all the rivers andcities were polluted badly and many critical deceases were
occurred in Minamata, Agano, Yokkaichi and so on. But
in 1970, onward, Japanese policy for protecting
environmental pollution become very strict so that all thesources of pollution were checked and new technology
were created which lead good result for many aspects.
We should not repeat Japanese failure in the future. Since
East and Southeast Asia are very near each other, most of
the pollutants are easily spread all over the areas. Careful
treatment which is basically found in the primitive areas
where the simple and sustainable way of life are existing isneeded. We have to learn from indigenous people. Theirway of life is a good warning to the times.
References
Akimichi, T. 1995. Maritime ethnography-Naturalists on the sea.
Tokyo University Press, Tokyo. p 260 (in Japanese).
Yamada, I. 1995. Understanding the complexity of people’s lives
in the tropical rain forest. In: Proc.International Symposium
on Changing Global Environment and the Role of Science,
March 23-24, 1995. Mita House (Tokyo) Ministry of
Education, Science and Culture. pp.83-85.
Yamada, I. 1998. Tropical rain forests of Southeast Asia.
University Hawaii Press, Honolulu. p392.
Yamada, Isamu. 2000. Eco resources survey in Asia and America.
Iwanami Shoten, Tokyo. p 329 (in Japanese).
Yamada, I. 2006. Report of world forests. Iwanami Shoten,
Tokyo. p 210 (in Japanese).

Figure 7. Diagram of two opposite sites and harbor cities
in between
This trend was once seen in Japan in 1960’s at the time of
bubble economical conditions. Almost all the timberresources were imported from SEAsia to Japan.

19

J. Agrofor. Environ. 11 (1 & 2): 21-24, 2017

ISSN 1995-6983

Interim survey report on livelihood transition studies in Pursat province, Cambodia
K. Yasuyuki, K. Satoru1, K. Bahadur2, H. Mina3, K. Sothea4, P. Sovatna5, H. Oudom6, T. Lipean7 and H. Sokchea8
Kyoto University, Japan, 1Kyoto University, Japan, 2University of Guelph, Canada, 3Kochi University, Japan, 4Royal
University of Agriculture, Cambodia, 5Provincial department of Agriculture, Pursat Province, Cambodia, 6Freelance
researcher, Cambodia, 7Fishery Administration, Cambodia, 8Batambong Institute of Technology, Cambodia
Abstract: Rural livelihoods around the world drive and reflect changing environmental regimes and political economic transformations.
In Southeast Asia where rural small holders are densely habited, livelihood systems of these populations are mostly based on theoperational interface between the environment and society. Presently, rural livelihoods in Southeast Asia are rapidly changing basicallyfrom subsistence-oriented to market-oriented system, and shifting from on-farm to off-farm sectors to generate more cash income. This
study is to figure out how the benefit of market- and industry-driven economic development spread into rural people and how to mitigate
its adverse impacts on rural society. The study was conducted in Pursat Province, Cambodia as it is a rich diversity in the biophysicalenvironment, and comparatively, it has a rather short development history. The results present the diversity of livelihood in the wholeprovince which is reasonably classified into seven zones-lake zone, coastal zone, coastal low land zone, low land zone, low land uplandcomplex zone, mountain zone and upland zone. In addition, the density of population in the area has been changing back and forth
within the seven zones. However, it is not very clear what socio-demographic characteristics differentiate groups of household, so thedetail finding will be identified in the next survey.
Key words: Livelihood transition, diversity in livelihood option, further studies.

Introduction
Rural livelihoods around the world drive and reflectchanging environmental regimes and political economictransformations. In Southeast Asia where rural small
holders are densely habited, livelihood systems of these
populations are mostly based on the operational interface
between the environment and society. The livelihood
systems play substantial roles in achieving natural
resources-dependent sustainable development when selfordered livelihood systems with the supports of good
governance well function, and this mechanism does notproperly works once either self-ordered livelihood systems
or good governance collapse (Saphangthong and Kono,2010). Rural livelihoods in Southeast Asia are rapidlychanging basically from subsistence-oriented to marketoriented system. Subsistence crop production has been
replacing by commercial crops and labor allocation ofrural household is shifting from the on-farm to off-farm
sectors to generate more cash income.
This study is a part of a broader study of livelihoodtransition in rural Southeast Asia. Broader study focuses
livelihood transition in rural Southeast Asia, aiming at
examining the form, process and consequences of
livelihood transition particularly from the viewpoints ofnatural resource management and social dynamism.
One of the remarkable points of this study is the scope of
livelihood transition study. So far, many studies focus onchanges in livelihood and examine the opportunities andrisks that rural household are facing (Kono et al., 2009,
Doppler et al., 2006). These studies figure out how thebenefits of market- and industry-driven economic
development spread into rural people and how to mitigate
its adverse impacts on rural society. It is also true,
however, that the on-going changes of rural societies inSoutheast Asia are much more holistic and are not limited
to the economic activities only. Social domain is widened
from local-based to global-based and people’s careerdevelopment depends more on public institutions rather
than family network. These social changes areundoubtedly closely connected to changes in economic
activities and affect the form, process and consequences of
livelihood transition. The livelihood transition in this study
covers the overall changes in livelihood systems.

Materials and Methods
Study area: After the preliminary surveys in December
2010 and March 2011, Pursat Province/river basin of theCambodia has been selected as the study region. Pursat
Province is located from 11.84° to 13.01° north latitudeand from 102.70° to 104.40° east longitude from Tonle
Sap Lake from the Northeast to boarder of Thailand
towards the Southwest (Fig. 1). The provincial headquarter Pursat city is connected to the Capital of thecountry Phnom Penh through national highway no. 5 andsouthern end of the Veal Veng town and Thai border canbe accessed with the newly constructed earthen road. The
main reason for selecting this area is because of
appropriateness of the area as a good representative ofrural Southeast Asia for the study of rural livelihoodtransition. The area is very suitable for carrying a
livelihood transition study because of the two main
reasons. First, the area has a rich diversity in thebiophysical environment including the lakeside coastal
area, lowland and mountainous area. Second,
comparatively, it has a rather short development history.
The population density of the area at the beginning of the20th century was less than 20 persons/km2 (Delvert, 1958).
Most of the area was covered with dense forest until the
1960s. Currently various types of livelihood activities aregoing on and rapidly changing within very short period.
So for all these reasons this area is very suitable for
exploring the whole process of development depending on
the memory of people in addition to utilizing the archival
documents.

Fig. 1. Location map of Pursat Province, Cambodia

adopted livelihood strategies and the process oftransformation to date. Brief descriptions of each zone areas follows.
Lake zone: This is completely water-based zone. This
zone is located on Lake (Fig. 3). Fishermen are living inthis zone on floating houses. Major livelihood activities
are fishery, aquaculture and fish processing. Fish catch has
decreased during the last 10 years. Fish processing
including prahok, p’ok and dry fish (trey ngiet) making
declined more sharply because of selling fresh fish
become popular. The people in this zone seem very mobile,
both inward and outward migration. Some rich households
have recently shifted their livelihood to land-based
systems.

Results and Discussion
General description of the Province: Population isconcentrated in the coastal and lowland zones reflecting
longer settlement history and better access to market androad network. The family size is smaller in the upland andmountainous zones. This probably suggests the dominanceof newly married family. The percentage of house with tile
roof is higher in the coastal lowland, lowland andlowland/upland complex zones, while the percentage ofhouse with zinc roof is higher in the coastal and uplandzones. Tenant and small-scale rice-grower is rather
popular in Krakor district where farmer cum fishermen has
been a main livelihood system. Aquaculture is popular in
the lake and coastal zones. The elementary and junior highschool attendance is 80% or more, but some communes in
the lake, coastal, upland and mountain zones shows lower
attendance. The percentage of women who delivered ababy by service of midwife shows a big difference among
the communes, less than 10% in some and more than 80%
in others, and comparatively high in the coastal lowland
and lowland zones and low in the lake, coastal, upland
and mountain zones. The percentage of children aged 9 to
12 months who have received full immunization is morethan 80% at almost all communes. Work away is mostpopular in the coastal lowland zone, followed by thecoastal and lowland zones. In-migration is popular in the
upland and mountain zones, while out-migration is
popular in the lake, coastal, coastal lowland zones. The
rainy season rice yields do not significantly different
between zones. They are higher along the mainstream of
the Pursat River, around 3 t/ha, and lower in Krakor
district, around 1.5 t/ha. Dry season rice growing ispracticed only in the coastal lowland and lowland zones.
The spatial difference of dry season rice yield is similar tothat of wet season rice yield.

Fig. 3. Lake zone
Coastal zone: This zone is immediate next to the purewater based zone (Fig. 4). People in this zone generally
live on land but their livelihood activities are based on
both land and water systems. People in this zone adopted
farmer cum fishermen livelihood though they gradually
have been shifted their livelihood more on farm-based.
Rice productivity is still low and fish catch is declining.
Working away at Thailand and Phnom Penh emerged as
the popular job for the young generation.

Fig. 4. Coastal zone

Fig. 2. Draft livelihood zoning map of Purast province,
Cambodia based of preliminary survey

Fig. 5. Coastal lowland zone

Diversity in livelihood options/strategies: Based on thespatial differences in biophysical setup from Tonle Sap
Lake to the mountain region, different farming and fishingactivities with various ways of livelihood patterns can be
seen. Currently adopted livelihood strategies also havegone through various ways of transformation in the past.
Thus from this point of view, whole province can beroughly divided into seven zones (Fig. 2) based on theavailable natural resources, their accessibilities, currently

Coastal lowland zone (intensive and commercialized
rice zone): This zone is immediate next to the coastalzone (Fig. 5). This is pure land based system. This zone
has the longest history of human settlement in thisprovince. Most of the areas of this zone located near to the
Pursat market center. The main livelihood activities havebeen rice growing supplemented by fishery and sugar
palm collection in the past, which have been replaced bylivestock and aquaculture recently. Rice yield increased
owing to the spread of new rice cultivars and chemical
22

fertilizer, and rice growing has been commercialized inrecent days. Working away at Thailand and Phnom Penh
as wedged laborer is also popular in this zone.
Lowland zone: This zone is similar to the zone number
three in many regards. However, in regards to thedevelopment history this zone has relatively shorter
history than to the zone number three. Beside thedevelopment history, another difference is that people
living in this zone did not generallydo fishing activities in
the past too. This zone was reclaimed in the 1950s and 60s.
Rice growing has been the predominant livelihood
activities since then. Owing to large farm size, there has
been surplus production. The innovation of rice trading
network in the 2000s further commercialized rice growing
in this zone (Fig. 6). They introduced marketable cultivars
and farm machinery. Working away at Thailand andPhnom Penh emerged as the popular job for the young
generation.

Fig. 8. Upland zone in Cambodia
Mountain zone: This zone is located on the high altitude
areas of the province towards the mountainous region (Fig.
9). This zone is very scarcely populated. Both indigenous
and recently migrants people from other part of theprovince as well and other part of the country are living
here. However, survey team was able to meet recent
migrants only. People’s livelihood in this zone mainly
depends on forest products and very recently started to
grow upland crops such as upland rice, maize and somevarieties of beans.

Fig. 6. Lowland zone in Cambodia
Fig. 9. Mountain zone in Cambodia

Lowland upland complex zone: This zone is atransitional zone between lowland and upland system (Fig.
7). Both lowland production systems such as rice growing
and upland activities such as maize production can befound in this zone of transition. People in this zone depend
both on lowland and upland farming for their livelihood
strategies. Upland farming shows drastic changes. It was
small-scale and subsistence until the 1980s. In 1990s when
the trading channels were established, they expanded
upland field and started to grow commercial crops such as
groundnut and watermelon. Recently cassava growing has
been in practiced because of an animal feed factory wasestablished and a big market of cassava emerged. A few
young people go to work at Thailand and Phnom Penh.

Process of livelihood transition: The process of
livelihood transition also has a wide range of diversity.
In the lake and coastal zones, decline in fish resource andstrict regulations of fishing activities such as restriction ofmany fishing gears seem to be the major driver of
livelihood transition. Many fishermen seem to be started toshift their livelihood from lake-based to land-based
systems.
In the coastal lowland and lowland zones, the major driverof livelihood transition is the innovation of rice trading
network. Rice market shifted from domestic tointernational markets. This triggered changes not only inrice trading but also in rice production. Rice traders pay
more attention to the quality of rice. Farmers widelyadopted rice cultivars that are high-valued at theinternational market. In order to meet the demands andcriteria of international market, the whole steps of riceproduction, processing and trading are on the way ofinnovation.
In the lowland/upland complex and upland zones, themajor driver is upland crop production for agro-industry.
Their crop choice totally depends on the market
requirement. For the example of cassava cultivation, theoperation of the cassava processing factory of thePheapimex Company in Krakor district since the end of2010 determined the trend in the research area (thePheapimex Company got a land concession with thecentral government in November 2003 that covers morethan 315,000 hectares of land in six districts of Pursat andKampong Chhnang provinces).
Another prevailing driver is work away at Thailand andPhnom Penh. It is more popular in the coastal lowland andFig. 7. Lowland upland complex zone in Cambodia
Upland zone: Rural livelihood in this zone area based onpure upland farming system. This zone is on the way ofreclamation (Fig. 8). Inward migration mostly fromdensely populated areas such as Kampong Cham andKampong Chhnang provinces continues. The major crops
are maize, soybean and mungbean.

23• What socio-demographic characteristics differentiate thegroups of household’s following distinct livelihood
strategies?
• Is this adjustment unfolding uniformly or along different
trajectories?
• And if the latter is the case, can it be distinguishedamong households moving in different directions?
• Finally, how these changes may affect the local
landscape in the region?
Some specific research topics of this study:1) Innovation in rainfed rice production and trading• Shift of rice market from domestic to international andits consequences• Technology and productivity of rainfed rice growing• Impacts on farmers’ livelihood
2) Challenges and potentials of livelihood development• Zoning with two spatial direction one from urban center
towards the Lake and other from urban center towards
the mountain• Development process of production/farming and fishingsystem• Challenges and future potential to be developed in the
future with different types oflivelihood option
3) Transformation of trading goods and network in theregion• Traditional trading route/ means of productions: paddy
rice, crops, timber and• NTFP etc.
• rading network of basic goods for living: salt, prahok, oiland so on.
• Creation of the linkage with outsiders.

lowland zones, which have the best transportation
condition.
Social dynamism: Based on the changing biophysicalcondition of each zone, socioeconomic conditions such as
household assets, farm family incomes of people arechanging from zone to zone. Nevertheless as discussed
above livelihood systems have been changing throughout
the province. This suggests besides the changing
environmental
regimes
andpolitical
economictransformations there might be underlying social
dynamism shared by wider areas behind the ongoing
livelihood transition.
It is also interesting that, though there seems to be
substantial differences in household income, particularly
in terms of cash income, between zones and households,
the dissemination of education services in the study area
does not reflect these differences. The proportion of pupil
go to junior high school is over 70% except somecommunes in the lake and mountain zones, though theproportion of receiving a service of midwife for delivery issignificantly higher in the coastal lowland, lowland andlowland/upland complex zones.
Research topics for further studies (Potential forfurther studies): Environmental and economictransformations in turn affect resources (land, water, fish)
management regimes and decision-makers. In particular,changing environmental regimes on the one hand, andpolitical economic transformations on the other have affectthe rural livelihoods across a region or country. Rural
smallholding households are often the focus ofdevelopment and conservation intervention; because their
responses to variable biophysical and socioeconomic
contexts drive resource use and management, andtherefore future strategies of local development andlandscape change. Many other transformations accelerate
the incorporation of rural smallholders into global
economies, as both producers of goods and commodities,
and as labor. As this intensified incorporation also occurs
in Pursat Province of Cambodia smallholders can be
expected to adjust their in-place livelihood strategies.
This preliminary survey indicates that livelihood strategies
in the Pursat Province have changed a lot over the period,
there are increasing proportions of households pursuing
two divergent adjustment paths: one of withdrawal of thefishing business and one of agricultural intensification andcommercialization. However it is not very clear what
socio-demographic characteristics differentiate the groupsof household’s following distinct livelihood strategies.
Additionally this preliminary findings point to thepossibility of simultaneous land change, reduction of fish
catch situation and infrastructure development are some ofthe drivers that attracts and/or forced the smallholders toadjust in different ways to their intensified incorporation
into global economies.
Potential research questions for further research

The results present the diversity of livelihood in the wholeprovince which is reasonably classified into seven zoneslake zone, coastal zone, coastal lowland zone, lowland
zone, lowland upland complex zone, mountain zone andupland zone. In addition, the density of population in thearea has been changing inward and outward within theseven zones. However, it is not very clear what sociodemographic characteristics differentiate groups ofhousehold, so the detail finding will be identified in thenext survey.
References
Delvert, Jean. 1958. Le Paysan Cambodgien, Mounton Paris. 邦
訳は及川浩吉訳．2002．カンボジアの農民』風響社）
Saphangthong, T. and Kono, Y. 2010. Continuity anddiscontinuity in land use changes: A case study in NorthernLao villages, Southeast Asian Studies 47(4):263-286.
Kono, Y., Badenoch, N., Tomita, S., Douangsavanh, L. andNonaka, K. (eds.), 2009. Agency, opportunity and risk:
Commercialization and the human-nature relationships in
Laos, Special Issue of Southeast Asian Studies 47.
Doppler, W., Praneetvatakul, S., Munkung, N., Sattarasart, A,,
Kitchaicharoen, J., Thongthap, C., Lentes, P., Tai, D.,
Grueninger, M. and Weber, K. 2006. Resources andlivelihood in mountain areas of South East Asia. Farming
and rural systems in a changing environment. Margraf
Publishers, 499p.

• What types of households are adjusting theirlivelihood systems and what extend?
• How are households adjusting their livelihood
agricultural (farming/fishing) strategies in thisglobalizing frontier?

24

J. Agrofor. Environ. 11 (1 & 2): 25-29, 2017

ISSN 1995-6983

Hydrological environment and Boro rice cultivation in Bangladesh and Assam
Haruhisa Asada, Daisaku Sakai1, Jun Matsumoto1&2 and Wataru Takeuchi3
Department of Geography, Nara Women’s University, 630-8506, Nara, Japan, 1Department of Geography, Tokyo
Metropolitan University, 192-0367, Tokyo, Japan, 2Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC),
237-0061, Yokosuka, Japan, 3Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, 153-8505, Tokyo, Japan,
E-mail: asada@cc.nara-wu.ac.jp
Abstract: In Bangladesh and Assam, rice is the main agricultural products for local farmers situated as both the countries in the
Brahmaputra basin. Rice is traditionally cultivated in the rainy season, but frequent floods and droughts make its production unstable.
Bangladesh successfully increased the cultivated area of Boro rice in the dry season which enables stable rice production. On thecontrary, in Assam, the introduction of Boro rice is marginal, and they still depend on rainfed rice for their subsistence. This study aims
to investigate the mechanism of the recent disparity of rice cropping system between Bangladesh and Assam by using the high-resolution
surface water data. The results show that topography or soil condition may be responsible for the difference of surface water variation in
post-flood season and Boro rice introduction in the dry season between the two regions. Boro rice area showed remarkable increase insome districts of Bangladesh where surface water was available after flood, but the amount of surface water in post flood season and theextent of increased Boro rice area in February did not match well. The water supply technology for Boro rice cultivation should be
investigated to reveal the mechanism of Boro rice variation in the flood years.
Key words: Bangladesh, Assam, Boro rice, Irrigation, Flood, Surface water.

Introduction
The Brahmaputra is one of the biggest river during
Monsoon in Asia with the river basin of 573,000 km2
where total 80 million people live in. Its main stream andtributaries flow across four countries; China, Bhutan, India
and Bangladesh, but most of the population live in thelower part of the basin; 31 million in India and 47 million
in Bangladesh (Rahman and Varis, 2009). In those regions,
low-lying floodplain topography and humid monsoon
climate provide the suitable condition for rice cultivation
which is the main occupation of rural people.
Rice is traditionally cultivated during the rainy season assummer monsoon rainfall and river water inundation bringwater supply for its cultivation. In Bangladesh, Aman riceis the main crop which is transplanted in August andharvested in December (Johnson, 1982). Also in Assam,
Sali rice is grown in the same season (Bhagabati et al.,2001). Those rice are usually grown under the rain-fed
condition without artificial irrigation, but the problem isthey are vulnerable to floods in summer season (Mowla,
1972; Brammer, 1990). In the lower part of theBrahmaputra basin, both rainwater floods and river water
floods frequently submerge paddy fields under water, andsevere floods cause huge damage on rice production oncein several years (Hofer and Messerli, 2006). Not only
floods, but also drought can affect rice cultivation during
rainy season when monsoon activity becomes weak.
In Bangladesh, however, the traditional rice cropping
system shows drastic change in recent years (Fig. 1a);while the cultivated area of Aman rice remains same level,
the cultivation area of Boro rice has rapidly increased
during the last three decades. Boro rice is grown during
December to May in the dry season with the constant
supply of irrigation water. The influence of drought andflood on Boro rice is less. Now the double cropping ofAman rice in the rainy season and Boro rice in the dry
season is common in Bangladesh, which makes annual
rice production more stable than before.
Though the cultivated area of Boro rice increases year by
year in Bangladesh, it rapidly increased in 1988, 1998 and2007 when severe floods occurred in the whole country.
The cultivated area of Boro rice can usually increase with

the introduction of irrigation systems such as power pumpand tube well. In the severe flood years, especially thecultivated area of high yielding varieties (HYVs) of Bororice increased much, and its area exceeded more than theirrigated area for Boro rice (Fig. 1b). These statistics
indicates that the local farmers cultivated HYV Boro ricein new fields without introducing any irrigation facilities.

a

b

c

Fig. 1. Rice cultivated area (million hectare) and flood affected area (%)(a) in Bangladesh, (b) Boro rice area with irrigated area, (c) in Assam.

Why they could successfully increase the cultivated areaof Boro rice without irrigation facilities after the severe
flood? A hypothesis can be proposed for explaining thefact. The cultivation of Boro rice normally starts from
December when the natural water is little available infields. Water supply is the most limiting factor for Bororice cultivation in the dry season. In flood years, residual
water may be available in fields even after flood season,and farmers can increase the cultivated area of Boro rice
by utilizing the residual water (Asada et al., 2005; Asada,2012).
In Assam, on the other hand, the change of rice cropping
system is relatively slow (Fig. 1c). Even in the severe
flood years of 1988, 2004 and 2007, the introduction of
Boro rice is very marginal. As the result, they still dependon Sali rice in the rainy season for most of the total
production, though the cultivated area of Boro rice isslowly increasing. Unlike with Bangladesh, rice cropping
system in Assam is still traditional with unstable annual
production highly affected by flood and drought. Why
they cannot increase the cultivated area of Boro rice
drastically like Bangladesh? The second hypothesis is that
residual water is not available in Assam after flood season
and they must wait for irrigation facilities fromgovernment for increasing Boro rice area.
The information of surface water variation will be the key
for solving the above questions in the lower Brahmaputrabasin. This study aims to investigate the mechanism of therecent changes of rice cropping system in Bangladesh andAssam by using the high-resolution surface water data.

The data of cultivated area and irrigated area of Aman,
Sali and Boro rice in district level in Bangladesh andAssam were also collected from Agricultural Departmentof each government.
Results and Discussion
Hydrological condition of Bangladesh and Assam by
LSWC data
LSWC data shows annual and seasonal variation of
surface water, but the data contains all kinds of surface
water including river channels, lakes, paddy fields andartificial canals. Therefore, anomaly value from 8-year
average was considered for the analysis (Fig. 2). In severe
flood years of 2004 and 2007, positive anomaly of LSWC
is seen during rainy season both in Bangladesh and Assam.
Negative anomaly of LSWC is seen in 2006 and 2009,
which means drought condition due to weak monsoon
activities.

a

Materials and Methods
Land surface water coverage (LSWC) data was used inthis study to investigate the seasonal and inter-annual
variation of surface water. The daily LSWC was
calculated in 10 km-grid resolution by combining theinformation from satellite-based sensors of MODIS andAMSR-E for the period from 2003 to 2010 (Takeuchi and
Gonzalez, 2009). LSWC data is shown in percentage ofwater coverage in each grid. The grid-level data wasconverted into country (state)-level and district-level datato compare with statistics of rice cultivation. The numberof districts used in this study is 20 in Bangladesh(excluding 3 districts in Chittagong Hill Tract insoutheastern part of the country) and 23 in Assam.
The data of flood affected area in Bangladesh and Assamwas obtained from Bangladesh Water Development Board(BWDB), Central Water Commission (CWC) in India,
respectively. The data indicates the annual flood affectedarea in percentages of the total geographical area. An area
to be included in the flood affected area needs only to be
flooded once during the considered monsoon season(Chowdhury, 2003). It was used to define the severe flood
years in each region.
The daily rainfall data was obtained from APHRODITE’s
Water Resources project (Asian Precipitation – HighlyResolved Observational Data Integration towards
Evaluationof
Water
Resources
project,
http://www.chikyu.ac.jp/precip/index.html). The 0.25degree grid-level rainfall data sets were calculated
primarily with data obtained from a rain-gauge
observation network (Yatagai, 2012). The grid data wasconverted into district-level data.

b

Fig. 2. Variation of LSWC in (a) Bangladesh and (b) Assam

When the positive anomaly of LSWC from June to
September is compared with the flood affected area data
for the period of 2003-2010, they show a good positive
correlation (Fig. 3). In the years when positive anomaly is
more, the flood affected area is more, and vice versa.
Therefore, the positive anomaly of LSWC is used as aflood index in this study.

Fig. 3. LSWC anomaly during June-September (X) and Floodaffected area (Y) for 2003-20010 in Bangladesh and Assam

26

Both in Bangladesh and Assam, LSWC value becomeslarger in summer season and smaller in winter, whichshows the seasonal variation of surface water associatedwith seasonal monsoon cycle. However, LSWC variationin Bangladesh shows a small peak in February, whenneither rainfall nor river water inundation occur. The
seasonal variation of mean LSWC in February seems to berelated with Boro rice transplantation (Fig. 4). In many
districts of Bangladesh, more LSWC increase fromJanuary to February means more Boro rice transplanted bysupplying irrigation water. In the coastal districts andnortheastern districts, however, LSWC in February does
not correspond to Boro rice area. In Khulna and Patuakhaliof the coastal districts, LSWC is high in February, but the
Boro rice area is little. LSWC in the districts may notindicate the irrigation water for Boro cultivation, but thebrackish water intrusion used for shrimp cultivation (Deb,1998). In Sylhet and Kishoreganj of the northeastern
Bangladesh, the surface water stays longer after flood
season due to depressing topographical structure in theregion (Johnson, 1982). Boro rice transplantation starts inthe decreasing water condition from January to February
without additional supply of irrigation water.

Regional classification by LSWC variation: Although
Bangladesh and Assam are situated in the lower
Brahmaputra floodplain and partly in the Ganges delta, thehydrological condition largely differs by district. Then, a
regional classification was examined by cluster analysis
for the 8-year mean LSWC variation of total 43 districts(Fig. 5). As the result, districts in Bangladesh and Assamwere classified into 5 regions (Fig. 6).

a

d

b

e

c

Fig. 6. Mean LSWC variation (%) in (a) Cluster I, (b) Cluster II, (c) Cluster III,(d) Cluster IV, (e) Cluster V.

Coastal districts and northeastern district in Bangladesh
belong to Cluster I where the LSWC is higher throughout
the year. LSWC exceeds 90 % in August and September,and does not fall below 20 % even in December. Districts
in eastern Bangladesh belong to Cluster II with higher
LSWC from June to October. Northwestern districts in
Bangladesh and some districts in Assam belong to Cluster
III with higher LSWC during shorter period in July andAugust. Districts in western Bangladesh and centraleastern Assam belong to Cluster IV where the LSWC isrelatively less except for July. Hilly districts and the most
upstream district in Assam belong to Cluster V where
LSWC is little throughout the year. From the downstream(Cluster I) to the upstream (Cluster V) of the lower
Brahmaputra basin, the surface water coverage gradually
decreases which suggests the effect of basin scale
topography.

Fig. 4. The change of mean LSWC from value on 1st January to highest
value in February (X) and Boro area (Y) in districts in Bangladesh andAssam. 1 Khulna district, 2 Patuakhali district, 3 Kishoreganj district, 4Sylhet district

Table 1. Characteristics of five clusters

Characteristics of five clusters were summarized in Table
1. The variation of annual rainfall among five clusters islittle, therefore, it can be said that the difference of mean
LSWC variation by clusters is mainly attributed totopography or soil condition rather than rainfall amount.
LSWC in rainy season is higher in Cluster I, II and III, but
the irrigation for Aman rice cultivation during the season
is little. This means LSWC in rainy season does not show
the artificial water, but the natural water including riverFig. 5. Regional classifications by cluster analysis of mean
LSWC variation27

inundation and rain water. On the contrary, irrigation for
Boro rice cultivation in dry season is higher in Cluster I, II,
III and IV which indicates artificial water contributes to
LSWC in the dry season, especially in February.
LSWC variation and Boro rice area in flood years
The influence of surface water on Boro rice area was
examined in each cluster region. The accumulated
anomaly of LSWC during June to September was used as
the flood index, and top two flood years were selected forcomposite analysis in each district from 2003 to 2009.

a

c

b

d

suggests that the amount of surface water is not the only
determining factor for increasing Boro rice area. The water
utilizing technology and other social factors are also
necessary for increasing Boro rice area in flood years.
In Assam, LSWC anomaly during June to September isrelatively less, and it sometimes becomes negative even inflood years (Fig. 8). The positive anomaly of LSWC
during post flood season is seen in districts of Cluster III
and IV though the anomaly is much less than that in sameclusters in Bangladesh. Therefore it can be considered that
surface water cannot stay longer even in flood years due totopography or soil condition, and farmers cannot use flood
water for Boro rice cultivation. In Assam, the accumulated
anomaly of LSWC during post flood season is much lessthan that of Bangladesh (Fig. 9b), and the increase or
decrease of Boro rice area is not related with the amountof surface water.

Fig. 7. LSWC anomaly (%) in flood years in Bangladesh. (a) Cluster I, (b) Cluster II, (c)Cluster III, (d) Cluster IV.

aFirst, districts in Bangladesh were examined (Fig. 7). In
districts of Cluster I, LSWC anomaly in flood years is
positive during both flood season (June-September) andpost flood season (October-January), but the anomaly is
not large. In districts of Cluster II, III and IV, positive
anomaly of LSWC continues in post flood season, whichindicates the residual water after flood. Not only in
districts of wetter region (Cluster II), but also in districtsof drier region (Cluster IV), surface water is available after
severe floods in Bangladesh. However, districts with more
LSWC anomaly in post flood season do not always show
the increase of Boro rice area (Fig. 9a). Districts withmoderate amount of accumulated LSWC anomaly (500700 %) show remarkable increase of Boro rice area, while
districts with little LSWC anomaly (< 500 %) and too
much LSWC (> 700 %) show little increase of Boro rice
area.

a

b

b

Fig. 9. LSWC anomaly during October to January (%) and Bororice area change (%) in flood years. (a) Bangladesh, (b) Assam.

cConclusion
This study investigated the role of surface water forincreasing Boro rice area in flood years in Bangladesh andAssam of the lower Brahmaputra basin by using thesatellite-based LSWC data. The hypothesis that farmers
used surface water after severe floods for Boro ricecultivation without introducing artificial irrigation waspartly true in Bangladesh. In fact, the LSWC anomaly
continued positive in October and November of post flood
season, which could be utilized for increasing Boro rice
area in some districts of Bangladesh. However, LSWC
anomaly became almost zero in December and January
and it again became positive in February of Boro ricetransplanting season. This means farmers did not use
residual water of floods directly for Boro rice cultivation
as surface water almost disappears before transplantingdFig. 8. LSWC anomaly (%) in flood years in Assam. (a) Cluster II, (b) Cluster
III, (c) Cluster IV, (d) Cluster V.

Among districts with moderate amount of surface water
during post flood season, increase of Boro rice area is notstable, but vary by district (Fig. 9a). Some districts show
remarkable increase of Boro rice area, but other districts
show only small increase of Boro rice even though theavailable amount of surface water is almost same. This
28

Chowdhury, M. R. 2003. The El Nino-Southern Oscillation(ENSO) and seasonal flooding - Bangladesh, Theoreticaland Applied Climatology, 76: 105-124.
Deb, A. K. 1998. Fake blue revolution: environmental and socioeconomic impacts of shrimp culture in the coastal areas of
Bangladesh. Ocean & Coastal Management, 41(1): 63-88.
Hofer, T. and Messerli, B. 2006. Flood in Bangladesh: history,
dynamics and rethinlking the role of the Himalayas, Tokyo:
United Nations University Press.
Johnson, B. 1982. Bangladesh, London: Heinemann Educational
Books.
Mowla, K. 1976. Relation between Climatic Fluctuation andRice Production in Bangladesh. In Takahashi, K. andYoshino, M. eds. Climatic Change and Food Production.
Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press, pp. 137-146.
Rahman, M.M. and Varis, O. 2009. Integrated water
management of the Brahmaputra basin: perspectives andhope for regional development, Natural Resources Forum
33: 60-75.
Takeuchi, W. and Gozalez, L. 2009. Blending MODIS andAMSR-E to predict daily land surface water coverage. In:proceeding of Internaional Remote Sensing Symposium(ISRS), Busan, South Korea.
Yatagai, A., Kamiguchi, K., Arakawa, O., Hamada, A., Yasutomi,
N. and A. Kitoh. 2012. APHRODITE: Constructing a Longterm Daily Gridded Precipitation Dataset for Asia based ona Dense Network of Rain Gauges, Bulletin of American
Meteorological Society, 93(9): 1401-1415.

season of Boro rice. Therefore, the water supplying
technology for Boro rice cultivation should be investigatedmore to reveal the link between surface water during post
flood season and field water used for Boro rice cultivationin February. The surface water is little seen after floods inmany districts of Assam, and the Boro rice did not show
significant increase like Bangladesh. Macro scale
topography of the basin or soil condition may be
responsible for the difference of surface water variation
between Bangladesh and Assam.
Acknowledgment: Part of this research was supported by
the Grant-in-Aid for JSPS Fellows (No.11J00348).
References
Asada, H. 2012. Climate and Rice cropping systems in the
Brahmaputra Basin: An approach to Area Studies on
Bangladesh and Assam, Rubi Enterprise, Dhaka.
Asada, H., Matsumoto, J. and Rahman, R. 2005. Impact of recent
severe floods on rice production in Bangladesh,
Geographical Review of Japan 78: 783–793.
Bhagabati, A. K. Bora, A. K. and Kar B. K. 2001. Geography ofAssam, New Delhi: Rajesh Publication.
Brammer, H. 1990. Floods in Bangladesh, I. Geographicalbackground to the 1987 and 1988 floods, situated in the
Brahmaputra basin 156: 12-22.

29

J. Agrofor. Environ. 11 (1 & 2): 31-33, 2017

ISSN 1995-6983

Causes and impact of migration from Brekha village, Trashigang Bhutan
Pema Lhendrup
Sherubtse College, Royal University of Bhutan, Bhutan
Abstract: In recent years the high rate of rural to urban migration has become alarming with the influx of more and more people into
urban areas from the rural areas. Against such a backdrop this paper studied and examined various causes of out-migration from the
Brekha village to the urban areas which resulted to rapid deterioration of agricultural production in the village leading to the escalationof per unit cost of agricultural production. A survey on 55 households comprising of 100 people was conducted in Brekha village. This
study revealed that from every household at least one or two members migrated to other parts of the country. Some of the family
members have moved permanently to other places while some others were seasonal.The causes of out-migration from the village werefor education, better standard of living, and drudgery of village lives. The outcome of rural migration was influx of employment seekers
in the urban job market and unavailability of enough work forces in the village thereby hampering pace of economic development in thevillage. Therefore, the Royal Government of Bhutan has recommended some measures to curb the migration from rural areas byproviding better facilities and trainings for the people living in the rural areas.
Key words: Impact, migration, Brekha village, Bhutan.

Introduction
Brekha is one of the villages under Khaling Gewog in
Eastern Bhutan under Trashigang district. The economy ofthe village is predominantly agriculture oriented. The
village has a primary school which is connected with afarm road. However, the village lacks health facilities aseven for a minor sickness. People have to go either toRiserboo Hospital which is 22 kms away or to BHU in
Tsangpo village which is around 10 kms away. “Migration
is a spatial mobility of people by changing usual place ofresidence to a well-defined destination” (National
Statistics Bureau, 2008). Migrant are defined as persons
who were enumerated in a place different from the place
where they were born. In other words, migration is the
movement of people from one geographical location toanother, involving permanent or temporary settlement.
Migration is one of the three components of population
change. Any change in the volume and flow of migration
will change the size, growth, and other characteristics ofthe population both in sending and receiving areas.
Migration within a country does not affect the total size ofthe population and growth rate but it affects regional andsub-regional population and growth rate within the country.
The migrants remit to the area of origin from the area ofdestination and thus at times migration have positive
impacts to their area of origin. (Stark, 1991). This in a way
leads to the diversification of income. Nevertheless,migration also has negative impacts as well. This casestudy was conductedto examine the cause and impact of
migration in Brekha Village, under Khaling Gewog,
Eastern Bhutan with the objectives (i) to find out the causeof rural migration and its impact and (ii) to give
recommendations to check the rate of migration from rural
areas.
Materials and Methods
A case study design was adopted in this research where
Brekha village was chosen as a case. The data for thisstudy were mainly collected through a survey from 55
households and 100 respondents. The respondents wereselected randomly. The primary data for the study weregathered through administering a structured questionnaire.
Existing literature were used for secondary data. Besides a
few statistical tools was used in this study.
Results and Discussion

Gender Distribution of Respondents: Survey data
revealed that 80% of the respondents were females while
only 20% were males. This shows that the majority of the
migrant from the village were the male folks and thosethat remain in the village were the females.
The study found out that most of the migrants were of
below 45 years of age. Those who have come back to thevillage to carry out the ancestral agricultural practices
were the elderly and the aged ones. This indicates thatpropensity to migrate was higher among the young andenergetic people (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1. Age distribution of respondents

Findings from the study also indicate that 75% of the
respondents have never attended any form of education,
20 % have attended non formal education programme andabout 5 % of the respondents have attended at least
primary education (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2. Educational qualifications of respondents

This shows that with the level of education, the inclination
to return back in the village was declining and the urge tomigrate to other areas was increasing. Gregg et al. (2000),
confirmed that people with higher levels of education, andthose working in managerial, professional and semi-

professional, were much more likely to migrate among
regions than other occupational groups.
Causes of Rural-Urban migration: The major causes ofrural-urban migration were identified as; search for better
wages, education, social stability, better technologies, andemployment and business opportunities. Others werepoverty, unemployment, crop failures and wildlife
encroachment (Fig. 3) to agricultural lands (Fig. 4),
inadequate social amenities and facilities in the rural areas
such as lack of water supply through pipe line, electricity,
good roads, hospitals, schools, vocational centres. The
respondents mentioned that their family members
migrated to the urban areas because of the following
reasons:

female enrolment into schools, the female migrants werealso increasing (Ministry of Agriculture, 2005).
iii) Seasonal Nature of Employment in Agriculture:
Like in any rural areas of the country the nature of theoccupation in the Brekha village was also seasonal. Oncethe crops were harvested the villagers remained
unemployed for most part of the year and it made difficult
for them to meet the basic necessities. So, to get rid of all
those troublesome nature, people have migrated to places
where they could get employed during their off season ofagricultural.
Impact of Migration: The study has revealed that among
the positive impacts, migration improved the standard ofliving in the village through the means of remittance fromthe migrants. It has also led to the reduction in the pressure
on the limited resources that were available in the village
when people moved out to the other areas.

Fig 3. Wildlife encroachment into the village

Fig 4. Abandoned houses and agricultural landsi) Unemployment in the rural areas: 70% of the
respondents said that due to unavailability of employment
opportunities or in other words, very limited job
opportunities; there was high influx of young andproductive age groups from rural areas to the urban areas.
These group of people who have migrated to the urban
areas were unskilled or semi-skilled and faceing difficultyin getting employed in urban areas as well, where there
were demands for skilled work force only. A study statedthateducated persons seeking employment opportunities
have high tendency to move because they have better
access to information about job opportunities (Nidup and
Lhendrup, 2009). Hence it has led to unemployment inurban areas on one hand and on the other hand theagricultural lands remained unattended back in the village.
Due to large scale migration, the labour force hasreducedin the village. Most of the migrants were men but women,
especially young women, also have moved to cities. As aresult, villages were increasingly populated by older
women, the elderly men, and children.
ii) Education: The other reason for moving out from thevillage to other urban places was mainly for theeducational purpose. This was because there was only acommunity primary school in the village. Once thechildren complete their primary education they move outof the village to pursue their education. The study also
found out that students despite the fact that they could
study up to primary level in their village, they move tourban places with their relatives as they were notadvantaged like their counter parts in the urban places who
have access to quality education, internet facilities andother better opportunities. With the increased rate of

Nevertheless, migration also hadsome negative impact aswell. Since the young and able people have tended to leave
the village (Fig. 4), it has created labour shortages in thepeak periods. Thereby, the labour shortage has led tounder utilization of the agricultural lands and some fields
which were cultivated in the past but left fallow for years
together and in the mean time have been covered by
Artemisia plants and other secondary growths (Fig. 5).

Fig 5. Growth of secondary forests after the agricultural farms were being left fallow

This has further led to increase in the encroachment by thewild animals like monkeys and wild boars even in theheart of the village (Fig. 3). With people moving out fromthe village, the density of the population has also
decreased. As a result of low-density and dispersed
population, the delivery of modern services has become
more costly than the urban areas which are denser innature. The other outcome of migration in the village waslack of enough children who wereof school going age. In
contrast to the urban areas, like in most of the villages in
Bhutan number of school going children in Brekha village

32also reduced yearly. Thus, there was no scope for up
gradation of the school (Fig. 6).

encourage the school drop-outs and retired civil servants
to go back to the village to carry out agricultural
farming.
2. The government and its development partners should do
everything in their power to create job opportunities foryouths in the agricultural sector.
3. To curb the rate of migration from the villages, some
growth centers should be set up in the villages rather
than concentrating in the urban areas only. This will in away or other boost up the economy of the rural people
as there will be a market where the village folks would
be able to sell their farm products at profitable prices.

Fig 6. A community school amidst scattered settlement

The rate of rural-urban migration has been accelerating inan alarming rate in the recent years, and its effect has been
felt in the urban areas where there was competition for the
resources as well as in the rural areas in which theagricultural lands remain unattended because of lack ofable and economically productive workforce. Hence, there
was a need by the government to put in place someeffective measures like the provision of the basic modern
facilities, and provision of employment of the productive
youths in the rural areas.

References
Gregg, P., Machin, S., and Manning, A. 2001. Moving for job
reasons, working
paper. Department of Economics,
University of Warwick.
Ministry of Agriculture, 2005. Rural-Urban migration in Bhutan.
Royal Government of Bhutan.
National Statistics Bureau, 2008. Socio-Economin and
Demographic Indicators 2005. Royal Government of
Bhutan. Thimphu.
Nidup, J. and Lhendrup, P. 2009. Migration in Bhutan:
Population Dynamics of Bhutan. An Occasional Publication
for Population and Development Studies, Sherubtse College,
Vol.1.
Stark, O. 1991. The Migration of Labor. Oxford and ambridge,
M.A.: Basil Blackwell.

Recommendations: On the basis of findings of the study,
the recommendations to check the rate of migration are as
follows:
1. The Government should provide employment
opportunities to the citizens of the rural areas, provide
compensation for crop damage by the wild animals ; and33

J. Agrofor. Environ. 11 (1 & 2): 35-40, 2017

ISSN 1995-6983

Climate change and its impact on health/livelihood of people’s lives in coastal island of Hatiya
under Noakhali district, Bangladesh
Md. Rafiqul Alam
Dwip Unnyan Sangstha, Hatiya, Noakhali, Bangladesh
Abstract: The study was carried out in Hatiya island and Subarnachar upzilas under Noakhali district to know the effect of climatechange and its impact on health as well as livelihood of the peoplels. A pre-structures questionnaire was used to coleect data from therespondends. Focus group discusstions (FGDs) were also made. It revealed that the climate change affect seriously the living andlivelihood of the coastal inhabitants. A good number of recommendations were made based on the findings of the study for mitigationand future strategin activities of the Govenment.
Key words: Climate change, livelihood, Hatiya island, Subarnachar, Noakhali district.

Introduction
Climate change is not just an environmental issue - it isalso a health issue. Since a large part of Bangladesh is
located just above the sea level, any rise in sea level may
lead to inundation of settled low-lying areas which forcing
people to relocate. In addition, intrusion of salt water may
cause problems for agriculture in a much larger area.
The major health threats posed on climate migrants due topoor air quality (indoor and outdoor), inadequate safe
water (arsenic contaminated and saline water), improper
sanitation, untreated solid waste, agro-chemical andindustrial effluents and overuse of renewable resources
such as forests and fisheries.
The World Bank (2006) suggests that these environmental
factors account for as much as 22 percent of the nationalburden of diseases in Bangladesh. The respiratory
infections and disease caused by poor air quality, bothindoor and urban, may contribute up to 10 percent of thetotal burden of disease. Diarrheal disease caused byinadequate access to safe water, lack of sanitation andpoor hygiene may contribute up to 10 percent of the total
burden of disease. Poor sanitation and industrial waste are
becoming threats to the environment.
Policies on adaptation and mitigation need to focus on
reducing people’s vulnerability to climate change,
supporting them by moving away from marginal areas andarranging alternative livelihoods to make them more
resilient.
As such, a field research is imperative to assess the present
status, challenges and coping mechanism of the local
people to have a clear understanding of the present andpotential vulnerabilities as well as way forward to address
them adequately. The findings of the study can greatly
help in policy advocacy as well as design and undertake
appropriate project interventions.
Objectives of the Study:
General objectives: To examine the empirical evidence
on the nature of present and possible climate-changeinduced health and migration challenges andvulnerabilities of the coastal people of Bangladesh withemphasis on women and children, as well as to understandtheir adaptive capacity to climate threats.
Specific Objectives: The specific objectives of the study
were as: (i) To compile evidence on the impact of climatechange and disasters on health and migration in the coastal
areas of Bangladesh, (ii) Understand people’s (especiallywomen and children’s) vulnerability, their adaptive
capacity and how government programmes and policy

influence can improve their ability to cope with futureclimate change, (iii) Identifying likely patterns of healthvulnerabilities, their impulses and the likely number ofpeople who will be vulnerable to climate change induced
health challenges, (iv) Identifying likely patterns of
migration, their impulses and the likely number of people
who will be vulnerable to climate change induced
migration, (v) Assessing human insecurities caused byclimate-change induced migration including impact on
livelihoods and income, loss of social capital, impact on
traditional coping mechanisms, impact on alreadymarginalized groups, (vi) Identifying adaptation
strategies and policies including options for nonmigration, (vii) Exploring governance and institutional
approaches that can support strategies to anticipate,prevent and, where necessary, manage climate-change
induced health and migration challenges.
Materials and Methods
Introduction to the study areas: The study was carriedout in one of the most vulnerable coastal districts of
Bangladesh namely Noakhali which is frequently get
victimed to different natural disasters caused by climatechange. Hatiya and Subarnachar Upazilas (Sub-districts)
of Noakhali district were covered in the study. Three
unions from each of the Upazillas were selected as thestudy areas.

Fig. 1. Location of Noakhali District in Bangladesh Map(Red Colored)
Noakhali District: Noakhali is one of the districtsof Chittagong Division in Bangladesh having a land area

of 3600.99 km2, and is bounded by the Comilla district in
the north, the Meghna estuary and the Bay of Bengal in
the south, Feni and Chittagong districts in the east, andLakshmipur is on the west (Fig. 1).
Hatiya and Subarnachar Upazillas (Sub-districts):
Hatiya is an island and also an Upazila of Noakhali
District having 10 Unions and 69 villages. The 1991
census of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS, 1991)
shows Hatiya has a population of 295501. Males constituteare 50.73% of the population, and females 49.27%. In thisUpazila's 18+ population is 125512. Hatiya has an average
literacy rate of 21% (7+ years), and the national average of
32.4% literate. It has 47970 units of household and total
area 1508.23 km². Subarnachar is one of the new Upazillas
under Noakhali District. It has 8 unions. Data werecollected using pre-structured questionnaire. Focus group
discussions (FGDs) were also done. Mean comparisonswere done by Duncan's Multiple Range Test (DMRT)(Gomez and Gomez, 1984) and also by Least Significant
Difference (LSD) test.

have only more than BDT 15,000 as monthly income. The
inhabitants of Subarna Char are relatively poorer than
Hatiya upazilla. The FGD participants said that thisincome is too insufficient to manage two meals a day let
alone educate the children and provide them with proper
medication, comfortable living and nutritious food andrecreation.
Cycle of sufferings at coastal areas

Results and Discussion
The common characteristics of the coastal areas:(i) crossed and influenced by the mighty rivers and the
Bay of Bengal, (ii) many river basin char lands where
flood, wave, diseases, Crop losses, safe water security etc.
are problems and risk, (iii) highly vulnerable to cyclone,
tidal surge and flood. Flood 2007 and cyclone SIDR 2007
caused heavy destruction and damages to people (30% ofhouseholds were heavily affected and over 25,000
households comprise of over 100 thousands population
lost homes, crops, movable assets, livestock and means ofincome), (iv) many people are landless, extreme poor andthe other poor population depend for livelihood mainly on
agriculture, agriculture related trading, fishing andlivestock rearing. Infra-structure, safe water, sanitation,
health care facilities, children schools and communication
are very poor and hard to reach. There are inadequate safe
shelter where the poor can go to save life and properties,(v) gender discrimination against women are high, people
are fatalist, superstitious and ignorant about their rights
and government essential services for them, (vi) people arelargely unaware about environment, pollution, climatechanges and negative impact. There is no strong feelingsof people that measures could be taken to reduce
vulnerability and risk of normal disasters and humaninduced disasters, (vii) people have inadequate knowledge,
system and means to develop linkages with governmentand other agencies to end their sufferings andmarginalization. Common people have wrong motivationfrom fundamentalist terrorist groups and controlled bysome persons of vested interest and their supporters.
Socio-Economic Condition: The socio-economic
condition of the coastal people is very poor, mostly
deprived of modern amenities of life and living. Most of
the respondents’ average monthly income is between BDT
2,500 to 4999 while 32% have BDT 5,000 to 7,499. Of the
respondents, 11% have an average monthly income of
BDT 7,500 to 9,999. Only 6% respondents have an
average income of BDT10, 000-14,999 and the least 2%

River Erosion, Sea Surge, Flood and Cyclone

Loss of house, crop, livestocks and property

Loss of cultivable fertile land

Low agricultural production for salinity

Temporary migration and frequent shifting

Unemployment and poverty

Inadequate access to govt. health services

Inadequate access to SSNP coverage

Lack of good infrastructure like schools

Inadequate security to life and property

Fig. 2. Cycle of sufferings at coastal areas
The condition of the living houses is also miserable in the
coastal areas since they have to repair or re-build theirhouses frequently as they get victimed to cyclones, floods
or sea surge now and then, at least once in a year. Eightynine percent houses are roofed with tin while 11% areroofed with straw. The floor of most of the houses (89%)is
also made of earth while only 11% have floors withcement composition. The study revealed that only 44% of
the respondents have their own cultivable land whereas
24% have to depend on ‘Borga’ (share cropping). Of the
respondents 5% have some leased land while 44% could
not respond in this regard meaning they have no land of
their own (Fig. 2). Most of the coastal people can be
categorized as the ‘poorest of the poor’ that have to losehuge properties almost every year due to various natural
disasters triggered by the impacts of climate changes.
Though a particular elite class has some sort of facilities
and amenities to modern life in the district towns, theinhabitants living in the coastal belts are almost deprivedof the same. They have no access to good food, quality
education, proper health care facilities, shelters andrecreation facilities. Every year, the coastal people arelosing their cultivable lands due to river erosion, sea surge
and flood. The fertile lands are turning into furrow andinfertile which are losing potentialities of producing
necessary crops (Fig. 2).
Frequent shifting and migration: The study shows
severe adverse effects of climate changes on the life andlivelihood of the people living in the coastal areas in termsof health and migration. All the respondents (100%) havementioned that they have to shift their dwelling places due
to river erosion, flood, sea surge and cyclones. It has been
revealed from the study that 59% respondents on anaverage have mentioned that they had migrated at least
once due to any of the aforesaid reasons while 20%
migrated 2-3 times, 9% for 4-5 times and 11% haveto
36migrate 6-10 times or more due to sternness of various
disasters triggered by the adversity of climate change (Fig.
3).

(ix) insecurity to the family members, loss of property andhouse-hold assets.
Unemployment and poverty are constant companions of
the people. The FGD participants mentioned that on
average the coastal people have to migrate 2 to 3 times
mainly due to river erosion. People have migrated fromoutside of embankment to inside of the embankment.
However, there are some positive sides of temporary
migration which include: (i) developing communication
and relationship with a new place and people, (ii)outsourcing for work and wages, (iii) gathering
information and developing knowledge on different areas
and work opportunities, (iv) saving the family members
from adverse effect of the disasters by earning somemoney.
The problems and difficulties the migrants have to faceare: (i) adjustment with a new place and environment, (ii)severe sufferings due to living at a very cheap costpreferably in slum or footpath, (iii) physical and mental
ailment, (iv) scarcity of safe water, break up of studies andliving amidst uncertainty, (v) unsecured life, (vi) lack offamilial care and love in a distant place.
The FGD participants also told that the women andchildren have been lagging behind the process of climatechange adaptation. It has been revealed from their
discussion that the health risks are on the rise due toclimate change. People have been experiencing new healthhazards for excessive heat, cold, rain, drought, huge dust
etc. Compared to health hazards and risks, the facilities of
the treatment are too inadequate even to serve one fourthof the coastal people under the study. The participants
mentioned that unavailability of qualified doctors and lackof modern health care facilities are the common
characteristics of the government hospitals in the coastal
areas. The FGD participants informed that it takes at least
two hours to reach the nearest hospital by boats. Thus, thecoastal people are almost deprived of health care facilities.
Health hazards: In the surveyed area, 38% respondents
thought that health hazards have been increased due toadverse effects of climate change while 57% respondents
have no idea of the same. Compared to other coastal
regions, the respondents of Hatiya had mentioned about
the health hazards more. The following health hazards
have been mentioned by the respondents which are given
below as per different age strata (Table 1).

Migration rate of the coastal people under the study
59%

20%
9%

1 Time2-3 Time

4-5 Time

8%

6-9 Time

3%
10 or more

Fig. 3. Migration rate of coastal areas people
Fourteen percent respondents have mentioned that theearning members of their families have to migrate
temporarily to a new place in quest of work and livelihood.
The temporarily migrant family-heads usually go to the
big cities including Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Comilla,
Noakhali and Narsingdi for seeking work. The FGD and
KII respondents mentioned that frequent floods, sea surges
and cyclones often cause heavy damage to the roads andcommunications system, human lives and live stocks,
properties, houses, trees and crops. Every year the coastal
people have to face the un-countable damages for which
they have to lead a miserable life. Finding no otheralternatives, a number of people get temporarily migrated
from their own locality and go to distant places like big
bustling cities, industrial and port areas in search of
livelihood. Such temporary absence of the family-heads
cause some problems and difficulties to their families
which are as: (i) can’t meet emergency needs of the family,(ii) family decision making is hampered due to the absenceof the family-heads, (iii) can’t support during the ailmentof the family members, (iv) female members of thefamilies especially the wives of the migrant people have toundertake much duties and responsibilities of the family
members, (v) facing social harassment and insecurity, (vi)dacoits and pirates possess a threat to many migrated
families, (vii) girls have to face teasing/social menace on
the way to schools/destinations, (viii) lack of legal support,

Table 1. Health hazards of the respondends according to their age category
For children
Adolescent boys
Adolescent girls
Pregnant Mothers
Lactating mothers
Aged people
Old age people

Fever, Diarrhea, extreme cold, Cough, Pneumonia, Skin Diseases
Fever, Diarrhea, Catching cold, Cough, Pneumonia, Skin Diseases, Asthma, Jaundice
Fever, Diarrhea, Catching cold, Cough, Pneumonia, Skin Diseases, Asthma, Jaundice, Menstrual Problem
Catching cold, Cough, Asthma, Breathing Problem, Headache, skin drying, Body bulging
Delay to cure wounded area, Hemorrhage, Ache in belly area, Skin diseases
High Blood Pressure, Diabetes, Fever, Asthma, Heart Attack, Cancer, Stroke, Skin Diseases
High Blood Pressure, Diabetes, Fever, Asthma, Heart Attack, Cancer, Stroke, Rheumatic Fever, Paralysis.

Apart from these, the respondents also mentioned that they
have been experiencing some sorts of diseases which were
new to them and might be caused due to severe effect ofclimate change. The ‘new diseases’ are Jaundice(Hepatitis), Lever disease, Asthma, influenza, viral fever
and other viral complexities, Diabetes, Heart Attack,
Stroke, Gastric Ulcer , Cancer etc.

The FGD participants mentioned that breathing problem
increased, some people are dying suddenly. These
problems did not happen earlier, as well as problem of
tonsil has been increased. For change in season system,
health risk has been increased.
The FGD participants said that pregnant women are facing
safe delivery problem and dysentery. They are underhealth risk due to scarcity of safe water and poverty as37well as very little health services. Facilities of vaccination
are inadequate.
Situation of water, sanitation, health and hygiene(WASH): The coastal people are surrounded by water but
it is a fact that they have to undergo severe crisis of puredrinking and useable water. The findings of the study
show that all the two Upazilas under study have the sameproblem in similar manner since a total of average 68% of
the respondents have no safe water sources at their homewhile only 32% have that. Out of 32% safe source ofwater, 14% have hand tube-wells while the left 18% havedeep tube-wells (Fig. 4).

the last five year period. Choosing from multiple options
for mentioning the damages, the highest (71%) responses
have come on the damage of trees while 58% responses
were about the damages of crops, 39% were about thedeath of livestock, and 23% were about the damage of fish
cultivation.
The respondents mentioned that they have to leave withsome common natural disasters which hit them almost
every year and make them huge looses in terms ofproperty and in some cases human lives. The following
graph shows the five major threats to normalcy of life in
the coastal areas (Fig. 6).
Five Fears of Coastal Areas

Yes
32%

No

Storms andFlood isflood hit
Water surge
coming withevery year
hits every
more andyear
more heights

Increasing
floods68%

Cyclones hit
almost oncea yearFig. 6. Five fears of coastal areas
Facilities in the shelter centres: The respondents toldthat the distance of the cyclone shelters is most likely 0.5
km to the highest 3 km away from their homes. Twenty
two percent respondents mentioned that the roads to theshelters are earthen and uneven. As per the statements ofmost of the respondents (91%), the shelters have no any
special arrangement for the women and children. Almost
all the respondents (92%) think that the women do not feel
free to go to the cyclone shelters during disasters. All the
respondents said that there was no special system forcarrying the old aged/physically handicapped people to thecyclone shelters. Not only that, there was also no special
arrangement for the old/physically handicapped people atthe shelters. The respondents also mention that there is no
facility to keep the livestock at the shelter centres (Fig. 7).

Fig. 4. Having safe source of water at home

The people having no safe source of water have to collectwater from a distance of 0.25 to 2 km. causing a serious
misery and waste of time. Moreover, 13% respondents
informed that they have to face harassment in collecting
water from the distannt place. Of the respondents, 17%
think that the availability of safe water has decreased
during the last five year’s period which might be causedby the impact of climate change.
In case of any sickness, 86% people use to consult withquack doctors while only 12% visit doctors at the Upazilla
Health Complex. Regarding use of the latrines, 55% toldthat they have to use non-sanitary latrines whereas 45%
use sanitary ones (Ring-slab). None of the respondents use
open places for defecation.
The study also revealed that 31% respondents use footwear while they go to latrine but 68% use the foot-wear
regularly while they go latrine. The inhabitants of Subarna
char use foot-wears occasionally. Majority of the
respondents (59%) informed that they have not washedtheir hands with soap after use of latrine while 39% havepracticed that (Fig. 5).

'10 Nos' to a Shelter House: Common Characteristics
No separate toilet for women and children

No special food for the carrying women

No special care for the aged, ailed and babies

No privacy for the women

No baby food available

No recreation facilities

No suitable treatment facilities

No suitable taring on life-skills

No space for livestocks

No space for perserving properties/valuables

Comparative state of using sanitary latrine in the threeareas
MonpuraSubarnachar

UnsanitaryFig. 7. Characteristics in shelter centres

Sanitary

The FGD participants mentioned that there are some
privacy arrangements for women and separate toilets areavailable for them. The FGD and KII findings show thatthe shelter houses are not secured. They have no separate
toilet arrangements and privacy for the women andchildren. There is no opportunity of the baby food and thespecial care provisions for the patients, persons withdisabilities and old aged people.

Hatiya

0

20

40

60

80

100

Fig. 5. Comparative state of using sanitary latrine
Loses due to disaster in 5 years: The study revealed that86% respondents have been victims of any disaster during
38Perceived impact of climate change: The respondents
possessed mixed understanding about the impact of theclimate change; Ninety five percent of them thought thatclimate change increased temperature of summer while
5% thought the reverse. Ninety three percent thought thattemperature of winter has increased while 7% thought thereverse. Fifty seven per cent respondents thought that theclimate change increased rain fall while 43% thought thatit has decreased (Fig. 8).

remaining 32% respondents have mentioned that they had
not known about this. The people inhabited in Subarnachar
are less affected with the problems than the other Upazila.
The problems mentioned as: (i) Unavailability of fish, (ii)
Water pollution in rivers, (iii) Increasing salinity, (iv)
Irregular raining, and (v) Leaving no fish forreproduction/lack of brood fish.
Apart from these, the sudden sea surges are the causes ofclaiming lives of many fishermen every year. Floods andcyclones also create barriers and uncertainty in catchingfishes smoothly.
Changes in homestead trees: Of the respondents, 36%
mentioned that they have noticed changes in homestead
trees while 22% responded reversely and 43% said thatthey have not known about the same. These changes havebeen mentioned in both upazilas in almost similar way.
The changes mentioned as: (i) Inadequate growth of plants,(ii) Less fruits in trees, (iii) Disease infestations, (iv) Trees
are dying unusually, (v) Insect attacks, and (vi) Fruits are
falling in green.
Disaster signals: The 86% respondents told that thedisaster signals are available to get in their regions while
14% told the reverse. The mass media like TV and Radio
were the most important media of availing the signal
related information as per the 57% respondent’s views.
While miking (use of loud speaker) was also very usefulforinforming the people about disasters as per the 42% of
the respondent’s views.
Awareness of climate change: The study shows thatmajority of the respondents (56%) did not hear about theclimate change while the rest of the respondents (44%)
told that they heard about the matter. The ratio of the
respondents from the two Upazillas having heard of theissue is almost similar. Mass media like television andradio have played significant role in informing the peopleof the climate change issues while interpersonal channels
like UP Chairman/members, NGO representatives,
government officials and relatives have also significant
role in informing the people about climate change impact.
The study revealed that television was the highest
mentioned mass media of dissemination of climate change
related information to the people.
The FGD participants said that various government
services were extremely inadequate except some healthservices which were inadequate. The situation at Nijum
dwip was worse.
Availability of social infrastructure: All the respondents
said that they have schools in their villages and most of thefamilies under survey have school going children who are
the regular students. Only 39% respondents mentionedthat they have community clinic in their localities whilemost of them told that the community clinic have nomodern treatment facilities and specialized doctors for thecommunity people. The services of the community clinics
are only limited to rendering primary health care facilities.
It has been revealed from the interviews that thecommunity people have government offices like otherupazillas, but they are not effective enough to address theshocks of climate changes. Most of the government offices
perform their routine jobs rather serving the community
people. Most of the respondents (65%) have mentioned

Perceived Impact of Climate Chnage
Increasing

Rain

57%

Decreasing

43%

Cold

93%

7%

Hot

95%

5%

Fig. 8. Perceived impact of climate change
Forty three percent respondents thought that the climatechange has decreased the crop production in their areas
while 36% did not know about that. However, 21%
directly opposed that.Twenty eight percent respondents
told that they have noticed changes in agriculture in thelast five years while the rest of the respondents (72%)
have responded reverse. As per the statements of the
respondents, all the changes are negative which include:
falling of rice during harvesting, less production,
decreasing fertility, crop production hampered due toincreasing salinity and disasters.
The FGD participants informed that 80% people were
under risk of migration due to increasing salinity, lack ofsocial security, attacks of dacoits and pirates. Fishes are
not available timely, fishermen are having less income.
Fertility of land has been decreased, rain does not cometimely, and these are causing less crop production. The KII
and FGD participants reported that the adverse impacts ofthe climate changes have brought severe change in thesystem of ‘Season Cycle’ of the Bangladesh. Due to theadverse effects of the climate change, rain, weather andother basic elements of nature which are essential for
growing crops and plants have been affected. As a result,people are suffering due to rising imbalanced situation inthe ‘eco-system’.
Problem of maintaining livestock: In maintaining
livestock 31% respondents told they face problems while
32% said reversely. A remarkable proportion of the
respondents (37%) do not know about the same. The
people inhabited in Subarnachar were less affected withthe problems than the other Upazila. The respondents
mentioned that they have been facing different problems
due to climate change as: (i) Scarcity of grass and otherfodder, (ii) Water-logging, (iii) Small space for cattle
rearing, (iv) Diseases, and (v) Blistering.
Problem with fishing: In catching fishes, 33%
respondents said that they had to face problem due toclimate change while 36% of the same opposed and the39that they did not receive government services easily while
only the 35% received them easily. The respondents havebeen lagging behind in receiving the government services
than other upazilas. The respondents have mentioned somereasons for not getting services from the government
offices which include: people’s ignorance of the services;lack of understanding between the community people andservice providers; people do not know the service
providers’ irresponsibility of the designated government
officials; priority of the rich etc. (Fig. 9).

(i) Developing social infrastructures like construction ofmodern shelter houses, rich community clinics,
education and training centers for supporting thedisaster-hit people.
(ii) Creating of greenery through proper afforestation
activities under the existing ‘green belt’ initiatives.
(iii) Creating mass awareness about the impacts of climatechanges and its apparent threats and adaptation
techniques.
(iv) Construction of durable embankments, switch gate
and cross dams as per the felt needs of the communities.
(v) Development of communication and signaling system
for accurate and timely weather forecasts.
(vi) Improving of the water and sanitation (WATSAN)
system in the coastal regions.
(vii) NGOs, civil society and mass media should work
collaboratelyon community wise disaster preparedness.
(viii) Initiating disaster resilient crop production.
(ix) Resolving land related disputes through appropriate
settlement and rehabilitation of the sufferers.
(x) Generate alternative employment opportunities by the
GO-NGO partnership.
(xi) Legal support to ensure social security.
(xii) Minimizing river erosion appropriately.
(xiii) Setting up educational institutions and other social
infrastructures on the comparatively high land.
(xiv) Strengthening the local government and ensuringsocial security in the coastal region.
(xv) Protecting life and property of the coastal people
through developing law and order.
(xvi) Enhancing social safety net programmes for thecoastal areas.
(xvii) Supplying drought and salinity resistant seeds
considering soil fertility.
(xviii) Planting trees befitting with the environment of theregion.
(xix) Strengthening family planning and reproductive
health activities.
(xx) Building more cyclone shelter houses in the mostgender friendly atmosphere which will ensure facilities
for the children, carrying and lactate mothers, PWDs,
elderly people and adolescent girls.
(xxi) Setting up sanitary latrines and campaigning on goodpractices o health & hygiene.
(xxii) Improving communications system inside thevillages and unions; and with national communication
network.

Reasons mentioned for not getting services from thegovernment offices
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%

33%
24%

22%
16%
5%

Don't know Do not know Irresponsibility The rich got Not mentioned
about rights in the service
of officers
priority
services
providersFig. 9. Reasons for not getting Govt. office services
Only 15% respondents said that they have known the govt.
steps/guidelines regarding disaster management whilemost of the respondents 85% have no idea about the same.
Only 14% respondents felt satisfaction about the govt.
activities for the management of climate change induced
disasters while 86% said the reverse.
Only 18% respondents said that they knew the union
disaster management committee (UDMC) while 82% ofthem were not aware of the UDMC. The respondents
mentioned that they have known about the following
activities of the UDMC:
The UDMC used to do different activities are: (i) Mass
Awareness, (ii) Red-Crescent members are in thecommittee, (iii) Provide trainings for disaster preparedness,(iv) Do meetings, (v) Do relief works, and (vi)Disseminating disaster signals.
Only 20% of the respondents said that the UP chairman/
members did some functions regarding disastermanagement while 80% said that the UP members/
chairmen didnot do anything or the respondents were notaware of the matter. The respondents said that the UP
chairman/members do different activities are: (i) Helppeople, (ii) Mass awareness, (iii) Water & sanitation
works, (iv) Make list for relief distribution, and (vi)Dissemination of disaster signals.
Only 23% respondents said that there havebeen NGO
activities in their village for disaster management due
toclimate change. They mentioned the different NGO
activities are: (i) Micro credit, (ii) Mass awareness, (iii)
Water supply, (iv) Sanitary latrine supply, (v) Relief
distribution, (vi) Disseminating disaster signals, and (vi)Construct houses.
Recommendations:

References
BBS 2007. Statistical Yearbook of Bangladesh. Bangladesh
Bureau of Statistics. Statistics and Information Division,
Ministry of Planning. Govt. People's Repub. Bangladesh,
Dhaka.
Gomez, K.A. and Gomez, A.A. 1984. Statistical Procedure for
Agricultural Research Institute. John voiley and Sons, New
York, Chickester Brisbane, Torento, Singapore. pp. 139-240.

40

J. Agrofor. Environ. 11 (1 & 2): 41-47, 2017

ISSN 1995-6983

Sustainable utilization of fishery resources in the Andaman coastal areas, southern Thailand
Yoshimi Fujioka, Chumpol Srithong1, Ryuichi Tabuchi2, Makoto Sano2, and Pipat Patanaponpaiboon3
National Research Institute of Aquaculture, Fisheries Research Agency, Mie 516-0193, Japan, 1Faculty of Fisheries,
Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900, Thailand, 2Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Ibaraki 305-8687,
Japan, 3Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
Abstract: Mangrove swamps provide rich diversity and high productivity of fishery resources and other fundamental ecologicalservices for local inhabitants living in the coastal regions. We demonstrated in this study, fishing activities observed in front ofmangrove swamps of the Andaman coastal areas, Ranong province, southern Thailand, to reveal the relationships between wetlands andthe livelihood of local inhabitants, and discussed appropriate strategies to use sustainably the fishery resources. During the last 41 years,
areas of natural mangrove forests decreased drastically, whereas areas of reservoirs, aquaculture ponds and aquaculture cages werelargely increased due to the development of irrigation systems and aquaculture technologies. In Kamphuan village, 11.8-25.2 % ofhouseholds were involved in fishing activities at the coastal waters in front of mangrove swamps. A total of 92 commercial fish species
belonging to 46 families and 13 orders and a total of 48 commercial invertebrate species belonging to the 29 families, 15 orders and 5phyla were classified into the taxonomic lists, most of which were the marine or brackish water species. Fishermen of Kamphuan village
captured crabs, shrimps, squids, cuttlefishes, jellyfish, sand borer, sardines, mackerels, and some other fishes by means of various
indigenous fishing gears. Shrimp net was the most popular fishing gear in this areas, followed by crab net, fish net, cuttlefish trap andfish trap. The efficient use of the indigenous fishing gears depended on understanding of fish behaviors, habitat and seasonalenvironmental conditions. Fishing gears and the target fishes were considerably different among the communities. By sharing the fishinggears, the fishing grounds and the target species, local inhabitants could avoid competition for fishery resources each other, andconsequently, utilize sustainably natural fishery resources in the coastal areas.
Key words: Fishery resources, fishing gear, coastal fishery, mangrove, Andaman sea.

Introduction
In the tropical coastal regions, mangrove swamps areplaying important roles for aquatic organisms to supply
breeding sites, spawning sites, nursery grounds andpotential sources of food. They provide rich natural
resources and other fundamental ecological services for
local inhabitants living in the coastal regions. In particular,
fishery resources support their livelihood to obtain protein
sources and stable cash income. Understanding theirroutine fishing activities as well as diversity andproductivity of fishery resources are important to promotesustainable utilization of the mangrove swamps.
In coastal regions, however, mangrove forests decreased
drastically due to intensive shrimp aquaculture, charcoal
making, urbanization and some other reasons (Hogarth
1999, Barbier and sathirathai, 2004, Patanaponpaiboon
2010). As the result, capture fishery production decreased
remarkably in coastal regions of Thailand (DOF 2008,
FAO 2010, 2011). Appropriate management andconservation of the mangrove swamps and the coastal
areas are utmost important for utilizing sustainably thefishery resources.
We demonstrated in this study, fishing activities observedin front of mangrove swamps of the Andaman coastal
areas, southern Thailand, to reveal the relationships
between fishing activities and livelihood of local
inhabitants, and discussed appropriate strategies to utilize
sustainably the fishery resources, following the previous
studies (Fujioka et al. 2010b, 2012).
Materials and Methods
We studied fishing activities in the Andaman coastal
areas of the southern Thailand. Study sites were selected at
the mangrove swamps and the shallow coastal areas infront of Kamphuan and Naka villages, Suksamran district,Ranong province, the Kingdom of Thailand (Fig. 1). This
areas is located near the Myanmar border, and is wellknown as one of the largest production centers of fisheryresources in southeastern Asia. The mangrove forests andthe benthic organisms have been investigated for several
years in and around the Andaman coastal research station
for development (Ranong coastal resources researchstation) (9°22'37"N, 98°23'53"E), Kasetsart University, by
our survey teams (Matsumoto et al., 2006, Tabuchi 2010,
Fujioka et al., 2010a, Sano et al., 2012).
In this study, we demonstrated that (1) aquatic organisms
and fishery resources, (2) fishing activities in the coastal
areas, and (3) livelihood of fishermen from the biological,
fisheries and social scientific standpoints, respectively. In
addition to administrative information about populationand fishery statistics of Kamphuan and Naka villages, we
obtained knowledge about local fisheries by interviewing
village mayor and every community leaders. Furthermore
we carried out systematic questionary investigation for 22
fishermen of the Kamphuan village and 8 fishermen of the
Naka village to obtain detailed knowledge about fishinggrounds, fishing gears, fishery production and otherroutine activities. Land use in the coastal areas of
Suksamran district was investigated based on the Sano's(Sano et al., 2012) landscape analysis using the aerial
photograph and satellite image during the last 41 years
from 1966 to 2007.
This study was implemented in collaboration andcoordination among several Japanese and Thailand
research institutes; that is, National Research Institute of
Aquaculture, Japan (NRIA), Forestry and Forest Products
Research Institute, Japan (FFPRI), Kasetsart University,
Thailand (KU) and the Chulalongkorn University,
Thailand (CU).

Fig. 1. Map of southern Thailand
2004). Fish aquaculture technologies by means of floating
cage were also developed in recent years at the brackish
waters around the mangrove estuaries.
In Kamphuan village, Ranong province, 5,695 inhabitantsof 1,647 households were living in seven coastal
communities; that is, Talay Nork, Tub Nua, Kamphuan,
Ta Klang, Suk Samran, ToanKhoa and Hat Sai Khao
(Table 1). Among them 199 households engaged infisheries. In the four main fishermen villages, Talay Nork,
Kamphuan, Ta Klang and Had Sai Khao, 11.8-25.2 % ofhouseholds were involved in fishing activities at thecoastal waters in front of mangrove swamps. Most
fishermen had their own fishing boats, and a total of 261
fishing boats were present in the Kamphuan village. Fiveof them were the medium-sized vessels of about 17-34
metric tons and the remaining 256 were small boats lessthan 1 metric ton.
Commercial fish species and commercial invertebrate
species found in the coastal areas of Ranong province
were classified into the taxonomic lists (Table 2, Table 3),
which were based on the present study, comprehensive
study about molluscan fauna (Fujioka et al., 2007) andfield survey of fish marketing system (Fujioka,
unpublished). Thereby, in addition to captured fishes andcultured fishes, fishes sold in local and central markets
were included in the lists. A total of 92 commercial fish
species belonging to 46 families and 13 orders were
hitherto identified (Table 2). A total of 48 commercial
invertebrate species belonging to the 29 families, 15 orders
and 5 phyla were also hitherto identified (Table 3). Mostof them were marine or brackish water species, and there
were a few freshwater ones.

Results and Discussion
Sano et al.(2012) demonstrated land use in the coastal
areas of Kamphuan village, Ranong province, based on thelandscape analysis using the aerial photograph and satellite
image. They classified approximately 120 km2 coastal
areas into 22 categories as shown in Fig. 2. Areas ofnatural forests (terrestrial forest, terrestrial shrub,
mangrove forest, mangrove shrub and swamp forest)
decreased from 52.4 % (6429.4 ha) to 37.7 % (4626.8 ha)during the 41 years from 1966 to 2007, in which themangrove forests decreased remarkably from 797.6 ha to
53.9 ha. Whereas artificial changes were predominantly
found in the areas of rubber and palm plantation,
construction of villages and roads and aquaculture
facilities.
Based on the landscape analysis of satellite image in 1997,
spatial configuration of four categories concerning water
systems; that is, river/sea, reservoir, aquaculture pond andaquaculture cage, was redrawn and separately exhibited inFig. 2. Complicated water network of river tributaries wasobserved in the coastal areas since the mangrove swamps
were topographically very flat and little difference inelevation. Although there was nothing areas for the latter
three categories, reservoir, aquaculture pond andaquaculture cage, in 1966 (Sano et al. 2012), the areas
increased to 22.9 ha, 295.5 ha and 54.2 ha, respectively,
in 2007 (Fig. 2), due to the development of irrigation
systems and aquaculture technologies in recent years.
Intensive shrimp culture technologies for Penaeus
monodon and P. vannamei spread throughout the southeast
Asia over the last three decades and a lot of mangrove
forests changed to the aquaculture ponds (Barbier et.al.
42

Fig. 2. Land use and water systems of Suksamran district, Ranong province, in 1997.
Fishermen of Kamphuan village captured crabs (Portunus
pelagicus, P. sanguinolentus, Charybdis feriatus andThalamita crenata), shrimps (Penaeus merguiensis and P.
spp.), squids (Sepioteuthis lessoniana, Photololigo
duvauceli and P. chinensis), cuttle fishes (Sepia pharaonis
and S. spp.), and borer (Sillago sihama), sardines(Amblygaster clupeoides), mackerels (Rastrelliger
kanagurta), shads (Anodontosto machacunda), scads(Selarcrumenoph thalmus), snappers (Lutjanus russelliiand L.spp.), goatfishes (Parupeneus heptacanthus),
jellyfish (Lobonemoides rubustus and L. spp.) and Mysis(Mysis spp.). Besides, fishermen cultured some kinds offishes and shells in the aquaculture cages along the riverside near the mangrove estuaries; that is, giant seaperch(Latescal carifer), John's snapper (Lutjanus johnii), greasy
grouper (Epinephelus tauvina and E. coioides), niletilapia(Oreochromis niloticus) and green mussel (Perna viridis).
In the coastal aquaculture ponds, intensive shrimp culture
for Penaeusvan namei and P. monodon were carried out.
Fishing gears observed in Kamphuan village were shownin Fig. 3. They operated various kinds of fishing gears;
that is, shrimp net {Fig. 3 (1)}, crab net {Fig. 3 (2)}, sandborer net {Fig. 3 (3)}, sardine/mackerel net (Fig. 3 (4)),
squid net (Fig. 3 (5)), cuttlefish trap {Fig. 3 (6)}, fish trap
{Fig. 3 (7)-(9)}, crab trap {Fig. 3 (10)}, push net (Fig. 3(11)), scoop net (Fig. 3 (12)), handy dredge {Fig. 3 (15)}and other miscellaneous fishing gears. Aquaculture pond
{Fig. 3 (13)} and aquaculture cage {Fig. 3 (14)} were also
shown in Fig. 3. The efficient use of the indigenous
fishing gears, especially trap fishing gears, depended onunderstanding of fish behaviors, habitat and seasonalenvironmental conditions.
Based on the administrative information about fisheries,
fishing gears operated in seven communities of Kamphuanvillage and one neighboring community (Bang KruaiNok)of the Naka village were summarized in Fig. 4. Except forthe small fishing gears (push net, scoop net and handy
dredge), a total of 474 fishing gears were recognized inthis areas. Shrimp net was the most popular fishing gear inthis areas, followed by crab net and fish net, all of whichwere the kinds of gill nets and common in easy operation,
simple structure and low investment cost. The length, theheight and the mesh size were different according to thetarget species. Cuttlefish trap and fish trap included
43

several types of cage traps and were also popular in thisareas.

Table 1. Population composition and fishermen in Kamphuan village, Ranong province.
No.

Village name

1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Talay Nork
Tub Nua
Kamphuan
Ta Klang
Suk SamranToan Khoa
Hai Sai Khao
Total

Population

No. of household

264
1397
1255
1367
567
284
561
5695

74
422
321
364
167
65
234
1647

Fisherman household
number
%
13
17.6
27
6.4
38
11.8
59
16.2
1
0.6
2
3.1
59
25.2
199
12.1

No. of boat
15
29
56
74
2
2
83

Table 2 Commercial fish species in the Andaman coastal areas of Ranong province, southern Thailand.
Phylum Chordata
Clas s Chondrichthyes
Order Lamniformis
Family Sphyrnidae
Sphyrna lewini (Griffith & Smith, 1834)
Order Carcharhiniformes
Family Carcharhinidae
Rhizoprionodon acutus Rüppell, 1837
Order Rajiformis
Family Rhinobatidae
Rhynchobatus djiddensis (Fors s kal, 1775)
Family Das yatididae
Dasyatis zugei (Muller and Henle,1841)
Himantura imbricata (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)

Clas s Os teichthyes
Order Clupeiformes
Family Clupeidae
Tenualosa toli (Valenciennes , 1847)
Tenualosa macrura (Bleeker, 1852)
Anodontostoma chacunda (Hamilton, 1822)
Amblygaster clupeoides Bleeker, 1849
Family Chirocentridae
Chirocentrus nudus Swains on, 1839
Family Engraulidae
Stolephorus indicus (van Has s elt, 1823)
Stolephorus s p.
Thyssa s p.
Order Elopiformes
Family Megalopidae
Megalops cyprinoides (Brous s onet, 1782)
Order Anguilliformes
Family Muraenes ocidae
Congresox talabon (Cuvier, 1829)
Order Gonorynchiformes
Family Chanidae
Chanos chanos (Fors s kal, 1775)
Order Siluriformes
Family Ariidae
Netuma thalassinus (Ruppell, 1837)
Family Plotos idae
Plotosus canius Hamilton, 1822
Plotosus lineatus (Thunberg, 1787)
Order Myctophiformes
Family Synodontidae
Saurida undosquamis (Richards on, 1848)
Order Beloniformes
Family Hemiramphidae

Family Carangidae
Elagatis bipinnulata (Quoy & Gaimard, 1825)
Seriolina nigrofasciata (Ruppell, 1829)
Scomberoides lysan Fors s kal, 1775

Scallop ed hammerhead shark

Milk s hark

Giant guitarfis hPale-edged s tingray
Scaly whipray

Toli s had
Longtail s had
Chacunda gizzard s had
Bleeker's smoothbelly sardinella

Whitefin wolf-herring
Indian anchovy
Anchovy
Tys s aIndo-Pacific tarpon

Yellow pike conger

Milkfis hGiant s ea catfis hGray eel catfis h, Eel catfis hStriped eel catfis hBrus htooth lizardfis hHyporhamphus melanopterus Collette & Parin, 1978 Blackfinned halfbeak

Hyporhamphus quoyi (Valenciennes , 1847)
Order Perciformes
Family Mugilidae
Liza vaigiensis (Quoy & Gaimard, 1825)
Liza subviridis (Valenciennes , 1836)
Valamugil buchanani (Bleeker, 1853)
Family Cichlidae
Oreochromis niloticus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Oreochromis niloticus var.

Family Sphyraenidae
Sphyraena obstusata Cuvier, 1829
Family Polynemidae
Polydactylus plebeius (Brous s onet, 1782)
Polydactylus indicum (Shaw, 1804)
Family Centropomidae
Lates calcarifer (Bloch, 1790)
Family Ambas s idae
Ambassis s p.
Family Serranidae
Epinephelus coioides (Hamilton, 1822)
Epinephelus tauvina (Fors s kal, 1775)
Family Priacanthidae
Priacanthus tayenus Richards on, 1846
Family Sillaginidae
Sillago sihama (Fors s kal, 1775)
Sillago aeolus (Jordan & Evermann, 1902)
Family Rachycentridae
Rachycentron canadum (Linnaeus , 1766)

Quoy's garfis h

Squaretail mullet
Greenback mullet
Bluetail mullet
Nile tilap ia
Tap timObtus e barracuda
Striped threadfin
Indian threadfin
Giant s ea perch
Perchlet, Glas s fis hOrange-s potted grouper
Greas y grouper
Purple-s potted bigeye
Silver s illago
Oriental trumpeter whiting
Cobia

44

Rainbow runnerBlackbanded trevally
Doubles potted gueenfis hScomberoides commersonnianus Lecep ede, 1801
Talang gueenfis h
Decapterus maruadsi Tamminck & Schlegel, 1843
Japanes e s cad
Decapterus russelli (Ruppell, 1830)
Indian s cad, Round s cad
Selar boops (Cuvier, 1833)
Oxeye s cad
Selar crumenophthalmus (Bloch, 1793)
Bigeye s cad
Yellowtail s cad
Atule mate (Cuvier, 1833)
Selaroides leptolepis (Cuvier, 1833)
Yellows tripe s cad
Megalaspis cordyla (Linnaeus , 1758)
Torpedo s cad
Caranx ignobilis (Fors s kal, 1775)
Giant trevally
Caranx melampygus (Cuvier, 1833)
Bluefin trevally
Carangoides coeruleopinnatus (Ruppell, 1830) Coas tal trevally
Carangoides ferdau (Fors s kal, 1775)
Blue, trevally
Carangoides hedlandensis (Whitley, 1934)
Bumpnos e trevally
Alectis ciliaris (Bloch, 1787)
African pompano
Family Leiognathidae
Leiognathus decorus (De Vis , 1884)
Decorated ponyfis hLeiognathus equulus (Fors s kål, 1775)
Common ponyfis hLeiognathus s p.
Ponyfis h
Secutor insidiator (Bloch, 1787)
Pugnos e ponyfis hFamily Lobotidae
Lobotes surinamensis (Bloch, 1790)
Tripletail
Family Gerreidae
Gerres filamentosus Cuvier, 1829
Whipfin s ilver-biddy
Family Sciaenidae
Nibea semifasciata Chu, Lo & Wu, 1963
Sharpnos e croaker
Bigeye croaker
Pennahia anea (Bloch, 1793)
Family Mullidae
Parupeneus heptacanthus (Lacepède, 1802)
Cinnabar goatfis hFamily Lutjanidae
Lutjanus johnii (Bloch, 1792)
John's s napper
Lutjanus malabaricus (Bloch & schneider, 1801)
Malabar blood s napper
Lutjanus monostigma (Cuvier, 1828)
Ones pot s napper
Lutjanus russellii (Bleeker, 1849)
Rus s ell’s s napper
Lutjanus sebae (Cuvier, 1816)
Emperor red s napper
Family Pomadas yidae
Pomadasys k aak an (Cuvier, 1830)
Javelin grunter
Diagramma pictum (Thunberg, 1792)
Painted s weetlips
Family Terapontidae
Terapon jarbua (Fors s kål, 1775)
Cres cent perch
Family Nemipteridae
Nemipterus hexodon (Qouy & Gaimard, 1824)
Ornate threadfin bream
Family Lethrinidae
Lethrinus lentjan (Lacepede, 1802)
Pink ear emperor
Family Ephippididae
Drepane punctata (Linnaeus , 1758)
Spotted s icklefis h
Ephippus orbis (Bloch, 1787)
Orbfis h, Spadefis hFamily Scatophagidae
Scatophagus argus (Linnaeus , 1766)
Spotted s cat, Spadefis hFamily Caes ionidae
Caesio cuning (Bloch, 1791)
Redbelly yellowtail fus ilier
Family Trichiuridae
Trichiurus lepturus Linnaeus , 1758
Largehead hairtail
Family Scombridae
Rastrelliger k anagurta (Cuvier, 1817)
Indian mackerel
Scomberomorus commerson (Lacepede, 1800)
Narrow-barred Spanis h
Eastern little tuna, Kawakawa
Euthynnus affinis (Cantor, 1849)
Thunnus tonggol (Bleeker, 1851)
Longtail tuna
Family Siganidae
Siganus canaliculatus (Park, 1797)
Whites potted s pinefootSiganus javus Linnaeus , 1766
Streaked s pinefoot
Family Stromateidae
Pampus argenteus (Euphras en, 1788)
Silver pomfret
Pampus chinensis (Euphras en, 1788)
Chines es s ilver pomfret
Family Gobiidae
Periophthalmus argentilineatus Valenciennes, 1837
Barred muds kipper
Order Pleuronectiformes
Family Paralichthyidae
Psettodes erumei (Bloch and Schneider, 1801)
Indian halibut
Family Cynoglos s idae
Cynoglossus lingua Hamilton, 1822
Long tongues ole
Order Tetraodontiformes
Family Monacanthidae
Aluterus monoceros (Linnaeus , 1758)
Unicorn leatherjacket

Table 3 Commercial invertebrate species in the Andaman coastal areas of Ranong province, southern
Thailand.

Phylum M ollusca
Class Gastropoda
Order Vetigastropoda
Family Haliotidae
Haliotis asinina Linnaeus, 1758
Order Discopoda
Family Vivipariidae
Filopaludina spp.
Family Turritellidae
Turritella terebra (Linaeus, 1758)
Family Potamididae
Cerithidea obtusa (Lamarck, 1822)
Family Strombidae
Strombus canarium Linnaeus, 1758
Order Neogastropoda
Family Buccinidae
Babylonia spirata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Babylonia areolata (Link, 1807)
Family Volutidae
Melo melo (Lightfoot, 1786)
Family M elongenidae
Pugilina cochlidium (Linnaeus, 1758)
Class Bivalvia
Order Arcoida
Family Archidae
Anadara granosa (Linnaeus, 1758)
Scapharca troscheli (Dunker, 1832)
Order M ytiloida
Family M ytilidae
Perna viridis (Linnaeus, 1758)
Order Ostreoida
Family Pectinidae
Amusium pleuronectes (Linnaeus, 1758)
Family Ostreidae
Saccostrea forskali (Gmelin, 1791)
Order Heterodonta
Family Donacidae
Donax spp.
Family Corbiculidae
Geloina erosa (Lightfoot, 1786)
Family Veneridae
Tapes dorsatus (Lamarck, 1818)
Meretrix meretrix (Linnaeus, 1758)
Class Cephalopoda
Order Sepioida
Family Sepiidae
Sepia pharaonis Ehrenberg, 1831
Sepia spp.
Family Loliginidae
Sepioteuthis lessoniana (Lesson, 1830)
Photololigo duvauceli (d’Orbigny, 1848)
Photololigo chinensis Gray, 1849
Order Octopoda
Family Octopodidae
Amphioctopus aegina (Gray, 1849)
Octopus sp.

Donkey's-ear Abalone

Pond snail, River snail
Screw turritella, Auger terebra
Blunt creeper, Horn snail
Dog conchSpiral babylon
Spotted babylon
Indian volute, Bailer shell
Spiral melongena

Granular ark
Ark

Asian green mussel

Phylum Arthropoda
Class M elacostraca
Order Stomatopoda
Family Squillidae
Oratosquilla nepa (Latreille, 1828)
Order M ysida
Family M ysidae
Mysis spp.
Order Decapoda
Family Thalassinidae
Thalassina anomala (Herbst, 1804)
Family Penaeidae
Penaeus merguiensis De M an, 1888
Penaeus monodon Fabricius, 1798
Penaeus vannamei Boone, 1931
Penaeus spp.
Family Palaemonidae
Macrobrachium sp.
Family Palinuridae
Panulirus versicolor (Latreille, 1804)
Panulirus polyphagus (Herbst,1793)
Panulirus ornatus (Fabricius, 1798)
Thenus orientalis (Lund, 1793)
Family Portunidae
Portunus pelagicus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Portunus sanguinolentus (Herbst, 1783)
Portunus gladiator Fabricius, 1798
Charybdis feriatus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Thalamita crenata (Latreille, 1829)
Scylla serrata Forskal, 1775
Family Grapsidae
Parasesarma spp.

M antis shrimp

M ysisM ud lobster
Banana prawn
Giant tiger prawn
Whiteleg shrimp

Dwarf prawn
Blue spiny lobster
M ud spiny lobster
Ornate spiny lobster
Slipper lobster
Blue swimming crab
Three spot swimming crab
Swimming crab
Crucifix crab
Spiny rock crab
Serrated mud crab
marsh clab

Radiated scallop
Indian rock oyster

Bean clamCommon geloina
Turgid venus
Oriental clamRainbow cuttlefish
Cuttlefish
Bigfin reef squid
Indian squid
M itre squid

Phylum Echinodermata
Class Holothuroidea
Order Aspidochirotida
Family Holothuriidae
Holothuria atra Jaeger, 1833

Black sea cucumber

Phylum Tentaculata
Class Brachiopoda
Order Lingulida
Family Lingulidae
Lingula anatina (Lamarck, 1801)

Lamp shell

Phylum Cnidaria
Class Scyphozoa
Order Rhizostomae
Family Lobonematidae
Lobonemoides rubustus Stiasney, 1920
Lobonemoides spp.

Jellyfish
Jellyfish

Sandbird octopus
OctopusFishing gears and the target fishes were considerably
different among the communities (Fig. 5). Shrimp net was
carried out in common throughout all the communities.
Crab net was very popular in four communities, Tab Nua,
Kamphuan, Ta Klang and Hat Sai Khao. Fish net was also
popular in three communities, Kamphuan, Ta Klang and
Hat Sai Khao. Most of the fish nets were used to catchsand borer (Silla gosihama) inhabiting bottom layer of theshallow waters. Mackerel net and sardine net were
uncommon because they required big fishing boat withmechanized equipments. Cuttlefish trap was popular onlyin two communities, Kamphuan and Hat Sai Khao. Fishtrap was dominant in Talay Nork community but not
popular in other communities.
Differences in the kinds of fishing gears among every
communities might be related to the diffusion process oftheindigenous fishing technologies because relatives andneighbors who live in the same communities tended to
select similar fishing gears. It seemed to have an
advantage on the marketing system to be able to sell
fishery products for buyers and wholesalers within thesame communities. Consequently, to share the fishing45

gears and the target species was a voluntary wisdom for
local communities.

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun

Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Shrim p net
Crab net
Sillago net
Sillago hookSardine net
Mackerel net
Cuttlefish trap
Cuttlefish hook
Fish trap
Fish hook
Jellyfish
OctopusFig. 6 Seasonality of fishing activities in the coast of Kamphuan village, Ranong province.
Solid lines: high fishing season, dotted line: low fishing season

Seasonality of every fishing activities in the coast of
Kamphuan village was summarized in Fig. 6. Fishing bymeans of shrimp net and crab net were carried out
throughout the year, but they were predominantly operated
during the rainy season from March to September. The
fishing season is closely related the breeding season ofthese species because they migrate to the shallow waters
during the breeding season. Likewise, sillago (sand borer:
Silla gosihama) net was carried out throughout the year,
but it was predominantly operated during the dry seasonfrom October to May. Sardine net and mackerel net wereoperated predominantly in the dry season from October toMarch. Cuttlefish trap and cuttlefish hook were also
restricted in the dry season from October to April. Fishtrap and fish hook were carried out throughout the year
and predominantly operated in the rainy season from May
to November. Jellyfish fishing by means of scoop net was
restricted only a few months from November to January
because a huge number of jellyfish were transported bymonsoon toward the eastern side of Andaman coast. Thus,seasonality of every fishing activities was closely related
to the life cycle and the behaviors of target species.
It is well known that rich biodiversity and highproductivity were found in the coastal areas aroundmangrove swamps because a lot of fishes, crustaceans,molluscs and other aquatic organisms use mangroveswamps as breeding sites, spawning sites, nursery grounds
and shelter as well as feeding site during a certain stage of
their life cycle (Robertson et.al., 1992). After growing up,
they were distributed in every habitats in the coastal areas,
and therefore, the fishing grounds in the coastal areas ofKamphuan village were different each other depending on
the habitat of the fishery resources (Fig. 7). Most fishingactivities were carried out within 3 km from the coastline,
where fishermen of coastal communities had an exclusive
right to catch fishery resources. In Kamphuan and Naka
villages, every fishing boats was located in four major
fishing ports; Tab Nua, Ta Klang, Hat Sai Khao and Bang
KruaiNok (Fig. 7). Fishing boats set off from these four
fishing ports to their own fishing grounds through themangrove estuaries. By sharing the fishing gears and thetarget fishes, fishermen could avoid competition on thefishing grounds within the coastal areas.
Mangrove swamps provided fundamental ecologicalservices of abundant fishery resources for local inhabitants
living along the coastal areas. The efficient use of various
indigenous fishing gears depended on understanding offish behaviors, habitat and seasonal environmental
conditions. By sharing the fishing strategies, local

Fig. 3. Fishing gears in the coast of Kamphuan village, Ranong
province, Southern Thailand.
others
3.8%

fish trap hook
5.1% 2.5%
cuttlefish
trap
9.1%

shrimp net
37.3%
fish net
17.5%
crab net
24.7%

Fig. 4 Fishing gears in Kamphuan village, Ranong province.

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

No. of gears (n)160Talay Nork
Tub Nua

shrimp net

Kamphuancrab net

Ta Klang

fish netHat Sai Khao
SuksamranToan Khoa

cuttlefish trap
fish trap
hook
OthersBang Kruai Nok

Fig. 5 Fishing gears in every communities of Kamphuan village, Ranong province.

46

Fujioka, Y., Srithong, C. and Kurozumi, T. 2007. Checklist ofmolluscan fauna of mangrove swamps and coastal areas inThailand. JIRCAS Working report, 56, pp. 85-93.
Fujioka, Y., Tabuchi, R., Hirata, Y., Yoneda, R.,
Patanaponpaiboon, P., Shibuno, T. and. Ohba, H. 2010a.
Disturbance and rehabilitation of Tsunami impact onmangrove forests and macrobenthic communities in andaman
Sea, Thailand. Proceedings of the 11th International Coral
Reef Symposium, 825-829.
Fujioka, Y., Higano, J., Kuwahara, K., Srithong, C., Tabuchi, R.,
Patanaponpaiboon, P. and Poungparn, S. 2010b. Fisheries
resources in swamp forests - utilization of fisheries resources
supported by swamp forests. Proceedings for International
workshop “Local conservation and sustainable use of swamp
forest in Tropical Asia, pp. 66-80.
Fujioka, Y., Higano, J., Srithong, C., Tabuchi, R., Kuwahara, H.,
Yoneda, R., Sano, M., Patanaponpaiboon, P. and Poungparn,
S. 2012. Fisheries activities in floodplain of Mekong river
basin. Journal of Agroforestry and Environment, 5: 65-70.
Hogarth, P.J. 1999. The biology of mangrove. Oxford University
Press, 228pp.
Matsumoto, Y., Tabuchi, R., Hirata, Y., Fujioka, Y.,
Patanaponpaiboon, P. and Poungparn. S. 2006. Tsunami
damage on the coastal vegetation along the west coast of
Malay Peninsula from Krabi to Ranong, southern Thailand.
Japanese Journal of Forest Environment, 4881), pp. 43-56 (InJapanese).
Patanaponpaiboon, P. 2010. Changing scenarios of mangrove
ecosystem in Thailand. Proceedings of the international
workshop “Local conservation and sustainable use of swamp
forest in Tropical Asia", Thailand: 8-16.
Robertson, A.I. and Alongi D.M. (eds.) 1992 Tropical mangrove
ecosystems. Coastal and Estuarine Studies, American
Geophysical Union, 41, 336pp.
Sano, M., Miyamoto, A., Furuya, N., Fujioka, Y.,
Patanaponpaiboon, P. and Tabuchi, R. 2012. Vegetation
changes in the coastal areas of Ranong province, Thailand.
Kanto-shinrinkenkyuu, 63. in press (In Japanese).
Tabuchi, R. 2010. Studies on the conservation measures ofswamp forest through sustainable use of ecological resources
by local communities: concept, objective and perspective.
Proceedings of the international workshop “Local
conservation and sustainable use of swamp forest in TropicalAsia", Thailand: 1-7.

inhabitants could avoid competition for fishery resources
each other, and consequently, utilize sustainably natural
fishery resources in the coastal areas.

Fig. 7 Fishing grounds and fishing activities in the coast of Kamphuan village, Ranong province.

Acknowledgements: We are grateful to inhabitants andfishermen who gave us a lot of valuable knowledge aboutfishing activities and village livelihoods. This study was
supported by the Global Environment Research Fund (D0902) of the Ministry of the Environment, Japan.
References
Barbier, E. B. and Sathirathai S. (eds.). 2004. Shrimp farming
and mangrove loss in Thailand. Edward Elgar Publ.,
Cheltenham, 268 pp.
Department of Fisheries (DOF), Ministry of Agriculture andCooperatives, Thailand.
2008.
Fisheries statistics ofThailand 2006 DOF 92pp.
Food and agriculture organization of the United Nations (FAO).
2010. The state of world fisheries and aquaculture. FAO
218pp.
Food and agriculture organization of the United Nations (FAO)
2011. Fishstat-plus database. Available from FAO homepage:
http://www.fao.org/fishery/statistics/en

47

J. Agrofor. Environ. 11 (1 & 2): 49-54, 2017

ISSN 1995-6983

Natural disasters in Bangladesh and Japan - comparing its scale and damages
Haruo Uchida
The Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, 46 Yoshida-Shimoadachi-Cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto〒605-8501Japan, E-mail: uchidah@cseas.kyoto-u.ac.jp
Abstract: Bangladesh is located on the Bengal delta made by sediments from Himalayas and, on the other hand, Japan is the isolatedislands surrounded by sea, which makes the difference between these two countries in scale, frequencies and damages of natural
disasters. During a last hundred years, the storm and the earthquake occurred frequently and caused a lot of damages to human life andnational economy in Japan. In contrast, the storm and the flood have been worst natural disasters in Bangladesh. Frequency of the storm
in both country are almost same but the number of deaths in Bangladesh are 18 times more than that of Japan. Frequency and the deathsof flood in Bangladesh are larger than those of Japan although total amount of damage is equivalent. The economic damage of
Bangladesh is 2.4 times larger than that of Japan in the percentage of GDP although total real damage amount of Japan is 20 times larger
than that of Bangladesh. The fact shows Bangladesh has economically received bad influences not at all inferior to Japan.
Key words: Bangladesh, Japan, natural hazards, disaster management.

Introduction
Bangladesh is located on one of the biggest deltas in theworld which has been made by three large rivers. The
Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers transport enormous runoff and soil from the Himalayan drainage system (orHimalayan river basin system) and another big river
Meghna gathering top of the world's amount of rainfall
from Meghalaya joins in the country. The plain
topography of delta and massive amount of water creates acharacteristic hydrological zone which is often flooded
with river channel erosion. Moreover, the country is facing
the Bay of Bengal which is opening way for cyclones.
Thus the combination of such facts the country is locatedon the end of Himalayan watershed and faces the Bay of
Bengal makes Bangladesh a country of “natural disasters”(Fig. 1a). On the other hand, Japan is located in thecircum-Pacific mobile zone where seismic and volcanicA

activities occur frequently. Japan itself stands on four
tectonic plates some of which are subducting andpushingeach other as shown in Fig. 1b. Such moving
tectonic plates make the country unstable geologically and
it is said there are many active fault lines more than 2,000
in Japan. Due to such geographical and geologicalcondition, number of earthquakes with magnitude of six orgreater recorded 190 in a decade (1996-2005) which is
20% of total in the world and number of active volcanos is
108 equal 7% of the total (GoJ. 2002).
Moreover, because the national land extending north,south, east and west widely is surrounded on all four sides
by sea, it is also subject to meteorological disasters such as
typhoons, torrential rains and heavy snow. In this paper
the author compares damages of natural calamities in bothcountries about its scale and frequency.

B

Fig. 1. Location and natural disasters in Bangladesh (A) and Japan (B)Materials and Methods
Since 1988 the WHO Collaborating Center for Researchon the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) in Belgium has
been maintaining an Emergency Events Database EMDAT. EM-DAT contains essential core data on theoccurrence and effects of over 18,000 mass disasters in theworld from 1900 to present. The database is compiled
from various sources, including UN agencies, nongovernmental organizations, insurance companies,
research institutes and press agencies.
In order for a disaster to be entered into the database atleast one of the following criteria has to be fulfilled: (i) 10

or more people reported killed, (ii) 100 people reported
affected, (iii) a call for international assistance, (iv)
declaration of state of emergency.
The author discusses about the natural disasters in Japanand Bangladesh using the summarized tables of five kindsof natural disasters (earthquake, flood, landslide, storm
and drought) which seemed to be important for bothcountries. Moreover, tables of top ten natural disasters
sorted by numbers of death, sufferer and economic
damage are also referenced secondarily. All data formaking tables are recorded between 1900 and 2013. The
used EM-DAT database version is 12.07 created on July29, 2013(OFDA/CRED 2013).

can be struck by large-scale earthquakes in the next few
decades. Especially, large-scale earthquakes around
Nankai Trough, trench type earthquakes in the vicinity of
the Japan and Chishima Trenches and Tokyo inland
earthquake are attracting attentions (JoG. 2002).
Table 2. Natural Disasters in two countries (Deaths andsufferers)
1,2(1900-2013)3

Earthquake
4
Flood
Landslide5
Storm
Drought
Total

Results and Discussion
Frequency, number of death and sufferer, worst 10
natural disasters
Table 1 shows frequencies of main five natural disasters inJapan and Bangladesh between 1900 and 2013. Table 2
indicates the number of deaths and sufferers by fivedisasters respectively and Table 2 lists worst 10 disasters
in regard to number of death during the same period.

With regard to every large-scale earthquake in Japan, thegovernment has conducted examinations to clarify thecharacteristics of the earthquakes, estimate the damage
and identify necessary countermeasures. The following setof plans and strategies for each large-scale earthquake are
now being developed: “the Policy Framework”, a masterplan that includes a range of activities from preventive
measures to post-disaster response and recovery; the“Earthquake Disaster Reduction Strategy”, to determine an
overarching goal of damage mitigation and strategic
targets based on the damage estimation; and the“Guidelines for Emergency Response Activities”, which
describes the action to be taken by related organizations(ibid).
Meanwhile, because of location of Bangladesh in atectonically active area a strong earthquake could occur inthe plate boundaries. Bangladesh is closed to the meeting
point of the Indian, Eurasian and Burma (Myanmar) plates.
Although large-scale earthquakes are reported only seventimes during a century (Table 1), the meteorologicaldepartment of Bangladesh detected at least 90 earthquakes
taking place in the country between May 2007 and July
2008, nine of them above five on magnitude andepicenters of 95 percent being within a 600 km radius of
Dhaka city (Ferdous and Pahman, 2010).
The earthquake record suggests that since 1900 more than
100 moderate to large earthquakes occurred in Bangladesh,out of which more than 65 events occurred after 1960.
This brings to light an increased frequency of earthquakes
in the last 50 years. This increase in earthquake activity is
an indication of fresh tectonic activity or propagation of
fractures from the adjacent seismic zones (Banglapedia
Earthquake, 2013).
Moreover, it is these increased tremors that indicate thepossibility of much more powerful earthquakes hitting thecountry. It is obvious that if a major earthquake hits
Bangladesh it will create havoc and damages of life,
properties that is unimaginable because of not only noawareness among the people but also poor preparednessby the government including lack of support facilities.

(1900-2013)1,2

3

Earthquake
4
Flood
Landslide5
Storm
Drought
Total

Sufferers(1,000)
Japan
Bangladesh
19
1,389
7,573
317,63155
26
77,385
7,863
25,002420,092
16,851

1.EM-DAT:The OFDA/CRED International Disaster Database
2.10 more killed/100 more affected/emergent declare/call international assistant
3.inc. TSUNAMI 4.inc. storm surge, coastal flood 5.inc. cyclone, typhoon, local one

Table 1. Natural Disasters in the two countries (Frequency)

Disaster

Deaths(1,000)
Japan Bangladesh
0
194
13
52
1
0
635
35
1,900
243
2,587

Frequency
Japan Bangladesh
7
57
85
47
3
21
165
149
7
1
267
275

1.EM-DAT:The OFDA/CRED International Disaster Database
2.10 more killed/100 more affected/emergent declare/call international assistant
3.inc. TSUNAMI 4.inc. storm surge, coastal flood 5.inc. cyclone, typhoon, local one

Earthquake: As mentioned in the previous chapter, thefrequency of earthquake in Japan is eight times as high as
in Bangladesh (Table 1) and total number of deaths byearthquakes during a century is by far highest in all natural
disasters in Japan (Table 2). Moreover, top four causes ofhighest number of deaths are earthquakes and half of theworst top 10 disasters are also earthquakes in Japan (Table3). On the other hand, very little victim of earthquakes canbe seen and there is not any earthquake ranked in worst
top ten disasters in Bangladesh (Table 2 and 3).
Regarding Japan, it is remarkable that both of massive
earthquakes, namely the 2011 off the Pacific coast of
Tohoku Earthquake which had largest magnitude of 9.0 inrecorded history and Han-Shin Awaji Earthquake disasterof 1995 which was a typical inland earthquake, occurred
within these two decades. Moreover, recent earthquakes
have brought in new social problems such as sense of
emergency of the strong urban earthquake and sense of
weakness against nuclear electric power generation.
Following these several events the Japanese government
has pointed out with a great sense of urgency that Japan
50

Now is the time to prepare to face the major earthquake
disasters (Ferdous and Pahman, 2010).
Flood: Table 1 and Table 2 show flood frequency, numberof deaths and sufferers of Bangladesh is 1.8, 4 and 45
times larger than that of Japan. Other EM-DAT indicatesthe frequency of unspecified and storm surge /coastal
flood is same in the both countries and the number ofgeneral and flash type floods in Bangladesh is larger.
Main reasons of flood in Japan are meteorologicalconditions such as precipitation and active weather-front
systems and geographical conditions such as precipitous
terrains and steep rivers. One half of population isconcentrated in possible inundation areas, which accountfor about 10% of the national area. Although there has
been a large reduction in the area inundated by floods
owing to soil conservation and flood control projects overmany years, the amount of general assets damaged inflooded area has increased to 4 times of 20 years before.
Additionally, as a long-term trend, there is an increasing
tendency of downpours throughout the country. The
number of last decade of heavy rains with precipitation of
100 mm or more per hour increased two fold of two
decades ago (GoJ, 2002). The increasing trend of
downpours in recent years requires the intensification ofcounter measures for quick and reliable evacuation andrelief activities. The central disaster management council
has been working on against flood disasters supposed tocause immense damage to the big town, especially capitalregion. In Japan, an urban flood that directly hits Tokyo
area is a matter of special importance like such kind ofearthquake.
On the other hand, the floods of Bangladesh indicate thearea extent of flooding is gradually decreasing in thelonger term and, at the same time, inter annual variabilityof the flood-affected areas has significantly increased
since 1975: years with a low flood extent have become
more frequent (Hoffer and Messerli, 2006).The failure of
Flood Action Plan (FAP) to protect the country fromfloods has cleared the institutional assessment should
examine practical means to overcome governanceconstraints and to increase local responsibility for
managing flood protection and irrigation projects(Brammer, 2010). This means the government to bereformed and cooperate with people to protect the country.
Landslide: In Japan, there have been 21 major landslidedisasters during the last one hundred years (Table 1) and if
limited to post-war period up to 1995 it occurred 9 times
and 149 persons were killed in total. Including large andsmall size ones 1,353 landslides occurred during 19901999 mainly caused by melted snow, seasonal rain (in therainy season), typhoon, heavy rain etc. (GoJ, 2013).
Housing developments in mountainous and hilly areas
have been extremely vulnerable to landslide disasters inmore recent years. Additionally, as a long-term trend,
there is an increasing tendency of downpours throughout
the country. It is also a new residential area located on theedge of mountain that the landslide which caused bydownpours and killed 74 persons in Hiroshima at the endof August 2014. On the back of such situation thegovernments of national and local authorities designate
areas of active landslide movement or high risk areas ofsuch movement as landslide threatened areas pursuant to
the Landslide Prevention Law and conduct landslide
surveys and prevention (control) works in these areas.
Number of such designated area was 3,329 and 114,023 hain 1999 (ibid.).
In Bangladesh, landslide disasters concentrate in southeastern part of Bangladesh which is hilly and mountainous
area. Although Table 1 shows only three landslidedisasters in a century, Bangladesh Water Development
Board (BWDB) reported Chittagong suffered about 12
times landslides during the last five decades. In recent
years this disasters are more accelerated by humanactivities such as indiscriminate hill cutting for housing
and brick field and deforestation etc. Consequently, by thedevastation of this disaster the death toll is approximately
200 during these 12 years from 1999 to 2012 (Sarkar andRashid, 2013).
Landslide is not listed in Table 2 and 3 as worst disaster inboth countries. This is because the event is local and its
damage is limited in one occurrence. Landslide events takeplace in remote and isolated area which is difficult toreach. The external helps may take several days to rescue
the affected communities, especially in Bangladesh which
has not enough communication roads. During their waiting
period people of affected communities have to cope with
their resources and arrangement. Therefore not only
structural mitigation measures, legal enforcement ofprohibiting uncontrolled hill cutting, enhancement ofpublic awareness and so on but also community based risk
reduction strategies such as equipment and distribution
system of common resources, community-based early
warning system, training for effective response etc.are also
required (ibid.).
Storm: Frequencies of storms consisted chiefly of cyclone
in Bangladesh and typhoon in Japan are more of the same
(Table 1). Tropical stormsmake landfall easily in both ofJapan surrounded by sea and Bangladesh facing sea.
Especially, the low topography and funnel shaped coastline of Bangladesh makes the coastal associated withcyclones. 8.4% of the country can be area subject to highsurge identified as the risk zone (RZ) upto which storm
surge might travel inland. Within the area of RZ, 6.4% is
the high risk zone (HRZ) where surge height may exceed
1m and people are likely to be killed from drowning(BUET-BIDS, 1993).
Although there is not much difference in frequencies, thenumber of fatalities and sufferers of Bangladesh are muchlarger than that of Japan. In the recent years, it is said the1970 Bhola cyclone alone caused 500,000 (number islikely to be higher) death and the 1991 Bangladesh
cyclone killed 150,000 people (Wikipedia Cyclone 2013).
In the 21st century, Sidr of 2007 and Aila of 2009 are two
big cyclones struck Bangladesh. Particularly, Sidr was
climatologically equal to cyclones of 1970 and 1991,
nevertheless the death count was about 5,000. Such lesscasualties can be attributed to the Multipurpose Cyclone
Shelter Programme (MCSP) followed by the constructionof shelters and organized activities of Cyclone
Preparedness Program (CPP) (Mallick and Rahman,2013).

51

After the disastrous cyclone and storm surge which hit thecoast on April 1991, Bangladesh government initiated the
project searching the need for cyclone shelters with UNDP
and the World Bank fund. Under the name ofMultipurpose Cyclone Shelter Program (MCSP) it wasreported that 2,500 cyclone shelters in HRZ would beneeded in the year 2002 and 60% of the shelter were
proposed to be located in existing primary school. In total,
there are some 2,200 cyclone shelters at present in the
coastal area while a total 4,000 shelters are considered as
required to ensure the safety of the coastal population.
Although the number of shelter is hardly adequate at the
moment, there is almost no doubt that increasing shelters
have been useful for the people to escape from disasters inthese two decades.
The Cyclone Preparedness Program (CPP) is implemented
by the government and Bangladesh Red Crescent Society(BDRCS) at administrative level. At the field level, theprogramme is implemented by the teams of volunteers in
the minimum unit. Each unit serves 1 or 2 village with anapproximately population of 2 to 3 thousand. 10 male and2 female volunteers are recruited from the respective unit.
In each unit, the 10 male volunteers are divided into 5groups to discharge such responsibilities as to disseminate
cyclone warning signals, to assist people in taking shelter,
to rescue distressed people and to assist in relief andrehabilitation operations using provided equipment likesiren, transistor radio etc. Two female volunteers of theunit provide first aid to the distressed women after the
cyclone besides their task of raising awareness among thewomen folk in normal time. Historically speaking, theideas of CPP started in 1965 and it has been developed tobe marked by a favorable outcome (Harun-AL-Rashid,
1997).
In Japan “disaster countermeasure basic act” was enacted
to develop comprehensive disaster prevention andadministration in the aftermath of rare strong typhoon Isewan in 1959 (Table 3) (GoJ, 2002). Since then thegovernment have aimed to establish the disasterprevention system which withstands super-typhoon like
Ise-wan. Consequently, the damage of typhoon has
decreased more definitely after the middle of twentiethcentury, which resulted from development of academic
research works, advancement of weather forecast,institutional building based on experiences inadministration, transmission of disaster records andvoluntary organization among ordinary citizens.
Nevertheless some areas of Japan get great damages andneed to strengthen more safety measures. In a situation
like that the government starts to formulate the action planof “time line” which indicates countermeasures hour byhour in advance to reduce the damage in urban areas(NHK 2014). It is reported that the damage could be
reduced because the subways had been stopped running
one day before the occurrence of surge following “timeline” in the United States when Hurricane Sandy attacked
in 2012. Based on this Japanese government would request
public transport to participate the discussion about timeline action plan. The government is planning to compile
countermeasures used for the action plan by this rainyseason and it seems to take a few years at least to

formulate the final action plan. Anyway, the idea of “timeline action plan” can be worthwhile one for not only Japanbut also Bangladesh.
Regarding the tornado, in Japan, 246 events (including
small scale ones) have been observed during 18 years from1991 to 2008 (JMA, 2013a). Most of them distributed
along the coasts nationwide killing 12 and injuring about
600 persons (J.Wikipedia Tornadoes 2013). Although it
was difficult to forecast incidents of tornadoes in pasttimes, prediction accuracy has risen up to 20-44 %nowadays in Japan (JMA, 2013b).
According to the list of “86 tornados in Bengal for 18382001”, 67 tornadoes struck Bangladesh of which 19 werereported to have caused deaths of 100 or more each whileat least six incidents caused death of more than 500 people
each (Finch 2013).
Thus the damage by tornadoes in Bangladesh is more
serious than that of Japan. In the aftermath of two
catastrophic disasters in 1989 and 1996 resulted in 1,300
and more than 700 fatalities respectively, the local
neglected disaster of tornado in Bangladesh has attracted agreat deal of attention from the world as severe local
convective storms. In 2009 an international forum washeld at Dhaka to discuss about counter measures of
tornadoes. The approach to tornado mitigation is quite
simple. Putting together an early warning system,
structural strengthening of houses and the introduction of
shelters on a domestic level (Mallick and Rahman, 2013).
It is emphasized in the report of the forum that acommunity-based early warning system like CPP (IAWE2009). In addition to build up the CPP-like organization by
own experience Bangladesh can expect technologicalassistance for tornado forecast system from Japan.
Table 3. Worst 10 natural disasters in the two countries
sorted by deaths(1900-2013)1,2
DisasterEarthquake
Earthquake
Earthquake
Earthquake
Storm
Storm
Storm
Earthquake
Storm
Storm

Japan
Date
09/1923
03/201101/1995
06/1948
09/1959
09/1917
09/1945
03/1933
09/1934
09/1923

Deaths143000
19846
5297
5131
5098
4000
3746
3064
3006
3000

Bangladesh
Disaster
Date
DeathsDrought
1943
1900000
Epidemic
1918
393000Storm
11/1970
300000Storm
04/1991
138866Storm
10/194261000
Storm
05/1965
36000
Flood
07/197428700
Storm
05/196322000
Storm
05/198515000
Storm
06/1965
12047

1

EM-DAT: The OFDA/CRED International Disaster Daabase, 210 more killed/100
more affected/emergent declare/call international assistance, Earthquake includes
tsunami, Flood includes storm surge, coastal flood, Storm includes cyclone,
typhoon, local one.

Drought: Drought mainly caused by long period of dry
weather is not a big problem in Japan because of abundant
rainfall and forest coverage. Table 1, 2 and 3 show that the
drought occurred only one time and very little number ofdeaths/sufferers during the last one hundred years.
Drought, which had been known as one of main factors ofagricultural damages in the past, was become to becontrolled by water use-facilities made by the government
with a large investment after the mid-Meiji era (Kaitani,2013). And now it is said as a proverb that drought has nopoor crop in Japan. Instead of drought which is not a big
52

problem in agricultural section, shortage of drinking andindustrial water has become problems because ofincreased population in these days in Japan (Kotobank,1998).
On the other hand, drought occurred 7 times and took aheavy toll of human lives in Bangladesh. Although table 3
shows 1,900 thousand people were killed in 1943 bydrought, but it is doubtful that was caused by truly
meteorological condition. One of famous historians wrote“famine of 1943 it was man-made disaster in that it was
not a scarcity of food that caused so many to die but acollapse of the grain-marketing system (Shendel, 2009).
Drought mostly affects Bangladesh in pre-monsoon andpost-monsoon periods to north-western region. From 1949
to 1979, the drought of 1957 which was one of theseverest one affected 47% area of the country and thesmallest drought in 1966 was 18%.To combat the drought,
it is essential to utilize water resource for irrigation in
Bangladesh like as Japan (Banglapedia, 2012). But it is aproblem that they have to utilize surface water because ofdepletion of ground water resource as well as arsenic
contamination. Surface water utilization projects such as
barrages across the rivers, installation of pumping plants
for lifting water from rivers are essential in Bangladesh(GoB. 2012)

is 5% of GDP. Totally, during the last hundred years,theamount of damage caused by natural disasters is 7% of
GDP in Japan and 17% in Bangladesh.The amount ofdamage of Bangladesh is 2.4 times of Japan in thepercentage of GDP although total real damage amount ofJapan is 20 times larger than that of Bangladesh. The factshows Bangladesh has not received bad influences at all
economically, inferior to Japan.
Table 5. Worst 10 natural disasters in the two countries
sorted by economic
1,2

1900-2013

Japan
DisasterEarthquake 03/2011
Earthquake 01/1995
Earthquake 10/2004
Earthquake 07/2007
09/1991Storm
09/2004Storm
09/2000
Flood
09/1999
Storm
Storm
09/1990Storm
09/1998

Damage07/1998
210,000,000 Flood
11/2007
100,000,000 Storm
06/2004
28,000,000 Flood
06/1988
12,500,000 Flood
04/1991
10,000,000 Storm
05/1995
9,000,000 Storm
7,440,000 Flood
08/1987
07/1974
5,000,000 Flood
09/2000
4,000,000 Flood
3,000,000 Earthquake 12/2004

4,300,000
2,300,000
2,200,000
2,137,000
1,780,000
800,000
727,500
579,200
500,000
500,000

Disaster(000 US$)

Conclusion:
During the last hundred years, the storm and theearthquake occurred frequently and caused a lot ofdamages to human life and national economy in Japan. In
contrast, the storm and the flood have been worst natural
disasters in Bangladesh. Frequency of the storm in bothcountries are almost same but the number of deaths in
Bangladesh are 18 times as much as that of Japan.
Frequency and the deaths of flood in Bangladesh are larger
than those of Japan although total amount of damage isequivalent. The economic damage of Bangladesh is 2.4
times of Japan in the percentage of GDP although total
real damage amount of Japan is 20 times larger than thatof Bangladesh. The fact shows Bangladesh has
economically received bad influences not at all inferior to
Japan.
Regarding Bangladesh, the disaster reduction policy of thepresent time has been made by the main stream ofinternational ODAs and/or conferences. In the backgroundof empowerment of women, community and the pooremphasized in the countermeasures, there were UN's
millennium goals (2000), World Bank's poverty reduction
strategy (2004), Hyogo (2005) and SAARC (2006) frame
works for action. It can be said these agendas haveconnected the poverty and the disaster directly. Donor
countries would request such kind of policy to thegovernment as long as Bangladesh continues to be an aid
receiver and she is obliged to meet expectation.

1,2

1900-2013

Earthquake3
Flood4Landslide
Storm5
Drought
Total

Date

(000 US$)

1.EM-DAT:The OFDA/CRED International Disaster Database
2.10 more killed/100 more affected/emergent declare/call international assistant
Earthquake includes TSUNAMI : Flood includes storm surge, coastal flood
Storm includes cyclone, typhoon, local one

Table 4. Natural Disasters in two countries (Economic
damages)

Disaster

Date

Bangladesh
DamageDamage(billion $) (%)6
Japan Bangladesh
0.5(1)
360(6)
12(11)12(0)-(-)
0.2(0)
6(5)
57(1)
-(-)
-(-)
19(17)
428.2(7)1.EM-DAT:The OFDA/CRED International Disaster Database
2.10 more killed/100 more affected/emergent declare/call international assistant
3.inc.TSUNAMI 4.inc.storm surge, coastal flood 5.inc. cyclone, typhoon, local one
6.Percentage of GDP(2011):Japan=5,867 Bangladesh=114 billion US$ (%)

Economic damages: Table 4 shows economic damagesby five natural disasters and each number in parentheses
shows percentage of economic damage to GDP in 2011 ofeach country. Table 5 lists worst natural disasters sorted
by economic damages.
According to Table 4 amount of earthquake damage is thelargest in Japan which is 6% of GDP. This can beunderstood by Table 5 which shows worst four damages
are caused by the earthquake. The second largest damage
is caused by storms and its amount is equal to one sixth ofthe damage by the earthquake. Damages caused by flood,
landslide and drought are less than 1% of GDP.
Damage caused by flood is the largest in Bangladesh. Its
equivalent amount of 12 billion US$ is 11% of GDP in
Bangladesh and less than 1% in Japan. Second largest
damage is caused by storms in Bangladesh and its amount

References
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HT/E 0002.HTM.

53

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HT/D_0339.htm.
Brammer, H. 2010. After the Bangladesh Flood Action Plan:
Looking to the future, Environmental Hazards 9: 118-130.
BUET-BIDS 1993. Multipurpose Cyclone Shelter Programme,
Final report (Executive summary).
Ferdous, S. and Pahman,T. 2010. Earthquake in Bangladesh:
How much we are prepared to face it? Bangladesh J.
Pathol 25(1): 1-2.
Finch, J.D. 2013. Bangladesh and east India tornado prediction
site.http://bangladeshtornadoes.org/limo/TORCLIMB.htm.
GoB (Min. of Disaster Management and Releif) 2012.
http://www.ddm.gov.bd/drought.php.
GoJ.(Cabinet Office) 2002. Disaster management in Japan (inJapanese).http://www.bousai.go.jp/Info/pdf/saigaipanf.pdf.
GoJ.(Min. of LIT) 2013. Landslide Disaster (in Japanese).
http://www.mlit.go.jp/river/sabo/panf/00726ji.
Harun-AL-Rashid, A.K.M. 1997. The Cyclone Preparedness
Programme in Bangladesh, , Text for Regional Course on
Community Based Approaches in Disaster Management(CBDM-1), ADPC, AIT, Bangkok, Thailand, 10-21 March,
1997.
Hofer, T. and Messerli, B. 2006. Floods in Bangladesh, History,
Dynamics and Rethinking the Role of the Himalayas,
United Nations University Press,Tokyo.
International Association for Window Engineering (IAWE) 2009.
Proceedings of the Internatiponal forum on tornado
disaster risk reduction for Bangladesh -To cope withneglected severe disasters-, 13-14 December 2009, Dhaka,Bangladesh.

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Meteorological
Agency(JMA)
2013a.
http://www.jma.go.jp/jma/kishou /know/ toppuu/tornado12.html (in Japanese).
Japan
Meteorological
Agency(JMA)
2013b.
http://www.jma.go.jp/jma/menu/
tatsumakiportal/tatsumaki-joho-seido.pdf (in Japanese).
J.Wikipedia Tornadoes. http:// Ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/list of
tornadoes disasters (in Japanese).
OFDA/CRED 2013. International Disaster Database EM-DAT,
www.emdat.be - Université catholique de LouvainBrussels-Belgium.
Kaitani, T. 2013. Although there is no crop damage in the dryweather.http//www.daich.or.jp/blog/ebichan/cat44/post_24.
php (in Japanese).
Kotobank Hideri . http://kotobank.jp/word/hideri (in Japanese).
Mallick, F. and Rahman, A. 2013. Cyclone and tornado risk
reduction approaches in Bangladesh, In Disaster risk
reduction approaches in Bangladesh, Ed. by Shaw, R.,
Mallick, F. and Islam, A., Springer Japan, Tokyo.
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2014.
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20140127/k
10014803771000.html.
Sarkar, A.A. and Rashid, A.K.M.M. 2013. Landslide andflashflood in Bangladesh. In Disaster risk reduction
approaches in Bangladesh, Ed. By Shaw, R., Mallick, F.
and Islam, A., Springer Japan, Tokyo.
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Bangladesh_tropical_cyclones.

54

J. Agrofor. Environ. 11 (1 & 2): 55-60, 2017

ISSN 1995-6983

An interdisciplinary study on existing land use and natural resource management in Klong
Sathorn village, northeastern Thailand
V. Jintana, R. Tokrisna1, P. Narangajavana, P. Srijantr2, P. Saksoong3 and S. Durongdej4
Faculty of Forestry, Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900, Thailand, 1Faculty of Economics, Kasetsart University,
Bangkok 10900, Thailand, 2Faculty of Agriculture, Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900, Thailand, 3Faculty of Science,
Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900, Thailand, 4Faculty of Social Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900,
Thailand
Abstract: This paper presents the results from interdisciplinary research project entitled “Existing Land Use and Socio-economics in
KhaoPhuLuang-Wang NumKhieo Forest area: A case study on KlongSathorn Village, Northeastern Thailand”. The project wasinterdisciplinary problem oriented and put the emphasis on participation of local communities and relevant institutions. Researchers fromvarious disciplines including geographic information system (GIS), agriculture, forestry, environmental science, social science andeconomics worked together and closely cooperated with local people in the study area during late 2001 and early 2002. The outputs fromthe project have been used as teaching materials in the master program on Sustainable Land Use and Natural Resource Management at
Kasetsart University (KU-SLUSE) and are expected to be useful to the relevant agencies.
Key words: Interdisciplinary study, GIS, land use, natural resource management, local community.

Introduction
In spite of a high economic growth rate during 1983-1989
problems of income distribution and rural poverty in theThai economy remained (Punpiumrath, 1990). Sustainable
development required alleviation of rural poverty. Most
rural people were still poor and had to rely on natural
resources to make their living. The main source of income
was agriculture. Inappropriate land use resulted in natural
resource degradation. Increasing the area of farm land via
forest conversion and the application of agricultural
technology had an adverse impact on the environment.
Moreover, a lack of good farm management resulted indegradation in land as well as other natural resources.
Examples included soil erosion, lower soil fertility, lower
water quality and a poor water supply. Farm costs werehigher while farm prices were lower leading tounsustainable development. In the eighth National Socialand Economic Development Plan (1997-2001) theemphasis was upon an improved quality of life and better
natural resource management. In the present plan (2002–
2006) the focus is on economic recovery through aselfsufficient economy according to the Royal concepts.
The targets were on poverty alleviation and uplifting life
quality. The KhaoPhuLuang – Wang Nam Khieo Forest
Area is an example of an area with problems of land use.
Communities in this area were settled in the buffer zone
adjacent to the Kao Yal national park. There are various
types of land use including housing, agriculture andrecreation. These activities have had an impact on natural
resource abundance including forest, water, land, and theenvironment. Klong Sathorn Village was selected as a casestudy area and investigated in order to determine
recommendations for sustainable land use and natural
resource utilization. In order to support the national
strategy on capacity building of human resource related toland use and natural resources management, an area basewith the interdisciplinary approach was used as a guideline.
The project was problem oriented and put the emphasis onparticipation of relevant stakeholders. Researchers fromvarious disciplines worked together and closelycooperated with local community in the study area. The
outputs of the project were used as teaching materials in
the master program on Sustainable Land Use and Natural
Resource Management at Kasetsart University (KU-

SLUSE) and are expected to be useful to the relevant
agencies.
The study attempts to gather basic information from aselected study site to compliment planning on sustainable
land use and natural resource management. A
geographical information system database will be
developed. Problem identification and prioritization will
be made and used in a further detailed study. Immediateobjectives of this study are: (i) to collect and analyze dataon physical and biological resources, (ii) to study
livelihood of villagers living in buffer zone of the Kao Yai
national park, and (iii) to identify and prioritize problemson land use and natural resource conservation andutilization of the community.
Materials and Methods
A preliminary survey was conducted in five sub-districtsof Wang Nam Khieo district, Nakorn Ratchasima province,
northeastern Thailand. Community leaders and relevant
government agencies were interviewed. Basic information
was collected. After analysis of the basic information, theteam agreed to select Klong Sathorn village, Moo 5, Wang
Hmee sub district to be the first study site with theobjective to expand to other locations in further studies.
Klong Sathorn village, located in LumPhraPleung
watershed was selected as a case study on land use andnatural resources management at community level in the
KhaoPhuLuang - Wang Nam Khieo forest area due to thereasons were as: (i) it is an agricultural land reform area,(ii) it is on the buffer zone of KhaoYai national park, (iii)
there were immigrants coming into the area for
agricultural land use, (iv) there are problems with watersupplies, and (v) the community depends on forest
resources.
Once the study site had been agreed upon, the researchers
from each discipline collaborated in determining the
research framework (Fig. 1) and developed a structured
questionnaire for the village’s household survey. A
number of 127 samples households from the total of 133
households in the village as reported in GorShorShor 2
Kor (Department of Community Development, 2001) wasinterviewed. Overall picture of households including
household structure, land tenure, income, living expenses,
agricultural practice, and community problems wasinvestigated during November 2001 to May 2002.
Information from the surveywas employed for further
detailed or in-depth study in each discipline as:
Geographical Information System: Spatial, non-spatial(attribute) and other data were collected from the maps ofvarious institutions. Interpretation of remote sensing
imagery and field survey using GPS wereconducted. The
ARCVIEW and PC ARC/INFO were used forestablishment of data base system. The data wereclassified and grouped following data dictionary made.
The baseline data helped to facilitate efficiency among the
researcher in each discipline.

costs, debts, agricultural problems,farm costs and returns,
and economic problem of land use.During the completion
report preparation, research teams collaborated inorganizing acommunity meeting to present their findings
to the community and relevant agencies in the area,as wellas to brainstorm for feed back to the problems identified.
Together, the research teams compiled research results andintegrated problems of land use and natural resource
management in KlongSathorn village; synthesized theissues; and analyzed their causes, effects and inter relation.
Results and Discussion
The findings of each study team were elaborated in the six
final reports (Durongdet et al., 2002; Jintana et al., 2002;
Narangajavana et al., 2002; Saksoong et al., 2002; Srijantr,
et al., 2002 and Tongpan et al., 2002).
The advantage of GIS technology for contributing towards
natural resourcemanagement is related with the spatial
extent of the area. In this study, the general
informationwas separated into three levels as shown in Fig.
2. The first was the basic information at thewatershed
level, which consisted of province, district and sub-district,in map A, such as WangNam Khieo district. The second
was the sub-watershed level, which consisted of many
villages, in map B, such as Lam PhraPhloeng 1 catchment
area. The third was in the community level,which
consisted of one village (many households), in map C,
such as KlongSathorn village.

Figure 1.Conceptual framework.
Agriculture:Team together with the economic teamselected 37 farm households from the 127 in the previous
household survey. A questionnaire for in-depth interview
was developed. The selected households were interviewed.
The study covered preparation of data on cropping andagricultural land use. Constraints in land use wereidentified
Forestry: Team conducted preliminary survey of thecommunity. 92 sample households from the 127
households were selected to study the relationship between
forest and villager’s livelihood usinga structured interview.
Forest dependency and potential on farm forest
development were investigated using rapid rural appraisal(RRA) techniques e.g. direct observation, mapping,etc..Group discussions were organized to wrap up thefindings.
Environmental Science: Team collected and analyzed
data on weather, hydrology, geology, water quantity andquality; they surveyed plants and animals in a community
forest near by the village.
Social: Team conducted a social survey on 127
households and conducted semi-structured interviews with
key informants including local officials and community
leaders, in-depth interviews, nonparticipatoryobservation,a historical study, geographical ground survey, community
mappingand topographic modeling.
Economics: Team collected secondary data about the
study site and assessed the economic conditions from
RRA, interviewing local officials and community leaders.
General data from the 127 household surveys wereanalyzed. The analysis of farm household was conductedfrom the in-depth interviews with 37 farm households, incollaboration with the agricultural team. The analysis
covered household structure, land tenure, revenues, living

Figure 2. A level of information related with a spatial extent.

Most of the land in KlongSathorn village is located in an
agricultural reform area, the degraded forest area which
the government allocated for farming. Nevertheless,according to this study there were land use problems that
led to the farmers’ inability to keep theirfarmland. Low
farm income, inappropriate agricultural systems, weakcommunity organization, and dependency on forest
resources were found to be the major problems relevant
toun sustainable land use in the village. The following
results give a synthesis of the problems asobserved byeach discipline. Important problems are considered
together with their causes and effects as well as theirinterrelation. Solutions to the problems are recommended.
The synthesisis conducted as indicated in the diagram
showing the relations of problems of land use andnatural
resource management in KlongSathorn village (Fig. 3).

56

Figure 3. The relations of problems on land use and natural resource utilization in KlongSathorn village
Inappropriate farming systems: Most of the farmland
was upland. None of the field areas were irrigated. The
soil types weremainly sandy and loamy sand with a clay
layer at a depth of 50-70 cm (Anurakpongsathorn, 1996).
The rain absorbed underground accumulated over the clay
strata. Farmland was obstructed by road and farm dikes,
this resulted in water logging. Heavy rainfall induced
water logging which resulted in growth and yield of fruit
trees and other perennial crops.
Usually the cultivated land was left uncovered during thedry season. Farmers ploughed along the slope. Heavy rain
during the early cropping season led to washing anderosion of top soils, thus reducing soil organic matter. Soil
erosion caused increasing of sediments in natural water
sources and reservoirs. Artificial ponds and reservoirs of
the households became shallow within a short period.
Though KlongSathorn village locates close to a reservoir
namely LamPhraPhloeng 1 but the villagers could not
obtain water for farming. The reservoir was constructed
mainly for trapping sediments and no irrigation canal wasavailable. Cultivation of maize and other crops was reliant
upon rainfall. In the case of drought or a long dry season,
those crops would be damaged.
In KlongSathorn villag, rice was grown for household
consumption. Limiting ofland, the rice planting area wassmall. Maize was the main cash crop. Most villagers grewmaize once a year and repeated cultivation on same land
for a long time. Such practices led to ahigh risk of disease
and pest spreading. They had to apply more chemicals to
get rid of diseases and to control pests, leading to negative
impacts on the environment e.g. water quality. A lack ofhousehold’s labour increased the number of hired labours,
thus farm costs increased. Though the yield and price ofmaize was relatively low, villagers were bound to growmaize. Due tolack of investment funds, farmers relied on
middlemen who advanced seeds, pesticides and chemicalfertilizers for growing. After the harvest, they had to sellmaize to merchants whowere their lenders, thus they did
not have any bargaining power. This practice continuallyonthe same land without any soil maintenance and resulted
in soil erosion and low soil fertility e.g. phosphorous andpotassium contents were found particularly low. Farmers
had to increase the application of fertilizers year by year tomaintain crop yields. Slashing and burning of crop
remains and weeds before ploughing occurred and thiswas mismanagement as it led to soil degradation and lower
soil fertility. Ploughing and growing maize up and down
the direction of slope resulted in increasing soil erosion
and rapidly decreasing soil fertility.
Inappropriate agriculture, mono-cropping system had ahigh risk of a low price forfarm production and of causing
environmental deterioration. Multiple cropping andintegrated farming including livestock could recycle farmresources. Farmers would be less dependent oninputs fromnon-farm sources. In spite of a smaller cash income fromthe products and more complications in marketing theirproduces, multiple and integrated farming could yield abetter overall income, in cash and in kind. These methods
also reduced the risk from lower prices and environmental
damage. Villagers would have more agricultural activities,
thus reducing out migration to the non-agricultural sector
as well as outside the village. Growing a main crop
followed by a marketable short-lived nut crop would
increase farm income and on the other hand increase soil
fertility.
Forest dependency: Klong Sathorn villagers had beenlong accustomed to gathering forest products from
KhaoYai national park both for household consumption
and for sale, especially among the first settlers.Economic
and social land development via commercial agriculture ormono-cropping did notlessen the necessity of the villagers’

57forest dependence. This led to problems in natural
resource management through the years.
Being adjacent to KhaoYai national park, the villagers
were familiar with theutilization of forest products fortheir living, for commercial, and for recreation purposes.
While waiting for the maize harvest, they looked for workoutside the community. If they could notget any job, theywould go back into the village and gather forest products
to make their living. Allocating land for agriculture did notlessen forest dependence. A number of farmers sold theirland to wealthier people who had access to better social
opportunities. These landless farmers turned to rely on
forest resources for their survival. It is a burden for thegovernment to monitorand capture those violating theRoyal Decree on National Parks B.E. 2504 (1961). Some
illegal forest product gathering had negative impacts uponbiodiversity in the area, e.g. cutting agar wood trees andhunting. This became a social indirect tax as the number ofgovernment forest guards had to be increased. Whenviolators of the law were captured they could be jailed
which might cause family problems and adverse impacts
upon the family. For example, when thefather was jailed,the family leader could not earn income for they family
and children might beunable to attend school.
At the same time, there was conflict in the village sincesome villagers did not agreewith illegal forest products
collection in the national park as some government
agencies couldcut their assistance for community
development. On the other side those violators lacked
alternative job opportunities, especially among thoselandless and hired farm workers who were unemployedwhen the maize cropping and harvesting season was over.
A lack of understanding between the villagers who had torely on forest products and the priest who tried hard toincrease public awareness on resource renewal (including
timber products from agar wood and Hopea, and a calm
natural scene) for the community was clearly observed.
Studies in many areas have indicated that dependence onnatural resources wasrelated to the size of land holding
and income. Social and economic conditions had clear
impacts on the intensity of natural resource dependence(Beer and McDermott, 1996). Fromthis study it was also
found that the volume of household forest productgathering was inversely related to size of land holding andincome. Households gathering more forest products were
those with small land holdings or without farmland andlow income households. Due to a lackof alternative job
opportunities, some farmers changed to earn income fromillegal forest product gathering in the national park. It wasnoticed that the first settlers insisted on utilization of forestfrom the national park which could be explained by theirusual practice as well as their culture.
Promotion of resource renewal for the villagers’ ownutilization, e.g. domestication of wild species and agroforestry could reduce forest degradation. Government andrelevant agencies could offer support and assistance fororganizing an agroforest group among those interested,
and recommend appropriate integrated land use andnatural resource utilization from production through toutilization and marketing. The target should be on
sustainable local ecosystems and uplifting thecommunity’s social and economic status. Development ofalternative job opportunities for better income amonghouseholds with limited or withoutfarmland could
decrease destructive forest dependency. For example, thecommunity should participate in ecotourism in the nationalpark and in forest co-management in the protected area
including forest fire control, protection and rehabilitationof the forest.
Environmental problems: Villagers in Klong Sathorn
migrated from diverse locations including the upper
central andnorth-eastern provinces. Struggling for survival
led to a lack of interest in environment and natural
resource conservation. Most of these villagers did notadequately realize the importance of environment
relevance their life quality. Moreover, a weak localorganization made collaboration difficult on community
activities. Natural resource utilization was forced byforcesfrom outside the community.
Besides being located in a low rainfall area, the change
from forest into agricultural land had an impact on the soil
properties, the quality of topsoil which used to beabundant in organic matter and had good water absorptionchanged. According to the GIS, the area wassloping with
underlying laterite clay which had a limited capacity toretain rain water for agriculture. Runoff quickly flowed
into streams. Agricultural land lacked sufficient water
resulting in low yields. The hydrological potential of
agriculture in KlongSathorn village was low.
Weak community organization: An important social
problem in KlongSathorn village was a weak community
organization. The causes of this problem diverted
including of settlement, the patronage system, improper
government support, weak community leadership, limit ofknowledge as well as education among the villagers, andincome disparity resulting in different social status.
Villagers migrated from various areas at different time andwere of different a status. The background of the villagers
was varied, thus it was difficult to collaborate andestablish a strong community organization. There was apatronage system within groups of villagers. Groups werenumerous. The patronage system constrained co-operationin the overall community, and limited efficientcollaboration. Different social status and income
disparities among the villagers were found also to be acause of failure in community collaboration.
The villagers were not highly educated. They had to work
hard to make their living, thus they could not participate
regularly in collective activities. A weak leadership and alack of absolute decision making resulted in an inability todevelop strong community organization.
Government support which did not accommodate
community needs alsoled to conflict in the community due
to inequities in getting support. This was another cause ofcommunity organization weakness. Government planningwhich did not take in to account the needs of thecommunity, local empowerment where the community had
not been ready to take charge of administration andmanagement, aswell as a village development project
which was politically oriented resulted ingovernment
support being a constraint on the building capacity forcommunity organization in KlongSathorn village. The
58

effects of weak community organization resulted inproblems inempowerment and lack of local participation
which resulted in planning which couldnot accommodate
local needs. These were obstacles for community
development. A lack of participation led to an inability todevelop community organization.Weak community
organization resulted in inefficient extension of job
opportunities, adverse impacts on household income andliving conditions, forest dependency, and environmental
conditions since there was natural resource extractionbutlack of proper management.
Low farm income: The most important economic
problem of land use in KlongSathorn village was low farmincomes. This problem was related to two other economic
problems i.e. income disparity and a lack of alternative job
opportunities. These problems were also related to othernon-economic problems.
Low yields, high costs of production, and low farm pricewere the causesof low farm incomes. Inappropriate
farming, an agricultural problem, was the causeof low
yields and high costs. Weak community organization, asocial problem, resulted in low income. Weak community
organization also led to management problem inagricultural co-operation and a lack of alternative job
opportunities which were the other two causes of the
problem on low income. The impacts from low income
were household income disparity, land leasing and/or
selling land, working outside the community. A lack of
local job opportunities was both a cause and effect of low
income.
Besides low yield, a low farm price was another cause of
low farmincome. Villagers were bound, being indebt, tosell their harvests to a limited number of buyers. Theirmarket opportunity was restricted. A high cost of
production was another factor of low farm income.
Villagers had to pay high interest on their farm loans interms of lower farm prices. They had to apply chemicalfertilizers. These were the results of inappropriate farm
practices. Lack of efficient agricultural cooperation wasanother factor of low farm income leading to the inability
in input procurement, lack of market opportunity, and lackof bargaining power. Inefficient agricultural co-operation
was a result of weak community organization which wasasocial problem of KlongSathorn.
Other social impacts of low income were improper
government intervention and a lack of unity in thecommunity. Some government interventions such as theVillage Fund which was introduced into the village while
community organization was still weak led to conflictamong villagers. Diversity among villagers constrained
collaboration of economic activities which could provide
villagers alternative sources of income. Due to a lack of
local job opportunities, villagers hadto rely on farming.
They selected crops according to the middlemen’s
demands. The main crop was maize which earned low
income. Lack of alternative job opportunities was also a
result of low income. Poverty made it unaffordable forhouseholders to invest in a better occupation. Inspite of theexistence of higher earning jobs, the farmers did not haveaccess to investin such opportunities.

Due to low farm income, some farmers leased or sold theirland. Leasing land earned an assured income. Farmers did
not have to take risk in cropping. Nevertheless there were
small farmers whose income from leasing or selling theirland (or land rights) could not cover their living costs.
These farmers became hired workers, and so changed theirsocial status. Due to low incomes in KlongSathorn, some
capable family member chose to work outside thecommunity earning higher incomes. Currently somehouseholds in the village relied on income sent to them by
their family members who worked outside the village.
Such behaviour reflected unsustainable land use. Local
people had to leave home to work in the other areas tosecure their income.
Furthermore, low farm income resulted in income
disparity between former settlers and new comers. Low
income households were usually farm households. Somehouseholds sold their land and turned to be hired farmworkers.
New settlers, when transportation was more convenient,were usually richer, beingcapable of earning higher
incomes than those who previously lived in thecommunity.
Their incomes were different. Income disparity resulted indifficult collaboration among these villagers. There wassocial conflict, thus weak community organization. Low
income in KlongSathorn village was the main economic
problem. It was a result of inappropriate agricultural
systems, the main agricultural problem, andweak
community organization, the main social problem. Causesof low income were low farm prices, high costs, lowyields, inefficient agricultural co-operation, and lack ofalternative local job opportunities.
Low farm price was a marketing problem, the farmers
were bound to their middlemen. To solve this problem,
there should be a search for new market opportunities andreleasing farmers’ debt burden with the middlemen. New
market opportunities may be possible if the community
could collaborate to perform economic activities.
Nevertheless, weak community organization was ahindrance tosuch opportunities. High costs and low yields
resulted from inappropriate agricultural practices.
Recommendations for appropriate agricultural systems area key toreducing the problem. Inefficient co-operative
management and a lack of alternative job opportunities
were results of weak community organization which was asocial problem.
Solutions to low income are to find higher earning job
opportunities locally. Recommended alternatives are agar
wood forest gardening, rattan processing, and ecotourism.
There was a need to strengthen the community
organization as wellas correcting the problems inagricultural co-operative management to increase thebargaining
power
and
economicopportunities.
Agricultural practices should be improved using
appropriate farm technologies in correspondence withlocation, market and profitability.
Conclusions and Recommendations
Results of the study reflect unsustainable land use in
KolngSathorn village. Low incomes, especially farmincomes, resulted from inappropriate farming leading to59

low yields and high costs. Weak community organization
was the other cause of low incomes. Farmers had to farmas demanded by the middlemen. Low incomes andpoverty
increased forest dependency and natural resource
utilization, a tendency tonegative environmental impact.
KlongSathorn village is a case study elaborating
unsustainable development. In spite of government
allocation of land, farmers couldnot maintain their land.
They sold land rights to those who were wealthier andbecame hired workers or moved to work in other areas.
Integrated farming in place of mono-cropping (which wasmaize according to the middlemen’s demands) is one of
the solutions to low farm incomes. Nevertheless,cultivating alternative crops requires investment funds andmarket opportunities. Better transportation provides
market opportunities for farmers from Klong Sathorn
village. They have the opportunity to deliver theirmerchandise tonearby markets. There are several markets
i.e. at Pak Chong and Wang Nam Khieo districts which
are whole sale markets. To deliver merchandise to suchmarkets, theymust gather an adequate large volume tocover transportation costs. If the villagers can collaborate
for such economic activities, market opportunities can be
developed.
Problems of indebtedness and a lack of investment funds
should be alleviated. Actually, there are various funds
available in KlongSathorn village, e.g.the Village Fund,the Economic Community Fund, and the Agricultural
Development Fund which ware allocated by thegovernment. Due to weak community organization,
management of these funds has not been adequately
efficient. If these problems could be lessened, these funds
could be available to reduce the debt burden and forinvestment for better earning economic activities.
Strengthening the capability of community organization is
an immediate solution. The diversity of community
members, variety of immigration from differentlocations,times and status make collaboration difficult. Nevertheless,from the reportof the social team, there was social
interaction among nearby neighbours andrelatives. They
regularly got together for social events. This collaboration
was within different settler groups. Collaboration can beinitiated at this level. Government should take acoordinating role and provide villagers with the necessary
infrastructureas the starting point for collaboration amongsuch groups. Strengthening community organization will
increase awareness on the values of natural resources andenvironment since group ownership is more valid than
individual ownership. This will lead to alleviating
environmental problems and maintain forest resources forsustainable utilization.
Appropriate agricultural systems, extension services for
local job opportunities, building up opportunities inincome generation, and adding value tovillage products
will increase the income and thus quality of life incorrespondence tothe improved infrastructure. These willlessen the problems of selling land rights, thus maintainvillagers in the area, to protect their land and natural
resources.
Acknowledgements: This research was financially
supported by DANCED via Thai University Consortium

on Environment and Development - Sustainable Land Use
and Natural Resource Management (TUCED-SLUSE) and
Kasetsart University Research and Development Institute(KURDI). Kyoto University, Japan supported the trip to
Myanmar for presenting this paper. The authors would liketo thank them all.
References
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1990. Report of LandUse for Cash Crops in Nakorn
Ratchasima: Official Document book no. 139, Land use
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Soil Survey and Classification. Land Development
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Bangkok.
Beer, de J.H. and McDermott, M.L. 1996. The Economic Valueof Non-Timber Forest Products In Southeast Asia. 2nd ed.
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Department Community Development. 2001. Database
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Areas: Sub-project 6: Social Research: KU-SLUSE,
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Kaveeta, L., Pitiyont, B., Kermanee, P., Ngernsangsalui, C.,
Rungsin, W., Senawong, C., Hutacharern, C.,
Choldumrongkul, S. and Dhongboon, K. 2002. Research
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Ratchasima province. KU-SLUSE, Kasetsart University,
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K., Kumlung, A., Varamit, N., Pakoktom, T., Pintarak, A.,
Junrungrueng, S. and Thongtuam, B. 2002. Research reporton existing land use and socio-economics in KhaoPuLuangWang Nam Khieo forest areas: Sub-project 3; Agricultural
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Bangkok.
Tongpan, S., Tokrisna, R., Kantangkul, P., Pongthanapanich, T.,
Pattana, R. and Kanjanalerk, Y. 2002. Research Report on
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60

J. Agrofor. Environ. 11 (1 & 2): 61-66, 2017

ISSN 1995-6983

Dynamics of agroecosystems in the Brahmaputra valley, Assam (India)
Nityananda Deka and A.K. Bhagabati
Department of Geography, Gauhati University, Assam -781014, India
Abstract: Agro ecosystems have been created and modified by the people to satisfy their demand for food, fiber, fuel and other products.
The nature and degree of modification, however, vary over space and time depending upon the environment, need and aspirations of thepeople living in different parts of the world. The changes that take place in the human environment make the associated agroecosystems
more dynamic resulting in remarkable transformations in the agricultural landscapes. This work attempts to study the pattern of change
in the agroecosystems of the Brahmaputra valley, Assam from geographical perspectives. It focuses on the evolution of agroecosystems
and the factors responsible for making them increasingly dynamic in the changing contexts of nature-culture interaction. Special
attention has been paid to the dynamics of area and output of rice, which continues to be the dominant crop in the agroecosystems within
the valley.
Key words: Dynamics, agroecosystems, Brahmaputra valley, Assam, India.

Introduction
The Brahmaputra valley, a major physiographic unit ofAssam, is endowed with rich natural diversity and varied
cultural manifestations. The physical and social
peculiarities of this river valley have helped developmentof characteristic agroecosystems within it. The
Brahmaputra valley has long been under traditional land
use practices dominated by food grain and cash crop
farming, fisheries, traditional homestead gardening etc.,
which make the valley’s agroecosystem diverse. The
traditional land use practices adopted by the farmers
belonging to different communities have their roots in thecommunity cultures in a given ecological setting, which
contribute immensely to the sustainability of the valley’s
agroecosystems. However, during the recent period, thediversity and sustainability of the valley’s agroecosystems
have been considerably disturbed by the processes of rapid
development of the agricultural sector including extensionof modern irrigated agriculture, application of chemicalfertilizer, High Yielding Variety (HYV) seeds,
exploitation of ground water, alteration of land use andcropping pattern and expansion of infrastructural facilities.
In addition, the demographic instability, socio-economicchanges, changing attitude and perception of the people
and farmers, government policies and efforts of the Non
Government
Organizations(NGOs)
have
been
simultaneously contributing to the dynamism of thevalley’s agricultural scenario.
The change in the agroecosystems from the traditional tomodern may eventually endanger the very sustainability of
the long-continued, reliable and, in many cases, ecofriendly agroecosystems of the valley. The present paper istherefore an attempt to investigate the nature and trend ofchange in the agroecosystems of the valley so as to evolve
strategies towards bringing about a positive andsustainable change in the systems.
The Brahmaputra valley covering an area of 56,194 sq. km(72 % of the state’s total geographical area) with an eastwest span of about 720 km and an average width of 80 km
is a unique physiographic entity of the state of Assam (Fig.
1). The river Brahmaputra with its 32 major tributaries has
been playing a great role on the valley’s agroecosystems
primarily by supplying huge amount of alluvium to its
floodplain. The valley comprises of the elongated northand south bank foothill belts, extensive built-up plains andactive floodplains including the most sensitive sandbars(charlands). The varied micro-physiographic features andclimatic conditions and the rich biological diversity
combined with socio-economic multiplicity havecontributed remarkably towards variation in the pattern
and processes of agricultural land utilization in the
Brahmaputra valley (Bhagabati, 1990a; 1990b).
The agroecosystems of the Brahmaputra valley arebasically dependent on the seasonal rhythm of monsoonal
downpour. The average annual rainfall in the valley is 230
cm, while the Himalayan sector of its catchment records
more than 500 cm. The soils of the valley are mainlycomposed of alluvium and piedmont deposits. The valley
has rich diversity of flora and fauna. The total forest areaof the valley in 2001-02 was 1.29 million hectares
accounting for 23.02 % of the valley’s total geographicalarea.
Human history started in the valley long before the Aryan
civilization some five to seven thousand years ago which
spread eastward along the Brahmaputra valley (Choudhury,2004). The Brahmaputra valley has been inhabited bypeople of diverse ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds.
The valley, accounting for 72 % of the state’s total area,
shares 85.00 % of the total population of the state. The
density of population in the valley according to 2001
census was 407 persons per sp.km.

Fig. 1. Brahmaputra Valley Administrative Districts

Materials and Methods
The Brahmaputra valley, which represents a broad
agroecosystem zone within the state of Assam, has been
selected to investigate the dynamism and sustainability ofits diversified agroecosystems. The agroecologicalconditions of the valley have been studied on the basis of
direct field experiences, surveys through well-designed
schedule, secondary data collected, consultation of maps
and books and journals. Required base materials for the
study have been collected /generated from sources like
Survey of India’s toposheets with scale 1:50,000, satellite
images, revenue maps etc. Relevant literatures werereviewed to develop necessary conceptual framework andappropriate methodology to carry out the work from rightperspectives.
Relevant secondary data on agroecosystems of theBrahmaputra valley have been acquired from government
sources like the Directorate of Agriculture, Department of
Water Resource Development, Meteorological Centre,
Directorate of Census, Department of Soil Conservation,
Assam Agricultural University etc. Meaningful
quantitative and cartographic techniques and soft wares(Arc GIS 9.2, MS Excel, SPSS etc.) are applied to process
and represent the data in the form of maps and diagrams.
Efforts are made to analyse the problem following certain
concepts and models available in the field ofagroecosystem studies so that the issues with respect toindividual components and the overall agro ecosystems
can be understood properly.

permanent rice fields, gardens and orchards. The Ahomrulers had also given importance to each land cover type
like marshy land, forest, beel or pond and waste land as
potential productive lands.
Evolution of cultivation method and agricultural
technology: The technologies used in the agriculturaloperation in the Brahmaputra valley were of the archaic
type. Most of the tribes of the state had traditionally usedsome sorts of agricultural technology like hoe and stick in
the agricultural operation. The Ahoms in the early
thirteenth century introduced the advanced plough andother agricultural inputs and implements. They with theirskills making earthen bunds raised numerous
embankments locally called mathauri along the tributariesof the Brahmaputra. Thus, over time the scenario ofagroecosystems of the Brahmaputra valley had undergone
radical transformation. The traditional agricultural
implements used in the medieval period in the valley were
wooden plough (nangal) with an iron tipped share (phal),wooden rakes (jabaka) and mallets (dolimari), harrow(mai), yoke (juwali), sickles (kachi), bill hooks (da),knives (churi-katari) and variety of bamboo baskets likeduli, mer, kharahi, pachi, etc. (Nath, 2002).
It is noteworthy that there has not been any perceptiblechange in the nature of use of the traditionally developed
agricultural implements even during the British period in
the early part of the 19th century. The methods oftransplanting, ploughing and harrowing, hoeing andsticking, threshing, preserving seeds, applying organic
manure and pesticides, making of dykes etc. are carriedout even today almost in the same style or with little
modification. However, some new dimension have been
added to the valley’s agricultural landscape with theintroduction of modern agricultural inputs and implements
like HYV seeds, chemical fertilizers and pesticides, power
tillers and threshers, sprayers etc, during and after 1980s(Deka and Bhagabati, 2010).
Nature and pattern of change: The agroecosystem in the
Brahmaputra valley has been changing both qualitatively
and quantitatively over time and across space due to thenature and degree of modification made by the people.
With the rapid growth of population, growing needs forfoods and introduction of modern agricultural technologies,
the valley’s agroecosystem witnessed perceptible changes.
The traditional system of farming in the valley is in theprocess of transformation into the modern phase. The
diversity and long-term sustainability of the valley’s
traditionally developed agroecosystems have been
gradually giving ways to the process of modernization.
After the introduction of modern agricultural inputs andtechnologies, the production, yield and the area undercrops have been increasing.
Change in area, production and yield of different
crops: It has been observed that the crops in the valley
have undergone considerable change both in terms of theircultivated area and production due to shrinkage of
agricultural lands, transfer of agricultural land to nonagricultural uses, mono-cropping of HYV crops, lack ofsufficient irrigation and application of modern inputs andmachines. It has been found that the area and productionof cereals, oilseeds, pulses and horticultural crops in the

Results and Discussion
Evolution of agroecosystem in the Brahmaputra
valley: The agroecosystems in the Brahmaputra valley
have been evolved since the beginning of humanhabitation. The state of agriculture in the Brahmaputra
valley has been changing from tribalism to feudalism andthen from feudalism to the modernism of agriculture (Nath,2002). The valley was inhabited by the people belonging
to indigenous tribal and non-tribal groups like Khasi,
Moran, Barahi, Bodo, Karbi, Mishing, Tiwa, Dimasa,
Chutia and Bhuyan who entered into the valley throughthe river valleys and mountain passes from theneighbouring countries and other states of India. Other
racial groups like Ahoms and some Tibeto-Burmans andAryans penetrated into the valley in subsequent periods.
These racial groups, with their distinctive cultural
backgrounds and traditional knowledge systems gradually
started cultivating the land in the Brahmaputra valley (Das,
2004; Choudhury, 1987).
The ancient people, whether following Aryanised ortribals habits, practiced rice cultivation in the valley as rice
was their staple food (Barpujari, 2004). The Garo and theBodo-Kachari tribes in the lower Brahmaputra valley
practiced ahu and bao rice cultivation by using hoe andtraditional irrigation system. The Chutiyas, the earliest
tribes inhabiting the upper Brahmaputra valley districts,
used to practice wet rice cultivation. The Bhuyans
reclaimed new lands of the valley and put them undercultivation. The migration of Ahoms into Assam had madesignificant contribution to the agrarian life and culture of
the state during and after the 13th century by introducing
new agricultural inputs and implements. The Ahoms
acquired ecological and agricultural knowledge and belief
systems from the local tribes and castes of the valley suchas the Bodos, Kacharis, Chutiyas and the Bhuyans. The
Ahoms had brought large areas of the valley under62

Brahmaputra valley had declined during 2001-2006. The
area under pulses registered a decrease by 53.96 %followed by oilseeds (27.15 %), horticultural crops(10.23%) and cereals (10.03%) (Table 1 and Fig. 2).

Table 1. Change in area under crops in the Brahmaputra valley, 2001- 2006
Year

Cereals
22530882027084-10.03

2001-022005-06% change during 2001-2006

Area (in ha) under crops and their % change during 2001-2006
Oilseeds
Pulses
Horticultural crops
281345
19186912848420495688336
115337-27.15-53.96-10.23

Data source: Directorate of Agriculture, Government of Assamregistered a decline by 55.03 % followed by oilseeds(29.25%), cereals (11.36%) and horticultural crops(9.31%) (Table 2 and Fig. 3).

Fig. 2 Change in Area under different Crops in the Brahmaputra
valley, 2001-2006

Similarly, with the decrease of area the production of
cereals, oilseeds, pulses and horticultural crops in the
Brahmaputra valley has also been declining. The decline
in the production of these crops may also be ascribed tothe traditional mode of cultivation, use of local varieties
and erratic nature of rainfall. The production of pulses

Fig. 3. Change in Production of different Crops in the Brahmaputra
valley, 2001-2006

Table 2. Change in production of different crops in the Brahmaputra valley, 2001-2006
Year
2001-022005-06% change during 2001-2006

Production (in metric tones) of different crops and their % change during 2001-2006
Cereals
Oilseeds
Pulses
Horticultural crops
3248701
139824105674870441287971198925
47523
789367-11.36-29.25-55.03-9.31

Data source: Directorate of Agriculture, Government of Assam

Table 3. Change in area under different types of rice in the Brahmaputra valley during 1960-2005
Year
1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005

Autumn rice314577402149527880636800606225640600608150624761
539665359693

Change %
27.84
31.26
20.63
-4.80
5.67
-5.07
2.73
-13.62-33.35

Area under rice (in hectare) and percentage change
Winter rice
Change %Summer rice
Change %1092238
2448
11387864.26
10709
337.491220830
7.20
12360
15.42
1204800-1.31
25830
108.981245570
3.38
26420
2.28
0
0
31766
20.23
13746530102866223.821323074-3.75
14095837.03
13448881.65310624120.371105894-17.77260729-16.06It has been revealed that the area under rice has been
gradually increasing registering a change of + 51.45 %during the period 1960 - 2000 (Table 3). The area underrice after every five years from 1960 to 2000 has shown
positive change, except in the year 2005. There was asevere drought in 2005 for which rice area declined. The
area under different types of rice (autumn and winter rice)
has also witnessed considerable changes (both positive andnegative) in the subsequent periods. However, the area

Total rice140926215516441703870
1777490
17880101950914
200875620287312134261
1671562

Change %
10.10
9.81
4.32
0.59
9.11
2.96
0.99
5.20
-21.68under summer rice has been continuously increasing
except for the year 2005. It is because of the fact that thefarmers of the Brahmaputra valley, especially those fromthe char-chapori areas have opted for cultivating summer
rice as an alternative to autumn and winter rice as these areregularly affected by floods and droughts. The area underrice is, however, fluctuating depending mainly on theavailability of rainfall and extension of cultivation to somenew areas.
63

The productivity of rice in the valley has also been
increasing. The yield as calculated at five years intervalfrom 1960 to 2005 shows positive change except for theyear 2005 (Table 4). The productivity of rice during 1960 -

2000 registered a change of + 70.31 %. The production ofrice in 1960 was 1.28 million tonnes which increased to
3.99 million tonnes in 2000, registering a change of +211.72% during the period (Table 5).

Table 4. Trend of yield of different types of rice in the Brahmaputra valley during 1960-2005
Year

Autumn rice
Change %Winter rice
1960
0.69401.001
1965
0.7300
5.19
0.977
1970
0.7190
-1.51
1.080
1975
0.8040
11.82
1.150
1980
0.8020
-0.25
1.171
1985
N.A.
N.A.
N.A.
1990
0.9030
0.00
1.381
1995
0.9200
1.88
1.425
2000
1.0540
14.57
1.495
2005
1.0110-4.08
1.436
Source: Directorate of Agriculture, Government of Assam

Rice yield (in tone) per hectare
Change %Summer rice
Change %
1.102
-2.40
1.119
1.54
10.54
1.300
16.18
6.48
1.348
3.69
1.83
1.460
8.31
N.A.
N.A.
N.A.
0.00
1.716
0.00
3.19
1.794
4.55
4.91
2.219
23.69
-3.95
1.925
-13.25

Total rice yield
0.933
0.942
1.033
1.101
1.144
N.A.
1.333
1.380
1.589
1.457

Change %
1.03
9.65
6.56
3.93
N.A.
0.00
3.49
15.20
-8.33

Table 5. Trend of production of different types of rice in the Brahmaputra valleyduring 1960-2005
Production (in tonne) of different types of rice
Autumn rice
Change %Winter rice
Change %Summer rice
Change %1960
20736710736662137
1965
30942949.22
1099101
2.37
9803
358.73
1970
37957322.67
160431745.97
32539
231.93
1975
47763325.83
1767283
10.16
45506
39.85
1980
501692
5.04
1977606
11.90
43499
-4.41
1985
5075001.162293700
15.98
45380
4.32
1990
5221892.892565423
11.85
182581
302.34
1995
516031-1.18
26226672.2325132437.65
20005577648.0927596525.22
681027170.98
2005
335120-39.922046719-25.83530302-22.13
Source: Directorate of Agriculture, Government of AssamYear

Total rice12831701418333
2016429229042225227972846580
3270193339002239984432912141

Change %
10.53
42.17
13.59
10.15
12.83
14.88
3.66
17.95
-27.17in 1992-93 was 150.31 % which decreased to 144.19 % in
2001-02. A district level observation of the change incropping intensity over the period (Table 6 and Fig. 4)
revealed that Darrang district recorded the highest decline(-37.99) in the index of cropping intensity followed by
Barpeta (-11.03), Golaghat (-8.36), Nagaon (-6.73),
Kokrajhar (-3.94) and Sibsagar (-3.74). However, theintensity of cropping has shown a positive trend in theremaining districts. The highest increase in the intensity
was recorded in Dhemaji district (+23.21) and the lowest
in the Dibrugarh district (+0.94).

Change in cropping intensity
The nature of change in cropping intensity in the
Brahmaputra valley has been also remarkable. In the
traditional subsistence agriculture, usually the cropping
intensity remains considerably high. In the limited land
resources of the valley, the small and marginal farmers arecompelled to cultivate their lands three to four times toraise various crops in order to meet their domestic demand.
However, at present, because of the spread of modernmono-cropping, particularly in the case of rice, the paddy
lands have been cultivated less intensively.
The cropping intensity in the case of Brahmaputra valley

Table 6. Changes in cropping intensity in the Brahmaputra valley, 1992-2002
DistrictDhubri
Kokrajhar
Bongaigaon
Goalpara
Barpeta
NalbariKamrupDarrang
Sonitpur
Lakhimpur
DhemajiMorigaon
NagaonGolaghat
JorhatSibsagarDibrugarh
Tinsukia
Brahmaputra Valley

Cropping intensity 1992-93
151.33166.28156.12125.64172.93133.11
125.28231.4
136.81163.54131.43131.25162.13140
131.2
115.49128136.17150.31

Cropping intensity 2001-02
153.29159.73164.79136.84153.85137.46139.73143.49147.12172.05161.93134.55151.22
128.3
142.62111.17129.22141.83144.19Change (%)
+1.30
-3.94
+5.55
+8.91
-11.03+3.27+11.53-37.99+7.54+5.20+23.21
+2.51
-6.73
-8.36
8.70
-3.74
+0.94
+4.16
-4.07

Source: Directorate of Agriculture, Government of Assam; Note: Cropping intensity = (Gross cropped area ÷ Net cropped area) × 100

64

1992-1993

the Brahmaputra valley, with extensive uninhabited anduncultivated fertile lands attracted immigrants from East
Pakistan (Bangladesh) and Nepal, especially after 1950s.
The immigrants along with the growing indigenous
population exerted immense pressure on the valley’s
limited agricultural lands.
It has been observed that the physiological density in thevalley in 1991 was 798 persons per sq km which increased
to 947 persons in 2001, registering a change of +19 %during the decade (Table 7).

2001-2002

Fig. 4. Brahmaputra Valley Intensity of Cropping 1992-1993 and 2001-2002

Change in physiological density: There has also been
seen a change in the physiological density of population in
the Brahmaputra valley. It has already been mentioned that
Table 7. Change in physiological density in the Brahmaputra valley, 1991- 2001
DistrictDhubri
Kokrajhar
Bongaigaon
Goalpara
Barpeta
NalbariKamrupDarrang
Sonitpur
Lakhimpur
DhemajiMorigaon
NagaonGolaghat
JorhatSibsagarDibrugarh
Tinsukia
Brahmaputra Valley

Physiological density, 1991
888
931
824
857
766
687
1124
627
874
783
684
666
806
662
697
639
834
1024
798

Physiological density, 2001
1139
1067
953
1037
915
748
1402
733
1014
890
907
840
986
806
833
764
859
1156
947

Change (%) 1991-2001
+28
+15
+16
+21
+19
+9
+25
+17
+16
+14
+33
+26
+22
+22
+20
+20
+3
+13
+19

Data source: Statistical Hand Book, Government of Assam, Note: Physiological density denotes persons per sq km of arable land.

Causes of change: The changes in agroecosystem of theBrahmaputra valley are caused by a number of physicaland cultural factors. Among the physical factors spatial
distribution and seasonal variation of rainfall, humidity
and temperature, floods and erosion, deterioration of soil
quality and degradation of wetlands are mainly responsible.
Since rice is cultivated extensively in the monsoon season,
floods cause great loss to the paddy cultivation in thevalley. The area and production of rice in major flood
years (1988, 1998, 2004 etc.) were found to be less thannormal (Fig. 5 and 6).

food and dress habit and housing, impact of globalizationand government policies are some of the important socioeconomic factors that contribute to the change in natureand functions of the agroecosystems in the valley. The
rapid rise of population and limited supply of land
resources in the Brahmaputra valley have adversely
affected the valley’s agroecosystem. It is alreadymentioned that the density of population in the valley has
been rising fast from 225 in 1971 to 342 in 1991 and 406
persons per sq km in 2001. The agricultural density in the
Brahmaputra valley which was 707 persons per sq km of
agricultural land in 1991 increased to 824 persons in 2001
registering a change of + 17% during the period.

Fig. 5. Rice Area in the Brahmaputra valley 1988-2006

Again, the rapid population growth, occupational shift,modernization in agricultural and allied sectors, change in

Fig. 6. Rice Production in the Brahmaputra valley 1988-2006

65

After independence, more particularly after 1980s, efforts
have been made to use modern inputs and equipment in
the agricultural fields which has brought about change inthe land use pattern, methods of water supply, cropping
pattern, crop-combination, productivity and the overallcharacter of the agroecosystems of the Brahmaputra valley.
Consequences of change: The changes in agroecosystem
for the purpose of modernization have generated lot ofchanges in the culture, economy and livelihoods of thepeople of the valley. With the introduction of modern
inputs and implements the diverse and mixed cropping
systems in the valley tended to be mono-cropping. Many
traditional crop varieties that adapted to the site-specificconditions and practices now tend to disappear. With thedisappearance of certain local crop varieties as well as
indigenous agricultural tools, there has been a parallel
disappearance of some agriculture-related customs andfestivals, traditional house type, food and dress habits.
These have slowly led to the withdrawal of the emotional
attachment of the people with their agriculture. Earlier,people used to have a biasness for their own agricultural
produces.
There has been a growing social negligence to the farming
community and the traditional farming activities. As aresult, the percentage of workers engaged in agriculturalactivities has significantly decreased. All these factors
have, however, compelled at least some of the farmers togradually opt for mechanized farming. Growing
dependence on mechanization has ultimately displaced
farmers and farm workers from the agriculture to othersecondary and tertiary sectors of the economy. The
cumulative effects of all these have rendered theagroecosystems gradually unsustainable causing poverty
and marginality among the small farmers in the valley.
Moreover, the low return of agriculture, general
negligence to the farming community, lack of irrigation
facility, gradual change in food habit, adoption of HYV
and related farming packages are held responsible for the
declining trend of cropping intensity during the recent
years. Again, there has also developed a psychologicalreluctance among the aged group of farmers towards theuse of modern farm technology due to lack of training andorientation (Deka and Bhagabati, 2010). Further more, therapidly growing population due primarily to immigrationfrom the erstwhile East Pakistan during and after 1950s
and the consequent rise in demand for food, fibre and fuelon the one hand and the rich-biased development
programmes implemented by the government agencies andthe changing socio-political situations on the other, have
weakened the traditional organic agroecosystems that
dominated the valley’s agricultural scenario till recently.
The agroecosystems of the Brahmaputra valley, Assamhave been evolved by the people of different ethnic groups
sharing different ecological settings. During the early preAhom period, the valley’s agroecosystem was primitive innature. The indigenous tribal people living in thehighlands have developed agroecosystems following theshifting (jhum) system. The Ahom, who came to Assamduring early 13th century are said to have introduced thewet rice cultivation and some other crops using tools likewooden plough, harrow etc. During the Britishcolonization in Assam in the 19th and first half of 20th
century, the land revenue system, land reclamation etc
were introduced and thus provided a new configuration to
the valley’s agricultural systems. Again, after
independence, due to high growth of population andresultant demand for food, and advancement of modern
agricultural technologies, the highly diverse andtraditionally evolved agroecosystems of the valley has
been in the process of transformation. Thus, theagricultural ecosystems in the valley are no doubt in astate of transformation from traditional to a modern one.
However, some elements of primitive and traditionalsociety and culture are still found to characterize the basic
tenets of the valley’s agroecosystems.
References
Barpujari, H.K. (ed.) 2004. The Comprehensive History ofAssam, Vol. I. Assam Publication Board, Guwahati, pp.124.Bhagabati, A.K. 1985. Pattern of Land Utilization in the
Brahmaputra Valley. Indian Journal of Ladscape System andEcological Studies, 8(2):62-69.
Bhagabati, A.K. 1990a. Spatial Analysis of Small-scale
Agriculture in Assam: A Case Study of Nalbari District.
Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Gauhati University,
Guwahati.
Bhagabati, A.K. 1990b. Social Structure and Agricultural
Performance in Dolabari Irrigated Area of Sonitpur District,Assam. Geographical Review of India 52(4):71-79.
Bhagabati, A.K. 1984. Levels of Agricultural Productivity in the
Brahmaputra Valley: A Geographical Analysis. Unpublished
M. Phil. dissertation, Gauhati University, Guwahati.
Bora, A.K. 2001. Physical Background, in Bhagabati, A.K. et al.
(ed.) Geography of Assam. Rajesh Publications, New Delhi,
pp-18-35.
Choudhury, P.C. 1987. The History of Civilization of the Peopleof Assam to the Twelfth Century A.D. Spectrum Publications,
Guwahati, pp. 2, 46, 24, 46, 334-337.
Choudhury, J.M. 2004. Geological Background, in Barpujari, H.
K. (ed.), The Comprehensive History of Assam, Vol.1.
Assam Publication Board, Guwahati, pp1-6.
Das, B.M. 2004. Ethnological Background, in Barpujari, H.K.
(ed.), The Comprehensive History of Assam, Vol.1. Assam
Publication Board, Guwahati, pp.6-9.
Das, M. M. 1984. Peasant Agriculture in Assam. Inter- India
Publication, New Delhi, pp.11-47, 49-69, 90-95, 114-123,
151-173.
Deka, N., Bhagabati, A.K. and Ando, K. 2009. Recent Changes
in Cropping Technology in the Floodplain of theBrahmaputra valley: A Case in Muktapur Village, Kamrup
District, Assam. Research for Tropical Agriculture. JapaneseSociety for Tropical Agriculture 2:99-100.
Deka, N. and Bhagabati, A.K. 2010. Farming Practice in a
Floodplain Village of Assam: Continuity and Change.
Indonesian Journal of Geography 42(1): 13-36.
Deka, N., Bhagabati, A.K. and Ando, K. 2010. Rural Land Use
in the Brahmaputra Floodplain Environment, Assam: The
Case of Muktapur Village. Contemporary India, Vol.1,
pp.177-193.
Deka, N. 2012. Agroecosystems in the Brahmaputra Valley,
Assam: Dynamics and Sustainability. Unpublished Ph.D.
dissertation, Gauhati University, GuwahatiNath, J. 2002. Agrarian System of Medieval Assam. Concept
Publishing Company, New Delhi, pp. 19-22, 36-38, 58-77,
164-168.

66

J. Agrofor. Environ. 11 (1 & 2): 67-70, 2017

ISSN 1995-6983

Rice-based cropping system of different ethnic groups across the Brahmaputra floodplain in
Assam, India
Haruhisa Asada
Department of Geography, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo 192-0397, Japan, e-mail: asada@tmu.ac.jp
Abstract: In Assam, various ethnic groups have traditionally engaged in agriculture, especially rice cultivation in the Brahmaputra
floodplain. It is important for agricultural development to understand how these people technologically adapt to the low-lying floodplain
environment and how much variations are there among cropping technology of different ethnic groups. This study revealed the regional
differences of rice-based cropping system among the different ethnic groups living in the Brahmaputra floodplain through acomprehansive field work in 32 villages. The results show that the present rice-based cropping system has little relation with ethnic
background, but it is based on local ecological condition. Both traditional and modern technology shows some regional pattern within
the Brahmaputra floodplain, which may be caused by interaction of both indigenous people and immigrant people.
Key words: Rice cultivation, cropping technology, ethnic groups, Brahmaputra floodplain, AssamIntroduction
In Assam of Northeast India, rice is traditionally grown in
the low-lying floodplain formed by the mighty
Brahmaputra coming down from the Himalayas. Till today,
most of the population in Assam has been engaging in ricecultivation, and the considerable portion of the state
economy (about 45% of Net State Domestic Products)
depends on agricultural sector (Daimari, 2008). The ricecultivation in Assam, however, still using various kinds of
traditional technologies and the productivity is much lower
than the national average (1576 kg/ha in Assam and2130kg/ha in All India in 2009/10 from Gov. of India
2011). Moreover, influence of natural hazards such as
floods and droughts is not negligible. Modernization ofagricultural sector including rice cultivation is the urgent
task of the state government.
Many researchers studied problems of rice cultivation in
Assam for agricultural development (e.g. Das, 1985;
Bhagabati and Das, 1992; Singh, 2006). However, themethodological problem is that most of them are using
district-level statistical data. These studies often focus on
output of rice cultivation such as yield or economic value
per area, and hardly consider the cropping technology
which peasant farmers are using in their paddy fields. The
information on existing cropping technology isfundamental for agricultural development, but it is notstudied much in Assam. Moreover, northeast India
including Assam is the home of different ethnic groups
such as Aryans, Tibet-Burma, Tai group. It is also
important to know how these people with different cultural
background have historically developed the rice-based
cropping system in the Brahmaputra floodplain.
This study reveals the rice-based cropping systems ofdifferent ethnic groups living in the Brahmaputra
floodplain through extensive village survey, and discusses
the regional differences and ongoing changes of thesystem.
Materials and Methods
Field work was carried out at 32 villages in 12 districts in
the Brahmaputra floodplain in Assam during September toDecember 2011 (Fig. 1). The dominant group is Hindu
Assamese (Aryans) in 12 study villages, Ahom (Taigroup) in 5 villages, Bodo, Kachari, Mishing, Rabha,
Mutok (Tibet-Burma group) in 2 villages each, Muslim
Assamese, Ex-Tea garden tribe, Koch (Aryans), Karbi,
Deori (Tibet-Burma group) in 1 village each. The average
distance of study villages from nearest town is about 10

km (Max. 25 km, Min. 2 km). They are located in different
ecological zones of piedmont plain, alluvial plain andfloodplain.

Fig. 1. The Brahmaputra floodplain and the study villages(Note: Altitude above 300 m is gray shaded.)Primary data were collected in the study villages throughquestionnaire survey from male farmers in local language(Assamese language). The questionnaires include
questions on village information (approximate household
number, ethnicity, foundation year etc.), cropping pattern(both present and before), cultivation practices(transplanting, weeding, harvesting, threshing etc.), rice
variety (local variety, modern variety etc.), agricultural
implements (both traditional and modern), paddy field
condition (location, soil quality etc.).
Results
It is well known that there are three kinds of traditional
rice group in Assam grown in different season andecological condition; Ahu, Bao, Sali. Ahu is the broadcast
rice grown from February to June in higher paddy fields.
Bao is also broadcast rice but grown from February to
November in lower fields. Sali is the transplant rice grownfrom June to November. These rice correspond to Aus,
broadcast Aman and transplant Aman in Bangladesh. In all
study villages, regardless of ethnicity, any of these rice aregrown (Fig. 2a). Among three rice, transplant rice Sali iscultivated in all villages, but Ahu and Bao are cultivatedonly in some villages.

preparing, weeding, threshing and milling. In the villagesof eastern (western) Assam, they prepare seedbed in theirhomestead (paddy fields) (Fig. 3a). In threshing, someethnic groups like Mishing use their foot for threshing rice
while others use cows or tractors (no figure). In milling
rice, people of Mishing, Karbi and Rabha use wooden
mortar by hand (Ural), while others use wooden mortar byfoot (Dheki) (Fig. 3b and Fig. 4).

a

b

a

b
Fig. 4. Traditional wooden mortars. (a) Ural, (b) Dheki.
(Source: Author’s fieldwork)

Fig. 2. Cropping pattern of the study villages (a) present,(b) before. (Source: Author’s fieldwork)

There can be seen the specific regional difference ofplough (Nangal) type (Fig. 5). In the Brahmaputra
floodplain, traditional plough is still used for land
preparation along with harrow (Moi), both implements arepulled by two bullocks. Different kinds of plough are used
together for different purpose. In many villages, wooden
plough (Kathor Nangal) and iron plough (Rohar Nangal)
are used (type I in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6). In the western part,iron plough is not used but two kinds of wooden plough(Soja Nangal, Buta Nangal) are used (type II). In theeastern part, they also use two kinds of wooden plough,one of which bottom has a longer shape (Fanforiya
Nangal) (type III). In two villages of the eastern most
district, they only use Fanforiya Nangal (type IV). Thisdifference of plough type does not seem to be related withethnicity.

The variation of cropping pattern is attributed to rather
ecological and economic condition than ethnic background.
When compared to former cropping pattern, nowadays
Ahu and Bao rice was abandoned in some villages (Fig.
2b). Farmers insist rainfall decrease and low yield are themain reasons of this change. They could not continue
broadcast rice due to rainfall decrease, and some farmers
started to cultivate the same variety as transplant rice.
After stopping rice cultivation, some farmers started wage
labour and others converted their paddy fields in higher
land into private tea garden to earn stable and more profit.
Only in the western and central part of the state, Boro rice,which is grown from December to May in dry season, wasintroduced with irrigation facilities.

a

a

b

b

c

d
Fig. 5. Different type of ploughs. (a) Kathor Nangal(bottom) and Rohal Nangal (top), (b) Soja Nangal(right) and Boja Nangal (left), (c) Fanforiya
Nangal (right) and Kathor Nangal (left), and (d)Fanforiya Nangal. (Photos of I, III, IV are taken byauthor, Photo II by Nityananda Deka)

Fig. 3. Cultivation practices in the study villages (a) seedbed,(b) milling. (Source: Author’s fieldwork)
There is not much difference in cultivation practices
among study villages. It was found that broadcastingseason of Ahu and Bao rice or transplanting season andharvesting season of Sali rice is almost same in all villages.
However, minor differences can be seen in seedbed
68There are so many local rice varieties in Assam, but
nowadays many farmers grow High Yielding Varieties(HYVs) as it has higher productivity than local variety.
HYV is grown in all study villages, but its popularity ishigher in the western Assam (Fig. 7a). In the eastern
Assam, local variety is still popular mainly for its taste.
Among local varieties, glutinous rice or sticky rice locallycalled Bora Chaul is the special variety for local people as
the rice cake (Pitha) or daily light meal (Jolpan) is madefrom this variety. This variety was found in almost all
study villages, but the local name is different in somevillages especially in the western Assam (Fig. 7b).

abFig. 8. Introduction of modern inputs in the study villages(a) chemical fertilizer, (b) irrigation facility.
(Source: Author’s fieldwork)
Discussion
From the above results, it can be said that rice cropping
technology in the Brahmaputra floodplain is rather
uniform among the different ethnic community, though a
few of cultivation practices are different by ethnic
community. However, It should be noted that there aresome regional patterns among the distribution of
traditional technology. Especially, the plough type isclearly different between eastern and western part of thestate. As for modern technologies, most of thesetechnologies were introduced during the 1990s and 2000s,
but they can be found more in the villages of the western
Assam. Why these regional patterns are seen among the
cropping technologies?
Local farmers explained that interaction with farmers fromother villages had enabled transfer of new technologies.
One farmer from Ex-Tea garden tribe community said
they spoke their own language and kept unique culture in
the village. They had little experience to interact withpeople from other community before, but nowadays they
accept general Assamese culture such as food habitat andfestivals to a large extent. They have many opportunities
to learn cropping technology from other village, and this is
one explanation why differences of traditional technology
become small over the ages in the neighboring region. The
assimilation between different communities was also
reported in the previous study (Nath, 2003), but its effecton technology diffusion should be studied more.
There are also answers of why modern technologies are
introduced more in the western part of the state. One
farmer from Assamese community in Nagaon District(central part of Assam) said Muslim immigrants came tosharecrop in his village because the immigrants owned
only a small size of paddy fields. They started to grow
Boro rice in the tenanted land, and the indigenous villagers
could learn the Boro rice cultivation from them. Anotherfarmer from Assamese community in Goalpara District(western part of Assam) also had interaction with Muslim
immigrants in his village. The immigrants started to use
chemical fertilizer which accelerated the growth of rice.
After harvesting rice in the earlier season, they kept cows

Fig. 6. Plough type of the study villages. I, II, III, IV aregiven in text. (Source: Author’s fieldwork)abFig. 7. Rice variety of the study villages (a) most popularvariety, (b) name of the glutinous variety. (Source:
Author’s fieldwork)
Finally, introduction of modern inputs for rice cultivation
was investigated. Cultivating machinery such as power
tiller or tractor is introduced into almost all villages. Thesemachineries are used for land preparation along withbullocks. Chemical fertilizer is also used in many villages
along with traditional cow dung but it is not used in somevillages in eastern Assam (Fig. 8a). Irrigation facilities
such as power pump and tube well are used in the villages
in the western and central Assam, but not in the eastern
Assam (Fig. 8b). These modern inputs were brought tostudy villages after the 1990s. Introduction of thesemodern inputs are gradually carried on in all ethnic
community.

69

in the paddy fields. Then the indigenous Assamese farmers
too had to use chemical fertilizers, otherwise stray cows
could come to eat the un-harvested rice in their paddy
fields. In these ways, modern technologies have been
gradually introduced in the central and western part of thestate where many Muslim immigrants live amongindigenous Assamese community.
Apart from the villagers’ interaction with different
community, agricultural office in the nearest town also
plays the important role for extending modern inputs.
Introduction of modern inputs largely depends on theavailability of schemes from agricultural office. One
Assamese farmer said they started Boro rice cultivation
because the government provided them with rice seed as ademonstration. On the other hand, another Assamese
farmer complained that the government does not provide
any irrigation equipments, which could enable Ahu ricecultivation in his uncultivated land. However, only the
distance form nearest town cannot explain the availabilityof government scheme in each study village, and more
research will be required on how the villagers bring newtechnology from the office.
Conclusion
The present rice-based cropping system in the
Brahmaputra floodplain shows little differences among theethnic communities, but some regional characteristics areseen in the use of both traditional and modern technologies.
Interaction with indigenous people and immigrant people
from different ethnic community may be related with thetechnology diffusion. Therefore, historical interaction ofdifferent ethnic community should be studied forunderstanding the present rice-based cropping system andfuture agricultural development in the state.
Acknowledgments: I am grateful to Prof. A. K. Bhagabati,
Department of Geography, Gauhati University, and Mr.
Nityananda Deka, Department of Geography, Nagaon
Girls College for their help during my field work. I also
extend my gratitude to professors in regional colleges ofAssam and villagers who helped my survey in the villages.
This study was supported by Grant-in-Aid for JSPS
Fellows (11J00348).
References
Bhagabati,A.K. and Das, M.M. 1992. Agricultural Performancein Different Ecological Zones, in Noor Mohammad (eds.)
TheEcology of Agricultural System, International Series inGeography, No.4, Concept Publishing Company, New Delhi,
334pp.
Daimari, P. 2008. Economic development of Assam – Problems
and prospects. EBH Publishers, Guwahati, 283pp.
Das, M. M. 1984. Peasant agriculture in Assam: a structural
analysis. Inter-India Publications, New Delhi, 289pp.
Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Department ofAgriculture and Cooperationm Ministry of Agriculture,
Government of India. 2011. Agricultural Statistics At a
Glance 2010, http://eands.dacnet.nic.in/latest_2006.htm(accessed on 3 Feburary 2012)
Nath, L. 2003. The Nepalis in Assam: Ethnicity and cross border
movements in the North-East, Minerva Associates PVT. LTD,
Kolkata, 118pp.
Singh, S. 2006. Agricultural Development in North-East India, inDas, M. M. (eds.) Population, Resources and Development,
Eastern Book House Publishers, Guwahati, 212pp.

70

J. Agrofor. Environ. 11 (1 & 2): 71-75, 2017

ISSN 1995-6983

Practical education for environmental awareness: education children on the arsenic
contamination issue in Bangladesh
Kazuyo Minamide
Faculty of International Studies and Liberal Arts, St. Andrew's University, Osaka, Japan
Abstract: This paper aimed to report the findings of an experimental education project designed to address the arsenic awarness
issue in Bangladesh. The project successfully build up a useable education model: while it generated some immediate and actual
benefits. As such the model/process that has been developed through this project may be reciprocated elsewhere for its sustainable
use and long-term benefits.
Key words: Education, environmental awareness, arsenic contamination.

Introduction
The arsenic contamination of groundwater is one of themain environmental issues in Bangladesh, and about 38
million people are currently at risk (Tani, 2005). It stems
from excessive irrigation practices that are intended toprevent the spread of dysentery and cholera throughstagnant pond water, and to enable poverty reducing crop
cultivation in the dry season. It could be said that,ironically, efforts to secure supplies of safe water havecaused even more serious water pollution issues. One of
the most effective measures for keeping water safe is toprovide villages with deep tube wells, however there areinsufficient funds to endow all villages with this resource.
Since arsenic contaminated water can still be used forsome agricultural purposes or other livelihood activities,
distinguishing between water that is safe for drinking andwater that is only appropriate for other usages has been apriority. Furthermore, some research by the Bangladeshi
Government has revealed that people who receive
sufficient nutrition are less affected by arsenic poisoning.
Bangladeshi governmental and non-governmentalorganizations have conducted water tests to identify theareas and individual tube wells known to be contaminatedby arsenic, and have painted the affected wells in red andthe arsenic-free wells in green (MoLG, 2004). Fig. 1
shows the areas where ground water has been
contaminated with arsenic. Research has shown that thesouthern low-lying areas have been particularly affected.
This paper is going to report on an experimental
environmental education project designed to address thearsenic issue in Bangladesh. The project aimed to build apractical educational model that would provide children
with knowledge of the issue, whilst simultaneously
promoting the need for “a healthy body to avoid thearsenic affect” by motivating them to adopt proper eating
habits. The project has two main purposes: (i) To givechildren the knowledge they need to avoid, or build theirresistance to crucial environmental issues in their living
environment, (ii) To build a comprehensive model ofenlightenment education for school teachers and children
through a participatory workshop method.
Implementation System of the Project
Four primary schools, located in the Barisal district, an
area seriously affected by arsenic contamination, werechosen for the experiment. These were built and managed
by a Bangladeshi NGO named Basic Development
Partners (BDP), and have received economic support fromJapanese NGOs. BDP has provided non-formal primaryeducation in Bangladesh since 1990, particularly in remoteareas. Now they have 74 schools in six administrative

areas, and 29 of them are in the Barisal district. BDP
selected the four target schools for this project fromamongst this group.
The project team, named “Water Smile Project (WSP)”,
comprised a researcher (myself), BDP staff, several school
teachers, and a few Japanese volunteers from JAFS (Japan
Asia Friendship Society), which is one of BDP’s donor
agencies in Japan. The project receive the financial
support from Ajinomoto Ltd.

Fig. 1. Map of Arsenic Contamination Area
Source: Banglapedia
The project had three main stages, with the latter two
experimental practices based on research gathered during
the first stage;i) Participatory research and establishing the children’s life
environment.
ii) Making teaching resources to provide children with theappropriate knowledge and motivation to discuss theirwater utilization.

iii) Promoting proper nutritional habits for improved
health through the provision of vegetable seeds.

the research mapping chart (Fig. 2 and Plate 1). In total,
48 sample swere collected from our research at the fourtarget schools.
The chart has six main parts:i) Basic information about the family (family members,
income, micro-credit i use)ii) Children’s everyday routinesiii) Food (contents of meals based on the previous day’slunch and dinner, and the current day’s breakfast)iv) Home garden and livestockv) Water utilization, and the number of steps from thehouse to the pond and the tubewell used by the familyvi) Knowledge about arsenic and common associatedillnesses.

Fig. 2. Research and Mapping Chart

Plate 2. Taking photos of their own living environment

On the back of the chart, the children drew the layout of
their house. They also took photos of whatever caught
their attention, such as their house, their home garden, or
their livestock (Plate 2). These activities encouraged thechildren to take note of their living environment, andthings they usually paid no special attention to.
The research clarified four key points:
First, most of the children’s families use a Micro-Credit
program (MC), and have loans significantly in excess of
their income. Of the 48 families, 46 use MC and owe
approximately five times their income (the average income
is 3,095 Taka, whilst the average debt is 17,015 Taka).
Some families have accumulated debt from more than one
NGO.

Plate 1. Completing the chart
Participatory research and establishing the children’slife environment:
For the first stage, the project team conducted research on
the children’s life environment, with the help of thechildren, and established the level of their knowledge ofarsenic. This research was intended to give the researchers
an understanding of the children’s living conditions, andalso to make children more aware of their own
environment. We divided ourselves into several groups,
each group consisting of 10 children from classes 4 and 5,
their teacher, a BDP member of staff, and two Japanese
members. They visited children’s homes and completed
Table1. Fruit and Vegetables from Home Gardens
gourd
10
okra
3
guava
21
tal
1
wheat
1

balsam pear2
root clump
1
grapefruit
6
pomegranate
1betel palm
1

pumpkin6
egg plan
6
mango
22
bel
2
blackberry
6chichinga
4
basil
13
jackfruit
14
lemon
3
jute
3

radish1data
2litchi
8
gup
1
nut
4

72

kakkuro2
lalshak
7
papaya24
pam
1vegetable(1)

potato1
shapra1
coconut
27
amra
3
fruit
(1)

kochu
2
chili
5
banana
7
palm
6
none
(8)

Table 2. Contents of Meals
Foodstuff
Breakfast
Lunch
DinnerBreakfast
Lunch
DinnerBreakfast
Lunch
Dinnerwheat
92
pumpkin

rice
29
29
23
shapra

1
1
chili
13
15
14

2
2
garlic5
4
5potato20
63
papaya
1

dhal
5
14
11
coconut

meat
fish
1
3
2
20
1
14
spice
basil
13
17
4
12
1
cinnamon
1
2
2

1
oil
11
18
10

salt
17
23
14

egg

milk
1

1
zira

1
onion
7
12
12
sugar
3

2
1
tea
4

vegetable
1
2
2
turmeric
12
17
10

1

Table 3. Water Utilization
Water
Drink
Cook
Wash Dishes
Wash Clothes
ToiletLivestock
BathTube well
44
5
3
3
5
6
7

Pond
3
39
40
40
38
34
36

Small Pond
0
0
2
1
2
2
1

Big Pond
1
0
0
0
0
1
0

River
0
4
2
3
2
4
3

Table 4. Common Disease and the Treatment
Common Disease

Solution

cold
fever
22
43
loose bowels
5
Doctor
44

cough
25
tear
1
Medicine2

headachestomachacheearache8
10
1
numbnesshand-foot pain
1
1
Natural Medicine
Shaman11Second, although people cultivate several kinds of fruit orvegetables in their home gardens (Table 1), the children
seldom eat them (Table 2). One reason is that they areoften grown as cash crops funded by MC loans, with theresult that the families often sell them to buy essential
goods such as rice, salt or oil, or to repay their loan, rather
than eat them.
The third point is about water utilization. The families
have already stopped using the shallow tube wells whichhave been contaminated with arsenic. Instead, they get
general-purpose water from the ponds (Table 3) that arelocated nearby most houses, and undertake longer trips todeep tube wells for drinking water. Since the number ofdeep tube wells is limited, and it is inconvenient or hardfor most villagers to source water from there ii, they reserve
deep tube well water for drinking only. Of the 48 children
in the research, 30 confirmed that their main chore athome was fetching water from the tube wells.
The last point is that the children’s knowledge of arsenic
exceeded our expectations. As the third point illustrated,
they were already distinguishing between water suitablefor consumption and for general usage, and people seldom
suffered from arsenic-related illnesses. Ailments whichwere more common are listed in Table 4; these included
colds, fevers or coughs which caused by a weak
constitution, rather than infectious illnesses, such as
diarrhoea, from contaminated water.
The findings indicate that the arsenic contamination is not
only an environmental issue, but also related to theireconomic and social situation. The results were shared

toothache2breathe difficulty
1
ORS
1

with BDP staff and the schools’ teachers, to help
determine what types of teaching materials were needed tomake the children more aware of their living environment,
and to motivate them to consume a more balanced diet.
Teaching materials to inform children about theirenvironment
As mentioned above, the families have faced a sequenceof issues; the spread of shallow tube wells prevented thecontraction of infectious diseases from pond water, but
introduced the new danger of arsenic contamination.
Consequently they had to shift their supply of water once
more, from the shallow tube wells to the deep tube wells.
Similarly, whilst the Micro-Credit program has improved
their economic situation in some ways, it has also turned
their home-grown vegetables into cash crops intended forsale rather than for their children’s mouths. These issues
have not arisen through the any particular individual
seeking to gain an advantage, but rather occurred in the
pursuit of programs intended to benefit the public as awhole. Therefore, rather than seeking to proportion blame
or find a single cause, it is more important to focus on
improving the capacity of the public to adapt to new
problems in their living environment. The project
therefore focused on encouraging children to consider
what they could achieve by themselves, rather than having
to depend on information they are given.
One BDP staff member, who was from a village in Barisal,
recounted his experience from his childhood, which
provided the central idea for our project;73When I was a boy (he is now 52 years old), there were two
ponds in my village. We used one pond to get drinking
water, and the other for everyday tasks, like washingclothes, bathing, or for our livestock. Both ponds wereshared within our community, and everyone kept the pondfor drinking water clean and did not use it for anythingelse. However, if one of the villagers got an infectious
illness, everyone avoided using the pond and children
were sent to stay with relatives. They knew that there wasa risk of being infected if they used the pond, and many of
the illnesses in those days were fatal.
In order to tackle dysentery and E. coli, and to support thegreen revolution, irrigation facilities and tube wells spreadthrough out the villages, and people no longer drank waterfrom ponds. The shallow wells became the common
source for water among the villagers, and in addition to
reducing the risk of contracting infectious water-borne
diseases, made it possible for people to cultivate rice
during the dry season.
However, the arsenic problem then arose. People couldn’t
go back to using the ponds anymore, because they
thought; “the pond water smells too bad to drink.” They
had stopped using different ponds for different purposes.
Consequently they began shifting to deep tube wells, but
this costs more than they can afford by themselves.
A proposal was developed to create a picture-based story
that would represent the history of water in the region, andbecome a teaching resource that would provoke thoughtful
discussion amongst the children. A workshop approach
was chosen to produce the material, involving all 20
teachers from the four target schools.
At first, the project members discussed the plan, drafted astory and sketched pictures based on the history of waterin the area. Then the teachers decorated the story andcreated detailed illustrations for each scene. Two teachers
worked on each scene, and nine pictures were thenselected to form the basis of the whole story, entitled“Story of the Ghosts Living in Water.” Since children in
the villages like and are familiar with ghost stories, we
decided to person if the arsenic and associated diseasesas
ghosts. The material was intended to provoke children into
thinking about how they could deal with “the ghosts.”
After revising the story and the pictures produced by the
BDP teachers in the workshop, we tested the final productto evaluate how effectively it would convey the story
tochildren. The teachers tried telling the story to somestudents to check if they could understand it or not. The
story does not have a conclusion, but is open-ended inorder to generate discussion in the classroom about whatchildren could do about this issue by themselves. Some
options are suggested, such as; thinking twice before
reusing pond water, gathering and filtering rain water,
keeping their environment clean, or eating a more
nutritious diet to maintain their strength.
This particular story making process is significant for two
reasons. First, the story was based on their own history,
not dependent on knowledge of external or distant events,
so that the children find it easy to understand that the
problem is relevant to them. The other point is that theparticipatory workshop gave the teachers a sense ofownership over the resources, making it easier for them touse it in their classroom.
Vegetable “Seed Project” for improvement ofchildren’s nutrition
Our research and map of their living environment revealed
the need to provide children with a guide to maintaining aproperly balanced diet. This could also be considered oneof the measures they could take to protect themselves fromarsenic poisoning, as a well-nourished body has a betterchance of resisting the effects of arsenic. Our storybook
therefore included suggestions for building a stronger, heal
thier body: “Vegetables and fruit have ingredients thatkeep your body in good condition. If you eat vegetables
and fruit, you will be healthy and well, and your body will
be strong enough to protect you from the bogey.”
The project team, including the school teachers and the
BDP staff, discussed ways to address this issue, which led
to the “seed project”. The project provided children withvegetable seeds and urged them to grow it at home and to
eat the vegetables by themselves. The WFP (UN World
Food Program) provided the children with biscuits at
school, but temporarily providing food has a limited effecton the children’s ability to improve their own nutrition.
Creating sustainable habits that they could practice bythemselves are needed. We supplied five kinds ofvegetable seeds for the school children to plant in theirgarden at home for their own consumption. Since theywould be able to get more seeds from their own crops, or
could buy more quite inexpensively, the children could
continue this practice without the need for continued
project support.

Figure3: Worksheet
Worksheet ofof “Seed
Fig. 3.
‘Seed Project”
Project’Plate 3. Vegetable grown by children
Note: The low area of Barisal is often damage
by floods, but they utilize the water flow todevelop their cultivation system in the water

Usually children just help out in their family garden,
seldom taking on the responsibility of growing anythingthemselves. But if they plant the seeds which they getfrom school and cultivate the vegetables by themselves,then in their cultural context, their parents would neversell those vegetable without the children’s consent. The
children could therefore eat those crops. At the same time,in addition to supplying the seeds, the teachers could also
motivate the students to attend to the cultivation of thecrops, for example, by setting assignments to report on
how much they have grown, or by creating a competition
to see who can raise the biggest pumpkin. The project
assigned students an observation sheet to complete on
vegetable growth (Fig. 3). One BDP member of staff said
that, as Bangladesh is an agricultural economy, it isimportant for children to be familiar with cultivation.

74

Children at first planted the seeds in small pots, and thenreplanted them intheir garden at home (Plate 3). Theirparents taught them how to do the planting.The BDP staff
and the teachers pointed out the significance of this,
explaining that the roles had essentially been reversed;
instead of the children helping their parents at home, theparents were now helping their children. Although mostparents had little experience of going to school bythemselves, and could not help their children on many
school matters, they were quite used to agriculture. This
would be first time that parents had been able to help theirchildren with their “homework”. The significance of theseed project therefore includes the transformational effectit has had on family roles, and the way in which it hasbrought school and home closer together.

generated some interest and consequently some benefits
for them, just through the process of our experimentation.
Outcomes such the story book and the seeds bank can beshared with other schools of course, but the process of thisproject should also be shared and reproduced; ensuringthat the beneficiaries, in this case the teachers and children,
also participated in the process and contributed to theproject is a very important part of the model. If ourworkshop method, or the way in which the story book was
created, could be adapted to other educational practices
and other issues, then this experiment would beestablished as amodel for other projects. Therefore, we
progressed carefully through the project stage by stage,
and recorded the process in “The WSP News Letter”,
published six times in total, once for each stage of the
project.
Our next challenge is to take into other schools thiseducational practice and the materials that were created, inorder to address this issue else where and to improve theirsituation. Also, the model/process that has been developed
through this project should be applied to other objectives.
Acknowledgements: This project was carried out from
April 2010 to March 2012 with the generous support of
Ajinomoto International Cooperation’s “Nutrition and
Health” Support Program. The publication of the teachingmaterials in Bangladesh was supported by the “Life andGreen Project” at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies
of Kyoto University. I would like to take this opportunity
to express my sincere gratitude for their support.

Picture Fig.
4: Harvest
School4. HarvestParty
Party atatSchool

At the end of the project period, the children brought theircrops to school and cooked and ate them together (Plate 4).
The benefits of the project will be achieved if the children
become accustomed to both cultivating and consuming thevegetables, something that must be viewed in a long-term
context.
Conclusion: Repercussions as an educational model
While this project aimed to build a useable educationalmodel, it generated some immediate and actual benefits.
We focused on only four target schools, however otherschools nearby soon expressed disappointment at not
being included in the experiment. It means that the project

References
Tani, M. 2005. Rural Life and Arsenic Contamination: from
Bangladesh village (in Japanese). Kyushu University Press.
Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives. 2004. National Policy for Arsenic Mitigation.
Bangladesh Government, Web port.
Neela, et al. (eds). 1997. Learning to Share 1: Experiences andReflections on PRA and Community Participation. Concept
Publishing Company, New Delhi.

75

76

J. Agrofor. Environ. 11 (1 & 2): 77-81, 2017

ISSN 1995-6983

Identification of traits related to drought tolerance in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) genotypes
Mar Mar Win, Kyaw Kyaw Win1, P.M Gaur2 and Khin Soe3
Food Legumes Section, Department of Agricultural Research (DAR), 1Hmaw-bi campus, Yezin Agricultural University(YAU), 2International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), 3Department of Agricultural
Research (DAR)
Abstract: Drought is the most common abiotic stress limiting chickpea production because chickpea is usually grown under the residual
soil moisture. The experiment was carried out with 39 chickpea genotypes at International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid
Tropics (ICRISAT) during post-monsoon season of 2009-2010 based on alpha design with two replications under two set (rainfed andirrigated conditions) to observe information on yield under drought condition and potential yields and to investigate the relationship ofphysiological traits related to drought tolerance. Rainfed condition significantly reduced seed yield due to poor partitioning operated
along with terminal drought stress. Nine genotypes resulted superior or similar to the seed yield of drought tolerant check genotype (ICC4958) under rainfed condition. These genotypes were observed well performed under irrigated condition. The SPAD chlorophyll meterreading (SCMR) was increased but specific leaf area (SLA), and relative water content (RWC) were decreased under rainfed condition
as compared to irrigated condition. This study also identified promising genotypes for high SCMR on ICCV 03110, ICCV 00108 and
ICCV 04110, low SLA on ICCV 04303, ICCV 03302, ICCV 04301 and ICCV 01303 and high RWC on ICCV 00108, Yezin 6 andYezin5. Results showed that the SCMR was significantly related with seed yield and SLA. The genotypes having high SCMR and low
SLA seemed to be resistance to drought.
Key words: Chickpea, drought stress, drought tolerance traits, relationship, yield.

Introduction
Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is an important foodlegume crop because of its high quality protein for thehuman diet and its straw for valued animal feed. It isgrown in over 50 countries in all continents of the world.
The major chickpea growing countries fall in the arid andsemi-arid regions where terminal drought is one of the
major constraints which affect the yield (Turner et al.,2001). This problem is more serious in Myanmar wherechickpea is traditionally planted towards the end of therainy season and generally grown on progressively
declining residual soil-moisture. In some production areas,
the rainfall is poorly distributed over the growing season
and stops before growth of chickpea is completed even incase of early sowing. Consequently, terminal drought
stress, which during the reproductive phase of the crop, iscommon and critical.
Yield losses due to terminal drought estimates range from35 to 50% across the Semi-Arid Tropic (SAT) and West
Asia and North Africa (WANA) (Sabaghpour et al., 2003).
A large portion of the losses can be prevented throughcrop improvement and better drought adapted genotypes
would reduce the yield losses. Several physiological,
morphological and phenological traits have been listed toplay a significant role in crop adaptation to drought stress(Ludlow and Muchow, 1990).Thus, alternative breeding
strategies using physiological traits as selection criteria
have been proposed by some researchers. Rapid progressin drought resistance breeding has been achieved ingroundnut based on characters such as harvest index (HI),water use efficiency (WUE), specific leaf area (SLA), andSPAD chlorophyll meter reading (SCMR) (Nagam et al.,2005). Early studies have indicated differential responses
for relative water content (RWC) in chickpea (Bahavar etal., 2009) and it was positively correlated with chlorophyll
content and grain yield in rice under drought conditions(Pirdashti et al., 2009).
In addition, information on the heritability of these traits
will be useful for planning the suitable breeding strategies
for improving drought tolerance. Phenotypic correlations
among these traits are also important when simultaneous
selection of multiple traits is to be carried out for highyield under drought stress conditions. Therefore, theobjective of this study was to observe information on yieldunder drought conditions and potentials yields and toinvestigate the relationship of physiological traits related
to drought tolerance.
Materials and Methods
Experimental site, design and plant materials: Theexperiment was carried out at the International Crops
Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT),
Patancheru (17°30´ N; 78° 16´ E; altitude 549 m) in postmonsoon chickpea growing season (October-February) of
2009-2010. This study was evaluated in two sets (rainfed
and irrigated conditions) of 13 x 3 alpha designs (39genotypes) with two replications. Thirty-nine genotypes ofchickpea which comprising 8 genotypes developed at
Myanmar were evaluated. The plot size was 4 m lengthwith a single row. Under irrigated treatment, furrow
irrigation was applied at 40 days after sowing (DAS).
Crop management for both trials was followed by
ICRISAT’s practices.
Data collection: Yield and yield attributes were recorded.
Moreover, drought tolerance traits such as SPAD
Chlorophyll Meter Reading (SCMR), Relative Water
Content (RWC) and Specific Leaf Area (SLA) were
measured at 75 DAS under both conditions (Fig. 1).
Statistical analysis: The data from each individual
experiment were analyzed using the following linear
additive mixed effects model: Y ijk = µ + r i +b ij + g k +e ijk,
where, Y ijk = the observation recorded on genotype k inincomplete block j of replicate i, µ = the general mean,r i =the effect of replicate i, b ij =the effect of block j
within replicate i, g k =the effect of genotype k, e ijk = theeffect of the plot.
Using the above model, the statistical procedure ofresidual maximum likelihood (ReML) method with
GenStat (version 12.1) statistical computing software was
employed to obtain the unbiased estimates of the variancecomponents δ2 b , δ2 g and δ2 e , and the best liner unbiased
predictions (BLUPs) of the performance of the genotypes.
Heritability was estimated as h2= δ2 g / (δ2 g + δ2 e ). The
significance of genetic variability among genotypes wasassessed from the standard error of the estimate of genetic
variance δ2 g , assuming the ratio δ2 g /S.E. (δ2 g ) to follow
normal distribution asymptotically. Moreover, thecorrelations were calculated separately in both conditions
for seed yield and drought tolerance traits.

a

c

b

Fi.g. 1. (a) SPAD Chlorophyll Meter Reading, (b) Relative Water Content determining, and (c) pecific Leaf Area (scanning)
tolerant genotype ICC 4958 (2675 kg ha-1), while thelowest in ICCV 03406 (1351 kg ha-1) (Table 2). This wasdue to significantly higher in their yield attributes viz.,biomass yield, HI and number of pods per plant of thesegenotypes (data not shown). Under irrigated condition, thehighest seed yield was observed in ZCHL 05-2 (3701 kgha-1) followed by Shwenilonegi (3605 kg ha-1), while thelowest yield was in Yezin 5 (1578 kg ha-1) (Table 2).

Results
Seed yield: The analysis showed significant genotypic
differences for seed yield under rainfed and irrigatedconditions (Table 1). The mean, range and heritability of
seed yield were low under rainfed condition comparison
with irrigated condition. Under rainfed conditions, thehighest seed yield was found in PCHL 04-5 (2985 kg ha-1)
followed by ICCV 03107 (2905 kg ha-1), Annigeri (2854
kg ha-1), ICCV 00108 (2715 kg ha-1) and the drought

Table 1. Trial mean, range of best linear unbiased predicted means (BLUPs) and variance of seed yield and droughttolerance traits of chickpea genotypes under rainfed and irrigated conditions at ICRISAT during post-monsoon
season, 2009-2010
TraitsSeed yield (kg ha-1)
Rainfed
Irrigated
SCMR
Rainfed
Irrigated
SLA
Rainfed
Irrigated
RWC
Rainfed
Irrigated

Trial mean

Range of predicted means

δ2g

S.E

Significance

Heritability (h2)

2236
2725

1351-2985
1578-3701

88991
101854

38792
48153

*
*

0.37
0.42

64.98
60.32

57.99-70.07
56.02-66.78

4.40
4.03

1.47
1.46

**
**

0.56
0.52

208.8
232.2

150.8-291.5
185.3-306.3

913.3
650.2

290.2
225.9

**
**

0.59
0.53

78.97
81.44

69.66-86.03
70.90-95.85

13.35
9.18

6.54
3.78

*
*

0.35
0.44

*, **, Significant at the p≤0.05 and p≤0.01, respectively

conditions, these genotypes also showed high in SCMR
readings (Table 3).
Specific Leaf Area (SLA): There was a significant
reduction in SLA under rainfed compared to irrigatedconditions. In this study, genotypic differences for SLA
were found to be significant under rainfed and irrigatedconditions (Table 1). This finding was supported by good
heritability of SLA. Low SLA is preferable as it indicateshigher drought tolerance. The lowest SLA was obtained in

Physiological traits related to drought tolerance:
SPAD Chlorophyll Meter Reading (SCMR): Significant
differences were also observed among the tested
genotypes for SCMR under both rainfed and irrigatedconditions (Table 1). The mean, range and heritability of
SCMR were high under rainfed condition comparison withirrigated condition. Under rainfed condition, ICCV 03110
showed the highest SCMR of (70.07) followed by ICCV
00108 (69.05) and ICC 4958 (68.15). Under irrigated78

ICCV 04303 (150.8 cm2g-1) followed by ICCV 03302(157.0 cm2g-1) and ICCV 04301 (158.1 cm2g-1) (Table 3).
The values of these genotypes were significantly lower
than that of ICC 4958. Under irrigated conditions, there
were no genotypes significantly better than ICC 4958.
However, nine genotypes showed consistency results oflower SLA under both rainfed and irrigated conditions.

<0.05) under rainfed condition (Table 4). A negative
correlation was found between SLA and SCMR (r = -0.16
and -0.18) and RWC (r = -0.08 and -0.05) under rainfed
and irrigated conditions, but not significant.
Lower seed yield, higher SCMR, lower SLA and RWC
indicated that rainfed condition suffered from moremoisture stress to certain extent than irrigated conditions.
In this study, the adverse effect of moisture stress on seedyield was clearly evident by its lowest value in the rainfed
conditions with a reduction in terms of 18 per cent incomparison with irrigated conditions. The yield reduction
can be ascribed to statistically retarded performance withrespect to various yield attributes especially pods per plantand biomass yield (data not shown). However, thereductions in seed yield could not be observed in ICCV
03107, PCHL 04-5, Karachi, ZCHL 05-73, ICCV 01303,
PCHL 04-34, ICCV 03407, ICC 4958, PCHL 04-2 andYezin 5. It indicated that these genotypes may have inbuilt
capacity to resist moisture stress effectively.
The present study has also shown that, ICCV 03110,
ICCV 00108 and ICCV 04110 showed superior and moreconsistent SCMR values than the others. Besides, ICC
4958 is a well known drought resistant genotype had better
SCMR. It was possibly due to its strong root systems(Kashiwagi et al., 2006). The SCMR is an indicator of thephotosynthetically
activelighttransmittancecharacteristics of the leaf, which is dependent on the unit
amount of chlorophyll per unit leaf area (Chlorophyll
density) (Richardson et al., 2002). Leaf photosynthesis is
generally correlated with chlorophyll content per unit leaf
area and hence the SPAD chlorophyll meter reading canprovide a useful tool to screen for genotypic variation in
potential photosynthetic capacity under drought conditions(Nageswara Rao et al., 2001).
Although SLA was reduced by drought stress, SLA in
certain genotypes under rainfed was dependent on that
under residual moisture conditions. ICCV 04303, ICCV03302, ICCV 04301 and ICCV 01303 showed consistently
lower SLA than other genotypes in both rainfed andirrigated conditions. In addition, the high seed yielding
genotype PCHL 04-5 showed lower SLA than ICC 4958
under the rainfed conditions. The variation andconsistency of SLA make it useful for the application as aselection criterion in drought tolerance breeding program.
The low value of RWC was recorded under rainfed
conditions, which might be due to the impact of lower soil
moisture supply. According to Reddy et al. (2003),
biochemical components in leaves of stressed plants werechanged although the plants could maintain RWC as highas those for non-stressed plants and RWC in a range lower
than 85% is considered severely stressed. In the present
study, the mean value of rainfed condition for RWC was
78.97 %. Thus, the tested chickpea genotypes faced
moisture stress as a terminal drought. Similar findings
were reported by Arunyanark et al. (2008), who foundsignificant differences for RWC between drought
treatment and control treatment as early as 33-35 days
after withholding water. According to this result, ICCV
00108, Yezin 6 and Yezin 5 had the highest RWC andmay be assumed as promising genotypes for high RWC
for drought tolerance.

Table 2. Seed yield (kg ha-1) of chickpea genotypes underrainfed and irrigated conditions at ICRISAT
during post-monsoon season, 2009-2010
Genotypes
Annigeri
ICCC 37
ICCV 00108
ICCV 00401
ICCV 01303
ICCV 03103
ICCV 03107
ICCV 03110
ICCV 03111
ICCV 03203
ICCV 03302
ICCV 03403
ICCV 03406
ICCV 03407
ICCV 04103
ICCV 04110
ICCV 04111
ICCV 04301
ICCV 04303
ICCV 04304
ICCV 04306
ICCV 95311
ICCV 97024
ICCV 97306
ICCV 97314
Karachi
PCHL 04-2
PCHL 04-32
PCHL 04-34
PCHL 04-5
Shwenilongi
Yezin 3
Yezin 4
Yezin 5
Yezin 6ZCHL 05-2
ZCHL 05-20
ZCHL 05-73
ICC 4958 ©
Mean
LSD (0.05)

Rainfed yield
2854
2082
2715
2031
2500
1735
2905
2609
2368
2158
1881
2264
1351
2584
2658
2119
1917
1472
1726
2158
2542
1787
1951
2484
2193
2242
2391
2271
2600
2985
2129
1918
2119
1631
2082
2616
2164
2341
2675
2236
748

Irrigated yield
3464
3118
2968
2939
2225
3444
2457
2759
2589
3361
2632
2373
2989
2426
3348
2596
2726
2043
2884
2793
3202
2650
2512
2510
2709
1894
2326
2668
2400
2611
3605
2754
2731
1578
2966
3701
2807
2003
2526
2725
844

Relative Water Content (RWC): Significant differencesfor RWC were observed among chickpea genotypes underrainfed and irrigated conditions (Table 1). The heritabilityof RWC was good due to the genetic variation of RWC.
Under rainfed condition, nine genotypes were observed aspromising genotypes for high RWC. The highest RWC
was observed in ICCV 00108 (86.03%) followed by Yezin
6 (85.84%), Yezin 5 (85.61%) (Table 3). However, noconsistency results were obtained under irrigated condition
due to an interaction of genotype x environment.
Correlation between seed yield and drought tolerance
traits: Correlations between seed yield and droughttolerance traits provide information on expected responses
in seed yield from selection for drought tolerance traits. In
the present study, a significant positive relationship wasobserved between seed yield and SCMR (r = 32 at p
79

Table 3. Drought tolerance trait of chickpea genotypes under rainfed(R) and irrigated (I) conditions at ICRISAT during
post-monsoon season, 2009-2010
Genotypes
Annigeri
ICCC 37
ICCV 00108
ICCV 00401
ICCV 01303
ICCV 03103
ICCV 03107
ICCV 03110
ICCV 03111
ICCV 03203
ICCV 03302
ICCV 03403
ICCV 03406
ICCV 03407
ICCV 04103
ICCV 04110
ICCV 04111
ICCV 04301
ICCV 04303
ICCV 04304
ICCV 04306
ICCV 95311
ICCV 97024
ICCV 97306
ICCV 97314
Karachi
PCHL 04-2
PCHL 04-32
PCHL 04-34
PCHL 04-5
Shwenilongi
Yezin 3
Yezin 4
Yezin 5
Yezin 6ZCHL 05-2
ZCHL 05-20
ZCHL 05-73
ICC 4958 ©
Mean
LSD (0.05)

SCMR
R
65.49
67.08
69.05
62.11
63.33
66.06
63.27
70.07
67.21
67.31
63.42
65.32
62.01
65.21
65.40
67.41
66.24
64.15
63.39
62.74
64.13
64.11
66.11
65.86
66.41
65.64
68.03
62.60
62.43
66.08
67.30
59.85
63.01
61.03
66.56
66.42
66.16
57.99
68.15
64.98
3.85

SLA
I
58.92
58.12
66.78
60.19
60.80
57.34
56.02
65.03
59.88
62.22
63.14
61.29
61.10
63.50
59.96
63.39
60.08
61.40
59.69
57.05
64.49
58.35
60.88
57.38
59.25
57.70
61.16
61.55
56.49
60.26
60.05
57.00
59.93
57.52
60.92
60.72
62.20
58.23
62.28
60.32
4.14

R
291.5
243.1
186.4
194.8
160.3
182.4
227.5
267.9
215.7
176.0
157.0
257.3
175.6
221.9
216.9
183.8
172.3
158.1
150.8
228.1
172.4
252.2
273.7
223.8
197.5
228.3
173.9
194.0
212.1
185.1
214.3
189.1
259.3
232.0
184.9
249.7
226.5
196.2
209.7
208.8
50.5

RWC
I
306.3
287.3
205.9
236.6
207.0
234.6
261.1
271.3
232.2
201.5
217.8
218.2
192.8
193.6
247.4
260.7
254.5
216.5
200.9
216.2
193.7
271.3
282.6
252.5
204.5
236.8
244.6
188.8
201.7
267.7
217.0
238.6
221.5
185.3
258.7
267.7
218.1
211.3
229.9
232.2
48.7

R
75.40
84.92
86.03
72.65
81.22
80.05
76.68
80.06
77.76
75.88
77.55
80.33
76.22
76.46
70.69
78.79
73.23
82.19
77.30
83.45
80.53
69.66
79.96
77.86
80.75
80.49
78.12
82.42
76.97
79.86
81.97
80.05
75.99
85.61
85.84
78.93
81.36
81.99
74.47
78.97
7.17

I
93.19
82.92
80.89
89.19
79.65
83.15
72.62
78.80
73.01
80.28
88.72
75.28
76.67
80.71
77.00
82.04
70.90
80.89
95.85
81.01
87.41
78.99
84.16
85.21
85.87
81.00
82.88
79.51
86.19
78.88
76.01
76.70
82.92
81.03
82.00
78.08
80.23
86.83
79.51
81.44
10.08

Table 4. Correlation coefficients between seed yield and drought tolerance traits of chickpea genotypes under rainfed andirrigated conditions at ICRISAT during post-monsoon season, 2009-2010
TraitsSeed Yield (kg ha-1)
Rainfed
Irrigated
SCMR
Rainfed
Irrigated
SLA
Rainfed
Irrigated
RWC
Rainfed
Irrigated

Seed Yield (kg ha-1)

SCMR

SLA

RWC

0.32*
0.17

-

0.29
0.25

-0.16
-0.18

-

-0.07
0.05

0.02
0.00

-0.08
-0.05

-

*, Significant at the p≤0.05

Differential responses of genotypes for drought tolerance
traits indicated that several drought resistance mechanisms
might exist. Combining these characters in chickpea
breeding programs should increase drought resistance inchickpea. In this study, SCMR was significantly correlatedwith seed yield under rainfed conditions (Table 4). Similar

positive correlation between SCMR and seed yield has
earlier been reported in groundnut (Nageswara Rao et al.,2001). Higher SCMR seems to be an indication of the
genotype’s capacity for higher carbon assimilation and inturn seed yields even under moisture-limited situations.
Significant and positive correlation between SCMR and80

Kashiwagi, J., Krishnamurthy, L., Singh, S and Upadhyaya, H.D.
2006. Variation of SPAD chlorophyll meter readings(SCMR) in the mini-core germplasm collection of chickpea.
Journalof
SAT
Agricultural
Research2(1). http://www.icrisat.org/journal/cropimprovement/v2i1/v
2i1variationof.pdf
Ludlow, M.M. and Muchow, R.C. 1990. A critical evaluation of
traits for improving crop yields in water- limited
environments. Advances in Agronomy 43:107-115.
Nageswara Rao, R.C and Wright, G.C. 1994. Stability of therelationship between specifi c leaf area and carbon isotope
discrimination across environments in peanut. Crop Sci. 34:
98-103.
Nageswara Rao, R.C., Talwar, H.S and Wright, G.C. 2001.
Rapid assessment of specific leaf area and leaf nitrogen inpeanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) using a chlorophyll meter. J.
Agron. Crop Sci. 186:175–182.
Nigam, S.N., Chandra, S., Sridevi, K. R., Bhukta, A. M.,
Reddy, G.S., Nageswara Rao, R.C., Wright, G.C., Reddy,
P.V., Deshmukh, M.P., Mathur, R.K., Basu, M.S.,
Vasundhara, S., Varman, P. V and Nagda, A.K. 2005.
Efficiency of physiological trait-based and empiricalselection approaches for drought tolerance in groundnut.
Ann. Appl. Biol.146: 433-439.
Pirdashti, H., Sarvestani, Z.T and Bahmanyar, M.A. 2009.
Comparison of physiological responses among four contrast
rice cultivars under drought stress conditions. PWASET. 37:
52-53.
Reddy, T.Y., Reddy, V.R and Anbumozhi, V. 2003.
Physiological responses of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea
L.) to drought stress and its amelioration: A critical review.
Plant Growth Regul. 41: 75-88.
Richardson, A.D., Duigan, S.P and Berlyn, G.P. 2002. An
evaluation of noninvasive methods to estimate foliar
chlorophyll content. New Phytologist. 153: 185-194.
Sabaghpour, S.H., Kumar, J. and Rao, T.N. 2003. Inheritance ofgrowth vigor and its association with other characters inchickpea. Plant Breed. 122: 542-544.
Turner, N.C., Wright, G.C and Siddique, K.H.M. 2001.
Adaptation of grain legumes (pulses) to water-limited
environments. Advances in Agronomy17: 193- 231.
Upadhyaya, H.D. 2005. Variability for drought resistance related
traits in the mini core collection of peanut. Crop
Sci.45:1432-1440.

chlorophyll content was observed and SCMR was also
closely related with chlorophyll density (Nageswara Rao
et al., 2001). A positive correlation was found between
seed yield and SLA under rainfed and irrigated conditions(Table 4). A negative correlation was found between SLA
and SCMR under rainfed and irrigated conditions (Table3). Similar relationship between SLA and SCMR has beenreported in groundnut (Upadhyaya, 2005). Genotypes withlower SLA (thicker leaves) are known to have more ofphotosynthetic machinery, i.e. more chlorophyll content(Nageswara Rao and Wright, 1994). Moreover, negative
correlations were also found between SLA and RWC
under rainfed and irrigated conditions. This indicated thatgenotypes with thicker leaves may have more RWC underdrought conditions.
Among drought tolerance traits (SCMR, SLA and RWC)
SCMR had the highest correlation with seed yield and themeasurement of SCMR was easy and simple. Moreover,these traits have lower G × E interaction than do SLA and
RWC. It would be possible to improve yield by selecting
high SCMR. Thus, the SPAD chlorophyll meter provides
an easy opportunity to integrate a surrogate measure of
WUE with seed yield, in the selection scheme of a droughttolerance breeding program in chickpea.
Acknowledgements: We thank all the staff at ICRISAT
for their technical support and friendship. Valuable advice
and experimental support by Dr. L. Krishnamurthy(Physiologist, ICRISAT) and Dr. Z.A. Mainassara(Physiologist, Niger) is greatly appreciated.
References
Arunyanark, A., Jogloy, S., Akkasaeng, C., Vorasoot, N.,
Kesmala, T., Nageswara Rao, R.C., Wright, G.C andPatanothai, A. 2008. Chlorophyll stability is an indicator ofdrought tolerance in peanut. J. Agron. Crop Sci. 194:113125.
Bahavar, N., Ebadi, A., Tobeh, A and Jamaati-e-Somarin, S.
2009. Effects of nitrogen application on growth of irrigatedchickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) under drought stress inhydroponics condition. Res. J. Environ. Sci. 3(4): 448-455.

81

J. Agrofor. Environ. 11 (1 & 2): 83-88, 2017

ISSN 1995-6983

Cost and benefit of summer paddy cultivation in Myaungmya township: case study on threedifferent farming practices
MyintThida and Kazuo Ando1
Department of Geography, University of Yangon, Myanmar, 1Department of Practice-oriented Area Studies, Center forSoutheast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, Japan, e-mail: myintthida.2011@gmail.com
Abstract: This paper tries to present difference farming practices and their returns in summer paddy cultivation in Myaungmya
Township. Nearly ninety percent of monsoon paddy cultivated areas are occupied by summer paddy due to having access to irrigation
sources, higher return and less risk. In summer paddy cultivation, three different farming practices are found and these are different ininvestment, knowledge on paddy cultivation and farmers’ interest on paddy cultivation. Some farmers cultivate paddy by using
agriculture machineries and chemical inputs and other use farm machineries but farm mechanization is still in its incipient stage. The
cost of machinery use and chemical fertilizer increased the investment in paddy cultivation but farmers get high yield. Seed producers
cultivate paddy systematically to get quality seeds. They use sufficient amount of chemical fertilizers and pesticides systematically.
Smallholders do not use sufficient amount of chemical fertilizer due to less investment. Smallholder farmers mainly cultivate summer
paddy to get food for household consumption and to sell small amount of surplus. Labour cost is highest in the cost of paddy cultivation
due to labour shortage and labour intensive work. At present, the amount of loan from Myanmar Agriculture Bank has been raised but it
is still insufficient for actual cost of paddy cultivation due to high labour cost and high price of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and others.
Productivity and returns of the intensive farmers and seed producers differ from those of smallholders. Cost-benefit analysis and benefitcost ratio were done to explain the findings.
Key words: Different practices, inputs, productivity, cost-benefit analysis.

Introduction
Rice is the most important cereal crop of Myanmar and it
remains as a strategic sector in terms of its continuing
significant contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP),
income and employment generation.Total population of
Myanmar was recorded as 51.4 million in 2014, anincrease of 148% from 21.5 million in 1960 (World Bank,2014). To meet the basic food need, paddy cultivated areas
were extended and paddy is cultivated not only inmonsoon period but also in cool and hot dry period.
Farmers have became aware that summer paddy gives
high yield because of high sunshine intensity and summer
paddy cultivation is of less risk. The cultivation period isfree from untimely rain and it is cultivated in dry periodwith the help of irrigation. One of the most important
requirements related to paddy cultivation is irrigation(Panuju et al., 2012). Because part of the Deltaic area,
there are many streams and the existing streams networks
are an advantage for summer paddy cultivation in the area.
Ayeyarwady region is known as rice granary of Myanmar
and Myaungmya Township is one of the townships in
Ayeyarwady region. Summer paddy cultivated area
occupied 90 percent of the total rain fed paddy cultivatedarea, yield per unit area of summer paddy is higher thanthat of monsoon paddy and risk is lesser than that of
monsoon paddy. Farmers extensively cultivate summer
paddy but farming practices differ from one another. Threefarming practices in summer paddy cultivation are foundand their returns are also different.
Ramachandra and Nagarathna (2000) said that agriculture
requires three major resources, land, water and energy.
Land, being a resource, agricultural productivity could belinked directly to the availability of water (rain or
irrigation) and energy inputs. The capital requirement inagricultural production depends on many factors in which
type of product produced, the production level, technology
used, geographical condition, input used, thedemographical characteristics of the farmer, and etc. Input
used in paddy cultivation is directly related to paddy
productivity. The farmers who systematically usedsufficient amount of chemical inputs get high yield. In thearea, intensive farmers and seed producers use higher
capital investment than the smallholder farmers.
Availability of quality seed is one of the major constraints
inincreasing the productivity of agricultural crops (Hoqueand Haque, 2014). Use of quality seed can increase
productivity of paddy. In the study area, it is difficult toget quality seed for farmers and seeds are produced by the
local farmers under the guidance of staff of agriculture
department. The farmers are interested in paddy
cultivation and they cultivate paddy systematically to get
qualified seeds. They use sufficient inputs which cost highinvestment. But, the seed producers get higher return due
to higher price of quality seeds for cultivation.
All farmers do not operate at the same efficiency level.
Investment and interest of farmers differ from one anotherin adapting and using the knowledge and technologies totheir own farms to get high return. FAO (1981) stated that
increased agricultural productivity usually come as a resultof effective adoption of improved technologies. Wortman
and Cumming (1978) also expressed that one of therequirements that increase the productivity is input.
Fertilizer use and fertilizer price became more important
issue in Agriculture especially paddy cultivation. In
developing countries, actual application rates of fertilizer
are low, and it is well below those recommended in somecountries in Asia (FFTC, 2008). Intensive famers and seedproducers are more interested in paddy cultivation to gethigh yield.
In the area, some famers are poor and they do not havesufficient investment to cultivate paddy systematically.
Since the government stopped selling these chemicalfertilizers at reasonable prices to the farmers since 1994,
the farmers cannot apply the necessary amount because ofhigh prices at private shops (Lwin, 2014). They use
chemical fertilizer below the recommended level.
Tun (2014) stated that most of agricultural lands are
currently cultivated by small scale farmers and the cost ofland preparation and cultivation is rather high andproductivity is low. In the area, more than half of the
farmers are smallholders and their capital investment forpaddy cultivation is low. Therefore, productivity is low
and they get low return.
The objectives of the paper are to understand the reasonsthat cause different cultivation practices, to explore
different farming techniques, and to find out different
returns from summer paddy cultivation and to forecast the
future prospects of summer paddy cultivation in the area.

the south (Myint Myint Win, 2014). The area of
Myaungmya Township is 1,152.23 sq.km (444.88 sqmiles) or 3.28 per cent of Ayeyarwady Region. The
township comprises 12 wards (urban) and 98 village tracts.
Relief and Drainage: The study area is located on the
Ayeyarwady deltaic region built up with alluvium. The
lowland region is composed of alluvium with an elevationof less than 7.62 m (25 ft) above the mean sea level. It isalmost a flat plain (Fig. 2). The most significant feature of
the landscape is the braiding network of river and streams.
The widest plain is found along the Ywe River and thearea is very suitable for summer paddy cultivation.

Materials and Methods
To present this paper, primary and secondary data wereapplied. To get primary data, 9 village tracts among the 98
village tracts were selected as sample villages and fieldsurveys were done during summer paddy cultivation
period between December and April in 2015. Threefarmers from each village tract were interviewed to getthorough understanding on summer paddy cultivation.
Primary data such as inputs, capital investment and labour
use, price, returns, etc were collected by using
questionnaires. To present net return of summer paddy
cultivation, cost benefit analysis, benefit-cost ratio wereapplied. Secondary data were also applied to present
spatial distribution of summer paddy cultivated area andthey are obtained from departments concerned.

Fig. 2. Relief and Drainage of Myaungmya Township
Source: Digital Elevation Model

The major rivers are Panmawady, Myaungmya, Pyamalow,
Ywe, Pinlegalay and Pathein (Ngawun). Panmawady,Pyamalow, Ywe and Pathein rivers are distributaries of
Ayeyarwady River and flow from north to south. Pya
Creek flows through the northern part of the township,
Kyonton, Kangyi and Pulu creeks through the northeasternpart of the township. Except the rivers located in thesouthernmost part of the area, most streams support
irrigation water for summer paddy cultivation.
Climate: According to Koppen’s climatic classification,with more than 18° C (64.4°F) of the coolest monthtemperature and an annual rainfall of over 2,800 mm (112
inches), the climate type of the study area is Tropical
Monsoon (Amwg).
Climate directly controls agriculture including summer
paddy cultivation. The annual mean temperature is 26.2°
C (79.61°F). The hottest month is April with a mean
monthly temperature of 29.2° C (84.56° F) and January thecoolest month with 23.1°C (73.58° F). The mean monthly
maximum temperature is highest in April with 36.8° C(98.24° F) and lowest in July and August in 30.2° C(84.36° F) due to cloudiness of the sky and it slightly
decreases in the cool dry period from November to January
and rises up to 35° C (95.9° F) in the hot dry season fromMarch to third week of May. Paddy is extensively grown in
the area because the optimum temperature for ricecultivation is between 25°C and 35°C (Ghadirnezhad andFallahads, 2014).
Rainfall is highly seasonal with a considerably long dry
period from November to the end of May (Fig. 3). Water
requirement is high for summer paddy cultivation becauseof high temperature and scarce rainfall in the hot dry
period. Summer paddy is grown with the help of irrigation.
Water Balance: In the area, ground water recharge isfound until November and December. Then, from January
to April, water deficit occurs (Fig. 4). Therefore, it isdifficult to grow paddy in dry season without irrigation.
Myaungmya Township possesses several rivers which
support irrigation water for summer paddy. Therefore,

Results and Findings
Factors Supporting Summer Paddy Cultivation: Basicgeographic factors such as location, topography, drainage,
climate and soils support summer paddy cultivation in
Myaungmya Township. Moreover, farming methods,
inputs and irrigation have significant influence on the
productivity of summer paddy.
Physical Factors: Physical factors such as relief, drainage,
climate and soils directly or indirectly influence summer
paddy cultivation of any area.

Ayeyarwady Region

Fig. 3: Climograph of Myaungmya Station (1981 to 2010)
Data Source: Meteorology and Hydrology Department, Myaungmya

Myaungmya TownshipFig. 1. Study area (Ayeyarwady Region and Myaungmya
Township) in Myanmar; Source: Agriculture Atlas (2002)

Location: Myaungmya Township is located in thesouthwestern part of Ayeyarwady Region and it lies
between North latitudes 16°19´ and 16°44´ and also
between East longitudes 94°40´ and 95°05´(Fig. 1). Bay
of Bengal is about 69.19 km (43 miles) in the west andKappali (Andaman) Sea is about 104.59 km (65 miles) in84

paddy is grown from January to April with the help of
irrigation.

Labour Force: Sixty nine percent of the populations areengaged in agriculture. This shows the importance ofagriculture sector in the economy of the township (Fig. 7).
Spatial Distribution of Summer Paddy Cultivated
Area: Summer paddy is grown successfully only in areas
where irrigation water is available. Therefore, summer
paddy cultivation is mainly found on the farmlands
proximate to the river and streams such as Myaungmya,
Ywe, Panmawady and Pyamalow.
The large sown area of summer paddy is found near rivers
and streams that supply large amount of water to irrigate
the farmlands. The village tracts with large sown area ofsummerpaddy
were
Hpayarchaungahsugyi,
Mwaytawshansu,
Thazinkonegyi,
Bamawthonegwa,
Kantharkone,
Kywechanpaykone,
Lutaw
and
Kywetnwechaung village tracts. Irrigation water isavailable for these village tracts due to nearness toMyaungmya, Ywe, Panmawady and Pyamalow rivers,
Laputkular and Theinlar creeks, etc (Fig. 8).

P = Precip itation, PET = Potential Evapotranspiration,
AET = Actual Evapotranspiration , G– = Ground Water
Utilization, G + = Ground Water Recharge

Fig. 4. Water Balance of Myaungmya Township
Source: Meteorology and Hydrology Department, Yangon

Soils types: The existing soils support paddy cultivationand more than 80 percent of the area is suitable for paddy
cultivation because of the presence of meadow soils (Fig.
5).

Fig. 8: Summer Paddy Cultivated Area in Myaungmya
Source: Data base, Land Records Department

Productivity of paddy varies with farming practices in thearea. Intensive farmers and seed producers get higher
productivity than smallholders due to different input usesand different farming practices. Average productivities ofintensive farmers was100 baskets per acre, that of seedproducers and smallholder farmers 90 baskets per acreand60 baskets per acre respectively.
Different Farming Practices and Cost-Benefit Analysis
on Summer Paddy Cultivation: In Myaungmya
Township, 95 per cent of the farmers cultivate summer
paddy on more than 90 per cent of the monsoon paddy
cultivated area. Three different farming practices arefound in the area and farmers in these groups are intensive
farmers, seed producers and smallholder farmers.
First farming practice is done by intensive farmers who
own summer paddy cultivated area of more than 20 ha (50acres) cultivating systematically and carefully (Table 1).
They have much investment and use much input in paddy
cultivation. Farmers in the first group are rich and they
have sufficient investment. They use agriculturemachineries in paddy cultivation to be completed in timeand sufficient inputs guided by the staff of AgriculturalFig. 5. Soil Types of Myaungmya Township
Source: Land Use Department, Yangon

Rural Urban Population: Generally the number of ruralor urban population unfolds the major economic activityof the area. In 2015, total population was 298637 personsof which urban population was 44795 persons (15 percent) and rural population 253841 persons (75 per cent)(Fig. 6). It shows that most of the population lives in therural area and depends on agriculture.

Fig. 6: Urban and Rural Population of Myaungmya

Fig. 7. Labour Force of Myaungmya (2010-11)

Source: Immigration , Man Power and Man Power Department, Myaungmya

85

Department. But, they practice broadcasting method insummer paddy cultivation because of labour shortage.

first time irrigation is higher because water requirement ishigher at the first time. Therefore, total diesel cost is
15,000 kyats per acre. Diesel cost differs from one farmer
to another because of existing soils. It is necessary toirrigate water at least 5 times on loamy soil but 7 times on
sandy soils. Among the cost of cultivation, labour andinput costs are higher and they are the chief causes that
produce high yield.
The total cost is 306500 ks per acre and productivity of
paddy is 100 baskets per acres. In 2015, price of paddy
was about 6000 ks per baskets. Therefore, farmers get highbenefit and they get 293500 kyats per acre due to highproductivity which is resulted from high investment.
In the second type, the farmers cultivate summer paddy
for selling seeds to the farmers in the area and to otherareas (Table 2). They follow guidance of the staff ofagricultural department exactly to produce quality seed.
They are very interested in paddy cultivation.

Table 1. Cost-benefit in Summer Paddy Cultivation(Intensive Farmers)
Items
Tillage ( machine)seed (8000 ks ×3.5 baskets)
Shwenagar weedicide
Urea 2 bags
T super 2 bagslabour cost
Diesel cost
OthersHarvesting
Total cost
Return (100 baskets ×6000 ks)
Net benefit

Cost/acre (ks)
15000
28000
18500
40000
30000
100000
15000
20000
40000
306500600000293500

%
4.8
9.1
6.0
13.1
9.8
32.7
4.9
6.5
13.1
100

Source: interview (2015)

They use agriculture machinery in plowing. They mainly
use hand-pushed tractors which are made in China. The
value of it is about 2,000,000 kyats (more than 1500 US$)and some farmers hire agriculture machinery from theRichs and agricultural company. A hand-pushed tractor
takes only 8 hours to plough a farm with an area of ahectare. Rental cost is 20000 ks per day (more than 15
US$ per day). Diesel cost is 5000 ks per acre (nearly 4
US$ per ha). To drive it, labour cost is 5000 ks perday(about 4 US$ per day). Therefore, the total cost ofplowing is about 15,000ks (nearly 13 US$ per acre). They
usually till their land twice to get high yield in paddy
cultivation.
They cultivate high yield varieties because they havesufficient investment and they intend to get higher yield
per unit area. Quality seeds are more expensive and theprice is 8500 kyats per basket (185 kyats per lb). Fora
hectare of paddy field, 3.5 baskets are needed to apply.
Generally, more seeds are needed in broadcasting method.
Most famers use 2.5 baskets per hectare but intensive
farmers use larger amount to get more productivity
Chemical inputs uses differ from one farmer to another. At
the stage of tilling, they use weedicide to kill weeds.
Shwenangar brand weedicide is most popular in that area
and they use 2.5 bags per ha (one bag per acre) to protect
the field from weeds. Price of a bag of Shwenangar
weedicide is 18500 kyats. They also apply chemicalfertilizers according to guidance of the agriculture staff.
They use 2 bags of Urea and 2 bags of T super per acre insummer paddy cultivation.
Labour cost includes costs of plowing, harvesting,pumping water and spraying pesticides. Althoughmachineries are extensively used in plowing, manual
labour is still mainly used in harvesting, pumping waterand spraying pesticides. In harvesting, human labour is
manly applied due to tall paddy plants. Average labour
cost is 4000 kyats per day and total labour cost is roundabout 100,000 kyats per acre.
Pumping cost varies from one place from another becauseof different soils. In some places, soils are sandy and such
soils need more water. Generally, water is irrigated threetimes before harvesting. They irrigate 5 or 6 times
depending on the soils. The cost of diesel is about 5,000
kyats per acre (nearly 4 US$) at the first time. The cost for

Table 2. Cost-benefit in Summer Paddy Cultivation (Seedproducers)
Items
Tillage ( machine)seeds (10000 ks ×2 baskets)
Fungicide & Pesticide
Potash 0.5 bags
Urea 1.5 bags
T super 1 bags
Harvestinglabour cost
Pumping cost
OthersTotal cost
return (90 baskets × 9000 Ks)
Net benefit

Cost/acre (ks)
15000
20000
20000
13000
30000
20000
60000
20000015000
20000
413000810000397000

%
3.7
4.8
4.8
3.1
7.3
4.8
14.5
48.4
3.6
4.8
100.0

Source: interview (2015)

Cost of cultivation is larger than that in the first group.
To produce quality seed, farmers till the land thoroughly
and the cost is also high. Therefore, cost of labour, rental
cost of agriculture machinery and diesels costs are higher
in land preparing stage.
Fertilization cost ranks as the third highest cost after laborand mechanization costs. In fact, input costs represent
22.37 percent of the total cost. Farmers mainly use Urea,
Potash and T-Super. Farmers usually apply the macronutrients as granular fertilizers, and the micro-nutrients asliquid are applied together with the pesticides. They use
chemical fertilizer two times: first time is at 21 days andsecond time at 50 days after cultivation. With granularfertilizers, nitrogen is the most important nutrient for riceproduction and the urea is the most used fertilizer because
it is composed of 46 percent of nitrogen although theportion of urea actually used by rice plants is very low(Vargas, 2012). Farmers in this group have large amountof capital investment and they know systematic seedproducing technology and use farms inputs. But the uses
vary one farmer to another depending on their drainage
and soils. They use more inputs to get higher seedproduction.
They cultivate high yield quality seed to get high quality
seeds. They need nearly 2 baskets per acre. Amount ofseeds used is lower than that used in first group. They
practice transplanting method in which systematic method86

(6 inches × 8 inches apart) is applied. Although thenumber of plants in an area is lower, the production andseed quality is higher due to sufficient nutrients andsystematic planting. Price of seeds for cultivation is higher
than seeds for consumption because of high quality seeds.
Price of seeds is about 10000 kyats per basket.
Labour cost is much higher than that of intensive farming
because of systematic cultivation. Systematic cultivation
method needs much amount of labour and it takes moretime in cultivation. They cultivate paddy plant along thestring line to be systematic. It costs much because of highlabour requirement cost and the small holders cannot
practice the method due to high labour cost. They costmore on planting and harvesting. One permanent laborer ishired for year round to be engaged in not only for on-field
activities but also for supplementary work in the farm
enterprise such as farmland plot maintenance, water
management, storing and others. Total labour cost for one
acre is about 200,000 kyats for the production of summer
paddy seeds. The labour costis high because it is necessary
to care the paddy filed continuously. Threshing machines
are widely utilized in the village for paddy andpulses tosave the time and reduce post-harvest loss. However,
harvesting is done manually.
The productivity is 90 baskets per acre. The price of seeds
for cultivation is usually higher and it was about 9000
kyats per basket in 2015. Although the seed producers costmuch investment, they get higher price and higher net
income. Therefore, farmers get high benefit and theiraverage net return is 397000 kyats per acre due to highproductivity which is resulted from high investment andprice.
In the third group, the farmers cultivate summer paddy forthe purpose of getting household consumption and selling(Table 3). But, they do not have sufficient investment andthey cannot afford to buy sufficient amount of inputs.
They use less amount of input and get low yield.

own more than 10 acreget only 1,000,000 kyats. The loan
is available during the period from April to August formonsoon paddy and from September to December forsummer paddy. But, it is insufficient for paddy cultivation.
Moreover, they use less input. Authorities concerned guideto use 2 bags of urea per acre, but most farmers in thegroup use 1.5 bags per acre of urea and1 bags of t-superthough the authorities instruct to use 2 bags of t-super per
ha. They do not use sufficient amount of input to reducethe cost of input and capital investment. It affects yield perunit area and it gives low return.
Burma, Syria, Argentina, Kenya, Australia and India use
less than 30 kg of nutrient per ha of arable land
(FAO,1981). Farmers in the area try to produce quality
seeds. But, now, amount of input use increased in paddy
cultivation but it is still under recommended level due to
low investment.
They do not use weedicide because they practicetraditional methodto reduce capital investment. Family
members remove weeds for reducing labour cost. Diesel
cost is about 10,000ks per acre. Their net benefit is137000
kyats per acre.
Seed producer get highest productivity as they cultivate
paddy systematically under the guidance of the agriculture
staff and they use sufficient chemical input to get quality
seed.
Benefit Cost Ratio: According to calculation proposed byHusssin et al., (2008), the value of Benefit Cost Ratio(BCR) of intensive paddy cultivation, seed production andsmallholder farmers’ paddy cultivation are 0.95, 0.96 and
0.61respectively. As More and more the value of Benefit
Cost Ratio, more will be the net return and intensive
farmers and seed producer get more return. It unfolds thatthe farmers who are interested in paddy cultivation, theyuse sufficient amount and have high investment and gethigher return.
Conclusion
In Myaungmya Township, farmers know the effects of
untimely rain and irregular rain at the end of monsoon
period and they cultivate summer paddy extensively due towater availability from nearby streams and free fromnegative impacts of climatic irregularity. In the study area,
three different farming practices are found and theintensive farmers and seed producers differ in cultivation
method, input use, productivity, investment and interest ofsmallholder farmers. Depending on their farming practices
and investment, they get different return. Labour and input
cost are high among the cost of cultivation. The intensive
farmers and seed producers use much amount of input by
using large capital investment and they get high yield andhigh return. Smallholder farmers who do not havesufficient investment use fertilizer under recommended
level and they get low yield.
Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) also shows that smallholder
farmers get low return. In the study area, nearly half of the
farmers do not have sufficient capital investment and they
are in vicious debt cycle because they have to borrowmoney for paddy cultivation from the money lenders withhigh interest rate.
Authority concerned needs to plan to offer sufficient loan
for smallholders. It is also needed to distribute the newTable 3. Cost-benefit in Summer Paddy Cultivation(Smallholder farmers)
Items
Tillage ( manual)
seed (8000ks ×3.5 baskets )Pesticide
Urea 1 bags
T super 1 bags
Harvestinglabour cost
Diesel cost
Total Cost
return (60 baskets ×6000ks)
Net return

Cost/acre (ks)
15000
28000
10000
20000
20000
40000
80000
10000
223000360000137000

%
6.7
12.6
4.5
9.0
9.0
17.9
35.9
4.5
100.0

Source: interview (2015)

Agriculture machinery is used in this group to till the land.
They usually practice broadcasting method and only twolabours are needed for seeds broadcasting. Therefore,labour cost is low in seed broadcasting period. Total
labour cost is about 80,000 kyats. Most of the farm works
are done by family members.
Agriculture bank has been disbursed the loan for paddy
cultivation with the rate of 100,000 kyat per acre since
2011and interest rate is 5 percent. But, the farmers who87

Ghadirnezhad, R. and Fallahads, A. 2007. Temperature Effect on
Yield and Yield Components of Different Rice Cultivars in
Flowering Stage, Hindawi Publishing Corporation
International Journal of Agronomy Volume- 2014.
Hoque, M. Z. and Haque, M. E. 2014. Socio-economic Factors
Influencing Profitability of Rice Seed Production in
Selected Areas of Bangladesh, A Scientific Journal of
Krishi Foundation, The Agriculturists 12(1): 33-40.
Hussain, A., Khattak, N. and Khan, Q.A. 2008. Cost Benefit
Analysis of Different Rice Varieties in District Swat,Journalof Agriculture, Vol.24, No.4.
Myint Myint Win, 2013. Geographical Analysis on Agricultureof MyaungMya Township, Unpublished PhD Dissertation,
Department of Geography, University of Yangon.
Panuju, D., Mizuno, K. and Trisasongko, B. 2012. The Dynamics
of Rice Production in Indonesia 1961-2009. Journal of the
Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences 12:27-37.
Ramachandraa, T.V. and Nagarathnab, A.V. 2000. Energetics inpaddy cultivation in Uttara Kannada district, Energy
Conversion & Management 42, pp-131 155
Lwin, T. 2014. Paddy cultivation of Kungyangon Township,
Yangon Region, Unpublished PhD Dissertation, University
of Yangon, Myanmar.
World Bank, 2013. Myanmar economic monitor, World Bank
Office, Yangon (Myanmar) pp. 18.
World Bank, 2014, http://data.worldbank.org/country/myanmar
Wortman, S. and Cumming, R.W. 1978. To Feed this world, The
Challenge and the strategy, John Hopkins University Press,
Baltimore.
Vargas , S.A.M. 2012. Cost-Benefit Analysis for the Adoption of
The Urea Deep Placement Technology by the Rice Farmers
of Daule and Santa Lucia, Ecuador, Master Thesis,
University Of Florida.
Tun, Z.Y. 2014. Challenges and future outlook of Rice
Production in Myanmar, http://www.agribenchmark.
org/fileadmin/Dateiablage/B-Cash-Crop/Projects/RiceInitiative/Presentations-WS-130319/rice_production_
MM_130319.pdf.

knowledge and technologies to those who practiceunsystematic paddy cultivation methods and persuade topractice systematic cultivation by supporting necessary
aids such as agricultural machinery, investment andmodern farming techniques. The intensive farmers andseed producers use chemical fertilizers which cause
environmental deterioration and the fertilizer use willalmost certainly rise in the future. Therefore, continuous
farmer education is necessary to make them understandnew paddy cultivations methods and input uses, to gethigh yield and to reduce environment impacts on paddy
cultivation. It is necessary to do researches on pricefluctuation, environmental impacts on paddy cultivationand soil deterioration to achieve sustainable developmentin summer paddy cultivation.
Acknowledgements: This paper has been prepared during
the stay of Myint Thida as a visiting scholar of the CSEAS(Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University)
Fellowship for Visiting Research Scholars 2016 from Nov.
1 2016 to Jan.31.2017 Accordingly, the authors would liketo acknowledge institutional supports of Department ofGeography, University of Yangon, Myanmar and CSEAS,
Japan for conducting the field work and paper preparation.
Our thanks also go to the villagers from the study area for
their participation during our filed work.
References
Food and Agriculture Organization, 1981, crop production leveland fertilizer use, Food and Agricultural Organization,
United Nations, Rome
Food and Fertilizer Technology Center (FFTC), 2008, The
Appropriate
UseofFertilizers http://www.agnet.org/library.php?func=view&id=20110804093824

88

J. Agrofor. Environ. 11 (1 & 2): 89-96, 2017

ISSN 1995-6983

The effect of drought and the selling of cultivated farmlands on the livelihood of local farmers in
Bagan-Nyaung U area
Mar Mar Win and Kazuo Ando1
Food Legumes Section, Department of Agricultural Research, Yezin Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, 1Department of Practiceoriented Area Studies, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, Japan
E-mail: mmwin17@gmail.com; ando@cseas.kyoto-u.ac.jp
Abstract: A case study was carried out to identify the impacts of drought and tourism development on reducing farmlands and thecontribution of household income in Bagan-Nyaung U area. Recurrent droughts in the study area caused lower crop productivity andforced the local farmers to sell their farmlands for livelihood. During the same period, tourism developmental activities in study villages
also stimulated the local farmers to sell-off their farmlands due to higher demand and market prices. Thus, reduction in per capita
cultivated farmlands provided the opportunity towards participation in non-farm livelihood activities. Based on the primary household
survey, the average annual household incomes were marginally higher among farmland-sold households when compared with non-soldhouseholds. The farmland-sold households have chosen a new development pathway by pursuing nonfarm-based livelihood strategies asways to mitigate their dependency on farmland. These households over time tend to increase their durable asset base and mean
household consumption expenditure patterns per annum. The reductions in farmland due to drought and tourism development have
improved their household welfare by motivating them to take part in diverse non-farm livelihood opportunities. Non-sold farmhouseholds whose are completely dependent on agriculture for livelihood did not improve their standard of living in the study area. This
clearly indicates the declining profitability of agriculture and increased dependency on non-farm livelihood opportunities. These findings
are aptly reflecting the existing trends in many developing countries in South Asia. (232 words).
Key words: Durable assets, households’ income, impact of drought, reducing farmland, tourism development.

Introduction
Bagan-Nyaung U area is one of the richest archaeologicalsites because it is the place of the ancient city where
thousands of Buddhist monuments (temples, stupas,
monasteries, etc.) located. It is situated in the central dry
zone (CDZ) of Myanmar. The typical characteristicfeatures of the central dry zone region are erratic rainfall,
higher temperatures, sandy soils with low fertility andpoor water-holding capacity. Majority of people living inthis zone depend on agriculture and allied activities fortheir livelihood. The unit agricultural productivity is
declining over time due to frequent droughts and erratic
monsoon situation in Bagan-Nyaung U area. The strategy
to improve further agricultural production in the zone
consists of improved irrigation facilities, adaptation ofclimate change mitigation strategies, bringing more land
under cultivation and advocating crop diversification
through enhanced cropping intensity.
Bagan-Nyaung U area is severely affected by consequent
droughts in which the average annual rainfall is often
lower than normal rainfall over decades (data of Dry Zone
Agricultural Research Farm, Nyaung U, 2003-2015).
Since the region chronically receiving a lower quantum of
rainfall compared to the other parts of Myanmar, farmers
are surviving with unstable livelihood opportunities withlittle or negligible prospects of increasing agricultural
production. According to Myanmar’s National Adaptation
Programme of Action (NAPA), the central dry zone is oneof the most vulnerable to climate change (UNEP, 2012).
The annual household agricultural incomes were notenough to meet their household expenses because of
frequent experiences of crop losses. The negative
deviations in household earnings from agriculture havethreatened farmers’ livelihood security and forced them tosell their farmlands. Thus, farmers started reducing theirarea allocation under different crops in the study area.
In addition, Bagan-Nyaung U area is one of the prime
destination places for tourism in the country. Due to theimplementation of social and economic reforms in theearly 2011, tourism has developed rapidly in BaganNyaung U area and resulted in significant expansion ofurban area and hotel constructions. The rapid urbanization
has invaded and occupied the available farmlands in thevicinity. Due to that significant arable land has been
diverted to non-agricultural purposes in the selectedvillages. The increased urbanization is also associated witha decline in agricultural land-use and intensity (Jiang etal., 2013). Urbanization also created huge pressure on
arable land and this inturn increased the unit farmland
prices along the road side. The farmers were selfmotivated to sell-off their farmlands due to higher market
prices.
Frequent crop failures due to drought have led tounaffordability of land for cultivation and continue future
agriculture investments. The rising unit land prices were
negatively impacted farmers, who no longer can afford togrow crops on these lands. Agriculture plays an importantrole in poverty alleviation and food security in Myanmar
rural areas. But farming became not an adequate source ofhousehold income for all categorizes of farmers regardlessof its size. Majority of the farmers from rural areas tried tomove away from agriculture for their livelihood. Thus, thefarmers in the study villages tend to sell their farmlands
because of lower margins in cultivation. Negative impactsof farmland loss (due to urbanization and industrialization)
have been found in China (Chen, 2007) and India (Fazal,
2000). The positive impact of farmland loss on rural
livelihoods was noticed in China (Johnson, 2002) and
Bangladesh (Toufique and Turton, 2002). The mixed
impact of farmland loss on rural household livelihoods
was not attempted so far in the literature (Tuyen et al.,2014). Therefore, the present study made a humble
attempt to identify these impacts of drought and tourism
development on reducing farmlands in Bagan-Nyaung U
area of Myanmar Particularly the impact of selling
farmlands on farmers’ livelihood.

In both the groups, all the sample households indicatedthat farming is their primary occupation and livelihood.
Majority of farmland-sold households availed the loan
facility and their average borrowed amount is much higher
than the other group of farmers.

Materials and Methods
A case study was carried out in three villages, namely,
Phyauk Seik Pin, Kun Sin Key and Tek The in Nyaung U
Township. These villages are located at the southern edgeof Nyaung U Township. On an average, these villages arelocated six kilometers away from Nyaung U Township(Fig. 1). A purposive random sample of 50 households
were identified from the three villages and interviewed forthe present study. The sample was post-stratified into
farmland-sold households and non-sold households tominimize the bias in the selection. Data was collected witha structured questionnaire which was developed based on
the study objectives and extensive review of the literature.
The survey instruments were prepared highlighting theconcerns of households relating to drought and agriculturalactivities, household characteristics, sources of householdincome, composition of household assets, and household
expenditures etc. The primary data were collected from theselected households in the three study villages. Secondary
data on historical rainfall was also collected from Dry
Zone Agricultural Research Farm. The land use change
data over time were also obtained from Settlement andLand Records Department, Nyaung U Township. Bothdescriptive statistic tools and independent T-test wereapplied to check whether there is a significant differencein the means among two-category (farmland-sold and nonsold households) of farmers.

100

1178

Hectares

80

1170

60
1163
Fallow
Cultivated

40
1155

20
0

1148
2011-20122012-20132013-2014Years

2014-2015

2015-2016

Figure 2. The relationship of cultivated and fallow uplandarea in Kone Dan Gyi village track during 20112012 to 2015-2016. Source: Settlement and Land
Records Department, Nyaung U Township

Hectares

Land sharing and utilization patterns in study village:
The study areas were in Kone Dan Gyi village track and
Tek The village. Phyauk Seik Pin and Kun Sin Kye
villages are included in Kone Dan Gyi village track. The
land utilization particulars data collected during the last
six years from the study villages are summarized in Table
2. In Kone Dan Gyi village track, the cultivated area trend
was decreased while the fallow area was increased
between 2011-2012 and 2015-2016 (Fig. 2). The increased
urbanization (areas allocated to road, pond, canal andstream) was observed over a period of time. The rapid
urban area expansion is due to the recent policy supportand encouragement from government. Development of
tourism industry in Bagan-Nyaung U area was also
another major factor for declining farmlands perhousehold.
38

38

30

30

23

23

15

15

8

8

0

Fallow
Cultivated0
2012-20132013-20142014-2015

2015-2016

Years

Figure 3. The relationship of cultivated and fallow uplandarea in Tek The village during 2012-2013 to
2015-2016.

Figure 1. Phyauk Seik Pin, Kun Sin Kye and Tek The
village locations in Nyaung U Township.

Land sharing and utilization pattern details of Tek The
village is also presented in Table 2. The cultivated area
was nearly decreased to one-half while the area underfallow has gone-up significantly (Fig. 3). There were only
ten farmers growing crops for their livelihoods. The main
reason for significant decline in cultivated area was
farmers were not willing to cultivate the crops. They haveshifted their livelihood options from farm to non-farmactivities in the village. Majority of village area was
moved away from agriculture to non-agricultural purposesdue rapid urbanization of Nyaung U Township. The socioeconomic characteristics were changed in Tek The village
from being fully dependent on agricultural activities

Results
Socio-economic profile of sample: The socio-economic
characteristics of sample households in the study area are
categorized into farmland-sold households and non-soldhouseholds and summarized in Table 1. Male headedhouseholds are slightly dominated in case of farmland
non-sold households when compared with farmland-soldhouseholds. Relatively, the average educational levels (no.
of years of education) are better in case of non-soldhousehold than sold household group. The mean farm size
per household and household head experience inagriculture was marginally higher in case of farmland nonsold household sample than the farmland-sold households.
90

towards non-farm activities. The differential impacts arise
from the inappropriate regulation exerted in agriculturalland and interrelated to poverty (El-Hefnawi, 2005).

Table 1. Socio-economic characteristics of household heads
Items

Variable
25
07
08
10
10
04
17
15
32
0
15
11
06
07
14
11
25
07
08
17

Male
Female< = 50 years
51-60 years
61-70 years> 70 years< 5 years> 5 years
Farming
Non-farming< = 4.0 ha
4.1 -8.0 ha> 8.1 ha< = 20 years
21-40 years> 40 years
YesNo< = 100000> 100000Gender of HeadAge of Head

Education level (completed years)
Major occupation
Farm size (hectares)

Loan facility availed
Loan facility availedSize of loan amount (Kyats)

Sold households (N=32)
15
03
04
05
06
03
11
04

Non-sold households (N=18)

18
0
07
08
03
03
06
09
12
06
04
08

Source: Result of survey data (2016)

Table 2. Land use (hectares) in study area during 2011-2012 to 2015-2016

Tek
The
village

Kone Dan
Gyi
village
track

VillageYears

UplandFallow

StationRoad

2011-20122012-20132013-20142014-2015
2015-20162012-20132013-20142014-2015
2015-2016

1169
1163
1173
1169
1158
30
20
21
18

80
52
32
33
42
17
27
26
29

22
25
24
24
24
5
5
5
5

65
70
73
73
73
17
17
17
17

Pond, canal& stream
125
125
127
127
127
64
0
0
0

Village

Airport

Religion

Others

Total

46
53
53
53
53
36
100
100
100

20
30
30
30
30
23
23
23
23

177
185
193
196
198
12
12
12
12

27
28
26
26
26
3
3
3
3

1731
1731
1731
1731
1731
206
206
206
206

Source: Settlement and Land Records Department, Nyaung U TownshipDroughts in the study area: Bagan-Nyaung U area is thecentral core of dry zone and affected by desertification anddroughts in which the average rainfall levels are
noticeably below than that of normal (Fig. 4). Mean
annual rainfall in the dry zone is lower than the rest of thecountry, ranging from 500 to 1000 mm (IWMI, 2015).
Bagan-Nyaung U area has been experiencing climate
variability effects over decades. Thus, the central zone of
Myanmar is highly vulnerable to drought as compared toother parts of the country (UNEP, 2012).

season and a late rainy season occurring (Fig. 5). The
rainy starts from May/June and extends to
September/October. The bimodal rainfall pattern favors a
double cropping system for the study area, meaning that
farmers can grow twice on the same plot each year, and inwhich a second crop is planted after the first is harvested.
There was a longer period of the dry spell during June/July.
The average monthly temperature ranged from a minimumof 13°C to a maximum of 40°C between 2003 and 2015.
Bagan-Nyaung U area is often recorded as the hottest
place in Myanmar where a maximum temperature touches
up to 43-44°C in April/May.

830

806
699
621

666

798

50.

671

638

Temperature (C)Rainfall (mm)

701

487

466
343

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009
Years

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

154

37.5

180
135

109

104
75

25.
12.5
2
0.

Figure 4. Annual rainfall over a period of 2003 to 2015 at
Dry Zone Agricultural Farm, Nyaung U
Township. Source: Dry Zone Agricultural Research Farm,

164

January

1

28

9

3

90
11

6

45

Rainfall (mm)

1025

0
March

May

July

September November

MonthsNyaung U Township.

Minimum

The precipitation pattern in the Bagan-Nyaung U area canbe characterized as a bimodal one, with an early rainy

Maximum

Rainfall (mm)Figure 5. Average temperature and rainfall over a period of 2003
to 2015 at Dry Zone Agricultural Farm, Nyaung U

91

Township. Source: Dry Zone Agricultural Research Farm,for home consumption (cooking oil) and draft feed (cropstubbles) for livestock purposes. To minimize the risk incultivation, recently, farmers tend to cultivate groundnut asintercrop with other crops. The area allocation under crops
such as sesame (sown in early rainy season) and erect
groundnut (Spanish type) was reduced because of climaticaberrations and lack of assured returns.
The extent of area allocation and choices of crops arehighly determined by the pattern of on-set and quantum of
rainfall received. The sample farmers also opined that thetraditional/local varieties have higher tolerance to mitigate
the drought than modern/improved cultivars. However,improved varieties of mungbean and pigeonpea are
preferred for obtaining higher productivity levels. Farmers
always optimize their resource allocation under scarcesituation to attain the maximum profit from theircultivation.
Average productivity levels: Overall, the sample farmers’
perceived that the average productivity levels of crops
were lower now than one decade ago (Table 4). Farmers
experienced poor harvests about three times out of last
seven years, where the yields were approximately half of agood harvest or even less (Matsuda, 2016). Sample
farmers expressed that timely precipitation is essential for
obtaining good harvest. Insufficient rains decline the crop
growth during the early rainy season. The dry spells occur
during June/July further aggravate this situation. Matsuda(2016) concluded that poor or negative returns fromagriculture might have accounted for significant rural
poverty in the central dry zone. The sample farmers also
opined that they tend to do limited investments on crops
due to high risk and uncertainty. This also might beanother important reason for low adoption of crop
improved production technologies and low crop
productivity.

Nyaung U TownshipDrought occurs mostly in the early rainy period due toprolonged dry spells and shortage of soil moisture. Thissituation adversely affects the crop productivity in the
study villages. Particularly, in Bagan-Nyaung U areadrought years have significant adverse effects on the
production of crops, leading to food shortages for bothman kind and livestock in the region.
Table 3. Shifts in cropping systems (hectares perhousehold)
Major crops

Area sown (ha)Past (decade ago)
1. Runner groundnut (Virginia)
2. Sesame (in early rainy)
3. Mungbean
4. Cucumber mixed kitchen crops
5. Erect groundnut (Spanish)
6. Sorghum
7. Mungbean+Pigeonpea
8. Sesame (in late rainy)

2.71
1.30
0.61
0.45
0.65
1.46
0.04
0.85

Present (2016)
1. Runner groundnut (Virginia)
2. Mungbean+Pigeonpea
3. Cucumber mixed kitchen crops
4. Erect groundnut (Spanish)
5. Sorghum
6. Sesame (inlate rainy)

2.63
1.34
0.16
0.16
0.77
1.34

Source: Result of survey data (2016)

Shifts in cropping systems: Major shifts in cropping
systems in the study area over a decade period aresummarized in (Table 3). Runner groundnut (Virginia type)
was the dominant crop observed both in the past andpresent situations. It is preferred because it adapts well tothe severe drought conditions. Groundnut is mainly grown
Table 4. Farmers’ perceptions on productivity of major crops
Crops
Runner groundnut
Sesame (in early rainy)
Erect groundnut
MungbeanPigeonpea
Sesame (in late rainy)
Sorghum- (grain)(fodder)

Average yield (kg/ha)
Good yield
548
756
783
914
484
371
976
16 tonNormal yield
314
304
314
435
435
277
692
12 tonBad yield
227
183
NA
156
170
121
346
8 ton

Source: Result of survey data (2016)

Table 5. Changes in farmland holding sizes during the five years period
Items
Changes in land holdings
Reasons for land holdings changing
Reasons for sale of land
Average how many hectares soldAverage how much unit price

Variables
Yes
No
Land soldLand given
Not fit for agricultural cultivation
Fetches higher prices
For livelihood
Hectares/household
Hectare/ hundred thousand Kyats

Source: Result of survey data (2016), ** Significant at 10% level

92

Distribution (N=50)
38 (76%)
12 (24%)32 (84%)6 (16%)
12 (31%)14 (37%)6 (16%)
2.63
623.2

Changes in farmland holding sizes: Cultivated landholding changes were noticed in nearly about 76% of
study sample households during the five years period(Table 5). The remaining 24% sample households
indicated that there were no changes in their farmland
holdings. The survey data also points that nearly 84% of
the total farmland holding changes were occurred due tosale of cultivated lands while another 16% were given land
to non-agricultural uses i.e., airport, station, road, andcanal. The reasons of land sale were various such as not fit
for cultivation due to drought and poor soil (31%),

fetching higher market price (37%) and for livelihood(16%). On an average, 2.63 hectares of farmland perhousehold was sold by sample farmers with a unit price of
623.2 hundred thousand Kyats per hectare. It is aremarkable decline in average farmland holding during the
span of five years. In general, the land prices were muchhigher in the peripheries and on the road side. Sellingsmall parcels of farmland was more attractive to sample
farmers than the agricultural crop incomes in the study
villages (Arandel and El-Batran, 1997; El-Hefnawi andMadbouly, 2001).

Table 6. Households’ income
Items
Crops
Agricultural wages
Non-agricultural wages
Salaries
Self-employment
Rental taxi
Interest from savings
Mean of households’ income
Standard deviation
Std. Error Mean
T-test value

Sold households (32)
20.5
1.0
7.0
6.9
33.6
6.2
25.6
100.7
118.1
20.8

Net income per year (hundred thousand Kyats)%Non-sold households (18)
20
16.7
1
0.3
7
2.6
7
7.4
33
38.9
6
12.4
26
16.3
94.5
132.5
31.2
-.172*

%
18
3
8
41
13
17

Source: Result of survey data (2016), ** Significant at 10% level

Table 7. Comparison of households’ assets of farmland sold and non-sold households
Items
Unit
Cultivated land
Hectares
Draft animals%
Cow/cattle%
Thresher%Gold%
Motor car%
Motorbike%
TV%
Fridge%Mean of households’ assets (hundred thousand Kyats)Standard deviation
Std. Error Mean
T-test value

Sold households (32)
5.71
65
13
6
78
44
91
25
13
4044.64269.7754.7

Non-sold households (18)
7.13
72
5
5
61
33
83
11
11
2258.6
1585.9373.8-1.703**

Source: Result of survey data (2016), ** Significant at 10% level

Contributions of households’ income: The farmlandsold households, on an average, earned higher annual
household income (100.8 hundred thousand Kyats) thannon-sold households (94.6 hundred thousand Kyats)(Table 6). Data analysis revealed that farmland-soldhouseholds obtained a large income (33%) from selfemployment (like a business), followed by interest
earnings from saving (26%) and crops cultivation (20%).
The non-sold households obtained incomes from selfemployment (41%), followed by crops cultivation (18%)
and interests from saving (17%). In general, selfemployment includes small business, shops, tailoring,bricks lying, carpentry as well as trading etc. The dataclearly reveals that self-employment is more importantsource of household income for rural households thancrops cultivation. Thus, most of the farmers in the study
area are attempting to diversify their sources of householdincome for their livelihood. In household economics,
diversification is identified as one of the best risk
minimization strategy of households often adapted bydryland farmers in Semi-Arid Tropics (Walker and Ryan,
1990). Even though there was a significant difference inannual household incomes between two categories of
farmers, it is not statistically significant among them.
The average earnings from savings and interests wererelatively higher in farmland-sold households than nonsold households. The farmland-sold households could be
investing higher on inputs and management which in-turngave better returns from agriculture. The incomesgenerated from wages in agriculture and non-agriculturesources were about 8% in farmland-sold households while
it was only 3% in non-sold households. This clearly
implies that the family members of farmland-soldhouseholds tend to participate more in different jobs tomaximize their earnings.
Household assets: The survey results summarized thestatus of household assets of farmland-sold and non-soldhouseholds in Table 7. On average, farmland-soldhouseholds have relatively less farmland (5.71 hectares)
than non-sold households (7.13 hectares). With regards to93extent of draft ownership, farmland-sold households havea lower level (65%) compared with non-sold households(72%). The lower level of draft ownership implies that few
farmers sold their draft animals because of reduced
farmland holdings. But the extent of investments on otherdurables (motor car, motor bike, TV and fridge) was muchhigher in case of farmland-sold households than othercategory. The unit purchases on gold also relatively higher
in case of farmland-sold households. The data clearly
implied that the farmland-sold households increased theirquantum of durables assets by selling of their farmlands.
There is significant difference in the total household asset
ownership between these two groups. The differences
between them also proved to be statistically significant at
10% level. The extent of household assets indicates both
the welfare and credit worthiness of the household. The
results of the present study also concluded that farmlandsold households have informal employment structure andthey tend to spend more on durable assets to improve theirstandard of living.

than non-sold households. On average, nearly 24% and
16% of total household expenditure was spent by bothcategory of households respectively on rice and cooking
oil in the study area. The unit expenditure on nonvegetarian food (meat) was slightly higher in case of
farmland-sold households than other category.
Regarding on non-food expenditure, lower amount ofhealth expenditure (9.6%) was observed in case of
farmland-sold households compared with non-soldhouseholds. However, the expenditure on education in
farmland-sold households (15.2%) was higher than nonsold households (12.3%). Similar trend was also observedin case of annual expenditure on household ceremonies.
These trends clearly visualize the move towards an
improved welfare situation of farmland-sold households
than non-sold households in the study villages. Even
though there was a marginal difference in total household
expenditures between two categories of farmers, it is notstatistically significant.
Other social factors: Qualitative data on donations (ahlu)
were also collected during household interviews toestimate the total donations offered by the sample farmers
in a particular year. These details across two categories of
farmers are summarized in Table 8. Almost all the sample
households were offering donations to Buddhist images ormonks in the study villages. The normal donation items
are depend on Myanmar calendars such as offering robes
to Buddha images; to the Buddhist monks (Waso robes,
Kathina robes); and offering variety of food stuff andgifts to the aged and Shinbyu ceremonies etc. Although thesame proportion of Waso robes donations were observed
between two category of farmers, Kathina robes
andShinbyu ceremonies were significantly higher in caseof farmland-sold households. Kathina robes andShinbyu
ceremonies are generally more costly that enables todonate only by well-off households. Specific donations on
built/renovated religious purposes were also significant
higher in case of farmland-sold households than othergroup.
On the whole, a total donation in a year offered by nonsold households was estimated about 4.9 hundred
thousand Kyats. The farmland-sold households offereddonations at least two to three times higher (10.3 hundred
thousand Kyats per year) than their counterparts. It is also
observed that farmland-sold households donate more not
only in terms of total amount per annum but also infrequency (no. of times per annum) than non-soldhouseholds. The data results clearly implied that the social
impact of farmland-sold households was much more thannon-sold households.
In addition to offering, other factors of housing facilities
and acquiring of number of motor cars have also increasedin case of farmland-sold households (Table 9). Overall, theresults of the household survey indicated that the selling of
farmlands have improved the living standard of farmlandsold households to a certain extent. Instead of using
bamboo or toddy palm leaves roof houses, sampled
households started to live in tin shed and brick wall houses
and they could also afford to buy motor cars as tangible
assets. The access to increased assets in farmland-soldhouseholds exhibited enhanced alternate employment

Table 8. Household consumption expenditure
Items of expenditure
Rice
Cooking oil
Non-vegetarian food(meat)
Health
Education
Ceremonies
Mean of expenditure(hundred thousand
Kyats/year)
Standard deviation
Std. Error Mean
T-test value

Distribution of household expenditures (%)
Sold households
Non-sold(32)
households (18)
24.0
24.6
16.0
15.5
12.8

11.8

9.6
15.2
22.4

15.0
12.3
20.9

30.7

27.3

13.4
2.4

13.5
3.2
-.863*

Source: Result of survey data (2016), ** Significant at 10% level

Table 9. Comparison of offerings and other factors across groups
Items
Donations
Waso robes
Kathina ropes/Shinbyu
Built/renovatedreligious purpose
Mean donation(hundred thousand
Kyats/year)
Standard deviations
Std. Error Mean
T-test value
Others
Housing facilities
Saving to bankAcquired to car

Distribution of other social factors (%)
Sold
Non-sold households
households (32)
(18)
63
78

61
50

56

17

10.3

4.9

5.7
1.0

5.2
1.2
-3.33***

41
22
28

5
11
5

Household consumption expenditure: Average
household consumption expenditure of farmland-soldhouseholds and non-sold households are summarized inTable 8. Overall, the total annual household expenditure
was slightly higher in case of farmland-sold households
94

opportunities in the study area. This has ultimately helped
them to improve their livelihood options over time.

minimizes the negative deviations in total earnings.
The differences in household assets were observed
between these two groups of households. On average,
farmland sold households has substantially less farmland
and a lower level of draft ownership compared with nonsold households. The farmers in the study area have
reduced their land and livestock assets over a period oftime due to the decrease in crops cultivation and rapid
urbanization. However, the farmland-sold households tend
to increase the durable assets such as gold, motor cars,
motorbikes, TV, and fridge etc. In every asset category
studied, farmlands-sold households have acquired more
items than non-sold households. This is evident throughthe selling of farmlands and investing more on the
durables assets. According to the primary survey, most of
the farmers have sold their farmlands and moved out ofagriculture such as rental taxi for tourist, selfemployments/business. Some prefer to save in physicalasset of gold and cash deposits in the bank. Nem Nei
Lhing et al. (2010) pointed out that household savings canprovide protection against risks and also provide
opportunities to expand the existing economic activities.
The results of the present study also concluded thatfarmlands-sold households have informal employments
structures and they tend to change to alternative
employments very easily.
In addition, the farmland-sold households tend to increase
their households’ consumption expenditures and moreparticipate in donation activities. As previously discussed,changes in livelihood choices towards nonfarm activities
may be a way to raise rural household welfare. These
nonfarm activities, however, are not sure to sustain forfarmers in future. Agriculture is crucial in terms of
employment, food security and budgetary allocation, eventhough the share of agriculture income has decreased in
the study area. Therefore, agricultural activities should bepromoted through the distribution of agricultural inputs
such as improved seeds and fertilizers, more economic
crops and better extension services delivery in order toboost agricultural production.
Conclusion:
Recurrent droughts in Bagan-Nyaung U area forced the
local farmers to sell-off their farmlands and diversify theirincome earning opportunities towards non-agriculture.
Due to high risk and uncertainty in agriculture, the total
cultivated area in the selected villages as well as the mean
per capita farmland holdings were reduced over time. The
primary household survey has revealed significant changes
in landholding during the study period. Non-viability ofagriculture and the development of tourism activities haveimmensely contributed to this shift. The farmers havestarted diversifying their earning opportunities fromagriculture to non-agriculture and minimizing the risk. The
share of non-farm income in the total household income
has started increasing while contribution from agriculture
is losing its ground.
The data analysis has clearly concluded that mean annual
household income was slightly higher (6.6%) in case of
farmland-sold households than non-sold households. Even
though it is not statistically significant marginal difference
between these figures were observed. The average

Discussion
Bagan-Nyaung U area, itself has unlikely weather
conditions such as high temperature, scare rainfall etc.
Drought is the natural event there. Even though the local
farmer tended to grow their crops as per usual under thisclimate uncertainty, as agriculture is the main source ofincome. The dominant cropping is runner groundnut which
adapted to the severe drought conditions. The cultivationof sesame in early rainy season is becoming less because
climatic fluctuations have become more intense withfrequent droughts in early rainy season and rainfall
patterns changing. The study area currently has becoming
more to the intercropping of mungbean and pigeonpea inorder to ensure production from at least one crop as
insurance against unreliable rainfall. JICA (2013) reported
that farmers always consider how to get higher farmincome by choosing varieties with higher price andsuitable crop varieties to cope with scarce and fluctuating
rainfall.
According to the household interviews, the average
productivity of cultivated crops has decreased andfluctuated widely. The choice of crops and cropping
systems mainly depends on rainfall in the study area.
Farmers stated that timely precipitation is essential andinsufficient moisture for crops growth during the early
rainy season and dry spell in June/July led to lower yield.
Matsuda (2016) pointed out that low agricultural
productivity and occasional poor harvests due to theunreliability of rainfall might account for rural poverty inthe central dry zone.
The lower incomes from agricultural work have threatened
farmers’ livelihood security and forced them to sell the
farmlands and depend on different income sources fortheir survival. In addition, Bagan-Nyaung U area is one of
the main destinations for tourism. The demanding in hotel
construction which caused to raise farmland prices andstimulates to the local farmers for selling. There weremore households who sold farmlands as fetching higher
farmland price and personal financial need.
According to the survey, the farmlands-sold households
tend to have a higher level of annual household income
than non-sold households. Self-employment or business is
identified as a dominant source of total household incomein the study area. In addition, others income generating
activities such as rental taxi and interest from saving areperceived to be contributed significantly to improving thestandards of living. The results of the study showed that
more than half of their incomes derived from other sources,
though agriculture remains the major source of rural
income for the farmers. Thus, the single source income ofagriculture not covered for their account for livelihoods inthe study area. The natural tendency of rural households toengage in multiple occupations is very commonly
noticeable in the study area. This indicates that income
diversifications were observed on households throughfarmland sold, participation in wages and interest earnings
from deposits etc. The dependency on multiple enterprises
diversifies their sources of household income and95

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International Water Management Institute (IWMI).
Availableat:
http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/Publications/Other/Reports/PDF/
improving-water-management-in-myanmars-dry-zone-forfood-security-livelihoods-and-health.pdf
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the
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The implications of findings; from filed surveys in the
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Present and Prospect. Springer 131-153 2016 978-4-43155735-7, pp.131-154.
Lhing, N.N., Shinkai, S., Hotta, K. and Nanseki, T. 2010. The
effects of the PACT microfinance program in the dry zone
area of central Myanmar. J. Fac. Agr., Kyushu Univ.55 (1):
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gladeshTuyen, T.Q., Lim, S., Cameron, M.P. and Huong, V. 2014.
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earnings from agriculture, savings in bank and wage
incomes have contributed for enhanced incomes in case of
farmland-sold households. The increased participation in
the informal sector not only helped the farmland-soldhouseholds to mitigate negative consequences of land loss
but also opened-up a new avenue of livelihood
opportunities. This has clearly helped these households toimprove their durable asset structure and annual household
consumption expenditure. The changes in average
household assets were significantly different (at 10%
level) between two category of farmers. However, thevariations in annual household consumption expenditures
were not statistically significant. Additionally, farmlandsold households were also actively participated(significant at 1% level) more in donation activities.
Overall, the findings aptly support the rural transformationof Myanmar from farming to non-farming sectors andincreased dependency on non-farm employment
opportunities.
Acknowledgements: This paper has been prepared during
stay of Mar Mar Win as a visiting scholar of the CSEAS(Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University)
Fellowship for Visiting Research Scholars 2016 from Oct
1 2016 to Dec.31.2016. Accordingly, the authors would
like to acknowledge institutional supports of Departmentof Agricultural Research, Myanmar and CSEAS, Japan for
conducting the field work and paper preparation. Our
thanks also go to the farmers from the study area for their
participation during our field work.
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http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTURBANDEVELOP
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96

J. Agrofor. Environ. 11 (1 & 2): 97-102, 2017

ISSN 1995-6983

Tourist industry and its impact upon socio-economic development of Bagan-Nyaung U area
Khin Ohnmar Htwe and Aye Aye Thwe1
Myanmar Environment institute, Myanmar, 1University of Mandalay, Mahaaungmya, Myanmar.
Abstract: Tourist industry is one of the main economic activities of Bagan-Nyaung U area which are important for socio-economic
development for that region. Tourist industry is one of the important sources for earning foreign currency and creating job opportunities.
Tourist industry and tourism related businesses are main encouraging factors in the economic development of Bagan-Nyaung U area.
Number of hotels, restaurants and souvenir shops are main businesses related tourism.
Key Words: Business, socio-economic development, souvenir shops, tourist industry.

Introduction
Many scholars defined the term “Development” fromvarious aspects. Dale (2000) mentioned “Development is abroader and more diverse concept, denoting improvementsin the quality of life of people, extending much beyond
direct gains from increased production of commodities andservices”.
Social and cultural integration emerges along with thenational integration process. “ Socio-cultural integration”
is a process of integration of existing culture and historical
heritage with the social system for the use of promotion
tourism, arts, crafts, music, songs and cultural dance into
economic benefits. Therefore, the socio-cultural
integration has large externalities on cultural, tourism, artand craft, exports and finally regional development.
After 1988, the government of Myanmar has been making
all round effort for the parallel development of all theregions across the Union. Myanmar formally declared
1996 as Visit Myanmar Year and launched activities fortourism development in 1994, attention of the most people
drawn on the country. Bagan (formerly Pagan), an ancient
city, is situated in the Nyaung U District. It was a birthplace of Myanmar’s Civilization that developed in theeleventh century.
In ancient city of Bagan and surrounding areas, the impact
of tourism was the revival of social and cultural life of thepeople through tourism. The increasing number of tourists
provided social and economic opportunity for the locally
produced goods and revival of artisanship. As Bagan isfamous for ancient treasure and lacquerware, theimprovements of tourism have a large positive impact on
the existing industry.
Materials and Methods
The Study area: The study area, Nyaung U District
included within the Mandalay Region in the Central Dry
Zone of Myanmar (Fig. 1). The district consists of Nyaung
U Township and Ngathayauk sub-township. It comprises
16 wards, 75 village tracts and 223 villages, covering572.755 square miles of an area. In this district, Bagan is afamous tourist site not only for international tourists but
also for local visitors.
Methodology: This study is intended to examine therelationship between economic activities and social
conditions within Nyaung U District. In order to measure
relationship and association, statistical methods(correlation and regression, fluctuation and trend, factorial
design and cluster analysis) will be applied.
Interviews and field surveys are an intensive as well as anextensive examination of socio-economic development,using face-to-face interviews and questionnaires. Detailed

information was obtained from some key informants by
open interviews. Mapping, data linkage and analysis weredone by Geographic Information System (GIS) technique,with the help of topographic maps, aerial photographs andphotographs.

Fig. 1. Map 1 Location of Bagan-Nyaung U area
Results and Discussion
Due to the growth of tourist arrivals in Bagan area,
number of hotels, restaurants and souvenir shops aregradually increasing in number and size. There are
significant growth of hotels in Bagan-Nyaung U between
1972 and 2010. There was one hotel in 1972. Hotel andguest houses were gradually upgraded for increase numberof tourist arrivals. After 1996, which is demarcated as
Visit Myanmar Year, hotel zones were built to develop
tourist industry. In the hotel zone, 27 hotels, 21 guest
houses, and 3 motels were constructed after 1996. In
recent period, there are 40 hotels, 27 guest houses, 5motels, 2 resorts and 2 inns in Nyaung U area (Table 1).

Table 1. Hotel, Motel, Inn and Guest House of Bagan-Nyaung U (1972-2010)
No

Year

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38

1972
1978
1992
1994
1994
1994
1994
1994
1994
1994
1994
1995
1995
1995
1995
1995
1995
1995
1995
1995
1995
1995
1995
1995
1996
1996
1996
1996
1996
1996
1996
1996
1996
1996
1996
1996
1996
1996

Name of Hotels, Motels, Inns and Guest
House
Thiripyitsaya Sakura Hotel
Aye Yar Hotel
Goldern Express Hotel
Aung Mingala Hotel
Glorious Bagan Guest House
Diamond Egale (1) Hotel
Kaday Aung Hotel
Lucky Seven Guest House
New Wave Guest House
Goldern Myanmar Guest House
Mya Sein Dipa Guest House
Bagan HotelBlue Bird Hotel
Kumudara Hotel
Kyi Kyi Mya Guest House
Mya Pui Sone Guest House
New Park Guest House
New Heaven Guest House
Pann Cherry Guest House
PyinsaRupa Guest House
Winner Guest House
Zar Chi Win (2) Hotel
Oasis Guest House
Myat Bagan Hotel
Inn Wa Guest House
Eden Motel (1)Kaytumadi Dynasty Hotel
Lawkanat HotelMya Thida Guest House
New Life Guest House
N.K Betel Nut Hotel
Pagoda City Hotel
Prince Guest House
Silver Moon Hotel
Nyaung U Thande HotelSan YeikNyein Guest House
Thazin Garden Hotel
Thiri Marla Hotel

No

Year

39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76

1996
1996
1996
1996
1996
1996
1996
1996
1996
1996
1996
1996
1996
1997
1997
1997
1997
1997
1997
1997
1997
1997
1998
1998
1999
1999
1999
1999
2000
2000
2000
2000
2001
2003
2004
2004
2005
2006

Name of Hotels, Motels, Inns andGuest House
ThiriSanda Hotel
Yun Myo Thu Motel
Sonseya Motel
Ayeyar River View Hotel
Duwun Hotel
Ingyin HotelNan Eain Thu Hotel
Thande HotelMay Khalar Guest House
Smile World Hotel
Zagawa Palace Hotel
View Point Guest House
Bagan Princess Guest House
Union (2) Hotel
Myanmar Treasure Hotel
Bagan Central Hotel
Kyaw Guest House
Goldern Pot Guest House
Shwe Nagar Hotel
YarKhinTha Hotel
New Bagan Inn
Myanmar Hotel
Bagan Golf Resort
Bagan ThiriZarni HotelMya KanTha Motel
ShweTaung Tan Hotel
Ruby True Hotel
Goldern Village Inn
Arthawka Hotel
Eden (2) Motel
Tampawadi Hotel
Family Guest House
Greenwich Hotel
Tharabargate Hotel
ShweNadi Guest House
Mahanadi Guest House
Diamond Egale (2) Guest House
Aureum Palace Resort

Source: Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, Bagan (1996)

According to 2010 statistics, there are 1368 workers
engaged in hotels which are related to tourism. Therefore,
tourism created job opportunities and gave knowledge
about tourism to local people. However, tourist industry,
in fact, is partly related to seasonal advantages which
depend upon weather and climate condition of a country.
Tourism cannot give an annual income for the whole year.
There are peak season and off-peak season in tourist
industry of Myanmar. Peak season or maximum number oftourist arrivals is found between October and March. Offpeak season or minimum number of tourist arrivals isfound between April and September which is a monsoon
period. In 2010, the lowest number of tourist arrivals wasfound in June and the maximum tourist arrival wasobserved in November (Table 2 and Fig. 2). Hotels,
restaurants, souvenir shops and other tourism related
businesses are more beneficial in tourist peak season thanoff-peak season.
In recent period, there is gradual increase in off-peakseason tourist arrivals due to improved infrastructure suchas transportation and communication facilities. If

Fig. 2. Seasonal Tourist Arrival of Bagan-Nyaung U(2010) (Soe Thint, 2010).

98

infrastructure is developed and supported in tourist
industry for the whole year, socio-economic condition of
Nyaung U area will be more developed. Number ofrestaurants and food shops are growing due to increasing
tourist arrivals and local visitors. There were only 5 foodshops in 1990 and it increased to 40 shops in 2006 andreached to 134 shops in 2010. Restaurants and food shops

are more beneficial in high tourist arrivals and local
visitors. This development of food services also support
the better income for foodstuffs, vegetables and otherconsumer goods sellers from village areas. Therefore,
tourism development supports not only urban dwellers but
also for rural villagers.

Table 2. Seasonal Tourist Arrivals of Bagan-Nyaung U (2001-2010)
No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

Month
2001
2002
2003
April
3,423
4,125
3,330
May
2,444
2,005
2,041
June
1,218
1,201
1,023
July
2,231
2,675
2,271
August
5,726
5,617
3,336
September
2,071
3,013
2,232
October
3,853
6,207
4,656
November
7,294
12,222
9,233
December
6,039
9,799
8,725
January
8,453
8,686
11,892February
9,682
8,658
11,718
March
6,137
6,232
8,433
58,57170,44068,890Total
source: Ministry of Hotel and Tourism (Bagan)

2004
3,726
2,175
1,594
3,099
5,355
2,643
5,760
12,331
9,739
10,603
9,727
7,170

2005
3,624
2,581
1,463
3,148
5,226
2,646
5,901
11,649
9,110
10,487
9,964
7,221

2006
4,785
2,447
1,990
3,881
6,636
3,632
7,922
15,59012,392
10,335
10,309
8,321

2007
5,715
3,627
2,340
4,278
7,444
4,279
1,241
4,999
4,920
14,887
15,357
11,323

2008
2,787
1,011
331
826
1,329
1,156
2,670
5,108
4,540
6,384
6,720
5,273

2009
2,672
1,913
1,196
2,413
3,652
2,572
5,134
9,703
9,159
6,288
5,806
4,553

2010
3,621
2,229
1,585
3,483
5,255
3,287
6,700
11,37910,721
10,560
10,293
7,718

Total
37,80822,473
13,941
28,30549,576
27,53150,04499,50885,144
98,57598,234
72,381%73,92273,02088,24080,41038,13555,061

76,831

683,520100.00

5.53
3.29
2.04
4.14
7.25
4.03
7.32
14.56
12.46
14.42
14.37
10.59

Table 3. Tourism Related Economic Businesses of Downtown Area of Nyaung U
No

Wards

Restaurants
Hotels
1
No.1
7
0
2
No.2
13
2
3
No.3
18
11
4
No.4
22
11
5
No.5
51
10
6
No.6
1
1
7
No.7
8
4
8
Kyansittha
420
9Anawyahta
3
15
10
Thiripyitsaya
7
1
11
Shwetwin0012East Ywanaung
0
0
13
Ganga
0
1
Total
134
76
Source: Township Administrative Office, Nyaung U

Tourism related economic businesses
Souvenirs Shops
Lacquareware Shops
0
0
1
0
0
0
5
0
29
23
0
0
3
2
1
1
0
2
0
5
0
0
0
0
0
0
39
33

Stores
7
5
12
20
3
3
1
3
2
3
0
0
5
64

140
120

NumberAir Ticket Services
0
0
2
4
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
9

Number of souvenir shops increased due to the growth of
tourist arrivals and domestic visitors. The most favorites
souvenirs sold in Bagan-Nyaung U area are lacquarewares,
paintings and statues, local food products and souvenir
shirts. Foreign visitors mostly buy lacquarewares,
paintings and statues whereas local visitors buy local
foods and souvenir shirts. Due to the support of tourism
development,
transportation
andcommunication
development, the quality of lacquareware products from
Bagan area significantly increased. It is demanded forforeign exports to Italy, Germany and France. There are 65
lacquareware workshops in Nyaung U area. Businesses
related to paintings and sculptures are also developed by
the increasing demand from tourist industry.
Local food products industries are also developed due tothe increasing demand of domestic visitors. Machines are
increasing used instead of manual workers to produce
local food such as “Poneyegyi or Bean Paste” which is afamous local food made by using beans. Increasing qualityof package and food quality, Poneyegyi or Bean Paste

160

100
80
60
40
20
0

Air Ticket Services

Internet

Lacquareware Shops

Souvenirs Shops

StoresHotelsRestaurants

Businesses

Internet
0
0
2
4
4
0
2
1
0
0
0
0
0
13

Fig. 3. Tourist Related Economic Business of Downtown
Area of Nyaung U
99

industry is significantly develop in Bagan-Nyaung U.
Domestic visitors prefer t-shirts as souvenirs to give otherpeople in their native areas. Therefore, this industry is also
growing mainly due to domestic tourism. Design drawing
for t-shirts and printing industry is also developed related
to this t-shirt cottage industry. There are 185 souvenir
shops in famous pagodas such as Arnandar, Shwezigon,
Bupaya, Alodawpyi and Myazaydi pagodas. These shops
also create job opportunities for local people. Therefore,
tourism development can support the opportunities of job
for local people in Bagan-Nyaung U area.
In 2010, there are 7 main businesses related to tourist
industry in Bagan-Nyaung U. They are 134 restaurants, 76
hotels, 64 stores, 39 souvenirs shops, 33 lacquareware
shops, 13 internet services and 9 air ticket services. Thesebusinesses are largely dependent on tourism. Majority ofbusinesses are restaurants, hotels and stores. In fact,
restaurants, hotels and air ticket services, hotels and air
ticket services are directly related to tourist industry
whereas stores, souvenir shops, lacquareare shops andinternet services are indirectly related to tourism inNyaung U. (Table 3 and Fig. 3)
Models Application in Tourism Development of BaganNyaung U: Since tourism development is very importantfor socio-economic growth of Bagan-Nyaung U, it isnecessary to study the role of tourism development in
Bagan-Nyaung U by using some theoretical measures.
To apply the Butler’s model of the hypothetical evolutionof a tourist area to Bagan tourism, two variables such as
the time factor and the number of tourists are plotted on X
axis and Y axis respectively. The resultant two figuresapproximately coincide with the “development stages” asshown on Buler’s Model. (Table 4 and Fig. 4)

Fig. 4. Analysis of tourism development by bulter’s model
The present condition of tourism in Bagan-Nyaung U,
according to Butler’model is in the early part of‘development stages’. Tourism in Bagan-Nyaung U
experienced the ‘exploration stage’ and ‘involvement
stage’. The applied model indicates two significant periodsin the development of tourism in Bagan-Nyaung U. The
two resultant patterns were found from 1991 to 2000 andfrom 2001 to 2010. Both of these periods experienced twostages, namely exploration and involvement.
Various stages recognized in the Butler’s modelsignificantly coincide with the actual condition of tourism
in Bagan-Nyaung U. It is now in the early part of‘development stage’ and it can be postulated that there
would be a perfect ‘development stage’ in the near future
as six sequential development phases depicted on the
Butler’s model. (Table 5 and Fig. 5)

Table 4. Tourist Arrivals of Bagan-Nyaung U (1991-2000)
No
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Years
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000

No of Tourists
8680
13110
30490
44838
66923
88057
92691
98608
99604
105961

Table 5. Tourist Arrivals of Bagan-Nyaung U

Source: Ministry of Hotel and Tourism

Butler (1980) has developed a complex model of the
hypothetical evolution of a tourist area. (Figures 3-5) Six
stages are classified as exploration, involvement,
development, consolidation, stagnation and rejuvenation
or decline. No specified facilities for visitors exist in thefirst stage; those in the involvement stage are provided
primarily by locals. In the development stage local
involvement and control decline rapidly.
Major franchises and chains in the tourist industry will be
represented by the consolidation stage. Again local
involvement increases in the decline stage “as local
employees are able to purchase facilities at significantly
lower prices as the market declines”.

No

Years

No of Tourists

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010

58571
70440
68890
73922
73020
88240
80410
38135
55061
76831

Although there were several fluctuation in tourist arrival
trend, there was a tendency towards a new development
after 2010 when a new political and economic policies ofMyanmar was significantly introduced. This new trend of
tourism development will also support the socio-economic
growth of Bagan-Nyaung U.
Impact of Tourist Industry on Socio-economic
Development: Major impact of tourist industry on socioeconomic growth of Bagan-Nyaung U is significantly
observed in some economic activities such as; (a)Handicraft industry, (b) Food and beverages shops, and (c)Hotels and accommodation services
100In order to study the impact of tourism on these businesses,
shops and business were selected as samples forquestionnaire distribution and interview survey.

Respondents answered that their lacquareware industry is
closely related to tourist industry and when the more
visitors come the more lacquareware products are sold.
Therefore, they pointed out that the economic growth ofBagan-Nyaung U area is significantly influenced by tourist
industry. By the connection of tourist, some lacquareware
products are exported to foreign countries throughSingapore. Although local visitors buy lacquareware
products, the demand is less than that of foreign visitorsfrom Europe, Americas and the rest of Asia.
Food and Beverages Shops and Restaurants: Anotherbusiness sectors related to tourist industry in BaganNyaung U is food and beverages shops and restaurants.
Some owners of food and beverage shops and restaurants
were requested to reply the questionnaires.
There are two types of food shops such as Myanmar
traditional food and Chinese style food. Both types are
preferable for tourists and local visitors. In recent years,
with the development of tourist industry, some restaurants
also tried to perform purpet shows during the night time. It
also attracts to tourists. Therefore, traditional purpet show
is gradually developed again due to the growth of tourist
industry in Bagan-Nyaung U area.
The respondents answered about their income from foodand beverages shops by averaging 1 lakh kyats to 5 lakh
kyats. About 75 percent of the shop owners earned 6 lakh
to 10 lakh kyats from food and beverages.
Hotels, Motels, Inns and Guest Houses: The mostsignificant development is found in the growth of hotels,
motels, inns and guest houses (Fig. 6). This businesssector is directly related to tourist industry. The basic
requirement for international tourists is hotels and motels
for their accommodation and stay. Most of the respondents,
who are managing hotels and guest houses, are age groupbetween 20 and 40 years (72% of total respondents).

Fig. 4. Analysis of Tourism Development by Butler’s
Model (2001-2010)
There are 12 respondents for handicraft industry, 4
respondents from food and beverage shops and 7
respondents from hotels and accommodation services.
This study only focused on qualitative assessment on theimpact of tourist industry in Bagan-Nyaung U.
Handicraft Industry: Handicraft is a main cottage
industry which is supported by tourism in Nyuang U
District. Handicraft is traditionally done by villagers from
Bagan and Nyaung U area. The main product is alacquarewares made of bamboo and natural dyes produced
from plants and some kinds of rocks and soils.

Pagodas

Paintings

Paintings

Lacquarewares

Tourism

Fig. 6. Tourist Industry and its related Economic Activities in Bagan-Nyaung U Area
Most of the visitors stayed in hotels, motels and guest
houses are foreigners. Therefore, hotels, motels and guest
houses are mainly dependent on tourist arrivals. December

to February is the peak season for tourist arrivals. Local
visitors usually come to Bagan area between April andOctober. At that time most of the hotels, motels and guest
101houses are crowded. However, big hotels and highstandard hotels and guest houses are generally preferred
by tourists from foreign countries. Local visitors preferred
low price guest houses.
Conclusion: This study pointed out that hotels and highprice guest houses are mainly relied on tourism andtourism related activities. Until 2010, tourism is seasonal
business. Most of the hotels are vacant in the off-peakseason during June and October, monsoon period. It isnecessary to promote tourist industry to be a year-roundbusiness. Moreover, the export of home-madecommodities are also recommended and made comeimportant contacts by tourism. Handicraft is supported by
tourism in Bagan-Nyaung U area which is necessary tomaintain the present condition.

Butler, R.W. 1980. The Concept of a tourist area cycle ofevolution. Canadian Geographer 24(1): 5-12
Khin Ohn Mar Htwe. 1999. Geography of Tourism in Myanmar,
Master (Thesis), Department of Geography, Yangon
University.
Ministry of Hotel and Tourism (Myanmar), 2006. “Tourism
Statistics”,
Myint Myint San, 1995. Regional Geography of Nyaung U
Township, Master (Thesis),Department of Geography,
Mandalay University.
Soe Tint, 2010. Analysis of Tourism Development of Bagan
Archaeological Area, PhD (Thesis), Department ofGeography, Yangon University.
Dale. R. 2000. Evaluating Development Programmes andProjects. 2nd Edition, Sage Publication India Pvt. Ltd. B-42,
Panchsheel enclave, New Delhi 110017.

References102

J. Agrofor. Environ. 11 (1 & 2): 103-106, 2017

ISSN 1995-6983

Farm size categories and agricultural implements used for farming: a case study in Baghaichari
Mukh village, Chittagong hill tracts, Bangladesh
Shishir Swapan Chakma and Kazuo Ando1
Center for Southeast Asian Studies, 1Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
Abstract: The paper aims to reportthe types, sources and functions of the existing agricultural implements of indigenous Chakma
people, who live in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of southeast Bangladesh. The major farming system in Chittagong Hill Tracts is still
traditional. Subsistence farming of small farmers is most prevalent where farming is carried out in a traditional way using with handmade agricultural implements from wood and bamboo. Also a great deal of human labor and animal-draught power is required for land
preparation, sowing, transplanting, harvesting and processing. Recently, modern implements (e.g. power tiller) as well as locally existing
agricultural implements began to be used for rice cropping system in the village. However, farmers’ practices and management are still
kept as traditional ways that they are taught from their ancestors in the village. Some farmers prefer using draft power more than the
power tillers, because they thought drought power can till the land deeper. According to the interview with a few farmers, deep tillage
can control weed seeds which enables high yield, whereas the tillage with power tiller is not good for the yield. Some farmers said thatthe power tiller is very useful in the rainy season for preparing puddle soil. Farmer opines that power tiller is required less time in orderto tilt the land though some farmers prefer modern implements.
Key words:Chittagong Hill Tracts, farm size categories, existing agricultural implements and modern implements.

Introduction
Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), cover an area of 13,295
km2 is situated southern part of Bangladesh, bordering the
Rakhine and Chin Sates of Myanmar and Tripura andMizoram Sates in India (Background of Chittagong Hill
Tracts, 2002). It is the land to nearby twelve indigenous
groups, who do not exactly share a common language
among themselves, but who are so far part from majority
Bengali population in terms of indigenous background,religious and socio-cultural practices. These indigenous
peoples are called jhumma that include the people who
cultivate jhum (swidden cultivation). Jhum chas (swidden
cultivation) is practiced by the indigenous communities of
the Chittagong Hill Tracts regions since time immemorial.
The major farming system in Chittagong Hill Tracts is still
traditional. Subsistence farming of small holder farmers ismost prevalent where farming is carried out in a traditional
way using with old and indigenous farming implements
and little inputs. This involves a great deal of human laborand animal-draught power for land preparation, sowing,transplanting, harvesting and processing. The use ofanimal-drawn implements of today is a crucial in realizing
the current socio-economic condition of Chittagong Hill
Tracts. Improvement of agricultural implements is aprerequisite and important for any improvement ofagriculture as a whole. However, research on locallyexisting agricultural technologies in Japanese ZAICHI NO
GUUTSU (Ando, 2011) has been so far considered aneglect subject and detail and comprehensive study is stilllacking in Chittagong Hill Tracts. Besides, there have been
few research efforts to encourage the use of appropriate
farm implements which has a great potential increase thenational production. Therefore, the study aims to identify
the types, sources and functions of the existing agricultural
implements in the study area.
Materials and Methods
This study was carried out in Baghaichari mukh village
Under 51 No Dighinala Union of Dighinala Upazila ofKhagrachari district. The village is located about 30 km
away from the district headquarters. The field surveys
were carried out in 2005.The village stretches 500 m fromsouth to north and 3 km from east to west. The Mayani

River flows through the western part of the village. One
concrete road runs from north to south. The reserved forest
is located in eastern part of the village. There were 247
households in the study village and were interviewed byquestionnaire. In addition, interviews using a semistructured questionnaire and field observations were also
conducted. Three distinct cropping seasons existed in thisarea. The summer season was in March and April and it ischaracterized by high temperatures and humidity withoccasional thunderstorms and cyclones. The rainy season
started in May and ended in October, while winter started
in November and ended in February (Soil Resource
Development Institute, 2002). Based on long-term records(1961-1990) obtain from the Rangamati Weather Station,
rains began in February, gradually increased until July,and then decreased. Ninety percent of the rainfalls
occurred during the rainy season from May to October.
The highest (627 mm) and lowest (4 mm) amounts ofrainfall occurred in the months of July and January,respectively. Maximum 330C and minimum 200C
temperatures were recorded in April and January (BBS,2001).
Results and Discussion
Farming practices and agricultural implements uses inthe study village: Farming practices in Baghaichhari
mukh village include cultivation techniques, and farming
implements.
Seed germination: At first, about 1 Ari (1 Ari= 10kg) ofseeds are placed in a bag (locally call such as bosta,
karang, leye, or maralla) and soaked in water for one day.
Then the seeds are placed in another bag, covered withbanana or teak leaves for 10-12 hours and kept in thehouse. The seeds are then soaked in water for a while,
covered with any green leaves (again, teak or banana),
until the seeds are germinated. Within 22-24 hours theseeds begin sprouting.
Preparation of seed bed: The seed bed is prepared in the
different land types, but mostly it was practiced in thehomestead areas and near the rice fields (Fig. 1a).
Ploughing: This is usually done by with a plough and ateam of two bullocks (Fig. 1b). Most farmers prefer tillage
with a naol (a traditional plough) for its deep tillage, butsome preferred a power tiller. Most still preferred the naol
for its deep tillage. According to the farmers, deep tillage
controlled weed seeds and yield was increased, whereas
the tillage with power tiller was not good for the yield.

acommonly used are Urea, T.S.P (Triple supper phosphate)and M.P. (Murate of potash). However, the amount of
fertilizer application is limited to a rate of about 10kg ineach plot because of its high cost.

b

Fig. 1. (a) Seedbed, (b) Ploughing the paddy plot by using
bullock
The farmers also revealed that the power tiller is very
useful in the rainy season for preparing puddle soil fortransplanting aman. Though most farmers still preferred
the traditional plow, the fact that power tilling required
less time impressed many enough to use it. In the study
area, farmers plowed 3 to 4 times with the traditional plow,or 2 times by power tiller (although they still used the
traditional plow to plow once for the final land
preparation). The plowing time is very early in themorning (from 5 to 10 a.m.). This is completely different
from other plain areas. If a farmer rented a pair of bullocks,
he would pay 50 Taka for 5-6 hours each day. A farmer
using a power tiller would pay 200 Taka to plow 40
decimal of land.
Harrow: The farmers level the paddy field with a leveler(locally called shapta), which is pulled by two bullocks
while the farmers sat on the level (Fig. 2a).
After one plowing is completed; one leveling is needed forpressing the soil tightly. Three repetitions of plowing andleveling are necessary for good land preparation. This
implement is used for leveling of cultivated land and also
to break clods. It is made of three pieces of split bamboos
or wood.
Transplanting: Transplantation is done manually (Fig.
2b). Regarding irrigation facilities, farmers make a small
reservoir to collect water in a small piece of land.
Villagers usually followed a local custom of having fixeddays for transplanting and harvesting. There is a proverb
which says, ‘shom shokkure lagai dhan, bode breshodeghorat an’. This means that one should plant rice on
Monday and Friday, and harvest on Wednesday andThursday.

aFig. 3. Weeding done by male and female
Pesticide: The commercial names of pesticides widelyused in the village are Ripcord, Furadan and Basudin.
Farmer locally makes implement for pesticide sprayer (Fig.
4).

Fig. 4. Locally made implement for pesticide sprayer
Farmers also used an indigenous method especially forrice bugs. When a side of a plot became dry while theother sides of the plot remained wet, the chunapada rug(meaning to look like calcium chloride) attacked the plot
and the rice leaves become whitish and the plants became
weak. Farmers put some branches of kuruk around theaffected plot (Fig. 5). Farmers believed that the rice bugs
cannot be eradicated by pesticides or insecticides and that‘kuruk’ (a wild shrub) branches can make the rice bug run
away from the field. When rice hispa attacks at the
milking stage, farmers place some shrimp paste or fish
paste wrapper on the top of sticks. The rice hispa comes tothe stick instead of attacking the rice. In the mean time,
filling of paddy grain are completed and infestation of ricehispa can be avoided.

bFig. 2. (a) Farmer leveling the paddy plot by the ladder,(b) Transplanting of rice seedlingFig. 5. (a) To control rice bugs, farmers placed ‘Kuruk’
tree branches into the paddy plot, (b) Insect control
using these ‘Kuruk’ tree branches

Weeding: Weeding is usually carried out manually 15-20
days after transplanting (Fig. 3). Family labor is mainly
used but sometimes-hired labor is needed. The fertilizers
104

Harvesting and seed production: Before harvesting thecrop, the farmers pray to God to give them more rice. Thisis locally called To Do Fung. Farmers harvested the riceby hand using sickles, and the rice plants would generally
be cut around the middle portion (Fig. 6a). The bottom
part is left to decompose to fertilize the next crop. Anotheradvantage of cutting at the middle is that they can be
carried easily by making bundles (Fig. 6b and 6c).
Fig. 8. Tagolab

Kurum: Seeds were carried in small basket (Kurum)
made of woven bamboo (Agocha bash). It was 25cm longand 20cm in diameters at the mouth. It was carried at theback of the user and hold tight at the komor with a rope
fitted with the kurum (Fig. 9.). It was made by the village
artisans and costs Tk 50 at the market.

cFig. 6. (a) Paddy harvesting by using sickle (b &c) Farmers carry bundle of paddy.
The bundles are carried to the homestead and arranged in acircle on a threshing floor to be trampled by bullocks. The
bullocks are driven side by side over the circle of rice in acounter clockwise direction (Fig. 7a). After several rounds,
the bundles are piled up again and trampled in the sameway. 3-4 cows are needed to thresh the large amount ofrice. In the case of small amounts of rice, farmers thresh
them by treading over them. It takes at least 2-3 days tothresh the rice from a 40 dec. farm. Working hours are atleast 3 hour per day per day. Then the straw is removed
and the rice grains were collected. They are cleaned bywinnowingor kula (Fig. 7b), and sun dried for 2-3 days.
After drying, the seeds are stored either in gola or chidira(a storage house made of bamboo). Seeds were carried in asmall basket made of woven bamboo ( Fig. 7c).

Fig. 9. Kurumab

Possession of number of agricultural implements
classified by farm size categories in the study village
It is found that the number of agricultural implements arebeing utilized by the farm size categories hass been varied.
Table 1 shows that most of the agricultural implements arepossessed by small farmers including the plough 62%,
yoke 60%, ladder 61%, spade 65%, and sickle 91% but
they do not possess modern implements. Among themodern implements like power tiller most of them arepossessed by large farmers (66%). It is also found thatlandless farmers, which are very few in number as they areusually involved in off farm activities, have only a spadeand sickle. But medium farmers possess all types of
implements. More farmers from medium farm size
categories possessed the various items of agricultural
implements compared with other farm size categories.
There are three power tillers in the village almost all ofwhich are possessed by the medium and large farm size
households. The owners rent their power tiller to otherfarmers in the peak season of land preparation time. From
the above result it is also being shown that the number offarming implements has a relation with land tenuresystems. The small and medium farmers are involved inrent-in system and they have to have more implements on
the contrary the large farmers are involved the rent-out
system and comparatively are less possessed. According to
the interviewed with farmers that deep tillage controlscFig. 7. (a) Farmers trampled paddies by bullock, (b) To
removing the unfilled grains and dust by using(Kula), and (c) Bamboo made basket
Sickle: Sickle is locally called ‘charey’. It is a man andwomen operated implement for paddy harvesting.
Materials of construction are locally available and madeby locally blacksmith.
Jhum Cultivation Implements: Jhum was a type ofcultivation practice particularly followed in the Chittagong
Hill Tracts. Instead of cultivation the entire region, holes
at different distance were dug in the soil and seed placed
therein. The following implements we generally used in
Chittagong Hill Tracts.
Tagol: It was used for cleaning of the jhum cultivation
area by cutting shrubs and herbs and twig of trees (Fig. 8).
It was also used for digging holes for sowing seeds. The
length of the blade was 25 cm and handle is 25 cm. It is
made by the village blacksmith and costs Tk 80 at themarket. It was perhaps the most extensively used
implement in jhum cultivation from start to the end.

105

weed seeds and yield is increased, whereas the tillage withpower tiller is not good for the yield. The farmers are also
revealed that the power tiller is very useful in the rainyseason for preparing puddle soil for Transplanting Aman

seasons. Some farmers are opined that power tiller
required less time in order to tilt the land. Existing
agricultural implements are constituted important assets ofthe farmers in the study area.

Table 1. Possession of number of agricultural implements classified by farm size categories in the study village
Farm size
categories in ha
Land less
Small
<1.0
Medium1.0-3.0
Large
>3.0
Total

Number ofHouseholds
12
(4.9)
163
(65.9)
61(24.7)
11
(4.5)
247

Plough0(0.0)
139(62.0)
64(28.6)
21
(9.4)
224

Number of implements
Different farming implements
Yoke
LadderSpade
Sickle
0
0
5
9
(0.0)
(0.0)
(1.8)
(0.4)
130
133
178
2240
(60.0)(61.0)(65.9)(91.0)
61
62
72
176(29.0)(29.0)(26.7)
(7.1)
23
21
20
37
(11.0)(10.0)
(7.4)
(1.5)
214
216
275
2462

Modern implements
Tube well
Power Tiller
0
0
(0.0)
(0.0)
2
0
(33.3)(0.0)
2
1(33.3)(33.3)
2
2(33.3)(66.7)
6
3

Source: Survey in 2005, Note: Figures in parentheses indicate percentages
farmers are opined that power tiller is required less time inorder to tilt the land. It is cleared that the existing
agriculture implements are developed based on thephysical conditions of a locality such as land and soil type,particularly soil structure, depth of plough pan, nature ofcrop grown and also the socio-economic condition of the
farmers.
Acknowledgement: The data presented in this report was
originally gathered as part of the first author research for
PhD. dissertation at the Graduate School of Asian and
African Area Studies, Kyoto University. Successive field
trips for the research were supported by the 21st Century
COE Program “Aiming for COE of Integrated Area
Studies.” Run by the Graduate School of Asian and
African Area Studies. The first author wishes to express
his gratitude to the institution. The authors would like toextend sincere thanks to Dr. Haruhisa Asada who provided
us valuable comments for completing this report.

Existing agricultural implements own made &purchased by farmers of different farm size categories
in the study village
In this study, the most important existing agricultural
implements are found such as plough, ladder, yoke, sickle,
spade, tube well and power tiller. Some implements aremainly own made by farmers and some are bought fromlocal markets. BARC (1982) also listed such impliments
which were indentified in this stusdy. Most implements
are imported from outside village or India is mainly
brought throughout unofficial lines, it is meant by farmers
themselves under their own expenses and management.
The modern agriculture implements such as power tiller
and water pumps are introduced into the village; power
tillers are introduced 5-6 years ago by the large farmer.
However, at that time, some modern implements alreadyare existed such as small water pumps. Recently, bothmodern and local implements are used in the village.
However, from viewpoints of the farmers’ practices andmanagement are still kept as traditional ways that they aretaught from their ancestors in the village. It is cleared thatthe existing agricultural implements have developed basedon the physical conditions of a locality such as land use
and soil type, particularly soil structure, depth of ploughpan, nature of crop grown and also the socio-economic
condition of the farmers. These existing agricultural
implements have direct impact on the existing farming
systems of the study village.
Conclusion
Recently, both modern and local farming implements areused in the village. However, from viewpoints of the
farmers’ practices and management are still kept as
traditional ways that they are taught from their ancestors in
the village. Some farmers are preferred using draft power
more than the power tillers because, they thought that it
can be tilt the land deeper. According to the interview with
farmers that deep tillage controls weed seeds and yield isincreased, whereas the tillage with power tiller is not goodfor the yield. The farmers are also revealed that the power
tiller is very useful in the rainy season for preparing
puddle soil for Transplanting Aman seasons. Some

References
Ando, K. 2011. Recent change in rice cultivation technologies in
Bangladesh. Journal of Agroforestry and Environment5(Special issue): 1-5.
BARC (Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council), 1982. The
Directory of Indigenous and Agricultural Tools andEquipment of Bangladesh. Agricultural Engineering
Division Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council Farm
Gate, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Backgroundof
Chittagong
Hill
Tracts,2002.http://www.angelfire.com/ab/jumma/bground.html
BBS (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics), 2001. Statistical Year
Book of Bangladesh. Ministry of Planning, Government of
the PeoplesRepublic of Bangladesh. Dhaka.
Chakma, S. S. 2004. Study on Farming Systems of Chakma
village in Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh. A Masters
thesis Submitted to the Graduate School of Asian and
African Area Studies, Kyoto University. Unpublished.
SRDI (Soil Resource Development Institute), 2002. Guide bookof Land and Soil Resource Utilization of Dighinala Upazila
of Khagrachari District. Soil Resource Development
Institute, Dhaka.

106

J. Agrofor. Environ. 11 (1 & 2): 107-113, 2017

ISSN 1995-6983

A traditional farmers’ practice of black gram (Mat-pe) (Vigna mungo) cultivation in Maubin
township, Ayeyarwady region, Myanmar
Khin Lay Swe and Kazuo Ando1
Yezin Agricultural University, Myanmar; 1Department of Practice- oriented Area Study, CSEAS, Kyoto University Japan
Abstract: The largest black gram sown areas are concentrated in Ayeyarwady Region of which the large productive areas are Danuphyu,
Maubin and Nyaungtone Townships. Black gram is widely grown as a second crop after monsoon rice in the post monsoon season withresidual soil moisture. The unique feature of black gram cultivation in these regions is that there exist three traditional agronomic
practices, locally known as “Htun-pe, Ye-lite-pe and Khoke-phone-pe”. Farmers follow one of these methods depending on the soil
moisture condition of their fields and sowing time. When they have sufficient time for proper land preparation with suitable soil moisturethey practice “Htun-pe”. In the reverse condition, farmers follow the zero tillage systems called “Ye-lite-pe” and “Khoke-phone-pe”.
The latter two practices have been widely adopted by farmers in Ayeyarwady Region since 1990s. Field surveys were carried out in
Maubin Township during 2005-2006 to document the information on an appropriate location-specific cultivation technology of black
gram. The estimated enterprise budget indicates that Khoke-phone-pe gave the greatest benefit-cost ratio of 4.3, while Ye-lite-pe andHtun-pe contributed benefit-cost ratio of 3.7 and 3.6, respectively. It clearly shows that “Khoke-phone-pe and Ye-lite-pe” can give as
much net return as “Htun-pe”. Many farmers prefer “Khoke-phone-pe and Ye-lite-pe” because of its low input and low management
requirement.
Key words: Black gram, Khoke-phone, relay cropping, residual soil moisture.

Introduction
A number of agricultural management practices, such as
cropping patterns and sowing practices have long existed
traditionally in different agro-ecological regions in
Myanmar. Farmers have developed them over time withlong time experiences and their needs. At present,
Myanmar has been standing as a lead country of pulses
production among ASEAN countries. Since 1990, thecountry’s pulses production and export have been
increasing due to the drastic rise in price of pulses, as aconsequence of the liberalization of government trade
policy, and introduction of new improved varieties(Myanmar Agricultural Statistics, 2001). In 2005-2006,
pulses production was the second highest after rice of all
the national agricultural crops production (Fig. 1 and Fig.
2). In recent years, black gram has been the biggest export
crop among the pulses followed by pigeon pea and mungbean (Myanma Agriculture in Brief, 2006). The largest
black gram sown areas are concentrated in Ayeyarwady
Region (46 %) and Bago Region (40 % of the total) (Table
1 and Fig. 3). The most productive areas in Ayeyarwady
Region are, in order of importance, Danuphyu, Maubin
and Nyaungtone Townships. In these areas black gram is
widely grown as a second crop in post monsoon season
with the residual soil moisture after monsoon rice. The
unique feature of black gram cultivation in these areas isthat there are three traditional sowing practices, namely“Htun-pe, Ye-lite-pe and Khoke-phone-pe”. Farmers
follow one of these practices depending on the soil
moisture condition and sowing time. When they havesufficient time for proper land preparation with suitablesoil moisture, they practice “Htun-pe”. In the reverse
condition, i.e. when the land available for black gramsowing is late, farmers follow zero tillage method/ systemcalled “Ye-lite-pe” and “Khoke-phone-pe”. Information
on traditional farmers’ technologies, that are optimum
crop management practices in a particular agro-ecologicalsituation, is of great importance in order to increase crop
productivity. These technologies or practices largely
depend on agro-ecological suitability, such as rainfall, soil
type, labor availability, food requirement, marketability
and etc. Only a very few research works of such nature

have been done Myanmar, and therefore this survey
research was carried out with the objectives: (i) to observe
the existing technology of black gram cultivation in lower
Myanmar and its trends of production, (ii) to document the
information on the appropriate location-specificcultivation technology of black gram and to disseminate itin other areas, and (iii) to identify the constraints and thepotential areas for expansion of black gram production inrice based cropping system
The information of this study will be a base line for the
future research efforts leading to the improved pulses
production in Myanmar.

Fig.1 . Crop Production of Myanmar in 2005-2006
Source: Myanmar Agriculture in Brief, 2006

Fig. 2. Export of Main Agricultural Products from Myanmar
Source: Settlement and Land Records Department, 2001

Table 1. Black gram production in Myanmar, 2005-06
State/Region
Kachin
Kayar
Kayin
Chin
Sagaing
Tanintharyi
Bago
Bago(West)Magwe
MandalayMon
YakhineYangonShan(south)
Shan(north)Shan(east)
Ayeyarwady
National Total

Monsoon (Acres)

Post monsoon (Acres)
149

Yield/ acre
9.8

79
75
114,719107
434,921373,177
19,601
49,914
8,338
43,896
41,542
26
220

10.6
12.5
15.7
5.8
15.6
15.2
14.7
13.4
13.5
9.9
13.2
8.8
12.1

925,851
2,012,615

16.1
15.5

1838

1838

Total yield (basket)
1,453
840
938
1,827,316
624
6,797,815
5,683,486
287,939
666,352
112,646
433,692
547,108
228
2,651
14,906,201
31,235,785

Source: Food Legumes Section, Myanmar Agriculture Service, Yangonpe, which had a spread type of growth habit, wereintroduced into these areas as the second crop after rice.
Only when there was enough time after rice harvest for
optimum land preparation for the next crop, black gram
was grown after normal ploughing and harrowing. This
practice was called “Htun-pe” (“Htun means harrow andPe means pulse”) meaning “pulse growing after land
preparation with harrow”.
A common problem for black gram growing was adifficulty of a proper land preparation with a plough and aharrow for black gram after the rice harvest. The soil was
too hard or too wet to plough depending on the amount of
rainfall and its distribution during the late monsoon season,
as well as the rice harvest time. If the farmers do thenormal land preparation which takes 1-2 weeks, it will
make black gram sowing late, and there will beinsufficient soil moisture to facilitate the later growth ofthe crop, resulting in low yield. Therefore, some farmers
did not prepare their lands and modified their sowing
practices to coincide the sowing time with the appropriate
soil moisture condition for good crop establishment. Blackgram seeds were broadcast before or after the rice harvest
with zero tillage. Before the rice harvest, rice stems werepressed with bamboo poles to become a slanting position
for easier harvest operation. Rice was harvested manuallywith sickles and long rice stubbles were maintained in thefield after the harvest. Black gram plants grew among the
stubbles, twined them, flowered and gave a certain yield.
In general, black gram seeds were broadcast on saturated
soils about 3-10 days before the rice harvest, as a relay
crop (by the end of Oct. to mid-Nov).
By this method, sowing time could be advanced about 2
weeks so that drought stress which generally occurred
during the later stages of black gram could be avoided to acertain extent. This practice was developed in about 1958
and it was known as “Ye-lite-pe” (“Ye means water, litemeans accompany”), meaning “pulse growing together
with soil water”. Some farmers, after the broadcasting ofblack gram seeds, pressed the rice stubbles again by using“Jode” drawn by draught cattle. This method was called“Joke-se” and farmers believed that it could ensure theseeds to reach or touch the soil surface. Farmers assumed
that Ye-lite-pe and Joke-se was almost the same practiceFig. 3. Trends of Black gram Sown Area and Production in Myanmar during 15 years
Source: Myanmar Agricultural Statistics, 2003 (S= Sown Area; P= Production)

Materials and Methods
Field surveys were carried out in Maubin Township during
the black gram growing season during 2005-2006. Ten
farmers were randomly selected from each three villages,
namely Nga-gyi-ga-yet, Kyone-soke and Alan-gyi, of
Maubin Township. They were interviewed with structured
questionnaires to study the farmer level production
systems of black gram and demographic characteristics offarming communities. The data collected were
demographic data, family size, farm size, farming
experience and technical data concerning with black gramproduction technology. The secondary data were obtained
from Myanma Agriculture Service (currently, Departmentof Agriculture), Maubin District and Food Legumes
Section, Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (Currently,
Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation).
Results and Discussion
Mono cropping of rain-fed rice was predominant in Lower
Myanmar until 1952-53, and the rice varieties used weretraditional late-maturing varieties such as Sa-pa-net, Bodaw-gyi, Taung-pan, etc. with long stems and low yields.
In a very few places where residual soil moisture wasavailable for second crop, farmers cultivated Pe-nauk (alocal variety of mungbean) and groundnut for theirsubsistence during post-monsoon season. After about 1955,
black gram varieties namely, Boke-hmwe, Hin-tha-da mat108

because most Ye-lite-pe farmers did Joke-se practice. The
sowing methods of Ye-lite-pe or Joke-se facilitated timely
sowing; significantly reduced the risk of crop failurecaused by drought stress and substantially reduced theaexpense on land preparation. This traditional sowing
method of black gram was commonly practiced on theriver banks after the flood water had receded in lower
Myanmar (Plate 1).

b

c

e

d

Plate 1. Black gram harvest in Nga-gyi-ga-yet Village Tract, Maubin Township (a) Khoke-phone method (black gram andsunflower before harvest), (b) Khoke-phone method (black gram harvest time- rice residues were clearly seen), (c) Khokephone method (black gram was harvested) (d) Ye Lite method (black gram was harvested), (e) Threshing of black gram

In late 1960s, high yielding rice varieties of short or
medium duration with short stems were introduced into
Myanmar. The first “Whole Township Rice Production
Program” was initiated in Taikekyi Township, Lower
Myanmar in 1977-78, and then these varieties were widely
spread in Lower Myanmar (Rice in Myanmar, 2004). In
1980s, new improved varieties of black gram, such as Pale-net (P 11-30) and Ye-zin 2 (P 45-1) were distributed
from the Department of Agriculture Research, and grownin Lower Myanmar. These new improved varieties havethe characteristics of shorter duration compared withtraditional varieties, short stems and the erect or semi-erect
type of growth habit. When the seeds were sown among
rice stubbles, as the farmers formerly did, the plants did
not twine the rice stubbles. Moreover, they could not growwell because of poor light penetration due to the shade of
the rice stubbles. In addition, farmers found difficulty toharvest the black gram plants among the rice stubbles withsickles. To solve the problem, some farmers cut the
stubbles with long knives about 3-7 days after the rice
harvest and left the straw residues among the black gramyoung seedlings. This practice was known as “Khokephone-pe” (“Koke means cut, phone means cover”)
meaning “cutting the stubble and covering the soil
surface”. Farmers gradually noticed that this practice gavea better black gram yield because of more moisture
conservation and weed suppression due to mulching effectof rice straw. The Khoke-phone-pe technology was said tobe developed by farmers of the village tracts of Tha-phu,
Nan-chaung, Ye-le and Ye-kyi in Da-nu-phyu Township.
After that, it was disseminated to the village tracts of Kanyin-kauk-kyi, Ta-zin-ye-kyaw, Kyone-yit in Nyaung-tone
Township and then to Maubin Township. It became
popular and widely followed by farmers in the whole
Ayeyarwady Region, Lower Myanmar since 1990s.
Among these three agronomic practices, Htun-pe generally
gives the highest yields. The choice of these practices
firstly depends on the topography of land. The short or
medium duration of high yielding rice varieties (with shortand study stem) are usually grown in high land and areasof intermediate land level. These lands are not flooded orwater recedes early, and rice is harvested early (Sept-Oct).
Therefore, there is sufficient time for land preparation
after the rice harvest, “Htun-pe” is practiced in these areas.
Long-duration local rice varieties with long stems aregrown in low – level lands and harvested late (Nov. –Dec.). In these areas, zero tillage method of “Ye-lite-pe”
or “Khoke-phone-pe” is practiced because there will be noadequate residual soil moisture if the normal land
preparation is done after rice harvest. Nowadays, becauseof its low input and convenience of cultivation practice
farmers also practice “Ye-lite-pe” or “Khoke-phone-pe” inthe areas of high and intermediate land level.

109Secondly, rainfall and its distribution pattern determine thefarmers’ sowing practices. If early monsoon comes, rice isgrown early and harvested early so that farmers haveenough time for land preparation of black gram, and“Htun-pe” is practiced. In the reverse condition “Ye-litepe” or “Khoke-phone-pe” is taken place. Moreover, withthe late monsoon withdrawal and the land is still wet,

there will be late sowing of black gram if the farmers wait
for the proper land condition for ploughing. Therefore, forthe timely sowing of black gram, “Ye-lite-pe” and“Khoke-phone-pe” must be practiced. The annual rainfall
and its distribution in Maupin Township for ten
consecutive years (1996-2005) were described in Table 2.

Table 2. Rainfall (inches) in Maubin Township for ten consecutive years (1996 - 2005)
Year
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
1996
3.54
2.65
1997
3.58
1998
1999
1.18
5.85
2000
0.07
3.72
2001
2.13
2002
0.31
2003
0.16
0.39
2004
0.51
2005
2.17
10-year
1.42
2.23
average
Source: Department of Meteorology, Maubin Town

May
9.97
12.3
0.87
7.92
18.2
14.6
13.1
18.1
6.85

Jun
18.4
10.82
19.23
12.24
18.42
18.78
19.25
20.33
21.73
14.62

Jul
12.34
27.89
12.7
16.61
12.68
28.67
15.02
10.36
18.63
25.25

Aug
17.41
19.84
11.61
23.1
13.44
24.62
22.26
17.4
31.41
15.8

Sep
15.16
19.38
9.52
11.87
16.49
10.98
17.8
13.48
9.73
12.03

Oct
5.5
4.25
5.85
8.61
3.51
10.69
6.85
3.23
3.43
3.88

Nov
4.06
1.42
0.9
2.22
0.08
2.77
4.79
0.39

11.32

17.38

18.02

19.69

13.64

5.58

2.04

Thirdly, the moisture condition of the rice fields influences
the farmers’ practice. Dry- up top soil is a major
determinant to crop establishment when black gram seeds
are sown with residual moisture. Farmers, with theirintelligence and longtime experience, decide which
practice they have to follow depending on the following
three conditions of the soil moisture of the field after therice harvest.
(i) “Kho-nin-khan or Byaine-nin-khan” means a bird (apigeon or egret) can easily walk on the soil surface.
There is best moisture condition for black gram seeds
to germinate and seedling emergence, and either “Yelite –pe” or “Khoke-phone-pe” is practiced.
(ii) “Lu-nin-Khan” means a man can easily walk on thesoil surface. Although the moisture is less than theNo.1 condition, the soil is good for “Ye-lite –pe” or“Khoke-phone-pe”.
(iii) “Nwar-nin-khan” means a cow can easily walk on thesoil surface. The moisture condition is less than theabove mentioned and “Htun-pe” should be done due toits good moisture condition for tillage.
Table 3 shows the trend of black gram acreage in Maubin
Township during ten consecutive years (from 1996 to2006). It indicates that, black gram sown areas in 2005-06
were two times higher than those in 1996-97 (from 35,788
acres in 1996-97 to 83,789 acres in 2005-06). The
percentage of double cropping of black gram after rice

Dec

0.57

1.74
0.57

Total
89.03
87.18
72.15
82.55
76.33
116.86101.42
78.85
103.5
82.34
89.02

increased from 30 % in 1996-97 to 60 % in 2005-06.
Among the monsoon rice growing areas in lower
Myanmar, there are three types of rice eco-systems
depending on the water condition of rice fields– (1) Yetaw-moe-taw, a good management of water level (2) Yekyi-kwin, a plot often flooded with heavy rains, and (3)Ye-net-kwin, a plot mostly flooded for the rice varieties ofdeep-water-rice.
The black gram acreage under Ye-taw-moe-taw and Yekyi-kwin are static while Ye-net-kwin acreage increased
from 26,932 acres in 1996-97 to 47,839 acres in 2005-06.
It was also noted that rice total sown area was increased byabout 20,000 acres over ten years.
The information contained in Table 4 features the change
in type of black gram cultivation. The data of 10 yearanalysis showed that, among the three sowing practices,Ye-lite-pe ranged from 10-37 % and Khoke-phone-pe 1241 % while Htun-pe ranged from 22-78 %. It was also
noted that, in Maubin Township, Htun-pe was practiced
most, followed by Khoke-phone-pe and Ye-lite-pe,
respectively. The reason was that most farmers think that
Htun-pe gave the highest yield while Khoke-phone-pe theintermediate and Ye-lite-pe the lowest. However, some
farmers practice Khoke-phone-pe and Ye-lite-pe than
Htun-pe more because of their low input and low
management practices.

Table 3. Trends of monsoon rice and black gram cultivation in Maubin Township during ten consecutive years (1996 – 2006)
Rice Growing Areas (Acres)
Yetawm-oetaw
Yenet kwin
Yegyi Kwin(low-land)Year(high-land)(flooded-land)
1996-97
76,506
14,07826,932
1997-98
76,506
14,07826,758
1998-99
76,506
14,07827,1291999-00
76,506
14,07836,9592000-01
76,506
14,07842,447
2001-0276,506
14,07843,408
2002-0376,506
14,07843,406
2003-04
76,506
14,07843,517
2004-05
76,506
14,07847,5202005-06
77,172
14,917
47,839Source: Myanma Agriculture Service, Maubin Township110

Total area (Acres)
117,516
117,342
117,713
127,543
133,031
133,992
133,990
134,101
138,104
139,928

Black gram area (Acres)Black gram %35,78846,69643,258
43,10942,442
44,91345,50348,064
57,83583,789

30
40
37
34
32
34
34
36
42
60

Table 4. Trends in sowing practices of black gram cultivation after monsoon rice in Maubin Township during ten
consecutive years (1996 – 2006)
Black gram Area (Acres)
Yetawm-oetaw
Yegyi Kwin(low-land)(high-land)
1996-97
76,506
14,078
1997-98
76,506
14,078
1998-99
76,506
14,078
1999-00
76,506
14,078
2000-01
76,506
14,078
2001-0276,506
14,078
2002-0376,506
14,078
2003-04
76,506
14,078
2004-05
76,506
14,078
2005-06
77,172
14,917
Source: Myanma Agriculture Service, Maubin TownshipYear

Yenet kwin
(flooded-land)
26,932
26,75827,12936,95942,44743,40843,40643,51747,52047,839

Table 5. Estimated enterprise budget for Ye-lite-pe in
Maubin Township, 2005-06
Operation
Requirement Rate (Kyat)
Cultivation
Broadcasting
1 person
500
Weeding
3 person
500
Pesticide Application
2 person
500
InputsSeed
12 pyi1000
Rhizobium
2 packet
50
Pesticides
1 bottle
2000
HarvestHarvesting
6 persons
500
Transport to thresh
floor
2 person
500
Threshing5000
Total cost
Yield per acre
8 basketPrice
12000 kyat
Gross benefit
Net benefit
Benefit-cost ratio
Source: Myanma Agriculture Service, Maubin Township

Khoke- Phone %Htunpe%117,516
117,342
117,713
127,543
133,031
133,992
133,990
134,101
138,104
139,928

35,78846,69643,258
43,10942,442
44,91345,50348,064
57,83583,789

30
40
37
34
32
34
34
36
42
60

“Khoke-phone-pe and Ye-lite-pe” can give as much net
return as “Htun-pe”. This explains why farmers in theseregions widely adopt their traditional practice of “Khokephone-pe and Ye-lite-pe”.

Kyat/ acre
3,000
500
1500
1000
14,100
12000
100
2000
9,000
3000

Table 7. Estimated enterprise budget for Htun-pe in
Maubin Township, 2005-06
Operation
Requirement
Rate (Kyat) Kyat/ acre
Cultivation
18,000Ploughing
3 person
2500
7500
Harrowing
2 person
2500
5000
Da-gyan-tone
1 person
2500
2500
Broadcasting
1 person
500
500
Weeding
3 person
500
1500
Pesticide- application
2 person
500
1000
Inputs
20,350
Seed
8 pyi
1000
8000
Rhizobium
2 packet
50
100
Pesticides
1 bottle
2000
2000
Urea
¼ bag
17000
4250
Triple super phosphate
½ bag
11000
5500
Bio-super foliar
1 bottle
500
500
Harvest11,000Harvesting
10 person
500
5000
Transport to thresh
floor
2 person
500
1000
Threshing
5000
5000
Total Cost
49,350
Yield per acre
15 basket
Price
12000
Gross benefit
180000Net benefit
130,650
Benefit-cost ratio
3.6
Source: Myanma Agriculture Service, Maubin Township
Note: 16 pyis = 1 basket, 1 pyi = 4.5 lb = 2.04 Kg, Black gram 1 bsk =72 lb = 32.65 Kg, 1 hectare = 2.471 acres

1000
5000
26,10096,00069,900
3.7

Table 6. Estimated enterprise budget for Khoke-phone-pe
in Maubin Township, 2005-06
Operation
Requirement Rate (Kyat)
Cultivation
Broadcasting
1 person
500
Cutting Rice-residue
4000
Weeding
3 person
500
Pesticide- application
2 person
500
InputsSeed
10 pyi1000
Rhizobium
2 packet
50
Pesticides
1 bottle
2000
HarvestHarvesting
6 person500
2 person
500
Transport to thresh-floor
Threshing5000
Total Cost
Yield per acre
10 basket
Price
12000
Gross benefit
Net benefit
Benefit-cost ratio
Source: Myanma Agriculture Service, Maubin Township

Yelite%Kyat/ acre
7,000
500
4000
1500
1000
12,100
10000
100
2000
9,000
3000
1000
5000
28,100120,000
91,900
4.3

In order to give more specific information for thecomparative purposes, general production costs andreturns for different production system are shown in
Tables 5, 6 and 7. The estimate enterprise budget indicatesthat Khoke-phone-pe gave the greatest benefit- cost ratioof 4.3 while Ye-lite-pe and Htun-pe contributed benefitcost ratio of 3.7 and 3.6 respectively. It clearly shows that

Fig. 4. Trends of Double Cropping Areas of Summer Rice and Black gram after
Monsoon Rice during 20 years in Alangyi Village Tract, Maubin Township111

Figs. 4-6 describe the trends of double cropping patterns
during twenty years in A-lan-gyi, Nga-gyi-gayet andKyone-soke village tracts in Maubin Townshiprespectively. It can be seen that, in some areas, instead ofgrowing black gram, summer rice has been introduced
after monsoon rice since 1992-93. The sown areas ofsummer rice were fluctuated and have been decreasing
during the last 7-8 years in these regions. Since 1996-97
the black gram areas have been increasing in A-lan-gyi
and Nga-gyi-gayet village tracts. However, in Kyone-sokevillage tract, the black gram areas decreased during 2000
to 2002 and after that the areas increased again. Under thecurrent production level and marketing environment,
benefit-cost ratio of summer rice in 2005-06 in Maubin
Township was 1.6 as shown in Table 8, which was much
lower than that of black gram. Farmers prefer black gram
growing because of its high price, low input and low
management requirement to summer rice growing.
Conclusion and Recommendation
Research evidences have well documented that the double
cropping or crop rotation of “Monsoon Rice-Post monsoon
Black gram” has more positive impacts than “Monsoon
Rice-Summer Rice” and “Monsoon Rice-Post monsoon
Fallow” pattern. The research carried out at Department ofAgricultural Research, Yezin, Myanmar reported that rice
- black gram-rice pattern gave greater positive balance ofnitrogen than rice-fallow-rice pattern. It supported thatlegumes in the rice-based cropping systems has positive N
contribution (Phyu Pya Lwin et al., 2006). Rego andSeeling (1996) also mentioned that legume crop left thehigher amount of N than that of non-legume crop and N
uptake of cereal crops growing after legume became
higher due to the increasing N availability.
Intensive rice cultivation has been carried out for many
decades in Myanmar for domestic consumption and export
market. Mono-cropping pattern of rice-fallow pattern ismost prevalent in rain-fed rice ecosystem which results innutrient mining. In this regard, inclusion of pulses in the
farmers’ cropping systems will surely sustain the soil
fertility and reduce the requirement of chemical fertilizers.
It is because rice crop benefits from nitrogen fixed throughthe Rhizobia-legume association. Besides, the crop
rotation of rice and black gram keeps disease and insect
population under control. In large areas of Myanmar the
non-availability of irrigation water and delay in vacating
the field after rice does not permit double cropping in postmonsoon season. Planting of the next crop is not feasible
because the top soil layer will dry out soon and no
sufficient residual soil moisture will remain if the land
preparation is done for the next crop at the time of rice
harvest. Under such condition, double cropping of black
gram with zero tillage (Ye-lite–pe” or “Khoke-phone-pe)
can convert these mono-cropped areas, and thus increase
pulse production and sustain the productivity of rice-based
system.
“Khoke-phone-pe” is more beneficial than “Ye-lite-pe” or“Htun-pe” because mulching of rice straw- residues
conserves soil temperature and moisture, and protects thesoil against erosion. It also increases organic matter to thesoil which consequently improves the soil’s physicalcondition, and enhances biological activity and soil

Fig. 5. Trends of the double cropping areas of rice and black gram during 20 years in
Ngagyigayet village tract, Maupin TownshipFig. 6. Trends of Double Cropping Areas of Summer Rice and Black gram after
Monsoon Rice during 20 years in Kyonesoke Village Tract, Maubin Township

Table 8. Estimate Enterprise Budget for Summer Rice
(Pre-monsoon) in Maubin Township, 2005-06
Operation
Cultivation
Seedbed preparation
Land preparation
Seedling-uprooting
Transplanting
Management
Weeding
Fertilizer application
Pump irrigation
InputsSeed
Urea
Triple super phosphate
Murate of potash
Diesel oil
HarvestHarvesting
Transport to threshfloor
ThreshingRequirement

Rate (Kyat)--

3 person
14 person

3000
500

6 person
2 person
3 times

500
500
4000

3

2000
17000
11000
20000
3200

Ks/ acre
41,000
5000
20000
9000
7000
16,000
3000
1000
12000
49,500
6000
17000
5500
5000
16000

-

6000
1000
100

20,000
6000
2000
12000

bas
ket
1
bag
½ bag
¼ bag
5 gallon

1

pers
on
120
basketTotal Cost
Yield per acre
120 basket
Price
1700
Gross benefit
Net benefit
Benefit-cost ratio
Source: Myanma Agriculture Service, Maubin Township

126,500

20400077,5001.6

112

fertility. More than 50 % of total rice areas in Myanmar
still remain fallow during post monsoon season mainly
due to the lack of residual soil moisture. If these areas aretapped for extending pulses cultivation with great efforts
on research, pulses areas can be doubled.
The estimated enterprise budget of black gram productionin Maubin Township, 2005-2006 indicates that “Khokephone-pe” gave the greatest benefit- cost ratio of 4.3 while“Ye-lite-pe” and “Htun-pe” contributed benefit- cost ratioof 3.7 and 3.6 respectively. Therefore these two traditional
farmers’ practices of “Khoke-phone-pe” and “Ye-lite-pe”
have a great potential in rice-based system and it should be
introduced into the other possible regions. The results ofthis survey research will make a preliminary contribution
towards identifying the location-specific research andagricultural development needs. Further research should
be done in the other regions where temperatures aremoderate during winter for black gram growing in rice
fallows, emphasizing on the identification of areas withpotential to expand pulses production in Myanmar.

References
Myanma Agriculture in Brief, 2006. Ministry of Agriculture andIrrigation. March, 2006
Myanmar Agricultural Statistics, 2001.
Central Statistical
Organization, Ministry of National Planning and Economic
Development in Collaboration with Department ofAgricultural Planning, Ministry of Agriculture andIrrigation. The Government of the Union of Myanmar
Phyu Pya Lwin, Su Su Win and Hla Tin, 2006. Study on theLong Term Effect of Legumes in Continuous Rice –Legume – Rice Pattern. Proceeding of the Agricultural
Research Conference held at Yezin Agricultural University,
Yezin, Myanmar in Nov.11-12, 2005
Rego, T.J. and Seeling, B. 1996. Long-term Effect of Legumebased cropping systems on soil N Status and mineralizationin Vertisols. In Dynamic of Roots and Nitrogen in Cropping
Systems of the Semi-arid Tropics. Eds O. Ito, C. Jobansen, J.
J. Adu- Gyamfi, K. Katayama. J. V. D. K. Kuma Rao and T.
J. Rego. JIRCAS, Tsukuba, Japan. pp 469 – 479
Rice in Myanmar, 2004. In Commemoration of the InternationalYear of Rice 2004. Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation.
The Government of the Union of Myanmar.

113

J. Agrofor. Environ. 11 (1 & 2): 115-121, 2017

ISSN 1995-6983

Rural urban migration and rural depopulation in Ayeyarwady region: a case study of threevillages in Pyarpon township
MyintThida and Kazuo Ando1
Department of Geography, University of Yangon, Myanmar, 1Department of Practice-oriented Area Studies, Center forSoutheast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, Japan, e-mail: myintthida.2011@gmail.com
Abstract: Rural urban migration is gaining momentum in Ayeyarwady Region and people from rural area move to urban area to gethigher income and better living standard. Agriculture is a major economic activity of the area but local people do not get sufficient
income. Like other rural areas in developing countries, economic reason is a major cause that forces people move to the urban area. In
the study area, permanent, temporary and seasonal migrations are found and among them, temporary migration is more pronounced.
Number of female migrants is higher than that of males due to labour requirement of textile factories in Industrial Zones within Yangon
Region. Most migrants are in the age group between 20 and 30 years. Education level of the migrants is low and they earns as casuallabour. Although they move to the urban area with the intention of supporting the family, more than half of the migrants do not support
regularly because of low income and high cost of living in urban area. Problem on rural depopulation is indistinct due to high birthrate ofrural area in the last thirty years ago. This paper tries to find out the causes of migration, to examine the socio-economic characteristics
of migrants and to explore problem related to rural depopulation of the area. To present this paper, primary data were collected by usingsemi-structured interviews and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) was mainly applied. To present the paper, qualitative and quantitative
mixed method was applied.
Key words: Causes of migration, types of migration, socioeconomic conditions of migrants, problem on migration.

Introduction
The migration of labor from rural to urban areas is an
important part of the urbanization process in developing
countries. In Myanmar, three types of migration are
generally found. Permanent migration is considered to bepermanent when migrants have left their origin place forever and settled in the destination place (with or without
registering with the authorities). They do not intend toreturn to their original place of residence. Temporary
migration is considered to be temporary, when an
individual or household (fully or partly) settles in thedestination location throughout the year, but still has theintention to return to the original place of residence.
Seasonal migration is considered to be seasonal, when it
takes place only in a certain time of the year or when the
migrants return to their places of origin at least once a year
(Nyi, 2013).
In Myanmar, rural population was 73 percent of the total
population in 2000, and it decreased to 65 percent in 2015
even although fertility rate of rural area is distinctly higher
than that in urban area (World Bank, 2015). It somehow
highlights rural urban migration is gaining momentum in
Myanmar. Like other developing countries, low andirregular agricultural income, agricultural unemployment
and underemployment are considered as basic factors
pushing the migrants towards developed area with greaterjob opportunities in Myanmar.
Most of the studies indicated that migration is primarily
caused by economic factors. World Bank (2014) expressedthat the Ayeyarwady Region have been high levels of
migration in recent years, especially since Myanmar’s
economic transition started in 2011. One in fourhouseholds in Ayeyarwady has a family member living asa migrant away from home. Fifty-eight percent of migrants
move to Yangon Region due to greater job choice causedby urbanization. Rural urban migration is found as aconsequence of economic hardship and low living
standard in Pyapon Township although there are also few
people moved from the native place to other areas becauseof education and health reasons.

In Pyapon Township, rural urban migration is gaining
momentum and economic reason plays important role inmigration. Permanent, temporary and seasonal migration
patterns are found in internal migration; both men andwomen migrate, while internal migration is mostly female
dominated.
There are several factors such as technologicalimprovements in agricultural production and decreasing
returns of agriculture, etc driving migration and ruraldepopulation (Australian Government Department of
Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous
Affairs. Communities, 2006). As part of the rural area, 70
percent of the people live in rural area and engage in
agriculture in Pyapon Township (Regional Facts of
Pyapon Township, 2015). Agricultural machineries are
now used in cultivation and working period in agriculture
is getting short. Most local people become
underemployment and they do not get income in off-time
period. Therefore, they migrated to urban area.
According to survey, most of the migrant are landless andsome earns as casual labour by earning as carpenters,
fishermen, tradesmen, etc in Pyapon Township. They do
not get regular income that is important for the family’ssurvival. Therefore, one or two of family members
especially father, eldest or youngest son or daughter moveto other area to earn higher income.
Young people migrated from rural areas to seek
employment in the urban areas where economic activities
are concentrated and income level is higher. Althoughrural young adults move to urban areas, they are low
skilled labour and they do not get high income. They work
as daily waged workers or casual labour. As their skill anddaily income are low, they usually move to one work place
to another for searching better work and higher
income.They are low skilled workers and they easily getjobs. They move from one factory to another owing to low
income, social affairs, etc.
In the study area, although the migrants move out from thehome land, as they did not take out from the family
registration and they stayed as temporary residents in thedestination places. Therefore, it is difficult for portraying

rural depopulation. Problem on rural depopulation is notmuch less intense due to high fertility rate of rural area inthe last 30 years. Problem of old aged persons is not also
found due to low life expectancy. Life expectancy is low
in Ayeyarwady region. Permanent land abundant is notalso found because one or two family members moved tourban area and other family members work in agriculture.
But, problem on rural depopulation will become
pronounced intense due to high rate of migration.
Therefore, most migration caused by economic reason has
become more pronounced in the study area but
socioeconomic condition of the family left in the rural area
is not improved.
Pyapon is one of the 26 townships in Ayeyarwady region
within Deltaic area. Pyapon Township is located in thewestern part of Pyapon district.
It lies between 15° 50 ʹ and 16° 25 ʹ north latitudes andalso between 95°30 ʹ and 95°45 ʹeast longitudes (Fig. 1).
It is 64 miles away from Yangon region. The area is587.303 sq. miles and it is composed of 2 towns, 18 wards
and 52 village tracts in which 166 villages are included(Fig. 2).

Fig. 2. Location of Study Areas in Pyapon
Township; Source: MIMU
the causes of migration, to understand pattern of migration,
to examine reimbursement of migrants and to explore
problems related to rural depopulation of the area.
Materials and Methods
In Pyapon Township, Kondaing, Yoekone and Mingalar
Thaungdan villages were chosen as case study areas
because thirty percent of the households have one or moremigrants. To get thorough understanding on socioeconomic conditions of migrants, migrant profiles such asage, education level, income, social contacts, job
opportunities, etc. were collected. Although the major
economic activity is agriculture in the area, fishing andcopra making are second most important economic
activities respectively.
In 2015, 92 (28%) out of 320 households in Kondaing
Village, 72 (24%) out of 295 households in Yoekone and73 (30%) out of 220 households in Mingalar Thaungdan
had one or two migrant workers.
Primary data were gathered by using questionnaires. Nine
households from three villages were interviewed andquestionnaires were distributed to 237 households in threevillages. The answers of one hundred and fifty-fivequestionnaires were applied to present the researchwork.To get overview on migration and rural depopulationin Pyapon Township, Focus Group Discussion (FGD) was
conducted with the help of authorities concerned from
General Administrative Department, Staff of Agriculture
Department and heads of the villages. In the paper,
primary data was chiefly applied and quantitative andqualitative mixed method was mainly used.
Rural urban migration: Rural urban migration is distinct
in the area and most migrants moved to other urban areas
to get better life and higher job opportunities.
Industrial zones in Yangon region have become focal
point that absorb people from rural areas to come, settle,
and work. The industrial sector is expanding and job

Fig. 1. Location of Pyapon Township in
Ayeyarwady Region, Source: Agriculture
Atlas, 2002
Its relief is alluvial plain. The elevation is nearly 3 meter(8 ft) above the mean sea level. Two-thirds of thetownship is lower valley land. Therefore, agriculture is
one of the major economic activities of the area. There aremany streams and distributaries in the township, being
deltaic low land and most people earn as fishermen. In thearea, copra making is also found because of existing
coconut farm. The objectives of the study are to find out
116opportunities increase in the urban area especially inYangon Region, young adults of the rural area moved tourban areas and in this way the rural-to-urban migration is
gaining momentum. Rural to urban migration is aninevitable result of industrialization in the urban area.
Economists expressed that rural to urban migration as aprocess of labor movement from less-developed to moreadvanced areas.
The number of migrants has been increasing (Fig. 3). The
increase in number of migrant is higher in Kondaing
Village because more than half of the migrants arelandless and they earns as casual labour. The increase in
number of migrant is lower in Yoekone Village because
copra making is done as second economic activity that can
provide job year round basis although the income is low
and irregular.

facilities, and land shortages are driving forces that urge
the people in rural area to leave their native area and find a
new place to settle and to work. The major causes ofrural-urban migration is to search better wages, education,
political and social stability, technologies, employment
and business opportunities.

Fig. 4. Patterns of Migration; Source: Questionnaires’ results (2016)

Although there are many causes of migration, economic
reason is a major cause that forces the rural-urban
migration in the area. Varoufakis (2000) said that rural
migration is caused by decrease in agricultural working
period, lack of employment opportunity outside
agriculture, and more economic opportunity in urban areas.
Rao (2007) assumed that low income of farm economy
and break-down of traditional economic model led tomigration and rural depopulation.
Agriculture is major economic activity in Ayeyarwady
Region including Pyapon Township. In the area, thetraditional mode of labour intensive agriculture changes
gradually. Most farmers use agriculture machinery intilling. It shortens working period and local young adults
encounter underemployment problem. In planting period,
they practice broadcasting method that needs small
amount of labour. Productivity is low because of low
investment and salt water intrusion into the paddy field at
the end of rainy season. Therefore, agriculture is not amajor pillar of the economy in Pyapon Township and it
gives low and irregular income. Therefore, local people
tried to move to urban areas to get bright sides.
In Pyapon Township, fishing and copra making are second
economic activities but they are seasonal job. Fishing is
mainly done in the rainy season. Copra making is done
throughout the whole year but it is mainly done in the dry
season as it is necessary to dry up flesh of the coconut.
Landless people work in these second economic activities
and these works do not give regular income for theirsurvival.
Works of migrants: Economic hardships and low income
are among the factors behind migration. Some people earnas traders who sell foods for local inhabitants and theyalso do not get sufficient regular income owing to higher
cost of living.
In Kondaing Village, nearly eighty percent of local people
earns as causal labour because most are land less. Numberof causal labour is high with forty-two percent in Yoekone
and they mainly work in copra making (Plate 1e and 1f) .
Thirty-three percent of the migrants are fishermen in
Yoekone and thirty-one percent in

Fig. 3. Migration of Study Areas; Source: Field Survey (2015, 2016)

Types of migration- International and internalmigration: Bunea (2012) stated that migration is not a
random process. It is a rational choice that implies two
decisions: to migrate and where to migrate and the longer
the distance, the lower the incentive to migrate due tohigher migration costs. In the study area, both internal andinternational migrations are found. But internal migration
is more common in the area due to lack of knowledge andinvestment to go abroad as well as low skills.
Only six percent is international migrant that moved toabroad especially to Thai, Malaysia etc. and the remaining
ninety-four percent is internal migrants. The number ofinternal migrants is much higher due to low investment,
education level, etc.
Patterns of migration: In the area, permanent, temporaryand seasonal migrations are found. Temporary migrants
rank first with nearly fifty percent and temporary migrants
usually come back to their village once a year during New
Year festival due to long holiday (Fig. 4). Number ofpermanent migrants ranked last. They intended to stay
temporarily in the urban area when they moved. Then they
got married and they settled in urban area for the purposeof getting higher income and better environment.
Seasonal migrants come back to their home place in thecultivation or harvesting periods to help their families.
Agriculture needs seasonal labour and some local people
work in the urban area in off-farm period. Causal labours
that worked in construction work usually come back totheir village when the job choice is low in the rainy season.
Causes of migration: Lee (1966) said that the ‘pushfactor’ is more important than the ‘pull factor’. The
difficulties in rural areas, such as poverty, unemployment,
crop failures and famine, inadequate social amenities and117

people earn at sea as fishermen.The females in thesevillages work in fish selection at the depot to get daily
income (Plate 1c and 1d). These are seasonal work andlocal people do not get regular income. Therefore, they
move to other places for the purpose of getting higher andregular income as well as bright future (Plates 1a-1h).
Profile of migrants
Gender and age groups: Zhao (2003) said that females
are much less likely to migrate than males. But in
Myanmar, about fifty-two percent were females and fortyeight percent males in 1991 (Nyi, 2013).Similarly, in
Pyapon Township, according to questionnaires’ answers,
number of male migrants exceeds that of male in 2016.
More than half of the migrants are female (Fig. 6). It
somehow unfolds the female take responsibilities to get
income in the rural area. Female labours have greater
chance to get jobs in urban area because of growth offactories in the industrial zones of Myanmar.
Number of female is higher because of a greater demand
for female labourin factories of Industrial zones (Plate 1g
and 1h). There are 23 industrial zone in Yangon region
which is nearest to Ayeyarwady region. There are many
Joint textile factories in Hlaingtharyar Industrial Zone
which is largest industrial zone in Yangon Region andfemale adults have higher opportunities to work in thefactories irrespective of their education.

Fig. 5. Works of Migrants in Pyapon Township,
Source: Questionnaires’results (2016)

Fig. 6. Gender of Migrants in Pyapon Township
Source: Questionnaires’ results (2016)

MingalarThaungdan villages (Fig. 5) because thesevillages are located near the coastal areas and most local

a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

Plate 1. (a) Machinery use in ploughing , (b) Machinery use in harvesting, (c) Fishing of male workers, (d) Fish selection of
female at depot, (e) Copra making of Male Labour, (f) Copra produced from YoeKone Village, (g) Female Labour
Requirement of Textile factories in Hlaingtharyar Industrial Zone and (h) Labour Requirement of Shoe factories in
Hlaingtharyar Industrial Zone, Source: Questionnaires’results (2016)

Migrants are predominantly young adults from low
income families. The largest proportion of migrants falls
in the age group between 20 and 30 years. Some adults
move to the urban area after finishing their matriculation
exam at the age of 16. Factories in Industrial Zone mainlycollect the young adults who are between 18 and 30 years
old. Table 1 shows that the migrants with the age between
20 and 30 years old ranked first in three cohorts of the
migrants (Table 1).
118

Table 1. Age groups of migrants (2016)
Age group>20
between 20-30
>30
Total

Kondaing
25
35
3
63

Percent
40%
56%
4%
100%

Yoekone
625
17
48

Education level: More than half of the migrants in thearea are of low education level (Fig. 7). After passing
middle school, most of the student left from the school
because it is difficult to attend high school due to low
family income and far from the high school. In the area,
students take more than an hour to get to the high school.
Education level of migrants is low but they get the jobs
easily because their works are irrespective of theireducation level and they earn as blue collar workers.
According to field survey, most migrants are of basic
primary and middle education level because oflow
accessibility and less education facilities.

Percent
12%
52%
36%
100%

MingalarThaungdan
9
21
15
45

Percent
20%
47%
33%
100%

which is slightly higher than income that was available inthe village.

Fig. 8. Jobs of Migrants in Urban Area
Source: Questionnaires’ results (2016)

Fig. 7. Education of Migrants in Pyapon Township
Source: Questionnaires’ results (2016)

Occupation and income: World Bank (2013) said that
migrants mostly find works in informal labor markets inconstruction sites, restaurants and tea shops in urban areas.
A minority enjoy more formal employment in garment
factories.
In the area, most male migrants work in construction sites
and commercial areas as blue collar labour. Nearly seventy
percent of the female migrants work in Industrial Zone,
especially in Hlaingtharyar Industrial Zone due to nearness
to Ayeyarwady Region. It needs many female workers andthey are easy to get jobs. Whoever with the age under 25
has a chance to work there and they get regular income.
According to survey, nearly ten percent of the migrants
work as waiters, waitress, house keeper, nanny, etc. inhotels, restaurants and homes and they get a place to stayand food (Fig. 8). They save more money than migrants
who worked in construction, trading, etc because of lesscost on food.
Income difference depends on skill of the workers. In
construction, the income ranges from 4000 ks to 10,000 ks
per day due to heavy works. In textile factories, income
ranges between 3000 ks and 5000 ks per day. But, mostfemales get 4500 ks per day.
Migrants moved to the urban area for the purpose ofgetting higher and regular income. Most migrants who
work in industrial zones especially factories, etc. getregular income on monthly basis. Some get daily income

Fig. 9. Income of Migrants
Source: Questionnaires’ result (2016)
Some who worked in hotels and restaurants usually get
regular income as well as lunch or dinner. Therefore, they
can save more to support their family. But, those whowork in construction and trading business do not get
regular income because construction workers have to
move to other places after finishing their work and they
are sometimes underemployment.
According to questionnaires’ results, seventy-one percentof the migrant get regular income and twenty-nine percent
do not get regular income (Fig. 9).
Dwelling: Migrant hoped to live in better environment in
the urban area. But, according to questionnaire survey,
fifty-three percent of migrants have to live in a rental
house or apartment in which nearly 10 migrant stay
together. Twenty nine percent of the migrants stays atplaces provided by the employees. It is hall typed roomand more than twenty workers live there. Eighteen percentof the migrant stay at relatives’ homes and they have to119pay fee about 10000 ks per month. Restaurants and hotels
give rooms to stay to their workers.
Remittance of migrants: All migrants have an intention
to support their families but they cannot support theirfamily regularly. About ten percent of the migrants got
married in urban area and they became difficult to support
their families. Nearly thirty percent of migrants support
their families regularly and more than fifty percent of
migrants send remittance to their family three or fourtimes in a year (Fig. 10).

found in the area as one or two family members moved tourban area and other family members work in agriculture.
Findings and Discussion
Although urbanization in Myanmar during the first decadeof the 2000s lagged behind due to Myanmar’s economic
isolation, urbanization and rural urban migration become
distinct after 2010.
In Mandalay, Magway and Sagaingregions, migrants
move to Kachin and Shan states (Country Report, 2009).
But, migrants of Pyapon Township mainly moved to
Yangon Region because of nearness to the area andexisting industrial zones.
Reasons for migration include relative poverty, lack ofjobs, inability to earn enough money to survive as well as
political and/or ethnic conflict in Myanmar (Hall, 2012).
In the Dry Zone, most migrants said that the major causeof migration is lack of sufficient employment in the local
community (Helvetas Swiss Inter-cooperation Myanmar,
2015). In Pyapon Township, major cause of migration islack of regular income.
Migration is mainly caused by rural economy that gives
low and insufficient income to local people. In the area,internal migration is distinct due to low skill andinvestment. Three patterns of migration: permanent,
temporary and seasonal migration are found.
In Dry zone area, number of male migrants exceeds that offemale (Griffiths, 2014). But, number of female migrant ishigher than that of male because of work opportunity offemales at Industrial Zones. They earn as low skilled
labour in urban area due to low education level. Although
they moved for the intention of supporting the families,
they get low income and they do not get the better
environment that they imagined. But, most migrants get
regular income. Most migrants live in poor housing andthey do not support their family regularly.
Thet (2014) stated that Most of the migrants were aged
between 50 and 59 years in Monywa Township. In the
study area, most migrant are between 20 and 30 years old
and the new generation is not interested in agriculture due
to low income and heavy works. Significance of the
agricultural sector is gradually losing. It will be theproblem in the future because agriculture is major pillar
not only for rural people but also food security of thecountry as deltaic area is rice bowl of Myanmar.
Problems on rural depopulation such as abandoned land,
old aged persons, etc are indistinct until now. But, it will
be nearly future due to high rate of migration.
Therefore, it is necessary to create alternative job
opportunities based on local raw material. In Yoekone
Village, coconut is grown and it is suitable to establish thesmall scale industry that uses coconut, a local raw material.
In addition, vocational training centers which based on
local raw materials and local economy should beestablished in the rural areas for training of the productive
youths. After finishing vocational school, the youths
should be supported with micro loans to set up new small
enterprises that in turn create job opportunities for local
people and rural development. It is also important to
upgrade infrastructure especially roads that are one of thepillars supporting economic growth.

Fig.10. Remittance of Migrants, Source: Questionnaires’ result (2016)

They usually send their salary to their families when theyounger brothers and sisters enroll the school in June, to
pay homage to their parents and for religious festivals in
October, when Myanmar New Year is held in April and in
the time of emergency for their parents’ health.
World Bank (2013) expressed that migrants primarily seekjobs through social networks in their villages rather than
through paid brokers. These networks help migrants
identify job opportunities and secure accommodation indestination sites in an unknown environment before theyleave their village. Massey (1990) also said that the ruralurban migration is also controlled by their social networks.
Social networks play an important role in decision making
on migration. Chain migration is distinctly found in the
study area and rural people moved to urban area with thehelp of the people who was born in the village and live inurban area. They do not pay any fees to them for the help.
According to field survey, mobility of unskilled labour isalso found. Fifty-two percent of the migrants have moved
from one factory to another within 5-year period due tosocial affairs, low income and high travel cost.
Moreover, cultural change especially change in dressing
style and hair style is found in the area.
Depopulation: Knight (1994) pointed out depopulation
has been due largely to the emigration of young people. In
Pyapon Township, problems on rural depopulation is still
indistinct. It is resulted from high fertility rate of Myanmar
in the last 30 years ago. Fertility rate of Myanmar was
4.59 percent, rural 4.87 percent and urban 3.52 percent in1983 (Myint, 1988). Although one or two family members
move to the urban area as temporary migrants, otherfamily members left the rural area and it reduces problem
off abandoned land. On the other hand, there is no
problem of old age persons due to low life expectancy. In
Ayeyarwady region life expectancy was 61.0 in 2014
(CSO, 2014).
Temporary abandoned lands are found because local
people do not cultivate their field to reduce amount of
capital investment. Permanent abandoned lands are not120

Myanmar_And_Migrant_Workers-BriefingAnd_Recommendations.Pdf)
Knight, J. 1994. Town-making in Rural Japan: An Example from
Wakayama, Journal of Rural Studies, 10(3):249-261.
Thet, K.K. 2014. Pull and Push Factors of Migration: A Case
Study in the Urban Area of Monywa Township, Myanmar(worldofstatistics.org › files/2014/03/Pull-and-Push)
Lee, E.S. 1966. ‘A theory of migration’, Demography, 3(1):47
Massey, D. 1990., "Social Structure, Household Strategies, andthe Cumulative Causation of Migration", Population Index
56(1):3-26.
Myint, N. 2014. Recent Levels and Trends of Fertility andMortality in Myanmar, Asia-Pacific Population Journal, Vol.
6, No. 2.
Nyi, N. 2013. Levels, trends and patterns of internal migration in
Myanmar, Department of Population, Ministry of
Immigration and Population, UNFPA: Nay Pyi Taw,
Republic of the Union of Myanmar.
Rao, C. 2007. Mechanism and Political Measures of Japanese
Rural Depopulation and Its Reference to the Chinese Rural
Construction, Zhejiang University Journal of Humanities
and Social Sciences 37(6): 147-156.
Regional Facts of Pyapon Township, 2015. General
Administration Department, Pyapon TownshipVarouhakis, M. 2000. Greek Villages Facing Slow Death,from:
http://
Retrievedwww.helleniccomserve.com/slowdeath.html
World Bank, 2013, Rural Depopulation: Demo-Economic
Aspects of Push and Pull, Demo-Economic Issues, 4(JC).
Washington, D.C.
World Bank, 2014. A Country on the Move: Domestic Migrationin
Two
RegionsofMyanmar,
http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/myanmar/publication/a-country-on-the-move---domestic-migration-in-tworegions-of-myanmar
World
Bank,
2015.
Rural
population,
http://data.
worldbank.org/indicator/
SP.RUR.
TOTL.
ZS?locations=MM
Zhao, Z. 2003. Rural-Urban Migration in China, What Do We
Know and What Do We Need to Know? China Center for
Economic Research, Peking University.

To reduce adverse effects of migration in the future, it isalso necessary to do researches on economic potentials of
the area, the impact of rural urban migration, the impact
of internal migration and economic growth in rural area,
education and rural development in Pyapon Township.
Acknowledgements: This paper has been prepared during
stay of MyintThida as a visiting scholar of the CSEAS(Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University)
Fellowship for Visiting Research Scholars 2016 from Nov.
1 2016 to Jan.31.2017. Accordingly, the authors would
like to acknowledge institutional supports of Departmentof Geography, University of Yangon, Myanmar and
CSEAS, Japan for conducting the field work and paper
preparation. Our thanks also go to the villagers of thestudy area for their participation during our field work.
References
Australian Government Department of Families, Housing,Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, 2006,
Communities, Social Capital and Public Policy: Literature
Review, Policy Research Paper, pp-26.
Bunea, D. 2012. Modern Gravity Models of Internal Migration,
The Case of Romania ,Theoretical and Applied Economics,
Volume XIX (2012), No. 4(569), pp. 127-144
Central Statistical Organization (CSO), 2014. Central Statistical
Organization and the Department of Health, Rangoon
Country Report, 2009, Myanmar,www.burmalibrary.org/ docs09/
HIV-AIDS Mekong- region -Myanmar. pdf
Griffiths, M.P. 2014. Formal Sector Internal Migration in
Myanmar(ilo.org>…./documents/publication/wcms_440076/pdf)
Helvetas Swiss Inter-cooperation Myanmar, 2015, Internal
Labour Migration Study in the Dry Zone, Shan State andthesoutheastofMyanmar(https://assets.
helvetas.org/downloads/helvetas_myanmar_internal_migrati
on_study_feb2015_final.pdf)
Hall, A. 2012. Myanmar and Migrant Workers: Briefing andRecommendations,
Mahidol
Migration
Center(Http://Oppenheimer.Mcgill.Ca
/IMG/
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121

J. Agrofor. Environ. 11 (1 & 2): 123-128, 2017

ISSN 1995-6983

Contribution of NTFPs to local livelihood: a case study of Nong Sai Sub-district of Nang Rong
district under Buriram Province in Northeast Thailand
Nittaya Mianmit, Vipak Jintana, Pasuta Sunthornhao, Panan Kanhasin and Shinya Takeda1
Department of Forest Management, Kasetsart University, Thailand, 1Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies,
Kyoto University, Japan
Abstract: In many areas near forests in rural Thailand, people collect non-timber forest products (NTFPs) for both subsistence and trade.
This paper explores the spectrum of NTFPs being collected from dry dipterocarp forests in the Khao Angkhan National Forest Reserveand Khokyai community forest. Villagers in Nong Sai Sub-district of Nang Rong district under Buriram Province were interviewed
using a structured questionnaire to examine the contributions of NTFPs to the livelihood and assets of local people. The study parameters
included (1) the species of NTFPs collected (2) the seasonal and duration of collection (3) the methods of collection (4) the purpose ofcollection and (5) the income generated from NTFPs. Villagers perceived the forest’s value as a source of goods and services, especially
NTFP harvesting. The NTFP collectors generally collected minor products using relatively low-impact indigenous methods. For example,
mushrooms were harvested in the morning because they are easier to cook and can be sold for a higher price. Therefore, NTFPs arecollected for both subsistence and commercial purposes. Common NTFPs for subsistence use consisted of mushrooms (16 species), wild
vegetables (15 species), wild fruits (18 species), medicinal plants (20 species), fuel wood (five species), insects and their products (three
species), and wildlife (seven species). NTFPs collected for trade included mushrooms (seven species), wild vegetables (five species), andinsects and their products (one species). Overall patterns of NTFP use indicated that the forest makes positive contributions to the livesof people living in and around in terms of both subsistence and cash income but that NTFP collection creates both positive and negative
incentives with respect to forest conservation and management if users ignore regulations for sustainable use.
Key words: Non-timber forest products (NTFPs), dry dipterocarp forest, local livelihood, Northeast Thailand.

Introduction
For traditional peoples, the forest serves as a convenience
store, grocery, pharmacy, hardware outlet, lumberyard,
and department store (Bennett, 2002), and the importanceof forest products to households living in or near forests
has been increasingly recognised. Estimates of the numberof people who in some way rely on forests, for either
survival or livelihood, vary widely (Byron and Arnold,1999), especially with respect to non-timber forest
products (NTFPs). NTFPs which have long been
considered “minor” or “secondary” forest products, aredefined as any tangible animal or plant products other thanindustrial timber that can be collected from forests for
subsistence and trade (Ros-Tonen et al., 1995). Thus, the
NTFP category includes wild plants for food (including
food for domesticated animals), game, medicinal herbs,
small-scale wood for tools and handicrafts, latex for
rubber, and building and dying materials (De Beer and
McDermott, 1989). NTFPs are central to interactions
between local people and forests, and help to sustain rural
livelihoods through subsistence and commerce (Anderson,
1993; Sato, 1998; Satien-Thai, 1999; Sharp et al., 1999).
NTFP use is less ecologically destructive than timber
harvesting, encouraging the belief that more intensive
management of forests for such products could contributeto both development and conservation objectives (Michael
Arnold and Ruiz Pe´rez, 2001). Consequently,
conservationists and environmental economists havepromoted the extraction of NTFPs as an alternative toforest conservation and as a benefit to those who arereliant on forests (Bennett, 2002). Therefore,
understanding NTFP use is a prerequisite to motivating
subsistence-level forest users to enrich and manage theforests on which they rely.
Northeast Thailand, known as Isaan, contains some of
Thailand's the highest populations, but is also the poorest
part the country (Grandstaff et al., 2008). Forest coveraccounts for 16.32% or 27,555.54 km2 of the region’s
overall area, of which about 1,505 km2 is community
forest (Royal Forest Department, 2009). Most people in

the region are farmers whose livelihoods are connected to
the forest in terms of both traditional cultural practices andfood acquisition. NTFPs are a critical component in thesubsistence of farmers and play an essential role in therural diet of Northeast Thailand. In the past, research on
NTFPs in Northeast Thailand focused on ethnobotany and
NTFP use and diversity (Somnasang et al., 1988;
Somnasang et al., 1998; Wester, 1996; Prachaiyo, 2000),
while a small number of studies examined the potential for
NTFPs to modernise modes of subsistence in southern
Isaan. Clearly, NTFPs are not limited to household
consumption but are also used to generate secondary
income. Generally, academic understanding of the role andpotential of NTFPs to contribute to capital accrual andpoverty alleviation is based on case studies, which holdlittle value in terms of generalisation (Marshal et al., 2003;
Belcher et al., 2005; Ros-Tonen and Wiersum, 2005).
Hence, questions remain about whether, or to what extent,
NTFPs contribute to local livelihoods, community
development and forest resource conservation. Thus, weselected the dry dipterocarp forest in Khao Angkhan
national forest reserve and Khokyai community forest in
Buriram for our study because they are important sourcesof NTFPs for the region’s rural residents. We report apreliminary study of NTFP contributions to local
livelihood, and include general information on NTFP
species, use, and objectives of collection.
Materials and Methods
Study area: Our study took place in four districts of the
Khao Angkhan National Forest Reserve (locally known as
the Khao Angkhan conservation forest area) and Khokyai
community forest-Nang Rong, Lahansai, Chaloem
Phrakiat, and Pakham- in Buriram Province, Northeast
Thailand (Fig. 1). The region comprises dry dipterocarp
forest with an area of about 51 km2, bounded mainly byagricultural land and settlements. The elevation is about
200 meters above mean sea level. The area is dominatedby a tropical seasonal monsoon climate, with three marked
seasons: hot, rainy, and dry. The mean monthlytemperature is 31.5°C (min. 24°C, max. 34°C), withextreme high of 40°C or more in April and May. The
mean annual rainfall during the monsoon )June-October)is about 1,000 mm, and the mean monthly humidity is
70%.

income of the villagers was derived from agricultural
products such as Thai jasmine rice and cassava; average
household income from agriculture was about 50,941 Baht
(USD 1,491.7) per year. Other important sources ofincome included wage labour and NTFP trade, together
averaging about 35,108 Baht (USD 1,028.1) per year per
household The average total household income in thetarget villages was 86,049 Baht (USD 2,519.7) per year.
However, most respondents stated that their income wasinsufficient, and 77% had debts. Loans were mainly
obtained from village funds, and were used to purchaseagricultural supplies and to cover necessary daily expenses.
Land tenure: Most respondents occupied land andpossessed land certificates such as title deeds (Nor Sor 3),
or certificates of local maintenance tax (Por Bor Tor 5).
The average size of land holdings was about 1.3 ha. Morethan half of respondents wanted to expand their holdings,
mostly to accumulate land for their children.
Villager dependency on the Khao Angkhan and
Khokyai forests: As mentioned, villagers in Nong Sai
Sub-district perceived the value of the forest as a source ofvarious goods and services such as recreation, watershedfunctions, and NTFPs. Most villagers stated in theirinterviews they collected NTFPs for both subsistence andcommerce. NTFP provision is the main function of Khoa
Angkhan and Khokyai forests, according to the villagers.
Mushrooms, wild vegetables and fruits, medicinal plants,
fuel wood, insects and their products, and wildlife werecollected for subsistence use. NTFPs collected for trade
included mushrooms, wild vegetables, and insects andtheir products.
Collection of NTFPs for subsistence use: NTFPs play animportant role in the livelihood of villagers in Nong Sai
Sub-district. Many species of NTFPs were harvested fordaily use as food, medicine, and energy production.
NTFPs for household consumption were classified asfollows:
Mushrooms: Sixteen species in six families werecollected, including Hed Ta Khai (Russula delica), Hed Ra
Ngok (Amanita princes), Hed Kone (Termitomyces spp.),
Hed Phek (Lentinus strigosus), Hed Nam Paeng (Russulaalboareolata), and Hed Tan (Russula densifolia). A
complete list of mushroom species is given in Table 1.
Usually, villagers collected mushrooms during the rainyseason from June to September; less often, mushrooms
were collected 2-3 days after isolated rains throughout the
hot season (April-October). The precise areas ofmushroom collection varied according to the target species.
Usually, villagers collected mushrooms, especially Hed
Kone, in the same places each year. The average quantityof mushrooms collected is shown in Table 2.
Wild vegetables: Fifteen species from 12 families werecollected, including Dog Din (Hitcheniopsis parviflora),
Buk I Rok (Pseudodracontium lacourii), Phak wan(Melientha suavis), I Noon (Adenia viridiflora), andKrachiao (Curcuma singularis). A complete list of wild
vegetable species is given in Table 1. Villagers collectedwild vegetables all year, with some species, such as Dog
Din and Krachiao, available only in the rainy season. The
average quantity of wild vegetables collected perhousehold is shown in Table 2.

Fig. 1. Geographical position of study area
The population of the study area in 2009 was 6,556 (3,253
males and 3,303 females) with a population density of
80.93 km-2 unevenly distributed around the forest.
Agriculture is the main occupation of ~80% of forest
inhabitants, with rice and cassava the main crops. Rearing
animals such as chickens and cattle is common in mosthouseholds.
Methods: Field data collection comprised two parts. First,
we used questionnaires to interview household
representatives, completing a total of 150 interviews withparticipants from seven villages: Hinlat, Khokyai,
Khokpodaeng, Nongkrat, Khokprohom, Khoklakhin, andNikomket in Nong Sai Sub-district, Nang Rong District,Buriram Province. Second, we used a participatory rural
appraisal approach (PRA), including interviews withvillage NTFP buyers (“middle men”), using semistructured interviews and group discussions and meetings
to ascertain NTFP use, particularly of NTFPs collected forcommercial purposes.
All field survey data were synthesised and analysed using
the Statistical Package for Social Science for Windows(SPSS). The programs were used to analyse general
information from the respondents’ households, and content
analysis was used to analyse the PRA data.
The names of the various plant and animal species that thevillagers collected were originally given as local names;
these were changed to common and scientific names using
a variety reference books and consultations with local
experts.
Results and Discussion
Sociodemographic and economic characteristics of thecommunity: In the field survey, 63% of respondents werefemale, and the overall average age of respondents was 46.
Most respondents had completed primary school and wereborn in the study area. Most respondents were farmers,
generally producing Thai jasmine rice and cassava. Some
had established agroforestry systems, cultivating various
species of plants and animals for household consumption
and selling surplus products to generate income. The main124

Table 1. NTFPs collected from Khao Angkhan National Forest Reserve and Khokyai community forest, Nong Sai Subdistrict, Nang Rong District, Buriram Province.

MushroomType of
NTFPs

Thai Name

Scientific Name

FamilyHed Ra Ngok
Hed Kone
Hed Nang Hong
Hed Khai Han
Hed Saiduean
Hed Chamuk wau
Hed Phueng
Hed Nam Manpu
Hed PhoHed Bot
Hed Phek
Hed Nam Paeng
Hed Ta Khai
Hed TanHed Na Lae
Hed Nam Mak

Amanita princeps Corner & Bas
Termitomyces spp.
Amanita caesarea (Scop.) Per.
Amanita vaginata (Bull.) Lam.
Amanita sp.
Lactarius turpis (Weinm.) Fr.
Boletus colossus Heim
Cantharellus sp.
Astreaus hygrometricus (Pers.) Morgan
Lentinus polychrous Lev.
Lentinus strigosus (Schwin). Fr.
Russula alboareolata Hongo
Russula delica Fr.
Russula densifolia (Sevr.) Gill
Russula cyanoxantha Schaeff ex. Fr.
Russula emetica (Schaeff. ex. Fr.) Pers.
ex.S.F. Gray
Pseudodracontium lacourii(Linden & Andre) N.E.Br.
Spondias pinnata (L.F.) Kurz
Cycas siamensis Miq.
Vietnamosasa ciliata (A. Camus)
T.Q.Nguyen
Garcinia cowa Roxb.
Gratoxylum formosum (Jack) Dyer
Careya sphareica Roxb.
Tiliacora triandra (Colebr.) Diels
Melientha suavis Pierre
Olex psittacorum (willd.) Vahl
Adenia viridiflora Craib.
Smilax ovalifolia Roxb.
Curcuma singularis Gagnep.
Hitcheniopsis parviflora (Wall.) Loes.
Kaempferia galanga L.
Uvaria rufa Blume
Polyalthai blumecta (Pierre) finet&gagnep
Polyalthai debilis (Pierre) finet&gagnep
Canarium subulatum Guill.
Terminalia chebula Retz.
Dillenia obovata (Blume) Hoogland
Phyllanthus emblica L.
Antidesma ghaesembilla Gaertn.
Diospyros rhodocalyx Kurz
Flacourtia indica (Burm. F.) Merr.
Irvingia malayana Oliv. Ex A.W. Benn.
Sindora siamensis Teysm. Ex.Miq.
Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels
Rothmannia wittii Bremek
Lepisanthes rubiginosa (Roxb.) Leenh.
Schleichera oleosa (Lour.) Oken
Microcos tomentosa Sm.
Grewia nisuta Vahl
Uvaria rufa Blume
Elephantopus scaber L
Gynura pseudochina (L.) DC.
Ellipanthus tomentosus Kurz
Cycas siamensis Miq.
Dellania obovata (Blume) Hoogland
Diospyros rhodocalyx Kurz
Phyllanthus emblica L.
Aporosa villosa (Lindl.) Baill.
Antidesma ghaesembilla Gaertn.
Suregada multiflorum (A. Juss.) Baill.

AGARICACEAE
AGARICACEAE
AGARICACEAE
AGARICACEAE
AGARICACEAE
BOLETACEAE
BOLETACEAECANTHARELLACEAE
LYCOPERDACEAE
POLYPORACEAE
POLYPORACEAE
RUSSULACEAE
RUSSULACEAE
RUSSULACEAE
RUSSULACEAE
RUSSULACEAE

Erythroxylum cuneatum Kurz
Flacourtia indica (Burm. F.) Merr.
Cratoxylum cochinchinensis (Lour.)

Buk I Rok

Medicinal plant

Wild fruit

Wild vegetable

Makok Pa
Prong
Chot
Chamuang
Tio
KradonYanangPhak wan
Kra Thok Rok
I NoonThao Wan Yang
Krachiao
Dog Din
ProhomNom Maeo
Nom Noi
Tab Tao
Makok kluean
Samo ThaiSan Yai
Makham Pom
Mao Khai Pla
Tako Na
Takhop Pa
Kra Bok
Makha Tae
Wa
Mak Mo
Ma HuatTa KhroPhlap Phla
Kao TakNom Maeo
Do Mai Ru Lom
Pak Kad Dab
Kham RokProng
San Yai
Ta Ko Na
Makham Pom
Mueat Lot
Mao Khai Pla
Khan Thong
Phayabat

Purpose of Collection
Subsistence Commercial
























Collecting
Duration
Apr-Sep
Apr-Nov
Apr-Sep
Apr-Sep
Apr-Sep
Apr-Sep
Apr-Sep
Apr-Sep
Apr-JunAll year
Apr-Oct
Apr-Sep
Apr-Oct
Apr-Sep
Apr-Sep
Apr-Sep

ARACEAEMay-JulANACARDIACEAECYCADACEAE
POACAEAAll yearAll year
Jul-Oct

CLUSIACEAE
HYPERICACEAE
LECYTHIDACEAEMENISPERMACEAE
OPILIACEAEOLACACEAEPASSIFLORACEAESMILACACEAEZINGIBERACEAEZINGIBERACEAEZINGIBERACEAE
ANNONACEAE
ANNONACEAE
ANNONACEAE
BURSERACEAECOMBRETACEAEDILLENIACEAEPHYLLANTHACEAEPHYLLANTHACEAEEBENACEAESALICACEAE
IRVINGIACEAE
FABACEAEMYRTACEAERUBIACEAE
SAPINDACEAE
SAPINDACEAE
TILIACEAE
TILIACEAE
ANNONACECEASTERACEAE
ASTERACEAE
CONNARACEAECYCADACEAEDILLENIACEAEEBENACEAEPHYLLANTHACEAEPHYLLANTHACEAEPHYLLANTHACEAEEUPHORBIACEAE













































-

All yearAll yearAll yearAll year
Apr-May
All year
May-JulAll year
May-Jun
May-JunAll year
Mar-May
All yearAll year
Jun-Dec
Jan-Aug
Feb-JunJan-Aug
May-Aug
Mar-JulJan-JulJan-AprMar-Sep
Feb-JunApr-JulOct-AprJan-Aug
Apr-Oct
All yearAll yearAll yearAll yearAll yearAll yearAll yearAll yearAll yearAll yearAll yearAll year

ERYTHROXYLACEAESALICACEAE
HYPERICACEAE





-

All yearAll yearAll yearContd.
Krai Thong
Takhop Pa
Tio Kliang

125

Fuelwood
Insectsandtheirproducts

Kret Plachon
Huad Seo kiew
KradonHatsakun
Plalai Phueak
Popae
Teng
Krat
Phluang
Daeng
Makha TaeI NoonKhai Mot Daeng(Egg of Red Ant)
Phueng (Bees)

Blume
Phyllodium pulchellum (L.) Desv.
Orthosiphon rubicundus (D.Don) Benth.
Careya sphareica Roxb.
Micromelum minutum Wight & Arn
Eurycoma longifolia Jack.
Grewia hirsuta Vahl
Shorea obtusa Wall. Ex Blume
Dipterocarpus intricatus Dyer.
Dipterocarpus tuberculatus Taub.
Xylia xylocarpa (Roxb.)
Sindora siamensis Teijsm. Ex.Miq.
Holotrichia sp.
Oecophylla smaragdina

FABACEAELAMIACEAELECYTHIDACEAE
RUTACEAESIMAROUBACEAEMALVACEAEDIPTEROCARPACEAEDIPTEROCARPACEAEDIPTEROCARPACEAE
FABACEAEFABACEAE

Apisdorsata fabricius

Wild fruit: Eighteen species in 13 families were collected(Table 1). The villagers tended to collect them indirectlyas they collected other NTFPs or ran activities inagricultural land, favouring species such as Takhop Pa(Flacourtia indica), Makham Pom (Phyllanthus emblica)
and Samo Thai (Terminalia chebula). Villagers collectedmany wild fruits all year long, especially in the dry season.
Medicinal plants: The villagers have established healthcentres, but traditional healing practices are still used, andmedicinal plants are collected by the community. Most
respondents collected medicinal plants for household use,
usually for relieving general ailments such as colds, fevers,
or stomach ache. Most plants were collected in the forests
surrounding the villages. Common medicinal plants were
Nom Maeo (Uvaria rufa), Hatsakun (Micromelum
minutum), Kham Rok (Ellipanthus tomentosus), andMakham Pom (Phyllanthus emblica). A complete list of
medicinal plant species is given in Table 1.
Fuel wood: Fuel wood was in demand in the study area asa source of energy. The main sources of fuel wood werevillagers’ cultivated land and the surrounding forest. Five
species of fuel wood were collected, including Daeng(Xylia xylocarpa), Teng (Shorea obtusa), Makha Tae

















All yearAll yearAll yearAll yearAll yearAll yearAll yearAll yearAll yearAll yearAll yearAll year
Mar-May-All year(Sindora siamensis), Krat (Dipterocarpus intricatus), andPhluang (Dipterocarpus tuberculatus).
Wildlife: The respondents hunted wildlife for household
consumption. The main species hunted were ground lizard,
other lizards, and birds. Additionally, some respondents
indicated that members of their household regularly caught
aquatic animals such as fish, bullfrogs, and other frogs forhousehold consumption.
Insects and their products: Respondents collectedvarious insects and insect products, especially the eggs ofthe red ant (Khai Mot Daeng), which are used for several
popular local dishes. Insect products were collected fromJanuary to March when ant nests are common on theleaves of Shorea obtusa, Shorea siamensis and other tree
species in the dry dipterocarp forest. Other insects
included bees and I Noon (Holotrichia sp.).
Collection of NTFPs for commercial use
Agriculture and wage labour are important sources ofincome, but NTFPs remain important to local livelihoods,
especially for women. About 21.4% of NTFPs are
consumed in the collectors’ households, and the remaining
78.6% sold at market. Various mushrooms, wild
vegetables, and insect species and their products were
important NTFPs for commercial use (Tables 1 and 2).

Table 2. Average quantity per year and price of NTFPs collected from Khao Angkhan National Forest Reserve andKhokyai community forest, Nong Sai Sub-district, Nang Rong District, Buriram Province.
Thai name
Hed Ta Khai
Hed Ra Ngok
Hed Kone
Hed Nang Hong
Hed Nam Mak
Hed PhoHed Chamuk wau
Dog Din
Krachiao
Buk I Lok
I NoonChot
Khai Mot Daeng
Total

Average Quantity of NTFPs
SubsistenceCommercial(kg/Household)(kg/Household)
2.6
7.9
0.9
3.6
2.3
6.2
0.4
1.3
2.2
6.2
2.9
3.7
2.6
9.5
2.2
15.6
1.0
6.0
1.7
10.9
3.0
15.2
2.8
3.9
1.0
3.6
25.4
93.6

Average Price*(Baht/kg)
180
160
120
160
110
250
120
35
35
30
30
100
335
-

Percent of NTFPs
collecting forCommercial/Household
75.0
80.6
72.7
76.0
74.0
56.7
78.4
88.0
85.9
86.7
83.5
58.4
79.1
78.6

* Price during the study period (June, 2009); currency exchange rate: 34.15 TH� = 1US$

Mushrooms: Seven species were collected, including Hed
Ta Khai (Russula delica), Hed Ra Ngok (Amanita princes),and Hed Kone (Termitomyces spp.). Most collectors soldtheir mushrooms to village middle-men at prices of 80-200

Baht per kilogram, depending on the species. Usually,
mushrooms are collected between 4 and 8 AM, before
their heads fully open.

126

Wild vegetables: Five species were collected, including
Dog Din (Curcuma parviflora), Krachiao (Curcuma
singularis), Buk I Lok (Pseudodracontium lacourii), I
Noon (Adenia viridiflora), and Chot (Vietnamosasa cililta).
Most collectors sold wild vegetables to a village middleman, who took their products to the district market. The
price was 30-35 Baht per kilogram, depending on thespecies. Usually, wild vegetables are collected between 6
and 8 AM, before the day’s heat.
Insects and their products: Only eggs of the red ant werecollected for commercial use. The price is about 335 Baht
per kilogram. The tools to collect the eggs come fromhousehold materials such as bamboo handles, buckets,baskets, and tapioca flour.
The contribution of NTFPs to local livelihood: Our
results indicate that the forest makes a positive
contribution to local people living in and around the forest,
for both subsistence and cash income. Most NTFPs in
Khao Angkhan and Khokyai forests were collected forhousehold consumption, and the rest (seven mushroom
and five wild plant species, and the eggs of the red ant)
were sold. The villagers’ main income was derived fromagriculture, supplemented by NTFP collection. The dry
dipterocarp forest is an important source of expensive andpopular NTFPs, including red ant eggs, Hed Pho, Hed Ta
Khai, Hed Kone, and Phak Wan.
Phak Wan was not found on the list of commercial species,
although it commanded high prices and had high demand.
The fact that Phak Wan was only used in household
consumption implies that it occurred in quantities
insufficient for sale. In turn, this speaks to the forest’s
health: Phak Wan is normally common in dry deciduous
forests, particularly those dominated by Shorea siamensis
and Shorea obtusa (Kerr et al., 1931). We did not focus onforest health, but interviews revealed that the species wasformerly very popular, fetching high prices. The villagers
scrambled to transplant the Phak Wan trees from the forest
to their own properties, but in the process, they cut theroots, killing the trees - a ‘tragedy of the commons’scenario (Hardin, 1968). That is, as the population andpressure on resources grew, users of resources held incommon tend to overexploit and degrade those resources.
Although regulations control forest use and managementin the region, strict regulation is not possible as usergroups in and outside the villages can easily and covertly
access and exploit the forest. Participation in forest
conservation was closely related to income generated fromNTFP collection (Mianmit, 2003), but evidence suggeststhat NTFP collection has both positive and negative
incentives, as unrestrained and unmanaged collection canhave negative impacts on the structure and dynamics of
NTFP species populations (Murali et al., 1996;
Muraleedharan et al., 2005). Therefore, for thesustainability of NTFP use and forest functions, usergroups and community forest committees must work
together for forest management.
Most of the respondents interviewed were farmers, withaverage land holdings of about 1.3 ha. The main income ofthe villagers was derived from agricultural products suchas Thai jasmine rice and cassava. The average householdincome from agriculture was about 50,941 Baht (USD

1,491.7) per year. Other important sources of income camefrom wage labour and trading NTFPs, which amounted toan average of about 35,108 Baht (USD 1,028.1) per year
per household. Agriculture and wage labour are importantsources of income, but NTFPs are still important to local
livelihood. From the viewpoint of income generation,
NTFPs play complementary roles. Regarding the 51 km2
of dry dipterocarp forest adjacent to the study villages,
respondents perceived its value as a source of goods andservices that greatly benefit their livelihood. Of the NTFPs
collected from the forest for subsistence and trade, about
21.4% were consumed in the collectors’ households, and78.6% sold at market. Many wild products such as
mushrooms (16 species), vegetables (15), fruits (18),medicinal plants (20), fuel wood (five), insects and theirproducts (three), and animals (seven) were collected andhunted from the forest. Among these, seven species ofmushroom, five of vegetables, one insect and its products
were collected for trade. One exception was Phak Wan.
Phak Wan is one of the most important species of NTFPs
in dry dipterocarp forest because of its high price anddemand in the domestic market, but it is used only locallyand not sold at market. Phak Wan likely has high potential
to provide income for local communities. Besides
domestication, conservation of Phak Wan and its habitats
in natural forests is also important for local livelihoods andcan be an incentive for villagers to participate in forest
conservation in Khao Angkhan and Khokyai forests.
Acknowledgements: We gratefully acknowledge thefinancial support of the Thailand Research Fund (TRF)
and Nong Sai Sub-district Administration Organisation(SAO). The conclusions and opinions expressed in thisreport are those of the authors and do not necessarilyreflect the views of our funding agencies.
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Ethnobotany of the hill tribes of Northern Thailand.
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Belcher, B., Ruiz Perez, M. and Achdiawan, R. 2005. Global
patterns and trends in the use and management ofcommercial NTFPs: implications for livelihoods andconservation. World Development. 33:1435-1452.
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Hardin, G. 1968. The tragedy of the commons. Science 261:
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Kerr, A.F.G., M.B., B. Ch. 1931. Position by Pak Wan(Melientha suavis) in Siam. Transactions of the Royal
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Michael Arnold, J.E. and Ruiz Pe´rez, M. 2001. Can non-timber
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Muraleedharan, P.K., Sasidharan, N., Kumar, B.M., Sreenivasan,
M.A. and Sreethalakshmi K.K. 2005. Non-timber forest
products in the western Ghats of India: floristic attributes,
extraction and regeneration. Journal of Tropical Forest
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Murali, K.S., Shankar, U., Shaanker, U.R., Ganeshaiah, K.N. and
Bawa K.S. 1996. Extraction of non-timber forest products inthe forest of Biligiri Rangan Hills, India 2. Impact of NTFPs
extraction on regeneration, population structure, and species
composition. Economic Botany 50(3): 252-269.
Prachaiyo, B. 2000. Farmers and Forests: A changing phase in
Northeast Thailand. Southeast Asian Studies 38(3): 1-178.
Ros-Tonen, M., Dijkman, W. and Lammerts van Bueren, E. 1995.
Commercial and sustainable extraction of non-timber forest
products. Towards a Policy and Management Oriented
Research Strategy. The Tropenbos Foundation, Wageningen.
Ros-Tonen, M.A.F. and Wiersum, K.F. 2005. The scope for
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Royal Forest Department, 2009. Forestry statistics data 2009.
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Satien-Thai, S. 1999. An economic valuation of a natural forest:
the case of the teak forest in Mae Yom National park withparticular reference to ecological coats of the Kaeng Sua
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128

J. Agrofor. Environ. 11 (1 & 2): 129-132, 2017

ISSN 1995-6983

Geo-environmental changes and human activities in Japanese lowland archaeological site
Shinji Miyamoto
Laboratory of Geography, Department of Biosphere-Geosphere Science, Faculty of Biosphere-Geosphere Science,
Okayama University of Science, Japan, E-mail: miyamoto@big.ous.ac.jp
Abstract: Alluvial lowlands occupy about 13% of the total area of the Japanese Islands, and widely distribute along the coasts and thelower reaches of the rivers. In this paper, attempts have been made to make cemptlear the geomorphic development and regional
difference of alluvial lowlands in Japan based on the geographical and the archaeological data. We analyzed the changes of relationshipbetween geo-environment and human activities in lowland archaeological site, central Japan, based on sedimentary facies analysis andpollen analysis. Some conclusions are as follows: (1) Yayoi period, is located in the environment lowland basis, there is no stagnant
water permanent, but there is an environment lowland basis floods temporary, such as those generated, peripheral vegetation covered inmainly evergreen forest. (2) Fluvial activity is active at the Kofun period, the ground surface was unstable and the landscape mainly oflaurel was formed in the peripheral vegetation. (3) Ground drier is in progress since the Middle Ages, agricultural land development has
been progressed.
Key words: Lowland, Geo-environment, pollen analysis, archaeological site, Nobi plain.

Introduction
The disappearance and formation of the archaeological site,
it is closely related to the change in short time geoenvironmental changes have been pointed out (Takahashi,2003). These studies is an area that is focused geologicaland geomorphological data in archaeological sites. In
other words, has been possible to consider detailed geoenvironmental evolution in alluvial plain from analysis inarchaeological site location (Miyamoto et al., 2001). It is
important to consider the detail change for the study of thelandform evolution in alluvial lowland.
From this point of view, the author tried to make clear thechange of geo-environemant and human activities in the
Nobi lowland (Hirate-cho archaeological site) based on thedetail analysis of the recent sediments and and pollen
analysis. Then the author discussed on the
paleoenvironmental changes and landform evolution of the
alluvial plain in the Nobi lowland, central Japan.

Pollen Analysis: Pollen and spore fossils were extracted
by the following procedures: Samples of ca. 2 g weretaken and were treated with 10 % KOH, sieved through a
0.5 mm mesh, decanded to remove organic macromaterials, treated with wash and ZnCl 2 , dehydrated withacetic acid, and treated for 2.5 min. by the acetolysis
method. The residue was saturated in 50 % glycerine, andwas mounted on glass slide. All pollen and spores on eachslide were counted. The percentages of pollen taxa andspore types were calculated based on the total arboreal
pollen counts including Alnus.

Materials and Methods
Geographical Setting: The Nobi Plain underlain byyoung sediments is situated in the central part of Japan andis about 1800 km2 in area. This plain faces Ise Bay, where
the Ibi, Nagara, Kiso, and Shonai rivers discharge, and iscomposed of alluvial fans, flood plains, deltaic plains,
terraces, reclaimed lands, and filled-up ground.
Hirate-cho ruins, is located in the alluvial lowland of
Shonai river, in the lowlands in valleys, and ridges aresome extending to the east-west direction are distributed(Fig. 1; Kito, 2004). It is pointed out that the Hirate-chosite is located in the ridge (Palynosurvey, 2006). In theprevious study, such as the remains of the medieval moat
trace in mid-Yayoi period (ca. 400 BC to 50 AD) has been
detected. And various natural scientific analysis has also
been carried out at the same time (Nagoya Land
Development Corporation, 2006). The field survey was
carried out primarily in the fourth excavation area mainly.
Sedimentary facies: Fig. 1 shows the surveyed site
locality from Umitsu (1991). Soil profiles were observed
at various exposures along paths and trench at the trenchin archaeological site. The sedimentary facies andstructure of each locality were described, and sediment
samples were collected for pollen analysis.

Figure 1. Locality of the Hirate-cho Site, Nobi plain,central Japan (from Umitsu, 1991)

Results and Discussion
Changes in geo-environment and vegetation: Changes
in geo-environment and vegetation were discussed on eachperiod based on the results of sedimentary facies andpollen taxa as have been shown in Figs. 2 to 4.
Formation of lowland (Yayoi period; ca. 300 BC to AD
300): It is suggested to be a time when by the first 10 to 15
layers shown in Fig. 1 is composed of silty sediments wereindicted a temporary small floods repeatedly. It isestimated that the formation time of the deposition, to be atime to mainly Yayoi period including archaeologicalremains and reconstructed as the beginning of the dry-up
in land. This period is repeated periodically soil of supply
and flood sediment by a small flood by organic layer in
10b layer. Also from the previous archaeologicalexcavation in Hirate-cho site (Palyno survey, 2006), that
there was on the ground surface environment, such as
stagnant water temporary have been pointed out time said,

that there was in terrain environment as well the point isestimated.
In this period, increase in Quercus Cyclobalanopsis at 7 to
11 layers indicate spread in evergreen forest around theHirate-cho site. And, increasing in Typha as non-arboreal
pollen, suggesting the wet ground surface environment
same as the results in sedimentary facies.

Figure 2. Sedimentary facies in Hirate-cho Site, Nobi plain, central Japan

130

environments from the based in the emergence inGramineae and Artemisia pollen. After that of this period,
it is suggested that the point-bar and cross lamination
sediments have detected at 6 and 7b layers. Fluvial
sediments have including Kofun period archaeologicalremains (Fig. 3).

Activation in fluvial activity (Kofun period; ca. AD 250
to 538): This period is characterized in activation in
peripheral fluvial activity from the silty fine sandsediments are detected at 8 and 9 layers. Increase in Q.
Cyclobalanopsis from 8 and 9 layers pollen indicate thereconstruction of evergreen forest around the Hirate-chosite. In non arboreal pollen, temporary dry-up groundFigure 3. Pollen diagram from Hirate-cho Site, Nobi plain, central Japan
period. The reason of above changes are reported inanother areas (Takahashi, 2003).
Based on the characteristics of the sediments and thechange of fossil pollen taxa, the landform evolution
around the Hirate-cho site, in the Nobi plain, central Japanis considered as follows:
1. Yayoi period, is located in the environment lowland
basis, there is no stagnant water permanent, but there isin an environment lowland basis floods temporary,such as those generated, peripheral vegetation coveredin mainly evergreen forest.
2. Fluvial activity is active at the Kofun period, the groundsurface was unstable and the landscape mainly of laurel
was formed in the peripheral vegetation.
3. Ground drier is in progress since the Middle Ages,
agricultural land development has been progressed.
Acknowledgement: This study is financially supported inpart by the, Grant-in-Aid for Science Research (Project No.
21251005 led. by Dr. Kazuo Ando, Kyoto University and(Project No. 25370929 led. by Dr. Shinji MIYAMOTO,
Okayama University of Science) from the Ministry of
Education, Science, Sports, Culture and Technology of theJapanese Government.

Figure 4. Pollen and Spore ratio diagram from Hirate-cho
Site, Nobi plain, central Japan
Expansion of production areas (Medieval to Modern
period; ca. 12th to 17th): This period is characterized indevelopment in soilization than that before period without
upper of 6 and 5b lalers including sand (flood) sediments.
However, it can be interpreted as the soil of a layer has
progressed by farming, because of a layer indicate theprogress in soilization. Also from the fact that the
sediment of block shape is mediated in part, it can beinterpreted as human activities has been happened at thepast e.g. in farming or making paddy fields (Fig. 4).
Especially, it is interpreted than that geo-environment indrastic change, because of dry up the land than that ofReferences
Kito, T. 2004. Sedimentary environments in Shiga-Koen
archaeological site, Shonai lowland. In: Shiga Koen
archaeological site. The Aichi Prefectual education & Sports
promotion foundation and The Aichi Prefecture
Archaeological Research Center (eds. ). pp 22-28.

131Miyamoto, S., Kunishita, T. and Nakatsuka, R. 2001.
Paleoenvironments and archeological site location in Kofun
period, around the western part of Yamashiro basin, central
Japan. The Historical Geography 43(2): 22-33.
Palynosurvey Co., Ltd. 2006. Physical Analysis in Hirate-chosite. In: Nagoya city land development Co. (eds. ). pp 27-50.

Umitsu, M. 1991. Holocene sea-level changes and coastal
evolution in Japan Quaternary Research of Japan, 30: 187196.
Takahashi, M. 2003. Geoarchaeology. Kokonshoin, Tokyo, 314p.

132

J. Agrofor. Environ. 11 (1 & 2): 133-137, 2017

ISSN 1995-6983

Indigenous methods on coping with natural disasters in selected areas of Bangladesh
Swapan Kumar Dasgupta
Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development, Comilla, Bangladesh, E-mail: swpndsgpt687@gmail.com
Abstract: The study focused the state of integration of local people’s wisdom and their indigenous methods in mitigating disaster inselected areas of Bangladesh. It revealed that integration of local people’s wisdom and indigenous methods with Comprehensive
Disaster Management Program (CDMP) of the government is below the expected level. For coping with natural disaster, demand forexternal help is still dominant in people’s mind set. Community Based Disaster Management (CBDM) approach is not getting adequate
attention by people, government and NGOs. Official traditional top down Disaster Management (DM) approach of only rescue & relief
was found dominant in the 16 sample Union Parishads in Bangladesh. There were limitations of cyclone shelter centers in respect of site,
size, number, quality, water facility, sanitation, security, cattle shade, multipurpose use, ownership, maintenance and longevity.
Caretaking and maintenance work arrangement for most of the cyclone shelter centers were found almost absent. For establishing
CBDM with development dimension, local people’s wisdom, indigenous methods, local community organizations and Local
Government Institutions (LGIs) i.e. Union Parishad (UP) and Upazila Parishad (UZP) may be integrated with the DM process. As analternative of constructing traditional low quality cyclone shelter centers of short longevity in future, government’s subsidized
multistoried cooperative housing estates similar to the cooperative housing society in urban areas of Bangladesh, may be constructedgradually for the middle class, poor and vulnerable people providing them long term bank loans at very low interest rate in coastal areas
supported by the opportunity of long term loan repayment schedule at monthly thrift installments.
Key words: Indigenous methods, coping strategy, natural disasters, Bangladesh.

Introduction
A proverb says, “Farming without tree culture is Disaster
refers to sudden or progressive natural events that
seriously disrupt the functioning of a society causing
human, material and environmental losses of such severity
that the affected community has to respond by taking
exceptional measures. The disruption, including essential
services and means of livelihood, is on the scale thatexceeds ability of the affected community to cope withusing only its own resources. Natural disaster proneness of
Bangladesh is due to frequent cyclone, storm surge, flood,
tornado, drought and arsenic contamination. From 1797 to
1998, 67 major cyclone storms and storm surges havebeen reported to occur in Bangladesh (Alimullah, 2005;
Anon. 2011).
Major Natural Disasters in Bangladesh during 1970-2009
Year
1970
1974
1988
1988
1989
1991
1996
1997
1998
2004
2007
2007
2009

Disaster
CycloneFlood
Flood
CycloneDrought
CycloneTornadoCyclone
Flood
Flood
Flood
CycloneCycloneEstimated Death of people
470,000
2373
5704
800
138,882
545
550
981
747
800
3,406
190

There is a paradigm shift in disaster management fromtraditional approach of rescue & relief towards
developmental approach incorporating hazard mitigationand vulnerability reduction during warning phase, disaster
phase and recovery phase. Thus Disaster Management(DM) refers to management of both risk and theconsequences of disasters, includes both prevention andpreparedness measures in anticipation of known hazards(pre-disaster) and long-term rehabilitation (post-disasterreconstruction). Government of Bangladesh (2003) has
introduced Comprehensive Disaster Management Program(CDMP) in 2003 in partnership with DFID, UNDP and

EU. According to the Yokohama Resolution in 1994,
traditional top down approach of DM failed to address the
specific local needs of vulnerable communities, ignore thepotential of local capabilities and resources. But local
community is the first to respond any disaster. Yokohama
Resolution put thrust on Community Based Disaster
Management (CBDM) approach. CBDM approach has
been recognized internationally as an alternative way of
DM. It involves Local Government Institutions (LGIs),
Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) and Community
Based Organization (CBOs) in DM. It seeks to develop
and implement locally “appropriate” and locally “owned”
strategy for DM (Yokohama Strategy and Plan of Action
for a Safer World, 1994) .
In the above background the objective of the study was tofind out the state of integration of local people’s wisdom
and local people’s indigenous methods of coping withdisaster to CDMP of the government at selected areas in
Bangladesh.
Materials and Methods
Sixteen Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were conductedwith 16 sample Union Parishads (UPs) at respective UP
Complexes. Out of 16 sample Unions, 10 were fromnatural disaster prone coastal districts and the rest 6 werefrom non-coastal districts. There were a total of 194
participants in the 16 FGDs. There were maximum 14 andminimum 8 participants in the FGDs. FGD participants
were UP Chairmen, UP Members and UP Secretaries. The
sample Unions were selected purposively from natural
disaster prone coastal districts and non-coastal districts(Table 1).
Observations and Analysis:
Frequent natural disaster caused loss of lives, livelihoods
and living conditions of disaster prone coastal areas.
Department of Disaster Management (DDM) of thegovernment of Bangladesh has District Disaster
Management Committee (DDMC); Upazila Disaster
Management Committee (UZDMC); Union Disaster
Management Committee (UDMC); and 33,000 Volunteers
covering 30 Upazilas of 11 disaster prone coastal districts.
Yet the role of scattered indigenous measures was founddominant considering quantity, quality and sustainability.
Official disaster management efforts were very muchinadequate considering quantity, quality and sustainability.

Table 1. Study Area and number of FGD participants
No. of FGD
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
-

Date of FGD
17.071218.07.12
24.07.12
23.07.13
01.08.12
02.08.12
09.08.12
08.08.12
05.08.12
05.08.12
29.07.02
29.07.12
16.07.12
15.07.12
22.07.12
22.07.12-

UP Offices of FGD
Char Kolmi
Awazpur
Betagi Shankipur
Dashamina Sadar
Noon Khawa
Hashnabad
MaguraGaragram
nolphaDhangora
Veempur
Uttargram
Dorajhat
Dohakula
Firojpur
Kutubpur-UpazilaChar Fashion
Char Fashion
Dashamina
Dashamina
Nageshwari
Nageshwari
Kishoregonj
Kishoregonj
Raigonj
Raigonj
Mohadevpur
Mohadevpur
Bagharpara
Bagharpara
Meherpur Sadar
Meherpur Sadar-

Results and Discussion
The deadliest cyclone in the history of Bangladesh caused
deaths of 470,000 human being and innumerable cattle &poultry birds in 1970 in the coastal areas of Bhola,Putuakhali and Noakhali districts including six places ofthe sample area of this study. Cyclone also occurred at six
places under this study area in 2012 causing several deathsof human lives and massive deaths of livestock andpoultry. Those cyclones destroyed crops and many housesof the people. Tidal bore occurred at four places of thestudy area in 1988, 1996, 2007 and 2008 which destroyed
crops. Floods in 1996, 1998 and 2012 caused damages ofcrops and houses of people at six places under the study
area (Table 2).

23-Name ofdisaster
CycloneYear of disaster
1970, 2012

Tidal bore
Flood-

No. of FGD participants
10
08
14
12
14
10
13
08
14
14
11
14
14
13
12
13
194

1988, 1996, 2007, 2008
1996, 1988, 2012
Total

4
6
16

Due to the above mentioned disasters, most of the low costhouses were damaged at 100% places; crops weredestroyed severely at 81% places; many cattle and poultry
birds died or lost at 75% places; roads, bridges, culverts
and ferry were affected or destroyed at 63% places; andmany herbs, shrubs and trees were destroyed at 50%
places. Other impacts of disaster were- saline water
submerged crop lands; all fishes washed away from fish
ponds; some people died and injured; people’s living
conditions disrupted; seed beds destroyed severely;
affected electricity supply infrastructure; mango garden
and banana plantation were affected severely; jute andsugarcane cultivation affected severely; school, college
and other educational institutions affected; and diseases
broke out (Table 3).

Table 2. Natural Disasters occurred in the study area
Sl.
No.
1

District
Bhola
Bhola
Patuakhali
Patuakhali
Kurigram
Kurigram
Nilphamari
Nilphamari
Shirajgonj
Shirajgonj
NowgaonNowgaonJessoreJessoreMeherpurMeherpurTotal

No. of placeof disaster6

Table 3. Impact of disaster on living condition and production
Sl. No.
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16

Impacts
Most of the low cost houses were damaged
Crops were destroyed severely
Many cattle and poultry birds died and lost
Roads, bridges, culverts, and ferry were affected or demolished
Many herbs, shrubs and trees were destroyed
All fishes washed away from fish ponds
People died and winded
Electricity supply infrastructure were affected
Diseases broke out
Mango garden and banana plantation were affected severely
Jute and sugarcane cultivation were affected severely
School, college and other educational institutions were affected
Saline water submerged crop lands
People’s living conditions were disrupted
Seed beds were destroyed severely
Betel leaf cultivation was affected severely

As indigenous measures for coping with disaster anddamagesmentioned
above,
peoplethemselvesreconstructed low cost houses by helping each other at

No. of places of incidences
16
13
12
10
08
04
04
04
03
03
03
03
02
02
01
01

%
100
81
75
63
50
25
25
25
19
19
19
19
13
13
6
6

75% places; resumed agriculture by themselves at 50%
places; planted trees at 44% places; resumed cattle andpoultry rearing themselves at 38% places; repaired &134reconstructed roads, bridges and culverts at 31% places
under this study areas through people’s participation.
People’s other indigenous measures for coping withdisaster were resumed fish culture in ponds; removed
water logging to rescue some crops; took loan for housing,
agriculture, fishery and cattle rearing; repaired barrage andcyclone shelter center through people’s participation;

mutually arranged medical treatment for each other;resumed betel leaf, banana and mango cultivation;
provided post disaster food, shelter and some other goods
to affected neighbors temporarily; repaired educational
institutions by people’s participation; and a few people
migrated to other places as daily labor (Table 4).

Table 4. People’s indigenous measures for coping with disaster
Sl. No.
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18

Indigenous measures
Reconstructed low cost houses by helping each other
Resumed agriculture by themselves
Planted trees
Resumed cattle and poultry rearing
Reconstructed and repaired roads, bridges and culverts
Took loan for housing, agriculture, fishery and cattle
Left houses for cyclone shelter centers and stayed there
Resumed fish culture in ponds
Mutually arranged medical treatment for each other
Provided post disaster shelter to affected neighbors temporarily
Provided food and other goods to affected neighbors
Removed water logging to rescue some crops
Repaired barrage by people’s participation
Repaired cyclone shelter center by people’s participation
Resumed betel leaf cultivation
Resumed mango gardening and banana cultivation
Repaired educational institutions by people’s participation
Migrated to other places as daily labor

As measures taken by government organizations, local
government institutions and NGOs for coping withdisaster, food and some other materials were distributed
among the victims as relief at 69% places of the affectedareas. It was followed by distribution of cash money asfinancial grant to the victims at 44% places of the study
areas. Corrugated iron sheets were distributed among theNo. of places of such measures
12
08
07
06
05
04
03
03
02
02
02
01
01
01
01
01
01
01

%
75
50
44
38
31
25
19
19
13
13
13
6
6
6
6
6
6
6

victims at 25% places of the study area as relief forhousing. Such other official supports include distributionof seeds, fertilizers, credit, subsidy, clothing, utensils,
VGD and VGF cards, latrine making materials and handtube wells as relief to the victims at a few places of thestudy area (Table 5).

Table 5. Measures taken by government, local government and NGO for coping with disaster
Sl. No.
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17

Measures
Distributed food and other relief materials
Distributed taka as financial help
Distributed corrugated iron sheet as relief for housing
Interest free agricultural credit distribution
Provided medical treatment and medicine
Distribution of clothing as relief
Given seeds and fertilizer to farmers free of cost
Distributed utensils as relief
Latrine material and Hand Tube Well distribution
Resumed electricity supply
Provided agricultural subsidy
Provided medical treatment to cattle
Implemented rehabilitation measures
Plantation
Construction of barrage and sluice gate
Roads and bridges construction
VGD and VGF card distribution

No. of places of such measures
11
07
04
03
03
03
02
02
02
01
01
01
01
01
01
01
01

Out of 16 sample Unions only five had cyclone shelter
centers. The highest proportion of the respondents (63%)
expressed their need for construction of cyclone shelter at
each ward and house building materials as relief. Victimsof 50% places of the study area demanded construction ofbarrage and sluice gate and re-excavating rivers and canals.
Victims of 44% places demanded financial help as part of

%
69
44
25
19
19
19
13
13
13
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6

rehabilitation. Some other demands of the victims include
training the people on coping with disaster and giving
early signal; disbursing interest free loan to affected
people; supplying emergency food and medical services toaffected people after disaster (Table 6).
Majority of the respondents did not make any comment
about the advantage of cyclone shelter centers. As
135advantages of cyclone shelter center, only 25%
respondents opined that people can take shelter during
disaster, 19% said that cattle and poultry birds may be kept

during disaster, a few others said that cyclone shelter
centers may be used as schools and voting centers during
election (Table 7).

Table 6. Needs of external help for coping with natural disaster
Sl. No.
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18

No. of places proposedsuch measures
10
10
08
07
05
04
03
02
02
02
02
02
01
01
01
01
01
01

63
63
50
44
31
25
19
13
13
13
13
13
6
6
6
6
6
6

No. of places mentioned such advantages
04
03
02
01

%
25
19
13
6

Measures
Constructing cyclone shelter center at each ward
Giving house building materials to affected people as relief
Constructing barrage and sluice gate and excavating rivers and canals
Giving financial help to affected people
Training people on coping with disaster and giving early signal
Disbursing interest free loan to affected people
Supplying emergency food and medical services to affected people after disaster
Employing disaster management workers with honorarium
Distributing adequate quantity of relief to affected to people
Improving road communication infrastructure
Constructing some high land for shelter of people and cattle
Ensuring adequate transport facility during disaster
Compensating crop loss
Giving subsidy to farmers of sugarcane, banana, mango, and betel leaf
Giving seeds and fertilizer free of cost
Distributing seedlings free of cost
Supply of tube well and latrine materials to people
Increasing allocation of resource for coping with disaster%

Table 7. Advantages of cyclone shelter center
Sl. No.
01
02
03
04

Advantages
People can take shelter during disaster
Cattle and poultry birds may be kept during disaster
School can be operated at cyclone shelter center
Cyclone shelter center may be used as Vote Center

Majority of the respondents did not make any comment
about the problems associated with cyclone shelter centers.
A few of them opined that only one cyclone shelter centerper Union can accommodate only 30% people
approximately; number of latrine was inadequate; there
was drinking water shortage due to lack of tube well; lackof electricity connection; no room for keeping cattle andpoultry birds; people had to take shelter at schoolbuildings or other people’s buildings during disaster due tolack of cyclone shelter center; stares of cyclone shelter
centers were not suitable to be used by handicapped andold persons; quality of construction of cyclone shelter
centers was poor; and cyclone shelter centers were notconvenient to the people due to absence of maintenancework of cyclone shelter centers (Table 8).

Table 8. Problems associated with cyclone shelter center
Sl.
No.
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09

Problems associatedNumber of latrine is inadequate
Drinking water shortage due to lack of tube well
Lack of electricity connection
No room for keeping cattle and poultry birds
Only one cyclone shelter center per Union can accommodate only 30% people
People have to take shelter at school buildings or other people’s buildings during
disaster due to lack of cyclone shelter center
Stares of cyclone shelter centers are not suitable to be used by handicapped andold persons
Quality of construction of cyclone shelter centers was poor
Taking shelter at cyclone shelter center is not convenient to people due toabsence of maintenance work of cyclone shelter centers

Frequent natural disaster caused loss of lives, livelihoods
and living conditions of disaster prone coastal areas.
Department of Disaster Management (DDM) of thegovernment of Bangladesh has District Disaster
Management Committee (DDMC); Upazila DisasterNo. of places mentioned
such advantages
02
02
02
02
01
01

13
13
13
13
6
6

01

6

01
01

6
6

%

Management Committee (UZDMC); Union Disaster
Management Committee (UDMC); and 33,000 Volunteers
covering 30 Upazilas of 11 disaster prone coastal districts.
Yet the role of scattered indigenous measures was founddominant considering quantity, quality and sustainability.
136

Official disaster management efforts were very muchinadequate considering quantity, quality and sustainability.
People’s remarkable concern was how to safe their
physical and financial wealth, livestock, poultry birds,
pond fishes and standing crops at field. The rich people
were found to help the poorer neighbors with shelter andfood remarkably during natural disaster. During practical
visits to several cyclone shelter centers, the researcher
observed the limitations of cyclone shelter centers in
respect of site, size, number, quality, water facility,
sanitation, security, cattle shade, multipurpose use,ownership, maintenance and longevity. Caretaking andmaintenance works arrangement for most of the cyclone
shelter centers were found almost absent.
Traditional top down DM approach of only rescue & relief
is still dominant in the study areas. Such supports are
inadequate against the huge demand. Development
oriented sustainable efforts for coping with disaster is still
missing. Integration of local people’s wisdom andindigenous methods with CDMP of the government isbelow the expected level. For coping with natural disaster,
demand for external help is still dominant in people’s
mind set. CBDM approach is not getting adequate
attention by people, government and NGOs.
For establishing CBDM with development dimension,
local people’s wisdom, indigenous methods, local
community organizations and Local Government
Institutions (UP and UZP) may be integrated with the DM
process. As an alternative of constructing traditional low
quality cyclone shelter centers of short longevity,
government’s subsidized multistoried cooperative housing
estates similar to the cooperative housing society in urban
areas of Bangladesh, may be constructed gradually for the
middle class, poor and vulnerable people providing themlong term bank loans at very low interest rate in coastal
areas supported by the opportunity of long term loan
repayment schedule at monthly thrift installments(Dasgupta, et al., 2011). Earthen platforms (matir killa)
may be made for pre-disaster and during disaster shelter ofthe poultry birds and cattle of people in the similar way
adjacent to the recommended cooperative housing. A law
may be enacted so that the rich of the coastal areas becomebound to construct own multistoried houses for themselves
and as shelters for some neighbors during disaster. If
necessary the government may provide the rich with low
cost bank loans. International and national development
partners may support the recommended cooperative
housing programs for the poor and middle class people.
Acknowledgement: The author hereby acknowledges thecordial cooperation of 16 sample Union Parishads inorganizing 16 FGDs and to Research Investigators,
Supervisors and Tabulators of Bangladesh Academy for
Rural Development (BARD), Comilla for their respective
supports in conducting this study.
References
Dasgupta, Susmita, Mainul Huq, Zahirul Huq Khan, Manjur
Murshed Zahid Ahmed, Nandan Mukherjee, Malik Fida
Khan and Kiran Pandey (2011), Cyclones in a Changing
Climate:
The
Case
of
Bangladesh(https://www.gwu.edu/~iiep/adaptation/docs/Dasgupta,%20
Cyclones%20in%20a%20Changing%20ClimateThe%20Case%20of%20Bangladesh%20(updated).pdf) (accessed 31 Oct. 2014).
Government of Bangladesh, 2003. Comprehensive Disaster
Management Programme (CDMP), Ministry of Food andDisaster Management, Dhaka.
Alimullah, M.M. 2005. Cyclone Disaster Mitigation in
Bangladeshhttp://www.fao.org/forestry/112853611be0ad43d80eefb3de4a8ee2e1fd0.pdf) (accessed 31 Oct. 2014).
Yokohama Strategy and Plan of Action for a Safer World, 1994.
World Conference on Natural Disaster Reduction,(www.ifrc.org/Docs/idrl/I248EN.pdf( (accessed 31 Oct.
2014.
Annonymous, 2011. A Comparative study on disastermanagement of Bangladesh and Japan especially in theareas of flood, cyclone and earthquake and techniques ofcommunity mobilization to create awareness throughdisaster education in Japan. www.adrc.asia/aboutus/vrdata/
finalreport/khan2011_fr.pdf (accessed 31 Oct. 2014).

137

J. Agrofor. Environ. 11 (1 & 2): 139-142, 2017

ISSN 1995-6983

Swidden farming in rain-green forests of mainland Southeast Asia
Takeda Shinya
Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
Email: takeda@asafas.kyoto-u.ac.jp
Abstract: In terms of the period of crop planting and fallowing, three types of swidden farming have been noted- (1) short-term
cultivation with long-term fallow, (2) short-term cultivation with short-term fallow, and (3) long-term cultivation followed by migration
and abandonment. The first category is the most common type of swidden farming in the continental areas of Southeast Asia, in which
upland rice is cropped for one year followed by fallowing the field for nearly ten years. Since upland rice seed is sown by maintaining acertain distance between the seeds using dibbling sticks, the surface of the soil is not disturbed. Further, the secondary forest is fully
restored during the fallow period thanks to pioneer tree species and the regeneration of stumps through the sprouting of new branches.
The second category is the early stage of the paddy field cultivation process or complementary swidden farming. Many of these fallow
fields are bamboo forests. The third category is the swidden farming of the Mong, who live in the montane forest above 1,000m altitude.
As commonly observed in Myanmar, Thailand and Laos, swidden farming in the monsoon zone ends with a single year of cropping.
Here swidden farming in the rain-green forest of Karen village in the Bago Mountains and a Khmu village in northern Laos is reviewed.
Key words: Swidden farming, rain-green forests, Southeast Asia, short-term cultivation, long-term fallow.

Rain green forest and Laurel forest
The greater part of continental Southeast Asia has amonsoon climate with a distinct dry season, and there is awide distribution of monsoon forest, also known as“tropical seasonal forest.” Compared with tropicalrainforest, tree heights are lower, the layered structure issimpler, and leaves fall in the dry season, though only fora short period of time. Tropical seasonal forests areclassified into three types according to the degree ofdryness; (1) evergreen seasonal forest, (2) semi-deciduous
seasonal forest, and (3) deciduous seasonal forest. There
are no gigantic trees in an evergreen seasonal forest. Sometall trees lose their leaves in the semi-deciduous seasonal
forest, as do almost all trees in deciduous seasonal forest.
If the area is drier than this it becomes savanna. Asidefrom such seasonality in rainfall determined by latitude,
there are also changes in rainfall that depend on altitude.
High altitude areas have montane rainfall. Such an area
develops a so-called “moss forest,” i.e., an evergreen
montane forest composed of oak and laurel trees ofFagaceae and Lauraceae. These trees are covered by moss.
In the continental areas of Southeast Asia, the evergreen
forest in upstream mountain land connects with laurel
forests, while the evergreen forest in downstream lowland
areas connects with tropical rain forests. Between themspread the monsoon forests, where leaves fall during thedry season and the scenery turns green all at once with thearrival of the rainy season. In May, the southwest
monsoon brings rain from the Indian Ocean, which very
rapidly turns the landscape in these areas to green.
Because of the vivid impression this change creates on
people, monsoon forest is also called “rain-green forest”.
The “Thai cultural sphere” spreads from this monsoon
forest zone to the laurel forest zone. This cultural sphere
extends to six countries-Vietnam, Laos, Thailand,
Myanmar, India, and China straddling the great rivers thatflow down from the Tibetan Plateau; the Mekong, theSalween, and the Brahmaputra, as well as their watersheds.
In this region, the altitude of approximately 1,000m
divides the landscape like a borderline, with mixed
deciduous forest and dry dipterocarp forest spreading in
the lower part, and evergreen montane forest in the upper

part. The domain of the Thai cultural sphere overlaps withthe transitional zone of rain-green forests and laurel forests.
In the continental areas of Southeast Asia, the mostcommon type of swidden farming has been the one-year
crop of upland rice in the rain-green forest zone. On theother hand, various types of crop rotation methods areobserved in swidden farming performed in the laurel forest
zone. Although the relations between the ethnic groups
and their livelihood activities or their ways of making useof the environment are not fixed in any way, let us take alook at the general picture as it has been in the northernpart of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos up to now.
In Laos, people are classified into three categories; Lao
Sung (highland Lao), Lao Theung (midland Lao), and Lao
Lum (lowland Lao). Although the actual habitation areas
are intricately interwoven, simply stated, the highland Laosustain their livelihoods by swidden farming (poppy
farming in the past) in the evergreen montane forest zone,
the hillside Lao by swidden cultivation of upland rice andthe gathering of forest products in the mixed deciduous
forest zone, and the lowland Lao by lowland ricecultivation in paddy fields in the flatlands.
As in Laos, the separation of mountain dweller habitation
primarily by altitude was also clearly observed in northern
Thailand until the 1960s. There have been different typesof swidden farming, including the poppy fields of theMong in evergreen montane forest, the swidden farming of
the Karen, ranging from evergreen montane forest to
mixed deciduous forest, and complementary swidden
farming by lowland Thais. In terms of the period of crop
planting and fallowing, three types of swidden farming
have been noted; (1) short-term cultivation with long-term
fallow, (2) short-term cultivation with short-term fallow,
and (3) long-term cultivation followed by migration andabandonment.
The first category is the most common type of swidden
farming in the continental areas of Southeast Asia, inwhich upland rice is cropped for one year followed by
fallowing the field for nearly ten years. Since upland riceseed is sown by maintaining a certain distance between theseeds using dibbling sticks, the surface of the soil is not
disturbed. Further, the secondary forest is fully restored
during the fallow period thanks to pioneer tree species andthe regeneration of stumps through the sprouting of new
branches. The second category is the early stage of the
paddy field cultivation process or complementary swidden
farming. Many of these fallow fields are bamboo forests.
The third category is the swidden farming of the Mong,
who live in the montane forest above 1,000m altitude.
Until recent years, the Mong grew poppies (Papaver
somniferum) and maize for a long period in one place,followed by abandonment and the clearing of new
swiddens elsewhere. The Mong, who are highland
dwellers, lived on maize originating from the newcontinent, and cultivating poppies. It would be reasonable
to consider that this type of long-term cultivation is atechnique of permanent cultivation originally introduced
from China.
There are three types of agriculture in the mountain areasof northern Myanmar; monsoon taungya, grasslandtaungya, and irrigated hill terraces. A monsoon taungya iscultivated for one year only, and then fallowed for 12 to
15 years. In a grassland taungya, after practicing a crop
rotation of maize, buckwheat, millet, wheat and barley, theland becomes grassland fallow.
Leach has described this as follows; ‘When taungya andhill terraces are both cultivated by the same community, as
is often the case, the people concerned seem usually toregard taungya cultivation as the more rewarding. On theother hand, since terraces can be cultivated year after yearwith little or no fallow period, relatively dense local
aggregates of population are possible. Hill terraces arethus usually found associated with unusually large
communities on permanent sites. The real advantage ofhill terrace systems seems to be military and politicalrather than economic.’ (Leach 1954) This is a notable
point in the comparison of swidden fields and paddy fields,
and in my opinion is a viewpoint that leads to the notion ofagriculturalintensification
which
arguesthat
intensification is achieved at the cost of labor productivity.
As commonly observed in above-mentioned northernareas of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos, swidden farming in
the monsoon zone ends with a single year of cropping. All
activities, including site selection, clearing, burning,
sowing, weeding, control of agricultural damage by wild
animals, and harvest are performed in one year. These
peoples have repeated the process of “select, cut, burn,sow, raise, protect and reap” year after year, with thearrival of the dry and rainy seasons.

farming because these places are relatively flat and the soil
is clayish.
When they find a place that seems suitable, they take ahandful of soil back to their house, put it under their
pillow and sleep. If they have a good dream, the place issatisfactory, and if they see a bad sign in a dream, they
will seek another candidate site.
“Evil spirit, please go away. We are going to work in thisplace for food, to support my wife and children. May nomischief happen here. We will work to the last.” These are
the Karen words offered at the ritual of Ta mawa hku.
Cut and clearing: In December, the mountain area
becomes much colder. The large leaves of teak trees
become wet with the night dew, which drops like rain. The
drops hit the parched leaves on the forest floor making a
thudding sound. Clearing begins in the cold season,around mid-January. Clearing is a man’s work. The men
cut trees starting from the lower part of the slope, using awoodman’s hatchet. Chataung-wa bamboo (Bambusa
polymorpha) and Tin-wa bamboo (Cephalostachyum
pergracile) are clumping bamboos whose multiple culms
from sypodial rhizome stand as if bundled together. The
Karen people cut them from the outside. They cut big trees
at about two meters above the ground, not at ground level.
They prop the cut bamboo stems against the tree like aladder and cut the tree using the bamboo to stand on.
A newly-cleared swidden field will be left as it is to dry.
Daytime temperatures become hotter after the Chinese
New Year in February, and the hot season arrives inMarch. Generally in February the Karen make firebreaksof three meters in width around cleared fields in order toprevent the forest fires from invading the field. The people
sweep away fallen leaves and sticks so that the forest firecannot spread to the field from outside.
Burning of slush: The hottest season in the year is aroundthe time of the Water Festival in April. The fields areburned at this time of the year. Burning starts from around
1 p.m., the hottest time of the day. The result of theburning greatly affects the crop. Two or three days after
the burning, the people gather the residual woods andconduct a second burn, and then begin to build atemporary field hut in the field.
Seed sowing: In May, a southwest monsoon wind brings
rain and the parched land turns to green all at once. This is
the period of the year when you can get a real sense of themeaning of the name “rain-green forest.” With the arrivalof the rainy season, the Karen strike holes in the soil witha dibbling stick and drop seeds into the holes. The dibbling
stick is made of bamboo and has holes bored in it so that it
makes a popping sound when the people strike the groundwith it. It is a digging stick with a clapper.
The Karen raise three varieties of upland rice; nonglutinous early maturing variety, non-glutinous latematuring variety and glutinous medium maturing variety.
Other than sesame, chili pepper and cotton, their main
cash crops, they also grow millet, sorghum, maize, Job’s
tears, sugarcane, common beans, pigeon peas, cassava,konjac, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, eggplants, okra,
tomatoes, Indigofera spp., hibiscus, tobacco, bananas, aswell as flowering plants such as feather cockscomb(Celosia argentea) for ornamental and ceremonial use.

Karen swidden farming in the Bago mountains
In the Bago Mountains, located between Mandalay andYangon in Myanmar, the Karen people practice swidden
farming in mixed deciduous forests. Let us take a look at
the content of their activities.
Site selection: When the dry season comes, a field isselected for burning. They do not perform swidden
farming within one kilometer of the area surrounding thevillage since this area contains water conservation forest
and areas for collecting fuel wood. The people choose a“cold” area with black soil, avoiding ridges because thesoil there is “hot.” The people say places where Thai-wa
bamboo ( Bambusa tulda ) grows are suitable for swidden

140

Raise weeding: Rains not only raise crops, but also growthick weeds. Weeding begins just after sowing, and is
carried out three times up to the end of September.
Weeding is a hard work.
Protect agricultural damage caused by wild animals:
The Karen make a fence around the swidden field bySeptember to prevent wild boars that eat upland rice andbarking deer that eat chili peppers from entering the field.
The swidden fields are surrounded with the bark of the
Shaw-ni (Sterculia villosa).
Clappers are used to scare deer away. The rope for theclapper is also made from Shaw-ni (Sterculia villosa, S.
versicolor).
Harvesting: The harvest of the early maturing rice begins
in November, and the harvest of the late maturing rice iscompleted in December. The grain is threshed at the field
hut and stored in a rice granary. Feather cockscomb
flowers bloom in the swidden fields around the time of therice harvest, turning them into flower gardens.
Fallowing: Shortly after the fallow period has started,
Chromolaena odoratum and Thysanolaena maxima begin
to grow. The fallow land is covered by these grass in thefirst one or two years. Following these grass, bamboo
species recover. Species such as Chataung-wa bamboo andThai-wa bamboo are usually seen in fallow land. When
you walk around in this kind of bamboo forest, all aroundthe area you will see small piles of soil made by digging
the surface. These are the work of the lesser bamboo rat(Cannomys badius), called bwi in Karen and pwi in
Burmese. The soil they have dug out to make their nestingholes is piled up by the entrances. The lesser bamboo rat
digs underground tunnels from the entrance and scrapes
out soil at regular intervals. In this way, they breed in thenest holes in the ground, eating bamboo roots and bamboo
shoots. There are also traces of digging by wild boars on
the ground. The ground in the fallow areas, especiallythose of young fallows, looks as if it has been cultivated.
The cultivation power of animals plays a significant role in
the recovery of fertility in fallow land. Unlike the Japaneseword shinkan (“the hushed silence of the forest”), fallow
forest is in fact quite a lively world where animals are very
active.
Regeneration of new branches begins from the pollards oftrees such as Xylia xylocarpa (Burmese iron wood) whichwere cut well above the ground when clearing the field.
The height of these trees exceeds that of bamboo after
about ten years have passed after cutting. The biomass oftrees recovers to a level roughly the same as that ofbamboo. The secondary forest, where bamboo and trees
are mixed in this way, is a suitable area for swidden
farming because clearing is easy and the biomass burns
well.
The transition of the vegetation that covers the land after
swidden farming, from grass, to bamboo and then to trees,is the process of secondary succession. Swidden farming
involves the troublesome work of weeding. Swidden fields
require weeding at least three times in the first year. In thesecond year, as much as three times the amount of weeds
will grow compared to first year. It therefore saves trouble
and is more rational to allow secondary succession
proceed and wait for the weeds to be defeated by the

bamboo and trees covering the ground and darkening theforest floor instead of fighting a losing battle against weed
infestation.
Khmu swidden farming of the northern Laos
The Khmu people produce upland rice in swidden fields
below an altitude of around 1,000m. After a single crop in
the first year, the field is fallowed for six or more years.
They produce upland rice for self-consumption and earn
cash by producing and gathering forest products.
In the swidden fields of the Khmu people of northern Laos,
Siam benzoin (Styrax tonkinensis), a pioneer species, isthe dominant species in fallow forests. Khmu people
collect benzoin resin in the seventh and eighth year of
fallowing, following which they clear the forest and carryout swidden farming in the ninth year.
Siam benzoin, a tree found in the mountain areas ofnorthwestern Vietnam and northern Laos, provides
benzoin resin, a raw material for perfumes and medicine.
In particular, northern Laos has been known as a
production area of Siamese benzoin since old times. Siambenzoin is a fast-growing, indigenous species and becomes
the dominant species especially in a fallow forest after
swidden farming. Benzoin resin has been produced infallow land after swidden fields have been used to produce
rice.
Here I would like to present the case of a village inLouang Phabang Province in northern Laos. Many of thesecondary forests surrounding the village are fallow
swidden fields consisting of Siam benzoin trees. The
people clear the fields to be burned from the end of
December to February, and burn the fields from the end of
March to April. This burning breaks the dormancy of Siambenzoin seeds that have fallen to the ground during theprevious autumn. When May comes, bringing the rain, thepeople sow upland rice seeds keeping a certain space
between them. They also grow cassava, sesame, chili
pepper, Job’s tears, rattan, feather cockscomb and otherplants in the swidden fields. At the time when the upland
rice grows to around 30cm, Siam benzoin seedlings ofabout 5cm in height can be observed almost everywherearound the swidden field. Weeding is carried out threetimes. At the same time, the people carefully keep theseedlings. By the time the upland rice is harvested, theSiam benzoins have grown to about head height. The
extraction of benzoin resin is conducted in the seventh andeighth years. The field is then cleared and swidden
farming is carried out again in the ninth year.
Burning of the field facilitates germination, and Siambenzoins will grow as a pioneer species in fallow fields.
They are felled after their resin is collected, and a newcycle of swidden farming begins. Here the combination ofSiam benzoins and swidden farming is advantageous for
two reasons; (1) the characteristics of the trees as a pioneer
species, i.e., Siam benzoins are light demanding species,
and their germination is facilitated by burning, and (2)regeneration is required because the resin can be extracted
only for two years.
In northern Laos, cardamom and rattan as well as benzoin
resin are gathered in the fallow lands after swidden
farming. Lac and eaglewood are also produced on fallow
141

lands. The fields greatly contribute to the livelihood ofswidden farmers as a “productive fallow.”Strength of Water and FireIn the rainy season, green paddy fields can be seen inintermount basins. The rainy season from May until
around October is the season for farm work. From
November until around April is the dry season when thepeople carry out the clearing and burning of swidden fields.
In the continental areas of Southeast Asia, paddy farming
and swidden farming have been practiced to the rhythm of
the monsoon climate in which rainy and dry seasons arerepeated alternately. The “Thais,” who cultivate paddy
fields, may sometimes perform complementary swidden
farming in side valleys and the areas between mountainfoothills and arable flat land. On the other hand, mountaindwellers sometimes cultivate paddy fields. In this sense,“Thais” and mountain dwellers form a continuum.
The Chinese character “畑” is a kanji unique to Japan,
composed of “火” (fire) and “田” (field). W hile a paddy
field (suiden, “水田 ”) is called ata (“田”), an upland field ismade by burning away the vegetation on the ground and iscalled a hatake (“畑”). It is said that in ancient China, an
area of land burned in order to carry out hunting by
surrounding an area of forest was called “火田 ,” which
later came to mean a swidden field.
In order to create the conditions necessary for crops togrow, people change the environment by borrowing thestrength of water in paddy fields, or fire in upland fields.
In swidden farming, before cultivating upland rice, peopleburn the field to restore the conditions to those of an earlystage of succession. During the fallow period, the recoveryof secondary forest is left to the natural process of
succession. When the forest has recovered, the fields arecleared and burnt again, and upland rice will be grown.
This process of succession, taking ten or more years foreach cycle, has been repeated in swidden farming.
A paddy field maintains the conditions of the early stageof hydrarch succession by inundation. In this way, theconditions of an early stage of succession are restored by
the strength of fire in the case of swidden farming, and bywater in the case of a paddy field.
There are four major types of succession process; (1)xeric succession, (2) hydrarch succession, (3)psammophytic succession and (4) halophytic succession.
Swidden farming falls into the first category, and paddy
cultivation into the second category.
Swidden farming repeats the process of disturbance andsuccession in which forests are burned and then recover on
the land formerly cultivated. Therefore, the forests where
swidden farming is practiced are, unlike the case of
monoculture plantation, not uniform, forming an unevenpatchwork of swidden fields, young fallow land, old
fallow land and deep forests. This uneven patchwork
provides diverse habitats for plants and animals, and thisdiversity has brought about the possibilities for various
products.

Forest Products from Fallow Land

142

People of the continental areas of Southeast Asia havebeen connected with the external world through the tradein forest products. These products have been gathered toport cities located along the rivers.
For example, among the exports of the ancient kingdom of
Lan Xang, particularly important were gold, lac andbenzoin resin. These forest products were transported
across mountain passes carried on the backs of people,
horses and oxen, shipped down rivers to port cities such as
Ayutthaya, and then exported to Europe and beyond fromthe Coromandel Coast on the far side of the Indian Ocean.
The products conserved well, and were therefore able totravel long distances, were easy to transport, and werelucrative. For centuries, people in northern Laos have
lived self-sufficient lives practicing swidden farming,
supplemented by cash income from forest products.
The mountain area of continental Southeast Asia that leads
to Yunnan and Assam is also the origin of tea plants. In
northern Thailand, northern Laos and the Shan State of
Myanmar, people produce chewing tea, known as miangin Thai, and “lahpet” in Myanmarese. The people chew thetea leaves, which are fermented after steaming the raw
leaves. In miang tea gardens, the tea plants are planted
under the tall shade trees of the mountain forest. In thesetea gardens, the gathering of firewood for steaming tea
leaves was combined with grazing forest for the draft oxenused for shipping the chewing tea. Here the grazing inside
the forests has prevented wildfires from invading the fieldareas in the dry season.
Kingdon Ward (1960), who conducted field study in the
Mishmi Hills of Assam, in search of wild species, has
written as follows; ‘Camellia sinensis is a plant of thefoothills, not of the plains. Is it not significant how its
cultivation, even its very existence, seems to cling aroundplaces where the much-travelled Tai race is, or has been or
could have been? The long road of their migrations is stillbordered with tea-bushes. Will anyone claim that this iscoincidence?’ Almost all of these tea gardens aredeveloped in former swidden fields. We can consider thatthe planting of tea and eaglewood imitates the last stage of
secondary succession. The Thai cultural sphere, spreadingfrom rain-green forests to the laurel forest zone, is a world
where mountain ranges are decorated with a patchwork of
disturbances and successions of swidden fields that
produce various forest products.
Note: This paper is a revised version of Takeda, S. (2011)
Swidden Farming and Monsoon Forests of Mainland
Southeast Asia: A Patchwork of Disturbance andSuccession. Journal of Agroforestry and Environment 5.
Acknowledgements: This research was financially
supported by Grants-in-Aid of the Ministry of Education,
Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (21255003) andthe Environment Research and Technology Development
Fund (E1002) of the Ministry of the Environment, Japan.

References
Leach, E.R. 1954. Political Systems of Highland Burma: A studyof Kachin social structure, G. Bell and Sons, London.
Kingdon-Ward, F. 1960. Pilgrimage for Plants, George C. Harrap
and Co. Ltd, 1960, London.

J. Agrofor. Environ. 11 (1 & 2): 143-147, 2017

ISSN 1995-6983

Internal labour migration study in the dry zone, Shan state and the southeast of Myanmar
Amina Maharjan and Theingi Myint1
International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Kathmandu, Nepal, 1Department of Agricultural Economics,
Yezin Agricultural University, Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar
Abstract: This study focuses on internal labor migration and its impact on livelihood, socio-political atmosphere in the dry zone, Shanstate and the Southeast of Myanmer. Internal labor migration is an important livelihood strategy amongst the rural populations toincrease their income and livelihood security. The major reason for internal migration is the lack of year-round and sufficient income
opportunities in the destination locaitions. Moreover, the wage difference, the lack of availability of off-farm work and seasonallity ofagriculture sactor are the cause of internal migration. Among the internal migration stream, intra-state migration is very high in Shan andMon state. In the dry zone both intra- and inter state migration is popular.
Key words: Internal labour migration, dry zone, Shan state, southeast Myanmar.

Introduction
Migration of people for labour is gaining importanceglobally, as the remittances migrants send home to theirfamilies account for a significant share of the overallhousehold income, particularly so for poor households. In
2013, a total of 232 million people migrated from theirplaces of origin globally, a 33% increase from 2000 (UN,2013). The remittances sent home by international migrant
workers from developing countries are estimated to be 404
billion USD in 2013 (World Bank, 2014). Though there isdata available for international migration, statistics andinformation on internal migration is very limited. However,
it is well known that migration within the country is one of
the most common coping strategies adopted by poor
households to stabilize their livelihoods and to adapt toclimate, social, political and economic changes. Internalmigration generally refers to mobility of people from their
origin areas (departure area) to a new place (destinationarea) for work purpose but remaining in-country.
Myanmar is the second largest country in the Southeast
Asia and is rich in natural resources including arable land,
forests, minerals, natural gas, and fresh water and marine
resources. Myanmar’s population is estimated at over 55
million and is largely rural, still reliant on primarily
agrarian economy, contributing about 36 % to the grossdomestic product of the country and accounting for 6070 % employment (http://www.themimu.info/countryoverview. Long-standing conflicts and decades of martial

law and rule have setback the development of this once
prosperous Southeast Asian country. After 30 years, a
population census was carried out in 2014. The little
information gathered through certain surveys (such as
Fertility and Reproductive Health Survey) reveal thatinternal migration in Myanmar is very high and that the
predominant migration pattern is rural-rural rather thanrural-urban (Nyi, 2013).
The study covers different internal migration modalities in
Myanmar, including: (i) Internal labour migration profiles(who migrates, how and where to, sectors of employment,
skills on demand) and patterns (permanent, temporary,seasonal/circular) in selected sample targeted areas, (ii)
Mapping of stake holders per institutions involved in the
migration cycle and legal and institutional frameworks
existing in migration management, and (iii) Major reasonsfor migration and most significant impacts on the
livelihoods of households and communities in the origin
and destination areas.
Materials and Methods
Study sites: The study focuses on selected sample
townships in the Dry Zone, Shan State and Southeast
Myanmar. This is the triangle where HELVETAS iscurrently working and foresees future projects. Somegeneral population features of the States/Region selected
for the study are given in Table1.

Table 1. Some general features of the selected study states/regions
State/Region
MagwayNay Pyi Taw*
Mandalay*Mon
Shan

Population
3,912,711
1,158,367
6,145,588
2,050,282
5,815,384% of total population
7.6
2.3
12
4
11.3

Urban (%)
15.1
32.5
34.8
27.8
24

Population density
206
164
87
167
38

Household size
4.4
4.1
4.1
4.6
4.7

Source: DoP, 2014

In each Region/State, 1-2 townships were chosen for thefield visits. In each field site, apart from collecting generalinternal migration data and patterns, some specificinformation was collected from identified sectors where
involvement of internal migrants is high. SelectedStates/Region and townships with relevant labour sector
for the field visit are given in Table 2.
Methodology: In order to first value and secondly
complement existing and planned migration related studies
in Myanmar, a comprehensive desk review andpreliminary exchanges with different development andresearch agents involved with migration were carried out.
This also aimed to help compare and verify findings todate wherever possible. However, there was very limited
number of studies/secondary information available forsuch comparisons. Two days of introductory interviews
helped in forming some general impressions as well as
identifying additional organizations and persons to contact
in the field visit.

Table 2. Study States/Region and townships
State/Region
Mon State
MagwayNay Pyi Taw
Mandalay
Shan State

Townships
Mawlamyine, Mudon,Kyaikmaraw
Magway, Minhla
ZayYarThiRi, Nay Pyi Taw
Mandalay, Patheingyi
Pin Laung

The field visits involved rapid and intensive two-week
expedition to the selected study sites, where a number ofvarious stakeholders were interviewed. These included
migrants in origin and destination areas, including
migrants’ families in origin areas, labour agents (whofacilitate migration process), township officials, andprivate sector employing migrants, farmers, civil society
and other key informants. As there was no quantitative
data collection and as the study is based on the “expert
opinion”, the findings of the study are of qualitative value;
including several case studies. However, in order to ensure
consistency of the findings, same information wascollected by interviewing different stakeholders involvedin a given sector. Interaction with various stakeholders
was facilitated by one-to-one interview, discussion insmall groups of varied stakeholders, or focus group
discussion with the groups of migrant labourers. The study
team is aware of several quantitative studies with direct orindirect information on internal migration being plannedby organizations such as World Bank, ILO migration
mapping, ILO labour force survey etc. These planned
surveys may fill existing gaps in the data on migration in
Myanmar. It is hoped that the present report will be usefulto planned research to provide preliminary ideas oninternal migration patterns and impacts.

Sectors
Rubber plantation, fisheries
Oil seeds
Restaurant, construction & farm households
Paddy, dairy, off farm work
Tea plantation
opportunity to further skills development and better careerprospects. The most households in Patheingyi Township in
Mandalay region, with huge land holdings are employed insalaried jobs in Mandalay city, thus creating demand for
migrant labour for their paddy fields.
During the field visits, various other reasons for migration
were noted. Development interventions and infrastructure
construction has also resulted in migration, which could be
both internal and international. For example, in Gokye
village, Saytoketaya township, Magway region, due toconstruction of a dam, the entire village had to be
relocated. As a direct result of this relocation, 70 persons
from the village of 87 households migrated to Thailand
and many more migrated internally.
Gender in migration: In internal migration, both men andwomen migrate, while international migration is mostly
male dominated. Most internal seasonal male migrants areeither single or, when married, the distance to the origin
village is not very huge, so that they can regularly visit
home. Similarly, most female seasonal migrants are single
and migrate to nearby areas or as dependent of the spouseor family members. The sector of work has a clear genderdivision with women being higher demanded in tea
plantations and other agriculture work, garment factories
and as domestic help; whereas men are much preferred inrubber plantations (as tappers), mines, and the construction
sector. The pay in these sectors certainly differs, but it is
not clear if there is gender discrimination in the payment.
Findings by study areas and sectors
Southeast (Mon State): In Mon State, most internalseasonal migrants were from within Mon State, while
migrants from outside are mostly year-round temporary(with or without family) in nature. Most of the migrants inthe study sites had temporary settlements – Mawlamyine(65%), Mudon (70%) and Kyaikmaraw (73%). The
migration pattern depends on the sector which, in turn,depends on the origin of the migrant workers. Whilemigrants from the Delta region are mostly involved infisheries and rubber plantation, migrants from the Dry
Zone are involved in construction work, brick factory, andto some extent on rubber plantation. Some migrants havealso found work in various factories in the area such as
water purification plants, chilli factory, tyre factory etc.
Work in brick factories is seasonal in nature, lasting for 4
months from November to February. Work in construction,
factories, rubber plantations is more permanent in nature.
However, even migrant workers in brick factories might
not necessarily be seasonal as they might stay in the areaand find work elsewhere during the off-season – road
construction, paddy fields etc. High demand is reported offemale migrant workers from the Delta region in the
Karaoke Bars, popularly known as “KTV”.The wages invarious sectors in Mon state were more attractive than in

Results and Discussion
Reasons and Gender of Migration
Reasons for migration: The most commonly cited reason
for migration is income generation, mostly throughemployment – year-round employment opportunity, better
paying employment opportunity, and employment withpossibility of gaining additional skills. From the Dry Zone,
most migrants reported lack of sufficient employment in
the local community as the major reason for migration.
Landless/near-landless households find it easier andpreferable to migrate with their entire family or leaving
just 1-2 members behind to look after the farm andlivestock back home. Such migrants are mostly temporary
or permanent, depending on opportunities and family. For
them, migration is a livelihood and survival strategy to
reduce the number of mouths to be fed. Households withsome land holding are mostly involved in seasonal labour
migration with only 1-2 members working in thedestination, while the remaining household members stayback. Depending on the labour needs on the family farm,these migrants also usually visit their native village during
the peak season.
Still a slightly better-off rural families with access to more
and secured land are involved in internal migration to nonfarm better paid formal sectors such as working in theprivate sector, public jobs, non-government organizations
etc. Migration is no more a survival strategy, but an144

other regions for labour. A major constraint is to retain the
migrant labour in rubber farm. In rubber sector, with thefluctuating prices of rubber, migrant labours are losing
attraction to work in the sector. In addition, the seasonalityof the rubber tapping limits the earning potential of
migrant workers in this sector. Thus, removing these twobarriers would be important to overcome the labour
shortage problem faced by the rubber sector as well as toimprove the livelihoods of the rubber sector migrant
workers.
Fish sector also attracts a lot of migrant labour but mostly
from the Delta region, Yangon and Mon State. Migrant
workers from Yangon and Mon state work in Northern
Mon state (e.g. Paungtownship), however, those from the
Delta region work in Southern Mon (e.g. Ye Township).
This is because of the similarity in fishing technologies
used at the origin and destination for the migrant labourers,
thus making work more familiar. Kyaikto Township is amajor source area for migrant workers in the fishery sector.
Since decreasing fish catches in the last 8 years, fishing iscontinued throughout the year, including the rainy season.
Therefore, most migrants come with family and arepermanent or long-term settlers. However, some of the
Mon State internal migrants are individual migrants with
their families remaining back home.
Shan State: Shan State attracts a lot of migrants from the
Dry Zone to work in mines, tea plantations, sugarcane
farms, etc. Labour force from Shan State itself is attracted
to international migration to China, Thailand and Malaysia.
This also creates an additional demand for migrant labour
to replace the lost labour in the various on- and off-farm
sectors in Shan State. As the Shan language is very similar
to the Thai language, Thailand is a preferred destination
for migrants from South and East Shan. It is reported that
half of the youth population from Pin LaungTownship inSouth Shan has migrated to Thailand to work inconstruction, factories, and – for females – as domestic
workers. On the other hand, due to closer geographicalproximity and high demand and wages in China, labour
from North Shan migrates in large numbers to China. It isreported that about 60 persons of the age group of 18-30
years leave daily from Namhsan Township to work in
China; similar trend are also reported in Mongton
Township.
Hence, Shan State is both a destination and transit place
for the migrants from the Dry Zone. Dry Zone migrants
find work in the tea and sugarcane plantations but theyalso use it as a transit point for migrating to China andThailand. Most migration from Shan State is either intraState or international/cross-border. Intra-State migration ismade from one village to another to work as seasonallabour migrants or to the urban centres. Seasonal
migration to neighbouring villages to work in tea and othercrops is reported in the townships of Pin Luang, Pindaya,
and Pangwuar. Migration to urban and peri-urban centersis reported in all townships.
Dry Zone (Magway and Mandalay regions): The
preferred destination areas for internal labour migrants
from the Dry Zone are: (i) Yangon, Nay Pyi Taw andMandalay, for work in industrial zones, tea shops,
restaurants, construction and petty trading, (ii) Shan Stateand Southeast to work in tea, sugarcane and rubber
plantations, mines; (iii) North Kachin State for work ingold and jade mines, (iv) central Dry Zone for crude oil.
While work in the agriculture sector and crude oil
extraction is seasonal in nature. Seasonal migration is highin the case of intra-State/region migration, whereas interregion migration in the Dry Zone is more temporary innature.
In Magway region, crude oil extraction attracts many
internal migrants from the region and from neighbouring
townships in Mandalay region. MinhlaTownship, a studysite famous for crude oil extraction, attracts seasonal
migrants from both Magway and Mandalay. Work isseasonal in nature from January to April. Workers returnhome during off-season to work in their farms. Most
migrants are males of 18-50 years of age.
There is also an increase in international migration to
China, Thailand, Malaysia, though it is still much lower
compared to the Southeast or Shan State. However, sometownships report very high international migration(Kyaupadaung, Natogyi in Mandalay region), while others
have less (Patheingyi, Tada U in Mandalay region).
Stakeholder mapping and legal and institutionalframeworks migration in Myanmar
Stakeholders and migration organization:
Informal: social networks: Internal migration is mostly
organized relying on social networks and traditional
trade/labour routes. With the traditional routes proving tobe less attractive, there is more dependence on social
networks in deciding when and where to move and infinding jobs. Social networkscan be family, relatives,
friends, neighbors – the services of whom are mostly freeof cost.
Formal:labour brokers: However, there are also cases
where persons arranging the migration of labourers fromorigin to destination areas – also called labour
brokers/agents – are paid either in cash or in kind. An
example of such an internal seasonal labour migration
arrangement between PathiengyiTownship and Tada U
Township in Mandalay region was found.
Other stakeholders: There are very few organization,
both government and non-government, working on
internal migration management. Most organizations andactivities focusing on internal migration are involved with
Internally Displaced People (IDPs), but little on labour
migrants.
Legal and institutional framework for migration in
Myanmar: There is no specific legal or institutionalframework yet to regulate/manage internal migration in
Myanmar. However, other legal and institutionalframeworks have some influence on internal migration.
Permanent migrants also find it much easier to find workand settle in destination locations, if they are registeredwith the local authorities. During discussion withinternational organizations in Yangon, it was reported that
there are incidences of human trafficking in internalmigration as well; however during interview with various
stakeholders this could not be verified.
The Department of Population, Ministry of Immigration
and Population, is the apex body in migration management.
As an initiative to integrate more closely with the other145

ASEAN economies, steps have been taken up to address
migration of labour force within these countries. Myanmar
and Thailand have signed a MoU to promote more
documented migration in order to protect the rights ofMyanmar migrant workers in the Thailand. Manyinternational organizations such as IOM, ILO, World Bank,World Vision International etc. and many donors are
involved in migration management in Myanmar,
particularly in anti-trafficking programs, health programs
etc.
Impact on livelihood of households and communities
As migration is a livelihood strategy adopted by thehouseholds to improve their overall socio-economic
situation, it in turn impacts all aspects of the life offamilies and communities.
Economic assets: As lack of year-round and sufficient
livelihood opportunities is the major reason for people tomigrate for work purpose, migration has positive impacts
on the household economic situation. However, the extent
of this improvement depends on the type of migration,
skills and the sector of employment. Not all migrations are
made for household income maximization but also for risk
diversification. So internal migration has not only
improved household incomes but also reduced the risks
faced by farm households due to extreme weather
conditions or price fluctuations in the farm sector.
Access to income: As construction is not mechanized in
Myanmar, it is highly labour intensive. For many poor
rural migrants, this provides one of the best options of
employment in the urban areas in absence of any off-farmvacation and technical skills. As can be seen from thewages comparison, generally the highest wages are earned
by unskilled migrant workers in construction work. Whilean unskilled worker earns 4000-4500 Kyat per day, amason or carpenter earns 6000 Kyat per day. In the
agriculture sector, wages range between 2000-5000 Kyat
per day. However, 5000 Kyat is earned only for a shortduration in a year and only in few areas. In most cases thewages are 2000-3000 Kyat per day.When the earnings are
low, it is almost exclusively used for household
consumption, which is the case in most seasonal migration
case. However, when migration is temporary in nature andmigrants come from medium income households, somesaving is used for investing in small enterprises in native
villages. Skills learnt in destination locations are alsotransferred to home villages.
Access to labour: Internal migration solves the problem
of un-/under-employment as well as creates labour
shortages. In general, farming, in Myanmar is highly
labour intensive, as there is little mechanization. Thus,
labour migration impacts labour availability which, in turn,impacts wages, agriculture production and crop yields andvalue. As seen in Kyaupadaung Township, the labour
shortage has increased the wages in agriculture work. In
almost all the sites visited, agriculture wages vary between
the lean and peak season, due to the seasonality of labourdemand in this sector. As agriculture is the major
economic sector in rural Myanmar, and the internalmigrants are mostly farmers or landless farm labours, theimpact of internal seasonal labour migration is high inagriculture sector.

Access to land: Access to land is a major factor on thedecision to migrate internally as well as internationally.
And migration, in turn, has an impact on access to land for
migrant households. For the poor with little or no land,internal migration is a survival strategy. The small
incomes from the internal migration are hardly sufficientto actually purchase a piece of land, but it helps in paying
off debts, thus reducing the loss of land to money lenders
in the village. Hence, internal migration does help
indirectly in the access to land situation of certain
vulnerable households. International migration has
sufficient returns to actually lead to the purchase of land at
the origin place or nearby urban centers.
Access to services
Education and skills development: Generally, ininterviews with migrant workers, it is reported that
migration has improved access to education of theirchildren, as against the general belief that internal seasonal
migration hampers education of children. For example,
children of rubber plantation workers are believed to belacking access to schooling. While studying the impact of
migration on education, it is important to do a comparative
situation analysis not only between the migrant and nonmigrant population, and but also the situation of migrants
in their origin and destination locations.
Access to health: It is generally believed that migration
exposes the migrant population to high risks of diseases
such as malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, etc. due tomobility and work environment. For example, work inforests and plantations are considered high risk
occupations for malaria infection (IOM, 2013); thus,
working in mines and rubber would expose migrants tosuch risks. It is particularly so in rubber plantations, as
most work is done during night time. An IOM study(2013) on access to public health by mobile and migrant
population conducted in all the 10 townships in Mon state
indicates that migrants had access to public healthfacilities within 15-30 minutes by car with the costs
between 500-8000 Kyat. During interview with migrant
workers, it was reported that remittances help them tobetter cope with financing medical treatment of ill
household members. So, migration seems also to have apositive impact on the health of their family members.
Social assets
Household/family: Interviews with the migration-relatedhouseholds and migrants reveal that internal migration has
not caused tangible threats in family harmony. As mostly
young men and women migrate and as a household head israrely involved in internal migration, the hierarchy and thedecision-making structure within the family remains
mostly the same.
Society/community: Impact of migration on social
harmony/social hierarchy varies between the destinationand origin location and the type of migration andremittance earned. In Mon State, immigration is reported
to have increased social tension. Migrants are blamed forincrease in crime rates in the area (stealing, robbery); andlocal people generally report feeling unsafe aroundmigrant settlements. This has resulted in some conflicts
between the migrants and local communities, resulting in
fatalities. Such conflicts were reported in Ye, Kyaikmaraw
146

and Thanbyuzayat townships. The armed group together
with villagers had tracked the migrant group and killed
them. Such severe incidences are rare, but many
incidences of migrants taking advance money for the workand then absconding were reported. Even children of
migrant workers are reported to be discriminated in theschool. No such strong negative feelings were expressed in
Shan State.
Gendered impact of migration: As migration is notgender neutral, it is expected that migration would have
impact on the gender situation in source communities.
However, interviews with migrants did not reveal any suchsignificant impacts. Overall, it is agreed that women are
slowly taking a lead in farming but no reports were madeon drastic changes in gender division of labour (changes in
traditional male and female roles in society or farming) or
decision-making as a result of migration. This could be
because, unlike international migration, migrants involved
in internal migration retain much stronger ties with theirfamilies left behind.
Conclusion
Internal migration is an important livelihood strategy
undertaken by smallholder and landless rural populations
to increase their income and employment security andoptions. The major reason for internal migration is the lackof year-round and sufficient income opportunities in thesource locations and the demand for the labour indestination locations. However, there is a gradual trend ininternal migration to progress from seasonal to year roundtemporary migration and permanent migration, andeventually to international migration.
More than wage difference, the lack of availability of offfarm work and seasonality of agriculture sector is the
major cause of internal migration. Among the various
sectors in which internal migrants are found working,construction sector provides higher wages for unskilled
rural population. However, this sector also entails higher
risks of work site accident, which when coupled of lack ofhealth insurance, makes it more riskier option.
Internal migration is generally a survival strategy rather
than wealth accumulation strategy. The earning capacity ismuch higher in international migration compared tointernal migration, when migration is successful. While asuccessful international migration can lead toaccumulation of land, small business, a successful internalmigration is still limited to bridging gaps in consumption
demands of the household members. However, there issome evidence suggesting that even the small savings
from internal migration can be invested in SMEs provided
there are favorable conditions (household members willingand skilled enough to look after the enterprises).
Internal migration takes place based on the existing social
networks. Some of the migration routes are traditionalsuch as from Dry Zone to Shan State to work in the tea
plantations and to the mines in Southeast Myanmar.
However, with the changes in prices of the crops, these
traditional routes are losing its attraction and new routeand sector are emerging such as construction. Among theinternal migration steam, intra-state migration is very highin Shan and Mon state. In the Dry Zone both intra andinter-state migration is popular. Intra-state migration ismore seasonal in nature and inter-state migration
temporary or permanent in nature. One interesting findingis the organization of youth in some source communities
for migration purpose which could also provide a goodbase for development interventions focused on youth.
Acknowledgement: Authors wish to thank HELVETASMYANMAR for financial support of the study. This reportis based on Internal Labour Migration Study in the Dry
Zone, Shan State and the Southeast of Myanmar,
published by HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation in
Myanmar in February 2015. HELVETAS Myanmar is not
responsible for any discrepancies or views expressed. Forthefullreport,pleasevisit:
https://www.myanmar.helvetas.org/en/projects/studies/
References
DoP, 2014. The Population and housing census of
Myanmar, 2014-Summary of the provisional results.
Department of Population, Ministry of Immigration
and Population, Republic of the Union of Myanmar.
IOM (2013). Malaria on the move: Mapping of Population
Migration and Malaria in the South-Eastern Region of
Myanmar, 2012. International Organization ofMigration – Mission in Myanmar.
Nyi, N. 2013. Levels, trends and patterns of internalmigration in Myanmar. Department of Population,
Ministry of Immigration and Population, Republic of
the Union of Myanmar.
World Bank & MDR, 2013. Qualitative Social andEconomic
Monitoring-Roundtworeports.
Commissioned by the Livelihoods and food security
trust fund.

147

J. Agrofor. Environ. 11 (1 & 2): 149-154, 2017

ISSN 1995-6983

Food security and socio-economic impacts of soil salinization in the central dry zone of
Myanmar: a case study
Aung Naing Oo, Kazuo Ando1, Theingi Khaung and Moe Tin Khaing2
Department of Soil and Water Science, Yezin Agricultural University, Myanmar, 1Center for Southeast Asian Studies(CSEAS), Kyoto University, Japan. 2Department of Chemistry, Yadanarbon University, Myanmar,
email: dr.aungnaingoo@yau.edu.mm
Abstract: The study area, HteinKanGyi village in Myittha Township, Mandalay Division is located in the Central Dry Zone (CDZ) of
Myanmar. The central Myanmar is known as Dry Zone because of its physical characteristics such as low annual precipitation, instable
distribution pattern, significant high temperature and low relative humidity. In the study area, more than 700 acres of the land is saltaffected due to the water logging from the result of left main canal system of Kinda Dam. Soil salinity has been one of the mostimportant issues for local farmers who live in this village. Decreasing soil productivity caused by salinization has led to social tension,
unemployment and reducing incomes of all households. This study surveyed the impacts of soil salinity on the crop production and todescribe the food security and social and economic conditions in the HteinKanGyi village, Myittha Township. All respondents havemore or less acreage of salt affected soil. Some people had no cultivated rice fields because of severe affected by salinity, and thereby
families survive mainly as seasonal agricultural laborers. General socio-economic characteristics of the studied village are highpopulation density, low agricultural productivity, low technological base, low producer prices, high costs and diminished margins,
limited access to institutional credit, high degree of indebtedness, large percentage of landlessness, high incidence of seasonal migration,shortage of labor supply on large holdings and limited alternative income sources. This finding could suggest that development extension
agencies should provide farmers with financial and technical assistance to make available salt tolerant rice varieties, knowledge andimproved technologies in order to increase food sufficiency.
Key words: Food security, socio-economic, salinity, dry zone, Myanmar.

Introduction
Soil salinization has become a serious problem all over theworld and around 20% of the world's cultivated land are
affected (Sumner, 2000). In Myanmar, soil salinization
was found in coastal and inland regions. Coastal salinity
was affected by seawater intrusion/ infiltration during
flood resulting salt accumulation in the top soil in thesummer season. It was commonly happened in
Ayeyarwady, Yangon, Yakhaing and Taninthari regions.
Inland salinity is commonly seen in dry zone areas of thecentral Myanmar such as Mandalay, Magway and Sagaing
regions. Among the three regions, salinity areas were
mostly observed in 16 townships of Mandalay region withtotal areas of 6,357 ha in 2013-2014. Meikhtila district has
the largest salt affected area of 3,045 ha followed byMyingyan (1,530 ha) and Kyaukse (1,125 ha)Districts. In
the township level, the largest salt affected areas were
found in Nahtogyi, Myittha and Wuntwin Townships withthe areas of 940 ha, 617 ha and 437 ha, respectively (Sweand Ando, 2017). According to Swe and Ando (2017),
salinity is becoming a prominent abiotic problem declining
rice production in central dry zone where little attention
was paid in the past. They opined that with irrigation forseveral years continuously, alkali/saline soils have beendeveloped in certain areas. The excessive applications ofirrigation water have raised the ground water levelsufficiently to increase concentration of salts throughevaporation. It is related principally to the presence of
sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate in theseparticular areas. Inland salinity or irrigation salinity is due
to over-watering, seepage from irrigation channel,
impaired natural drainage and high water table. From thelow land rice in these salt affected areas, high rate ofevaporation and evapotranspiration of rice crop increase
the capillary transport of water and solutes from thegroundwater to the root zone. When there is a condition ofno or negligible leaching of these salts, the soils will beaffected with salinity within a few years. In addition, due
to the poor drainage facilities in the irrigation areas not

only the agricultural lands have suffered but also
agricultural production has suffered from the twin hazardof water logging (hypoxia) and salinity. It has been
happened for more than two decades in HteinKanGyi andthus causing threat to the local farmers’ survival. The
lands which are severely affected by water logging andsalinity have gone out of production as an abandoned field
because it has been caused to the agricultural productionof lands.
In Myanmar, development of agriculture is vital to any
rural development promotion effort. Broad-based andeconomically efficient rural growth can significantly help
to reduce rural poverty and enhance food sufficiency bybringing about sustainable increase in crop productivity
and reducing risks and vulnerability for the poorest
population.
Soil salinity has been accelerated by human activities suchas deforestation, irrigation, salt-making and constructionof roads and reservoirs (Mitsuchi et al., 1986). In
Myanmar, especially in the dry zone, declining soil
productivity caused by saline intrusionhas led to thefarmers in terms of social tension, unemployment andreducing incomes of all social groups. Increasing soil
salinization affects many farmers in the dry zone withsmall land holdings. Soil salinization must be seen as also
a human problem rather than one concerned solely withthe damage of ecosystems. While people are the main
agents for salinization, they are also its victim.
Food security exists when all people, at all times, havephysical and economic access to sufficient, safe andnutritious food that meets their dietary needs and foodpreferences for an active and healthy life (WFS, 1996).
The entire livelihood system of farmers in the central of
Myanmar is farm-based. Farmers continue to make theirliving from manual trade and agricultural production. Rice,ground nut, sesame, lablab bean and pigeonpea are themain crops grown under rainfed conditions by practicing
traditional cultivation system, and rice is the staple crop of
most farm households in the studied area. Due to waterlogging and soil salinization affected by irrigation canal of
Kinda dam, low productivity has brought poverty leading
to the lowest per capita income in the village. Theirdependency on agriculture and lack of knowledge on
management might have caused problems of salinization
which has a severe effect on soil fertility and crop
productivity. Therefore, it requires an examination in orderto get a solution to this problem for a better livelihood of
future generations. However, no research has been
undertaken on an evaluation of the livelihood system insalt-affected areas of this region.Yet rice sufficiency is the
key to survival in Myanmar as rice forms the greatest
portion of daily food consumption for subsistence farmers.
The objectives of this study were (i) to assess theinfluences of soil salinity on the rice production systems,and (ii) to describe the food sufficiency and social andeconomic conditions in the salt-affected areas of
HteinKanGyi village.

the field soon after completing all interview sessions of theday. When the entire data collection process wascompleted, descriptive methods were used in data analysis.
Quantitative data was analyzed by applying descriptive
statistics (mean, percentage, etc.) with the help ofMicrosoft Excel.
Results and Discussion
Village profile: The geographical topography of
Myanmar is divided into three parts such as western hills
region, central valley region and eastern hills region. The
study village, HteinKanGyi, is situated in Myittha
Township, Mandalay, the central valley region and falls inthe dry zone with tropical climate. It is situated 90
kilometers away from Mandalay city and 25 kilometersfrom Myittha Township. This village is located in theareas which are severely affected by water logging andsalinity.
The characteristics of the households in the studied
villages are shown in Table 1. There are 2232 people inthis village and living in 587 households. 43 % of the total
household are farmers and the rest are landless. Most of
farmers have only lowland and a few has both lowland andupland. The total area of the study village is 4000 acreswith the cultivated area of 2875 acre for lowland rice and
700 acre for upland crops. In lowland area, more than 700
acres of the land is salt-affected due to the water logging
from the result of left main canal system of Kinda Dam.
Most farmers grow rice on their salt-affected land whilesome grow green gram, pigeon pea and sesame in upland.
Because of high salinity in this study site, some farmers
abandoned their rice field after the five to six years of thecompletion of Kinda dam according to the group
discussion. Because of the spread of salt-affected areas inthis village, the current productivity of arable land areas isvery limited. Major soil types found in this village are
sandy soil, loamy sand, sandy loam soil.

Materials and Methods
This study aims to understand farmers’ knowledge,
practices and related problems and constraints in the crop
production system and their food security status and socialand economic conditions undersalt-affected areas of
HteinKanGyi village in Myittha Township, Mandalay
Division, Myanmar.
Site selection: A study area was selected in the central dry
zone of Myanmar, representing the tropical climate zone.
This study site was purposely selected because they havedifferent salinity levels. Soil salinization continues toaffect the farmers’ livelihoods. This study was conductedin villages at HteinKanGyi village in Myittha Township,
Mandalay Division, Myanmar from October to December,
2016.
Research tools: Research methods used in this study
include a small questionnaire, semi-structured interviews,
and direct observation. The small questionnaire was usedin collecting quantitative data. Semi-structured interviews
were used in collecting qualitative data and separate
guidelines for key informants and household informants
were used. This was because holding a well-preparedinterview guide in hand, semi-structured interviews are
more likely to cover all sub-topics of interest, and thereby
reducing the potential risk of missing data. Direct
observations were made in order to validate information
given by informants (IFAD, 2002).
Data collection: The interview and information collection
process was used as follows: (i) key informant interview
and group interview in village level (ii) household level indepth interview and (iii) observations. A simple random
sampling method was applied to select sites and draw a
representative sample of household heads for the study.
The total sample size of households was drawn using
simple random sampling technique, in view of that the
sample of this study consisted of (30) households withfacing salinity problems. The simple size was determinedby Yamane (1967).
Data analysis: Qualitative data was supported bydocuments and materials relating to the topics covered by
the study and the quantitative component of the study.
Field notes were converted into detailed notes each day inTable 1. Characteristics of the study households in
HteinKanGyi, Myittha Township
Characteristics
Total households
No. of agricultural households
Salt-affected households
Sample households
Average age of respondents (year)
Education (%) Primary school
Secondary school
Average household size (person)
Average labors (person)
Average number of dependents(person)Salt-affected area (ac)Abandoned land (ac)HteinKanGyi
587 (2232 populations)
250
70
30
55 (36 ; 72)
60
40
4.1 (2 ; 6)
2.4 (1 ; 5)
1.6 (0 ; 5)722
200

Parentheses show minimum and maximum.

According to group discussion, there is a minimum
temperature range from 10˚C to 20˚C in December,
January and February to a maximum of 43˚C in March,
April and May. The hottest month is May and the coldest
month is January. Temperature gradually rises during the150

period between mid-March to mid-May, which is the premonsoon period, during which low pressure is created.
The average annual humidity is 66 %, butit drops to 42 %in hottest months (April and May), whereas it shoots up to
80 % in wettest months.
Rainfall is also controlled by the monsoon circulation
system. But rainfalls in the dry zone areas are sometimes
come by tropical storms. Precipitation in early monsoon isfavorable for crops in the village, if late, the crop yield is
not certain for that year. All villages are located in semiarid area so the farmers have adapted to climaticconstraints. Based on their traditional knowledge, some
farmers forecast on intensity of rainfall and grow different
cropping patterns. Some farmers record the daily rainfall
and list annually so they can make a decision on selectionof crop variety for that particular year. The farmers fromthe village mentioned that precipitation varies from year toyear, and even though the frequency of rainfall might behigher than normal, the amount of precipitation received
may not be enough for the crops.
Soil salinity and rice production in the studied village:
Swe and Ando (2017) noticed that in central Myanmar
irrigated rice was cultivated since the ancient Myanmar
King era of 11thCentury. Since the capitals of the kingdom
were situated in Upper Myanmar where the climate issemi-arid, the kings constructed irrigation structures, suchas weirs, lakes and canals. King Anawrahta (1044-1077)
constructed seven weirs along the Zawgyi and Panlaungrivers and developed Ledwin - eleven- districts to produce
sufficient rice for his entire kingdom. Since then, the newirrigation works were constructed; maintained, andrenovated by the successive kings, making the irrigatedrice production successful in upper Myanmar. In thosedays, irrigation system was mainly with gravitational flow
and only for the monsoon rice cultivation.
In this study, according to the survey, the total irrigatedarea of Kingda Dam was allocated for 195260 acres which
covers four townships, namely Myittha, Kyaukse, TadaOo, and Wundwin Townships (Irrigation Department,
MOAI). Water from the dam is diverted into two main
canals (Left Canal and Right Canal). The left canal of
Kinda Dam was 78 miles long with total diversion canalsof (DY) 34 in numbers and the flow rate of 1,948 cu.ft/sec.
Total irrigated areas of the left canal of Kinda Dam were65748 ac, while the right canal with 38895 ac (Irrigation
Department, MOAI). Tun et al. (2009) observed that after
three years of Kinda Dam irrigation the salt-affected area
was formed about 41 acres. The water logging area
increased yearly and it reached 722 acres and the related
salt affected area was approximately 2500 acres in 199495.
Rice is the major staple food in Myanmar. All of
respondents from the studied village are farmers, whose
main occupation is the cultivation of rice for household
consumption.There are two varieties of rice grown in thevillage namely Manawthuka in rainfed and Shwemanaw inthe dry season. Due to the salinization, limitation of water
resources, low soil fertility, high cost of capital investment
for land preparation such as sowing, seedling, equipment,chemical fertilizer, pesticide, transportation and high costof labor, the rice productivity is quite low. This situation

has made the farmers face the problem of food insecurity.
The villagers mentioned that the expenses of agricultural
inputs have increased every year, especially fertilizer andpesticide. Farmers mentioned that rice price is not stable,
and in some years the fluctuation is also high.
Rice production practices: According to the group
discussion farmers starts land preparation at the onset ofthe rainy season in this village. Ploughing and harrowing
and leveling are done by cattle. For land preparation, theland is ploughed at least 2-3 times followed by harrowing
and leveling. Urea, compound fertilizers and cattle manure
are commonly used as inputs in their fields. According to
the group discussion, there are two methods of rice
growing; transplanting and broadcasting in the village.
The transplanting method is the most common for the
monsoon season crop. For transplanting method, riceseedling is grown in the nursery for 30 to 35 days
according to the varieties. Then, the rice seedlings aretransplanted into the prepared paddy field. With thebroadcasting system, farmers are unable to solve the weed
infestation problem effectively because weeding totallydepends on the manual control system and the farm laborcharge to get the effective control might amount 30% to
50% of the total production cost which is unaffordable.
Usually, monsoon paddy grows forabout 140 days in thefield, from early-June to November. In the dry season,
farmers grow irrigated rice by the broadcasting system.
Unfortunately, in the summer season of 2016, there was nowater for irrigated rice growing due to low precipitation in2015.
At the harvesting time, the farmers in the village harvested
rice by using a sickle. They reported that the whole rice
plants are harvested by hand and the rice straw are kept for
the fodder of cattle. Threshing is undertaken by a foot
operated thresher by some farmers. However, most
farmers preferred to use mechanized threshers. They
reported that they can reduce the labor input requirements
and it can be used quickly and efficiently. However, some
farmers also reported that there is a lower level of seedviability of seed processed using mechanical threshers
when compared with traditional practices. Most farmers
undertake the storage of their rice grain in a barn for theseed of next growing season. Storage in barn is generally
regarded as being capable of providing easier control ofrodents and other pests.
It was observed that rice yields pre acre of the studied
village for the year 2015 were much lower than those forthe year 2014. This yield decrease for most households
was apparently due to a prolonged drought in 2015.
The main problem with rice production in the studied
village is salinity in the fields. According to observation,
rice plants are affected by iron (Fe) toxicity under rice
field with high salinity. Farmers could not cure thistoxicity due to lack of knowledge and investment andconsequently, the yield are very low. Farmers mentionedthat there is another problem with the rice production that
occurs about the time of harvest; damage can occur due torodents and birds. Also, unseasonable rainfall (i.e. laterains) at harvest time can cause grain damage due tofungal diseases.

151

Socio-economic conditions: All villagers are Buddhists
and they strongly believe in Buddha's teachings. They
value the ordination ceremony when their son or grandson
becomes a novice monk. All of the temple donations are
based on agricultural income.
According to the elder villager, in years before
constructing the Kinda dam, their lands were favorable forhigh productivity of crops. At that time, their standard ofliving was better so they could use the surplus for
donations. All of the families do their social, cultural andreligious activities after harvesting their cultivated crops.
In social, cultural and religious activities, the old persons
and village headman play an important role. Even though
the village headman has full authority, he shows respects
to the old, honorable persons and follows the guidelines
and suggestions from them. For the religious activities,
monks play very important role in the village. In somesocial and cultural problems, monks can give the final
decision for the village. Seasonal religious festivals areheld under the guidance of the monks and elder person.
Although the major crop grown in the village is rainfed
rice, some farmers grow sesame, pigeon pea, lablab bean
and greem gram. Domestic animals raised by most farmhouseholds in the village are cattle, goat, pig and chicken
for home consumption and sale.

The village economy is based on agriculture in the studied
village. Most households are farm households, and very
few households do non-farm work like government
officials, public health workers, agricultural input retailer
or small shopkeeper. The major source of income for thefarm households in studied village is the cultivation ofcrops and keeping domestic animals like cattle, pigs andchicken also make a contribution to household income.
They also spend certain amount money on their children’s
education, health, transportation, clothing, lightening,
kitchenware, house maintenance, donation and personaluse. In most cases, farm work is done using family labor,
but hired labor is common during peak seasons liketransplanting and harvesting of the crops.
House type is a relevant indicator for the economic status,
especially the cash income of farm households in thevillage. Generally houses with corrugated iron sheet (CI)roofing and brick walls are owned by high income
households. Slate-roofed houses with wooden walls are
owned by middle income households, and thatch-roofedhouses with bamboo walls by low income households. But
some medium and low income households are roofed with
CI with the wooden walls.

Table 2. Comparison of soil salinity level, average rice yield and average household’s income of the studied village in theyear 2016
Salinity level
High
Moderate
Low

Average rice yield (ton/ha)

Household’s income (US$/year)

Source of income

1.35
2.85
4.45

770
1077
1540

Farm-based
Farm-based
Farm-based

Survey data (2016)

According to the group discussion, the average of rice
yields among the sample household is very low about 2.5
ton/ha (50 basket/ac), as compared to the national average
yield 4.07 ton/ha of (MOAI, 2015). This low yield might
be due to the salinity, low soil fertility and sandy texture
soil. The main source of household income in the village
was farm-based. The study indicates that 80% of the total
income in the studied village comes from the ricecultivation. Table 2 shows the comparison of soil salinity
level, average rice yield and average household’s income
in year 2015. Farmers who have paddy field with highsalinity level got an average yield of 1.35 ton/ha andannual household’ income was US$ 770. In contrast,
farmers who have paddy field with low salinity level got
an average yield of 4.45 ton/ha and annual household’
income was US$ 1540. It was found that the annual
average income per household among the study household
is US$ 985. Thus, salinity intrusion is one of the major
environmental factors pushing towards greatest
vulnerability to the local communities.
Village food security: Myanmar produces more thanenough food to meet domestic needs and is a major foodexporter, abundant food supplies do not automaticallytranslate into abundant food for the poorer groups who livein the dry zone areas. Based on group interview, there aredifferent types of agricultural and non-agriculturalactivities in the village practiced by the farmers in order toimprove food security of their families. Generally, there
are ten different agricultural activities (rice, pigeon pea,raising animals, etc.) and four non-agricultural activities(retail shop, daily labor migration to city, etc.) but not allhouseholds get involved in those activities.

Fig. 1. Percentage of respondents facing food deficit during the year 2015

Seasonality plays a vital role in food security. There was apersistent food scarcity during the growing of crops andthe pre-harvest period, when farmers have to invest a lot of152money in such time. Most households in this study face
food deficit more or less throughout the year (Fig. 1). The
food deficit remains high from July to end of October (8796 %), whereas it is the lowest in November andDecember (7-23 %) due to harvesting period for rice andgrowth of vegetables. There was also food shortage fromFebruary to May (57-77 %) due to lack of job in the dry
season. This is due to no irrigation water in 2015 as mostof the lands were not cultivated and food items are noteasily available. They thus have to generate resources by
selling food grains and cash crops, or by borrowing.
Farmers have to tighten their grip on consumption during
this time. They have to cook less compared to other times.
Sometimes the men in the household temporarily migrate
to the city for earning, leaving their family members at
home. The food deficit is less during the month
December–January due to harvesting period for rice andgrowth of vegetables.
Coping strategies: It was found that all farm households
in the village were rice insufficient in 2015 due to salinityand prolong drought period. In order to survive throughout
the year, rice insufficient households involved in various
activities in quest for food or cash for food. Coping
strategies are many and various in kind that only someselected, major activities are described in this report. In
reality, many activates called “coping strategies foodinsufficiency” in this study are routine activities for somefood sufficient households in generating their
supplementary incomes. These activities can be briefly
categorized as (1) farm-based strategies; (2) non-farmstrategies; and (3) forest-based strategies.
Farm-based strategies are those activities directly related
to cash crops or alternative food crops, and domestic
animals. These include legume cultivation, and rising ofdomestic animals like cattle, goats, pigs, and chicken, etc.
Non-farm strategies in this study mean such activities
done for cash by selling or directly utilizing one’s labor.
Non-farm strategies include waged labor, migrated labor,
and retailing. Forest-based strategies are those non-formal
activities usually done by landless and small households
during most difficult situations in time of hunger. They
include mushroom and bamboo shoot collecting in theforest, firewood collecting. Although the study area isunder forest conservation some landless and small farmers
used to cut branches of big trees and it is still a simple
coping strategy for food insufficiency in a shortest periodof time.
Labor migration also increasingly becomes a major coping
strategy for food insufficiency in the village. Twenty
percent of farm households have migrated to the city as
seasonal labor to other farm where watermelon was grown.
The most common destination migrants from the village is
Mandalay. Among those who migrate to the city, males
remit more money to their homes than females do. Malemigrants usually do hard works of higher wage rate, but
their remittance is not regular.
In the studied village, most survey households are notentirely self-sufficient and need to integrate into the labormarket as employers and laborers. As such, foodinsufficient households in the village also perform various
non-farm activities as their survival strategies. For landlessand marginal farm household with salinity problem in thevillage, labor migration is at first another strategy forcoping with food insufficiency. The people from the farmhousehold migrate in search of higher wage as it happensin the city or other agricultural farm.
Conclusion and suggestion
Salinity intrusion caused by irrigation canal from Kinda
dam is leading to negative impacts on rice production andconsequently to the food insecurity and livelihood of thestudied village.
The studied village face enormous widespread soil salinity
as a consequence of soil and water resource degradation.
Also, rising water tables resulting from irrigation havecaused water logging problems. The collected informationshows that despite difficulties, farmers are continuing theirefforts for the management of salinity to produce rice. In
order to alleviate salinity in their rice field, they apply
organic fertilizer and farmyard manure such as cattle
manure. However, the average of rice yields among thesample household is very low about 2.5 ton/ha (50basket/ac). In addition to salinity effect, periodic drought,
the heavy reliance on monsoon, lack of financial capital,
low inputs uses are the major constraints for the farmers in
the village.
This finding could suggest that farmers are advised to use
farmyard manure and green manure in order to reducesalinity, correct application of fertilizers, the timely use offertilizer, better weeding, timely harvesting and proper
threshing and winnowing. Since rice is the main source of
livelihood system, extension agencies should provide
farmers with financial and technical assistance to makeavailable salt tolerant rice varieties, knowledge andimproved technologies in order to increase foodsufficiency.
Acknowledgements:This study was supported by theCenter for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS), Kyoto
University, Japan
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Harper and Row. New York.

154

J. Agrofor. Environ. 11 (1 & 2): 155-157, 2017

ISSN 1995-6983

Extent of forest fire problems – its sustainable development strategies in Bhutan
Sumjay Tshering
Department of History, Sherubtse College, Kanglung, Bhutan
Abstract: Bhutan has the total land area of 38,394 square kilometres and 72.5% of the land is under the forest cover. Forest is the sourceof livelihood and it is the most important wealth of Bhutan. Furthermore, forest in Bhutan is the vital source of water for hydro poweredindustries which are currently the main revenue generators for the nation. There is a high concern to protect and conserve theenvironment. In fact, the protection and conservation of the environment is one of the pillars of Gross National Happiness (GNH).
However, given the rights of the people to graze on the government registered land and harvest lemon grass for lemon oil extraction, thepeople widely practise burning of forest to have new grass growth for oil and cattle. Fires also result from the practice of burning
agricultural debris. Therefore, qualitative data was used to explore and compare the statistical data base of forest fires in 1981-1985,
1988-2004 and 2008-2011. It demonstrates that the country has experienced a total of 1,432 cases of forest fires since 1981 till 2011 andhas adversely afected a total of 868,086.313 acres of forests in Bhutan. It also shows that Bhutan experienced a maximum forest fires
between the year 1988 and 2004, with the least 38 and the highest 112 cases of forest fires annually. Fortunately, the data of 2008 and2011 indicate that the cases of forest fires have declined as it reflects not more than 74 numbers of forest fire incidents within two years.
Nonetheless, forest fires are a deterrent to the sustainability of forest cover in Bhutan. Therefore, if left unchecked, there is a potential
danger that the trend may escalate with the growth in the population and growing economy. Therefore, this study suggests that Royal
Government of Bhutan has to continue with the serious sustainable measures to sustain forest with better means of public friendly
educative alternatives to fulfill the constitutional commitment of 60% of forest at all times to come.
Key words: Forest, fire conservation, grazing, lemon oil, sustainable.

Introduction
The kingdom of Bhutan is a sovereign nation located in
the eastern Himalayas. It is one of the smallest nations in
the Asian region, sandwiched between the two populous
countries of China in the north and India in the south.
Bhutan has the total area of 3 8,394 square kilometreswith 72.5% forest cover (NSB, 2010). Bhutan, albeit asmall nation, was a winner of the 2004 “Champion of the
Earth” (Kuensel, 2005) and the “World Conservation
Leadership Award” (Kuensel, 2006) and awaits the award
from World Council for the constitutional commitments tomaintain 60% forest cover at all times (Third Annual
Report, 2011). Today Bhutan is also recognised as the
17th most forested country in the World. So Bhutan strives
to continue the same but as a developing nation, with thegrowth in the population and growing economy,
environmental problems are not spared.
Therefore, this paper presents the comparative statistics offorest fires and its extent of damage since 1981 till 2011. It
also shares the experiences of its mitigation andintervention strategies to reduce the risk of forest fires.
Materials and Methods
The qualitative method is applied to undertake this study.
The facts and figures are largely based on secondary
sources, particularly the fire statistical data base of 19811985, 1988-2004 and 2008-2011 to have comparative
studies of forest fire trends and to explore to what extent it
has hindered the pursuit of sustainable forest management
and economy in parallel. Likewise, secondary sources
such as national newspapers, the Kuensel, and Bhutan
observer, the private newspapers are extensively referredas they covered most of the environment related topics andlatest environment updates. Several reports and acts arealso referred.
Results and Discussion
Extent of forest fire Problem:
Although Bhutan Forest Fire Act 1969 (FFA, 1969) andthe Forest and Nature Conservation Act of Bhutan 1995

(FNCA, 1995) prohibit forest fires, punishable with animprisonment of five years, yet burning forests continues
at an alarming rate. It seriously undermines a serene
environment. Fire statistics of Bhutan in the past andpresent indicate the pervasive problem of forest fires
although the intensity fluctuates resulted either
intentionally or accidentally. The statistical database ofwild fires in Bhutan between the years 1981-1985 (Table1) shows that Bhutan experienced a total of 232 cases offorest fires, damaging 29,616 hectares of forested area.
Likewise, the information data between 1988-1994 and2008-2011(Table 2 and 3) demonstrate that Bhutan has
experienced forest fires not less than 35 times a year.
According to Dorji (2004a), A total of 868 fire cases werereported between 1993-2005 which affected 128,368
hectares of pristine environment. In 2006, Trashigang
district experienced major fire which burnt about 1000 haand similarly in 2006-2007 record, a total of 15000 ha
were burnt by a single major fire in Wangdue District. In
2007 Fire our breaks occurred in Tshirang and damaged
5000 ha of chir-pine (Pinus roburghil) of forests.
Similarly, Kuensel (2010) reported that Trashigang
experienced another major fire in Chenari which has
gutted down an automobile workshop, 3 cars, 25 twowheelers kept for repair and burnt one sawmill along withthe construction material ,a house and makeshift labour
camps at Kheri. The fire also damaged 150 disc insulatorsof Chenari power house. The data of forest fires between
2008 and 2011, indicate a total of 31,132.00 acres offorests was lost to deliberate wild fires. Therefore, thesefigures indicate that forest fires seriously impedesustainable management of forest resources in Bhutan.
Causatii ve Factor s:
There are many underr lining causes for the outbreak of
rampant forest fires in Bhutann. Fig. 1 (below) sum upthat the fires are either caused intentionally or
accidentally. According to Doorji (2004b), 88 percent ofwild fires are caused by human activities while 155
per cent and 5 per cent are the result of accidental andunknown cases. Similarly Gyeltshen (n.d.) mentioned the
caa uses of the wild fires as per there port of the forestresearch centre shows that human made causes are 100
per cent. All in all, the study shows that the main
culprit for the forest fires in Bhutan is human madee
which is 100 per cent. Their deliberate actions are forthe new growth of lemon grass for oil extraction, debris
burning for agricultural purposes, setting forest on fire
foor cattle feeding and to some extent, due to theresult of human carelesness such as throwing
cigarette butts with fire intact.

the data of 2008 and 2011 illustrate that human madeforest fires have drastically declined with not more than 74
and less with 37 numbers of forest fires within the span of
two years. Nonetheless, forest fires are a deterrent to thesustainability of forest cover in Bhutan. Hence, if leftunchecked, there is a potential danger that the trend may
escalate with the growth in the population and growing
economy.
Table 2. Fire statistics in Bhutan during 1988-2004

40%
40%
35%

30%

30%

1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
Total

25%

25%
20%
15%
10%

5%

5%
0%

Total no, of fires onforest, other woodlot
and other land
46
66
50
38
38
84
36
56
62
48
72
112
104
81
64
45
39
1081

Year

A

B

C

D

Fig. 1. The causes of forest fire (A) intention buring for
new grass cultivation for cattle, (B) buring trees toprepare grazing areas, (C) camps and cooking fire,and (D) discarded cigerrates.
Table 1. Statistical database of forest fires in 1981-1985.
Year
1981-82
1982-83
1983-84
1984-85Total

No. of fires
74
64
47
47
232

Area Burned(ha)12,843
5,487
7,243
3,943
29,616

Area of forest
burned (ha)
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
729957.44
5601.9649069.31
27030.26
24633.3
16218.2
33839.88
33638.34
23314.2
14644.16
5723.49
2561.36309231.9

Forest fires were found mainly caused willfully by thedesire to have either lemon grass or new grass for cattle
and burning dry plants and grasses for agriculture in thefield. If we are to let the trend to continue than, in the longrun, it is likely hinder the achievement of theconstitutional commitment of 60% of forest cover. Though
the government has banned tseri practice of shifting
cultivation to mitigate rampant damage of forest, people insome pockets of area do still practise the culture resulting
in destroying a huge track of forested area. This has
alerted the officials who are engaged in conserving thenational environment.
Therefore, the Royal Government of Bhutan has tocontinue with the serious sustainable measures to sustain
forest with better means of public-friendly alternatives tofulfil the constitutional commitment of 60% of forest at all
times to come.

Source: Royal Government of Bhutan

After having compared the statistics of fires in 1981-1985(Table 1), 1988-2004 (Table 2) and 2008-2011 (Table 3),
it shows that Bhutan has experienced a total of 1,432 casesof forest fires since 1981 till 2011 and has adversely
affected a total of 868,086.313 acres of forests in Bhutan(1 ha = 2.47 acres of land). The data indicate that Bhutan
experienced most of the forest fires between the year 1988
and 2004. The year 1999 was severely hit with 112 casesof forest fires affecting 33,839.88 hectares and the least in
the year 1991 and 1992 with each 38 cases of forest fires(extent of damage not mentioned). Fortunately, with theserious measures of a sustainable forest policy in place,
Table 3. Forest fire statistics in Bhutan during 2008-2011
Year

Average number of fire

Forest destruction by fire (acre)

Total destruction by fire (acre)

2008-2009

774

117

13105

2009-2010

448

190

99159.41

2010-2011

337

239

8867.594

Total

159

31132.00

156

the school campuses. Furthermore, to reduce the risk offorest fires, the ‘Forest Fire Volunteers Programme’ wasinstitutionalised with a total registration of 175
volunteers .These volunteers are engaged in creating anawareness of forest fire risks in schools and communities
and National Forest Inventory was also carried out .Very
recently, the government has also initiated community
forestry for the sustainable management of forests.
Conclusion:
To conclude, the forest and natural environment play apivotal role in providing sustainable livelihood to the
Bhutanese people as the country is hugely dependent on
them. However, forest fires have become imminent
impediment to the natural setting thereby creating an
imbalance ecosystem. This has the potential to create
persistent repercussions to the environment at all times tocome if proper measures are not instituted in time

Operational Fire Management strategies:
Although Bhutan continues to experience deliberate forest
fires, the decision makers at national level continue toincorporate mitigation methods to combat the problem, as
it unquestionably hinders a sustainable growth of forestsand economy, and it also undermines the holistic
sustainable development policy: GNH.
Therefore, to prevent the fire and support sustainable
management of forests at the national level, the National
Environment Commission (NEC) and National Forest Fire
Management (NFFM) plan and execute forest fireawareness programmes, develop training modules in
conjunction with media in informing and educating the
public and train the field staff. Further, the Nature Forest
Conservation and Forest 1995 (NFCF) and the National
Forest Policy 1974 (NFP) provide the policy frame workfor our successful conservation efforts for sustainable
management of our rich yet fragile resources.
There are plans afoot to introduce the Geological
Information System (GIS) system to sensitise and inform
about the outbreak of forest fires and will help reducing
the extent of forest being damaged.
Intervention:
In order to fulfil the constitutional commitment of 60% of
forest covers at all times to come and to intentionally live
up to the promise of the world to be a carbon neutral
country by successfully phasing out HCFC by 2025
(Annual Report on the State of the Nation, 2011) and torealize the mission of sustainable development through
GNH, the NEC and the DoF initiate programmes such asafforestation and reforestation. Interestingly, the villagers
were asked to plant trees and, after certain years, the ones
who have taken the best care and planted the maximum
are rewarded. On 2 June every year, the nation celebrates
as the Social Forestry Day and ensures that every
individual of the country plants trees. Of late, the Ministryof Education has initiated a programme called ‘Green
Bhutan, Green schools’ and the teachers and students areencouraged to plant and take care of trees and flowers in

References
NSB (National Science Board), 2010. The statistical annual
report of The National Science Foundation, Eisenhower
Avenue, Alexandria, Virginia 22314, USA. pp. 123-124.
Kuensel, 2005. Bhutan's national census; Based on informationfrom Bhutan, Thimphu, “The National Kuensel” 28 May
2005, Section 3, p. 11.
Kuensel, 2006. Statistical Yearbook of Bhutan; Based on
information from Bhutan, Thimphu, “The National
Kuensel” 13 March 2006, Section 2, p. 8.
Third Annual Report (Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation),
2011. Bhutan royal government, Thimphu, pp. 43-45.
FFA (Forest Fire Act), 1969. Act for the establishment of Forest
Reserves and rules application, National Council of Bhutan,
Thimphu, pp. 3-24.
Dorji, D. 2004a, Routledge Handbook of Psychiatry in Asia: A
systematic review and meta-analysis. 2004; pp. 50–58.
Dorji, D. 2004b. Routledge Handbook of Psychiatry in Asia: A
systematic review and meta-analysis . 2004; pp. 73–78.
SYB (Statistical Yearbook of Bhutan), 2011. Annual Report on
the State of the Nation, Thimphu, “The National Forest
policy” January 2011.

157

J. Agrofor. Environ. 11 (1 & 2): 159-162, 2017

ISSN 1995-6983

Yield performance of Paw San rice (Oryza sativa L.) group: Paw San morphotype
Min San Thein, Thaung Kyi1, Nang Hseng Hom1, Mar Mar Kyu1 and Khin Lay Swe1
Myanmar Seed Bank, Department of Agricultural Research (DAR), Yezin, Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, 1Yezin Agricultural
University (YAU), Yezin, Nay Pyi Taw, E-mail: minsanthein@gmail.com
Abstract: Paw San group rice varieties are important for local adaptability, grain quality, market availability and premium price, andhave been cultivated for long time in Myanmar. Undesirable negative effect of mutation and out-crossing with other local varieties orcommon wild rice may lead to inter-varietal variation, and limited seed flow system for Paw San rice may also lead to varietal
degradation. In 2008, lower part of Myanmar was hit by Cyclone Nargis, and some of the local rice varieties in Paw San area may lose
forever. This study was carried out to test yield performance of 5 genotypes of Paw San morphotype at Myaungmya and Yezin in 2009,and some genotypes which produced higher grain yields seemed to be promising for future varietal improvement for development of
Paw San rice.
Key words: Genotype, morphotype, Paw San, yield and yield components.

Introduction
Rice varietal groups in Myanmar have been standardized
as Emata, Letywezin, Ngasein, Meedon and Byat in orderto facilitate external and internal trade. Among them,
Meedon rice area in 2007 was 449487 hectare, comprising
6.5% of total rice area in Myanmar, and mainly grown in
rainfed lowland areas: Ayeyawady (52.1%), Yangon(27.9%), Yakhine (12.1%), Bago (4.5%), Mon (3.1%), andother Regions (0.3%) (MAS, 2008). Paw San rice varieties
are included in Meedon group, and have been cultivatedand maintained as on-farm conservation for centuries.
Undesirable negative effect of mutation and out-crossing
with other local varieties or common wild rice may lead tovarietal variation, and since the possibility of the quality ofsome varieties show location specific, farmers in the areasused to grow their own seeds so that there was limited
seed flow system for Paw San rice may lead to varietal
degradation. On the other hand, the ability of low nitrogentolerance, local adaptability, grain quality, market
availability and premium price can extend the growing
area for Paw San rice to the productive land such asfavorable rainfed area and irrigated tract besides its native
or marginal land of unpredictable flood in rainfed lowland.
Therefore, Paw San rice varieties with high yield potential
and wide adaptation may become essential.
Current national rice varietal improvement programs also
focus on improving quality rice for regional and global
rice trade competition. To improve rice varieties, breeding
methods such as indigenous selection, selection of
introduced entries, hybridization and mutation breeding
can be used. By indigenous selection, varieties could be
released in another adaptable area, and 13 local varieties
had been released (Ohn Kyaw, 2002). Tin Tin Myint et al.
(2004) also mentioned the indigenous selection and therelease of 18 local varieties by this method. Small-scale,decentralized, farmer-participatory breeding and variety
selection programs have been advocated to reduce genetic
erosion by improving indigenous germplasm andexploiting local adaptation (Maurya et al., 1988). In some
cropping systems, such programs can increase crop
genetic diversity when localized environmental constraints
result in a failure of high-yield varieties to perform well
(Witcombe et al., 1996; Sthapit et al., 1996).
With the advent of genetics and plant breeding, selection
has been intensified for high yield potential with broader
adaptation (Simmond, 1979). Although rice entries can be
introduced through international evaluation nursery

program, utilization of local germplasm seemed to besuitable for greater adaptability to local special andtemporal conditions. Genetic resources of Paw San rice
were collected and conserved in Myanmar Seed Bank, andthe study of Paw San rice germplasm showed a relatively
high genetic diversity and elite accessions were identified(Min San Thein et al., 2011).
In 2008 May 2, Myanmar was hit by Cyclone "Nargis",the largest storm of its history, and the Nargis hit the two
major Paw San rice growing areas, Ayeyawady andYangon Regions. By this natural disaster, many stores ofrice have been swept, and some of the local rice varieties
may lose forever (PoNJA, 2008). On the other hand, there
was also limited varietal improvement program for Paw
San rice. Therefore, this study was carried out to test yield
performance of elite Paw San accessions to identify
promising genotypes.
Materials and Methods
Material: Five accessions viz. PS 1 , PS 2 , PS 3 , PS 4 AND
PS 5 were identified as elite genotypes by indigenous
selection based on evaluation test in 2008 (Min San Theinet al., 2011). They were 5 genotypes of Paw San
morphotype and those genotypes were used in yield
performance trials. Local variety, Paw San Shwe War wasused as check.
Experimental sites and design: Yield performance trials
were conducted at the experimental fields of Myaungmya
Agricultural Research Center, Ayeyawady Region and
Seed Bank, DAR, Yezin, Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar on 21
June 2009 and 27 June 2009, respectively. Yield trials
were tested in RCB designs with four replications, andeach plot was 4.0 m x 3.5 m. The seedlings were raised innursery beds, and 30 days old seedlings were transplanted
singly in each hill with a spacing of 25 cm between rows
and 20 cm within row. Each plot consisted of 14 rows of
4.0 m long and 0.25 m apart. Each row consisted of 20
hills. Harvested area was 3.6 m x 3.0 m included 12 rowsof 18 hills/row and total harvested hills were 216. A basal
fertilizers application was 14:27:30 kg/ha of N: P 2 O 5 :K 2 O followed by top-dressing of 14 kg N/ha at 45 days
after transplanting. Grain yield/plot, yield components andother traits such as biomass/hill, harvest index, days toheading, plant height, and panicle length were measured.
Data analysis: Individual and combined analyses ofvariance (ANOVA) for yield trials with 4 replications at

Myaungmya and Yezin were computed using
CropStat.Ver.7.2.2007.2, IRRI, Manila, Philippines.

produced significantly (P < 0.01) lower grain yield thanlocal check at Myaungmya location and by combined
analysis. Genotypes PS2 (3.897 ton/ha) and PS4 (3.606
ton/ha) gave more yield than check (3.441 ton/ha) but notstatistically significant at Yezin location as well as PS2(3.469 ton/ha) gave more yield than check (3.385 ton/ha)
by combined analysis. When yield performance under two
locations was compared, mean grain yield (3.502 ton/ha)
at Yezin location was significantly (P < 0.01) higher than
mean grain yield (2.788 ton/ha) at Myaungmya location.
Based on the results of ANOVA of grain yield for two
locations, it was noted that test genotypes were notdifferent at Yezin location while they were different at
Myaungmya location. However, genotypes PS3 and PS5
produced significantly lower grain yield than local checkat Myaungmya location (Table 4). It is suggested that
there was more variable of environment in Myaungmya
than in Yezin. Genotypes PS2 and PS4 produced moregrain yield than check but not statistically significant at
Yezin indicating the importance of those genotypes forconservation and use.

Results and Discussion
Yield performance trials for Paw San genotypes: PS1, PS2,
PS3, PS4 and PS5 with local check (Paw San Shwe War)
were tested at two locations, Myaungmya and Yezin, andresult of grain yield was shown in Table 1. The genotypes
were not statistically significant at P ≤ 0.05 level for Yezin
location. However, it was significantly different (P < 0.01)
for Myaungmya location.
Combined ANOVA was computed to determine the yield
performance of genotypes across two locations. Genotype(G), location (L), and genotype - location interaction (G x
L) were significantly different at P < 0.01 level ofprobability. When genotype (G) and location (L) effects
were observed, location effect was greater than genotype
effect as shown in Table 2. The mean yield (ton/ha) of 5
Paw San genotypes under two locations was shown in
Table 3. When yield performances of genotypes werecompared, mean yields were not significantly different at
Yezin location. However, genotypes PS3 and PS5

Table 1. Individual ANOVA of grain yield (ton/ha) for Paw San genotypes by locations
Source of variance
Genotype
Replication
Residual
Total
Genotype
Replication
Residual
Total** = significant at P < 0.01 level,

Degree of freedom
Yezin
5
3
15
23
Myaungmya
5315
23* = significant at P < 0.05 level,ns

Sum of square

Mean square

P-value

0.9426
0.51131.45062.90460.1885 ns
0.1704 ns
0.09670.12630.14500.19706.7653
3 .429919
1.69978.89501.3531 **0.1433 ns
0.11330.38670.00100.3220= not significant

Combined analysis of the two locations indicates thedifferences among genotypes (G), locations (L), andgenotype-location interaction (G x L). The greater effectof location (L) indicating the variability of the two

locations that Yezin was irrigated tract where waterrequirement was controllable, whereas Myaungmya wasrainfed lowland that unpredictable flood caused
uncontrollable drainage or irrigation.

Table 2. Combined ANOVA of grain yield (ton/ha) for Paw San genotypes across two locations
Source of variance
Genotype (G)Location (L)Replication (R)Pooled error
Total
GxL
GxR
LxR
GxLxR

Degree of freedom
5
1
3
38
47
5
15
3
15

Sum of square
4.95046.12580.40236.446917.92532.75752.62320.93900.5271160

Mean square
0.9901 **6.1258 **0.1341ns
0.16970.38140.5515 **0.1749 ns
0.3130 ns
0.0351 ns

P-value
0.00000.00000.51040.00200.44400.37801.0000Table 3. Mean yields (ton/ha) of Paw San genotypes tested in two locations
Genotype
PS1
PS2
PS3
PS4
PS5
Check
Mean
SE
LSD (0.05)
P-valueCV (%)

Yezin

Myaungmya
3.182 ns
3.042 ns
2.069 **
3.077 ns
2.027 **
3.329
2.788
0.16830.50740.001012.1

3.375 ns3.897 ns
3.322 ns3.606 ns
3.373 ns
3.441
3.502
0.15550.46870.14498.9

Difference
0.193
0.855
1.253
0.529
1.346
0.112
0.714

Combined
3.278 ns3.469 ns2.696 **
3.341 ns
2.700**
3.385
3.145
0.146
0.417
0.0005
13.1

Location

Yezin=3.502 **Myaungmya=2.788
3.145
0.084
0.241
0.000013.1

SE=standard error, LSD (0.05) =least significant difference at P<0.05 probability level, CV=coefficient of variation

Table 4. Means of yield components of Paw San genotypes by two locations
Genotye
PS1
PS2
PS3
PS4
PS5
Check
Mean
SE
LSD (0.05)
P- (G)
P- (L)
P- (G x L)
CV (%)

YLD
3540.53746.72911.33608.62916.23655.93397.0
157.3
450.2
0.001
0.000
0.002
13.1

Gr/H
17.4
14.2
13.7
16.3
13.0
26.0
16.8
1.091
3.123
0.000
0.000
0.194
18.4

Gr/P
3.42
3.11
2.57
2.74
2.42
2.92
2.86
0.167
0.477
0.002
0.001
0.611
16.5

FGr/P
114.1
101.5
88.9
96.3
87.8
113.4
100.3
6.102
17.470
0.010
0.801
0.469
17.2

100W
2.71
2.72
2.60
2.60
2.55
2.56
2.62
0.029
0.082
0.000
0.006
0.843
3.1

ET
6.4
6.1
7.4
8.0
7.2
9.9
7.5
0.436
1.249
0.000
0.000
0.387
16.4

BIO
78.7
72.4
84.0
79.5
74.1
80.8
78.2
3.991
11.430
0.341
0.000
0.000
14.4

HI
0.235
0.211
0.165
0.207
0.195
0.329
0.224
0.015
0.044
0.000
0.112
0.104
19.3

DTH
140.9
141.8
145.8
143.0
145.3
139.9
142.8
0.432
1.237
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.9

PH
147.7
139.2
148.6
147.8
147.1
132.2
143.8
1.269
3.633
0.000
0.000
0.265
2.5

PNL
28.0
26.1
27.0
27.1
27.5
25.8
26.9
0.386
1.106
0.002
0.485
0.237
4.1

Yld=grain yield/plot (g), Gr/H=grain weight/hill (g), Gr/P=grain weight/panicle (g), FGr/P=no. of filled grain/panicle, 100GW=100-grain weight (g),ET=no. of effective tiller, BIO=biomass/hill (g), HI=harvest index, DTH=days to heading (day), PH= plant height (cm), PNL=panicle length (cm),
SE=standard error, LSD (0.05) =least significant difference at P < 0.05 probability level, P-=P-value, CV=coefficient of variation

The genotypes of three Paw San morphotypes werevariable in grain yield and yield components, and some of
the genotypes were important for yield potential and they

seemed to be promising genotypes for utilization invarietal improvement. Those genotypes were PS2 (Acc.
1139) and PS4 (Acc. 2501), respectively (Table 5).

Table 5. List of 15 potential genotypes of Paw San morphotypes
Sr. no.
1
2
3
4
5

YT code no.
PS1
PS2
PS3
PS4
PS5

Accession no.
ACC. 930
ACC. 1139
ACC. 3225
ACC. 2501
ACC. 2522

Local namePaw San Hmwe
Paw San Hmwe
Mee Don Yoe Sein
Paw San Hmwe
Paw San Hmwe

State/ Region
Bago
Bago
AyeyawadyYangonAyeyawady

YT=Yield trial

are important for their yield potential for conservation anduse. Some accessions performed well in both locations
although the locations differ substantially in rainfall, soil
type and rice ecosystem. So, genotypes adapted to both
locations were also important for conservation, and they
could be useful genotypes for wider adaptation for varietal
improvement of morphotype of Paw San rice.
Acknowledgement: The authors would like to thank FarmManager and staff of Myaungmya Agricultural Research

Conclusion
The two locations, Yezin and Myaungmya showedvariation in terms of grain yield. Mean grain yields weregenerally greater in Yezin than in Myaungmya may be dueto the favorable condition of water controllable irrigatedtract of Yezin. Therefore, it could be concluded that mostof the tested genotypes could produce higher grain yield in
productive land of irrigated tract. Some of the tested
accessions seemed to be promising genotypes, and they161

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selection and breeding methods and their impact on
biodiversity. Exp. Agric. 32: 479-496.

Center, and Head and staff of Myanmar Seed Bank forsupport and assistance. Permission for this research wasgiven by Director General of DAR, and the first author
thanks to U Kyi Sein and staff of Advanced AgriculturalEngineering Co. Ltd., Yangon, for support for Paw San
rice group survey in Ayeyarwady Region.
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Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, Myanmar (inMyanmar).
Maurya, D.M., Bottrall, A. .and Farrington, J. 1988. Improved
livelihoods, genetic diversity and farmer participation: astrategy for rice breeding in rainfed areas of India. Exp.
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Myo Kywe, Tin Htut and Khin Lay Swe. 2011. Genetic
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Myanmar. PhD Thesis. Yezin Agricultural University,
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J. Agrofor. Environ. 11 (1 & 2): 163-164, 2017

ISSN 1995-6983

Mangrove and their Environment: the role of FREDA with particular reference to Myanmar
U Ohn
Forest Resource Environment Development and Conservation (FREDA), Yangon, Myanmar
Abstract: The mangrove environment in general and with particular reference to Myanmar has been reveiwed. The rehabilatationand conservation activities of Forest Resource Environment Development and Conservation (FREDA) in the wake of natural disasterlike cyclone Nargis of 2008 have been stated elaborately. The future strategies in mitigating the adverse effects of global warming
and climate change have brrn hilighted.
Key words: Mangrove environment, FREDA, Myanmar.

Mangrove forests are one of the important Ecosystems of
Wetlands. Mangroves are important to people living neartropical and sub-tropical coastal regions as wood and foodresources and also for coastal protection. They are also
important from the global view point of the earth's naturalenvironment. Mangrove environments are formed throughstrong feedback relations between biota, landform, waterflow and the atmosphere. In fact, water flows play a very
important role in mangrove ecosystems, differentiatingfrom freshwater wetlands and terrestrial ecosystems.
Mangrove areas are periodically inundated by brackish
water, with salinity ranging from that of seawater to that offreshwater, usually twice a day by astronomical tides. The
hydrodynamics caused by the tide and sea waves are thedominant physical factors affecting the mangrove
ecosystems.
In Asian countries, where mangrove forests have been
extensively degraded and even completely destroyed,mangroves and their ecosystem conservation is very
essential not only for the natural disaster protection but
also for the production for wood as well as marine
products for food.
Southeast Asias’ 563 million people are concentrated
along coastlines measuring 173,251 kilometers long,leaving them exposed to rising sea levels. Where
Myanmar has also a long coastline of 2,832 kilometerswith a continental shelf area of 228,781 sq.kilometers. At
the same time, the region's heavy reliance on agriculture
for livelihoods – the sector accounted for 43% of total
employment in 2004 and continued about 11% of grossdomestic product (GDP) in 2006– make it vulnerable todroughts, floods and tropical cyclones associated with
global warming and climate change. Its high economic
dependence on natural resources and forestry as one of theworld's biggest providers of forest products – also put it atrisk. And increase in extreme weather events,
deforestation, forest degradation and forest fires arisingfrom climate change jeopardizes vital export industries.
Rapid economic growth and structural transformation inSoutheast Asia helped lift millions out of extreme poverty
in recent decades. But poverty incidence remains high asof 2005, about 93 million (18.8%). Southeast Asia still
lived below the $ 1.25 a day poverty line and the poor are
the most vulnerable to climate change. Mean temperaturein this region increased 0.1-0.3°C per decade between
1951 and 2000; rainfall trended downward during 19602000; and sea levels have risen 1-3 millimeters per year.
Heat waves, droughts, floods, and tropical cyclones havebecome more intense and frequent, causing extensive
damage to poverty, assets, and human life. The number ofrecorded floods/ storms/ cyclones has risen dramatically

recently. Cyclone Nargis of 2008, Giri of 2010, heavy
rains and floods all over Myanmar and neighbouring
countries are the current examples (Lateef. 2009).
The best and effective way to counter these natural
disasters and to help and improve the livelihoods ofcoastal population is to preserve or protect the existing
coastal mangroves and to restore or re-establish thedegraded or depleted mangroves. The remaining
mangroves of the world interms of area and percentages
can be stated as follows:
Sl.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

Country
Indonesia
BrazilAustralia
MexicoNigeria
Malaysia
MyanmarBangladesh
Cuba
India
Papua New Guinea
Colombia

Area(km2)
31,89413,000
9,910
7,701
7,356
7,097
5,029
4,951
4,944
4,325
4,265
4,079

% of world total
20.9
8.5
6.5
5.0
4.8
4.7
3.3
3.2
3.2
2.8
2.8
2.7

Distribution of mangroves in Myanmar may be stated asfollows:
Name of Division/State
1. Ayeyarwady Division
2. Mon State
3. Raknine State
4. Taninntharyi Division
5. Yangon Division

Area in ha
87, 963
21,265
141,883
200,034
10,479% of total
19.06
4.61
30.73
43.33
2.27

FREDA has been establishing community forestry
plantations with mangrove species in Pyindaye andKadonkani Reserve Forests, Ayeyarwady Delta where
natural mangrove forests were depleted due toencroachment for rice cultivation and landuse change.
Since the farmers have to abandon their rice fields aftersome years due to extrusion of salt water and acid sulphatefrom below, the only approach to address this issue is torestore the mangrove forests by the communities under theCommunity Forestry Instructions (CFI) of the Forest
Department.
Extension activities for increased awareness, technology
transfer and material support were undertaken by FREDA
with the cooperation and support of international NGOs
such as ACTMANG of Japan, DKH and EED of Germany.
So far over 5,000 acres (> 2000 ha) of mangrove
plantations are already established. FREDA hasestablished several nurseries to produce millions ofmangrove seedlings for planting by the local communities.
Now FREDA is conducting 3 kinds of mangrove
plantations such as CFI for fulfilling the basic needs ofcommunities, village wood-lots for the protection ofvillage communities and their assets as disaster prevention
and the wind-break or shelter belt plantations along thesea-shores and stream banks to protect wind and wave
erosions.
Soon after Nargis Cyclone in 2008, FREDA had
distributed emergency relief assistance to 26 villages ofthe project area with 14,508 rice bags, 22,000 viss of
cooking oil, 20,700 viss of salt, 200 rolls of tarpaulin (91metre rolls), 4,000 bottles of drinking water, 200 T-shirts
and some medicine during May to December 2008.
Under the “Food security-related relief and rehabilitation
project after Cyclone Nargis, Myanmar”, a total of 5,350
baskets of paddy seeds, 25 power tillers and 5,902 gallons
of diesel were distributed during the period from June toNovember 2008 in 6 villages, in Bogale Township,
Phaypon district, Ayeyarwady Delta.
Under the project of “Rehabilitation and disaster
preparedness in Nargis affected area of Myanmar throughsustainable landuse and renewable energy”, about 42,000
grafted fruit trees seedlings were distributed to assist the
livelihood security of the Nargis-hit communities andabout 16 ha (40 acres) of wind-break forest were
established in some villages close to the seashore. In
addition, renewable energy like, solar energy, wind energy
and wood/rice husk gasification were introduced in somevillages as the pilot feasibility studies.
After Cyclone Nargis, the majority of the people in thecyclone-affected areas have to stay in the temporary
bamboo huts and tents. Hence there was the need ofpermanent wooden houses and cyclone shelters in case ofoccurrence of natural disaster in future. Based on the
population density and vulnerability of natural disaster, 4school-cum-cyclone shelters (SCCS) were constructed in
Tebinseik, OkphoKwinchaung, Kuntheechaung andKontanpauk villages. Similarly about 500 houses werealso constructed in Kontanpauk, Padekaw and HtawPaing(ShwePyi Aye) villages in 2009-10 under the“Rehabilitation of Houses and construction of Cyclone
Shelter in Ayeyarwady Delta” project.
In cooperation with the DiakonieKatastrophenhilfe (DKH)
of Germany, FREDA has planned to implement the project“Disaster Risk Reduction and Sustainable Landuse in the

Ayeyarwady Delta after the Cyclone Nargis” for 3 years
starting from 1st January 2010 up to the end of December
2012. The project activities mainly include construction ofsmaller school-cum-cyclone shelters, formation of highground-cum-pond, provision of school furnitures, water
harvesting scheme, training courses etc.
In partnership with NEF(Nagao Natural Environment
Foundation), Japan, FREDA has been supporting theoutstanding scholars of local universities leading to M.Sc
and Ph.D degrees in various fields related to Botany,
Biology, Ecology, Environmental Science, Forestry andZoology. Since 1998, a total of 25 M.Sc students and 40
Ph.D candidates have been awarded with NEF Scholarshipsupport. FREDA has also awarded scholarships tooutstanding undergraduate forestry students studying at
the Forestry University at Yezin and also stipends topromising high school graduates who are financiallyhandicapped to study forestry at the University. So far atotal of 61 undergraduates in forestry have been awarded
scholarships and stipends since 1999 academic year.
Support is also given to the outstanding students of the
Myanmar Forest School at PyinOoLwin every year.
Support to students in the academic field of environmental
science is one of the avenues that FREDA is promoting
jointly with NEF of Japan for increased awareness,motivation and experience of the younger generation,
contributing towards effective conservation of the naturalenvironment in Myanmar.
FREDA is also conducting applied research on aquaforestry to fulfill the livelihood of Community Forestry
Users Groups with funding from Wetlands Alliance.
18. FREDA is also launching on the fuel wood plantationsin the Yangon division with appropriate first-growing
fuelwood (Acacia spp.) with funding from Total Oil and
Gas Company Ltd., Myanmar.
The present trend, now-a-days is “Green Economy andGreen Growth” in mitigating global warming and climatechange especially for developing countries. We, therefore,
have to go ahead with Development on socio-economicand environmentally friendly guidelines in the near future.
References
Lateef, F. 2009. Cyclone Nargis and Myanmar: A wake up call. J
Emerg Trauma Shock. 2(2): 106–113, doi: 10.4103/09742700.50745.

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