NEPAL NATIONAL BIODIVERSITY STRATEGY AND ACTION PLAN 2014-2020 PREPARED BY GOVERNMENT OF NEPAL MINISTRY OF FORESTS AND SOIL CONSERVATION SINGHADURBAR, KATHMANDU, NEPAL JULY 2014 National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan Page i Government of Nepal KATHMANDU NEPAL The Prime Minister Message Government of Nepal is committed to the conservation and sustainable utilization of biodiversity for the prosperity of its people and the nation. As Nepal is endowed with rich biological diversity, it has tremendous potential in reshaping people’s livelihood and economic base of the country. Its conservation and management through relevant strategy is indispensable. The National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) designed for the period 2014-2020 is aimed to provide a strategic framework for the conservation of Nepal’s biodiversity. The NBSAP envisions a conserved biodiversity contributing for sound and resilient ecosystems and national prosperity. This document has been revised from the earlier Nepal Biodiversity Strategy (2002) and Implementation Plan (2006-2010) after rigorous and extensive consultations engaging a wide range of stakeholders from national to community level. The NBSAP embraces the commitment to fulfill the international obligation as signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity. I am confident that this strategy will provide a firm basis for planning and sustainable management of biological diversity across all sector in the country. Finally, I would like to appreciate the efforts made by Mr. Mahesh Acharya, Hon’ble Minister, Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation (MoFSC) and Dr. Ganesh Raj Joshi, Secretary MoFSC and his team for the preparation of this document. July 2014 Sushil Koirala ii Government of Nepal Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation Singha Durbar, Kathamandu Foreword Nepal strives to achieve sustainable economic growth through wise use of its natural resources. The Government of Nepal fully recognizes that the efforts to economic growth would only be sustainable if undertaken through sound environmental management. Accordingly, we are fully committed to managing the country’s rich biological diversity as per the national need, and in the spirit of the Convention on Biological Diversity and other relevant multilateral environmental agreements to which Nepal is a Party. This National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) is a key step forward towards achieving this goal. We are proud to the achievements that the country has made in conserving its biodiversity during the past decades. Community based management of forests and agro-biological resources are some of the successful conservation models in the country, which also have direct positive contribution to poverty alleviation. Protected area is another sub-sector that has made impressive progress in biodiversity conservation in the last few decades. With over 23 percent of its land area under protection, Nepal now ranks second in Asia and one of the top 20 countries in the world for the percentage of its surface area that is protected. Population of some mega wildlife species, such as tiger and rhinoceros, have been continuously increasing during the past few years. However, some real threats and challenges are still with us. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our development and conservation partners for their support and local communities for their sincere efforts to conserve and sustainably use the country’s biodiversity. We look forward to even stronger cooperation and collaboration among all the national and international stakeholders in implementing NBSAP. The Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation (MoFSC) will leave no stone unturned in taking the lead in implementation of the strategies and priority actions included in this document. I would like to thank Dr. Ganesh R. Joshi, Secretary MoFSC for coordinating the process of preparing NBSAP and reviewing it and his entire team and the then secretaries Mr. Keshav P. Bhattarai, Mr. Nabin K. Ghimire and Dr. Krishna C. Poudel for initiating the process. July 2014 Mahesh Acharya Minister iii Government of Nepal Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation Singha Durbar, Kathmandu Acknowledgement The unique geographic position and variations in altitude and climate have made Nepal as one of the storehouses of biological diversity in the world. The Government of Nepal is committed to conserve and use this important natural resource sustainably for the benefit of the country’s present and future generations. This National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) is a key milestone in the conservation history of Nepal, following the Biodiversity Profiles of Nepal (1996) and Nepal Biodiversity Strategy (2002). It is also a testimony of Nepal’s continued commitment towards fulfilling her international obligations. The document provides a comprehensive account of the country’s biodiversity; identifies the threats to biodiversity; describes the key efforts, achievements and gaps in the management of biodiversity; presents strategic approaches, theme-specific strategies and associated priorities for actions; and outlines the implementation arrangement. The strategies and priority actions take into consideration of the national needs in terms of conservation, sustainable use of its components and equitable sharing of benefits. The strategy will be implemented in collaboration and partnership with all relevant stakeholders. I believe that the document like this will attract the attention of both national stakeholders as well as of the global community. Several organizations and individuals, including government agencies, NGOs, members of local user groups, civil society organizations, farmers and individual experts, contributed in different ways to this strategy and action plan. I would appreciate the efforts and inputs of reviewers namely Mr. Batu K. Uprety, Dr. Ram P. Chaudhary, Dr. Bijay K. Singh, Mr. Bimal K. Baniya, Mr. Shyam Bajimaya, and Mr. Harihar Sigdel. I would like to thank Mr. Braj Kishor Yadav, Joint Secretary MoFSC for coordinating the process and his dedication and sincere efforts in finalizing this document; Mr. Ram P. Lamsal and Mr. Krishna P. Acharya, and Dr. Annapurna N. Das Joint Secretaries MoFSC and Mr. Bishwa N. Oli, Director General, Department of Forests for contributing to enrich the technical quality of this document. The support from IUCN Offices in Nepal, Thailand and Switzerland, especially from Dr. Yam Malla, Dr. Scott Perkin, Dr. Sonia Penamoreno and Dr. Thomas Greiber who provided valuable feedbacks to the draft and Mr. Hermes Huang for editing the document is highly appreciated. I would like to thank Mr. Santosh Nepal, WWF and Mr. Top Bahadur Khatri for their technical inputs and feedback in the process of finalization; and Sagar K. Rimal, Bodh R. Subedi, Govinda B. Shrestha, Madhu Ghimire, Rajendra Dhungana, Hem Raj Acharya and Kapil Khanal, for their dedication and hard work to complete this task in time. I would also like to express my great appreciation to the Kathmandu Forestry College team led by Dr. Ambika P. Gautam and members Dr. Bishu H. Pandit, Dr. Deep B. Swar, Dr. Krishna P. Poudel, Dr. Madhusudan Upadhyay, Mr. Narayan Belbase, Mr. Ram C. Khanal, Dr. Shreeram P. Neopane, Dr. Sushila C. Nepali and Mr. Tulshi B. Prajapati for supporting Ministry’s initiation of preparing NBSAP. Successful completion of this work would not have been possible without the support and cooperation of senior officials at this Ministry and the departments under it, and various other ministries, departments and offices. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to all of them. The Ministry is also thankful to all the agencies and individual experts who provided their valuable comments and suggestions. Finally, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the Global Environment Facility and United Nations Environment Programme for their financial support to prepare NBSAP. July 2014 Ganesh Raj Joshi , PhD Secretary iv Acronyms and Abbreviations ABS Access and Benefit Sharing ACA Annapurna Conservation Area ACOFUN Association of Collaborative Forest Users Nepal ADB Asian Development Bank ADS Agriculture Development Strategy AEPC Alternative Energy Promotion Center AnGR Animal Genetic Resource BCN Bird Conservation Nepal BZCF Buffer Zone Community Forest BZDC Buffer Zone Development Council CA Conservation Area CBD Convention on Biological Diversity CBO Community Based Organisation CBS Central Bureau of Statistics CDB Central Department of Botany CDM Clean Development Mechanism CEO Communication, Extension and Outreach C/FUG Community/Forest User Group CGIAR Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research CHM Clearing House Mechanism CIF Climate Investment Funds CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora CNP Chitwan National Park COP Conference of Parties CSO Civil Society Organisation CSUWN Conservation and Sustainable Use of Wetlands in Nepal DADO District Agriculture Development Office/Officer DBCC District Biodiversity Coordination Committee DDC District Development Committee DFID Department for International Development (UK) DFO District Forest Office/Officer DFRS Department of Forest Research and Survey DFSCC District Forestry Sector Coordination Committee DLS Department of Livestock Services DNA Deoxyribonucleic Acid DNPWC Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation DOA Department of Agriculture DOF Department of Forests DOI Department of Irrigation DOR