| Natural resource use by tribal people is an area of high concern. To test the hypothesis that the Tharu tribe of Nepal differs from its non-tribal neighbors (Nepali-speaking hill Hindus and Hindi dialect-speaking plains Hindus) in natural resource use patterns, I constructed logistic regression models incorporating ethnic composition and several other demographic and geographic factors to predict land use in Kailali and Kapilavastu districts of Nepal, and conducted interviews on natural resource use topics of isolated and integrated Tharu and Nepali-speaking hill Hindu farmers in Kailali and Doti districts of far western Nepal.; Ethnic composition of local area units (village development committees, or VDCs) was a statistically significant predictor of percent forest of VDCs, but not as good a predictor as population density. Ethnic composition of VDCs was not a statistically significant predictor of deforestation. The best model used initial forest cover, population density and distance to hills as predictors of deforestation.; Tharu and Pahari farmers were similar on 10–11 of 25 natural resource use parameters. On the 14–15 parameters on which the two ethnic groups did differ, 4 differences were due to geographical factors, and 3–4 were due to historical factors. Of the 5–6 differences rooted in culture, 3–4 differences were modified by acculturation or historical factors, and only 2 differences were due to culture and unmodified. The practices of the Tharu are not drastically different from those of their Pahari neighbors, and the customs and values of the Tharu do not appear to be obstacles to agricultural modernization. |
