Urban Settlement Areas Research Articles

Analysis of Architectural Building Design Influences on Fire Spread in Densely Urban Settlement using Cellular Automata

This study aims to determine the influence of architectural design on the risk of fire spread in densely urban settlement area. Cellular Automata (CA) is used to analyse the fire spread pattern, speed, and the extent of damage. Four cells represent buildings, streets, and fields characteristic in the simulated area, as well as their flammability level and fire spread capabilities. Two fire scenarios are used to model the spread of fire: (1) fire origin in a building with concrete and wood material majority, and (2) fire origin in building with wood material majority. Building shape, building distance, road width, and total area of wall openings are considered constant, while wind is ignored. The result shows that fire spread faster in the building area with wood majority than with concrete majority. Significant amount of combustible building material, absence of distance between buildings, narrow streets and limited fields are factors which influence fire spread speed and pattern as well as extent of damage when fire occurs in the densely urban settlement area.

How do centrality, population growth and urban sprawl impact farmland conversion in Norway?

A strong link has been observed between urbanization processes and conversions of farmland to built-up land. Most previous research has addressed such conversion of farmland in relation to the expansion of larger cities. However, broader analysis of both rural and central areas is needed to increase the empirical basis for these claims. Based on GIS analysis of farmland conversions, this paper aims to expand our understanding of how urban sprawl affects conversion of farmland. We find that most farmland in Norway is converted to built-up areas in relation to existing urban settlement areas. In line with population growth, urban areas in the most central municipalities experience the most significant urban sprawl and loss of farmland. Moreover, the remaining farmland is located in the same areas that already have converted the most. These areas also experience significant pressure for continued land take. Assuming current trends continue, future urban sprawl will pose great challenges for the preservation of farmland in land-use planning. New research and policies are required to handle these challenges more effectively.

‘Haven of safety’ and ‘secure base’: a qualitative inquiry into factors affecting child attachment security in Nairobi, Kenya

ABSTRACTSecure attachment in childhood and adolescence protects children from engagement in high-risk behaviors and development of mental health problems over the life span. Poverty has been shown to create impoverishment in certain aspects of caregiving and correspondingly to compromise development of secure attachment in children. Nineteen children 8–14 years old from two schools in a middle-income area and an urban informal settlement area of Nairobi were interviewed using an adapted Child Attachment Interview (CAI) protocol. CAI was developed to provide a glimpse into the ‘meta-theories’ children have about themselves, parents, parenting, and their attachment ties with parents and extended family members. Narratives obtained with the CAI were analyzed using thematic analysis. Both Bowlby’s idea of ‘secure base’ and Bronfrenbrenner’s ‘ecological niche’ are used as reference points to situate child attachment and parenting practices in the larger Kenyan context. We found that with slight linguistic alterations CAI can be used to assess attachment security of Kenyan children in this particular age range. We also found that the narration ability in both groups of children was generally good such that formal coding was possible despite cultural differences. Our analysis suggested differences in narrative quality across the children from middle class and lower socioeconomic class schools on specific themes such as sensitivity of parenting (main aspects of sensitivity were associated with disciplinary methods and child’s access to education), birth order, parental emotional availability, and severity of interparental conflicts and child’s level of exposure. The paper puts in context a few cultural practices such as greater household responsibility accorded to the eldest child and stern to harsh disciplinary methods adopted by parents in the Kenyan setting.

Hazardous Settlements and their Implications in Urban Tanzania: A Case Study of Iringa Town

Rapid urbanization and inadequate capability to cope with the housing needs of urban populations have contributed to the development of hazardous settlements in urban areas. This study examines the patterns of growth of hazardous settlements in Iringa, Tanzania, the associated risks and their implications. Due to the complexity of the problem, the study employed mixed research approaches in data collection and analysis, including documentary review, interviews and questionnaires, focus group discussions, field observations and photography. The findings revealed that residents of age group of between 18 and 44 years were the majority in hazardous settlements, and the majority of household heads were married females. Factors contributing to people to reside in hazardous settlements include failure to get surveyed plots, proximity to work places, business opportunities, clashes with landlords, and chances to get free plots. Hygienic risks were cited to be the main problems facing residents in hazardous settlements. Other problems were inadequate social services, environmental risks, crimes, fear from forceful evictions and urban poverty. To resolve the problems associated with hazardous settlements, the study recommends, among others, that the government reviews urban planning policies, plans and standards; and that urban authorities should collaborate with utility service institutions to plan and institutionalize policies for urban settlements.

지역자산을 활용한 연안정주지 활성화방안에 관한 연구 -영도대교 주변 수변지역 자산을 중심으로-

Recently, due to a decline in traditional industrial function and recession of the real estate business, urban coastal settlement areas have been promoted in a regeneration way using historical cultural values rather than overall development approach. This study investigated the regional assets of water-front area around Yeongdodaegyo Bridge in Yeongdo-gu, Busan and classified them into physical social economic assets and then, presented the integrated regeneration approach that can increase the place value of this area. First, physical regeneration proposed a regional revitalization plan by considering place and cultural characteristics and second, social regeneration by considering the regional brand through storytelling and third, economic regeneration by considering historical cultural characteristics. Regional assets-based culture experience can be provided by building cultural tourism infrastructure through this and local economy and local community activation can be expected by providing urban vitality base of coastal settlement areas.

Mapping mangrove changes in the Matang Mangrove Forest using multi temporal satellite imageries

The Matang Mangrove Forest is the largest single mangrove forest in Peninsular Malaysia, covering an area of more than 40,000 ha. As a national treasure, it lies under the jurisdiction of both the federal and state authorities. Monitoring temporal changes of mangrove area on a large scale requires a more efficient tool. Remote sensing is often a reliable alternative to ground-survey methods that provides useful source of information and coverage that is timely and complete especially in mangroves areas where accessibility is difficult. In this study, status and changes of land use and land cover in the Matang Mangrove Forest during the past 18 years (1993–1999, 1999 to 2011 and 1993 to 2011) were determined using multi temporal satellites, and threats to the ecosystems were also identified. Classification of land use and land cover approach was implemented using the maximum likelihood classifier (MLC) along with vegetation index differencing (NDVI) technique. Classification accuracy at 85.7%, 90%, and 88.9% with Kappa statistics of 0.82, 0.88, and 0.94 respectively for 1993, 1999 and 2011 image were obtained. The overall change in the area during the 18-year period indicated the loss of mangrove area at 8017.3 ha, while 2998 ha was newly planted or rehabilitated. The present study revealed that Rhizophora apiculata and Rhizophora mucronata are still being preserved, accounting to more than 80% of the total species. Temporal changes of the mangrove for the 18-year period showed that the mangroves were converted to water bodies at 31.1%, dry land forest at 30.6%, oil palm plantation at 18.9%, aquaculture at 11.1%, paddy plantation at 4.9%, horticulture at 3.1%, and urban settlement area at 0.3%. Threats towards the mangrove area were due to erosion, tree harvesting rotation, transitional forest, shrimp ponds, illegal agricultural activities and trespassing. The findings indicated an approach in collecting regular and appropriate mangrove forest area database and detection of activities that violate regulations. This will provide adequate information to the stakeholders in enhancing the management practise and for legislative purposes. Hence, combinations of these approaches has been proven to be adequate in detecting changes in the mangrove area and indicating the nature of the changes which will promote and enhance the management planning process towards sustainability of the Matang Mangrove Forest.

Malnutrition and infant and young child feeding in informal settlements in Mumbai, India: findings from a census.

Childhood malnutrition remains common in India. We visited families in 40 urban informal settlement areas in Mumbai to document stunting, wasting, and overweight in children under five, and to examine infant and young child feeding (IYCF) in children under 2 years. We administered questions on eight core WHO IYCF indicators and on sugary and savory snack foods, and measured weight and height of children under five. Stunting was seen in 45% of 7450 children, rising from 15% in the first year to 56% in the fifth. About 16% of children were wasted and 4% overweight. 46% of infants were breastfed within the first hour, 63% were described as exclusively breastfed under 6 months, and breastfeeding continued for 12 months in 74%. The indicator for introduction of solids was met for 41% of infants. Only 13% of children satisfied the indicator for minimum dietary diversity, 43% achieved minimum meal frequency, and 5% had a minimally acceptable diet. About 63% of infants had had sugary snacks in the preceding 24 h, rising to 78% in the second year. Fried and salted snack foods had been eaten by 34% of infants and 66% of children under two. Stunting and wasting remain unacceptably common in informal settlements in Mumbai, and IYCF appears problematic, particularly in terms of dietary diversity. The ubiquity of sugary, fried, and salted snack foods is a serious concern: substantial consumption begins in infancy and exceeds that of all other food groups except grains, roots, and tubers.

Self-reported sulphonamide hypersensitivity reactions in adults living in Ibadan, Nigeria: A cross-sectional, community-based study.

Background:Documentation of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) is critical to a safe health delivery system. The aim of our study was to explore the prevalence of self-reported sulphonamide hypersensitivity reactions in a community-based sample of the general population in Ibadan, Nigeria. We also examined sociodemographic factors associated with ADRs in the sample.Patients and Methods:The study was cross-sectional in design with study sites in urban, semiurban, and rural settlement areas. Pretested questionnaires were administered on a one-on-one basis by trained interviewers. Frequency tables and percentages were computed for various levels of the variables. Chi-square test was used to assess the relationship between sulphonamide hypersensitivity and variables such as sociodemographic characteristics of respondents, respondents' knowledge of drugs, as well as drug sources. Variables found to be significantly associated with sulphonamide hypersensitivity were further investigated using multiple logistic regressions analysis.Results:Out of the 1062 respondents, 15.5% reported hypersensitivity to sulphonamides with skin reactions being the most prevalent. The proportion reporting ADRs was significantly higher among respondents with tertiary education (23.1%) than any other level of education (P = 0.008). In addition, individuals who were very knowledgeable about drug use (odds ratio[OR]: 2.07; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.15–3.73) and persons who got drugs from hospitals (OR: 2.00; 95% CI: 1.10–3.65) were more likely to report ADRs than those who were ignorant about drugs and those who purchased drugs from open markets, respectively.Conclusion:Prevalence of sulphonamide hypersensitivity is high among respondents, and ADRs is likely to be reported by people who are knowledgeable about drug use.

Challenges Facing Persons with Physical and Visual Disabilities in Accessing Housing Needs; A Case Study of Bungoma Municipality

Persons with disabilities constitute 3.5% of the total population in Kenya. According to the 2009 census, there are approximately 1,330,312 persons with disabilities in Kenya. The disabilities range from visual, audio, physical and intellectual challenges. The study focused on the physical and visual challenges. These persons face discrimination due to socio-cultural and economic factors. Persons with physical and visual disabilities have unique housing needs due to the nature and degree of their disability. It is therefore important that housing design and construction take these unique consumer needs of persons with physical and visual disabilities into consideration. The paper examines the findings of the study that investigated the challenges persons with physical and visual disabilities face in accessing decent and affordable housing in informal and low income settlements within Bungoma Municipality. A sample survey design was employed where interviews, observation checklists and field participatory methods were used. Guided sampling technique was used in identifying research participants or respondents, while a snowballing technique was employed to identify respondents with physical and visual disabilities. The findings showed lack of water borne sanitary facilities in informal and low income settlements in urban areas. The roads and pathways were found to be muddy and narrow to accommodate the needs of persons with disabilities. The sewage and drainage systems were poor and posed great risks to persons with disabilities. The land lords/ladies were found ignorant about the needs for persons with disabilities. The paper concludes that physically and visually challenged persons face numerous challenges in accessing decent and affordable housing in informal and low income settlements. The paper recommends rigorous implementation of Persons with Disabilities Act (2003) and that the persons with disabilities themselves to intensify advocacy and awareness, raising programs that will make housing for persons with disabilities, human rights and development agenda.

Населення і розселення Дрогобицького р-ну Львівської обл.

Population dynamics of Drohobych district in Lviv region since 1959 was analyzed in this article. The character of natural reproduction of population, including urban and rural, has been shown. The trends and modern features of the formation of age and sex composition of the population were described; the problem of demographic aging was disclosed. Religious denomination structure and current structure of employment by major sectors of economy were investigated. The general characteristic of population settlement of Drohobych district was provided. Historical information about the formation of urban settlement area was generalized, common features of urbanization processes were found. Based on the average indicators the structure of rural settlement as of 2013 was described. Key words: population, distribution, reproduction, depopulation, fertility, mortality, aging.

Khat Use, PTSD and Psychotic Symptoms among Somali Refugees in Nairobi - A Pilot Study.

In East-African and Arab countries, khat leaves are traditionally chewed in social settings. They contain the amphetamine-like alkaloid cathinone. Especially among Somali refugees, khat use has been associated with psychiatric symptoms. We assessed khat-use patterns and psychiatric symptoms among male Somali refugees living in a disadvantaged urban settlement area in Kenya, a large group that has not yet received scientific attention. We wanted to explore consume patterns and study the associations between khat use, traumatic experiences, and psychotic symptoms. Using privileged access sampling, we recruited 33 healthy male khat chewers and 15 comparable non-chewers. Based on extensive preparatory work, we assessed khat use, khat dependence according to DSM-IV, traumatic experiences, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and psychotic symptoms using standardized diagnostic instruments that had been adapted to the Somali language and culture. Hazardous use patterns like chewing for more than 24 h without interruption were frequently reported. All khat users fulfilled the DSM-IV-criteria for dependence and 85% reported functional khat use, i.e., that khat helps them to forget painful experiences. We found that the studied group was heavily burdened by traumatic events and posttraumatic symptoms. Khat users had experienced more traumatic events and had more often PTSD than non-users. Most khat users experience khat-related psychotic symptoms and in a quarter of them we found true psychotic symptoms. In contrast, among control group members no psychotic symptoms could be detected. We found first evidence for the existence and high prevalence of severely hazardous use patterns, comorbid psychiatric symptoms, and khat use as a self-medication of trauma-consequences among male Somali refugees in urban Kenyan refugee settlements. There is a high burden by psychopathology and adequate community-based interventions urgently need to be developed.

The Unbearable Closeness of The East: Embodied Micro-Economies of Difference, Belonging, and Intersecting Marginalities in Post-Socialist Berlin

This article examines the micro-politics of belonging in the post-socialist outskirts of Berlin, in Marzahn, one of many new urban immigrant settlement areas in Europe. More specifically, it focuses on what locals perceive as an acceptance-precluding conspicuous presence of nominally white immigrants of German ancestry from the former Soviet Union, the Aussiedler (resettlers). Long-term residents read and interpret these immigrants’ everyday embodiments by constructing what I call micro-economies of embodied difference in order to mark immigrants as non-belonging Eastern-European. In order to make sense of such practices and local antipathy towards the Aussiedler, I analyze the embeddedness of this suburban locality in the regional politics of belonging, showing how Marzahn and its long-time residents have themselves become post-wall Berlin's (and Germany's) internal Others, saturated with uncommodifiable traces of now-denigrated state-socialist Easternness. I suggest that in such a context these residents’ practice of ascribing the unwanted Easternness to recent immigrants works to deflect it in order to buttress their own claims to full membership citizenship in the unified Germany from which they have long been excluded. [Key words: belonging, immigrants, embodied difference, Othering, Easternness, Berlin.]

Leptospirosis in South Africa

Leptospirosis is a common zoonosis worldwide. It has a ubiquitous distribution and causes a wide spectrum of disease. Leptospirosis therefore has a broad reservoir host range, and many infected species of animals excrete leptospires in their urine, which leads to contamination of soil and water. Typical descriptions of the disease include a biphasic (anicteric form) and fulminant disease in the icterohaemorrhagic form. Only a few local case reports of human leptospirosis have been published, the most recent one being in 1974. A rodent-related zoonosis study (RatZooMan) was conducted from 2003 until 2006 in three provinces (Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape). Of the people sampled in Cato Crest (Durban, KwaZulu-Natal Province), 43/217 (19.8%) were seropositive for leptospirosis. Of the clinical samples sent to the Special Bacterial Pathogens Reference Unit from all over the country for testing in 2009, 16/176 (9%) were IgM positive; in 2010 and January 2011 to May 2011, 14/215 (6.5%) and 12/96 (12.5%), respectively, were IgM positive.The apparent incidence of leptospirosis in the South African population is moderately high based on the detected positives in suspected cases; it is thought that the circulating infection rate may be even higher when looking at the RatZooMan results. This may be due to underreporting and undiagnosed cases. Communities in informal settlements in urban areas are especially at risk as infected rodent populations are a continuous source of transmission.

Protecting people in cities: the disturbing case of Haiti

Humanitarian actors have sought increasingly not only to assist people affected by natural disasters but also to protect them. This paper examines the efforts of international humanitarian actors to protect Haitians affected by the devastating earthquake of 12 January 2010. It begins with an analysis of the particular difficulties of conceptualising and operationalising protection in an urban environment and traces the efforts of international actors on the ground to develop appropriate protection strategies. The particular difficulties of working with camps and spontaneous settlements in urban areas are explored as are the challenges that stemmed from working with different levels of governmental authorities and a multitude of humanitarian actors. The paper concludes by highlighting some of the lessons learned from the successes and failures of international protection efforts in Haiti. It is hoped that these may assist future efforts to protect people living in urban environments.

Mapping the corrosion impact of air pollution on the historical peninsula of Istanbul

Abstract This paper presents the most comprehensive study conducted so far for evaluating the corrosion levels related to air quality and the seasonal pollutant (NO 2 , SO 2 , and O 3 ) exposure levels over 50 monitoring stations distributed on the historical peninsula of Istanbul. Istanbul has been one of the most important as well as most populated major cities in the world during all the ages. Today, owing to its historical and cultural structures, the historical peninsula of Istanbul has become an attraction point of tourism and is one of the most unique and ancient urban settlement areas in the world. However, the cultural heritage stocks in the peninsula are under the risk of corrosion and critical air pollution level exposure caused by chemical reactions under the multi-pollutant situation of the air pollutants, principally SO 2 , NO 2 , and O 3 , as well as meteorological factors, e.g. humidity and temperature. In the present study, seasonal exposure of NO 2 , SO 2 , and O 3 pollutants were monitored using passive samplers, and corrosion attack values were calculated using dose-response functions. The geostatistical analyst tool of ArcGIS ® 9.1 was then used for generating GIS-based surface pollution and corrosion distribution maps. Subsequently, two hotspots were clearly identified, the tip of the peninsula and the area around the Ataturk Bridge, which fall under serious corrosion risks for copper, cast bronze, and carbon steel materials. However, no significant risk was identified for cultural heritage materials made of limestone in the peninsula.

The long-term effect of increasing the albedo of urban areas

Solar reflective urban surfaces (white rooftops and light-colored pavements) can increase the albedo of an urban area by about 0.1. Increasing the albedo of urban and human settlement areas can in turn decrease atmospheric temperature and could potentially offset some of the anticipated temperature increase caused by global warming. We have simulated the long-term (decadal to centennial) effect of increasing urban surface albedos using a spatially explicit global climate model of intermediate complexity. We first carried out two sets of simulations in which we increased the albedo of all land areas between ±20° and ±45° latitude respectively. The results of these simulations indicate a long-term global cooling effect of 3 × 10−15 K for each 1 m2 of a surface with an albedo increase of 0.01. This temperature reduction corresponds to an equivalent CO2 emission reduction of about 7 kg, based on recent estimates of the amount of global warming per unit CO2 emission. In a series of additional simulations, we increased the albedo of urban locations only, on the basis of two independent estimates of the spatial extent of urban areas. In these simulations, global cooling ranged from 0.01 to 0.07 K, which corresponds to a CO2 equivalent emission reduction of 25–150 billion tonnes of CO2.

Editorial: Documenting by the undocumented

Environment & Urbanization Copyright © 2012 International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). Vol 24(1): 1–10. DOI: 10.1177/0956247812438364 www.sagepublications.com Sheela Patel and Carrie Baptist were invited to write the editorial for this issue of Environment and Urbanization, which is on “Mapping, enumerating and surveying informal settlements and cities”. The theme was suggested by Sheela Patel, who is on the Journal’s Advisory Board and who has worked for more than two decades with lowincome communities in India in developing communityled documentation. Sheela Patel and Carrie Baptist also encouraged many individuals and organizations they know and who work on this topic to submit papers, and we the Editors are very grateful to them for their help in developing this issue of the Journal as well as for writing the editorial. The “Adapting cities to climate change” and “Feedback” sections in the editorial were written by the Editor. To be counted in city surveys and to have documents to prove that you have been counted and have an address implies that you (and often your neighbourhood) are considered part of the legal city. To have no official document to prove your identity or your address often means being denied access to public services and entitlements in urban areas – for instance, connections to piped water supplies and sewers, household waste collection, and even schools, health care services and the rule of law. It often means having no possibility of opening a bank account, of obtaining insurance or of getting on the voter’s register.(1) A legal address can provide some protection against your house being bulldozed or, should it be, of getting some compensation as opposed to none. Perhaps as many as one billion people live in informal settlements in urban areas where most lack identity documents and official documents confirming their right to live there. There is also a lack of data about informal settlements – their scale, boundaries, populations, buildings, enterprises – and the needs of their inhabitants. This also implies their exclusion from government policies and public investments. All informal settlements exhibit some aspects of illegality, but they cannot be considered marginal or exceptional when they house between one-third and twothirds of the population of so many cities. This also means that they provide a very large proportion of these cities’ workforce. They represent important and persistent forms of urbanism that have multiple and complex links with the rest of the city. Many also have long histories. A lack of documentation about these informal settlements contributes to a lack of understanding about their importance to city economies. It serves as an excuse for public sector agencies not to provide infrastructure and services. It also means that there is no evidence to counter the inaccurate claims by politicians or civil servants that those living in informal settlements are law breakers or unemployed migrants who should go back to rural areas. This issue of Environment and Urbanization has 11 papers on the mapping and documentation of informal settlements. All but one relates to the engagement of the residents of these settlements and their own organizations in this mapping and documentation, and most include one or more authors who were engaged in the process the papers describe. This focus on communityled documentation might seem unusual. Why should the inhabitants of informal settlements, who almost always have difficult relations with local governments, document themselves? For what purpose? Since all informal settlements show some aspects of illegality, might not this documentation be used against them? And surely such documentation is the responsibility of government bodies? Shouldn’t household surveys be designed and implemented by professionals in order to be accurate, objective and implemented across the whole city? There have been some papers on community-driven mapping and documentation in previous issues

Las casas solariegas de la hidalguía gallega. Estudio sobre las casas de los condes de Amarante en el siglo XVIII

The enrichment of the Galician nobility during the Modern epoch would be reflected, among other things, on their settlement in urban areas, leaving their old homesteads, with few exceptions, in the hands of their administrators, of their householders or totally uninhabited. In this article we analize the specific example of the houses accumulated by the counts of Amarante along the modern epoch, in which major works would be carried out at various times of the eighteenth century, although major investments would be concentrated in those buildings where the counts were residing with their families.

Disaster response and recovery in two informal settlements: A local government perspective

Informal settlements in urban areas have long been afflicted by disasters and exposed to exploitation by politicians, shacklords, academics, journalists, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), tavern owners and government officials. This problem is caused to some degree by limited land for expansion which has resulted in the creation of highly densified and unplanned, irregular settlements using poor, combustible building materials. The purpose of the article is to investigate whether eThekwini Municipality’s strategies are sufficient to respond to and recover from the impact of disasters. The research was undertaken at the Foreman and Kennedy Road informal settlements located in Clare Estate, under Ward 25, in Durban within eThekwini Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal (refer to Annexure 1). These areas are very important politically as they are densily populated and highly contested between political parties and local resistant’s organizations such as Abahlali baseMjondolo. Questionnaires were self-administered to a sample size of 220 of which 140 respondents completed the questionnaires, thereby generating a response rate of 63.6%. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with municipal officials. The findings indicate that 44.3% of the victims of disasters received assistance from NGOs and regard civil society as playing an important role after disasters compared to 7.1% of the responding municipal officials.

Migration and animal husbandry: Competing or complementary livelihood strategies. Evidence from Kyrgyzstan

Animal husbandry and labour migration are important livelihood strategies for a large proportion of the rural population in developing countries. Up to now, the two strategies have usually been studied by looking at either one or the other; their interlinkages have rarely been examined. Based on a case study in rural Kyrgyzstan, the aim of this paper is to explore the links between animal husbandry and labour migration. Results show that for most rural households, livestock is crucial yet not sufficient to make a living. Therefore, many people diversify their income sources by migrating to work elsewhere. This generates cash for daily expenses and the acquisition of new livestock, but also leads to an absence of workforce in households. Yet since remittances usually exceed the expenses for hiring additional workforce, most people consider migration profitable. From a socio-economic point of view, migration and animal husbandry can thus be considered important complementary livelihood strategies for the rural Kyrgyz population, at least for the time being. In the long term, however, the failure of young migrants to return to rural places and their settlement in urban areas might also cause remittance dependency and lead to an increasing lack of qualified labour. From an environmental point of view, the investment of remittances into animal husbandry poses challenges to sustainable pasture management. Increasing livestock numbers in rural areas raise pressure on pasture resources. Since most people consider animal husbandry their main future prospect while continuing to use pastures in a fairly unsustainable way, this may further exacerbate the over-utilization of pastures in future.