Press Release

The Toni Hagen Foundation-Nepal has awarded the first Toni Hagen Fellowship in the Natural Sciences to Shubhechchha Thapa and the first Toni Hagen Fellowship in the Social Sciences to Amar Bahadur BK.

Named after the famous Swiss geologist, Toni Hagen, these annual fellowships have been instituted with the support of the Toni Hagen Foundation-Europe to provide an opportunity to aspiring young Nepali scholars from disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue a career in academia. Towards that end, the Fellows will work under a senior scholar from their respective host institutions during the fellowship period of one year.

Ms Thapa of Syangja has a Master’s degree in Environmental Science from Tribuvan University, and will work with Dr Ash Kumar Rai of Resources Himalaya to study the ecology of the Trisuli River. Mr BK of Kaski has a Master’s degree in Anthropology from Tribhuvan University, and will work with Dr Rajendra Pradhan of the Social Science Baha in the collection and analysis of oral and textual narratives.

Fellowship 1
Toni Hagen Fellowship Report

Amar Bahadur B K
Toni Hagen Fellow in the Social Sciences
Social Science Baha
I Introduction
Toni Hagen Fellowship has been established by Toni Hagen Foundation Nepal with the support of Toni Hagen Foundations, Europe, to provide opportunities to young Nepalese scholars to engage in research activities under the supervision of senior researchers. The Fellowship has been offered in two disciplines, one in natural sciences and the other in social sciences, for a year. I am a fellow in the Social Sciences based in the Social Science Baha. And, the Fellowship was effective from 16 July 2008.

I am (the Fellow) supposed to work in the collection and analysis of oral and textual narratives (print, media, posture, and writing) from the villages and small towns and visual images (cartoons, paintings, photos and films) pertaining to social, political, economic and cultural changes and events over the past twenty years as part of the digital archive project of the Baha, under the supervision of anthropologist Dr. Rajendra Pradhan.

II Achievements
Although it is difficult to trace the specific outputs in research at the beginning, I have listed and briefly discussed the achievements/outputs made during the past four months of the Fellowship as follows;

a. Immersion Course on Contemporary Social Issues
I have been doing the Immersion Course on Contemporary Social Issues. It is a four month long academic course based on the contemporary social issues in social sciences conducted by Social Science Baha, with senior social scientists of the country as moderators. It was aimed at enabling Nepalese graduates to intellectually comprehend critical contemporary social issues. The course included the various disciplines such as history, sociology, anthropology, politics, economics, media, technology and ecology helps the graduates to make an interdisciplinary understandings. The course helped me to make critical reading of the texts, develop critical understanding of the issues and to empower in research skills.

b. Literature Review
I have been studying on “The Category Dalit”. As it is the beginning, I have been consulting with the Dalit researchers and leaders for the information and have been collecting the books, journals, articles, magazines etc on the topic Dalit. As part of the research, I have been doing literature review. And, a paper on the same topic based on the literature review, for the requirement of the Immersion Course has been prepared.

c. Collection of Materials for Digital Archiving
I have also been searching and collecting the relevant materials on Dalits for digital archiving. For this I have consulted and visited various Dalit organizations and brought the relevant materials and the work is ongoing.

III Research Outline
I am studying on the category “Dalit”: how it is originated and how is has been understood and used by various people across caste, class, gender and region in Nepal. The category Dalit has entered recently in public and academic discourses in Nepal which has been defined, understood and used by different people differently. Therefore, I am planning to study the discourses on the category Dalit. This is a tentative objective which can be modified if the literature review and initial interviews suggest. The field work will be done among the Dalits in Kathmandu (urban Dalit), Hill (rural Dalit) and Terai. Kaski district and Rupandehi district will represent Hill and Terai Dalits respectively. The interview will be taken across caste, class, gender and age. Now, I am preparing to have interview in Kathmandu.

IV Brief Bio-data
Address:
Hansapur VDC-6, Kaski
Kathmandu-7, at present
E-mail: abbk@soscbaha.org
Phone: 014472802 (Office)
9803827719 (Mob)
Date of Birth: 1978-9-18
Marital Status: Married

Qualifications:
Master’s in Anthropology, 2005, Tribhuwan Universitity
Bachelor’s Degree in Science, 2001, Tribhwan University
Proficiency Certificate Level in Science, 1998, Tribhuwan University
SLC, 1996, Board of Nepal, Ramkot Secondary School, Hanspur, Kaski
Experience and Researches:
District Field Officer, SAMANATA project, CARE Nepal and Dalit NGO Federation (One Year)
Sanskritization and Caste Opposition: a Case Study of Dalits in Pokhara
The research was undertaken under the supervision of Dr Ram Bahadur Chhitri, the former Head of Central Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Tribhuwan University, in the financial support of Social Inclusion Research Fund, SNV Nepal. (Six Months)
Sanskritization among Dalits: a Case Study of Dalits of Gharmi, Kaski. This research was undertaken for the partial fulfillment of Master’s Degree in Anthropology under the supervision and financial support of New ERA, Kathmandu. (Six Months)

Fellowship 2
Life of a River in the Himalaya
(A Study on the ecology of the Trisuli River, Nepal) Shubhechchha Thapa, M.Sc.Toni Hagen Fellow, 2008 Nepal

Nepal which lies in the Central Himalaya is blessed with rich inland water resources. The major sources of water in the country are the glaciers, snowmelt from the Himalayas, rainfall and the ground water. About 5% of the total surface area of the country is covered by water which includes rivers, lakes, reservoirs, ponds, swamps and rice fields. Out of the estimated 818,500 ha of the total water coverage in Nepal, river accounts for about 395,000 ha that comprises 48.3%. There are about 6000 rivers and rivulets in the country belonging to three major river basins:
The Koshi river basin in the Eastern Nepal
The Gandak river basin in the Central Nepal
The Karnali river basin in the Western Nepal
The river carries various forms of life with it. It supports the diverse groups of aquatic flora and fauna, most importantly fish fauna. So far, about 185 fish species have been identified from the rivers of Nepal. The Rivers of Nepal is also vital for the growing population of Indo-gangetic plain where about 100% of Nepal and 30% of India and Bangladesh lies.
The river ecology and its usefulness are dependent on the river water quality that shows seasonal, spatial and temporal variations through affected by the natural factors and anthropogenic activities. However, the information on the diversity of rivers of Nepal and their resources is very limited. So, the need for the comprehensive study of the river system is very much essential for its management and sustainable development. Also the assessment on the composition and extent of biological resources of a river is highly desirable for the future aquaculture development in Nepal. So, the present study on the Trisuli River is one of such initiatives with the main objectives:
Qualitative study on the seasonal and spatial variations of Trisuli River water along its longitudinal length in terms of physico-chemical parameters like temperature, pH, conductivity, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, alkalinity, total hardness, total phosphorous, orthophosphate, nitrite+nitrate, and ammonia.
Study of planktons of the Trisuli River.
Study the distribution of the fish fauna of the Trisuli River.
Identify the extent of pollution of Trisuli River using biotic community of organism (benthos) as an indicator species.
Assess the socioeconomic environment of the Trisuli River.
The Trisuli River is one of the 7 major tributaries of Gandak River Basin in the Central Nepal. The river runs about 240 km which originates in the High Himalaya (Gosainkunda Lake, average 4,000m), merges with six other rivers (Burhi Gandaki, Kali Gandaki, Madi, Darondi, Marsyangdi and Seti) in the Midhills to become Narayani in Devghat (average 170m), and ultimately drains out into the Ganges in India as the Gandak River.
The research is primarily based on field survey that will be carried out in two seasons: post-monsoon (September) and dry season (March/April) between 2008 and 2009. For this, 40 sampling stations along the longitudinal profile of Trisuli River are identified from where water sample will be collected for water quality analysis and plankton identification. Others data will be collected from socioeconomic survey in the river periphery, direct field observation, fish sample collection, and GPS and GIS application.

During the one year research, the project will aim to establish the baseline information on the overall environment of the Trisuli River in terms of water quality, floral and faunal richness, landuse pattern and socioeconomic activities. This project also tends to explore how the life of a mountain river changes when it reaches the Terai traversing through hills and different catchment areas, and how the ecological settings and social needs have influenced the river system that will be helpful for the river conservation and development.
The research is carried out under the direct and constant supervision of Dr. Ash Kumar Rai, limnology and fishery expert of Nepal.

Field report
The first phase of field survey of Trisuli River from Gosainkund to Deughat has been conducted from 9th September, 2008 to 23rd September, 2008 in order to explore the river water quality as well as floral and faunal composition along the longitudinal length of a river. During the field visit, physico-chemical parameters of the river water like temperature, pH, conductivity, turbidity and dissolved oxygen were measured in situ with the help of portable instruments in the 40 different sampling stations along the longitudinal profile of Trisuli River which were identified previously from the map. The water sample from each sampling stations were also collected in a sampling bottle and brought to Kathmandu for further analysis of other parameters like total hardness, total alkalinity, nitrite+nitrate, ammonia, total phosphorus and orthophosphate. Similarly, water sample for the biological parameters like phytoplanktons, zooplanktons and chlorophyll were also collected following standard procedures from each sampling stations. Also, the sample fish species of Trisuli River were collected from the fishermen and local markets for their identification. In addition, the general socio-economic information of the local people inhabiting near the river were collected through informal discussions with some local people. Similarly, the information on the local environment of the river like land use pattern, river bank vegetation, river bottom composition, visible natural hazards, anthropogenic activities, water pollution sources etc. were noted in the field chart through direct field observations. The collected water sample analysis was carried out in the Fisheries Research Centre, Pokhara.
The researcher was accompanied by Mr. Gopal Prasad Lamsal (field assistant) during the field survey. And, also it was great privileged that Dr. Ash Kumar Rai, the Supervisor, guided us in the field survey.