International conference on "Adaptation of Forests and Forest Management to Changing Climate with Emphasis on Forest Health: A Review of Science, Policies, and Practices" is currently ongoing at Umeå, Sweden from August 25-28, 2008.
Organized by IUFRO, SLU and FAO, the conference focuses on the current state of knowledge of ongoing changes in climatic conditions in different regions of the world, and the implications of these changes for forest management and conservation. There are three papers and a poster related to Nepalese forestry being presented at the conference.
Organized by IUFRO, SLU and FAO, the conference focuses on the current state of knowledge of ongoing changes in climatic conditions in different regions of the world, and the implications of these changes for forest management and conservation. There are three papers and a poster related to Nepalese forestry being presented at the conference.
POSSIBILITY OF ADOPTING REDD PRINCIPLE IN THE CONTEXT OF NEPAL
Bishwa Nath Oli
Abstract: Deforestation is the second leading cause of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions behind energy production, and is responsible for about one quarter of anthropogenic GHG emissions. The 13th Conference of Parties of the UNFCCC held in December 2007 had put forward a concept of REDD (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) in which developing countries would be provided financial incentives for reducing emissions from deforestation. This step has opened an opportunity for Nepal to work on a carbon credit mechanism for the forestry sector. With a view to exploring the possibilities of adopting REDD principle in Nepal, international policy and dialogues on REDD related to policy implementation, and management aspects for the forest sector of Nepal are analyzed. Deforestation and forest degradation are central environmental issues, both globally and also in Nepal. In the 1960s, the forest cover of Nepal was about 60% but this has declined to 42.7% in 1978 and 39.6% in the 1990s. A number of policies and both legal and institutional measures are available for the effective management of forests in Nepal. However, there are no single policy instruments that deal with climate change issues. Community forests are well recognized models of participatory forestry. Recognizing the greater involvement and costs of local people in managing the community forests, the REDD principle can be applied in these community forests. However, some issues still prevent the full acceptance of the REDD mechanism. There is a weak trend of data on forest cover, growing stock, biomass stock in Nepal and data on carbon stock is not available. National capacity to estimate and monitor deforestation and implement approaches to reduce emissions need to be developed, at least at a pilot scale.
ROLE OF COMMUNITY-BASED FOREST MANAGEMENT TO ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE PROBLEM: A CASE OF NEPALESE COMMUNITY FORESTRYM.
Dhakal and M. Masuda
Abstract: Forests have central roles in climate change. The conservation of forests sequesters carbon from the atmosphere and also regulates the carbon cycle. However, knowingly or not, the world’s forests are being deforested and degraded annually at the rate of 0.18% and their carbon emitted to the atmosphere. The IPCC (2007) reported that deforestation and forest degradation accounts for one fifth of the total carbon emission, which is second in proportion to fossil fuels. Since 1.6 billion people depend to varying degree on forests for their daily livelihood, not all deforestation is undesirable. Therefore, to conserve forests and find livelihood opportunities for forests surrounding people is a prerequisite to address many climate change problems, especially in developing countries, and is a growing concern to forestry researchers, planners and policy makers. The study examines the role of community-based forest management in carbon mitigation and adaptation, taking the examples of Nepal’s community forestry program. In the program, the Government hands over a part of national forests to local communities with sole forest management authority. However, the Government retains ownership rights on forestland. Local communities, organized through a local institution called Community Forest User Group (CFUG), manage the forests. They also form an operational plan with technical prescriptions and a constitution with forest management rules and regulations. The implementation results showed that the CFUGs are not only effective in organizing local people and constructing a local institution for forest conservation and management activities, but also they are able to collect a community fund from the sale of forest products and carry out various community development activities. These development activities have roles to improve the livelihood of forests surrounding people and eventually to address climate changeproblems.
EXPLORING FOREST MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS IN TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE SYSTEM TO ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE ISSUES
Arun Rijal
Abstract: Though the share of Nepal in the global emission of greenhouse gases is negligible (with 0.13 t per capita CO2 emissions), it has to face the consequences of global warming. Such warming is raising temperatures by 0.06oC per year. Due to this over the past few years, Nepal is experiencing severe droughts and other adverse weather conditions which have affected agriculture, water bodies, forest and created several other environmental problems. Shortages of water and food availability in Asia are likely to be exacerbated by climate change in coming decades, as stressed by the IPCC (2007). In Nepal there has been considerable expansion in the exploitation of natural resources which has resulted in increasing environmental degradation. This study found that rural communities of Nepal are rich in traditional knowledge which they have practiced since unknown past, which have protected and conserved plants, animals, water resources and other components of their life support systems while exploitation of natural resources took place in the areas where such knowledge and community management are ignored. Traditional knowledge is also found to be scientifically based and has helped to address climate change-related issues like soil degradation, soil fertility, genetic erosion, soil respiration, loss of soil moisture, land erosion, landslides, carbon assimilation, watershed degradation, drying of water bodies, decrease in water level and land productivity. Traditional forest management practice has also helped in protecting and restoring forests and sequestering million of tons of carbon each year which helps to address greenhouse gas problems. Conflict related to benefit distribution is one of the serious threats to forests in Nepal which could be addressed by using knowledge from traditional practices which is efficient in equity distribution. Recognition of traditional knowledge in policy and expansion of its practices in areas experiencing climate change induced problems could help to address both ecological and economic challenges.
ECOLOGICAL SUSTAINABILITY OF COMMUNITY FOREST MANAGEMENT – A CASE STUDY FROM THE MIDHILLS OF NEPAL
S.K. Baral and K. Katzensteiner
Abstract: Over-utilization during the past fifty years have led to severe forest degradation in mid-hill region of Nepal and increased the risk of natural hazards dramatically. The question is, if community forestry (CF) is a proper restoration strategy to enhance ecosystem resistance and resilience against climate change. Though CF has succeeded in improving the forest cover, concerns arise with respect to biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and the nutritional status considering continuously high biomass exports. The present study compares tree nutrition, soil status and vegetation diversity of a 21 ha community forest and a nearby, municipality owned, less impacted forest of the same size (MF) in the lower temperate, mixed broadleaved vegetation belt. Eight permanent plots (10m x 10m) were established both in the CF and the MF where stand properties (tree species, height, DBH) and ground vegetation were surveyed and soil and foliar samples were taken for chemical analyses. Disturbance was estimated in the field at an ordinal scale (1=low, 4=extreme), based on topsoil and vegetation indicators. Shannon index, Simpson’s index and species evenness indicate a significantly higher tree species diversity in MF compared to CF, whereas the understorey is more diverse in CF. Similarly, basal areas and stand densities are higher in MF (38 m2ha-1 and 2725 n.ha-1) than in CF (19 m2ha-1and 2525 n.ha-1). Topsoil (0-10 cm) bulk densities are significantly lower in MF than in CF, topsoil C and N content are significantly higher in MF. The foliar macro-nutrient contents are higher in trees of MF. There is a negative correlation between Shannon index and soil C and N contents with the degree of disturbance. Given the fact that CF was established only 17 years ago on completely degraded land, it can be concluded that forest products can be supplied sustainably from CF while maintaining species diversity and soil functions up to an intermediate degree of disturbance. Severe disturbed forests are however considered to be less adaptive to changing environmental conditions.
Details about other papers are available at the conference website.
Details about other papers are available at the conference website.
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