Open Access
How to translate text using browser tools
1 May 2014 Depopulating the Himalayan Highlands: Education and Outmigration From Ethnically Tibetan Communities of Nepal
Geoff Childs, Sienna Craig, Cynthia M. Beall, Buddha Basnyat
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Communities that have thrived for centuries in Nepal's rugged mountain environments are facing rapid population declines caused by the outmigration of youths, both males and females in nearly equal numbers, who are sent by parents to distant boarding schools and monasteries for secular and religious education. This paper documents the magnitude of outmigration, migration destinations, migration's impact on the age–sex composition of sending communities, the effect of migration on fertility, and projected trends of population decline and aging. The authors conclude by discussing potential long-term threats to the viability of ethnically Tibetan communities in the Himalayan highlands, including outmigration's effect on agricultural production, the family-based care system for the elderly, socioeconomic inequalities, and human capital.

International Mountain Society
Geoff Childs, Sienna Craig, Cynthia M. Beall, and Buddha Basnyat "Depopulating the Himalayan Highlands: Education and Outmigration From Ethnically Tibetan Communities of Nepal," Mountain Research and Development 34(2), 85-94, (1 May 2014). https://doi.org/10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-14-00021.1
Received: 1 April 2014; Accepted: 1 April 2014; Published: 1 May 2014
KEYWORDS
demography
education
Himalaya
migration
Nepal
population decline
TIBETANS
Back to Top