Browsing by Author "Chaudhury, Moushumi"

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Contested Grounds: The Battle over Forest Resources in Nepal in a Time of Maoist Uprising
(2004) Chaudhury, Moushumi
From the Introduction: "...The issue of how access to natural resources is being affected by civil war in Nepal is a new area of research. This paper will make a rudimentary attempt to demonstrate how such a political movement has the potential to change the lives of migratory collectors of medicinal plants in the early stages of the commodity chain relating to harvesting (see Annex 1 for Commodity Chain of Medicinal Plants in Nepal). This paper will reveal how access to forests has evolved through different tenure regimes over time. It will show that overlapping forest tenure systems of common, state, and open property rights that the state and collectors maintained, never completely limited access to forests for the collectors, until the Maoist insurgency, which started in 1996. The current Maoist movement, through extortion and fear, may seriously threaten access to forests, and therefore, the ability of collectors, who are most dependent on the medicinal plant trade, to harvest them for their income. This is likely to take place in Eastern Nepal where preliminary research on the affect of Maoists on natural resources was conducted. In order to fully understand this situation, the relationship between major players such as the state, Maoists, and collectors of medicinal plants, will be analysed through a political ecology and 'bundle of rights' approach. The paper will also provide a synopsis of the ways in which the medicinal plant trade is being promoted in Nepal and a discussion about the extent to which migrant collectors within a national park context may continue to benefit from this trade by perhaps overriding the challenges the Maoist situation has created in Nepal."
Gender and Climate Change Research in Agriculture and Food Security for Rural Development: Training Guide
(2012) Nelson, Sibyl; Chaudhury, Moushumi
"It is widely accepted that agricultural development will be severely curtailed without addressing the risks and capitalizing on the opportunities posed by climate change. The agriculture sector must adapt to the impacts of climate change in order to provide food security to the world’s growing population. At the same time agriculture must mitigate its contributions to climate change (13.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions) in order to slow the progression of this global challenge. Concurrently, it is internationally recognized that addressing gender issues in agriculture reduces hunger and poverty. In fact, it is estimated that more than 100 million people could be lifted out of poverty if women had the same access to and control of resources as men (FAO, 2011a). Although they are important food producers and providers, women presently have limited access to and control of resources. However, to date, these ideas--that climate change and gender issues are integral parts of agricultural development--have not been implemented in an effective way. This guide seeks to fill that gap by supporting work to investigate the gender dimensions of responding to climate change in the agriculture and food security sectors. The final goals are to improve food production, livelihood security and gender equality in the context of the changing climate."