Terai

For other uses, see Terai (disambiguation).
Aerial view of Terai plains near Biratnagar, Nepal

The Terai ( Nepali: तराई Hindi: तराइ ) is a plain region of Nepal and the plain land region in Bangladesh, Bhutan and India that lies in south of the outer foothills of the Himalaya, the Siwalik Hills, and north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and their tributaries. This lowland belt is characterised by tall grasslands, scrub savannah, sal forests and clay rich swamps. In northern India, the Terai spreads eastward from the Yamuna River across Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The Terai is part the Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands ecoregion. Corresponding parts in West Bengal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Assam east to the Brahmaputra River are called 'Dooars'.[1] In Nepal, the Terai lies at an altitude of between 67 and 300 m (220 and 984 ft) and comprises more than 50 wetlands. North of the Terai rises the Bhabhar, a narrow but continuous belt of forest about 8–12 km (5.0–7.5 mi) wide.[2]

Etymology

In Sanskrit, the region is called तराई tarāī meaning "foot-hill".[3] In Nepali, the region is called तराइ tarāi meaning "the low-lying land, plain" and especially "the low-lying land at the foot of the Himālayas".[4] The region's name in Urdu is ترای tarāʼī meaning "lands lying at the foot of a watershed" or "on the banks of a river; low ground flooded with water, valley, basin, marshy ground, marsh, swamp; meadow".[5]

Geology

The Terai is crossed by the large perennial Himalayan rivers Yamuna, Ganges, Sarda, Karnali, Narayani and Kosi that have each built alluvial fans covering thousands of square kilometres below their exits from the hills. Medium rivers such as the Rapti rise in the Mahabharat Range. The geological structure of the region consists of old and new alluvium, both of which constitute as alluvial deposits mainly of sand, clay, silt, gravels and coarse fragments. The new alluvium is renewed every year by fresh deposits brought down by active streams, which engage themselves in fluvial action. Old alluvium is found rather away from river courses, especially on uplands of the plain where silting is a rare phenomenon.[6]

A large number of small and usually seasonal rivers flow through the Terai, most of which originate in the Siwalik Hills. The soil in the Terai is alluvial and fine to medium textured. Forest cover in the Terai and hill areas has decreased at an annual rate of 1.3% between 1978 and 1979, and 2.3% between 1990 and 1991.[2] With deforestation and cultivation increasing, a permeable mixture of gravel, boulders and sand evolves, which leads to a sinking water table. But where layers consist of clay and fine sediments, the groundwater rises to the surface and heavy sediment is washed out, thus enabling frequent and massive floods during monsoon, such as the 2008 Bihar flood.[7]

The reduction in slope as rivers exit the hills and then transition from the sloping Bhabhar to the nearly level Terai causes current to slow and the heavy sediment load to fall out of suspension. This deposition process creates multiple channels with shallow beds, enabling massive floods as monsoon-swollen rivers overflow their low banks and shift channels. Many areas show erosion such as gullies. 20 of the 75 districts of Nepal are situated in this region.

Climate

Biratnagar, 26°N, 87°E
Climate chart (explanation)
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Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
Precipitation totals in mm
Source: Levoyageur
Chandigarh, 30°N, 77°E
Climate chart (explanation)
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Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
Precipitation totals in mm
Source: World Weather Information Service

There are several differences between the climate on the western edge of the Terai at Chandigarh in India and at Biratnagar in Nepal near the eastern edge.

Terai in Nepal

The Terai in Nepal is differentiated into "Inner" and "Outer" Madhesh.

Inner Terai

The Inner Madhesh refers to the river valleys in the lowlands of Terai in southern Nepal located between the Mahabharat and Shivalik ranges. In Nepali, they are called Bhitri Madhesh'. The Inner madhesh comprises five elongated valleys extending from north-west to south-east parallel to the enclosing hilly ranges:[8]

Most of these valleys are five to ten kilometers wide (north-south) and up to a hundred kilometers long (east-west).

The 2001 national census counted 2.3 million population (10% of the national total) in these seven Inner Madhesh districts (counting Banke district as Outer Madhesh). Adding 45% in the outer Madhesh gives 55% of Nepal's population living in its Terai districts.

Outer Madhesh

The Outer Madhesh begins south of the Siwalik Hills and extends to the Indo-Gangetic plain. In the Far-Western Region, Nepal it comprises the Kanchanpur and Kailali districts, and in the Mid-Western Region, Nepal Bardiya and Banke districts. These were once called the Naya Muluk and lay on the periphery of the Awadh dynasty. After Nepal lost the Anglo–Nepalese War (1814–1816), these districts were annexed by the British in the Sugauli Treaty and returned in 1860 as reward for Nepal's military aid in the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Farther east, the Outer Madhesh comprises the Kapilvastu, Rupandehi, Nawalparasi, Parsa, Bara, Rautahat, Sarlahi, Mahottari, Dhanusa, Siraha, Saptari, Sunsari, Morang and Jhapa districts.[9]

East of Banke the Nepalese Outer Madhesh is interrupted where the international border swings north and follows the edge of the Siwaliks adjacent to Deukhuri Valley. Here the Outer Madhesh is entirely in Uttar Pradesh's Shravasti and Balrampur districts. East of Deukhuri the international border extends south again and Nepal has three more Outer Madhesh districts.

The 2001 national census counted 10.3 million population (45% of the national total) in the Outer Madhesh districts.

History

Until the mid 18th century, the Terai was divided into several smaller kingdoms, and the forests were little disturbed.[11] Forest stands comprised mainly Sal.[9] Heavy logging began in the 1920s. Extracted timber was exported to India to collect revenues. Cleared areas were subsequently used for agriculture.[11]

Inner Terai valleys historically were agriculturally productive but extremely malarial. Some parts were left forested by official decree during the Rana dynasty as a defensive perimeter called Char Kose Jhadi, meaning 'four kos forest'; one kos equals about 3 km (1.9 mi). A British observer noted, "Plainsmen and paharis generally die if they sleep in the Terai before November 1 or after June 1." British travelers to Kathmandu went as fast as possible from the border at Raxaul to reach the hills before nightfall.[9]

Malaria was eradicated using DDT in the mid-1950s. Subsequently, people from the hills migrated to the Terai. Timber export continued to 1969. In 1970, the king granted land to loyal ex-army personnel in the districts of Jhapa, Sunsari, Rupandehi and Banke, where seven colonies were developed for resettling about 7,000 people. They acquired property rights over uncultivated forest and 'waste' land, thus accelerating the deforestation process in the Terai.[12]

Ethnic groups

Tharu people are the traditional inhabitants of the Terai forests. They were semi-nomadic, practised shifting cultivation and collected wild fruits, vegetables and medicinal herbs.[13] They have been living in the Terai for many centuries and reputedly had an innate resistance to malaria. Following the malaria eradication program using DDT in the 1960s, a large and heterogeneous non-Tharu population settled in the region.[14]

Pahari farmers from the mid-hills moved to the plains in search of arable land including Bahun, Chhetri and Newar. In the rural parts of the Terai, distribution and value of land determine economic hierarchy to a large extent. High caste migrants from the hills and traditional Tharu landlords who own agriculturally productive land constitute the upper level of the economic hierarchy. The poor are the landless or near landless Terai Dalits, including the Musahar and Chamar, as well as the traditional fishermen, the Mallaah, and some of the Hill Dalits. In particular the Musahars rarely get other work than hard farm labor.[15]

Economy

The Terai is the most productive region in Nepal with the majority of the country's industries. Agriculture is the basis of the economy.[16] Major crops include rice, wheat, pulses, sugarcane, jute, tobacco, and maize. In the eastern districts from Parsa to Jhapa they support agro-based industries: jute factories, sugar mills, rice mills and tobacco factories.

Cities over 50,000 population in Nepal's Terai include:

Municipality District Census 2001 Economy
Biratnagar Morang 166,674 agro-industry, education, trade/transport Hub
Birganj Parsa 112,484 trade/transport hub, agro and other industry
Dharan Sunsari 95,332 tourism hub and destination, education, financial services
Bharatpur Chitwan 89,323 agro-industry and food processing, tourism, health care, education
Bhim Dutta Kanchanpur 80,839 transport hub, education, health services
Butwal Rupandehi 75,384 transport hub, retailing, agro-industry, health care, education
Hetauda Makwanpur 68,482 transport hub, cement factory, large and small-scale industry
Dhangadhi Kailali 67,447
Janakpur Dhanusa 67,192 transport hub, agro-industry, education, health care, pilgrimage site
Nepalganj Banke 57,535 transport hub, retailing, financial services, health services
Triyuga Udayapur 55,291 tourism
Siddharthanagar Rupandehi 52,569 trade/transport hub, retailing, tourist and pilgrim services
For a more comprehensive list, see List of cities in Nepal.

Transport

Mahendra Highway crosses the Nepal Terai from Kankarbhitta on the eastern border in Jhapa District, Mechi Zone to Mahendranagar near the western border in Kanchanpur District, Mahakali Zone. It is the only motor road spanning the country from east to west.

Tourism

Buddha statue at Kathauna Bazar

Tourist attractions in the Terai include:

Agriculture

The Terai is known for beekeeping and honey production, with about 120,000 colonies of Apis cerana.[17]

Terai in India

In India, the valleys in the inner Terai are called Dūn (Hindi: दून). The Terai extends over the states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. These are mostly the districts of these states that are on the Indo-Nepal border:

References

  1. ↑ Johnsingh A.J.T., Ramesh K., Qureshi Q., David A., Goyal S.P., Rawat G.S., Rajapandian K., Prasad S. (2004). Conservation status of tiger and associated species in the Terai Arc Landscape, India. RR-04/001, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun
  2. 1 2 Bhuju, U.R., Shakya, P.R., Basnet, T.B., Shrestha, S. (2007), Nepal Biodiversity Resource Book. Protected Areas, Ramsar Sites, and World Heritage Sites (PDF), Kathmandu: International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development; Government of Nepal, Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology; United Nations Environment Programme, Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
  3. ↑ Bahri, H. (1989). "Learners' Sanskrit-English dictionary — Siksarthi Nepal-Angrejhi sabdakosa.". Rajapala, Delhi.
  4. ↑ Turner, R.L. (1931). "A Comparative and Etymological Dictionary of the Nepali Language". K. Paul, Trench, Trubner, London.
  5. ↑ Platts, J. T. (1884). "A dictionary of Urdu, classical Hindi, and English.". W. H. Allen & Co., London.
  6. ↑ Das, K.K.L., Das, K.N. (1981), "Alluvial Morphology of the North Bihar Plain – A study in applied geomorphology", in Sharma, H. S., Perspectives in geomorphology 4, New Delhi: Naurung Rai Concept Publishing Company, pp. 85–105
  7. ↑ Bhargava, A. K., Lybbert, T. J., & Spielman, D. J. (2014). The Public Benefits of Private Technology Adoption. Selected Paper prepared for presentation at the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association’s Annual Meeting, July 2014, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
  8. ↑ Nagendra, H. (2002). Tenure and forest conditions: community forestry in the Nepal Madhesh. Environmental Conservation 29 (04): 530–539.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Guneratne, A. (2002). Many tongues, one people: the making of Tharu identity in Nepal. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press.
  10. ↑ Rai, C. B. (2010). Analysis of timber production and institutional barriers: A case of community forestry in the Madhesh and Inner-Madhesh regions of Nepal. PhD thesis, Lincoln University, Christchurch.
  11. 1 2 Gautam, A. P., Shivakoti, G. P., & Webb, E. L. (2004). "A review of forest policies, institutions, and changes in the resource condition in Nepal". International Forestry Review 6 (2): 136–148.
  12. ↑ Regmi, R. R. (1994). "Deforestation and Rural Society in the Nepalese Terai". Occasional Papers in Sociology and Anthropology 4: 72–89.
  13. ↑ McLean, J. (1999). "Conservation and the impact of relocation on the Tharus of Chitwan, Nepal". Himalayan Research Bulletin XIX (2): 38–44.
  14. ↑ Terrenato, L., Shrestha, S., Dixit, K.A., Luzzatto, L., Modiano, G., Morpurgo, G., Arese, P. (1988). "Decreased malaria morbidity in the Tharu people compared to sympatric populations in Nepal". Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology 82 (1): 1–11. PMID 3041928.
  15. ↑ Hatlebakk, M. (2007). Economic and social structures that may explain the recent conflicts in the Terai of Nepal (PDF). Kathmandu: Norwegian Embassy.
  16. ↑ Sharma, R. P. (1974). Nepal: A Detailed Geographical Account. Kathmandu: Pustak-Sansar.
  17. ↑ THAPA, Ratna. Himalayan Honeybees and Beekeeping in Nepal. APIMONDIA Foundation, accessed November 10, 2014.

Further reading

External links

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