Population, social structure and strategic behavior: An essay on polyandry, fertility and change in Limi Panchayat

One of the fundamental goals of anthropological research in Nepal must be to generate data, explanations and recommendations which can be used by policy makers to improve the quality of life of the inhabitants without causing either long or short term degradation of the environment. In particular the socio-economic systems of existing hill and mountain populations must be stabilised in their environments so that current patterns of population growth, out-migration and ecosystem degradation do not continue or become exacerbated and systems based on sustained yields instituted. The author discusses some facets of this complex relationship of cultural ecological research and illustrates its significance for interpreting and planning development, using an example from north west Nepal. The paper employs two complementary perspectives. The first is concerned with "coping" behaviour and focuses on how people attempt to obtain individual and social objectives through the use of social and material resources. The second perspective focuses on the operation or components of ecosystems with particular emphasis on the role of social and cultural factors in such systems. Both approaches are used to examine the manner in which fraternal polyandry is part of a negative feedback loop regulating population size to resources and how recent political economic factors affect the traditional marriage system with important and potentially disruptive consequences for the population in question.