Reference no: EM133427189
Assignment:
NEPAL'S MIGRANT WORKFORCE
The international departure lounge at the Kathmandu airport in Nepal is abuzz. It is packed with young men waiting to catch their right to Malaysia to work in the ever-expanding oil palm plantations harvesting crops and planting. The men are excited holding high hopes about the opportunity to earn a wage, repay the loan for their fare, and send money back to their families. Nepal is a very poor country and remittances from overseas make up a significant proportion of Nepal's GNP. Government estimates it is up to 13 per cent but it could be as high as 25 per cent (Seddon, Adhikari, & Gurung, 2002). The consequences of up to one million of Nepal's men being out of the country at any one time are significant. 'The shortage of the agricultural workforce due to the exodus of youth to greener pastures abroad has hit this ropain (rice planting) season hard. Planting hasn't happened because there are no youth to hire in the village and female farmers have to take up all the tasks.
In the Makawanpur District it is estimated that 35,000 youth are in foreign lands for employment' (The Himalayan, 15 July 2014). Palm oil is the second most consumed edible oil globally and, per unit area, is the highest-yielding vegetable oil crop (Donald, 2004). Palm oil is also used in the production of margarine, cosmetics, and some fuels. Oil palm planting represents the main reason for the loss of natural forests in Malaysia and 60 per cent of cultivated land is planted with oil palm. The industry depends on the supply of cheap migrant labour from countries like Nepal.
Consumers in western countries such as Australia have become aware of the consequences of deforestation and the effect of this on the biodiversity of Malaysia. The declines in endangered species such as the Bornean orang-utan in Sabah are also causing concern. So increasingly, citizens around the globe are involved in organising campaigns to bring to people's attention the destruction of habitat of the orang-utan and in particular the deforestation attributable to the spreading palm oil industry. There is an international movement that encourages consumers not to buy products that contain palm oil. Or at least to buy those which show a Roundtable for Sustainable Plant Oil production certification.
CRITICAL REFLECTION
- What are the drivers of this sequence of events?
- What is the way forward in balancing low resource countries needs for employment options and economic development with environmental conservation?
- Do you think that rich and poor countries are equally vulnerable to the effects of globalisation?
- Should citizens and community workers in Australia be concerned about Nepal's migrant workers and environmental degradation in Malaysia? How shall we ethically manage these conflicting priorities?
- What is your view on the transnational movement to encourage consumers to avoid buying products containing palm oil?