transitional settlement: displaced populations

1. Case study:Bhutanese refugees, Nepal, 1997 trainer name 2004 transitional settlement: displaced populations

2. case study • background • description of the Jhapa camps • situation profile • profile of potential sites • forced migrant profile • local population profile • environmental profile case study transitional settlement: displaced populations

3. case study • background • description of the Jhapa camps • situation profile • profile of potential sites • forced migrant profile • local population profile • environmental profile case study transitional settlement: displaced populations

4. case study government repression in Bhutan during the 1980’s the regime in Bhutan became dominated by the Ngalung and Drukpa ethnic groups since that time, the government has aggressively pursued policies to strip the Nepali-speaking population of their citizenship rights and expel them from the country background

5. case study flight to Nepal refugees began to arrive in Nepal (via India) at the end of 1990 the peak-influx was in mid-1992, with 600-800 arrivals daily refugees self-settled very densely around the town of Maidar, arriving during the dry season when UNCHR and the Lutheran World Foundation (LWF) arrived however, they realised the site was prone to flooding background

6. case study establishment of camps the refugees were moved to seven new sites in the Jhapa and Moreng districts of south-eastern Nepal the camps held a total population of 90,000 people in 1997 co-operation between the aid community, Nepalese government, and the displaced population has resulted in the camps often being held up as examples of good management background

7. case study • background • description of the Jhapa camps • situation profile • profile of potential sites • forced migrant profile • local population profile • environmental profile case study transitional settlement: displaced populations

8. case study the sites were distributed throughout the Jhapa region of the east Nepali Terai, adjoining the foothills of the Himalayas the sites were all on government forestry department land, with many large saal trees cleared to provide accommodation space the climate was hot and humid, with heavy rains in June and July, and melt water from the mountains in spring making flooding common flood protection was required on some sites, but the engineering works undertaken were not wholly successful description of the Jhapa camps

9. case study planning in each camp was very dense, with shelters often less than one metre apart fires did occur and were destructive there was very little violence within the refugee population community committees undertook much of the everyday management of the camps description of the Jhapa camps

10. case study the local population was competing with the refugees over environmental resources, such as fuelwood and bamboo for construction locals complained that wells near some camps ran dry, as result of over extraction and ‘draw down’ near refugee wells relations were relatively good however, with some local population representation in camp management construction materials and perishable foodstuffs were sourced regionally, but without sustainable strategies description of the Jhapa camps

11. case study • background • description of the Jhapa camps • situation profile • profile of potential sites • forced migrant profile • local population profile • environmental profile case study transitional settlement: displaced populations

12. case study security situation in the region and in the migrant and host populations organised violence was rare, whether by refugees, locals, or the authorities large protest demonstrations by both refugees and locals were treated with tolerance, although policing was heavy-handed by western standards police posts were established in the camps in response to criminal activity and refugees were involved in security measures situation profile

13. case study points of entry or sources of influxes refugees transited from the lowland region of southern Bhutan through Sikkim in India, arriving at a border reception centre at Karkavitta in Nepal India provided buses to help refugees with the transfer Nepal also provided some buses to move refugees along the East-West Highway to the camps situation profile

14. case study host government policy and attitude towards influxes the presence of the refugees became politically charged through continuous reporting by the Nepali media UNCHR and its implementing partners had been quick to head off crises and the focus remained largely on negotiations with the Kingdom of Bhutan the government of Nepal maintained that the integration of the refugees into Nepal was impossible the government of Nepal negotiated to ensure that the international aid community bore as much of the economic burden as possible situation profile

15. case study access by migrants to employment officially, access to employment was illegal, as was the keeping of livestock many local teachers were refugees, as the education in the camps was better than in the local community refugee labour was used by roads contractors for rock-breaking informal work in harvesting caused resentment in local landless populations, although much of the seasonal labour force came from India situation profile

16. case study contingency plans already in place for migrant influxes there were no contingency plans at the time of the influx and none for future influxes site extensions were however being prepared for, in response to the natural population growth of 2 – 2.5% situation profile

17. case study regional development plans in operation or planned the improvement of the East-West Highway was the major developmental initiative, funded by the UK DFID small ‘Refugee affected Area Programmes’ were initiated by UNHCR UNDP did not operate in Jhapa or Moreng districts, in spite of some need amongst landless IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) situation profile

18. case study external and local agencies operating regionally literally thousands of NGOs were registered in Nepal most concentrated on development projects for Nepalese in the foothills of the Himalayas, with few operating in the districts were the camps were sited in the camps themselves, UNHCR, the LWF and Oxfam were operating situation profile

19. case study • background • description of the Jhapa camps • situation profile • profile of potential sites • forced migrant profile • local population profile • environmental profile case study transitional settlement: displaced populations

20. case study access and supply routes, security concerns and seasonal variations there was reasonable all-year road access to all camps and an airstrip improvements were made to roads by UNHCR security was not an issue profile of potential sites

21. case study proximity to local settlements, local agriculture, and other refugee camps villages abutted some of the camps agriculture and animal husbandry were intensive landless settlements throughout the districts had a total population of a similar size to the refugee population profile of potential sites

22. case study land use by locals for agriculture, grazing, fuelwood collection, hunting the sites were originally used for agro-forestry, grazing and fuelwood collection usage by local groups was informal but well-defined profile of potential sites

23. case study standing water and other opportunities for vector proliferation there was standing water in some camps, although programmes were in place for draining and reclaiming these areas for inhabitation by refugees initial site preparation included land drainage profile of potential sites

24. case study area suitable for occupation all land used for the camps was government owned, mostly by the forestry ministry there was insufficient land area for the refugee population, with only 10-15 square metres per person UNHCR/WHO 1982 standards specify 30 square metres per person profile of potential sites

25. case study topography, surface water drainage patterns the land was relatively flat, with slopes under ten degrees serious gullying from a nearby river was evident in a number of the camps, with additional erosion occuring every spring from the Himalayan meltwater there was danger of flooding in more than one camp flood protection schemes were in place, with varying results profile of potential sites

26. case study vegetation cover, influencing soil erosion, shading, and wind shielding most sites were covered with saal trees, although many had been cut down by the forestry ministry microclimatic conditions were much better where there was tree cover, both in terms of shading and wind plants unsuitable for fodder had been planted by UNHCR in gullies to help prevent soil erosion bush was initially destroyed since the camps were built, kitchen gardens had been established between all of the shelters profile of potential sites

27. case study soil conditions, such as suitability for latrines, drainage and agriculture in six of the camps, soil was bad for drainage, but good for latrines and agriculture in the remaining camp, the situation was reversed profile of potential sites

28. case study • background • description of the Jhapa camps • situation profile • profile of potential sites • forced migrant profile • local population profile • environmental profile case study transitional settlement: displaced populations

29. case study reasons for flight the Bhutanese government was taking an increasingly tough and restrictive stance against the ethnically Nepali minority number in current influx and estimated size of imminent influx 92,426 refugees (UNHCR May 1997) lived in seven camps, with populations ranging from 8,000 to 46,000 approximately an additional 10,000 refugees had spontaneously settled elsewhere in Nepal no future influx was expected forced migrant profile

30. case study physical condition and vulnerable groups health and vulnerability were not issues within the camps and both were better than in surrounding villages accusations were made of some refugees being engaged in prostitution ethnic or economic links with the host population all the refugees were ethnically Nepali, although they considered themselves Bhutanese forced migrant profile

31. case study endemic diseases in home areas malaria and Japanese encephalitis were the main diseases composition: ethnicity, origin, caste, gender, age and family size all castes were represented and maintained in the camps the proportion of males to females was normal good primary health care meant that the proportion of children was much higher than normal the average family size as defined for food distribution was 7-8 members although family structures were extended forced migrant profile

32. case study backgrounds and skill bases, whether urbanites, farmers or pastoralists most refugees were hill farmers, although some were from villages or towns, with skills consistent with a developing Asian community leadership, politicisation and cohesion of communities communities were well organised and generally cooperative with camp management political groups did exist, although in hiding, and were suspected of militant action by the Bhutanese government forced migrant profile

33. case study presence of intimidating or violent factions neither intimidation nor violence was an issue forced migrant profile

34. case study • livestock and its distribution amongst the migrants • no livestock was brought from Bhutan • agreements were in place where: • refugees provided the capital for purchasing the livestock and took part of the proceeds of their sale • locals provided official ownership and grazing • morning milk from cattle went to locals, and evening milk went to the refugees forced migrant profile

35. case study connections with any land under cultivation in home areas refugees rarely travelled to and from Bhutan to find out the fate of their farms many farms had been compulsorily purchased by the Bhutanese government for sums below the market price forced migrant profile

36. case study traditional settlement patterns and shelter construction practices before they left Bhutan, most refugees lived in mud brick one- or two-story homesteads with ancillary agricultural structures urban buildings were sometimes in fired brick bamboo structures were used for poor shelters forced migrant profile

37. case study traditional patterns of water use, such as quantity used in Bhutan, water was generally plentiful in both rural and urban areas, although access was often time consuming traditional hygiene practices, such as use of pit latrines in Bhutan, latrines were common in urban areas, but not in poorer rural areas forced migrant profile

38. case study traditional cooking practices, such as how much fuelwood is used large clay wood-burning ranges were common, involving ovens and wood drying areas fuelwood use was therefore quite efficient forced migrant profile

39. case study • background • description of the Jhapa camps • situation profile • profile of potential sites • forced migrant profile • local population profile • environmental profile case study transitional settlement: displaced populations

40. case study endemic diseases: malaria and Japanese encephalitis were the main diseases land use practices and land law land in the districts was under pressure from a growing population land ownership was rigidly-defined, as was the collection of firewood from communal and government land local population profile

41. case study agricultural and livestock practices suitable in the area the land was suitable for intensive farming cattle, pigs and chickens were kept on spare land local population profile

42. case study use and sources of environmental resources, such as water and wood water was diverted from streams to flood rice paddies dead wood from forests provided sufficient fuelwood for local use local population profile

43. case study economic profile the Terai lowland area of Nepal, in which the camps are situated, is relatively prosperous population growth in the foothills had resulted in migration into the Terai, which did not have sufficient employment opportunities or land to accommodate the population the presence of the aid community, purchasing food and other materials for the refugees, had significantly inflated the costs of certain products local population profile

44. case study • background • description of the Jhapa camps • situation profile • profile of potential sites • forced migrant profile • local population profile • environmental profile case study transitional settlement: displaced populations

45. case study water sources, quantity, location and quality the water table was high enough for hand pumps in some camps, but mechanically pumped boreholes were required in others water quality was good environmental profile

46. case study carrying capacity for extraction of fuelwood and construction materials there was insufficient fuelwood for both local and refugee needs in response, kerosene wick stoves were distributed by UNHCR, and fuelwood burning in the camps was forbidden, although some cooking with wood continued illegally bamboo was used for construction the one-year UNHCR funding cycle meant it was impossible to cure the bamboo prior to distribution the result had been over-harvesting of bamboo, with the accompanying soil erosion and large maintenance costs for UNHCR cured bamboo can last up to 20 years green bamboo is unlikely to last 2 years environmental profile

47. case study vulnerable areas or areas with global ecological significance the river edge was prone to soil erosion the Himalayas contained much unique ecology environmental profile

48. case study seasonal variations, impacting on water and environmental resources heavy flooding in the spring and after monsoon rains threatened to flood areas of camps there was no significant impact upon potable water supply or environmental resources environmental profile