2001 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Economic Development and Environmental Changes in South Asia
| Project/Area Number |
10116103
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Priority Areas (A)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Research Institution | The University of Tokyo |
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Principal Investigator |
YANAGISAWA Haruka University of Tokyo, Institute of Oriental Culture, Professor, 東洋文化研究所, 教授 (20046121)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
WAKIMURA Kohei Osaka City University, Faculty of Economics, Professor, 経済学部, 教授 (30230931)
SHINODA Takashi Daito Bunka University, Faculty of International Relations, Professor, 国際関係学部, 教授 (20187371)
OUCHI Toshiaki the University of Shiga Prefecture, School of Human Cultures, Professor, 人間文化学部, 教授 (60024212)
NAKAMURA Hisashi Ryukoku University, Faculty of Economics, Professor, 経済学部, 教授 (50172424)
SAITO Osamu Hitotsubashi University, Institute of Economic Research, Professor, 経済研究所, 教授 (40051867)
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| Project Period (FY) |
1998 – 2000
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| Keywords | South Asia / Environment / Demography / Agriculture / Livestock / Deseases / Economic Development / Forest |
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| Research Abstract |
The project has aimed at clarifying ecological and environmental changes witnessed in the process of economic development in south Asia. The main findings are as follows :
1. Our village-level field study in a Deccan district, India, reveals that farmers there have developed a sophisticated system of millet cultivation, which is well adapted to the local natural environment. The yield per acre of the cultivation is high enough to feed the dense population in the district.
2. The area under forest in India decreased till 1980, but in the 80s and 90s the decrease almost stopped. In addition to such factors as the change in government forest policy and the expansion of farm forestry, the increase in non-agricultural employment in rural areas has contributed to the preservation of forest lands by weakening the expansion of cultivation into uncultivated lands.
3. Both birth and mortality rate is lower in south India than in north Indian states. Out analysis of statistical data has established that this difference in demographic pattern was already witnessed at the end of the 19th century. The difference seems to have related to patterns of social structure and of ecological conditions.
4. An attempt has been made to combine historical data obtained in archives and remote-sensing data. Ecological changes between 1760s and 1990s have been traced for a district in south India based on this method.
5. As regards livestock economy, a strong connection between famines and livestock population has been found. The project also clarified the changes in breeding system and in the composition of livestock that have been caused by the Green Revolution in agriculture and the increasing use of tractors in this section.
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