Himalayan Biodiversity in the Changing World, 2011
... Page 16. 192 PK Paudel ... Biodiversity Profiles Project Publication No 7, Department of Nati... more ... Page 16. 192 PK Paudel ... Biodiversity Profiles Project Publication No 7, Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Kathmandu Braatz S (1992) Conserving biological diversity: a strategy for protected areas in the Asia-Pacific Region. ...
Himalayan Biodiversity in the Changing World, 2011
ABSTRACT In conservation the establishment of links between major habitats is commonly used to re... more ABSTRACT In conservation the establishment of links between major habitats is commonly used to reduce the effect of habitat fragmentation and loss. There is no common model of a corridor, as it largely depends on the particular spatial configuration of land types and the way it is used. Geospatial information on land management practices provide the information required for corridor building programs. This paper aims to delineate a wildlife corridor between the Bardia National Park in Nepal and Katerniyaghat Wildlife Sanctuary in India. Data obtained from maps, a questionnaire and vegetation survey were integrated and used to quantify land cover and land use patterns. It proved difficult to delineate the boundary of corridors in a landscape consisting of diverse land types, when each is managed differently. Instead of delineating forest areas as a corridor, the integrated conservation of all land parcels, including private and settlement areas, provided the best approach. This makes the corridor a basic unit of management, and makes it convenient to deal with all issues in an integrated and holistic way. KeywordsCorridor-Landscape-Land use-Land management-Mapping
ABSTRACT The World Conservation Union (IUCN) publishes the Red List of Threatened Species, the mo... more ABSTRACT The World Conservation Union (IUCN) publishes the Red List of Threatened Species, the most authoritative information available globally on the conservation status of species. However, the status of globally threatened species remains controversial at local levels because many of them are not protected as part of national statutory law. Such anomalies are examples of controversies in implementing the much-hyped environmental slogan “think globally, act locally”. Here we provide a comparative review between globally threatened species as listed by the IUCN Red List found in Nepal and those of nationally protected species under Nepalese law. We discovered a significantly higher diversity of globally threatened mammals and birds in Nepal than would be expected relative to their global ratios. We established remarkable disparities in species conservation in Nepal: (1) a large number (an average of 85% of species of five taxonomic groups: mammals, birds, amphibians, fishes and reptiles) of IUCN-listed globally threatened species found in Nepal are not protected by national law; (2) most protected species listed are mammals (70%), but more than half of globally-threatened mammals found in Nepal are not protected; and (3) amphibians and fish are not protected, although they represent 12% of the total number of globally-threatened species found in the country. Such large gaps in Nepalese conservation law are an indication of unresponsive and inefficient conservation planning. The Government of Nepal and international conservation partners should: (1) emphasize knowledge-based conservation strategies for all taxonomic groups; and (2) prioritize updating the lists of protected species.
Understanding diversity patterns along altitudinal gradients, and their underlying causes are imp... more Understanding diversity patterns along altitudinal gradients, and their underlying causes are important for conserving biodiversity. Previous studies have focused on climatic, energetic, and geographic variables (e.g., mid-domain effects), with less attention paid to human-induced habitat modifications. We used published data of bird distributions along an elevational gradient (0-4900 m) in the Nepalese Himalaya and interpolated species presence between elevational limits. The relationship between species richness and environmental variables was analyzed using generalized linear models. A low plateau relationship between bird richness and elevation was observed, with a main peak at intermediate elevations (2800 m). Across the total gradient, interpolated bird species richness had a unimodal relationship to maximum monthly precipitation and a linear response to seasonal variation in temperature, proportion of forest cover, and proportion of protected area. In lower elevations (0-2800 m), interpolated species richness had a positive and linear response to the proportion of Ramsar sites and a unimodal response to habitat heterogeneity. At higher elevations (2900-4900 m), interpolated bird richness had a positive linear response to monthly variation in temperature and a negative linear response to proportion forest cover. We conclude that factors related to human management are important drivers of elevational gradients in bird species richness.
Background: Determining the distribution of species and of suitable habitats is a fundamental par... more Background: Determining the distribution of species and of suitable habitats is a fundamental part of conservation planning. We used slope and ruggedness of the terrain, forest type and distance to the nearest village to construct habitat suitability maps for three mountain ungulates (barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak), Himalayan goral (Naemorhedus goral) and Himalayan serow (Capricornis thar)) in the midhills of western Nepal. We used locations of sightings and signs of presence of these mountain ungulates collected during surveys along transect to derive a suitability value for each variable using Jacob's index. A multiplication approach was used to combine environmental variables and produce a habitat suitability map for each of the three species. An independent dataset was used to evaluate the maps using Boyce's index. This approach provides an overview of the probable distributions of the species in question. Results: We predict that of the total area studied, 57% is suitable for M. muntjak, 67% for N. goral and 41% for C. thar. Although there are suitable habitats for all three species throughout the study area, the availability of high-quality habitats for these species varied considerably. Conclusions: Suitable habitats for N. goral and C. thar were fragmented and mostly confined to the southern and northern parts of the study area. This study provides important baseline information for conservation biologists concerned with maintaining biodiversity in the midhills of Nepal.
ABSTRACT Landscapes consisting of heterogeneous environmental conditions (e.g. elevational gradie... more ABSTRACT Landscapes consisting of heterogeneous environmental conditions (e.g. elevational gradients) are richer in species diversity than more homogeneous landscapes. Furthermore, the importance of heterogeneous landscapes has been widely acknowledged in biodiversity conservation due to expected elevational shifts in ranges as a result of climate change. This is especially important in mountainous landscapes. There is as yet no protocol that conservation planners can use to integrate landscape heterogeneity in the design of protected area (PAs) systems. In this study, we tested whether Nepal, as a whole, consists of highly heterogeneous landscapes in term of elevation, and whether heterogeneity of PAs is correlated with their size and species diversity. We developed a conservation index of elevational zones within Nepal to evaluate their representativeness in the protected area system. The results showed that, in Nepal's PAs, indices of elevational heterogeneity were strongly associated with species richness. However, heterogeneity indices were not strongly associated with sizes of PAs despite the fact that Nepal is a highly heterogeneous country. The same is true for national parks and conservation areas based on IUCN-The World Conservation Union's categories of PAs. The conservation index of elevation zones suggested a bias in reserve selection towards higher elevations. There is an urgent need to rectify past biases in reserve design so as to ensure protection of elevational heterogeneity during conservation planning, especially in these times of human-induced climate change.
Himalayan Biodiversity in the Changing World, 2011
Nepal is a mountainous country in the central Himalayas, which occupies about one third of (800 k... more Nepal is a mountainous country in the central Himalayas, which occupies about one third of (800 km) of the entire length of the Himalayan mountain range. Nepal alone claims eight out of the top ten tallest mountains in the world, including Mount Everest (8,848 m). Apart from the mountains, deep gorges, river valleys and the flat lands it provides a unique assemblage of very different habitats and a great biodiversity within a small geographical area. The 147 181 km 2 that make up Nepal is slightly less than 0.1% of the global land mass, but contains a disproportionately large diversity of plants and animals. The country's 118 ecosystems harbour over 2% of the flowering plants, 3% of the pteridophytes and 6% of the bryophytes in the world's flora. Similarly, the country harbours 3.9% of the mammals, 8.9% of the birds and 3.7% of the world's fauna of butterflies 1). U n c o r r e c t e d P r o o f P. Kindlmann (ed.), Himalayan Biodiversity in the Changing World,
Himalayan Biodiversity in the Changing World, 2011
The conservation of biodiversity is an important issue in developing countries like Nepal. Subsis... more The conservation of biodiversity is an important issue in developing countries like Nepal. Subsistence agriculture, including livestock rearing, is the main occupation of the majority of the people in rural areas . This puts an ever-increasing demand on the forest as the human population increases. Consequently, many forests are either badly degraded or encroached by people seeking essential resources for their survival. Thus, conservation challenges in Nepal are of anthropogenic origin and the result of an unsustainable extraction of biological resources (Ives and Messerli 1989). The challenges get more complicated as the human population grows, thus the conservation strategies need to effectively harmonize human and conservation needs (Budhathoki 2004). U n c o r r e c t e d P r o o f P. Kindlmann (ed.), Himalayan Biodiversity in the Changing World,
Forest landscapes in the midhills of western Nepal are not adequately conserved within a protecte... more Forest landscapes in the midhills of western Nepal are not adequately conserved within a protected area network. The species and ecosystems in these humandominated landscapes are highly endangered. Understanding the effects of human activities on wildlife is therefore important for devising an appropriate conservation strategy in this region. Here, we show, using data on spatial structure of three endangered mountain ungulates, that presence of these species is determined by the level of human disturbance and habitat requirements. We show that species preferring flat areas covered by dense forest are exposed to more intensive human disturbances, and even an adaptation to rugged areas does not imply less human disturbance. Abundance of all species studied declined with the number of villages in the vicinity and increased with distance to nearest village. Therefore, increasing human population may contribute to a decrease of wildlife population in the region. To prevent this, community forestry program enabling local people to protect forest near villages and land-use strategy aimed at reducing further encroachment of forest in higher altitudes should be immediately launched in the region. bs_bs_banner Animal Conservation. Print ISSN 1367-9430 Animal Conservation 15 (2012) 283-293
Himalayan Biodiversity in the Changing World, 2011
... Page 16. 192 PK Paudel ... Biodiversity Profiles Project Publication No 7, Department of Nati... more ... Page 16. 192 PK Paudel ... Biodiversity Profiles Project Publication No 7, Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Kathmandu Braatz S (1992) Conserving biological diversity: a strategy for protected areas in the Asia-Pacific Region. ...
Himalayan Biodiversity in the Changing World, 2011
ABSTRACT In conservation the establishment of links between major habitats is commonly used to re... more ABSTRACT In conservation the establishment of links between major habitats is commonly used to reduce the effect of habitat fragmentation and loss. There is no common model of a corridor, as it largely depends on the particular spatial configuration of land types and the way it is used. Geospatial information on land management practices provide the information required for corridor building programs. This paper aims to delineate a wildlife corridor between the Bardia National Park in Nepal and Katerniyaghat Wildlife Sanctuary in India. Data obtained from maps, a questionnaire and vegetation survey were integrated and used to quantify land cover and land use patterns. It proved difficult to delineate the boundary of corridors in a landscape consisting of diverse land types, when each is managed differently. Instead of delineating forest areas as a corridor, the integrated conservation of all land parcels, including private and settlement areas, provided the best approach. This makes the corridor a basic unit of management, and makes it convenient to deal with all issues in an integrated and holistic way. KeywordsCorridor-Landscape-Land use-Land management-Mapping
ABSTRACT The World Conservation Union (IUCN) publishes the Red List of Threatened Species, the mo... more ABSTRACT The World Conservation Union (IUCN) publishes the Red List of Threatened Species, the most authoritative information available globally on the conservation status of species. However, the status of globally threatened species remains controversial at local levels because many of them are not protected as part of national statutory law. Such anomalies are examples of controversies in implementing the much-hyped environmental slogan “think globally, act locally”. Here we provide a comparative review between globally threatened species as listed by the IUCN Red List found in Nepal and those of nationally protected species under Nepalese law. We discovered a significantly higher diversity of globally threatened mammals and birds in Nepal than would be expected relative to their global ratios. We established remarkable disparities in species conservation in Nepal: (1) a large number (an average of 85% of species of five taxonomic groups: mammals, birds, amphibians, fishes and reptiles) of IUCN-listed globally threatened species found in Nepal are not protected by national law; (2) most protected species listed are mammals (70%), but more than half of globally-threatened mammals found in Nepal are not protected; and (3) amphibians and fish are not protected, although they represent 12% of the total number of globally-threatened species found in the country. Such large gaps in Nepalese conservation law are an indication of unresponsive and inefficient conservation planning. The Government of Nepal and international conservation partners should: (1) emphasize knowledge-based conservation strategies for all taxonomic groups; and (2) prioritize updating the lists of protected species.
Understanding diversity patterns along altitudinal gradients, and their underlying causes are imp... more Understanding diversity patterns along altitudinal gradients, and their underlying causes are important for conserving biodiversity. Previous studies have focused on climatic, energetic, and geographic variables (e.g., mid-domain effects), with less attention paid to human-induced habitat modifications. We used published data of bird distributions along an elevational gradient (0-4900 m) in the Nepalese Himalaya and interpolated species presence between elevational limits. The relationship between species richness and environmental variables was analyzed using generalized linear models. A low plateau relationship between bird richness and elevation was observed, with a main peak at intermediate elevations (2800 m). Across the total gradient, interpolated bird species richness had a unimodal relationship to maximum monthly precipitation and a linear response to seasonal variation in temperature, proportion of forest cover, and proportion of protected area. In lower elevations (0-2800 m), interpolated species richness had a positive and linear response to the proportion of Ramsar sites and a unimodal response to habitat heterogeneity. At higher elevations (2900-4900 m), interpolated bird richness had a positive linear response to monthly variation in temperature and a negative linear response to proportion forest cover. We conclude that factors related to human management are important drivers of elevational gradients in bird species richness.
Background: Determining the distribution of species and of suitable habitats is a fundamental par... more Background: Determining the distribution of species and of suitable habitats is a fundamental part of conservation planning. We used slope and ruggedness of the terrain, forest type and distance to the nearest village to construct habitat suitability maps for three mountain ungulates (barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak), Himalayan goral (Naemorhedus goral) and Himalayan serow (Capricornis thar)) in the midhills of western Nepal. We used locations of sightings and signs of presence of these mountain ungulates collected during surveys along transect to derive a suitability value for each variable using Jacob's index. A multiplication approach was used to combine environmental variables and produce a habitat suitability map for each of the three species. An independent dataset was used to evaluate the maps using Boyce's index. This approach provides an overview of the probable distributions of the species in question. Results: We predict that of the total area studied, 57% is suitable for M. muntjak, 67% for N. goral and 41% for C. thar. Although there are suitable habitats for all three species throughout the study area, the availability of high-quality habitats for these species varied considerably. Conclusions: Suitable habitats for N. goral and C. thar were fragmented and mostly confined to the southern and northern parts of the study area. This study provides important baseline information for conservation biologists concerned with maintaining biodiversity in the midhills of Nepal.
ABSTRACT Landscapes consisting of heterogeneous environmental conditions (e.g. elevational gradie... more ABSTRACT Landscapes consisting of heterogeneous environmental conditions (e.g. elevational gradients) are richer in species diversity than more homogeneous landscapes. Furthermore, the importance of heterogeneous landscapes has been widely acknowledged in biodiversity conservation due to expected elevational shifts in ranges as a result of climate change. This is especially important in mountainous landscapes. There is as yet no protocol that conservation planners can use to integrate landscape heterogeneity in the design of protected area (PAs) systems. In this study, we tested whether Nepal, as a whole, consists of highly heterogeneous landscapes in term of elevation, and whether heterogeneity of PAs is correlated with their size and species diversity. We developed a conservation index of elevational zones within Nepal to evaluate their representativeness in the protected area system. The results showed that, in Nepal's PAs, indices of elevational heterogeneity were strongly associated with species richness. However, heterogeneity indices were not strongly associated with sizes of PAs despite the fact that Nepal is a highly heterogeneous country. The same is true for national parks and conservation areas based on IUCN-The World Conservation Union's categories of PAs. The conservation index of elevation zones suggested a bias in reserve selection towards higher elevations. There is an urgent need to rectify past biases in reserve design so as to ensure protection of elevational heterogeneity during conservation planning, especially in these times of human-induced climate change.
Himalayan Biodiversity in the Changing World, 2011
Nepal is a mountainous country in the central Himalayas, which occupies about one third of (800 k... more Nepal is a mountainous country in the central Himalayas, which occupies about one third of (800 km) of the entire length of the Himalayan mountain range. Nepal alone claims eight out of the top ten tallest mountains in the world, including Mount Everest (8,848 m). Apart from the mountains, deep gorges, river valleys and the flat lands it provides a unique assemblage of very different habitats and a great biodiversity within a small geographical area. The 147 181 km 2 that make up Nepal is slightly less than 0.1% of the global land mass, but contains a disproportionately large diversity of plants and animals. The country's 118 ecosystems harbour over 2% of the flowering plants, 3% of the pteridophytes and 6% of the bryophytes in the world's flora. Similarly, the country harbours 3.9% of the mammals, 8.9% of the birds and 3.7% of the world's fauna of butterflies 1). U n c o r r e c t e d P r o o f P. Kindlmann (ed.), Himalayan Biodiversity in the Changing World,
Himalayan Biodiversity in the Changing World, 2011
The conservation of biodiversity is an important issue in developing countries like Nepal. Subsis... more The conservation of biodiversity is an important issue in developing countries like Nepal. Subsistence agriculture, including livestock rearing, is the main occupation of the majority of the people in rural areas . This puts an ever-increasing demand on the forest as the human population increases. Consequently, many forests are either badly degraded or encroached by people seeking essential resources for their survival. Thus, conservation challenges in Nepal are of anthropogenic origin and the result of an unsustainable extraction of biological resources (Ives and Messerli 1989). The challenges get more complicated as the human population grows, thus the conservation strategies need to effectively harmonize human and conservation needs (Budhathoki 2004). U n c o r r e c t e d P r o o f P. Kindlmann (ed.), Himalayan Biodiversity in the Changing World,
Forest landscapes in the midhills of western Nepal are not adequately conserved within a protecte... more Forest landscapes in the midhills of western Nepal are not adequately conserved within a protected area network. The species and ecosystems in these humandominated landscapes are highly endangered. Understanding the effects of human activities on wildlife is therefore important for devising an appropriate conservation strategy in this region. Here, we show, using data on spatial structure of three endangered mountain ungulates, that presence of these species is determined by the level of human disturbance and habitat requirements. We show that species preferring flat areas covered by dense forest are exposed to more intensive human disturbances, and even an adaptation to rugged areas does not imply less human disturbance. Abundance of all species studied declined with the number of villages in the vicinity and increased with distance to nearest village. Therefore, increasing human population may contribute to a decrease of wildlife population in the region. To prevent this, community forestry program enabling local people to protect forest near villages and land-use strategy aimed at reducing further encroachment of forest in higher altitudes should be immediately launched in the region. bs_bs_banner Animal Conservation. Print ISSN 1367-9430 Animal Conservation 15 (2012) 283-293
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