Landscape Level Efforts to Biodiversity Conservation in Nepal: A Review of Current Approach and Lessons Learned

Abstract

Nepal’s location in the centre of the Himalayan range places the country in the transitional zone between the eastern and western Himalayas. Nepal’s rich biodiversity is a reflection of this unique geographical position as well as its altitudinal and climatic variations. It is recorded that Nepal has a total of 118 types of ecosystem, 75 vegetation and 35 types of forests. Nepal has put utmost efforts to conserve its rich biodiversity resources. The conservation history began formally after promulgation of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act in 1973. National parks and wildlife reserves were established across the country during the 1970s. However, very soon not only some of the adversities were faced by the local people living around the parks and reserves but also the space constraint was realized for the population distribution and dynamics. By realizing the need of people’s participation in the conservation initiatives, country has tested the concept of different types of protected areas system such as national park, wildlife reserve, conservation areas, and buffer zones over the years. Taking the advantage of new progresses in conservation biology, Nepal adopted landscape level approach to biodiversity conservation and implemented such approaches in some of the key areas since 2000s. This paper discusses Nepal’s effort in implementing landscape level approach to biodiversity conservation and the lessons learned at national context.