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State of Land Degradation and Rehabilitation Efforts in Nepal

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State of Land Degradation and Rehabilitation Efforts in Nepal STATE OF LAND DEGRADATION AND REHABILITATION EFFORTS IN NEPAL Krishna Prasad Acharya22 Buddi Sagar Poudel23, and Resham Bahadur Dangi24 1. General Information 1.1 Geography, Topography and Climate Nepal is situated in the Central Himalaya and has diverse physiographic zones, climatic contrasts, and altitudinal variations. Nepal occupies a total area of 147,181 km2 and lies between 260 22' and 300 27' N latitude and 800 04' and 880 12' E longitude. Hills and high mountains cover about 86% of the total land area and the remaining 14% are the flatlands of the Terai, which are less than 300 m in elevation (Table 1). Altitude varies from 60 m above sea level in the Terai to Mount Everest (Sagarmatha) at 8,848 m, the highest point in the world (HMGN/MFSC, 2002). Physiographically, Hagen (1998) divided Nepal into seven divisions which are, from south to north: Terai, Siwalik Hills zone, Mahabharat Lekh, Midlands, Himalaya, Inner Himalaya, and Tibetan marginal mountains. Table 5: Physiographic Zones of Nepal Zone Area (%) Elevation (m)Climate High Himalaya 23 Above 5000 Tundra type and arctic 4000 - 5000 Alpine High Mountains 20 3000 - 4000 Sub-alpine 2000 - 3000 Cool temperate monsoon Mid-hills 30 1000 - 2000 Warm temperate monsoon 500 - 1000 Hot monsoon and sub-tropical Lowlands Terai and Siwalik Hills 27 Below 500 Hot monsoon and tropical (Source: LRMP, 1986) In the Terai, the soil is alluvial and fine to medium textured. In the Siwalik Hills, soil is made up of sedimentary rocks with a sandy texture, while in the mid-hills it is of medium to light texture with a predominance of coarse-grained sand and gravel. The soil in the high mountains is shallow, stony, and glacial (HMGN/MFSC, 2002). A wide range of climatic conditions right from tropical through sub tropical, temperate, sub alpine to alpine exists in Nepal mainly as a result of altitudinal variation. The major perennial river systems that drain the country are the Mahakali, Karnali, Narayani, and Koshi Rivers, which originate all from the Himalayas. Medium-sized rivers include the Babai, West Rapti, Bagmati, Kamla, Kankai, and Mechi Rivers. These generally originate from the mid-hills or from the Mahabharat Range. The Terai region has a large number of small and usually seasonal rivers, most of which originate from the Siwalik Hills (HMGN, 1989). Eighty percent of the precipitation that falls in Nepal comes in the form of summer monsoon rain, from June to September. Winter rains are more common in the western hills. The average annual rainfall in Nepal is about 1,600 mm, but total precipitation differs in each eco-climatic zone. The eastern region is wetter than the western region. Temperature varies with topographic variations. In the Terai, winter temperatures are between 22-27oC, while summer temperatures exceed 37oC. In the Mid-hills, 22 Department of Forest Research and Survey, Babar Mahal, Kathmandu, email: [email protected] 23 Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Babar Mahal, Kathmandu 24 Department of Forests, Babar Mahal, Kathmandu, Nepal 163 temperatures are between 12-16oC. In general, the average temperature decreases by 6oC for every 1,000 m gain in altitude (Jha, 1992 cited in HMGN/MFSC, 2002). Nepal has a population of 23.2 million people, 48.5% of which lives in the Terai, 44.2% in the Mid-hills and 7.3% in the Mountains. The average population density is 157.73/km2, with the highest density (330.78/km2) in the Terai, medium density in the hills (167.44/km2) and lowest in the mountains (32.62/km2). The average annual growth rate was 2.08% between 1981 and 1991, but the 2001 census indicates an average population growth rate of 2.27%, highest in the Terai and lowest in the mountains (CBS, 2003). The average literacy rate was 39.6%. 1.2 Nepal and its Natural Resources Natural resources form an important component of the physical environment and are very significant for the development processes of Nepal. Nepal has varieties of natural resources available, such as forest, land, water, biodiversity and non-timber forest products. The unique topographic features of Nepal have created a rich and diverse natural resource base. Nepal is heavily dependent upon its water, land and forest resources to meet its development objectives (HMGN, 1988). Forest resources are one of the major resources directly affecting the survival of rural people in Nepal. Large numbers of rural households in Nepal are still subsistence users of forest and tree products. Access to forest or tree resources can also help rural households diversify their livelihood base and reduce their exposure to risk. Forests can thus form an important safety net for the very poor in times of hardship (Arnold, 2001). Protected Areas and wildlife are the important biological resources of Nepal. Protected Areas occupy about 28,998.67 km2 or 19.70% of the total land area of the country. Species richness among floral diversity comprises 465 species of lichens (2.3% of the global diversity), 1,822 species of fungi (2.4%), 687 species of algae (2.6%), 853 species of bryophytes (5.1%), 380 species of pteridophytes (3.4%), 28 species of Gymnosperms (5.1%), and 5,856 species of Angiosperms (2.7%). Faunal diversity includes 168 species of platyhelminthes (1.4%), 144 species of spiders (0.2 %), 5,052 species of insects (0.7%), 640 species of butterflies and 2,253 species of moths (together 2.6%), 182 species of fishes (1.0%), 43 species of amphibians (1.0%), 100 species of reptiles (1.6%), 863 species of birds (9.3%), and 181 species of mammals (4.5%) (GON/MFSC, 2006). Nepal is home to a diverse range of non-timber forest products which are of critical importance to rural people as sources of nutrition, health care, raw materials and cash income. It is a significant source of revenue for Nepal. Land is a principal natural resource of Nepal that constitutes about 97% of its total area (147,181km2). About 21% of the country's total land area is cultivated. About 1.74 million ha (11.9%) are defined as pasture/grasslands. Of this, 50% are found in the high mountains, 29% in the high hills, 16.7% in the mid-hills, and about 4% in the Siwaliks and Terai (MOEST, 2006). Nepal has abundant sources of water in the form of rivers fed by the monsoon, glaciers, and snowfields. It is ranked second in the world in terms of water resources. Water bodies (rivers, lakes and ponds) occupy only three percent of the country's total land area. The steep geography and high runoff provide great potential for generating hydroelectric power. However, the use of water for hydro electricity generation is negligible in Nepal. Nepal's mineral resources are limited. Low-grade deposits of iron ore are found in the mountains near Kathmandu. Small deposits of copper exist in many areas and small reserves of mica have been found in the hills northeast of Kathmandu. Mineral extraction and transport is a major problem due to the country's rugged terrain. 164 1.3 Subsistence Agriculture and National Economy In Nepal, land and forest resources have been intensively used to meet the basic requirements of the people, such as food, fuelwood, fodder, and small timber. Hill people cultivate their agriculture field even on steep slopes. As more than 87% of the people depend on agriculture for subsistence, agriculture has been a major source of income and living for the people in rural areas. The economy largely depends on the use of its natural resource base and is dominated by the agrarian sector (Acharya, 2002). Forestry is one of the leading sectors for the development of Nepal. Forests are invaluable environmental and economic resources affording several goods and services at local and national levels and basis for living for many people in Nepal. The main use of Nepal’s forests is to provide biomass to satisfy the needs for domestic fuel and fodder. About 80 percent of the total population depends on forests for fuelwood (WECS, 1997). Similarly, forest products contribute about 42% of the total digestible nutrients of cattle in Nepal (MOEST, 2001). In addition, rural households collect diverse Non Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) for use at the household level and for cash income (Poudel, 2004). The Government of Nepal has implemented the Tenth Five-Year Development Plan (2002-2007) formulated as Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) with a sole objective of poverty reduction. The government is also committed in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In 2003- 04, 31% of the population was poor in Nepal, compared to 42% in 1995-96. Thus, the incidence of poverty in Nepal declined by about 11 percentage points (or 26%) over the course of eight years, a decline of 3.7% per year (CBS, 2005). The incidence of poverty in 2003-04 varied considerably across different parts of the country, ranging from a low rate of 3.3% in Kathmandu to 42.9% in rural Eastern Hill and 38.1% in rural Western Terai. The incidence of poverty in urban areas has more than halved, declining from 22 to 10%, representing a change of 9.7% per year. While poverty in rural areas also declined appreciably, at 1% point per year, its incidence remained higher than in urban areas (CBS, 2005). The Government’s Three-Year Interim Plan (2008–2010) lays a strong emphasis on reducing poverty, improving the living conditions of the poor, and establishing lasting peace and stability. The plan aims to achieve an annual average economic growth of 5.5% and to reduce overall poverty incidence to 24% by 2010 (ADB, 2008).
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