Banko Janakari Vol 20-2_1449572114.pdf

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A JOURNAL OF FORESTRY INFORMATION FOR NEPAL

Vol. 20, No. 2 November 2010

ISSN : 1016-0582

Banko Janakari, Vol. 20, No. 2

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Banko JanakariA Journal of Forestry Information for Nepal

Forest Carbon Inventory

It is widely accepted that global warming is a reality. Increased concentration of GreenhouseGases (GHGs) in the atmosphere is widely accepted as a single cause of global warming and theassociated changes in other climate variables.

Forests act as both sink and source for carbon emissions. It has been reported that forest andland use change contribute about 17% of global anthropogenic GHG emissions. Most of theseemissions are caused by deforestation and forest degradation. To reduce emissions from theforestry sector, Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation Plus (REDD+)mechanism has been proposed as a promising climate change mitigation option in the internationalpolicy arena. To operationlize REDD+, periodic forest carbon inventory is a crucial first step forobtaining benefits through carbon trading.

For forest carbon inventory, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has identifiedfive carbon pools that need to be monitored for deforestation and forest degradation: above-ground biomass, below-ground biomass, litter, deadwood and soil organic carbon. Of these fivecarbon pools, carbon stored in the above-ground living biomass of trees is the largest and ismost directly affected by deforestation and forest degradation.

Further, the IPCC has produced a set of guidelines for estimating greenhouse gas inventories atthe national level. At the most basic level, measurements of tree diameter at breast height aloneor in combination with tree height can be converted to estimates of forest carbon stocks usingallometric relationships. Ground-based forest inventory data must be collected using standardizedsampling schemes appropriate for a forest type or a country.

The ground-based and remote-sensing approaches could help refine forest carbon stock estimatesfor REDD mechanisms for larger spatial scales. Stratification using broad forest types and forestconditions can be developed. Once the forest strata have been identified, the layout and numberof plots needed to achieve a desired level of precision can be determined, based on standards ofacceptable sampling error. There are established methods and guidelines for determining thenumber, size, and distribution of sample plots.

Consistency in the methodology of carbon inventory is one of the major issues in Nepal as is thecase around the globe. In Nepal, various organizations and researchers are testing pilotmethodologies for assessing forest carbon. In this connection, the Asia Network for Sustainable


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Agriculture and Bioresources (ANSAB), the International Centre for Integrated MountainDevelopment (ICIMOD), and the Federation of Community Forest Users Nepal (FECOFUN),with financial support from the Norwegian Agency for Development Co-operation (NORAD)have developed forest carbon stock measurement guidelines for measuring carbon stocks incommunity-managed forests of Nepal. Similarly, guidelines for forest carbon measurement havealso been developed by the Terai Arc Landscape (TAL) Project, WWF Nepal and WinrockInternational with financial support from the Government of Finland.

In this process, the REDD-Forestry and Climate Change Cell under the Ministry of Forests andSoil Conservation has been taking the lead to develop the most appropriate method for estimatingforest carbon stock. Overcoming the methodological challenges in this way facilitates country-specific forest carbon inventory guidelines which could be consistent, comparable, completeand accurate. In addition, developing a common methodology to estimate carbon content of theTrees Outside Forest (TOF) is also equally important.

The Department of Forest Research and Survey in collaboration with the Government of Finland,is now implementing the Forest Resource Assessment Nepal (FRA-Nepal) Project. This projecthas been designed in such a way that national forest inventory and forest carbon inventory willgo hand in hand. Carbon inventory will be carried out in all the carbon pools of forest landdescribed earlier. All the sample plots measured throughout the nation will be considered aspermanent sample plots from where the variables used for carbon estimation can be periodicallymeasured in the future. This will facilitate in the monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV)of forest carbon stock that is necessary for operationalizing carbon trade through the REDD+mechanism.


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O rchids are notably diversified in the moist tropics of both hemispheres and the majority

is epiphytes in forests. Most of the temperate andalmost all of the alpine genera are terrestrial, whilesome are lithophytes. The orchids (Nepali name:Sunakhari, Sungava, Jivanti; Family: Orchidaceae) areone of the largest family of flowering plantscomprising more than 17,000 species in the world.In Nepal 363 species of orchids are organized into97 genera (Rajbhandari and Bhattarai, 2001).

Orchids are perennial or rarely annual, epiphytic,terrestrial or lithophytic herbs with roots havingmulti-layered spongy tissue. They are capable ofabsorbing and storing considerable quantity ofmoisture from the atmosphere. In terrestrial species,the roots are often swollen into tubers or stems fromcorms or rhizomes. Stems of epiphytic species areoften thickened to form a pseudo-bulb withadventitious roots.

The first systematic orchid collection in Nepal wasdone by Hamilton in 1802 and Wallich in 1820 fromKathmandu valley (Rajbhandari, 1976) and theircollections were studied by David Don in 1825-26.Hara et al. (1978), Banerji (1978) and Banerji andPradhan (1984) have also listed and described orchidsof Nepal. Since then, several orchids new to Nepalhave been reported by Cribb and Tang (1983); Bailes(1985); Wood (1986 and 1989); DuPuy and Cribb(1988); Bajracharya et al. (1993); Bania et al. (1993);Rajbhandari and Bhattarai (1995-96); Pearce andCribb (1996); Rajbhandari et al. (1997, 1998); Shakyaand Bania (1998); Shakya and Chaudhary (1999) andShakya (2000).

Habitat loss, forest destruction and degradation andover exploitation have threatened the conservationof orchids in Nepal. Detailed studies to understandthe conservation status of orchids of Nepal are still

Orchids in Rolpa district of Western Nepal: Documentation,stock, trade and conservation

P. N. Koirala1, D. Pyakurel2 and K. Gurung3

Orchids are perennial, epiphytic, terrestrial or lithophytic herbs with roots having multi-layered spongy tissues. In Nepal, 363 species of orchids are organized into 97 genera.Orchids fall under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species ofWild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendix II but do not fall under the legal protection ofany existing national legislation. Habitat loss, forest destruction and degradation andover-exploitation have posed threats to the conservation of orchids in Nepal. Thecurrent study aims to document the orchids and estimate the stock of Dendrobiumdenudans and Dendrobium eriiflorum in a few potential locations of Rolpa district. Atotal of 36 species were documented in the surveyed 17 Village DevelopmentCommittees (VDCs). Among them, 31 species were identified up to species level, twospecies up to generic level and the remaining three were unidentifed. The total stockof D. denudans was highest in Uwa VDC with 11018.08 kg followed by Seram VDCwith the stock of 9982.57 kg. Similarly, D. eriiflorum stock in Seram, Siuri andJaimakasala VDCs were 22750.01 kg, 7039.67 kg and 4933.46 kg, respectively.This study recommends a systematic research on the propagation technique; completeindexing of orchids; and inclusion of orchids in the Red Data Book on the threatenedand endangered species. Orchid reserves in orchid hotspots should be establishedfor the preservation and promotion of regeneration activities. The rare and endangeredspecies should be preserved in botanic gardens. In addition to scientific attempts, thecountry should launch and implement a very firm regulation for their protection.

Key words: Orchids, Dendrobium denudans, Dendrobium eriiflorum, distribution, conservation, Rolpa district

1 Leasehold Forestry and Livestock Programme, Department of Forests, Babarmahal, Kathmandu. Email: [email protected] Freelance Botany Consultant, Kathmandu.3 Freelance Botany Consultant, Kathmandu.


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unavailable. However, the Government of Nepalpublished notification on the gazette dated 2Baishakh, 2065 (14 April, 2008) stating the permit tocollect wild orchids, which was banned before, wasnow open for trade. Due to this notification, somerare and endangered orchid species have come underthe threat of over-exploitation.

Study context

Up to the fiscal year 2063/064 B.S. (2006 A.D), 2353kg of orchids had been traded from Rolpa district,generating a revenue of Rs 7459 (DFO Rolpa, 2008).But the enumeration of orchid species, their status,hotspot mapping and the species that are traded havenot been assessed to date.

Thus, this study intends to document orchids,identify the orchid hotspots and quantify the tradedorchids for the selected Village DevelopmentCommittees (VDCs) of Rolpa district. Subsequently,the study has identified threat status of the speciesin the district and recommended conservationstrategies.

Most of the terrestrial and a few epiphytic orchidswere not in flowering stage so some of them couldnot be identified. Current stock has been calculatedfor only the traded species (Dendrobium denudans andD. eriiflorum).

Study area

Rolpa district lies in Rapti zone of the Mid WesternRegion, Nepal. Spread over 187150 ha, Rolpa islocated between 28o8’-28o38’N latitude and 83o10’-84o9’E longitude, with altitudinal range of 701-3639m, representing tropical, sub-tropical, temperate andsub-alpine types of climate. The district issurrounded by Rukum to the North, Baglung andPyuthan to the East, Salyan to the West and Pyuthanand Dang to the South. Of the total land area, 94097ha (50.28%) is covered with forest and grazing landcovers 32699 ha (17.47%) area of the district. Themaximum temperature recorded was 31.2 oC and theminimum temperature was 3.6 oC. Similarly, themaximum annual rainfall was recorded as 1836 mmand the minimum annual rainfall was 1388 mm. Theecological zones of the district encompass Sal, ChirPine, Alder, Himalayan Oak-Laurel, MixedRhododendron-Oak, Temperate Mountain Oak,

Rhododendron, sub-alpine scrub and sub-alpinemeadow forests and vegetation types. This studyfocused on 17 VDCs of Rolpa district (Fig 1).

Koirala et al.

Fig 1: Map of Rolpa showing VDCs surveyed for orchids

Study methods

Primary data were collected using different tools likeobservation, measurement, interviews, consultationwith key informants and other relevant ParticipatoryRapid Appraisal (PRA) tools. Forest guards, herbstraders, hotel owners and farmers were the keyinformants interviewed. Verbal open ended questionswere used in interviews and discussions. Secondaryinformation was collected from related publications,research papers, data from District Forest Office(DFO) and other documents. The secondary datawere collected for the verification of primary dataand additional information.

Orchid sampling and observation were conductedin defined habitats. Identification of orchid hotspotswas done systematically by observing the abundance,habitat, forest types, moisture, altitude and aspects.Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates/datawere recorded to locate the hotspots of orchids intheir specific habitats. Habitats of epiphytic orchidswere identified on the basis of researchers’knowledge. Observed orchids were identified visually.Unidentified species were collected and identified byconsulting the reference literatures such as Poluninand Stainton (1984), Stainton (1988), Rajbhandariand Bhattarai (2001), Milleville and Shrestha (2004).Documentations of all available orchids were carriedout according to Rajbhandari and Bhattarai (2001)and Press et al. (2000).


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Abundance of terrestrial and epiphytic species isdefined as the number of species “A” found in allplots to the total area of the plots per hectare. It wascalculated by using the following formula of Zobelet al. (1987):

The following steps were carried out to find out theabundance of epiphytic orchids.

Steps followed to quantify the epiphyticorchids

Number of host plants was counted in aquadrat of 10 m x 10 m.Number of orchid patches per tree (in aquadrat of 10 m x 10 m) was counted.Total patches were calculated to find themean value (patch per tree).Number of plants per patch was countedand its mean value was calculated.Finally the number of patches (and plantper patch of orchid) was calculated bymultiplying the mean value of patch pertree to the density of host plant.Quantification was done by multiplyingthe density with the dry weight of a plant.

Traded orchids were collected from the study sitesin patches. Number of individuals in each patch wascounted. Fresh weight of bulb/pseudo-bulb wasrecorded in the field with the help of a balance. Theywere sun dried for 15-20 days according to the natureof species and dry weight of each bulb/pseudo-bulbwas measured with a digital balance. Finally, the totalstock of traded orchid species per hectare wascalculated.

Total stock of traded orchids in each VDC wascalculated by multiplying the availability (per hectare)to the area of corresponding forest type (expressedin ha) as per the data provided by DFO, Rolpa.

Documentation of orchids in Rolpa

Altogether 36 species of orchids were recorded andidentified in the studied 17 VDCs of Rolpa district.Among them, 31 species were identified up to specieslevel, two species were identified up to generic leveland the remaining three were not identifiable. Thelist of recorded orchids is given in Table 1. A totalof seven species of Dendrobium were recorded fromthe surveyed VDCs. Similarly, four species ofCoelogyne were recorded. Of all the recorded orchidspecies, two species of Dendrobium (D. denudans andD. eriiflorum) are traded from the district.

Koirala et al.

10000quadrat of Area studiedquadrat ofnumber Total

speciesany ofplant ofnumber TotalPl/ha Abundance ××

=

Fig 2: Dendrobium denudans Fig 3: Dendrobium eriiflorum


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Koirala et al.

Table 1: Orchid species in the surveyed VDCs of Rolpa district

SN Scientific Name Habitat Distribution (m) Flowering Remarks1 Aerides multiflora E 800-1100 May-Jul2 Aerides odorata E 800-1200 May-Jul3 Bulbophyllum careyanum E 800-2100 Oct-Dec4 Bulbophyllum viridiflorum E 1100-2300 Jul-Oct5 Calanthe tricarinata T 1500-3200 Jun-Jul6 Chiloschista usneoides E 1600-1700 Feb-Apr7 Cleisostema sp. E 1700 Masina VDC8 Coelogyne corymbosa E, T 1500-2900 Mar-May9 Coelogyne cristata E, T 1400-2500 Feb-Apr10 Coelogyne flaccida E 900-1400 Apr-June11 Coelogyne ovalis E 1300-2100 Sept-Dec12 Cymbidium elegans E 2100-2500 Sept-Nov13 Cymbidium iridioides E 1300-2400 Sept-Dec14 Cypripedium himalaicum T 3000-3600 Jun-Aug15 Dactylorhiza hatagirea T 3000-4000 Jun-Jul16 Dendrobium aphyllum E 800-1500 Apr-Jun17 Dendrobium bicameratum E 1400-2400 Jul-Aug18 Dendrobium chryseum E 1200-2100 Apr-Jun19 Dendrobium denudans E, L 1000-2200 Apr-Sept Traded species20 Dendrobium eriiflorum E 1500-2100 Sept-Oct Traded species21 Dendrobium heterocarpum E 1000-1400 Apr-May22 Dendrobium longicornu E 1300-2900 Sept-Nov23 Epigeneium amplum E, L 1300-2100 Sept-Nov24 Gastrochilus calceolaris E 900-2300 Feb-Mar25 Herminium lanceum T 1100-3500 Jul-Sep26 Kingidium taenialis E, L 1500-2300 Apr-Jun27 Oberonia acaulis E 600-2100 Sept-Dec28 Oberonia sp. E 1100-1700 Siuri VDC29 Pleione hookeriana T 2200-3700 May-Jun30 Rhynchostylis retusa E 800-1800 May-Jul31 Satyrium nepalense T 1500-3600 July-Sept32 Spiranthes sinensis T 800-3600 Apr-Aug33 Vanda cristata E 1200-2300 Mar-May34 Unidentified E 1900-2200 Liwang VDC35 Unidentified E 1900-2200 Liwang VDC36 Unidentified E 1900-2200 Liwang VDC

E= Epiphytic; T= Terrestrial; L= Lithophytic


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Koirala et al.

Distribution of orchids in the studied VDCs of Rolpa

The VDC wise list of recorded orchids are given in Table 2.

Table 2: List of recorded orchids in the studied VDCs of Rolpa districtSN VDCs Recorded orchid species Abundant orchids1 Jhenam A. multiflora, A. odorata, C. corymbosa, C. cristata, C. ovalis, C. ovalis, D. denudans,

D. aphyllum, D. bicameratum, D. denudans, D. longicornu, K. taenialis

G. calceolaris, H. lanceum, K. taenialis, R. retusa,V. cristata,

S. nepalense

2 Dubring A. multiflora, A. odorata, C. corymbosa, C. cristata, C. ovalis, C. ovalis, D. aphyllum,

D. aphyllum, D. bicameratum, D. denudans, D. longicornu, K. taenialis

G. calceolaris, H. lanceum, K. taenialis, R. retusa, V. cristata,

S. nepalense, Cleisostema sp.

3 Sakhi A. multiflora, A. odorata, C. corymbosa, C. cristata, C. ovalis, C. ovalis, C. corymbosa,

D. aphyllum, D. bicameratum, D. denudans, D. longicornu, C. cristata


S. nepalense

4 Dubidanda A. multiflora, A. odorata, C. corymbosa, C. cristata, C. ovalis, D. aphyllum, D. denudans,

D. aphyllum, D. bicameratum, D. denudans, D. longicornu, C. corymbosa


S. nepalense, Cleisostema sp., S. sinensis

5 Masina A. multiflora, A. odorata, C. corymbosa, C. cristata, C. ovalis, C. ovalis, D. longicornu,

D. aphyllum, D. bicameratum, D. denudans, D. longicornu, V. cristata


S. nepalense, Cleisostema sp.

6 Nuwagaun A. multiflora, A. odorata, C. corymbosa, C. cristata, C. ovalis, C. ovalis, C. corymbosa,

D. aphyllum, D. bicameratum, D. denudans, D. longicornu, C. cristata


S. nepalense

7 Gairigaun A. multiflora, A. odorata, C. corymbosa, C. cristata, C. ovalis, C. corymbosa, C. cristata,

D. aphyllum, D. bicameratum, D. denudans, D. longicornu, D. aphyllum


S. nepalense, S. sinensis

8 Kotgaun A. multiflora, A. odorata, C. corymbosa, C. cristata, C. ovalis, C. corymbosa, D. denudans,

D. aphyllum, D. bicameratum, D. denudans, D. longicornu, V. cristata


S. nepalense

9 Liwang A. multiflora, A. odorata, B. viridiflorum, C. usneoides, C. corymbosa, D. denudans,

C. corymbosa, C. cristata, C. flaccida, C. ovalis, D. aphyllum, D. longicornu

D. bicameratum, D. chryseum, D. denudans, D. heterocarpum,

D. longicornu, E. amplum, G. calceolaris, H. lanceum, K. taenialis,

O. acaulis, R. retusa, V. cristata, Unidentified 3 species


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Koirala et al.

SN VDCs Recorded orchid species Abundant orchids10 Khumel A. multiflora, A. odorata, B. viridiflorum, C. usneoides, C. corymbosa, D. longicornu,

C. corymbosa, C. cristata, C. flaccida, C. ovalis, D. aphyllum, D. bicameratum

D. bicameratum, D. chryseum, D. denudans, D. heterocarpum,

D. longicornu, E. amplum, G. calceolaris, H. lanceum,

K. taenialis, R. retusa, V. cristata

11 Mijhing A. multiflora, A. odorata, C. corymbosa, C. cristata, D. bicameratum, R. retusa,

D. aphyllum, D. bicameratum, D. chryseum, D. eriiflorum, V. cristata

D. heterocarpum, D. longicornu, G. calceolaris, H. lanceum,

K. taenialis, O. acaulis, R. retusa, V. cristata

12 Jaimakasala A. multiflora, A. odorata, C. usneoides, C. corymbosa, D. denudans, D. eriiflorum,

C. cristata, C. flaccida, C. ovalis, D. aphyllum, E. amplum,O. acaulis

D. bicameratum, D. chryseum, D. denudans, D. eriiflorum,

D. heterocarpum, D. longicornu, E. amplum, H. lanceum,

O. acaulis, P. hookeriana, R. retusa, V. cristata, S. sinensis,

Oberonia sp.

13 Seram A. multiflora, A. odorata, C. usneoides, C. corymbosa, D. bicameratum, D. denudans,

C. cristata, C. flaccida, C. ovalis, D. aphyllum, D. bicameratum, D. eriiflorum, O. acaulis

D. chryseum, D. denudans, D. eriiflorum, D. heterocarpum,

D. longicornu, H. lanceum, O. acaulis, P. hookeriana, R. retusa,

V. cristata, Oberonia sp.

14 Uwa A. odorata, C. tricarinata, C. corymbosa, C. cristata, C. flaccida, C. corymbosa, D. denudans,

C. ovalis, C. himalaicum, D. hatagirea, D. aphyllum, E. amplum, O. acaulis

D. bicameratum, D. denudans, D. heterocarpum, D. longicornu,

E. amplum, H. lanceum, K. taenialis, O. acaulis, P. hookeriana,

R. retusa, S. nepalense, V. cristata

15 Siuri A. multiflora, A. odorata, C. usneoides, C. corymbosa, D. bicameratum,D. denudans,

C. cristata, C. flaccida, C. ovalis, D. aphyllum, D. bicameratum, D. eriiflorum, O. acaulis

D. chryseum, D. denudans, D. eriiflorum, D. heterocarpum,

D. longicornu, H. lanceum, O. acaulis, P. hookeriana, R. retusa,

V. cristata, S. sinensis, Oberonia sp.

16 Aresh A. multiflora, A. odorata, C. corymbosa, C. cristata, D. aphyllum, A. multiflora, C. cristata,

D. longicornu, H. lanceum, K. taenialis, O. acaulis, R. retusa, V. cristata

V. cristata

17 Tewang A. multiflora, A. odorata, C. corymbosa, C. cristata, A. multiflora, C. cristata,

D. aphyllum, D. longicornu, H. lanceum, K. taenialis, O. acaulis, V. cristata

R. retusa, V. cristata


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Typically, two times a day the mid altitudes benefitfrom a ‘cloud bath’ resulting from the rising andfalling of cloud line. As a result of such a dailyweather cycle in the mid-hills, the medium bark oftrees/shrubs decompose quickly into anaerobicsludge combined with lots of air movement and thestrong light seems to make orchids sturdy andresilient.

Host plants of orchids

Most of the orchid species were found growing onAngeri (Lyonia ovalifolia), Banjh (Quercusleucotrichophora), Katus (Castanopsis indica), Lali Gurans(Rhododendron arboreum) and Kaphal (Myrica esculenta)in sub-tropical and temperate regions. Similarly,Chiuri (Diploknema butyracea), Mauwa (Engelhardtiaspicata) and Sal (Shorea robusta).

Among all the host plants, Angeri and Lali Guranshost more than 21 orchid species each. Similarly,Katus hosts 19 species, Banjh hosts 18 species,Kaulo hosts 13 species, Mauwa, Kaphal and Chiurihost 12 species each.

Gymnosperms are not good hosts for orchids butKhote salla (Pinus roxburghii) hosts three species ofDendrobium and Rhynchostylis retusa. Three species oforchids are lithophytic whereas nine species areterrestrial (Table 1).

Hotspots of orchids

Orchid habitat comprises of undisturbed mixedbroadleaved forest with good moisture content. Thistype of habitat harbours many kinds of orchidsso, it is known as “Orchid Hotspot”. Orchid hotspotshave been identified in the forests of Jhenam,Dubring, Dubidanda, Masina, Sakhi, Nuwagaun,Gairigaun, Kotgaun, Liwang, Khumel, Jaimakasala,Uwa, Seram and Siuri VDCs. Orchid hotspots ofsurveyed VDCs are shown in Fig 4.

Habitat of orchids

The mid altitudes between 1000-2300 m of thestudied VDCs harbour the highest number ofepiphytic orchid species in Rolpa district. Fewterrestrial orchid species grow on meadows andunderlying forest covers ranging from sub-tropicalto sub-alpine regions in the studied VDCs. Thesuitability of luxuriant growth of epiphytic orchidsin the mid-hills is due to the moisture rich, mossyhabitat as a result of high cloud formation.

Koirala et al.

Traded orchids and their current stock

According to the collectors and traders of orchidsin Rolpa district, two species of orchids are tradedbecause they fetch higher price (NRs. 150-200/kg).They were D. denudans and D. eriiflorum.

The abundance of D. denudans was highest in LiwangVDC (15360/ha) with a current stock of 23.42 kg/ha followed by Seram VDC with an abundance of13800/ha having a current stock of 21.04 kg/ha andUwa VDC with an abundance of 13150/haand a current stock of 20.05 kg/ha(Table 3).

Similarly, the abundance of D. eriiflorum was highestin Siuri VDC (35530/ha) with the current stock of54.18 kg/ha followed by Seram VDC with theabundance of 31450/ha having a current stock of47.96 kg/ha and Jaimakasala VDC with abundanceof 26640/ha and current stock of 40.62 kg/ha.

Fig 4: Map showing orchid hotspots in Rolpa district

Assessment of the threat

The wild orchids having high horticultural valuesespecially in the cross national sectors, are posing acontinued threat to wild populations in the forests.As a result, the wild habitat is perceived to bedepleting because of habitat destruction. Since 2008,Nepal Government has lifted the ban on trade ofwild orchids which were restricted before and hasnow permitted the export with CITES certification.Therefore, the over-exploitation of wild orchids bylocal vendors for sale to the traders/exporters hasexerted a serious threat to mostly sub-tropical andfew temperate epiphytic species. For this reason, thefavourable orchid habitats are heavily disturbed andnot given attention for conservation. Degradationand depletion of the habitats are critical threats fororchids.


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Strategies for conservation andmanagement

Orchids fall under Appendix II category which isdefined as species not yet threatened but which couldbecome endangered if trade is not controlled.Collection and trade of orchids do not fall underthe jurisdiction of CITES or any existing legislation.However, it is envisaged that with the developmentand enactment of regulations under the endangeredspecies (protection, conservation and regulation oftrade) act, illegal trade and uncontrolled harvestingof orchids will be addressed.

Sustainable conservation and protectionof the orchid hotspots

In-situ /ex-situ conservation

Habitat/species management areas (equivalent toIUCN Category IV) should be established where the

Similarly, weak legal enforcement and conservationgaps are other factors causing the threats to orchidspecies. The CITES inland law has not beenformulated yet for the country and very few fieldtechnicians are aware of the value of orchids.Furthermore, very few forest technicians couldidentify orchids in the wild form. Wild forest patchesare the key habitat of orchids but rarely have suchspecies been included in regular monitoring systemunder the DFO administrative mechanism.Moreover, inventory (including abundance,harvestable stock and distribution) have not beenmainstreamed in the community forestry operationalplans and the district periodic plans. At the sametime, high level policy makers also lack awareness onorchid status in the country. Issuing permits forcollection and transit is not user-friendly orenvironmentally sound as assumed by the high levelpolicy makers and implementing the top-down ordersby the DFO has created confusions for maintainingregulation and establishing a sustainable harvestingsystem.

Koirala et al.

Table 3: Abundance and current stock of traded orchids

SN Name of Traded No of No of Stock Area of Estimated TotalVDC species plants/ plants kg/ha broad area of stock of

patch /ha leaved orchid the areaforest distribution (kg)* (ha) (ha)

1 Liwang D. denudans 8 15360 23.42 646.49 258.60 6057.352 Masina D. denudans 4 2320 3.54 325.92 130.37 461.243 Dubring D. denudans 3 1170 1.78 524.55 209.82 374.324 Dubidanda D. denudans 3 1560 2.38 249.95 99.98 237.855 Sakhi D. denudans 3 2430 3.70 298.83 119.53 442.276 Jhenam D. denudans 3 2610 3.98 353.36 141.34 562.557 Nuwagaun D. denudans 3 2820 4.30 1089.85 435.94 1874.548 Gairigaun D. denudans 5 11450 17.46 826.92 330.77 5775.549 Kotgaun D. denudans 4 3960 6.04 195.37 78.15 471.9410 Khumel D. denudans 4 5880 8.97 250.30 100.12 897.7811 Mijhing D. eriiflorum 9 9810 14.96 232.49 93.00 1391.2212 Jaimakasala D. eriiflorum 18 26640 40.63 303.59 121.44 4933.46

D. denudans 6 9240 14.09 303.59 121.44 1711.1513 Seram D. eriiflorum 17 31450 47.96 1185.86 474.34 22750.01

D. denudans 6 13800 21.05 1185.86 474.34 9982.5714 Uwa D. denudans 5 13150 20.05 1373.62 549.45 11018.0815 Siuri D. eriiflorum 19 35530 54.18 324.81 129.92 7039.67

D. denudans 4 8000 12.20 324.81 129.92 1585.07Total 9996.17 3998.47 77566.61

* Of the broadleaved forest area of the surveyed VDCs, it is assumed that only 40% of the forest area hosts orchids.Based on this assumption, total stocks of orchids were calculated. However, total stock of orchids comprises all sizeand age classes and cannot be harvested in totality.


11

ecosystems are healthy and a number of speciespresent are threatened by proposed habitat alterationsuch as development or mining. For this, recovery/management plan (zoning for hotspots) forendangered orchid species should be developed andimplemented. For ex-situ conservation, a few rescuecentres should be established: at least two rescuecentres, to house illegally exported orchids becausethe illegally transported en-route species have a veryhigh value in the market. In addition, a gene bankcould preserve the endangered orchid species. Fromanother perspective, encouraging the artificialpropagation from seeds and tissue culture forcommercial objectives could encourage privategrowers to invest if granted tax exemptions forexport and import of such materials. In Nepal, alarge tracts of forests have been handed over tocommunity users; therefore, the community levelawareness and involvement for conservation andpropagation is of utmost importance for theconservation of big habitat areas.

Strengthening regulatory mechanism

Conservation and management can be achievedthrough amendments of the Forest Act 1993 andPlant Protection Act 2029 to incorporate theprotection of endangered and endemic orchidspecies and establish quota restrictions oncommercial species. The Acts and by-laws shouldconform to the CITES protocol. A periodic reviewof the orchids on the protected lists should be carriedout for nomenclature changes and addition ordeletion of the species. A detailed field collectionpolicy should be developed for field levelimplementation to prevent over-exploitation of thewild orchids and incorporated into the nationallegislation. It can be regulated by creating anendorsement mechanism for the commercialexporters and importers.

Education and research

Technological information seems lacking in thewhole hierarchical levels of forestry organization. Inorder to address this lacuna, firstly, trainingprogrammes for the identification of orchid speciesfor DFO staff, Customs Officers, Taxonomists,Protected Area Rangers, Plant Quarantine Officersand other relevant persons involved in the issuingof permits and security at airports should beorganized regularly. Secondly, the training should

Koirala et al.

focus on artificial propagation of commercially viablespecies. Thirdly, public education awarenesscampaign programmes should be organized throughvarious extension methods and through mass media.Finally, the government and research institutes,including educational institutions, should promoteresearch on conservation modalities and scientificcultivation.

Conclusion and recommendation

Orchids are among the most beautiful ornamentalplants with medicinal and horticultural importanceas well. Rolpa district is rich in orchid speciesresources, with 36 species of terrestrial, epiphyticand lithophytic orchids identified in the 17 VDCsstudied in the district. Orchid habitat hotspots andhost plants were identified within the communityforests as well as government managed forests ataltitudes of 1000-2300 m in humid and moisture rich,mixed broadleaved forest of the surveyed VDCs.

The assessment of the current stock of traded orchidspecies revealed that the abundance of D. denudanswas the highest in Liwang VDC (15360/ha) with acurrent stock of 23.42 kg/ha followed by SeramVDC with an abundance of 13800/ha having acurrent stock of 21.04 kg/ha and Uwa VDC with anabundance of 13150/ha and a current stock of20.05 kg/ha.

Regarding abundance, D. eriiflorum was found to bethe highest in Siuri VDC (35530/ha) with a currentstock of 54.18 kg/ha followed by Seram VDC withthe abundance of 31450/ha having current stock of47.96 kg/ha and Jaimakasala VDC with an abundanceof 26640/ha and a current stock of 40.62 kg/ha.

Of the total broadleaved forest areas in the surveyedVDCs, it was assumed that only 40% of the forestareas hosts orchids. Based on this assumption, thetotal stock of orchids was calculated. The total stockof D. denudans was recorded highest in Uwa VDCwith 11018.08 kg followed by Seram VDC with astock of 9982.57 kg and Liwang VDC with a totalstock of 6057.35 kg. Similarly, the stock of D.eriiflorum was highest in Seram, Siuri and Jaimakasalawith the total stocks of 22750.01 kg, 7039.67 kg and4933.46 kg, respectively. However, the total stock oforchids comprising of all size and age classes cannotbe harvested in totality.


12

record of orchid from Nepal Himalaya. In XVInternational Botanical Congress: Abstracts, August 28-September 3, 1993, Yokohama, Japan.

Banerji, M.L. and Pradhan, P. 1984. Orchids ofNepal. J. Cramer, Vaduz, Liechtenstein.

Banerji, M.L. 1978. Orchids of Nepal. Bishen SinghMahendra Pal Singh, Dehra Dun, India.

Bania, A.M.S., Shakya, L.R., Chettri, M.K. andBajracharya, D. 1993. Coelogyne fuscescens var.veridiflorum U C Pradhan, A new record of orchidfrom Nepal Himalaya. In XV International BotanicalCongress: Abstracts, August 28-September 3, 1993,Yokohama, Japan.

Cribb, P.J. and Tang, C.Z. 1983. The Genus Pleione.Curtis’s Bot. Mag. 184: 93-147.

DFO Rolpa. 2008. Annual Monitoring andProgress Report, District Forest Office, Rolpa,Nepal.

Don, D. 1825. Prodromus Florae Nepalensis. London,U.K.

DuPuy, D. and Cribb, P. 1988. The GenusCymbidium. Christopher Helm/Timber Press,London, U.K.

Hara, H., Stearn W.T. and Williams, L.H. J. 1978. AnEnumeration of the Flowering Plants ofNepal, Vol. 1. British Museum, Natural History,London, UK.

Milleville, R.de and Shrestha, T.B. 2004. NepalOrchids in Pictures. Malla Prakashan,Kathmandu, Nepal.

Pearce, N. and Cribb, P. 1996.The Indo-Himalayanspecies of the genus Oreorchis. J. Orchid Soc. India10 (1-2): 1-12.

Polunin, O. and Stainton, A. 1984. Flowers of theHimalaya. Oxford University Press, New Delhi,India.

Press, J.R., Shrestha, K.K. and Sutton, D.A. 2000.Annotated Checklist of the Flowering Plantsof Nepal. The Natural History Museum,London, UK.

Rajbhandari, K.R. and Bhattarai, S. 1995-96.Cymbidium gammieanum King & Pantl., A newrecord for Nepal. Nat. Hist. Soc. Nepal Bull. 5-6(1-4): 2-3.

Rajbhandari K. R. and Bhattarai S. 1998. A newrecord of orchid for Nepal. Plant Research 1 (1):12-13.

Koirala et al.

Due to the habitat loss, forest destruction,degradation and over-exploitation of beautiful andmedicinal orchids for trade, there are threats to theconservation of orchids in the district. Conservationhas not been sensitive to the need of orchids.Therefore, detailed assessment to understand thecurrent stock and overall conservation status oforchids in the district should be conducted, and thisis still lacking. How much stocking is the optimalfor sustainable conservation has not been calculatedyet; therefore, this needs to be researched.

Legal arrangements with mass awareness programmeshould be mainstreamed in the regular annualactivities in DFO and other conservation orientedprogrammes. A field collection policy should bedeveloped to prevent the over-exploitation of wildorchids and incorporate them into the managementplan of community forests as well as governmentmanaged forests. Similarly, artificial propagation andin-situ conservation may also have more importancein the conservation effort. For this, host plant speciesconservation and protection in natural form isnecessary for arresting the depletion rate.

The Government should develop orchid hotspotsareas for the eco-tourism promotion, so that the localstakeholders can earn some kind of income. For thelocal communities, it could be facilitated throughbeautiful orchids. A gene bank of endangered speciesshould be established and maintained. Awarenessactivities and training programmes on identificationof the orchid species should also be organized.

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge Livelihoods and ForestryProgramme (LFP) for funding this study.Mr. P. Budhathoki, District Programme Co-ordinator, LFP, DFO field staff and local communitypeople of Rolpa deserve our thanks for advising andassisting in the documentation of orchid species.

References

Bailes, C. P. 1985. Orchids in Nepal. TheConservationand Development of a NaturalResource. Advisory Report andRecommendations. Royal Botanic Gardens,Kew, London, UK.

Bajracharya, D., Shakya, L. R. and Chettri, M.K. 1993.Uncifera lancifolia (King & Pantl.) Schtr.: A new


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Rajbhandari, K.R. and Bhattarai, S. 2001. BeautifulOrchids of Nepal. Kathmandu, Nepal.

Rajbhandari, K.R., Bhattarai, S. and Joshi, R. 1997.Calanthe anjanii S. Z. Lucksom, A New Recordfor Nepal. Nat. Hist. Soc. Nepal Bull. 7 (1-4): 18.

Rajbhandari, K.R. 1976. History of botanicalexplorations of Nepal. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.73 (3): 468-481.

Shakya, L.R. and Bania, A.M.S. 1998. Pachystoma senile(Lindley) Reichb. f., A new record for Nepal.Newsletter of Himalayan Botany 24: 10-12.

Shakya, L.R. and Chaudhary, R.P. 1999. Taxonomyof Oberonia rufilabris and allied new species fromthe Himalaya. Harvard Papers in Botany 4 (1): 357-363.

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Shakya, L.R. 2000. Oberonia jenkensiana Griff. ex Lndl.,A new record for Nepal. Rheedea 10 (2): 149-151.

Stainton A. 1988. Flowers of the Himalaya: ASupplement. Oxford University Press, NewDelhi, India.

Wood J. J. 1986. Notes on Asiatic and New GuineaOrchidaceae. Kew Bull. 41 (4): 811-822.

Wood J. J. 1989. Eria extinctoria (Lindl.) oliver in Nepal.Die Orchidee 40 (6): 201-205.

Zobel, D.B., Jha P.K., Behan M.J. and Yadav, U.K.R.1987. A Practical Manual for Ecology. RatnaBook Distributors, Kathmandu, Nepal.


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Mohan and Giri

Diversity, distribution and host range of mistletoe inprotected and unprotected areas of Central Nepal

Himalayas

M.P. Devkota1* , G.P. Joshi1 and P. Parajuli1

Diversity, distribution and host range of mistletoe were assessed in protected andunprotected areas of the Central Nepal Himalayas. This study recorded ten mistletoespecies. Occurrence of all ten mistletoe species within the Shivpuri Nagarjun NationalPark (SNNP) was a clear indication that national parks provide better habitat for mistletoespecies richness and thus a better opportunity for biodiversity conservation than inunprotected areas. For these mistletoes, a total of 34 host species of 21 unrelated familieswere documented. Scurrula genus of the Loranthaceae family had the hightest numberof species, the highest number of host species, and the widest altitudinal distribution.Variation in climatic factors, edge effect, disperser behaviour, fragmented forests and theavailability of suitable host species determine the occurrence of a particular mistletoespecies in a particular habitat.

Key words: Diversity, distribution, host range, mistletoe, Nepal

Mistletoes are a highly specialized and successful group of flowering plants that exploit and(or) parasitize a wide range of host plants. They occurover a broad range of habitats all over the world.Despite their harmful effects on the host plants,mistletoes have been considered as importantcomponents of plant diversity and forest ecosystemsthroughout the world (Kujit, 1964; Hawksworth,1983; Calder, 1983; Polhill and Wiens 1998). Despitetheir large geographical distribution, the Old Worldmistletoes have been studied little. Nepal is noexception to this; as a result, there is an amazing gapof knowledge on the mistletoes of Nepal Himalayas,a biogeographically interesting transition zonebetween Eastern and Western Himalayan flora(Stearn, 1960). After adding five new, previouslyunrecorded, mistletoe species to the Flora of Nepalby Devkota and Glatzel (2005); Devkota and Koirala(2005) and Devkota and Joshi (2008), the inventoryhas been enriched from fifteen to twenty species.Devkota and Acharya (1996) reported 46 host speciesof mistletoes belonging to 25 families in KathmanduValley; Devkota and Glatzel (2005) documented 95host species belonging to 45 families in theAnnapurna Region and 69 host species of 38 familieswere recorded by Devkota and Kunwar (2006) fromGodawari-Phulchowki area of Kathmandu Valley inCentral Nepal.

Along with host species, the climatic factors alsogovern the mistletoe species diversity and distribution(Hawksworth, 1959; Ganguly and Kumar, 1976;Zakaullah and Khan, 1982; Xiao and Pu, 1988).Similarly, edge effect plays a significant role inmistletoe distribution as Lopez et al. (2002); Kujit(1964); Polhill and Wiens (1998); Bach et al. (2005);and Devkota and Glatzel (2005) have reported thatfragmented marginal forests had more adult mistletoeplants than the inner forest. Landscape modificationand habitat fragmentation are key drivers that affectmistletoe growth and distribution (Kelly et al., 2000),and the limited degree of forest fragmentationimproves reproduction in endemic mistletoes(Lavorel et al., 1999) by promoting invasion. Kujit(1964) reported that the occurrence of somemistletoe at higher elevation is limited byenvironmental factors and is not related to hostpreference. Abulfatih and Emara (1988) recordedmistletoes restricted to its specific host between2000-2400 m. Unlike these observations, Kujit (1969)suggested the importance of bird’s behaviour andconcluded that distribution of mistletoe entirelydepends upon the habits of the birds that disseminatethe seeds.

This study attempts to explore and comparemistletoe diversity in protected and unprotected areas

1 Botany Department, Amrit Campus, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal.* Author for correspodence: [email protected]


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Devkota et al.

in the Central Himalayas of Nepal. The results ofthe study will supplement information on Nepalesemistletoe diversity, host range and distribution. As aspin-off, by documenting of mistletoes in thethreatened ecosystems of Central Region of Nepal,a biodiversity hotspot, the study will greatlycontribute to the conservation of mistletoes.

Materials and methods

Study areaThe study was carried out in two national parks:Langtang National Park (LNP) and ShivpuriNagarjun National Park (SNNP) in the Central NepalHimalayas. Both parks provide a great diversity ofvegetation types ranging from hot sub-tropical tosub-alpine, with changes in elevation and climate onthe northern and southern slopes of the greatMahabharat Mountain Range. SNNP (159 km2) issituated at the northern boundary of the Kathmanduvalley and lies in the transition zone between sub-tropical and temperate climates. Depending onaltitude and aspect, the vegetation consists of avariety of natural forest types including pine, oak,and rhododendron. The southern slopes of SNNPconsists of Schima-Castanopsis forest and Pinuswallichiana forest below 1800 m, whereas Alnusnepalensis is the prevalent tree species along thestreams. At higher elevations, various species of oaksand rhododendron dominate the vegetation.

LNP (1710 km2) represents a meeting point betweenIndo-Malayan and Paleartic realms. Elevationalgradient (ranging from mid hills to alpine) coupledwith complex topography and geology haveproduced a rich biodiversity and a unique patchworkof vegetation. Sub-tropical vegetation ischaracterized by dominant tree species, Shorea robusta,under Dipterocarpaceae family on the southern flankof the park which is gradually replaced by the hillforest (2000–2600 m) consisting of Pinus roxburghii,Rhododendron arboreum, Schima-Castanopsis and Alnusnepalensis. The temperate zone (2600–3000 m) isdominated by oak forest (Quercus semecarpifolia) fadingto old growth forest of Tsuga dumosa, Abies spectabilis,Betula utilis, Juniperus indica, J. recurva and Larix himalaicain the lower sub-alpine zone (3000–3600 m). Furtherup, the vegetation is dominated by thickets andshrubs consisting of Betula utilis and R. campanulatum.

The explored area outside protected area lies betweentwo national parks starting from Magingoth (3220m) and passing through Kutumsang (2470 m),

Gulbhajyang (2130 m) and ending at Chisapani(2215 m) (Fig 1). This segment of trekking routepasses through settlements and agriculture land withextensive farming practices.

Mistletoe inventoryA mistletoe inventory was carried out along thetrekking route starting at Dhunche of LNP andending at Sundarijal of SNNP passing through greataltitudinal variation and different vegetation types(Fig. 1).

Mistletoes were explored for ten days in April 2007.Representative areas of various forest types andhabitats were visited along the trekking route touncover mistletoe diversity and host species withinthe protected and unprotected areas. Forest trailsdeveloped by local people were used to explore amaximum possible area, representing different foresttypes at different elevations. Undisturbed tomoderately disturbed forests and degraded marginalforests along with community forests, orchards andvegetations surrounding agricultural fields were alsoexplored. Occurrence of all mistletoe species withtheir respective hosts were recorded along with theecological features of habitat such as altitude, slopedirection, availability of light and moisture, foresttype, and phenology during the inventory.

Standard sized mistletoe specimens were collectedcarefully without endangering their local population,

Fig 1: Study area showing two national parks and surveyroute


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and herbaria were prepared. Collected mistletoespecimens and host species were identified with thehelp of herbaria deposited at National Herbariumat Kathmandu and confirmed with the help of fieldnotes and other standard literature (Hara et al., 1978,1979, 1982; Malla et al., 1976; Koba et al., 1994; Presset al., 2000). The International Plant Name Index(http://www.ipni.org) was accessed for thetaxonomic nomenclature of mistletoe and hostspecies.

Results and discussion

Mistletoe diversity and host range A total of ten mistletoe species, eight belonging tofive genera in the family Loranthaceae (Macrosolen,Taxillus, Helixanthera, Scurrula, and Loranthus) and twobelonging to one genus in the family Viscaceae(Viscum) were recorded in the study area. These tenmistletoe species were parasitizing 34 host plantsbelonging to 28 genera of 21 unrelated host families(Table 1).

Protected areas revealed higher mistletoe speciesdiversity than the unprotected areas. Highestmistletoe species diversity was found in SNNP as allten mistletoe species were recorded in a smallernational park than LNP (Fig 2). Only five mistletoespecies were recorded along the trekking routebetween Dhunche to Magingoth within LNP. Thisnumber was higher than the species number reportedin the Flora of Langtang (Malla et al., 1976).Surprisingly, six mistletoe species, higher than in LNP,were recorded along the trekking route passingthrough the settlements and agriculture fieldsbetween Kutumsang and Chisapani in theunprotected area.

Similar to the previous studies in Nepal by Devkotaand Acharya (1996), Devkota and Glatzel (2005), andDevkota and Kunwar (2006), the genus Scurrula(Loranthaceae) had the largest number of species:S. elata, S. pulverulenta, S. gracilifolia and S. parasitica.Scurrula genus was more aggressive than other generain parasitizing a wide range of host plants oftaxonomically unrelated families. Scurrula elataparasitized the highest number of 22 host plants(Fig 3). The Loranthaceae family was foundparasitizing on a much wider range of host speciesthan the Viscaceae family. A rare occurrence of S.elata was found parasitizing a Gymnosperm host,Pinus wallichiana; similarly, a case of hyperparasitismof S. gracilifolia was found on S. parasitica.

Distribution patternsThe distribution of mistletoe species did notdemonstrate any uniformity because it was governedby multiple factors such as forest disturbance, climaticfactors (light, temperature, and moisture), abundanceand availability of dispersers and host species. Localizeddistribution pattern of mistletoes in warm and sunnyslopes, forest edges and all along the trekking routewas found to be similar to earlier reports in Nepalby Devkota and Acharya, 1996; Devkota and Glatzel,2005; Devkota and Kunwar, 2006. Theseobservations are also similar to those of Lavorel etal. (1999), Kelly et al. (2000) and Bach et al. (2005)who noted that marginal and fragmented forests notonly provide better habitats for mistletoes but alsopromote invasion such habitats by mistletoes.Occurrences of many mistletoe species in open andwarm habitats along all the trekking routes was alsofound to be suitable habitats for mistletoe birds andfor dispersal by them as in New Zealand (Ladley andKelley, 1996) and in Kathmandu Valley (Devkota andAcharya, 1996). Climatic factors were found to beimportant in determining mistletoe distribution in

Fig 3: Host number of each mistletoe species

Fig 2: Number of mistletoe species


17

Banko Janakari, Vol. 20, No. 2Devkota et al.

Table 1: Recorded host list of all mistletoe species

Family Host species Mistletoe speciesMc Tv Lo Hi Sg Spa Spu Se Va Var No.

Anacardiaceae Rhus javanica L. * 1Berberidaceae Berberis asiatica Roxb. ex DC * 1Betulaceae Alnus nepalensis D. Don * 1Caprifoliaceae Viburnum erubescens Wall. * * * 3Cornaceae Benthamedia capitata (Wallich) Hara * 1Ericaceae Gaultheria fragrantissima Wall. * * * * 4

Lyonia ovalifolia Hort * 1Rhododendron arboreum Sm. * * 2

Fagaceae Castanopsis tribuloides (Sm.) A. DC. * 1Quercus lanata Sm. * 1Quercus glauca Thunb. * * 2Quercus semecarpifolia Sm. * * 2

Juglandaceae Juglans regia L. * 1Labiateae Leucoseptrum canum Sm. * 1Loranthaceae Scurrula parasitica L. * 1Meliaceae Melia azederach L. * 1Moraceae Ficus bengalensis L. * 1Myricaceae Myrica esculenta Buch.-Ham.ex D. Don * 1Myrsinaceae Maesa chisia D. Don * * 2

Myrsine semiserrata Wall. * * 2Myrsine capitellata Wall. * 1

Oleaceae Ligustrum nepalense Wall. * * * * 4Pinaceae Pinus wallichiana A. B. Jackson * 1Rosaceae Prunus cerasoides D. Don * 1

Prunus cornuta (Wall. ex Royle) Steud. * 1Prunus domestica (L.) Schneid * 1Prunus persica (L.) Batsch * * 2Pyrancantha crenulata (D. Don) Roem * 1Pyrus pashia Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don * * * * 4

Rutaceae Citrus limon (L.) Burm. f. * 1Zanthoxylum armatum DC. * * 2

Salicaceae Salix sp. * 1Symplocaceae Symplocos ramosissima Wall. * * 2Theaceae Schima wallichii Choisy * * 2Total number of parasitized host plants 1 2 1 7 6 9 2 22 2 2

Mc: Macrosolen cochinchinensis, Tv: Taxillus vestitus, Lo: Loranthus odoratus, Hi: Helixanthera ligustrina

Sg: Scurrula gracilifolia, Spa: Scurrula parasitica, Spu: Scurrula pulverulenta, Se: Scurrula elata,

Va: Viscum album, Var: Viscum articulatum, No: Number of host species


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Devkota et al.

undisturbed by human interferences because of theirrelative inaccessibility. Therefore, two reasons for lessmistletoe species diversity in LNP maybe due to: 1)domination of conifer vegetation at higher elevation,providing less opportunity for Loranthaceaemistletoe to establish, and 2) little vegetation at higherelevation and extremely cold climatic condition,unsuitable for mistletoe and their avian dispersers.

Occurrence of higher number of mistletoe species (six)in unprotected area suggests that even the habitatsoutside the protected area can prove to be favourablemistletoe habitats. The trekking route betweenMagingoth and Chisapani traverses throughunprotected area, passing through fragmented forest,orchards and the vegetation surrounding theagricultural fields. These human altered landscapesprovide a suitable habitat for mistletoes to establishin such open habitats as per observations by Kujit,1964; Calvin and Wilson, 1998; Lopez de Buen et al.,2002.

No habitats particularly rich in mistletoe diversitywere found in either national parks. Some areasdominated by broadleaved forest in the warmersouthern slopes of SNNP below 2500 m elevationsheltered habitats better suited for mistletoeestablishment and growth.

Nepal’s forests are facing severe stress due to theever increasing demand for agricultural land, timber,fuelwood and fodder, and settlements. Deforestationand land degradation are serious problems in bothprotected and unprotected areas, and are thus majorthreats to mistletoe diversity. Both national parkswere facing severe problems of timber harvest,fuelwood and fodder collection and encroachmentof forest area for agricultural land. Increasingpopulation has demanded new agricultural land andthe increasing number of tourist have generated highdemand for fuelwood in LNP for heating andcooking purpose.

Conclusion

Altogether ten mistletoe species were recorded alongthe trekking route within the protected andunprotected areas in the Central Nepal Himalayas.Despite being much smaller than Langtang NationalPark, Shivpuri Nagarjun National Park displayedhigher mistletoe species diversity as all ten mistletoespecies were recorded there. S. elata demonstrated

SNNP as many species were noticed on warm andsunny southern slopes of SNNP dominated bybroadleaved forest below 2500 m.

Compared to Viscaceae, Loranthaceae mistletoesdemonstrated a wider altitudinal distribution (Fig. 4)

similar to the observation noted in Annapurna Areaof Central Nepal by Devkota and Glatzel, 2005.S. elata was recorded over a wider vertical swath ofabout 1 km favoured by its widest host range.The distribution pattern of Scurrula species in the studyarea revealed an identical pattern of distribution ofScurrula species in Annapurna Conservation Area(Devkota and Glatzel, 2005). S. elata did not occur over2800 m, a habitat usually considered inhospitable totheir avian dispersers. Devkota and Glatzel (2005)reported that cold and moist habitats above 3000 m inNepal are generally considered unsuitable for mistletoeas such habitats are also avoided by mistletoe birds.

All ten mistletoe species were recorded in SNNPcompared to only five species in LNP because SNNPis in the transition zone between sub-tropical andtemperate vegetation zones and thus provides a widerrange of hosts in a variety of habitats. SNNP alsohad more fragmented open canopy forests due tovarious anthropogenic disturbances and this widevariety of habitats favoured the growth of mistletoeaccording to similar observations of Lavorel et al.(1999) and Bach et al. (2005) in Australia and Kelly etal. (2000) in New Zealand.

Despite a wider climatic variation and vegetationcomposition ranging from sub-tropical to sub-alpinein LNP, the record of mistletoe species was less thanSNNP. Taxillus vestitus, Scurrula elata, S. gracilifolia, S.parasitica and Viscum articulatum were the only fivemistletoe species recorded in LNP. The reason forless mistletoe species diversity in LNP was due tointact vegetation in most areas of LNP that are

Fig 4: Altitudinal distribution pattern of mistletoe species


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Devkota et al.

both higher number of host species and a wideraltitudinal distribution range. Distribution ofmistletoe species was affected by climatic factors,forest edge, forest fragmentation, availability ofsuitable host species and behaviour of aviandispersers. Three species of mistletoes, previouslyunrecorded, have been added to the Flora ofLangtang by this study. No specific habitatsparticularly rich in mistletoe diversity were identifiedin both the national parks, and it was observed thatdeforestation and land degradation were the majorthreats to mistletoe diversity in the study area.

Acknowledgement

The University Grants Commission, Kathmandu isduly acknowledged for supporting the study.

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Ganguly, P. and Kumar, N. C. 1976. Topographicaldistribution of the phanerogamic parasites inSukna forest, Darjeeling District, West Bengal.Indian Forester 102: 459-462.

Hara, H., Stearn W. T., and Williams, L. H. J. 1978.An Enumeration of the Flowering Plants ofNepal. Vol I British Museum (Natural History),London, U.K.

Hara, H. L. and Williams, H. J. 1979. AnEnumeration of the Flowering Plants ofNepal.Vol II British Museum (Natural History),Vol. II., London, U.K.

Hara, H., Charter, A. O., and Williams, L. H. J. 1982.An enumeration of flowering plants of Nepal. BritishMuseum (Natural History), London, U.K.

Hawksworth, F. G. 1959. Distribution of dwarfmistletoes in relation to topography on theMesacalaro Apache Reservation. New Mexico.Journal of Forestry 57: 919-922.

Hawksworth, F. G. 1983. Mistletoes as forestparasites. In The Biology of Mistletoes (eds) Calder,M. and Bernhardt, P., Academic Press. Sydney,Australia, 317-333.

Kelly, D., Ladley J. J., Robertson, A.W. and Norton,D. A. 2000. Limited forest fragmentationimproves reproduction in the declining NewZealand mistletoe Peraxilla tetrapetala(Loranthaceae). In Genetics, demography and viabilityof fragmented population (eds) Young, A.G. andClarke, G.), Cambridge University Press,Cambridge, U.K., 241-252.


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Koba, H. Akiyama, S., Endo ,Y. and Ohba, H. 1994.Name List of the Flowering Plants andGymnosperms of Nepal. The UniversityMuseum, the University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.

Kujit, J. 1964. Critical observation on the parasitismof New World mistletoes. Canadian Journal ofBotany 42: 1243-1287.

Kujit, J. 1969. The Biology of Parasitic FloweringPlants. University California Press. Los Angeles,USA.

Ladley, J. J. and Kelley, D. 1996. Dispersal,germination and survival of New Zealandmistletoes (Loranthaceae): dependence on birds.New Zealand Journal of Ecology 20 (1): 69-79.

Lavorel, S., Smith, M. S. and Reid, N. 1999. Spreadof mistletoes (Amyema preissii) in fragmentedAustralian woodlands: a simulation study.Landscape Ecology 14: 147–160.

Lopez de Buen, L., Ornelas, J. F., and Garcia Franco,J. G. 2002. Mistletoe infection of trees located atfragmented forest edges in the cloud forests ofCentral Veracruz, Mexico. Forest Ecology andManagement 164: 293-302.

Malla, S. B., Shrestha, A. B., Rajbhandary, S.B.,Shrestha, T. B., Adhikari, P.M. and Adhikari, S.R.1976. Flora of Langtang and Cross SectionVegetation Survey, Department of MedicinalPlants, HMG/N. Kathmandu, Nepal.

Polhill, R., and Wiens, D. 1998 (eds.). Mistletoes ofAfrica. The Royal Botanic Garden, Kew, London,U.K.

Press, J. R., Shrestha, K. K., and Sutton, D. A. 2000.Annotated Checklist of the Flowering Plantsof Nepal. The Natural History Museum, London,U.K.

Stearn, W. T. 1960. Allium and Milula in the Centraland Eastern Nepal Himalaya. Bulletin of the BritishMuseum, Natural History (Botany) 2: 159-191.

Xiao, L., and Pu, Z. 1988. An exploration of theLoranthaceae in Xishuanghanna. Acta BotanicaYunnanica 10: 69-78.

Zakaullah, M. and Khan, H. 1982. Survey andControl of Mistletoes in Pakistan. Pakistan ForestInstitute, Annual Technical Report. Project PK-FS-55.11, Peshawar, Pakistan.


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S.K. Gautam

Forest structure in the Far Western Teraiof Nepal: Implications for management

S.K. Gautam1*, Y.P. Pokharel1, K.R. Goutam1, S. Khanal1 and R.K. Giri1

* Author for corrspondance: [email protected] Department of Forest Research and Survey, Babarmahal, Kathmandu

Forest inventory was conducted in 2009 in Kailali and Kanchanpur districts of the FarWestern Development Region of Nepal. Altogether 282 circular plots were measured in38 camp units equaling 0.02% sampling intensity. The average stocking (excludingregeneration) was 1201 number of stems per ha. The mean stem volume was 172 m3

h-1 and biomass was 186.6 tons h-1. Among the important tree species, Sal (Shorearobusta ) exhibited the highest biomass of 89.8 t h-1 and constituted 48.12% of the totalstand biomass, followed by Asna (Terminalia tomentosa) 41.0 t h-1 or 21.00% of thetotal biomass. The biomass portions of other major species were Chirpine (Pinusroxburghii) 6.50%; Haldu (Adina cordifolia) 3.23%; and miscellaneous species 11.57%.Total air-dry biomass, including stem, branches and leaves, of the two districts wascalculated at 51.88 million tons, with Kailali having 37.26 million tons and Kanchanpur14.68 million tons. The total carbon, after conversion, in forest trees of these two districtswas 35.02 million tons. Change in mean stem volume, stocking and composition fromearlier assessments underscores the need for appropriate silvicultural intervention.

Key words: Volume, biomass, carbon, Far Western Nepal, forest inventory

and the average relative humidity is 74%. Theelevation ranges from 150 to 1520 m asl.

Kailali district covers 3284 km2 area and is locatedbetween 80030' - 81018' E Longitude and 28022' -29005 N Latitude (DDC Kailali, 2002). Similarly,Kanchanpur district covers 1636.78 km2 area andextends from 28°32' to 29°08' N Latitude and from80° 03' to 80° 33' E Longitude (DDC Kanchanpur,2002).

Fig 1: Map showing study districts

Timely forest inventory is imperative to understand the existing forest condition andmaintain the long-term health and vitality of thisresource. Quantitative information from forestinventory is of interest to a variety of stakeholdersincluding forest managers, researchers, policy makers,and environmentalists. This inventory was carriedin the winter of 2009 as a part of the NationwideInventory, a regular programme of the Departmentof Forest Research and Survey (DFRS). It aims toupdate the earlier information regarding the nationalforest status of Kailali and Kanchanpur Districts ofNepal (DFRS, 1999; DOF, 2005).


Study areaThe inventory was done in the forests of Kailali andKanchanpur districts of the Far Western Terai regionof Nepal (Fig 1). The Terai region experiencestropical to sub-tropical climate whereas there istemperate climate in the Churia hills. Maximumtemperature reaches 460 Celsius in summer and theminimum drops to 50 Celsius in winter. Averageannual precipitation is around 1550-1650 mm withthe maximum precipitation during July-September


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Gautam et al.

Sampling designThe topographic map sets (1:25000) covering the twostudy districts were acquired from the Departmentof Survey. These maps consist of grids one kilometreapart. Altogether 44 field sample units called ‘campunit’ were laid to minimize time spent on travelling.Each camp unit consisted of a group of four clustersforming a square of 1 km by 1 km. Each clustercomprised of two plots, one main and one sub-plotat a distance of 100 m north of the main plot (Fig2). All the potential plots were laid out first on theTopo-sheet at a spacing of 2 km by 2 km. Thoseplots having less than three corners in the forest landuse in the Topo-sheet or located on the terrain havinga hundred percent slope or located inside protectedareas were excluded from the field inventory. Usinga 0.01 percent sampling intensity, 44 sample units(referred as camp unit) were selected from a total of440. Systematic sampling was used following a firstsample drawn at random. GPS was used to locatethe plot centres. Altogether 142 main plots weremeasured from 44 camp units.


Number of stems per hectare by diameterclassesThe distribution of the number of stems intodifferent diameter size class is presented in Table 1.Principally in natural forest, there is always smallerproportion of big size trees than small ones, andthis is also true in Kailali and Kanchanpur districts.There are on an average 1201 stems/ha. Earliersurvey in 1990/91 recorded that the total numberof stems per ha as 3843.7 in Kailali and 3194 inKanchanpur district (DOF, 2005). It is important tonote here that these results are not comparablebecause in the 1990 inventory above measurementswere taken only from Terai belt of the district. Onthe other hand, this current 2009 inventory coveredthe entire area.

However, the overall observation including the fieldvisits suggested that the number of stems/ha isdecreasing. The findings also reveal that not only doesthe natural forest stem density condition seems tobe poor but also that there is a domination of inferiorspecies in the forest. This means the domination ofmiscellaneous species in lower diameter class (310stems/ha) may lead to our future forest structure tobe dominated by inferior species. Excludingmiscellaneous (commercially less important treesfound in mixed condition) species in the Terai, Sal(Shorea robusta) dominates other species. In each dbhclass, Sal has the highest number of trees per ha.Similarly, Asna (Terminalia tomentosa) comes in as thesecond dominant species in terms of number ofstems per ha.

Volume The mean stem volume in Kailali and Kanchanpurdistricts was estimated to be 172 m3/ha. This figure

Concentric circular plots were laid out ( Fig 3). Allthe seedlings (<1.3 m height) of tree species fallingwithin 2 m radius were counted and recorded, whileall the stems ( > 1.3 m height) falling within the sameradius were measured and recorded. Diameter of allthe stems above 12 cm dbh and falling within 10 mradius; all the stems having 25 cm and above dbhand falling within 15 m radius; and all stems having40 cm and above dbh and falling within 20 m radiuswere measured and recorded. Volume and biomassof the measured trees were calculated by using theequation ln V = a + b*ln (d) + c ln (h). (Sharma andPukkala, 1990a; Sharma and Pukkala, 1990b).Volume was converted into biomass by multiplyingthe wood densities (HMGN, 1989). Biomass wasthen converted into carbon with conversion factoras mentioned by Brown (1997) and Oli and Shrestha(2009).

Measurement of trees

Fig 2: Camp unit design

Fig 3: Layout of the concentric circular sample plot

20 m15 m10 m5 m


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Gautam et al.

seems to be slightly less than the mean volume (178m3/ha) for Nepal and the mean stem volume of FarWestern Development Region (200 m3/ha)computed in the earlier inventory (DFRS, 1999). Ofthe total volume, Sal was found to contribute 45.2%(77 m3/ha) followed by Asna 16.8% (28.9 m3/ha)and miscellaneous species in Terai 15.6% (26.8 m3/ha) of the total stem volume. Likewise, Chirpine(Pinus roxburghii) contributes 8.0% (13.8 m3/ha) ofthe total volume. Significant share of 17.8% (26.85m3/ha) occupied by miscellaneous species in theTerai forest structures suggests the domination oflow quality woods. We cannot present precisecomparison regarding the species-wise stockingbetween this inventory and earlier inventory becausethe sampling frames for both the inventories werenot identical. However, there is some indication ofdecrease in per hectare volume with respect to the1990/1991 survey results which reported per havolume 161.9 m3 in Kanchanpur district and 173.7m3/ha in Kailali district. Table 2 and Table 3 showthe volume and basal area distribution of the sampletrees in Kailali and Kanchanpur districts.

The mean basal area/ha was found to be 19.9 m2/ha (Table 3). The most dominating tree species interms of the basal area was Sal, constituting 38.2%(7.6 m2/ha) of the total basal area. The secondbiggest group was the miscellaneous species of theTerai with 20.6% (4.1 m2/ha) share of the total basalarea. The third dominant species was Asna covering16.1% (3.2 m2/ha) of the total basal area.

Biomass/carbon estimatesThe mean biomass was found to be 186.6 ton/ha.Among the important species, Sal exhibited highestbiomass density (89.8 tons/ha) or 48% of the totalstand biomass. It was followed by Asna with 22%(41.0 ton/ha). Other major species were Chirpine6%; Haldu (Adina cordifolia), 3%; and miscellaneousspecies, 12% ( Table 4 ).

The total air dry biomass including stem, branchesand leaves was found to be 51.88 million tons (Kailali:37.26 and Kanchanpur: 14.68). Similarly, the totalabove and below ground carbon in the forests ofboth districts is estimated at 35.02 million tons(excluding grasses, regeneration, dead wood and soil).Root carbon was estimated as 35% of above groundcarbon in forest trees.

Conclusion and recommendation

Density, volume, basal area and biomass are the keyparameters for understanding the existing conditionof the forest. This information is expected to beuseful for further future monitoring of the forestsin both districts. On the other hand, the informationacquired from this inventory is expected to be usefulfor management planning of the forest resources inthe two districts until the next inventory is conductedin the near future. Significant proportion (17.8%)of the volume occupied by the miscellaneous speciessuggests that the Terai forest structures are beingdominated by low quality trees. This result hasimportant implication for the management of naturalforest of this region. If we are going to focus oncommercial timber species of high value,management must focus on promoting or providinga conducive environment for highly desirable species.This means removal of unwanted or less desirablespecies. Controlled burning and opening for lightand other silvicultural treatment could be crucial forthe management and improvement of the naturalstands in both the districts.

One of the limitations of this inventory was theexclusion of protected areas as was done in the past,thus the mean estimates do not properly representthe protected areas. The concentric circular plotdesign is very convenient and appropriate for theterrain in Nepal. Regarding the accessibility, the Teraiis more accessible with vehicles reaching most ofthe plots. But the real challenge is the terrain ofChuria hills with steep slope and fragile surface tothe north of the Terai.

Considering the use of equipment, the hand heldGPS did not function well and there were the usualproblems relating to linear tapes, slope correction,and movement between the plots within clusters. Inthe context of the ongoing Forest ResourceAssessment Project, the demanding nature of theforest resource assessment in the hills and mountainsneed to be considered. The prospect of the projectseems to be promising as it has planned to use laserequipment for distance measurement, latest GPSdevices, and detailed and illustrated field manual. Italso includes protected areas for inventory and plansto provide proper training to the crew members.


24

References

Brown, S. 1997. Estimation Biomass and BiomassChange of Tropical Forest: A Primer: FAOForestry Paper 134. Food and AgricultureOrganization of the United Nations,Rome, Italy. 81-90.

DDC. Kailali. 2002. District Profile of Kailali,District, Development Committee (NepaliVersion), Kailali, Nepal.

DDC. Kanchanpur. 2059. District Periodic Planof Kanchanpur Part I and II. DistrictDevelopment Committee, Kanchanpur, Nepal.

DFRS. 1999. Forest Resources of Nepal (1987-1998). Department of Forest Research andSurvey, Publication No. 74, Kathmandu, Nepal.

DOF. 2005. Forest Cover Change Analysis of theTerai Districts (1990/91-2000/01). Departmentof Forests, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Table 1: Number of stems/ha (Mean + SE)

Banko Janakari, Vol. 20, No. 2 Gautam et al.

HMGN. 1989. Master Plan for the ForestrySector, Nepal: Forest Resources Informationand Status and Development Plan. MFSC.Kathmandu,Nepal.

Oli, B.N. and Shrestha, K. 2009. Carbon status inforest of Nepal an overview. Journal of Forests andLivelihood 8 (1): 62-66.

Sharma, E.R and Pukkala, T. 1990a. VolumeEquations and Biomass Prediction of ForestTrees of Nepal. Ministry of Forests and SoilConservation. Forest Survey and StatisticsDivision, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Sharma, E.R. and Pukkala, T. 1990b. Volume Tablesfor Forest Trees of Nepal. Ministry of Forestsnd Soil Conservtion, Forest Survey and StatisticsDivision. Kathmandu, Nepal.

S.N. Species Number of Stems/ha0- 10 cm 10-20 cm 20-30 cm 30-40 cm 40-50 cm > 50cm

1 Asna (Terminalia tomentosa) 182.5±33.5 36.8±4.4 15.6±1 3.9±0.6 2.3±0.4 4.3±0.52 Boddhaero (Lagerstroemia parviflora) 42.1±8.2 16.6±2.1 5.5±0.5 1.5±0.4 0.8±0.2 0.5±0.13 Chirpine (Pinus roxburghii) 2.7±1.9 9.2± 1 6.5± 1 1.5± 0.7 1.2± 0.4 2.2± 0.34 Dhauti (Anogeissus latifolia) 10.3± 5.2 6.8± 2.1 2.0± 0.6 0.3± 0.2 0.2± 0.1 0.2± 0.15 Haldu (Adina cordifolia) 3.1±1.3 3.3± 0.6) 2.2± 0.3 0.3± 0.2 0.2± 0.1) 1.1± 0.26 Jamun (Eugenia jambolana) 12.6± 8.3 7.5± 1.4) 3.5± 0.7 0.8± 0.3 0.5± 0.1) 0.4± 0.17 Misc. species in Hill 20.6± 9.1 9.7± 1.5) 5.7± 1.3 1.1± 0.4 0.4± 0.1 0.6± 0.28 Misc. species in Terai 310.2± 39.9 81.2± 5.4) 28.4± 1.6 6.8± 0.9 2.4± 0.3 2.9± 0.49 Quercus spp. 1.8± 8.1 2.2± 0.9) 1.1± 0.2 0.3± 0.3 0.1± 0.1 0.110 Sal (Shorea robusta) 184.7±30.9 63.0± 4.6) 39.9± 1.5 9.6± 1.3 7.5± 0.8 12.6± 1.211 Sindure (Mallotus philippinensis) 159.2±30.1 34.7± 3.9) 7.8± 1.6) 0.9± 0.3) 0.2± 0.1 0.1± 0.1

Total 929.8± 90.1 152.9± 11.7 50.4± 3.2 27.1± 1.9 15.7± 1 25.1± 1.3


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Gautam et al.

Table 2: Volume/ha by species and dbh class (Mean + SE)

S.N. Species Volume (m3/ha)< 10 10 -20 20-30 30-40 40-50 > 50 Total In %

1 Asna (Terminalia tomentosa) 1.3±0.3 1.8±0.4 1.8±0.4 3.1±0.5 3.4±0.6 17.5±2.0 28.9±2.5 16.82 Boddhaero (Lagerstroemia parviflora) 0.3±0.1 0.9±0.2 0.8±0.2 1±0.3 1±0.2 1.6±0.5 5.6±0.8 3.33 Chirpine (Pinus roxburghii) * 0.2±0.1 0.6±0.2 1.5±0.7 2.4±0.7 9.1±2.3 13.8±3.4 8.04 Dhauti (Anogeissus latifolia) 0.1±0 0.4±0.2 0.4±0.2 0.2±0.1 0.3±0.2 0.7±0.4 2.1±0.4 1.25 Haldu (Adina cordifolia) * 0.1±0.0 0.1±0.1 0.3±0.1 0.2±0.1 4.3±1.1 5±1.2 2.96 Jamun (Eugenia jambolana) * 0.3±0.1 0.4±0.2 0.5±0.2 0.5±0.2 0.9±0.4 2.6±0.7 1.57 Misc. speices in Hill 0.1±0 0.4±0.1 0.9±0.3 0.6±0.2 0.4±0.2 1.4±0.7 3.8±1.4 2.28 Misc. species in Terai 2±0.2 3.6±0.3 4.4±0.5 4.4±0.6) 2.9±0.4 9.5±1.7 26.8±2.3 15.69 Quercus spp. * 0.1±0.1 0.2±0.1 0.2±0.2 0.1±0.1 0.2±0.1 0.8±0.5 0.510 Sal (Shorea robusta) 1.1±0.2 2.4±0.4 4.2±0.6 8.3±1.2 12±1.4 49.8±5.3 77.8±6.7 45.211 Sindure (Mallotus philippineusis) 0.9±0.1 1.7±0.2 1.6±0.4 0.5±0.2 0.1±0.1 0.1±0.1 4.9±0.7 2.8

Total 5.8 11.9 15.4 20.6 23.3 95.1 172.1 100

S.N. Species Mean basal area (m2/ha)< 10 10- 20 20-30 30-40 40-50 > 50 Total In%

1 Asna (Terminalia tomentosa) 0.4±0.1 0.3±0.1 0.2±0.0 0.4±0.1 0.4±0.1 1.6±0.2 3.2±0.3 16.12 Boddhaero (Lagerstroemia parviflora) 0.1±0.1 0.2±0.1 0.1±0.0 0.1±0.0 0.1±0.0 0.2±0.0 0.8±0.1 4.03 Chirpine (Pinus roxburghii) * * 0.1±0.0 0.1±0.1 0.2±0.1 0.6±0.2 1.1±0.3 5.54 Dhauti (Anogeissus latifolia) * 0.1±0 0.1±0.0 * * 0.1±0.0 0.3±0.1 1.55 Haldu (Adina cordifolia) * * * * * 0.5±0.1 0.6±0.1 3.06 Jamun (Eugenia jambolana) * 0.1±0.0 0.1±0.0 0.1±0.0 0.1±0.0 0.1±0.0 0.4±0.1 2.07 Misc. speices in Hill * 0.1±0.0 0.2±0.1 0.1±0.0 0.1±0.0 0.2±0.1 0.6±0.2 3.08 Misc. species in Terai 0.6±0.1 0.8±0.1 0.7±0.1 0.6±0.1 0.4±0.0 1.0±0.2 4.1±0.3 20.69 Quercus spp. * * * * * * 0.1±0.1 0.510 Sal (Shorea robusta) 0.3±0.1 0.3±0.1 0.5±0.1 0.9±0.1 1.2±0.0 4.3±0.4 7.6±0.6 38.211 Sindure (Mallotus philippineusis) 0.3±0.0 0.4±0.1 0.3±0.1 0.1±0.0 * * 1.1±0.1 5.5 Total 19.9 100

Table 3: Distribution of basal area (m2)/ha by dbh class (Mean + SE)

S.N. Species Mean biomass (metric tons/ha)<10 10 -20 20-30 30-40 40-50 > 50 Total In %

1 Asna (Terminalia tomentosa) 1.9±0.4 2.7±0.5 2.6±0.5 4.5±0.7 5.1±0.9 28.6±3.4 45.4±4.0 21.972 Boddhaero (Lagerstroemia parviflora) 0.4±0.1 1.2±0.2 0.3±0.1 1.3±0.3 1.3±0.3 2.3±0.7 7.6±1.2 3.273 Chirpine (Pinus roxburghii) * 0.2±0.1 0.5±0.3 1.3±0.6 2.0±0.6 7.8±2.0 11.8±2.9 6.054 Dhauti (Anogeissus latifolia) 0.1±0.1 0.6±0.2 0.6±0.2 0.3±0.2 0.4±0.2 1.0±0.6 3.0±1.0 1.235 Haldu (Adina cordifolia) * 0.1±0.0 0.1±0.1 0.3±0.1 0.3±0.1 5.0±1.3 5.8±1.4 3.056 Jamun (Eugenia jambolana) * 0.3±0.1 0.5±0.2 0.6±0.2 0.7±0.2 1.2±0.6 3.4±0.8 1.507 Misc. species in Hill 0.1±0.1 0.3±0.1 0.9±0.3 0.6±0.2 0.4±0.2 1.5±0.8 3.9±1.5 1.508 Misc. species in Terai 2.0±0.2 3.5±0.3 4.4±.4 4.4±0.6 3.0±0.4 10.5±1.9 27.8±2.4 11.579 Quercus spp. * 0.1±0.1 0.3±0.1 0.3±0.1 0.2±0.2 0.2±0.2 1.2±0.7 0.4210 Sal (Shorea robusta) 1.1±0.1 2.4±0.5 4.6±0.7 28.8±1.8 14.9±1.762.3±6.6 95.3±8.3 48.1211 Sindure (Mallotus philippineusis) 0.8±0.1 1.7±0.2 1.5±0.4 0.5±0.1 0.0 0.1±0.1 4.7±0.7 1.29

Table 4: Biomass (metric tons/ha) with respect to dbh class (Mean + SE)

* insignificant

* insignificant

* insignificant


26

S.K. Gautam

Social discrimination in community forestry:Socio-economic and gender perspectives

R. Parajuli1, R.K. Pokharel2 and D. Lamichhane3

A study was carried out to analyze the existing social discrimination among CommunityForest User Group (CFUG) members. Two CFUGs representing heterogeneous ethnicgroups in Syangja district were selected to examine the participation of CFUG membersin Community Forestry (CF) activities, benefit sharing and fund mobilization system.PRA/RRA tools like questionnaire survey, wealth ranking, key informant survey,triangulation, and informal discussion were employed to generate primary data. Statisticalparameters such as percentage, mean, ANOVA, and contingency coefficient were usedto interpret this data. The perception of local people was measured on the five pointLikert scale, and Chi-square test was applied to interpret this result. The participationof the poor, disadvantaged group and women were minimal in CF activities but theirpresence was more at the time of forest product distribution. Timber had been distributedless to the poor and disadvantaged group (DAG) households than to others. Morethan 65% CFUG members were unaware about CFUG fund. Their overall perceptionsof CF management were not positive. The result clearly demonstrated discriminationbetween the rich and the poor, male and female, and DAG and non-DAG within theCFUG.

Key words: Community forest user group, discrimination, participation, disadvantagedgroup, poor

1 Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA. Email: [email protected] Professor, Tribhuvan University, Institute of Forestry, Pokhara.3 District Forest Office, Jumla.

Community forestry (CF) of Nepal has been acknowledged as a successful, innovative andtruly community-oriented programme (Acharya,1999; Pokharel, 2004). It has been perceived as themost effective strategy for restoring and managingforest resources. CF was introduced with the aim offulfilling the subsistence need for forest productsamong the rural people, and for controlling thedeforestation in the country (Adhikari, 1990).

However, CF is criticized for failing to address theneeds of women, low caste and poorer segments ofsociety who are the real users of forest (Hobley, 1991;Baral, 1993; Graner, 1997; Timsina, 2001). A studyconducted by Kanel and Subedi (2004) suggestedthat the contribution of CF towards supporting thepoorest, most vulnerable and marginalized membersof society had been limited. Similarly a number ofstudies such as Gentle (2000), and Kandel andNiraula (2004) concluded that the distribution of theforest products was inequitable and the interests of

poor and disadvantaged groups (DAGs) had not beenproperly addressed while management decisionswere made.

Decision making in most communities is skewed infavour of men, as women are culturally restrictedi.e. they are often not allowed to be involved indecision making by their families. The poor,disadvantaged and socially marginalized groups wereoften ignored or excluded from participating indecision-making in most communities (Gilmour andFisher, 1991; Baral, 1993; Graner, 1997). Thesegroups were too preoccupied in just earning theirlivelihood.

A number of studies has shown that elite membersof the society tend to occupy all the key positionsof the executive committee and to make decisionsregarding harvest, product distribution andmobilization of fund (Baral and Subedi, 1999). Theordinary members of the group were hardly involvedin the overall process and had virtually no idea about


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Parajuli et al.

harvest and the financial matters of their CommunityForest User Group (CFUG) (Nightingale, 2002).

By contrast, in a study from Kabhrepalanchok andLalitpur district, Sharma (2003) suggested thatdistribution of forest products system in communityforestry had no any discrimination on the basis ofwealth or caste. The current system of CF in Nepalhas helped in developing a mechanism for socialcohesiveness among the forest users of differentcastes/ethnic groups, and helped to minimize thegap between high and low castes (Acharya and Oli,2004). Likewise, Pokharel (2004) also claimed thatCF had become a vehicle for ushering in changes inthe social processes to empower the poor and DAGmembers of the community. In this context, it isrelevant to evaluate empirically how CF benefits areallocated among the different socioeconomic strataof the population and how far the poor and DAGsegments of the population were receiving benefitsfrom this programme. Such studies would helpfurther development of the policies of forestmanagement as a means to support the livelihoodsof the rural poor and contribute to the reductionof discrimination between rich and poor, high andlow caste people. The general objective of this studyis, therefore, to assess the social discrimination interms of social, economic and gender perspectivesin different CF programmes. The specific objectivesare: to document the different activities that areundertaken by CFUG; to examine the participationof CFUG members in CF related activities; and touncover the benefit sharing and fund mobilizationmechanism among CFUG members.

Methods

The research was carried out in two selected CFUGsof Syangja district. After discussing with DFO staffand reviewing CFUG records in DFO, SahanleCFUG and Aahale Masaswara CFUG were selectedfor study sites. The Sahanle CFUG is located in wardnumbers 2 and 3 of Arjun Chaupari VDC underArjun Chaupari Range Post. The forest was dividedinto four blocks for scientific management. Theforest area of 16 ha was dominated by Katus(Castanopsis indica)-Chilaune (Schima wallichi) forest.

Aahale Masaswara CFUG is situated in Putali BazaarMunicipality- 12 of Syangja district. The total numberof households was 156 and the forest area was50 ha. The CFUG was economically and ethnicallyheterogeneous with Damai, Newar, Magar, Chhetri.

Valuable Sal and Salla were the dominant species inthis CF.

Both qualitative and quantitative research techniqueswere employed to collect the data. Different PRA/RRA tools such as participatory wealth ranking,discussion with committee members, key informantssurvey and semi-structured questionnaire surveywere used to generate the primary data. A total 61households (20%) were selected from two CFUGsthrough stratified random sampling based onparticipatory wealth ranking. The questionnaire waspre-tested and some necessary changes were madebefore conducting the household interview.Secondary data relevant to the study were collectedfrom relevant sources like CFUGs, DFO, Instituteof Forestry (IOF) library and various published andunpublished literature. Operational plan (OP) andthe book of CFUG Meeting minutes were alsoreviewed during discussions with the committees.

This data was analyzed with qualitative andquantitative techniques. Most of the interpretationswere based on the categorization of respondents(Table 1). The data was fed into the SPSS 11.5 andMS- Excel computer software programmes togenerate different statistical parameters such aspercentage, mean, ANOVA and graphical displays,for both qualitative and quantitative datainterpretation. The perception of respondents weremeasured along ‘a strongly agree to strongly disagree(1-5)’ Likert Scale format. Pearson Chi square testedthe difference in the perception of the respondentsaccording to their social, economic and gender status.Other parameters such as correlation coefficient,contingency coefficient, one way ANOVA werecarried out to find the relationship and associationamong the variables.


CFUG activitiesAll CFUGs are legally required to have and functionby its own constitution and OP. The OP elaboratesthe forest inventory of the CF and its overalltechnical management. In reality, however, neitherof the CFUGs studied had followed their OPs formost of their activities. These activities are discussedbelow:

Forest management activitiesForest management activities include plantation,tending operations and forest protection. In bothCFUGs, plantation was done with the participation


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Parajuli et al.

of CFUG members. Seedlings were provided bySyangja District Forest Office. Tending operationsincluding cleaning, thinning (mainly 3D: dead, dyingand diseased trees) and pruning generated fuelwood.Heralu (forest guard) was hired for protection offorest in both CFUGs. To protect forest from fire,fire lines were cleared every year. The planted specieswere: Dalbergia sissoo, Pinus roxburghii, Michelia species,Artocar pus lakoocha, Thysanolaena maxima forenrichment planting in Aahale CF, and Artocarpuslakoocha, Alnus nepalensis, Prunus cerasoides in openeroded area of Sahanle CF.

Forest product collection and distributionsystemFirewood and timber for house construction werethe main forest products provided to all CFUGmembers. One member of each household had tobe involved voluntarily for firewood collection. Thedistribution system in both CFUGs was on equalbasis. Though OP had prescribed the annualallowable harvest (AAH) from forest, committee(mainly key members) determined the quantity foreach household.

Community development activitiesCommunity development includes trail construction,gabion wall construction, drinking water, and microhydro-electricity works. Aahale CFUG had alreadyconducted such activities. The committee decides theactivities that are to be undertaken in a particularyear. However, in Sahanle, no such communitydevelopment activities had been conducted yet. Thecommittee only focused on the protection of forestrather than distributing benefits to the community.

Table 2: Different activities conducted by CFUG Activities CFUG Remarks

Aahale Sahanle1. Plantation Yes Yes Once2. Silvicultural operations Yes Yes Yearly3. Forest protection by guard Yes Yes Since beginning4. Fire line construction Yes* No5. Fuelwood, Timber distribution Yes Yes Yearly6. Community development activities Yes** No7. Income generation activities No*** No**** Yearly, ** as per required for local people, *** but described in OP

Participation of CFUG members in differentmeetings

Chi-square test confirmed that attendance ofrespondents differed significantly with social as wellas economic conditions of respondents (Table 3).

Income generation activitiesBoth CFUGs had different income generationactivities such as NTFP management, nurserypreparation, and special programmes for the poor,DAGs and women, and these were clearly stated intheir OPs. But they had not implemented any suchprogrammes in practice although Aahale CFUGprofessed interest in such programmes.

Likewise, in the meeting convened to form the FUC,only 16% DAG, 14% poor and 36% female hadparticipated. Due to their lower participation, theywere generally ignored and not included in ForestUser Committees (FUC). Even when included in theFUC, they did not express their views. Nightingale

Table 1: Analytical categoriesCategories of respondents Analytical CategoriesSocial NDAG DAG -Economic Rich Medium PoorGender Male Female -

In principle, every member of a CFUG shouldparticipate in the meetings organized by the CFUG.They have equal right to speak and participate in thedecision making process. But in both CFUGsstudied, the participation of the poor, DAG andwomen was less than the rich, male and NDAGmembers.

In both CFUGs, only one general meeting had beenorganized to pass the OP and constitution. Only 22%DAGs, 7% poor and 32% female respondents hadattended the meeting. They had not activelyparticipated in the meeting, since most were unawareabout the contents of the OP and the constitution.


29

Fig 1: Composition of present CFUC

60 households of DAGs? In reporting a similarsituation, Poudel (2003) concluded that presenceof women and DAG member in committee was onlyfor attendance and not for discussion, suggestionand decision making.

Table 4: Attendance of members in 2061 (2004AD) CFUG general assemblyRespondent’s Aahale CFUG Sahanle CFUGStatus Count % Count %DAG 37 3 16 16NDAG 58 61 73 74Male 40 42 68 69Female 55 58 31 31Source: Minute book of CFUG (2005)

(2001) also attributed the low participation of womenand DAG in decision-making processes as a majorreason for their being ignored.

Participation in general assemblyIn both CFUGs, the general assembly had beencalled once a year, prior to the tending operationsto collect firewood. Most of the women membersof the CFUG get involved in the general assemblybecause it has direct effect on forest productscollection. Despite their greater participation in suchprogrammes, most of the DAGs and women didnot feel free to express their opinions. The minutebooks of both CFUGs revealed that more females(58%) had participated in Aahale CFUG and therewas satisfactory attendance of DAGs also (Table 4).But in case of Sahanle CFUG, only 16% of DAGsand 31% of female had attended the general assemblyof 2061 B. S (2004 AD).

From the informal discussions, it was also learnedthat women and DAG had not taken part in thediscussion although they were present in the meeting.They felt compelled to attend the general assemblybecause they were concerned about their access toforest products. These discussions also underscoredhow highly dependent the poor, DAGs, and mainlywomen were on CF for fulfillment of therequirements for forest products.

Participation in Forest User CommitteeIn both CFUGs, participation of DAG, women andpoor members was minimal in the committee andthey never occupied key positions. They only servedas general members. The same individuals have beenholding the key posts since the hand over. In AahaleMasaswara CFUC, only two women of two DAGfamilies were involved in present 15-member CFUC(Fig 1). How can two persons represent more than

The same case was reported in Sahanle CFUG; onlyone DAG and five female members wereincorporated in the 15-member CFUC. There wasno co-ordination among the committee members socommittee meetings were irregular and inactive.DAGs and women believed that only the educatedand experienced persons could contribute to thecommittee so they hesitated to participate in CFUC.As the representation of the poor and DAGs in the

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Parajuli et al.

Table 3: Participation in the meeting when OP and constitution was finalized


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Table 5: Participation in training, workshop and study tours

executive committee was meager, the sharingmechanism could hardly fulfill the demands of forestproducts for the poor and DAGs (Kanel and Kandel,2004).

Participation in training, workshops and studytours

In Aahale Masashwara CFUG, every member wasallowed to get only 4 Bita (10 Bhari) firewood at therate of Rs. 5 per Bita (1 Bhari= 35 kg). In the case oftimber, those people whose houses were to beconstructed or renovated got timber. Most of theDAG and poor members complained that the pricefor timber was too high for them. There was also aprovision of providing firewood for special purposeslike weddings and funerals. But in Sahanle, only 3Bita (8 Bhari) were allowed for each household.The quantity of timber was provided in a numberof trees basis, so price was fixed per tree. Most ofthe DAG and poor respondents (50%) stated thatthey had not got timber for their house constructionbecause of the high cost of timber. As explained by(Malla et al., 2003), there is equal distribution system,but wealthier households tend to benefit more interms of the quantity of products they obtained from CF.

Table 6 depicts the average timber distribution todifferent status of CFUG members. Respondentswere asked how much timber they had obtained sincethe handing over of CF. DAG households had

Banko Janakari, Vol. 20, No. 2 Parajuli et al.

of each household had to be involved voluntarily inthis operation.

Table 6: Timber distribution to CFUG members from beginning of CF

Status of respondents Average timber Test statisticscollection in cft. (One way ANOVA)

Social status NDAG 11.93 f- value = 17.25*, df =1,59;DAG 5.44 Sig. .000

Economic status Rich 11.57 Medium 10.74 f-value = 4.41*, df = 2,58; Poor 5.93 Sig. .016

Source: Field survey, 2005

About 44% of the respondents had attended CFrelated training, workshops and study tours. Amongthem, 56% were rich, followed by medium (30%)and poor (14%). Most of the respondents hadparticipated in at least one such event. Similarly, 89%of the NDAGs and only 11% DAG respondentshad attended such events. The Chi-square test alsoconfirmed that the difference between DAGs andNDAGs members who attended the training andtours (Table 5) was statistically significant .

Forest product sale and distribution systemIn both CFUGs, firewood and timber for houseconstruction were the main products available to allCFUG members. All the forest products weredistributed only among the CFUG. The forest wasopened for only one week in a year (Poush/Magh orDecember/ January) for firewood collection andgrass cutting. Silvicultural operations (cleaning,thinning, pruning, 3D removal) were the mainsources for firewood. In both CFUGs, one member


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Perception of respondents on “product saleand distribution system is participatory”Poor and DAG respondents disagreed with thestatement “product sale and distribution system isparticipatory” (mean value >3.5). They pointed thatthe elite and rich committee members had made allthe decisions relating to timber distribution andproviding only to those who could pay money fast.The rich and NDAG respondents had a neutral viewon the statement (Table 7). The Chi-square testdemonstrated that perception on this statementdiffered significantly with social as well as economicconditions of respondents.

Fund mobilizationThe major sources for fund raising in both CFUGswere forest products sale, levying fines, penalties andnew membership fee. Aahale CFUG had around Rs.22, 000 (US$ 300) in its bank account while Sahanlehad about Rs. 40, 000 (US$ 540) in its bank account(from audit report, 2005). Although OP prescribedthat 25% of CFUG income had to be allocated forforest development works, neither CFUGs hadadhered to such rules.

In Aahale CFUG, CFUG fund was utilized fordifferent forest as well as community developmentworks. The committee deliberated on all decisionsabout fund mobilization. This CFUG had conducted

depicted that Aahale CFUG had different communitydevelopment activities conducted from beginning tonow.

received an average of 5.44 cft per household sincethe beginning of CF, whereas NDAG had collected11.93 cft. Likewise, the rich and medium class peoplehad obtained more timber than the poor members(Table 6). One way ANOVA test confirmed thattimber flow to the rich and NDAG members wassignificantly different for the poor and DAGmembers in both study CFUGs.

the following forest and community developmentworks with their funds.

Forest development worksPoor and DAG members of CFUG were assignedpriority for wage works such as:· Annual fire line clearance· Plantations· Wall fencing in forest boundary· Salary to Heralu Rs.1200 per month(Note: they have no record of how much money

had been spent in such works but committeeagreed that such amount was less than 25% ofthe total income)

Community development worksMost of the CFUG income had been spent incommunity development works in Aahale CFUG.They had conducted such works in different toles(neighbourhoods) considering which programmewas highly demanded by CFUG members (Fig 2).

1= strongly agree, 2= agree, 3= neutral, 4= disagree, 5= strongly disagree* Significant at 95% confidence interval, ** not significant

Drinking Water8%

Bridge construction

24%

Gabion wall construction

17%

Trail improvement

17%

Electricity34%

Fig 2: Fund mobilization in Aahale CFUG

Table 7: Perception on whether product sale and distribution system are participatory

Sig.Variable Category

w


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to get it back. Only 34% of total respondents wereaware about their CFUG fund that too not the exactamount. Only 17% DAG and 14% poor respondentshad known about CFUG fund (Table 8). In AahaleCFUG, most of the DAG respondents were notsatisfied with fund mobilization. Most of the poorDAG respondents were interested in getting loansfrom their own CF fund for different incomegeneration activities. One female respondent fromDAG household asserted that “We have drinking waterproblem here but the committee is working for roadconstruction. We want drinking water first”. Chi-squarevalue for independence test confirmed that there wassignificant difference between the response of DAGand NDAGs about the fund of their CF account.

ConclusionIn both CFUGs, most activities were protectionoriented rather than oriented towards other forestmanagement or community development. AahaleCFUG had conducted some communitydevelopment activities but no any such activities hadbeen conducted in Sahanle CFUG. The rich andNDAG male members had captured most of thekey positions of user committee as well as theopportunities for allowances and empowermentrelated activities such as trainings, workshops andstudy tours. The nominal presence of DAGs and

Acknowledgement

poor members in the committee and the passive rolein the assembly suggests that the decisions were notlikely to benefit the poor and DAGs. Although theCFUGs were supposed to follow the equaldistribution policy for forest products, the rich andNDAG members were receiving more benefits fromCF. Most of the poor and DAG respondentsdisagreed with current products sale and distributionsystem as the rule and the price allocated for the saleof forest products was not reasonable.

The CFUG fund and its mobilization were mostlycontrolled by NDAG and rich committee members.Almost all DAG, poor and women (65%)respondents were unaware about their CF fund andwhere it was deposited. Even though the OPprescribed special incentives, the poor, women andDAG individuals had little access to CFUG fundsand their mobilization. Most of the fund was investedon the salaries for Heralu , allowances andinfrastructure development, while investment inforest development and income-generating activitieswere low. Present CF practice in the study area wasless favorable to the livelihoods of the poor andmarginalized sections of the community. There existsdiscrimination among the CFUG members fromsocial and economic perspectives, but less disparityhas been recorded from gender point of view.

Table 8: Perception of respondents on CFUG fund

*Significant at 95% confidence interval, ** not significant

Statement Status of respondent Response (%) df x2 value Sig.Yes No

Social DAG 16.7 83.3 1 3.85 *Do you know the NDAG 41.9 58.1deposited amount Rich 42.9 57.1 2 3.45 **of CFUG fund? Economic Medium 36.8 63.2

Poor 14.3 85.7 Gender Male 38.1 61.9 1 0.85 **

Female 26.3 73.7

Sahanle CFUG had not spent their funds on anyforest or community development works except thesalary to Heralu (Rs. 1,100 per month). They wereonly concerned with collecting rather than mobilizingthe fund.

Although both CFUGs in their OP had planneddifferent Income Generation Activities (IGAs) forthe poor, DAG and women empowerment byproviding loans, such activities had not materialized.The committees hesitated to disburse loans to poorand DAGs since they believed it would be difficult

The first author would like to express sinceregratitude to ComForM/Local Danida Fellowship forproviding financial support to carry out this studyfor the partial fulfillment of his Bachelor’s degree inForestry.


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References

Acharya, K.P. 1999. Community forestry in Nepal: amodel of common property resourcemanagement. Banko Janakari 9 (2): 36-39.

Acharya, K.P. and Oli, B.N. 2004. Impacts of CF inrural livelihoods: a case study from Bharkhore CF,Parbat district. Banko Janakari 14 (1): 46-50.

Adhikari, J. 1990. Is community forestry a newconcept? An analysis of the past and presentpolicies affecting forest management in Nepal.Society and Natural Resources 3 (3): 257-265.

Baral, J.C. and Subedi, B.R. 1999. Is communityforestry of Nepal’s Terai in right direction ?BankoJanakari 9 (2): 20-24.

Baral, N. 1993. Where is our CF? Banko Janakari4 (1): 12-15.

Gentle, P. 2000. The Flow and Distribution ofCommunity Forestry Benefits: A Case Study fromPyuthan District, Nepal. M.Sc Forestry ResearchThesis, University of Canterbury,Christchurch, New Zealand.

Gilmour, D.A. and Fisher, R.J. 1991. Villagers,Forests and Foresters: The Philosophy,Process and Practice of Community Forestryin Nepal. Sahayogi Press, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Graner, E. 1997. The Political Ecology ofCommunity Forestry in Nepal. Printshop,Frensdorf, Germany.

Hobley, M. 1991. From passive to active participatoryforestry: Nepal. In Projects with People: The Practiceof Participation in Rural Development (ed.) Oakley, P.International Labour Office, Geneva, Switzerland.

Kanel, B.R. and Subedi, R. 2004. Pro-poorcommunity forestry: some initiatives from thefield. In Twenty-five Years of Community Forestry:Contributing to Millennium Development Goals (eds.)Kanel, K.R., Mathema, P., Kandel, B.R., Niraula,D.R., Sharma, A.R. and Gautam, M. Proceedingsof the fourth national workshop on communityforestry, 4-6 August 2004, Kathmandu, Nepal,229-237.

Kanel, K.R. and Kandel, B.R. 2004. Communityforestry in Nepal: achievements and challenges. Journal of Forest and Livelihood 4 (1): 55-63.

Malla, Y.B.; Neupane, H.B. and Branney, P.J. 2003.Why are not poor people benefiting more fromcommunity forestry. Journal of Forest and Livelihood3 (1):78-90.

Nightingale, A. J. 2002. Participating or just sittingin? The dynamics of gender and caste incommunity forestry. Journal of Forest and Livelihood2 (1): 17-24.

Pokharel, B.K. 2004. Contribution of communityforestry to people’s livelihoods and forestustainability: experience from Nepal.www.wrm.org.uy. Access date: 15th Jan. 2006.

Poudel, B.S. 2003. The Rural Poor and the ForestResources: Socioeconomic Heterogeneity, BenefitSharing and Participation in Community Forestin Nepal. M.Sc Thesis. Tribhuvan University,Institute of Forestry, Pokhara, Nepal.

Sharma, A.R. 2003. Community forestry from wealthand caste perspective. Banko Janakari 13 (1): 39-42.

Timsina, N. 2001. Empowerment or marginalization:A debate on community Forestry in Nepal. Journalof Forest and Livelihood 2 (1): 27-33


34

Rajan and Dhananjaya

Soil and vegetation carbon pools in two community forestsof Palpa district, Nepal

Y. Khanal1, R. P. Sharma2 and C. P. Upadhyaya3

Forest plays a key role in the global and regionalcarbon (C) cycles, as they store large quantities

of C in vegetation and soil, and exchange largequantities of C with atmosphere throughphotosynthesis and respiration. Forest acts as asource of atmospheric C when there is disturbancedue to anthropogenic and natural causes and as asink when re-growth occurs after disturbance,therefore, forest can be managed to alter themagnitude and direction of fluxes (Brown, et al.,1996). The goal of reducing C source and increasingC sink can be achieved through effective protectionand conservation of C pools in the existing forest.

The Kyoto protocol of the United NationsFramework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC) has recognized the role of forestry as areliable carbon sequestration vehicle to reduce greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. After the UNFCCCconference of parties in Bali, Indonesia duringDecember, 2007, the debate and discussion onReducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest

Degradation (REDD) has emerged. This has createda good opportunity for studying C pools in forestecosystem.

Vegetation and soil are viable sinks of atmosphericC and may significantly contribute to the mitigationof global climate change (Lal, 2004; Smith, 2004).Carbon sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems,especially into the soil, is a win-win strategy fordeveloping countries, where land use change andagricultural intensification are most frequent (Lal,2004). To quantify the sequestered C in forestecosystem, temporal stocks of C under various foresttypes must be assessed. Estimating C pools in existingforests provides baseline data from which to projectC sequestration over time (Shrestha and Singh, 2008).

Biological sequestration of CO2 by forest hasnumerous benefits over other emission reductionstrategies. First, it is considered the most cost-effective approach (e.g. Newell and Stavins, 2000;Stern, 2007; Banskota et al., 2008). Second, managing

1 Far-Western Regional Forest Directorate, Dhangadhi. Email: [email protected] Department of Ecology and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway3 Institute of Forestry, Pokhara

Quantification of carbon in any vegetation and soil type is a basic step for evaluating thecarbon sequestration potential of an ecosystem. For quantification, soil samples fromvarying depths (0–20, 20–40, 40–60, 60-80 and 80–100 cm) of each soil profile werecollected for each sample plot laid out in Jarneldhara and Lipindevi ThulopakhoCommunity Forests (CFs) of Palpa district. Individual trees in the sample plots of bothCFs were measured. Biomass of standing trees, poles and saplings were estimatedindirectly from diameter at breast height (dbh) and total height by using allometricrelationships, while the biomass of grass, herb and litter were calculated directly fromfield measurements. Above-ground and below-ground (root) carbon pools in JarneldharaCF were found to be 36.6 ± 3.4 t ha-1 and 10.5 ± 1.0 t ha-1 , respectively; while those onLipindevi Thulopakho CF were 40.2 ± 4 and 11.4 ± 1.1 t ha-1 , respectively. Soil organiccarbon pool in Jarneldhara and Lipindevi Thulopakho CF were 121.4 ± 7.4 and 94.6 ±4.4 t ha-1 , respectively. This indicates that CFs have high potential to offset large portionof carbon emission through sequestration into both soil and vegetation, and act as anatural carbon sink.

Key words: Carbon pool, community forest, soil organic carbon, vegetation carbon,biomass


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forests in a sustainable way, especially in the tropicalregion, can substantially reduce C emission rate. Forexample, it was estimated that the globaldeforestation alone accounts for about 17.4% of theglobal greenhouse gas emission (IPCC, 2007). Third,terrestrial ecosystems have the potential to store largeamount of carbon due to high global deforestationrate in the past (Upadhyay et al., 2005). Thus, it seemsthat forest could be the most effective sink whenforest is protected and managed in a sustainable way,and a huge amount of C is sequestered efficientlywithout requirement of large monetary investment.

Quantification of sequestered C in different foresttypes with different management regimes and soilprofiles could be important for better planning ofnatural resources, and the making of good mitigationstrategy for climate change effects. However, so faronly a few studies on C sequestration have beencarried out in Nepal (Shrestha and Singh, 2008). Moststudies focused on carbon stocks in different landuses (e.g., Gautam, 2002; Shrestha and Singh, 2008).Similarly, few studies were focused only on organiccarbon stocks in different forest soils of Nepal (e.g.,Awasthi et al., 2002; Shrestha et al., 2004a; Sitaula etal., 2004). Carbon sequestration potential of differentforest types under different management regimesneed to be explored. This study aims to quantifyforest biomass, with both soil and vegetation C poolsin two different CFs in a mid-hill region of Nepal.


scattered plantation of Pinus roxburghii along withnatural Schima-Castanopsis forest whereas JarneldharaCF mainly consists of natural Schima-Castanopsisforest.

According to forest users, the age of Schima-Castanopsis forest stands is about 10-15 years whereasPinus roxburghii is 20-25 years. Average crown coverof the forest is about 40-60%. The majormanagement activities undertaken in both CF werecleaning, bush land management, thinning, pruningand improvement felling. In addition to these, fire-lines were constructed in Lipindevi Thulopakho CF.Similarly, on some blocks of Lipindevi ThulopakhoCF, up to three thinning operations have been carriedout after the handing over of CF.

Data collection and analysisForest sampling and measurementThe studied CFs mainly consists of Schima-Castanopsisforest with varying tree size, density and speciescomposition. In Lipindevi Thulopakho CF, therewere also scattered plantations of Pinus roxburghii.So, in order to represent all variations, approximately2-3% sample of forest area was selected subjectivelyfrom each community forest. Temporary plots werelaid out in each selected forest type. Within the mainplot with size 25 m x 20 m for trees {diameter atbreast height (dbh) > 30 cm}, nested plots of size

Fig 1: Study area in Palpa, Nepal

Study areaThis study was carried out in Lipindevi Thulopakhoand Jarneldhara community forests of Palpa district(Fig 1). Lipindevi Thulopakho CF is located inTansen Municipality-13 whereas Jarneldhara CF isin Barangdi VDC Ward Number 3. The area ofLipindevi Thulopakho CF is 26.23 and that ofJarneldhara CF is 8.6 ha. They were handed over tothe forest user communities in 1991 and 1994 A.D.,respectively. Both CFs were situated on moderate tosteep slopes with altitude ranging from 1100 – 1400m above mean sea level. Jarneldhara CF mostly lieson northern aspect whereas Lipindevi ThulopakhoCF lies on the north-eastern aspect. The soil typevaries from sandy loam to clay loam and is mostlybrown in colour. The average maximum andminimum temperature of the district was 23 0C and14 0C with a mean annual rainfall of 1903 mm (DFO-Palpa, 2007). Lipindevi Thulopakho CF consists of


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10 m x 10 m for poles (dbh <10-30 cm), 5 m x 5 mfor saplings (dbh 5-10 cm) were laid out (CFD, 2004).Similarly, five 1 m x 1 m plots within the main plots(four in four corners and one at centre) were alsolaid out for regeneration (dbh < 5 cm), grasses, herbsand litters.

The dbh and total height of all trees, poles andsaplings above 5 cm dbh were measured. Allherbaceous and woody vegetations (less than 5 cmdbh) inside the 1 m x 1 m plot were clipped andcollected and the fresh weight of the samples wererecorded and representative sub-samples of allwoody, herbaceous plants and litters were taken tothe laboratory for oven drying.

Biomass and carbon estimationBased on the data of tree height and dbh measuredfor individual stands within the sample plot, totalstem volume was calculated using the followingrelationship models (Sharma and Pukkala, 1990).

ln (V) = a + b * ln(dbh) + c * ln(ht)...................... (1)

Where, V is the total stem volume with bark (m3),dbh is the diameter at the breast height (cm), ht istotal tree height (m), and a, b, and c are species specificmodel parameters. The species-specific parametervalues of model (1) are presented in Table 1.

The total stem volume obtained from (1) wasmultiplied with species-specific dry wood density toget the oven dry weight of stem biomass. Thebiomass of branches, roots and leaves were assumedto be 45%, 46% and 11% of the stem biomassfollowing Sharma (2003), which was later adoptedby Shrestha and Singh (2008) for forest types identicalto those in this study. Samples of undergrowthvegetation (tree species with dbh <5 cm, herbs,grasses and litter) were oven dried at a constanttemperature of 70°C until the weights of the samplesbecame constant (MacDicken, 1997) and the finalconstant weight was used as dry matter content. Drybiomass was converted to C content using an

assumption that C content is approximately 43% ofdry biomass (Negi et al., 2003).

Sampling soil and estimating soil carboncontentA pit was made in the centre of each main plot witha maximum depth of 1 m or up to bedrock if itoccurs at less than 1 m depth. If bedrock was presentabove 40 cm depth, the pit was dug in one corner ofmain plot. Soil samples were collected from differentdepths such as 0-20 cm, 20-40 cm, 40-60 cm, 60-80cm and 80-100 cm for carbon content analysis.Similarly, metal core ring sampler (height 6 cm andinner diameter 4.8 cm) was used to collect samplesfor bulk density.

Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) content in the soilsamples were estimated using Walkley and Black’swet oxidation method as described by Page et al.(1982). Soil pH was determined with pH electrodeat soil/water ratio of 1:1 (w/w) (McLean, 1982). Soilbulk density was determined using soil core samplesand stone correction was made as per Pearson et al.(2005). The corrected bulk density (g cm-3) was usedfor the estimation of SOC density (t ha-1) and SOCstock (Pearson et al., 2005).

Bulk density (g cm-3) denotes soil particles less than2 mm diameter whereas coarse fragments includeparticles greater than 2 mm diameter. The oven drymass and mass of coarse fragments were measuredin gram (g) and the volume of the cores in cubiccentimetre (cm3). The density of rock fragments wasassumed to be 2.65 g cm-3 (Pearsonet al., 2005).


Vegetation carbon poolCarbon pool in above-ground vegetationBiomass of trees varies in different plots of sameforest and within different forests due to variationin age and size of the trees, forest composition aswell as tree density. The mean above-ground treebiomass in Lipindevi Thulopakho CF was found tobe 89.7 ± 8.9 t ha-1 (Mean ± SE) which was higherthan in Jarneldhara CF (82.6 ± 7.8 t ha-1) (Table 2).Similarly, under-growth (live and dead) biomass ofLipindevi Thulopakho CF was found to be higherthan that of Jarneldhara CF (Table 2), however,biomass difference was not significant (P>0.05). Theshare of under-growth biomass was only about 3%

Table 1: Species-specific parameter estimatesfor model (1) (Sharma and Pukkala, 1990)

Tree species a b c

Alder (Alnus nepalensis) -2.7761 1.9006 0.9428

Chirpine (Pinus roxburghii) -2.9770 1.9235 1.0019

Chilaune (Schima wallichii) -2.7385 1.8155 1.0072

Miscellaneous in Hills -2.3204 1.8507 0.8223


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of the total above-ground biomass. The under-growth biomass consisted mainly of litter biomass(by 65%) followed by biomass of regeneration (<5cm dbh) trees and grass.

Above-ground carbon pool (both tree andundergrowth) in Lipindevi Thulopakho CF (40.2 ±4 t ha-1) was found to be slightly higher thanJarneldhara CF (Table 3) due to larger sized treeswhich consequently have higher biomass values.Carbon pool in above-ground tree biomass was 33times larger than the carbon pool in the under-growthbiomass in Jarneldhara CF whereas it was 24 timeslarger in Lipindevi Thulopakho CF.

Various factors affect ecosystem carbon pool,including net primary productivity of plants andbiomass decomposition. Net primary productivitydiffers according to vegetation types, age of the standand the surrounding environment (Shrestha andSingh, 2008). This study suggests that larger

which was slightly higher than Jarneldhara CF.Shrestha (2009) found similar root carbon pools inthe community managed Schima-Castanopsis forestsof Palpa district.

Soil carbon poolSoil propertiesThe soil was sandy loam with varying proportionsof clay. The mean pH of surface soil (0-20 cm depth)of Jarneldhara CF was found to be 4.3 while that ofLipindevi Thulopakho CF was 4.6. This suggests thatall soil types were acidic a pattern noted by Schreieret al. (1995) for soils in the mid-hill watersheds.

Mean soil Bulk Density (BD) at different soil depthis shown in Fig 2. Mean BD value ranged from 0.88g cm-3 to 1.07 g cm-3. The mean BD increased slightlywith increasing soil depth, but it did not differsignificantly across layers of the soil profile (p>0.05).Shrestha et al. (2004b) in their study of similar foresttypes of Mardi watershed of Kaski, Nepal foundrelatively low BD with constant value of 0.7 g cm-3

in each layer of soil up to 40 cm depth. However,Shrestha and Singh (2008) found slightly higher BDvalues than those in this study in similar forest typesof the mid-hills. Shrestha (2009) found similar bulkdensity values for Schima-Castanopsis forest in Palpadistrict.

vegetation carbon pool in Lipindevi Thulopakho CFthan Jarneldhara CF is probably a function of theage and density of the stands and size of the trees.Shrestha and Singh (2008), Oli and Shrestha (2009),Shrestha (2009) and Baral et al. (2009) found moreor less similar above-ground carbon pools in the mid-hill forests.

Root carbon poolRoot biomass of two CFs is shown in Table 2. Rootbiomass of Lipindevi Thulopakho CF was found tobe 26.45 ± 2.6 t ha-1 which was higher than that ofJarneldhara CF. Since the stem biomass of LipindeviThulopakho CF was higher than that of JarneldharaCF, root biomass was also higher in LipindeviThulopakho CF.

Carbon pool in root biomass is shown in Table 3.Below-ground vegetation (root) carbon of LipindeviThulopakho CF was found to be 11.4 ± 1.1 t ha-1

Table 2: Vegetation biomass (Mean ± SE, t ha-1)

Table 3: Vegetation carbon (Mean ± SE, t ha-1)

Above ground Under-growth Below groundCF Tree (live &dead) (root)Jarneldhara 82.6 ± 7.8 2.5 ± 0.2 24.4 ± 2.3Lipindevi 89.7 ± 8.9 3.9 ± 0.3 26.5 ± 2.6Thulopakho

Above ground Under-growth Below groundCF Tree (live &dead) (root)Jarneldhara 35.5 ± 3.4 1.1 ± 0.1 10.5 ± 1.0Lipindevi 38.6± 3.9 1.6 ± 0.1 11.4 ± 1.1Thulopakho

Fig 2: Soil bulk density in different soil depth

Soil organic carbonSoil organic carbon pool in different soil profiles ofeach CF is shown in Table 4. Carbon content wasfound to be inversely related with increasing soildepth. Total mean carbon pool in the surface soil(0-20 cm) of Jarneldhara CF was found to be highest


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in this study (121.3 t ha-1 up to 1 m soil depth) forSchima-Castanopsis forest.

Total carbon poolTotal carbon pool in the two community forests isshown in Figure 3. The mean carbon pool (soil plusvegetation) in Jarneldhara CF was slightly higher thanthat in Lipindevi Thulopakho CF, althoughvegetation carbon pool was found to be higher inLipindevi Thulopakho CF. Due to the presence oflarge-size trees in Lipindevi Thulopakho CF, therewas higher vegetation carbon pool compared toJarneldhara CF. Similarly, higher soil bulk density andorganic carbon content in the soil of Jarneldhara CFhas resulted in the higher soil carbon pool. Low soilcarbon pool in Lipindevi Thulopakho CF was alsoattributed to the presence of Chir pine (Pinusroxburghii) trees which attract frequent forest fire dueto longer decomposition period of their needles.Every year, there are occurrences of forest fires inLipindevi Thulopakho CF which could be a possiblereason for low carbon content in its soil. Shresthaand Singh (2008) also found lower soil carbon poolin pine mixed forest than in other forest types.

The mean of the total carbon pool from the twoCFs is comparable to that of Shrestha and Singh(2008) and Shrestha (2009) in Schima-Castanopsis forestin the mid hills of Nepal. Shrestha and Singh (2008)reported total carbon pool (vegetation plus soil) of139 t ha-1, which was slightly lower than that foundin this study, which might be due to the use of soilcarbon up to 70 cm soil depth in their study, as wellas the difference in site quality and stand structure.

Amount of soil organic carbon depends uponvarious biotic and abiotic factors such as micro-climate, faunal diversity, land use and management.Leaf litter and root litter inputs play major roles inforest soil carbon dynamics (Shrestha and Singh,2008). The soil organic carbon pool in this studywas comparable to the soil organic carbon poolvalues reported by Shrestha and Singh (2008) andShrestha (2009). Shrestha and Singh (2008) in theirstudy (up to 70 cm soil depth) in the mid-hillwatershed found SOC density as 103 t ha-1 whereasShrestha (2009) found slightly higher SOC densityas 131.43 t ha-1 (up to 1 m soil depth) than that found

(52.3 ± 3 t ha-1); the lowest mean carbon pool wasfound in the deepest soil layer (80 cm - 100 cm) ofLipindevi Thulopakho CF (11.6 ± 0.5 t ha-1). Carbonpool in each layer of soil profile differed significantlyin both the CFs (p<0.05). Mean carbon pool in eachsoil layer of both the CFs also differed significantly(p<0.05). The results indicated that with increase insoil depth, bulk density was found to be in increasingtrend while the SOC was found to be in decreasingtrend. Almost similar results were obtained byShrestha (2009).

Table 4: Carbon stock in different soil profileSoil depth Organic carbon (Mean ± SE, t ha-1)(cm)0-20 52.3 ± 3.0 31.6 ± 2.020-40 32.5 ± 1.8 21.8 ± 1.340-60 27.5 ± 1.4 19.2 ± 1.160-80 30.7 ± 0.2 13.9 ± 0.680-100 19.5 ± 2.7 11.6 ± 0.5

Jarneldhara CF Lipindevi Thulopakho CF

Fig 3 : Total carbon pool in two CFs

Jarneldhara CF


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Similarly, Shrestha (2009) found total carbon poolas 178.5 t ha-1 which is slightly higher than the oneuncovered in this study which might be due todifferent stand structures, site quality and intensitiesof management.

Conclusion

Vegetation carbon of Jarneldhara CF was found tobe lower than that of Lipindevi Thulopakho CF dueto the presence of smaller-size trees. The share ofunder-growth vegetation carbon was very low ontotal above-ground vegetation carbon. Soil organiccarbon pool in 0-20 cm, 20-40 cm, 40-60 cm, 60-80cm, 80-100 cm soil depths were found to be different.Similarly, soil organic carbon pool in each depth ofthe soil profile of the two CFs were also different.With the increase in soil depth, bulk density wasfound to have increased whereas C content wasfound to have decreased. Both soil organic carboncontent and bulk density of Jarneldhara CF werehigher than those of Lipindevi Thulopakho CF, andthis contributed to the higher soil organic carbonstock in Jarneldhara CF. Total carbon stock inJarneldhara CF was higher than in LipindeviThulopakho CF. On average, soil organic carboncontributed about 68 % in total carbon stock ofcommunity forests. However, this study hasdemonstrated that CFs help to offset a portion ofthe carbon emissions thereby contributing to climatechange amelioration through the sequestration ofatmospheric C to soil and vegetation and by actingas a natural carbon sink.

Acknowledgement

This article is a part of the first author’s M. Sc.(Forestry) thesis. The study was financially supportedby Community Based Forest and Tree Managementin the Himalaya (ComForM) Project, Institute ofForestry, Pokhara, Nepal.

References

Awasthi, K. D., Sitaula, B. K., Singh, B. R. andBajracharya, R. M. 2002. Land use changes andmorphometric analysis using GIS for twomountain watersheds of western Nepal. LandDegradation and Development 13: 1-19.

Banskota, K., Karky, B. S. and Dahal, N. 2008.Creating a voluntary carbon market for

promoting sustainable forest management. InShifting Paradigms in Protected Area Management (eds.)Bajracharya, S. B. and Dahal, N. National Trustfor Nature Conservation, Kathmandu, Nepal,159-170.

Baral, S. K., Malla, R. and Ranabhat, S. 2009. Above-ground carbon stock assessment in differentforest types of Nepal. Banko Janakari 19 (2):10-14.

Brown, S., Sathaye, J., Cannell, M. and Kauppi, P. E.1996. Mitigation of carbon emissions to theatmosphere by forest management. CommonwealthForestry Review 75 (1): 80-91.

CFD. 2004. Community Forest ResourceInventory Guideline (Revised 2061). Nepaliversion Community Forest Division,Department of Forests, Kathmandu, Nepal.

DFO-Palpa. 2007. District-wise CommunityForest Monitoring Report 2063/64. DistrictForest Office Palpa, Tansen, Nepal.

Gautam, K. R. 2002. Carbon Sequestration inAgroforestry and Annual Cropping System inInner Terai, Central Nepal. M. Sc. Thesis.Agricultural University of Norway, Aas, Norway.

IPCC. 2007. Climate Change 2007: SynthesisReport - Summary for Policymakers. Anassessment of the Intergovernmental Panel onClimate Change. Accessed from http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/syr/ar4_syr_spm.pdf.

Lal, R. 2004. Soil carbon sequestration to mitigateclimate change. Geoderma 123 (1-2): 1-22.

MacDicken, K. G. 1997. A Guide to MonitoringCarbon Storage in Forestry and AgroforestryProjects. Forest Carbon MonitoringProgramme, Winrock International Institute forAgricultural Development, Littlerock, Arkansas,USA.

McLean, E. O. 1982. Soil pH and lime requirement.In Methods of Soil Analysis. Part 2, (ed.) Page, A.L.(2nd Edition), 199-224.

Negi, J. D. S., Manhas, R. K. and Chauhan, P. S. 2003.Carbon allocation in different components ofsome tree species of India: A new approachfor carbon estimation. Current Science 85 (11):1528-1531.


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Newell, R. G. and Stavins, R. N. 2000. Climate changeand forest sinks: Factors affecting the costs ofcarbon sequestration. Journal of EnvironmentalEconomics and Management 40: 211-235.

Oli, B. N. and Shrestha, K. 2009. Carbon status inforests of Nepal: An overview. Journal of Forestand Livelihood 8 (1): 62-66.

Page, A. L., Reuter, D. J. and Robinson, J. B. 1982.Methods of soil analysis Part 2. Chemical andmicrobiological properties. Agronomy : 621-622.

Pearson, T. R., Brown, S. and Ravindranath, N. H.2005. Integrating Carbon Benefit Estimatesinto GEF Projects: Guidelines. CapacityDevelopment and Adaptation Group, GlobalEnvironment Facility, United NationsDevelopment Programme, New York, USA.

Schreier, H., Brown, S. and Shah, P. B. 1995.Identification of key resources issues:Discussions and recommendations. InChallenges in Mountain Resource Management inNepal: Processes, Rrends and Dynamics in MiddleMountain Watersheds. Scheier, H., Shah, P.B., andBrown, S. (eds.), ICIMOD, Kathmandu, Nepal,247-252.

Sharma, E. R. and Pukkala, T. 1990. Volume Tablesfor Forest Trees of Nepal. Ministry ofForests and Soil Conservation, Forest Surveyand Statistics Division, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Sharma, R. P. 2003. Relationships Between TreeDimensions and Biomass, Sapwood Area, LeafArea and Leaf Area Index in Alnus nepalensis D.Don in Nepal. M. Sc. Thesis. AgriculturalUniversity of Norway, Aas, Norway.

Shrestha, B. P. 2009. Carbon sequestration in Schima-Castanopsis forest: A case study from Palpadistrict. The Greenery (A Journal of Environmentand Biodiversity), 7 (1): 34-40.

Shrestha, B. M. and Singh, B. R. 2008. Soil andvegetation carbon pools in a mountainouswatershed of Nepal. Nutrient Cycling inAgroecosystems 81: 179-191.

Shrestha, B. M., Sitaula, B. K., Singh, B. R. andBajracharya, R. M. 2004a. Fluxes of CO andCH in soil profiles of a mountainous watershedof Nepal as influenced by land use,temperature, moisture and substrate addition.Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 68: 155-164.

Shrestha, B. M., Sitaula, B. K., Singh, B. R. andBajracharya, R. M. 2004b. Soil organic carbonstocks in soil aggregates under different landuse systems in Nepal. Nutrient Cycling inAgroecosystems 70: 201-213.

Sitaula, B. K., Bajracharya, R. M., Singh, B. R. andSolberg, B. 2004. Factors affecting organiccarbon dynamics in soils of Nepal/ Himalayanregion- a review and analysis. Nutrient Cycling inAgroecosystems 70: 215-229.

Smith, P. 2004. Carbon sequestration in croplands:The potential in Europe and the global context.European Journal of Agronomy 20 (3): 229-236.

Stern, N. 2007. The Economics of ClimateChange: The Stern Review. CambridgeUniversity Press, Cambridge, U.K.

Upadhyay, T. P., Sankhayan, P. L. and Solberg, B.2005. A review of carbon sequestrationdynamics in the Himalayan region as a functionof land use change and forest/soil degradationwith special reference to Nepal. Agriculture,Ecosystems and Environment 105: 449-465.

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Implications of fiscal policy instruments in communityforest management of Nepal: Issues and challenges

A. Paudel and G. Weiss

Nepalese Community Forestry has unclear and inconsistent legal provisions related tofiscal policy instruments. Based on the review of forest policy documents, and semi-structured interviews and group discussions with individuals from government units,community forest user groups and traders from Parbat, Baglung and Dolakha districtsof Nepal, this paper demonstrates that there are a number of issues and challengesrelated to fiscal policy instruments that have affected the promotion of sustainable andmarket-oriented management of forest resources, co-ordination between local and centralgovernment authorities, benefit sharing of forest resources, and the overall financialsituation of community forest user groups. As a result, local communities do not fullybenefit from their forest resources. We argue that a good co-ordination amonggovernment units, CFUGs and non-governmental organizations, and their activeparticipation in policy making process can help to make the fiscal policy consistent andunambiguous to mitigate the existing issues and challenges.

Key words: Economic policy instrument, revenue sharing, multiple taxation, forestcertification, income generation activities

The Community Forestry (CF) programme inNepal began in 1978 as an attempt by the

government and aid agencies to provide an alternativeway for the Department of Forests (DoF) to managenational forests by involving local people (Gilmourand Fisher, 1991). After a decade (in 1987), theconcept of ‘forest users group’ in CF was introduced,and three years later (in 1990, after the dawn ofdemocracy), the same group was called ‘communityforest users group (CFUG)’ (Paudel and Vogel, 2007).However, a legal and procedural base for local peopleto organize themselves into a CFUG as anautonomous forest management institution wasprovided by the Forest Act (HMGN, 1993) and theForest Regulation (HMGN, 1995). During the last31 years of CF, nearly 1.23 million ha of forest (whichis about 25% of total forest land) have been handedover to more than 14,400 CFUGs (CFD, 2009).

Many organizations have been involved in supportingthe CF programme in Nepal. The Ministry of Forestsand Soil Conservation (MFSC) is responsible forformulating forest policy in coordination with the

National Planning Commission (NPC), while theDoF is responsible for its implementation. TheCommunity Forestry Division (CFD), which is underDoF, is responsible for the implementation andfacilitation of CF programme. The District ForestOffice (DFO), also under DoF, formalizes theincorporation of users into CFUGs and hands overnational forests to them. Besides, many civil societyorganizations, private institutions, CF networks,development partners or donors are also involvedin supporting the programme (Paudel and Vogel,2007). The Federation of Community Forest Users,Nepal (FECOFUN), which is one of the civil societyorganizations, has been a key player in the forestrysector policy development. In spite of theinvolvement of many organizations, the policyformation, implementation and field reality seem tobe weakly connected in the forestry sector (Larsen etal., 2000). This situation has created inconsistenciesand confusions in the provisions mentioned in policydocuments and consequently has raised several issuesand challenge in their implementation.

1 Freelance forester, Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Email: [email protected] University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria

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Policy instruments are usually classified into threebroad categories: regulatory, economic, andinformational (Gautam, 2006; Krott, 2005; Jann,1981). Economic instruments are synonymouslycalled financial (e.g. Bruijn and Hufen, 1998) or fiscalinstruments (König and Dose, 1993). Fiscalinstruments such as royalty, tax, subsidy and marketsystem for forest products are the core componentsof Nepal’s CF policy, and have significantconsequences on the management of the forestresources and their benefits to local communities.However, compared to other policy instruments, theForest Act and the Forest Regulation are less explicitin terms of fiscal policy (Kanel, 2001). We havereviewed the legal provisions of fiscal policy relatedto community forest management of Nepal, anddiscussed in this paper the existing issues andchallenges while implementing the fiscal policyinstruments.


We reviewed the current forest policy documents:the Master Plan for the Forestry Sector (HMGN,1989), the Forest Act (HMGN, 1993), the ForestRegulation (HMGN, 1995), the Forestry SectorPolicy (HMGN, 2000), the Herbs and Non-timberForest Products (NTFPs) Development Policy(HMGN, 2004), the Local Self Governance Act(LSGA, 1998) and its Regulation (LSGA, 1999), theThree-year Interim Plan of 2008-2010 (NPC, 2007),and CF Guidelines. In addition, semi-structuredinterviews and group discussions were conductedin 2008 in Baglung, Parbat and Dolakha districts,Nepal. Interviews were conducted with individualsfrom DFO, District Development Committee(DDC), Village Development Committee (VDC) andFECOFUN. In addition, seven forest product traderscomprising four from Baglung and three fromDolakha were consulted. Group discussions wereconducted in eight CFUGs (Bhodkhore, Jhauri andHampal from Parbat; Gorucharan, Bongakhani andWatawaran Samrakchhan from Baglung; Kalobhirand Bhitteripakha from Dolakha) that are involvedin forest product trade and/or in forest enterprises,and are therefore aware of the fiscal policyinstruments.


Revenue sharing between government units andCFUGsThere is a disputable issue related to the way therevenue from the sale of forest products is sharedamong the central and local government, and CFUGs(Kanel, 2007). Although LSGR has mentioned thatconcerned DDC gets 10% of revenue obtained bythe government as royalty from forest products, it isnot specific in terms of type of forests, and is alsounclear whether it is from only the governmentmanaged forests (GMFs) or from community forestsas well.

In case of Terai CFUGs the Forestry Sector Policy(HMGN, 2000) mentions about the revenue sharingobtained from the sale of surplus timber. Accordingto the policy, 40% of the earning from timber salemust be deposited in the government account(central government); but nothing is mentionedabout the local government units. After that policycame into effect, concerned DFOs began collectinga flat 40% tax from such sales, based on gross revenuebut it is frequently referred to by forestry officials asa royalty (Bampton and Cammaert, 2007). This policywas strongly opposed by FECOFUN and after a longdebate between the government authority andFECOFUN, this amount was reduced to 15% in2004 and was restricted to only two timber species:Sal (Shorea robusta) and Khair (Acacia catechu). Localgovernment units do not get any share of incomefrom the above mentioned tax (Kanel, 2006).Moreover, confusion exists on how the revenue fromNTFPs of community forest should be sharedbetween the government and CFUG (Dhungana andDahal, 2004).

It is recommended that policy provisions be amendedby clearly defining the methodology on sharing ofrevenue obtained from community forest betweengovernment units and CFUGs. Seeing the discussionsrelated to share of revenues (e.g. in reducing 40% to15%), we recommend concerned stakeholders to getinvolved in formulating policy to come to a commonagreement and get a clearer understanding about therevenue sharing mechanism.

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Multiple taxation in forest products tradeThere are contradictory provisions in controllingtaxation system on forest products, between theForest Act (HMGN, 1993) and the Local Self-Governance Act (LSGA, 1998). The LSGA providesauthority to local government (DDC) to levy a localtax on forest product, while the Forest Act allowsthe central government to collect tax on them. Inpractise, both the central and local governmentsimpose tax in forest products trade at different formsand levels. CFUGs that sell surplus forest productshave to pay 13% of royalty as VAT on products sold,excluding medicinal and aromatic plant products(MFSC, 2005). In addition, they have been payingNRs 5 per cubit feet of timber to the concernedDFO as forest development fund. CFUGs in Teraipay additional 15% tax on sales of two timber species(Sal and Khair). In case of NTFPs, the CustomOffice levies 5% duty on their market price at theexport point. Besides, the persons/enterprise thatuse the forest resource for commercial purpose haveto pay a local fee up to NRs 1,000 to the concernedVDC (LSGR, 1999).

Such multiple payments are also prevalent on theexport of forest products through other districts.Although the LSGR clarifies that when one DDCtakes export tax on its local products, others cannotcharge the same, traders have been paying levy ateach district check posts while transporting theproducts through several districts (Kunwar et al.,2009). This way, traders end up paying more moneythan they legally have to pay as tax. Similar view wasexpressed by traders in the study area.

Contradiction between the Forest Act and the LSGAis also observed in regulatory provision, with regardsto control over forest resources (USAID, 2006).Individuals from DFO and DDC stressed that bothexercise their own legal right to control forestresources and taxation, and this has affected theirco-ordination for forest management. Moreover,DDCs collecting export tax on products passingthrough their districts, is clearly against the policyprovision mentioned in LSGR. In this context, itseems necessary to develop a simple and transparenttaxation system and define clear legal responsibilitiesof government units in controlling it. In addition,concerned authorities must be trained on the taxationsystem and motivated just to collect legal tax on forestproducts trade.

Benefit/revenue to CFUGs from NTFPs tradeAlthough the government has the authority toimpose ban on only the products from GMFs(HMGN, 1995), in practice NTFPs managed andharvested from community forests are also bannedfrom exporting in unprocessed form. These includeCordyceps sinensis, Nardostachys grandiflora, Valerianajatamansi, Parmelia spp., Taxus baccata, Abies spectabilis,Rawolfia serpentina, Cinamomum glaucescens and Silajit-mineral exudates. Such regulation has affected thesale and export of commercial species which areabundant in community forest. In the study sites,Parmelia sp. is abundant among the banned speciesin most of the community forests. The CFUGs arecompelled either to process themselves, or to findprocessing industries, both of which seem to bedifficult for them. As a consequence, CFUGs areprohibited from the benefit from NTFP trade, andare discouraged in their management. Even the recentpolicy of the Herbs and NTFPs Development (2004)states that NTFPs cultivated in private land can beexported even in unprocessed form, but it mentionsnothing about NTFPs managed or cultivated incommunity forest land. Hence, it seems importantto develop such policy instruments that aim atsustainable management systems of NTFPs andprovide optimum benefit to forest users.

Another challenge for CFUGs to get optimumbenefit from NTFPs trade is the lack of provisionsfor their management in the operation plan (OP).Many of those CFUGs whose OPs do notsufficiently account for NTFPs management andmarketing, have not been able to collect royalty fromthe NTFPs trade (Paudel et al., 2009), and this haslowered their gross revenue. Until the end of 2008,most of the OPs of community forests of Baglung(including studied CFUGs) did not have a detailedinventory and management plan for NTFPs.Furthermore, the dates of many OPs had alreadyexpired. The expiry was due to lack of sufficientnumber of forest technicians (pers. comm. withDFO staff, Baglung). As a consequence, CFUGsfaced problems to sell the surplus forest product andcould not collect revenue. Another situation thatexists is the inclusion of management and marketingof just a few commercial species in OP. For example,the CFUGs from Dolakha whose OPs were recentlyrevised, do not have details of management andmarketing of all the commercial NTFPs, exceptLokta (Daphne spp.) and Argeli (Edgeworthia gardneri).


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In addition, royalty rate of mushroom is notmentioned in their OP due to which they can notcollect revenue from the sale of this species that hasgood local market.

In the MPFS (HMGN, 1989), although ‘NTFPsdevelopment’ is listed as one of its six primaryprogrammes, the plan does not spell out researchand inventory. Although the CF Inventory Guidelineof 2000 (DoF, 2000) strictly mentions that only thequalified forest technicians could do the inventory,the revised guideline of 2004 (DoF, 2004) allowssocial workers at local level to perform communityforest inventories. With this provision, CFUGs nowcan hire the social workers or local resource persons(LRP) and perform the inventory, and revise OPswhich were backlogged due to limited foresttechnicians. This guideline seems to be compatiblewith field reality as it was prepared by DoF, involvingNGOs, FECOFUN and CFUGs. During the timeof field study, such a practise was seen in the CFUGsof Parbat and Dolakha districts, where FECOFUNand/or other NGOs have trained LRP to performOP revision. However, revising OP with the inclusionof NTFPs management and marketing does notovercome the problem of collecting optimumrevenue. Factors like low quantity production,inaccessibility of the sites for transportation, and lackof awareness of the legitimate ownership of theresources hinder their marketing. It is recommendedthat CFUGs need to be aware about the legalownership of their forest resources and include theirdetailed management and marketing in OP to earnoptimum revenue from NTFPs trade.

Benefit to poor users from forest productsAccording to the Forest Act and the Regulation,CFUGs can independently sell and distribute theforest products which are available, pursuant to theOP, by fixing their prices. However, they have toinform the concerned DFO about the price of theproducts, and the CFUGs feel it a cumbersomepractise. In the studied CFUGs, if any forestproducts are to be consumed by a users’ group itself,the distribution is either free of charge or is levied aprice based on the consensus and it is usually foundto be lower than the market price. In all of theCFUGs, products like fuelwood, fodder and leaf litterare divided on equality basis. Such forest productdistribution system which does not provide morebenefit to the poor has been criticized (Malla, 2001).

With regards to distribution of timber, it is found tobe based on the need of timber (in terms ofconstruction and maintenance) for users in allCFUGs. It is often the case that better-offhouseholds frequently use (and buy) more timbercompared to poor, as poor households rarely buildnew houses or have furniture made in rural areas ofNepal. Although some CFUGs in our study siteshave provision to provide timber for poor users freeof charge (e.g. CFUGs from Dolakha) or in lowerend of the price range (NRs 15 to 50 per cubic feetin Bhodkhore CFUG, Parbat), hardly few poor userstake this benefit because of their inability toconstruct/renovate houses or cattle sheds. Similarresult is found in a study conducted by OverseasDevelopment Group, Nepal in 2003 in fourteenCFUGs in Nawalparasi and Rupandehi districts,where mainly rich households with larger housespurchase timber in subsidized price (Bampton andCammaert, 2007). It seems that the poor are lessbenefited from forest product sale and distributionsystem. In this context, it is recommended to makethis system more favourable towards the poor usersby formulating the policy that provides easy accessto poor on more forest benefits so that they canimprove their livelihoods.

Financial situation of CFUGsThe Forest Regulation allows CFUGs to plant cashcrops that can be the source of income generation.However, it remains silent about providing financialsupport to CFUGs from the government.Additionally, the Forestry Sector Policy (HMGN,2000) mentions that local communities beencouraged to grow commercial forest crops andestablish forest-based processing enterprises outsideof the community forest, but it does not mentionabout the management of financial and technicalresources required for CFUGs to establish suchenterprises. This in-itself seems to be incomplete indefining the alternatives for CFUGs in improvingtheir financial situation. In some CFUGs, externalorganizations have provided skill developmenttrainings related to IGAs to users, however, usersoften can not utilize that skill as a profession becausethey can neither launch any enterprises on their ownnor get any financial assistance from otherorganizations. Such a condition has hindered CFUGsto invest in forest-based IGAs. For example, inBhodkhore CFUG, there is sufficient raw materialand trained human resource to make Sal leaf platethat has good local market. But the CFUG is not

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running the enterprise mainly due to inadequatefinance to purchase the moulding machine. CFUGsfrom Parbat and Baglung are conducting ‘revolvingfund programme’ with the financial support fromdonor organizations mainly for livelihoodimprovement of poor users from the past few years,however, this amount is very little considering thenumber of poor users in these CFUGs, and themoney has been distributed to them on priority basisto invest on IGAs. One of the favourable provisionsfor the poor is the recently revised CF ProgrammeDevelopment Guideline (DoF, 2009), according towhich 35% of the CFUG’ fund must be spent forpoor users, either in terms of money or good, or forimprovement of their livelihood.

The Forest Act mentions that at least 25% ofCFUG’s fund has to be spent on forest developmentactivities, which means the rest, can be spent in otheractivities. From the study area, CFUGs of Parbatand Baglung, with higher expenses of their fund incommunity development activities (about 50%) andforest development works (about 30%), were foundto be in relatively poor financial situation. In contrast,CFUGs from Dolakha, in addition to other incomegenerating activities (IGAs), are also being involvedin NTFPs-based enterprise of their district throughraw material supply and share investment. They havedeveloped fund mobilization guideline, allocating20% of the fund to enterprise development.

It seems that financial situation of CFUGs cangreatly be improved by allocating higher investmentin IGAs. Furthermore, utilizing a greater portion ofCFUG fund in cultivation of high value NTFPs andestablishment of forest-based enterprises canprovide direct economic return to CFUGs in asustainable manner. In addition, establishing‘enterprise development revolving fund’ andproviding orientation to CFUGs about businessaccounting and fund mobilization (Paudel et al., 2009)will also be important activities to improve thefinancial situation of CFUG.

Progress on forest certificationNepal does not export timber in international marketbut NTFPs are exported mainly to India. Typically,without certification, it is difficult to export the forestproduct to many foreign countries. Targeting NTFPs,14,086 ha (of 21 CFUGs) community forest landfrom Dolakha (including the studied CFUGs) andBajang districts were certified in between 2004 to

2006, under Forest Stewardship Council groupcertification scheme. Calculations show that thecertification cost in Nepal is US$ 35.5 per ha, whichis higher in comparison to other countries (Kandel,2007). As CFUGs do not have adequate finance andthere is a lack of financial support from thegovernment and/or other external organizations, theforests which would have the quality to be certified,may be not certified in time. For example, JhauriCFUG of Parbat has not been certified though theprocess began in 2002 by Integrated Human EcologyProject (IHEP) under a NGO known as Seed TreeNepal. Even after certification, high cost is involvedin auditing, monitoring and management of certifiedforests (discussion with CFUGs from certified forestof Dolakha), which is difficult to manage by CFUGswith poor financial situation.

The MPFS had committed to enhance distributionof medicinal plants and NTFPs to local and foreignmarket. However, the plan does not mentionanything about certification. Additionally, ForestrySector Policy of 2000 has emphasized on promotingthe commercialization of NTFPs and exportingthem after value-addition, but it does not mentionabout forest certification which is crucial forexporting forest products. In addition, financialaspect is not mentioned in the Herbs and NTFPsDevelopment Policy (HMGN, 2004) and Three-yearInterim Plan (NPC, 2007). It seems that withoutfinancial aid to CFUGs from government and/orother external agencies, certification can not beprogressive and will remain a challenge for thecommercial trade of valuable forest products inNepal.

Conclusion

The review of the forest policy documents showscontradictions and confusions in their provisionsrelated to fiscal policy in community forestmanagement, and such provisions have createdseveral issues and challenges in implementation. Thepolicies does not optimally support the sustainableand market-oriented management of the forestresources and CFUGs therefore do not benefit fromtheir forests as much as they could. In addition, poorinvestments in IGAs, and lack of incorporation ofNTFPs management and marketing in OP has alsoaffected the financial situation of CFUGs. Werecommend amending contradictory and unclearprovisions specifically on legal responsibility ofgovernment authorities regarding control over


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taxation system and revenue sharing mechanism,remove ambiguous and restrictive policies, anddevelop new policies to improve financial situationof CFUGs. We recommend active participation ofCFUGs and non-governmental organizations duringpolicy formulation so that aforementioned issues andchallenges could be addressed properly.

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge Bishnu P. Acharya, BidhurKhadka and Ganesh K. Thapa for informationcollection; Suman Pokhrel, Sony Baral and KalyanGauli for their comments and Birendra Sapkota forreviewing the paper and providing valuablesuggestions.

References

Bampton, J. and Cammaert, B. 2007. Can timber rentsbetter contribute to poverty alleviation throughcommunity forestry in the Terai region of Nepal?In A Cut for the Poor (eds.) Oberndorf, R. Durst, P.Mahanty, S., Burslem, K. and Suzuki,R. Proceedings of the international conferenceon managing forests for poverty reduction:capturing opportunities in forest harvesting andwood processing for the benefit of the poor. HoChi Minh City, Vietnam, 3-6 October, 2006, FAORAP publication number and RECOFTC ReportNo. 19. FAO and RECOFTC, Bangkok, Thailand.

Bruijn, H. A. and Hufen, H. A. M. 1998. Thetraditional approach to policy instruments. InPublic Policy Instruments: Evaluating the Tools of PublicAdministration (eds.) Peters, B. G. and Van Nispen,F. K. M. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, U.K. 11-13.

CFD. 2009. Management Information SystemDatabase of May 7, 2009. Community ForestryDivision, Department of Forests, Kathmandu,Nepal.

Dhungana, H. P. and Dahal, S. P. 2004. Strengtheninglocal capacity for non-timber forest productsmanagement and marketing: the need for policyreforms in community forestry in Nepal. InTwenty-Five Years of Community Forestry: Contributionin Millennium Development Goal (eds.) Kanel, K. R.,Mathema, P., Kandel, B. R., Niraula, D. R., Sharma,A. R. and Gautam, M. Proceedings of fourth

national conference of community forestry,August 4-6, Community Forest Division,Department of Forests, Kathmandu, Nepal, 142-149.

DoF. 2000. Community Forestry InventoryGuideline. Department of Forests, Ministry ofForests and Soil Conservation, HMGN,Kathmandu, Nepal.

DoF. 2004. Community Forestry InventoryGuideline. 2nd edition. Department of Forest,Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation,HMGN, Kathmandu, Nepal.

DoF. 2009. Community Forestry DevelopmentProgramme Guideline. 3rd edition. Departmentof Forests, Ministry of Forests and SoilConservation, HMGN, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Gautam, K. H. 2006. Forestry, politicians and power-perspectives from Nepal’s forest policy. Forest Policyand Economics 8: 175-183.

Gilmour, D. and Fisher, R. 1991. Villagers, forestand foresters: the philosophy, process andpractise of community forestry in Nepal.Sahayogi Press, Kathmandu, Nepal.

HMGN. 1989. Master Plan for the Forestry Sectorof Nepal . Ministry of Forests and SoilConservation, ADB/FINNIDA/HMGN,Kathmandu, Nepal.

HMGN. 1993. Forest Act of 1993. Law BooksManagement Board, FDP/USAID/ HMGN,Kathmandu, Nepal.

HMGN. 1995. Forest Regulation of 1995. LawBooks Management Board, FDP/ USAID/HMGN, Kathmandu, Nepal.

HMGN. 2000. Forestry Sector Policy of 2000.Law Books Management Board, FDP/USAID/HMGN, Kathmandu, Nepal.

HMGN. 2004. Herbs and Non-timber ForestProduct Development Policy of 2004. Ministryof Forests and Soil Conservation, Department ofPlant Resources, Herbs and NTFPs CoordinationCommittee, Kathmandu, Nepal.


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Jann, W. 1981. Kategorien der Policy-Forschung.Speyerer Arbeitshefte 37, Hochschule fürVerwaltungswissenschaften, Speyer, Germany.

Kandel, P. N. 2007. Effect of forest certificationtowards sustainable community forestry in Nepal.Banko Janakari 17 (1): 11-16.

Kanel, K. R. 2001. Forests, collective action, andpolicy instruments in Nepal: aligningdecentralization with fiscal responsibility. InEnabling Policy Frameworks for Successful CommunityBased Resource Management Initiatives. Proceedingsof eighth workshop on community managementof forest land, Vietnam Information for Scienceand Technology Advance (VISTA), Hawaii, USA.70-82.

Kanel, K. R. 2006. "Current status of CommunityForestry in Nepal", paper submitted to RegionalCommunity Forestry Training Centre for Asia andthe Pacific Bangkok, Thailand. http://www.forestrynepal.org/current-status-of-community-forestry-in-nepal. Accessed on13 November, 2006.

Kanel, K. R. 2007. Economic impacts of forestpolicy changes: a perspective from Nepal. TheInitiation (2007):36-42.

König, K. and Dose, N. 1993. Klassifikationsansätzezum staatlichen Handeln. In Instrumente und FormenStaatlichen Handelns (eds.) König, K. and Dose,N. Heymann, Köln, Germany. 3-150.

Krott, M. 2005. Forest Policy Analysis. Springer,Dordrecht, the Netherlands.

Kunwar, C. S.; Ansari, S. A. and Luintel, H. 2009.Non-timber forest products enterprisedevelopment: regulatory challenges in Koshi Hillsof Nepal. Journal of Forest and Livelihood 8 (2):39-50.

Larsen, H. O.; Olsen, C. S. and Boon, T. E. 2000.The non-timber forest policy process in Nepal:

actors, objectives and power. Forest Policy andEconomics 1: 267-281.

LSGA. 1998. Local Self-Governance Act of 1998.Law Books Management Board, FDP/HMGN/USAID, Kathmandu, Nepal.

LSGR. 1999. Local Self-Governance Regulationof 1999 . Law Books Management Board,Kathmandu, Nepal.

Malla, Y. B. 2001. Changing policies and thepersistence of patron-client relations in Nepal:stakeholders’ responses to changes in forestpolicies. Environmental History 6 (2): 287-307.

MFSC. 2005. A circular about ‘Tax Rate on Sale ofForest Products’. Published on Aug 12, 2005. No.59. Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation,Kathmandu, Nepal.

NPC. 2007. Three-Year Interim Plan of Nepal(2008-2010). National Planning Commission,Government of Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Paudel, A. and Vogel, S. 2007. Community forestrygovernance in Nepal: a case study of the role ofservice providers in a community forest usersgroup. A Discussion Paper (DP-34-2007).University of Natural Resources and Applied LifeSciences (BOKU), Vienna, Austria.

Paudel, A.; Subedi, B. P.; Gyawali, S.; Thapa, G. K.and Sharma, M.B. 2009. Value chain analysis ofNTFPs in Baglung district, Nepal. Banko Janakari19 (2): 33-41.

USAID. 2006. Role of Natural Products inResource Management, Poverty Alleviationand Good Governance. A Case Study ofJatamansi and Wintergreen Value Chains inNepal. United States Agency for InternationalDevelopment, USAID-Nepal, Kathmandu,Nepal.


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Economic potential of forest resources of Nepal

The contribution of forestry sector in Nepal’seconomy is significant. As 39.06% of the

country’s area is forests, this sector has diverseeconomic potential. This sector can contributetowards achieving the Millennium DevelopmentGoals in Nepal (Kanel, 2004). The country lies withintropical to alpine climates and hosts a wide diversityof plant and animal species. For instance, Nepal hasdocumented about 7000 species of flowering plants,many of which are important both commercially andfor sustaining rural livelihoods. Major goods includefuelwood, timber, fodder, wild food, medicines, fibresand non-timber forest products (NTFPs). Similarly,forests provide different ecosystem services such asclimate regulation, carbon sequestration, and waterregulation. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessmentidentifies both the 'goods' and 'services' as ecosystemservices and categorizes them into provisioning,regulating, supporting, and cultural services.Theseforest goods and services would add up to a hugecontribution to the Nepalese economy, but there isa lack of a systematic accounting. The understandingof the economic potential of forest resources issketchy and efforts to tap such opportunities arenegligible.

Thus, the purpose of this paper is to assess theeconomic potential of forest resources in Nepal,based on available data and other project level

experience for interventions and income generation.Such assessments can give some direction to thepolicy makers and development organizations onhow to harness forest-based economic opportunitiesfor national development. Further, such assessmentsmay reveal economic potentials of forestry sectorthat could be tapped fully for boosting up theNepalese economy and fostering the livelihood offorest dependent communities.

Methodology

Most of the information used in this paper are drawnfrom secondary sources like existing data, studies,project reports, and office records. However, thereare only a few information on the economic aspectsof forestry and only limited studies have been donefor assessing such opportunities. A judicious use ofthese existing results of the project interventionshave been employed to explore the economicpotentials of the forest resources in this paper.


Current contribution of the forestry sectorThe following sections present the main uses offorest products and services and their respectiveeconomic contributions in the form of thegeneration of revenue and employment.

1 ANSAB, Kathmandu, Nepal.* Author for correspondance: [email protected]

Nepal’s forest resources underpin the livelihoods of rural people in important ways. Duringthe country’s “planned development” over the past 50 years, the government, donors andpolicy makers have viewed these resources as a key vehicle for ushering in economicgrowth and for meeting basic needs. They underscore the potential value of forestresources for achieving conservation and socio-economic objectives. To what extent haveeconomic incentives been generated to effectively harness these resources to meet thesaid objectives is an open question. To address this question, this paper reviews brieflyand broadly the economic potential of the country’s forest resources in terms of forestgoods and services. Estimates of economic potential of timber and non-timber forestproducts and environmental services have been assessed. A number of recommendationsfor realizing the potential for achieving development and poverty reduction objectives isprovided.

Key words: Forestry, non-timber forest products, ecosystem services, economic potential,livelihood

S.S. Pandey1*, B.P. Subedi1 and H. Dhungana1


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TimberTimber and fuelwood are amongst the mostimportant forest products that generate cash earningand are critical to the livelihood of rural people.Although revenue generation remains significant(Table 1), the contribution has declined over theperiod of 2003-06. This declining trend must beexamined to ascertain the level of illegal logging orcorruption involved in the trade and transport oftimber and fuelwood.

Non-timber forest productsNepal records 161 species of NTFPs harvested forcommercial purposes (Subedi, 2006). More than a100 of these species are high value NTFPs that aretraded in national and international markets. Thelivelihood of the majority of population ofHimalayan and High Mountain, especially in WesternNepal, is sustained by NTFP trade (Subedi, 2006).The bulk of the NTFPs, especially medical andaromatic plants (MAPs), are exported to India withthe remaining sent to other countries such as theUnited States and those in Europe. Nepal’s NTFPexport was estimated at over NRs. 2.5 billion ($35million) in a single year 2001/2002 (Subedi, 2006).

The total tax revenue generated from the NTFPs,according to records at the Department of Forestsfor the years 2003/04, 2004/05 and 2005/06 wereRs. 44,272,692, Rs. 77,840,603 and Rs. 44,213,019,respectively (DoF, 2005; 2006; 2007). There is,however, no system for systematically tracking theincome and employment generated from NTFPnationally.

Environmental servicesAnother source of earning from forest relates toenvironmental services. As of now, the revenue fromthe environmental services generated from forest isconfined to the fee charged on the tourists visitingthe protected areas and to payment for watershedconservation services. The revenue from 14protected areas (excluding Annapurna Conservation

carbon sequestration from forestry sector—is stillevolving globally. In Nepal, small initiatives havetaken place. For example, Makwanpur DistrictDevelopment Committee (MDDC) has beenallocating 20 percent of the amount that it receivesfrom Nepal Electricity Authority for the location ofhydro power plant in Kulekhani of this district. Atpresent, the MDDC receives $55,000 annually andthis is ploughed back to the upland communities forthe environmental services of protecting the uplandwatershed. A greater effort is needed to deviseenduring mechanisms that guarantee flow of benefitsto those who sustain the valuable ecosystem servicesat local as well national levels.

Potential for forest based economicdevelopmentThe previous section presented the existing statusof revenue generation from forest products andecosystem services. These figures do not representthe full economic potential of the forestry sector inNepal. For instance, in ANSAB experience, theexisting programme of community forestry providesimportant opportunities for rural people to use forestproducts in a sustainable way to generateemployment and income. Establishing community-based enterprises and integrating them intoresponsible value chains can serve to achieve botheconomic and conservation goals. The potentialeconomic opportunities of the forestry sector thisis discussed below.

Pandey et al.

Area) charged against tourist arrivals is erratic. Thiswas primarily due to great fluctuation in tourist arrivalduring the period of Maoist insurgency but, in thepost-conflict context, more stable revenues may beexpected.

Moreover, the notion of payment for environmentalservices (PES)—primarily for such services asbiodiversity conservation, watershed protection and

Institutions FY 2003/04 FY 2004/05 FY 2005/06 Quantity Revenue Quantity Revenue Quantity Revenue (cft) (Rs) (cft) (Rs) (cft) (Rs)

District Forest Office 1,981,503 488,213,617 1,227,739 314,119,778 924,843 47,072,160Community Forests NA 77,909,234 NA 40,274,330 NA 8,306,309Total 566,122,851 354,394,108 255,378,469

Source: DOF (2005, 2006, 2007).

Table 1: Timber and fuelwood trade recorded by the Department of Forest, 2003-06


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TimberHere we estimate the potential market value oftimber, by using the data from the national forestryinventory of 1999. We assumed a 1.5% annualgrowth and allocated 40% of increment as allowablecut as per the Forestry Inventory Guidelines of theDepartment of Forests issued in 2001. We alsoassumed that an average value for timber of allspecies at Rs. 250/cft for the altitude range of 0-1000 m and Rs. 150/cft for 1000-3000 m (Table 2).

With these assumptions, we estimated an annualharvest of 58.65 million cft of timber, with a valueof Rs. 12.78 billion. Our experience in Dolakhasuggests that two-thirds of the total timber salesfrom a CFUG go to generate local employment.Assuming a daily wage rate of Rs. 200 per person,the timber subsector can generate 42,593,850 person-days of employment for local people, or an equivalentof 180 days a year or 6 months employment for236,632 people.

Non-timber forest productsThere is no inventory data for NTFPs, on par withtimber species, except in some areas under projectsupport. For instance, the data from ANSAB projectsin Dolakha and Bajhang districts suggest a very highpotential for raising income and employment fromthe NTFP sub-sector if comprehensive support onmarket information, business development services,financial services and access to technology is availedto the local people. Ten FSC-certified CFUGs (with

*Assumptions

3521 ha of forest) in Dolakha generated an annualincome of Rs. 1,255 per hectare from 24 unprocessedNTFPs in 2006. These 24 species, however, werenot the high value NTFPs traditionally traded fromMountain forests (e.g., Yarsagumba, Jatamasi, andAtis). Thus the economic value could be much morefor other NTFP-rich community forests, especiallyin the Mountain areas. We estimate that a potentialincome from the NTFP sub-sector at national scalecomes to Rs 5.31 billion per annum for a total CF

1) Average value for timber (log) of all wood species: Altitude class (0-1000) = Rs. 250/cft Altitude class (1000-3000) = Rs. 150/cft2) Average incremental growth rate is 1.5% (for slow

growing species the least value recommended is1% and for the fast growing species, it is about3%)

3) Average allowable cut for all wood species isassumed to be 40% of the annual increment; therecommended least value for this is 40% for thepoor forest site and 60% for the average forest site

4) For the altitudinal region of 1000-3000 m, 50%of the allowable cut is considered to be a realistic.

5) 1 m3 = 35.31 cft

area of 1,057,827 hectares in Hills and Mountains.For this, we assumed that 40% of the totalcommunity forests have potential for NTFPs. Theestimate would go up if Yarsagumba, Jatamasi, Atisand high volume products like resin are included.The value addition in marketing chains (processing,grading, and packaging) would further generateincome and employment opportunity. Similarly, theNTFP sub-sector can generate 26,550,000 persondays of employment for local people or an equivalentof 6 month or 180 days a year employment for147,500 persons.

Environmental servicesPES is another source of revenue that can grow inthe years to come. In our study, we found thatmountain forests provide such services as carbonsequestration, recreational use, scenic beauty,watershed protection (irrigation, drinking water,hydropower, flood and sedimentation control),biodiversity conservation, soil formation and

Table 2: Estimated present value of logs by altitudinal class*

0-1000 1224.1 6637.59 99.56 39.83 39.83 9956.391000- 3000 897.9 6270.60 94.06 37.62 18.81 2821.773000-Above 57.2 2018.44 30.28 12.11 - -Total 2179.2 14926.63 223.90 89.56 58.64 12,778.16

Altitude Reachable Stem Increment Allowable Realistic Value in Rs.(m) forest volume (million cut volume of (million)

areas (million cft) (million cut (million('000ha) cft) cft) cft)


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Banko Janakari, Vol. 20, No. 2Pandey et al.

replenishment of fertility, pollination, andcolonisation (Subedi and Singh, 2008). These serviceshave considerable potential for generating incometo the local people. Because of the growingpopularity of Nepal’s varied cultural and ecologicaldiversities, eco-tourism would be an attractive optionfor some communities.

Carbon sequestration from forest biomass is anotheropportunity that can be tapped by Nepal throughcarbon trading. After Bali Action Plan 2007 andCopenhagen Accord 2009, reducing emissions fromdeforestation and forest degradation (REDD) plushas evolved as an important mitigation tool forclimate change, providing opportunities for incomethrough conservation and sustainable managementof forests and the enhancement of forest carbonstock. Though REDD is still at the initial stages, itprovides a good opportunity for Nepal to enhanceforest carbon and claim payment for carbon credits.

Recommendations

The harnessing of the potentials of the forestrysector requires concerted effort from thegovernment, donors and other actors. The followingare the main areas where interventions should befocussed.

Organize community for resource managementand enterprisesA first important step towards realizing the economicpotential of forest resources can be the organizingof the local communities to initiate forestmanagement and forest-based enterprise activities.Organizing the community into an appropriatemanagement structure facilitates the management toachieve conservation and economic goals. This is arigorous process that requires significant time andresources.

Establish small and medium forest enterprisesSimilarly, efforts should be directed towardssupporting the local community to establish and runsmall and medium forest enterprises (SMFEs) in asustainable basis. These enterprises should considerenvironmental and social aspects, marketrequirements and policy provisions. For theenterprises to work, development agencies shouldoffer a package of business development services(BDS) that include skills training, informationservices and financing.

Integrate community enterprises to rewardingvalue chainsThe enterprises will not benefit the local communityif they are not linked to rewarding value chains. It isthus important, even if difficult, to foster and sustainbusiness partnership of the community enterpriseswith the more powerful actors in the market. It isespecially the responsible business entities thatprovide price premiums on conservation andcommunity effort. Thus, development organizationsshould identify those business entities and facilitatepartnerships within fair and transparent value chaingovernance. The communities should be supportedto explore most promising value chains and tryinnovative marketing strategy (especially throughforest management and chain of custody certificationas well as fair trade).

Address key policy bottlenecksSimilarly, policy revisions should be pursued on acontinuous basis to address the barriers that hinderthe operation and growth of forest enterprises. Thesebarriers include, for instance, arbitrary royalty ratesfor forest products, lengthy and costly exportformalities, the ban on collection and trade ofNTFPs, contradictions between forestry and otherlaws, and cumbersome formalities on enterpriseestablishment. The issues should be constantlyidentified through multi-stakeholder consultationprocesses and addressed in time.

Design and operationalize the REDD plusmechanismREDD plus has evolved as a promising opportunity,but requires considerable effort in clarifying how itworks within the participatory forestry program ofNepal. It requires resolving key technical and socialissues—especially on how to make it rewarding tolocal communities. Therefore, REDD plus pilotingin different social and ecological contexts should bedesigned and implemented for experiential learningand innovation.

Adopt a strategy for import substitutionDespite being considerably rich in forest resources,Nepal currently imports a huge amount of finishedforest products, particularly plywood, furniture,veneer, paper, wooden handicrafts, boards, and herbalproducts from several neighbouring countries.Government of Nepal should devise strategies toengage the corporate and co-operative sectors toinvest in forest based industries to meet the needs


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of local and global markets. Laws, policies andsupport interventions should be designed to this end.

References

DOF. 2006. Hamro Ban, Annual Report of theDepartment of Forests for FY 2061/62,Department of Forests, Kathmandu, Nepal.



Kanel, K. R. 2004. Twenty-five years of communityforestry: contribution to millenium developmentgoals. In Twenty-five Years of Community Forestry:

Contributing to Millennium Development Goals (eds.)Kanel, K.R., Mathema, P., Kandel, B.R., Niraula,D.R., Sharma, A.R., Gautam, M. Proceedingsof the fourth national workshop of communityforestry, 4-6 August, 2004. Community ForestryDivision, Department of Forests, December2004, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Subedi, B.P. and Singh, S. P. 2008. Ecosystem Servicesof Forests in Nepal and Uttarakhand Himalayas:A few observations based on a Pilot Study.Payment for Environmental Services, SomeConcept and Experiences, (ed.) Bhatnagar, M.The Icfai University Press, Hyderabad, India.

Subedi, B.P. 2006. Linking Plant-BasedEnterprises and Local Communities toBiodiversity Conservation in NepalHimalaya, Adroit Publishers, New Delhi, India.


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Banko Janakari, Vol. 20, No. 2Shiva and Hari

New addition of Sida spinosa L. (Malvaceae) to the flora ofNepal

G. D. Bhatt1* and P. P. Kurmi1

1 National Herbarium and Plant Laboratories, Department of Plant Resources, Godavari, Lalitpur, Nepal* Author for correspondence: [email protected]

The genus Sida L. (Malvaceae) is comprised of approximately 200 species distributed fromtropical to subtropical region of the world (Paul,1993). Up to five species (S. acuta, S. cordata, S.cordifolia, S. mysorensis and S. rhombifolia) are reportedfrom Nepal (Whitemore, 1979; Press et al., 2000; Bistaet al., 2001). During the course of plant collectionthis herbarium specimen was collected by P. P. Kurmifrom Udayapur VDC, Udayapur, Kapilbastu District,Central Nepal at 150 m asl. During the identificationthis specimen did not match with any species of Sidaalready reported from Nepal. After the detailed studyof specimens and available literatures (Paul, 1993),it has been identified as Sida spinosa L., which is anew addition to the flora of Nepal (Fig 1). Thespecies is distinguished from others by its “stemswith 1-2 spiny emergences at the base of petioles;mericarps with two divergent apical awns”. Theherbarium specimens are housed at NationalHerbarium and Plant Laboratories (KATH),Department of Plant Resources, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Description of the species

Sida spinosa L. Sp. Pl. 638.1753; Masters in Fl. Brit.India 1: 323. 1874.

Annual or perennial, erect or diffuse herbs or undershrubs, up to 125 cm high; stems with 1-2 spinyemergences at the base of petioles; stems, petiolesand pedicels cinereous with minute stellate hairs.Leaves 6-30 x 3-16 mm, ovate to oblong, acuterounded or truncate at base and apex, serrate, 3-5nerved at base, stellate-pubescent on both surfaces,sometimes glabrescent above; petioles 2-15 mm long;stipules 1-2.5 mm long, linear, hairy. Flowers axillary,solitary or 2-3 clusters; pedicels 2-11 mm long,accrescent up to 5 mm, jointed above the middle.Calyx 3-5 mm across, campanulate, lobes free abovethe middle, 1-2 x 1.5-2 mm, triangular adnate toacuminate with a prominent midvein, cinereous with

minute stellate and scattered simple hairs outside,glabrous inside except for apical margins. Schizocarpsenclosed within calyx; mericarps 5, 2-3 mm long,trigonous with two divergent, 1-2 mm long awns,apex of mericarps and awns stellate-hairy, dorsalportion with prominent reticulation (Fig 2 and 3).Seeds 1-2 mm long, slightly trigonous, glabrous,brownish-black.

Distribution: India, Nepal.Ecology: As a weed in Rahar / Arhar (Cajanus cajan)field. Generally growing on open and dry places.Flowering and fruiting: December - May.Local Name: Balu / Gulsakaari -jfn' / u'N;sf/L_=Sanskrit Name: Mahabala -dfxfFjnf_.

English Name: Prickly sidaSpecimen examined: Central Nepal: Kapilbastu District,Udayapur VDC, Udayapur, 150 m asl. 2010.4.18, P.P. Kurmi 21(KATH).

Fig 1: Sida spinosa L.


54

UsesThe leaves are emollient and refrigerant and are usefulin gonorrhoea, gleets and scalding of urine. The fruitsare astringent and cooling. Roots are diaphoretic,antiperiodic, aphrodisiac and tonic. They areadministered in debility, fever, malarial fever,hemorrhoids, swellings and in irritability of bladder(AVS, 1994).

Bhatta and Kurmi

AcknowledgementsWe are grateful to Dr. Krishna Chandra Paudel,Director General, Dr. Sushim Ranjan Baral, ScientificOfficer, Department of Plant Resources and SurajKetan Dhungana, Senior Research Officer, NationalHerbarium and Plant Laboratories Godavari, Lalitpurfor their encouragement and facilities. We would liketo thank Dr. Keshab R. Rajbhandari, SeniorTaxonomist, for his guidance and sincere interest onthis paper..

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Bista, M. S., Adhikari, M. K. and Rajbhandari, K. R.(eds.) 2001. Flowering Plants of Nepal(Phanerogams). Department of PlantResources, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Paul, T. K. 1993. Malvaceae. In Flora of India VolumeIII. (eds.) Sharma B.D. and Sanjappe, S. BotanicalSurvey of India, Calcutta, India, 280-294.

Press, J. R., Shrestha, K. K. and Sutton, D. A. 2000.Annotated Checklist of the Flowering Plantsof Nepal. Natural History Museum, London,U. K.

Whitemore, T. C. 1979. Malvaceae. In An Enumerationof the Flowering Plants of Nepal Volume II. (eds.)Hara, H. and Williams I.H.J. British Museum(Natural History), London, U. K., 66-68.

Fig 2: Ventral view of mericarp

Fig 3: Dorsal view of mericarp


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Dange, G.S. 2009. Forestry Research Extension:Challenges and Strategies. Scientific Publication,Jodhpur. 324p.

Dutta, M. 2009. Forest Tree Improvement andSeed Technology. International Book Distributors,Dehradun. 302p.

FAO. 1998. Climate Change, Forests and ForestManagement. Daya Publishing House, Delhi.128p.

Ferguson, J.A. 2001. Farm Forestry. Green WorldPublishers, Lucknow. 233p.

Gopalakrishnan, R. 2009. The Case of the BonsaiManager. Penguin Portfolio, Delhi. 338p.

Gopikumar, K. 2003. Forest Nursery and TreeHusbandry. International Book Distributors,Dehradun. 171p.

Hough, F.B. 1999. Elements of Forestry.Discovery Publication, New Delhi. 381p.

Iacocca, L. 2007. Where Have All the LeadersGone? Scribner, New York. 274p.

Jha, L.K. 2008. Forest Entomology. APHPublishing, New Delhi. 387p.

Negi, S.S. 1994. Forests and Forestry in Nepal.Ashish Publication, New Delhi. 205p.

Negi, S.S. 2006. Forest Tree Seed. InternationalBook Distributors, Dehradun. 206p.

Negi, S.S. 2007. Agroforestry Handbook.International Book Distributors, Dehradun. 208p.

Muthuchelian, K. 2008. Forest Biodiversity. Vol.1. Associated Publication, New Delhi. 272p.

Muthuchelian, K. 2008. Forest Biodiversity. Vol.2. Associated Publication, New Delhi. 330p.

Myneni, S.R. 2008. Environmental Law. AsiaLaw House, Hyderabad. 885p.

Myneni, S.R. 2008. Environmental Studies. AsiaLaw House, Hyderabad. 786p.

Negi, S.S. 2007. Forest Extension Handbook.International Book Distributors, Dehradun. 173p.


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Negi, S.S. 2009. Handbook of ForestEngineering. International Book Distributors,Dehradun. 420p.

Negi, S. S. 1998. Forest Economics, Valuationand Projects. International Book Distributors,Dehradun. 274p.

Negi, S.S. 2000. Forest Soils. International BookDistributors, Dehradun. 221p.

Negi, S.S. 2001. A Hand Book of Social Forestry.International Book Distributors, Dehradun. 178p.

Taank, P. 2009. Advances in Forestry Researchin India. Cyber Technology Publication, NewDelhi. 264p.

Taank, P. 2010. Forest Product and theirUtilization. Cyber Publication, New Delhi. 237p.

Notice The Central Forest Library requests allresearchers, academicians and studentsto send one copy of their thesis andresearch papers related to forestry,wildlife, botany, soil conservation, socio-economic studies, medicinal plants,environment and biodiversity to thislibrary.

Central Forest LibraryDepartment of Forest Research and Survey

E-mail: [email protected]. No. 4220482/4269491

P.0. Box: 3339, Kathmandu, Nepal

Nautiyal, S. 1999. Forest Biodiversity and itsConservation Practices in India. OrientalEnterprises, Dehradun. 337p.

Pathak, P.S. 2010. Agroforestry: Potentianls andOpportunities. Agrobios, India. 336p.

Pirmal, G. 2005. Smart Leadership Insights forCEOs. Penguin, New Delhi. 207p.

Publishers Editorial Board. 2010. Law ofInsecticides, Fertilizer Control, Order and Seeds(12 Edition). Asia Law House, Hyderabad. 483p.

Pullaswamaiah, S. 2009. Farm Forestry in India.Book Well, New Delhi. 360p.

Puri, B. 2009. New Illustrated: ComputerCourse. A.I.T.B.S. Publication, India. 439p.

Puri, S. 2007. Agroforestry: System andPractices. New India Publication Agency, NewDelhi. 643p.

Rakshit, S. K. 2007. Forest ResourceManagement. Abhijeet Publication, Delhi. 208p.

Rawat, G.S. 1999. Forest Fire and its ControlMeasures. Devender Singh, Dehradun. 85p.

Sagwal, S.S. 1991. Dictionary of Forest Fire.Ashish Publishing House, New Delhi. 64p.

Singh, S.P. 2006. Handbook of Agroforestry.Agrotech Publication Academy, Udaipur. 208p.

Srivastava, M.K. 2003. TransformationalLeadership. Macmillan, New Delhi. 416p.

Streck, C. 2009. Climate Change and Forests:Emerging Policy. Concept Publication, NewDelhi. 346p.

Sudhir, M. 2006. Forest Biotechnology. DominentPublication and Distributor, New Delhi. 291p.

Tejwani, K.G. 2001. Agroforestry in India.Concept Publishing, New Delhi. 233p.

Tewari, D. N. 1994. Forests and Environment.International Book Distributors, Dehradun. 307p.

Thakur, M.L. 2000. Forest Entomology: Ecologyand Management. Sai Publishers, Dehradun.609p.

Tiwari, S. 2000. Environment and Forests. AnmolPublications, New Delhi. 302p.

Trivedi, P. R. 1996. Forest Management.Discovery Publication House, New Delhi. 241p.

Umrani, R. 2010. Agroforestry: Systems andPractices. Oxford Books Company, Jaipur. 294p.

Venkatesh, B. 2007. Forest Hydrology. CapitalPub. Company, New Delhi. 354p.

Wilde, S. A. (N. D.). Forest Soils and ForestGrowth. Periodical Expert Book Agency, Delhi.241p.


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Key word index to Vol. 20, No. 2, November 2010

Key word Page No.

Biomass 21,34

Carbon 21

Carbon pool 34

Community forest 34

Community forest user group 26

Conservation 3

Dendrobium denudans 3

Dendrobium erifflorum 3

Disadvantaged group 26

Discrimination 26

Distribution 3,14

Diversity 14

Economic policy instrument 41

Economic potential 48

Ecosystem services 48

Far western Nepal 21

Forest certification 41

Key word Page No.

Forest inventory 21

Forestry 48

Host range 14

Income generation activities 41

Livelihood 48

Mistletoe 14

Multiple taxation 41

Nepal 14

Non-timber forest product 48

Orchids 3

Participation 26

Poor 26

Revenue sharing 41

Rolpa district 3

Soil organic carbon 34

Vegetation carbon 34

Volume 21


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© Department of Forest Research and Survey, 1999Produced by the Information Section of DFRS

Banko Janakari is published by the Department of Forest Research and Survey (DFRS), Ministry ofForests and Soil Conservation, Government of Nepal. Any opinions expressed in this publicationare those of the authors and should not be taken to represent official policy.

Editorial policy is made by the Advisory Committee of the Department of Forest Research andSurvey. The members are :

S. M. Shrestha, Director GeneralP. Mathema, Deputy Director General

Editorial Board Members of Banko Janakari are:

H.B. Thapa, Co-ordinatorK.R. Goutam, MemberS.K. Gautam, MemberB.S. Poudel, Member Secretary

Contributions and correspondence should be addressed to:

Member SecretaryDepartment of Forest Research and SurveyPO Box 3339Babar MahalKathmandu, Nepal.E-mail: [email protected]

Previous issues can be retrieved from http://www.dfrs.gov.np


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Contents

Editorial 1

Articles

P.N. Koirala, D. Pyakurel and K. Gurung

Orchids in Rolpa district of Western Nepal: Documentation, stock, trade and conservation 3

M.P. Devkota, G.P. Joshi and P. Parajuli

Diversity, distribution and host range of mistletoe in protected and unprotected areas ofCentral Nepal Himalayas 14

S.K. Gautam, Y.P. Pokharel, K.R. Goutam, S. Khanal and R.K. Giri

Forest structure in the Far Western Terai of Nepal: Implications for management 21

R. Parajuli, R.K. Pokharel and D. Lamichhane

Social discrimination in community forestry: Socio-economic and gender perspectives 26

Y. Khanal, R.P. Sharma and C.P. Upadhyaya

Soil and vegetation carbon pools in two community forests of Palpa district, Nepal 34

A. Paudel and G. Weiss

Implications of fiscal policy instruments in community forest management of Nepal:Issues and challenges 41

S.S. Pandey, B.P. Subedi and H. Dhungana

Economic potential of forest resources of Nepal 48

Short note

G.D. Bhatt and P.P. Kurmi

New addition of Sida spinosa L. (Malvaceae) to the flora of Nepal 53

Central Forest Library Acquisition List 55

Key word index 57

November 2010


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Guidelines for contributors

Banko Janakari is a refereed journal. Research articles, short notes, or book reviews may be submitted. The submissionsare accepted on the understanding that the editor may shorten or alter them in an appropriate way. In the case ofscientific articles, authors will be consulted as far as possible depending on the difficulties of communication. Pleasestate whether an article submitted to Banko Janakari, has already been submitted to another publisher and is awaitingdecision, or if article submitted relates to work that has been commissioned by any government or other organization,or done in any connection with a course of study at a university or other institution.

Articles should be of interest to the broad categories of forestry professionals in general and be understandable tonon-specialist also. Articles should be written in plain and concise language and jargons should be avoided. Technicalterms that may be unfamiliar to readers should be defined when they appear for the first time. Footnotes should beavoided as far as possible. Manuscript should be in English, typed in double space and submitted in duplicate. However,manuscripts in electronic format or as e-mail attachment is preferred to hard copies. The length of the manuscriptshould be between 3000 and 4000 words for longer articles, and 1000 and 2000 for short notes. However, shorter orlonger articles may be considered in certain cases. Articles should follow the journal’s format:a) Abstract b) Introduction c) Materials and Methods d) Results and Discussion e) Conclusion andf) References.

The first page of the article should provide the full name, title and complete address of the author(s) includinge-mail address. Subsequent pages should be numbered sequentially. The article should commence with a concise andinformative abstract in one paragraph without reference to text or figures. It should be about 250 words. The abstractshould be followed by four to six keywords.

Authors are requested to provide supporting illustrative materials (Tables, graphs, maps and drawings) with manuscripts.Such materials must be numbered and supplied on separate sheet. Photographs should be of high resolution and goodcontrast. All measurements should be given in the metric system. Exchange rate of Nepalese Rupees with US dollarsis a must where monetary figures are supplied. All the tables more than half of A4 size paper and those other thanresults should be kept as annexes. Hatching and patterns should indicate different divisions of maps and graphsinstead of different colours.

References should be given at the end of the article on separate sheet of paper. Reference cited in the text must belisted alphabetically. References used in the text should indicate the name of the author(s) and date of publication atappropriate points (e.g. Sarkeala, 1995; Dennis et al., 2001), with the full reference given in a separate list at the end ofthe article. The term et al. should be used in the text when there are three or more authors. However, complete list ofthe authors should be named in references. For the convenience of authors, some examples of citation from differentpublications are given below. Please also note the case, italicization and bold typeface etc. of the referencing style givenbelow. When information from the Internet is cited, full address of the website and the date accessed should beincluded, and listed under References.

Journal articles

Dennis, R., Hoffman, A., Applegate, G., Von Gemmingen, G. and Kartawinata, K. 2001. Large-scale fire: creator anddestroyer of secondary forests in Western Indonesia. Journal of Tropical Forest Science 13 (4): 786-799.

BooksDraper, N. R. and Smith, H. 1981. Applied Regression Analysis. 2nd edition. Wiley and Sons, New York, USA.

Edited books/ProceedingsTsuchida, K. 1983. Grassland vegetation and succession in eastern Nepal. In Structure and Dynamics of Vegetation in

Eastern Nepal (ed) Numata, M. Chiba University, Chiba, Japan, 47-87.

ReportsEPC. 1993. Nepal Environment Policy and Action Plan: Integrating Environment and Development.

Environment Protection Council, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Paper (Seminar/Workshop)Alder, P. and Kwon, S. 1999. ‘‘Social Capital : The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’’ paper presented at the Academy of

Management, Chicago, USA.

ThesisShrestha, S. M. 1993. Comparison of Different Sampling Techniques in Forest Inventory in Southern Nepal. M.Sc.

Thesis, University of Joensuu, Joensuu, Finland.


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Documents

Banko Janakari Vol 20-2_1449572114.pdf