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2nd Tele-Conference on Environmental Aspects (TCEA) BENJapan 3rd July 2010: Saturday

Linkages among household male members` out-migration, farm level land-use intensity and biodiversity in rural Bangladesh. -Could it be a research/policy issue?. Mohammad Abdul Malek PhD Candidate (Rural Economics) The United Graduate School of Agricultural Sciences Tottori University, Japan

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2nd Tele-Conference on Environmental Aspects (TCEA) BENJapan 3rd July 2010: Saturday

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  1. Linkages among household male members` out-migration, farm level land-use intensity and biodiversity in rural Bangladesh. -Could it be a research/policy issue? Mohammad Abdul Malek PhD Candidate (Rural Economics) The United Graduate School of AgriculturalSciences Tottori University, Japan And Assistant Director (On Deputation) Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development (BARD), Comilla, Bangladesh Email:malekr25@gmail.com, Softbank #080-30573167 2nd Tele-Conference on Environmental Aspects (TCEA) BENJapan 3rd July 2010:Saturday

  2. Introduction -For sustaining local livelihoods, conservation of biodiversity and maintenance of ecosystemstructure and function are crucially important for climate change adaptation strategies (FAO,2008). Since Bangladesh is already considered as one of the worst-hit places for climate change,understanding the multifarious effects on land-resources and agro biodiversity deserves specialattention. -In its densely populated rural economy where farm land is scarce and graduallydecreasing, livelihood diversification through out-migration especially by household male members has become a growing reality. Such migration apparently seems to be a reward for theremittance receiving households/communities. -Probable adverse effects for the household farm economy might be decreasing household male farm worker, following more simplified production system and more extensive use of farm land in non-farm purpose. Thus, apparently it seems to be that there are some linkages among household male members` out-migration, farm level land-use intensity and associated environment/biodiversity. But till to date there is no theoretical/empirical study relating those issues.

  3. Literature review First group Identifiedsignificant (regardless positive/negative/mixed) impact on the sending communities` land use andenvironmental changes. Second group Addressed the effects of land-use change onbiodiversity regardless the issue of out-migration, but their approach is rich in addressing landuse intensity and biodiversity aspects. Third group Addressed out-migration issuewith limited focus of land-use and bio-diversity. But neither study combined the out-migrationissue with the comprehensive focus of farm level land-use intensity and biodiversity.

  4. Concepts and Definitions Farm land input use intensity Irrigated area, grassland, livestock, conventional or organicfarming, expenditures on inputs (fertilizer and soil improvers, crop protection products, feedingstuffs for grazing livestock) and expenditures on major land improvements. Farm land Outputintensity Crop yields (in kg/acre) and crop/livestock/fisheries output (in BDT). Biodiversity (Reidsma, et al., 2006) -Expressed as the mean abundance of speciesoriginally present in natural ecosystems relative to their abundance in undisturbed situationswhich we call the ecosystem quality (EQ). The maximum value is 100% and indicates anundisturbed natural situation, while 0% represents a completely transformed/destroyed ecosystemwithout any wild species left. This indicator is close to the natural capital index (NCI) concept (Ten Brink, 2000). -Agro-ecosystem quality is the result of combined effects of several pressures on the landscapeincluding the combinedeffects of ploughing frequency, fertilizer and pesticide applications, and specialization ofproduction, monoculture, and crop or grass productivity. -Thus, Reidsma, et al. (2006) developedthreshold levels of ecosystem quality for different farm types which, with some modifications, could be adopted for measuring farm level EQ and NCOI inthe context of rural Bangladesh.

  5. Theoretical linkages • -In case of rural areas in developing countries, out-migration may reduce the incentives for land conservation since land conservation activities are mostly labor intensive. It is because the family labor and the hired labor are not close substitutes (Taniguchi, 2003). • -Aryal (undated) found dual impacts of out-migration on the village economy: village factor market (both labor and land) and household welfare/land conservation activities. • As household farm production is the main linkage between economy and environment, the out-migration can influence the environment associated with farm level land use intensity and agro-ecosystem. • In the context of rural Bangladesh, such out-migration mainly belongs to household male members who are predominantly involved with farm activities in pre-migration situation. • Thus, the central idea of the approach is that due to out-migration of household male members, their farms follow more simplified farming systems (intensive production system) where less labor is used or keep the farm land non-farm use/grassland.

  6. Conservation questions -Which farmers prefer relatively intensive production system as opposed to relatively non-intensive production system (e.g. organic/grassland management/no production system)? -Which factors motivate them to have such a decision? Is there any influence of such a decision on household farm level land use intensity and bio-diversity? Theoretical/empirical models -For addressing such research questions, the farm household economic model (developed by Singh, et al., 1986, Van Dusen, 2000 and others) would be the basis of households` decisions for the participation in relatively intensive production system. -A theoretical household model could be developed, with a focus on variables from both the consumption and production sides of household model (household/farm characteristics, constraints, agro-ecological/market conditions, etc.) that affect households` decisions for participating in relatively intensive production system as opposed to relatively non-intensive production system.

  7. Questions/hypothesis to be addressed • Is there any link among household male members’ out-migration, • farm level land-use intensity and biodiversity? • 2. Does household male members` out-migration affect farm level land use input intensity? • 3. Does it affect farm level land use output intensity? • 4. Does it affect farm level biodiversity? • 5. Does it increase dependency on hired labor for farm activities and/or female/aged people` role in farm level land use intensity and conservation activities? Expected outcome The study could establish how the out-migration of household male members affects farm level land-use intensity and biodiversity and have some significant policy implications that would support the development of household farms with better management practices and conservation of farm land resources and biodiversity as well.

  8. Final question to the participants Could the raised issue be a research/policy issue for the future?

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