Soft-sediment deformation structures have been analyzed at six sites of the Kathmandu valley. Microgranulometric study reveals that silty levels (60 to 80% silt) favor the development of ...soft-sediment deformation structures, while sandy levels (60 to 80% sand) are passively deformed. Nonetheless well sorted sand levels (more than 80% sand) generate over-fluid pressure during compaction if located beneath a silty cap, leading to fluidization and dike development. 3-D geometry of seismites indicates a very strong horizontal shearing during their development. Using a physical approach based on soil liquefaction during horizontal acceleration, we show that the fluidization zone progressively grows down-section during the shaking, but does not exactly begin at the surface. The comparison of bed-thickness and strength/depth evolution indicates three cases: i) no soft-sediment deformation occurs for thin (few centimeters) silty beds; ii) the thickness of soft-sediment deformation above sandy beds is controlled by the lithological contrast; iii) the thickness of soft-sediment deformation depends on the shaking intensity for very thick silty beds. These 3 cases are evidenced in the Kathmandu basin. We use the 30
cm-thick soft-sediment deformation level formed during the 1833 earthquake as a reference: the 1833 earthquake rupture zone extended very close to Kathmandu, inducing there MMI IX–X damages. A 90
cm-thick sediment deformation has therefore to be induced by an event greater than MMI X. From a compilation of paleo and historic seismology studies, it is found that the great (M
~
8.1) historical earthquakes are not characteristic of the greatest earthquakes of Himalaya; hence earthquakes greater than M
~
8.6 occurred. Kathmandu is located above one of the asperities that laterally limits the extent of mega-earthquake ruptures and two successive catastrophic events already affected Kathmandu, in 1255 located to the west of this asperity and in ~
1100 to the east.
► Soft-sediment deformation is controlled by the fluidization of silty levels. ► Shearing between planes parallel to the surface causes soft-sediment deformation. ► Pre-historic seismites are three times thicker than seismites linked to MMI X historic events. ► Kathmandu is at the transition between two segments of Himalaya. ► Two successive catastrophic earthquakes occurred during the 12th and 13th centuries.
Through the prism of a Nepali remittance village, this book critically examines poverty and livelihood dynamics remade through transnational labour migration and remittances, and their ...interrelationships with land, rural labour and agriculture.
The concept of The Remittance Village emphasises rural people's transnational mobilities as a key feature of contemporary dynamics in many parts of the Global South, which are reconfiguring rural social, economic and ecological textures. Sunam challenges complacent linear narratives that assume new opportunities such as transnational migration, and remittances provide better pathways for the rural poor to come out of poverty, as well as narratives that understate the importance of land and farming for the rural poor. He demonstrates both that new opportunities are inaccessible for many poor people and that accessing these opportunities often engenders increased precarity and vulnerability. In The Remittance Village, he finds that even those accessing new opportunities are successful only when their household member(s) are simultaneously engaged in in-situ (non-)agricultural activities.
This book is a valuable resource for scholars and students from a range of interdisciplinary backgrounds, including human geography, anthropology of development, and sociology. It is also recommended reading for policy makers, international development agencies and I/NGOs working on rural development in the Global South.
Nepal is a sensitive earthquake zone. On April 25, 2015, there was an Earthquake of 7.8 Mw. After that, more than 30 aftershocks of above 5 Mw occurred. One of the aftershocks was of 7.3 Mw which ...occurred on May 12. In this paper, the damages in the tunnel of the Melamchi water supply project due to this earthquake were assessed. Cracks were observed on the inside surface, wall, and crown of the tunnel. Distribution and characteristics of these seismic damages were investigated and summarised to assess potential influencing factors. The damages are categorized into the following patterns: lining cracks and spalling. Lining cracks are further divided into longitudinal cracks, transverse cracks, ring cracks, and inclined cracks. Influencing factors are discussed with respect to Earthquake parameters mainly being magnitude, depth and distance to epicenter. This paper presents the pattern of seismic damages occurred for different overburden depths and different rock types. Here, the analysis is done by observation and categorization of damages for different aspects of considered factors and there are some unusual results in damages for varying overburden depths. There were few unusual results as in the damage distribution for overburden depth and also for different rock types. The reason may be the occurrence of many considerable aftershocks and epicenter being very near, so the damages may have been accumulated after each shock. Also the distribution of rock types have influenced the damages. So one influencing factors may have its effects on the results while considering the other factor.
Economists studying environmental collective action and green governance have paid little attention to gender. Research on gender and green governance in other disciplines has focused mainly on ...women's near absence from forestry institutions. This interdisciplinary book turns that focus on its head to ask: what if women were present in these institutions? What difference would that make? Would women's inclusion in forest governance - undeniably important for equity - also affect decisions on forest use and outcomes for conservation and subsistence? Are women's interests in forests different from men's? Would women's presence lead to better forests and more equitable access? Does it matter which class of women governs? And how large a presence of women would make an impact? Answers to these questions can prove foundational for effective environmental governance. Yet they have hardly been empirically investigated. In an analysis that is conceptually sophisticated and statistically rigorous, using primary data on community forestry institutions in India and Nepal, this book is the first major study to comprehensively address these wide-ranging issues. It traces women's history of exclusion from public institutions, the factors which constrain their effective participation, and how those constraints can be overcome. It outlines how strategic partnerships between forestry and other civil society institutions could strengthen rural women's bargaining power with community and government. And it examines the complexities of eliciting government accountability in addressing poor rural women's needs, such as for clean domestic fuel and access to the commons. Located in the interface of environmental studies, political economy and gender analysis, the volume makes significant original contributions to current debates on gender and governance, forest conservation, clean energy policy, critical mass and social inclusion. Traversing uncharted territory with rare analytical rigor, this lucidly written book will be of interest to scholars and students as well as policy makers and practitioners. Available in OSO: http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/oso/public/content/economicsfinance/9780199569687/toc.html
Historical data and a partial description of the ongoing neurosurgical scenario in Nepal were reported and published earlier. However, updated data on neurosurgical manpower in Nepal has not yet been ...published. This study aims to explore the neurosurgical workforce in Nepal involved in different administrative territories and in different health sectors.
This is a cross-sectional descriptive study. A nationwide survey was conducted through personal communication from April to September of 2023. Data on neurosurgeons in all 7 provinces of the country and the major sectors of the health services were collected. Similarly, the number of neurosurgeons in the country every year from 1988 was also collected.
Through September 2023, there are 114 actively practicing neurosurgeons in the country for the population of 29,164,578, meaning 1 neurosurgeon serving about 255,829 people. Neurosurgeons are available in all 7 provinces of the country. More than half of the neurosurgeons in the country are fully involved in private practice while about one-third are in medical college and less than one-fifth are in the government service. The capital city has more than half of the neurosurgeons of the country.
The number of neurosurgeons in the country is still small, however its ratio with population is better than most of the other South Asian countries. In a short period of time, neurosurgical service flourished significantly in Nepal and is available in all the provinces and thus it has become more easily accessible.
We conducted a systematic detection of micro-seismicity in Southern Tibet 1.6 days before and 4.4 days after the 2015 Mw 7.8 Gorkha, Nepal earthquake. Our study employs 368 template events listed in ...the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC) catalog. With the waveform-based matched filter technique, we detected five times more earthquakes than listed in the CENC catalog during our study period. The seismicity in Southern Tibet shows a significant increase immediately following the Gorkha, Nepal earthquake, including two normal-faulting events (the Mw 5.8 Tingri and Mw 5.3 Nyalam earthquakes) about 3 and 11 h after the mainshock, respectively. Although the static stress changes ΔCFS showed a slightly better correlation with the seismicity rate changes than the peak dynamic stress changes ΔCFS(t), the absolute value of the static stress change at the epicenter region of the Mw 5.8 Tingri earthquake is ~ 10 kPa, roughly two orders smaller than the peak dynamic stress change of 2.2 MPa. Although we are unable to identify the primary triggering mechanism, it is evident that the 2015 Nepal earthquake triggered widespread seismicity in Southern Tibet. Our results highlight the potential increase of seismic hazard in Southern Tibet due to the occurrence of major thrust earthquakes along the Himalaya frontal thrust faults.
High Frontiers Bauer, Kenneth Michael
2004., 20040407, 2004, 2010-06-01, 20040101
eBook
Dolpo is a culturally Tibetan enclave in one of Nepal's most remote regions. The Dolpo-pa, or people of Dolpo, share language, religious and cultural practices, history, and a way of life. ...Agro-pastoralists who live in some of the highest villages in the world, the Dolpo-pa wrest survival from this inhospitable landscape through a creative combination of farming, animal husbandry, and trade. High Frontiers is an ethnography and ecological history of Dolpo tracing the dramatic transformations in the region's socioeconomic patterns. Once these traders passed freely between Tibet and Nepal with their caravans of yak to exchange salt and grains; they relied on winter pastures in Tibet to maintain their herds. After 1959, China assumed full control over Tibet and the border was closed, restricting livestock migrations and sharply curtailing trade. At the same time, increasing supplies of Indian salt reduced the value of Tibetan salt, undermining Dolpo's economic niche. Dolpo's agro-pastoralists were forced to reinvent their lives by changing their migration patterns, adopting new economic partnerships, and adapting to external agents of change. The region has been transformed as a result of the creation of Nepal's largest national park, the making of Himalaya, a major motion picture filmed on location, the increasing presence of nongovernmental organizations, and a booming trade in medicinal products. High Frontiers examines these transformations at the local level and speculates on the future of pastoralism in this region and across the Himalayas.
This book analyses the problem of the increasing political exclusion of ethnic, caste and gender groups in democratic Nepal and discusses its consequences for democracy and the stability of the ...country. While outlining alternative democratic institutions and proposing specific institutions that can include the diverse socio-cultural groups in Nepal, this book:
- analyses the Maoist insurgency, arguing that political exclusion was a major cause for its genesis and growth;
- examines the causes for the lack of democratic consolidation in Nepal;
- provides the first comprehensive critique of the 1990 Constitution, identifying it as an important factor leading to the political exclusion of ethnic groups;
- suggests the setting up of a new Constituent Assembly to address the social and political crisis in Nepal;
- makes important recommendations to shape an inclusive and democratic Nepal which include federalism; a powerful House of Nationalities; a proportional electoral system; affirmative action policies and reservations; declaration of a secular state; a centralized judicial review; and the protection of minority rights in the Constitution.
Overall, the author argues that unless Nepal's ruling elite becoms senstive to the needs of marginalized and excluded groups, the country could witness an escalation in violence.
Highlighting a wide range of issues crucial to strengthening democracy in Nepal, this book is of interest ot students and academics studing Nepal and South Asia.
Highest geomorphic activity in the central Nepal Himalayas is mainly driven by monsoonal precipitation. In contrast, the northern flanks of the Nepal Himalaya lay in the relative dry rain shadow of ...the mountain range.
During the monsoon 2018, major floods and geomorphic events occurred in the Kali Gandaki (KG) valley impacting both the monsoon-affected and the dry parts of the catchments. We analyze the events and its triggers based on field observations, multiple satellite image interpretation, climatological analysis using Global Precipitation Measurement and MODIS snow cover data, hydrological analysis and media analysis.
The hydro-meteorological triggers are complex. Exceptional precipitation in April and May 2018 occurred in the entire study area, followed by a rather dry period. Precipitation in August was exceptional in the northern part whereas below average in the South. We argue that dynamics of snow accumulation and delayed melting contributed significantly to flooding and increased geomorphic activity in the southern part in August whereas flooding in the northern part was mainly triggered by rainfalls. We thus define 2018 as an abnormal (pre-)monsoon year with less rainfall than average but being more catastrophic.
Sediment dynamics in the study area are still controlled by the Dhampu rock avalanche dam and the braided river floodplain north of this knickpoint, where sediment pulses delivered from tributaries are rarely connected from the main river. During the monsoon floods 2018 sediment connectivity was given for most tributaries due to the steepness of the catchments.
The study area is subject to major human impact. Mostly in the south, numerous hillslopes have been undercut by road construction, leading to higher geomorphic sensitivity. Severe landslides might thus be triggered in future even by less intense rainfall events.
Magnitude and frequency of such abnormal (pre-)monsoon precipitation are highly relevant for sediment flux and natural hazards studies.
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•The year 2018 was an abnormal (pre-)monsoon year.•Below average precipitation caused yet more disastrous geomorphic events.•Exceptional snow falls in spring and delayed melting were essential drivers.•Magnitude/frequency of such years are relevant for sediment flux/natural hazards.
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