Forest to population ratio

108 3. Causes of forest degradation

3.1 Direct causes

In Nepal, forest degradation is identified as a major environmental problem. Most of the forests in the mid-hills are under community management and are well managed Kanel 2004. Forests in the Terai, Shiwaliks and High Mountains are under severe pressure from biotic interference. In general, forests under government management face a high degree of uncertainty MoEST 2006. Crown cover is often taken as a proxy indicator to detect forest degradation. It may, however, not be a sufficient indicator to determine forest degradation. Canopy reduction will reduce carbon sink potential, but it may enhance watershed conservation and biodiversity. The understorey may remain intact. Conversely, loss of ground vegetation or understorey, which may not be detected, could also be a key degradation element, as it affects ecosystem resilience. Sharma and Suoheimo 1995 found that about 45 percent of trees in the Makawanpur and Rautahat districts are affected by rot diseases. Acharya et al. 2012 found degradation of existing forest stock resulting from repeated logging practices; for example the sal forest Shorea robusta used to be well stocked 60 percent basal area, but following repeated cuts, it became a Terai hardwood forest sal basal area 20 percent. The silvicultural practice of ‘selection felling’ is resulting in degradation of previous sal Terai hardwood forests to Terai hardwood Rautianien 1994. It can be inferred that the overexploitation of this species has gradually changed sal dominance. MoEST 2006 estimated that over 28 percent of the total land of the country is undergoing desertification Table 5. Table 5. Land area under degradation in Nepal Source: MoEST 2006. Besides poor forest management, several other drivers have been identified. They include: •฀ Increasing demand for cultivable land – as Nepal has an overwhelmingly agrarian economy, with over 49 percent of the 29 million inhabitants living on 0.6 million ha of cultivable land in the hills, heavy encroachment on forest has continued. •฀ Land acquired for development projects – forests have been targeted for conversion to agriculture, horticulture, plantations, industrial development, roads and other infrastructure development. •฀ Increasing demand for fuelwood – of the total fuel required, 86 percent is fuelwood CBS 2010, the rest being animal dung and agricultural residues CBS 2011. While people are beginning to switch to other fuels, 65 percent of the population is still dependent on wood for their cooking needs CBS 2013. •฀ Increasing demand for fodder and bedding material – the Nepalese agrarian economy is dependent on livestock rearing. According to CBS 2010 there were 7.19 million cattle, 4.83 million buffalo, 8.76 million goats, 0.79 million sheep and 1.06 million pigs. Livestock impose on forests in two ways, i.e. year-round grazing and lopping of trees for fodder. They are also responsible for overgrazing, one of the principal reasons for forest degradation. While this occurs throughout the year in the Terai, it is seasonal in high elevation pastures. About 40 percent of the high mountain forests have crown cover of less than 40 percent Acharya et al. 2012. •฀ Increasing demand for timber – the rapidly growing population places increasing demand on timber for building houses. People exploit timber far beyond their actual needs. In the central Himalayas about 70 m 3 of valuable wood are logged per house, although less than 20 m 3 would suffice if properly and efficiently used Mauch 1974. •฀ Invasive species – invasion of alien species has emerged as an important driver of forest degradation, particularly in the Terai and High Hills. Alien invasive species are proliferating and invading the natural environment leading to destruction and shrinkage of native flora and fauna. Many natural habitats have been degraded by species such as Mikania macrantha, Lantana camara, Parthenium spp. and Eichornia crassipes Paudel et al. 2007. Invasion and Land-use category Poorly-managed forest Poorly-managed sloping terraces Degraded rangelandopen land Area damaged by floods and landslides 1984-2003 Forest encroachment Total Degraded area million ha 2.100 0.290 0.647 0.106 0.119 3.262 Degraded land 36.03 10.00 37.00 0.72 2.04 28.24 Total land area million ha 5.828 2.969 1.750 11.551 5.828 11.551 109 colonization by alien species can slowly inhibit the growth and potential of regenerating forests and infestations can ultimately affect entire forests. •฀ Illegal settlements – encroachment drives forest degradation and may lead to the permanent conversion of forests to non-forest land uses. Until the late 1970s, encroachment was never considered a factor in forest degradation. It was rather used as a cost-effective tool by the government to clear forests for resettlement programmes COMFORTC 2007. Due to an inappropriate distribution mechanism, most of the poor and landless were excluded and consequently they continued to stay in forests. A total of 70 256 ha of forest land was found to have been encroached in 24 Terai and Shiwalik districts Adhikari 2002. •฀ Forest fire – every year forest fires destroy many forests in Nepal. They are common during the dry spring season, when they spread over a large area destroying considerable amounts of biodiversity over hundreds of hectares of forest and croplands. High intensity crown fires in Himalayan National Parks and Conservation Areas have occurred for the first time in history Wagle 2011.

3.2 Underlying causes

Market failure: Widespread commercialization of forest products, especially the trade in high-value timber from the Terai, has been one of the least successful aspects of Nepal’s Forest Sector Master Plan 1988-2010. The open border system and sales of smuggled timber, and timber trade practices characterized by controls and distortions have resulted in considerable loss of revenue from forests. Institutional failures: The DoF, which is understaffed and low in morale, is unable to control illicit felling, timber smuggling and other forest-related offences. Absence of proper management has further expedited degradation. Political and socio-economic factors: There are regular media reports of deforestation and encroachment, illegal logging and corruption in forestry organizations. Recent estimates claim that some 84 000 ha of forest are being lost through illegal encroachment annually. Inappropriate policy: Government policies have historically had the largest impact on forest degradation in Nepal. Throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Nepal had taxes on both land and labour. Land taxes amounted to the payment of one-half of a farm’s produce to the government. These taxes could be avoided if a farmer chose to convert forest into agricultural fields, wherewith shehe could enjoy a three-year tax break. The labour tax in Nepal during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries required each family to work at least 75 days per year for the state. The tax could be avoided if the family was willing to supply a fixed quantity of fuelwood, iron, charcoal or other materials. This policy often increased the degradation of forests. One village, for example, had to supply 2.4 kg of charcoal each day, for which it had to clear 3 ha annually. On the other hand, during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, exploitation of forests was formalized through the legal judicial process under the rule of Janga Bahadur Rana 1847-1877. A number of rules were drawn up and reformed between 1870 and 1940 to regulate access to forests and removal of forest products, meeting the costs of the regime and timber needs of British India. Remaining within the strategy, ‘The Act of Private Forest Nationalization – 1957’ was enacted HMGN 1957. All privately- owned forests larger than 1.25 ha in hills and 3.5 ha in the Terai were nationalized. The Act also recognized the traditional practices of forestry by communities. Promulgation of the Private Forest Nationalization Act 1957 appears to have led to degradation MoEST 2001. Forests around and in the vicinity of villages were cut recklessly. The policy took a shift with the introduction of a people-based forest management system. The Forest Act 1978 re- introduced use rights to forest, this time through communitygroups retaining the earlier rights over the national forests. The Act outlined rules and regulations to implement the use rights of the public.