introduction to socio-economics
and management
the advantages and disadvantages of roads
to rural road neighbour
the material in this handout has been taken from Road Neighbours Case Study by P. Moktan of New Era. it was commissioned by the Geoenvironmental Unit under the Road Maintenance Project and the report published in September 1996. the views expressed are the results of careful socio-economic surveys in eight roadside communities in different parts of Nepal, both in the hills and the Terai.
the benefits of roads as perceived by road neighbours are as follows.
- consumer goods and agricultural inputs are easily available. before the
construction of a road, villagers had to walk long distances to procure
these goods.
- markets are easily accessible to dispose of surplus agricultural products.
as a result, some farmers have become, in Lumle, some local people have
started growing vegetables on a commercial scale, targeting Pokhara,
Baglung, and Kushma as their markets.
- people can travel easily from one place to another for purposes such as
education health, business, employment and social contacts. exposure to
different parts of the country and outside the country have made people
more knowledgeable, and had contributed to an improvement of living
standards.
- many people got employment during the construction of the roads. some
are still employed in road maintenance works. for example, the employment
of a lengthman every three kilometres by EROM on the Dharan-Dhankuta-Hile
road had provided job opportunities to many local people.
- the prices of land, particularly for areas close to the road and in settlements,
have substantially increased. for example, in Nepaltar the price of land
before the construction of the road was Rs 1,300/ ropani. this rose to Rs
12,000/ ropani, about a tenfold increased, after the construction of the road.
- the disadvantages of roads as perceived by road neighbours are given
below.
- in many cases, cultivated land has been taken up by roads, resulting in a
decrease of the land holdings of road neighbours, and no compensation
has been paid. a few people seem to have become almost landless.
however, they still have to pay tax for such land.
- road construction through agricultural land has created bare, steep slopes
at several places and has disturbed the natural stability, increasing the liability
to sliding.
- channels built to drain the water coming from culverts are sometimes
terminated on private agricultural land, which has then been damaged by
gravel and silt deposits. In some areas, agricultural land has been turned
into gullies. villagers complain that DoLIDAR does not heed them even when
the damage is reported.
- on Terai roads, because of the inadequate number of culverts and their
improper placing, the drainage of rainwater on the north side of roads is a
problem at several places and has caused flooding on farms and settlements.
rural villagers' perceptions of damage to roads caused by road neighbours
these perceptions are also taken from P L. Moktan's report.
- road drainage is frequently blocked during the rainy season, either by soil
washed down from terraces adjoining the road, or by the or by the sliding
down of terraces. the current practice in most places of growing food crops
in the road reserve requires frequent tillage, which make the terraces
susceptible to erosion and landsliding. moreover, water from rice fields is
drained to the road indiscriminately, which also causes landslides and
consequently modules the drainage.
- in some areas, roadside drains are being as irrigation channels and are cut
and diverted at several places without considering the negative effects
to the roads.
- in the winter season, open grazing of livestock is practised in almost all
communities and this results in destruction of the vegetation planted in the
road reserve by either DoLIDAR or road neighbours. moreover, livestock
walking on steep slopes also aggravate landsliding.
- quarrying soil (for plastering houses) and stone from road slopes have
made terraces near the road vulnerable to landslides.
- slash and burn cultivation in road corridors and road reserves, though not
very common, still exist in some places, making those areas susceptible
to soil erosion.
show to collaborate with road neighbours
what areas of land?
- any areas of marginal (i.e. uncultivated) land in or close to the road reserve.
- any land which needs improved vegetation cover for better erosion protection
and stability.
- very steep and unstable areas should be maintained only by the DoLIDAR
using standard procedures.
what might be achieved?
we want people to respect public property. we do not want to see damage caused through thoughtlessness or contempt for the "establishment"
we want people to stop grazing animals on steep roadside reserve.
we want people to manage their own land carefully in the road reserve.
we want people to manage their own land carefully where it adjoins the road reserve. this means things like: very careful management of leats (kulos) and irrigation water; no cultivation on steep slopes, but only on well maintained terraces; large grasses (e.g. amliso, khar and babiyo), small trees and other perennial crops sued wherever possible, excavations just below roads.
we want to help farmers to benefit form their proximity to the road. we want to see them gain form development inputs and their ease of reaching markets. it we can help them manage their land better, it will almost certainly help us as well. in general, long term profitable forestry and agriculture benefit everyone. this is because they use careful and sustainable methods of cultivation.
who should take the initiative?
the DoLIDAR must take the initiative in establishing a working relationship with rural road neighbours.
to do this means committing a considerable input of staff time and energy.
what criteria must be met?
if the department is to work with road neighbours, then all of these criteria must be met.
the area of land must be clearly defined and agree.
full agreement on the management of vegetation must be made.
all users of the area must be represented. Influential people may resist the involvement of disadvantaged groups. however, success will not be achieved unless everyone using the area is involved.
the DoLIDAR's Interest in the area must be clearly state. once agreed on, the course of action must be followed according to plan.
there must be clearly defined reasons for the rural road neighbours to be involved in any joint work.
there must be clear benefits for all of the parties involved.
how to approach local people?
use a friendly approach. be humble, not authoritative.
involve everyone. do not take the word of local leaders that all people are involved without double-checking.
behave well and consistently.
utilising the DoLIDAR' resources
distribute plants from DoLIDAR bioengineering nurseries.
if they can be justified for maintenance reasons, carry out civil works to assist the needs of the road neighbours.
utilising the resources of there agencies
encourage the rural road neighbours to find out what is available for them form agencies such as:
Department of Forests;
Department of Soil Conservation;
Department of Agriculture;
Department of Horticulture;
Agricultural Inputs Corporation;
Research centres;
Projects and NGOs
check these agencies yourself to see that they offer. discuss their policies of working close to roads as opposed to remote areas. ask them to support your plans it this is appropriate.
examples of good collaborative work with rural road neighbours
in this section are given some examples of good work by rural road neighbours in support of slope protection and stability. in many cases, they were assisted by a road project, but is some cases the initiative was entirely be the road neighbours themselves.
planting of large culmp grasses on road cut slopes to provide useful products. common examples are amliso, khar, babiyo and napier.
planting of fodder trees seedlings on terrace edged above the road. fodder trees are lopped regularly and so do not surcharge the slope.
planting of a mixture of trees and grasses along road cut and fill slopes, and on terrace edges above the road. examples are: uttis and napier; rai khanya and kikiyu; khayer and babiyao; nebharo and amliso; and many more combinations are possible.
farmer project roadside vegetation in exchange for using the grass and fodder (ghans and dale ghans).
cultivation of uttis and alainchi on steep slopes adjoining roads.
establishing plantations of sisau on embankments and other roadside areas.
seeding of khar on former gravel quarries to establish khar baris.
planting large bans clumps along kulos.
planting napier on old tip sites to provide "banks" of fodder grass.
planting banana trees on gentle cut slopes.
establishment of Forest User Groups to manage forest areas adjoining the road reserve as community forests. this is usually done in conjunction with the Department of Forests or through the Department of Soil Conservation.
establishment of other User Groups to promote different aspects of development (e.g. rabbit farming) in roadside areas, with one stated aim being the improvement of agricultural land use. this is usually done in conjunction with other line agencies.
planting kimbu trees on roadside slopes to provide foliage for sericulture.
these are only some to the examples known form the road sector. Other sectors of development have numerous good examples of different activities that help to strengthen and protect steep slopes.
extension works and stakeholders
extension
extension, in the road sector, it the process of making the resources of DoLIDAR available to road neighbours. to some extent, it also involves giving them responsibility for protecting the road corridor. this is justified if it helps them adopt soil conservation measures along with the proper use and management of their croplands, rangelands, forestlands, water, and other related natural resources within the road corridor.
an extension programme can be used for the sustainable development of the road infrastructure as well as the corridor land. it is mutually beneficial to the road neighbours and to the DoLIDAR. the road neighbours are able to enhance their social and economic welfare through pro-active extension support, while the DoLIDAR is able to protect the costly road infrastructure more effectively from landslide and the erosion damage. if properly carried out, a small cost in extension activities can make a big saving in road maintenance and vehicle operation case in addition to prolonging the life of the road.
stakeholders
a stakeholder is any person, group, or institution that has an interest in the activity in question. this includes both intended beneficiaries and intermediaries, those who benefit and those who lose out, and those involved or excluded from the decision-making processes.
stakeholders in roads include:
- road users (e.g. pedestrians, drivers, but and car passengers);
- road user entrepreneurs (e.g. bus owners, lorry owners, traders
transporting good by road);
- road neighbour entrepreneurs (e.g. hotel owners, fuel vendors);
- other road neighbours (e.g. people owning land adjoining roads);
- road funding agencies (i.e. central government and foreign donors);
- the road construction and maintenance authority (i.e. the DoLIDAR);
- the vehicle regulation and policing authorities (i.e. the Department of Transport
Management and the Traffic police).
note that the DoLIDAR comes quite low on this list. the reason is that it is an agent using public funds to provide the road for others. the primary stakeholders are the people who use and live beside the road.
although the DoLIDAR has legal authority over some aspects of road construction and maintenance, it must provide its services in the public interest. therefore, it has to take into account the interests of the other stakeholders.
problems caused by roads to road neighbours
the construction and subsequent operation of roads through rural areas in steep terrain cause considerable effects on the people living beside them. these include the following:
- loss of land (sometimes with no compensation paid);
- damage to agricultural and forest land by construction;
- debris falling on to agricultural land, sometimes covering it completely;
- interruption of irrigation systems;
- re-activation of gullies and landslides by alterations to slope stability
and drainage;
- interference to drinking water supply systems;
- noise, dust and social pressures.
problems caused by roads neighbours to roads
while the road affected areas outside the legal road reserve, it is also affected by activities on neighbouring land. particular problems identified on mountain roads are:
- extensive over-grazing of roadside slopes resulting in removal of vegetation
and physical damage to the slope surface;
- cultivation, without terracing, on steeply sloping terrain (up to 400 slopes);
- cultivation to the very edge of terraces and cut slopes;
- uncontrolled quarrying of stone from the road cut slopes;
- construction of houses on unstable land immediately above the road;
- poor construction and maintenance of leats (irrigation channels), allowing
large amounts of water to seep into slopes adjacent to road cut slopes.
all of these practices are widespread and can damage the road under certain conditions. they are caused by:
- ignorance of the risks of careless practices to the environment;
- lack of interest in the maintenance of public property;
- wilful neglect of public property in the pursuit of short term gain.
extension in eastern region road maintenance
the project's extension activities are concerned mainly with organising community forestry user groups in road reserve and road corridor areas along the Dharan-Dhankut-Hile section. because of the increasing scarcity of fuel wood, fodder and grasses, the local people in this stretch, as elsewhere in the middle mountain region, are genuinely interested in protecting the remaining natural forest as well as in planting trees on their own farm and other community lands. although they prefer fuel wood and fodder trees, some users' groups such as in Sarangdwar, are also planting commercially useful plants such as tejpat (Cinnamomum tamala), lapsi (Choerospondias axillaris), bamboo and others in their community forests.
Eastern Region Road Maintenance (EROM) is also working closely with the District Forest Office (DFO) in Dhankuta district. The DFO's work in community forestry includes organising, registering, handing over defined community forests to community user's groups for legal tenure in protecting, managing and utilising the forest products, including their commercial marketing.
the community forestry programme is operational in 38 districts in the middle and high mountain regions of Nepal. however, due to a number of factors including bureaucratic procedures, stingy financial rules, bureaucratic personnel administration etc., not more than 5-10 percent of the potential community forests land (estimated at two million hectares) have been registered and handed over to forestry users' groups (FUGs). moreover, the Department of Forests' staff assist in organising users groups in and around the district and sub-district headquarters without taking advantage of the potential of the road-based operation. this can be mainly attributed to the lack of travel and daily subsistence allowance systems for HMG personnel while working in their own district. EROM staffs have helped by enabling the local people to take advantage of the resources available to them through the District Forest Offices.
in a few cases, EROM staff have collaborated with other HMG/N agencies concerned with agriculture, livestock, soil and water conservation etc. as well as some NGOs for extending good land husbandry practices or income generating activities (e.g. rabbit raising), adult education and so on. the Pakhribas Agricultural Centre was also helpful here. but in all these respects, the personal and informal initiatives of the EROM staff in general and those of the Extension Agents in particular, played important roles instead of the formal and official channels.
the extension supervisors have reached many farmers. two good examples of these farmers are Padam Rai of Malebas and Krishna Rai of Kagate, who have done excellent jobs in managing and using their limited land and water resources for both environmental protection and economic betterment. such outcomes should be replicated with many road neighbours, preferable through community approaches, for efficiency and cost effectiveness of the road-based extension programme.
since 1991, the EROM Estension Agents have established 39 Forest and other User's Gorups of which 23 are still functional but the rest are inactive because of ineffective community organisation.
observations of the Eastern Region Road Maintenance extension programme
· the road drains and slopes above and below the roads were found to be
well-maintained throughout the Dharan-Dhankuta-Hile road. though it was the
rainty seasson, no landslides were seen at any place during the visit.
· in both of the study communities, a large number of trees and grasses were
seen planted in both road reserve and road corridor. in Sansari Sukhepokhari,
many farmers have planted unit and bans on either side of the road and some
have grown napier and kikiya (two types of fodder grass) on the edges of
the terraces adjoining the roads.
· many local people of both communities appreciate EROM's efforts for road
slope protection with the collaboration of road neighbours. they found the
EROM extension workers very co-operative and friendly, and always eager
to help local people in slope protection accoring to the interests and needs of
the community.
· the study team found the extension programme successful in making the road
neighbours aware of the mutual advantages or road slope protection by
planting vegetation in the road reserve and road corridor. this has significantly
contributed to the process of slope stabilisation on the road section, thereby
reducing its maintenance cost.
· [from Road Neighbours case study (1996), commissioned by the
Bioengineering Component of the Road Maintenance Project, Department
of roads.]
extension messages for the road sector
how do we encourage subsistence farmers to work towards safeguarding the slopes around the road?
there is no easy answer to this, but some facts are now well established:
a positive, sympathetic approach yields better results than one, which is based on conflict and negatively.
a government authority must be beyond reproach if it is to convince the public to be positive towards it. this means that it must fulfil its legal obligations (e.g. compensating for losses, taking measures to limit any damage) and should be reasonably transparent in its operation (i.e. fair and free from corruption).
public-funded bodies should be fairly humble (e.g. 'we are here to serve you') while still retaining authority to manage public works in the national interest.
the more communication there is between stakeholders the better is the relationship. communication should not just be started when there is a problem.
how do we want farmers to respond?
again, there is no simple answer to this because much depends on the local situation. but there are some general rules:
we want people to respect public property. we do not want to see damage caused through thoughtlessness or contempt for the 'establishment'.
we do not want people to graze animals on steep roadside slopes.
we want people to manage vegetation carefully in the road reserve.
we want people to manage their own land carefully where it adjoins the road reserve.
this means things like: very careful management of leats (kulos) and irrigation water; no cultivation on steep slopes, cultivation on well maintained terraces; small trees and other perennial crops use wherever possible, especially on terrace edges and risers; no throwing of debris down slopes on to roads; no excavations just below roads.
we want to have a good and mutually beneficial relationship with road neighbours. this is the cheapest and best way forward. but if it does fail, HMG/N can use its heavy guns: an example of this was the bulldozing of houses and walls between Maiti Ghar and Sallaghari in May 1996.
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