NEPAL BIODIVERSITY ACTION PLAN & RED DATA BOOKS

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NEPAL BIODIVERSITY ACTION PLAN RED DATA BOOKS

• Ram P. Chaudhary
• Central Department of Botany
• Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur
• Emailram_at_cdbtu.wlink.com.np
• Introduction
• Historical background
• Biodiversity (categories threats)
• Strategy to conserve biodiversity
• Organizational structure for
• Implementation
• Flora
• Red data books
• Conclusion

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• Nepal rich in biodiversity
• Rich and unique assemblage of biodiversity at
  ecosystem, species and genetic levels within a
  small area (147,181 sq. Km)
• High variation in altitude, aspect and slope
  reflected in diverse topography and climatic
  conditions
• Crucial to the livelihood of the people of Nepal
  and adjoining areas
• Mosaic of Landuse pattern Forest (29),
  Agricultural land (21), Grassland (12),
  Shrubland (10.6), Water (2.6), Non-cultivated
  (7), Others (17.8)
• Nepal Biodiversity Strategy (NBS) A committment
  of HMG and the people of Nepal
• For protection and wise use of biological
  diversity biological resources
• For maintenance of ecological processes and
  systems
• For fair equitable sharing of benefits
• To provide a strategic planning framework for
  conservation of biodiversity
• To honour the obligations of the CBD (CBD Article
  6- General Measures for Conservation and
  Sustainable Use)

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• Nepal signed Convention on Biological Diversity
  (CBD) June 1992
• CBD was ratified by Nepalese parliament on
  November 23, 1993
• CBD was enforced in Nepal since February 21,
  1994
• Nepal Biodiversity Strategy (NBS) was published
  in 2002

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• Historical background
• National Biodiversity Action Plan (1998)
  Resources Nepal Draft
• Nepal National Biodiversity Action Plan (1999)
  Mark Zimsky Draft
• Nepal Biodiversity Action Plan (2000) Chaudhary
  et al. Draft 2000
• (Core group Ram P. Chaudhhary (Team leader),
  Damodar P. Parajuli, Pramod K. Jha, Narayan
  Belbase, Keshav R. Kanel, Tulsi B. Prajapati
• Reviewers Rabi B. Bista, Uday R. Sharma and
  Bhesh R. Dhamala)
• Nepal Biodiversity Strategy (2002) Phillip
  Tortell Bijay Kattel Draft
• 5.1 Nepal Biodiversity Strategy (2002) Final
  Draft
• 5.2 Nepal Biodiversity Implementation Plan (2003)
  - Draft
• (Ram P. Chaudhary (Team leader), Shanta R.
  Jnawali, Sonam Bennet Vasseux under the
  supervisison of Uday R. Sharma)

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• 6.1 NEPAL BIODIVERSITY STRATEGY (NBS) 2002 HMG,
  Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation
  supported by GEF UNDP-Nepal)
• EXISTING MECHANISM FOR CONSERVING BIODIVERSITY
• Six categories of biodiversity conservation
• Protected areas
• Forests
• Rangelands
• Agrobiodiversity
• Wetlands
• Mountain biodiversity

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Protected areas (PA) Well established network of
protected areas system (PAs 18.32 )
PAs No. Sq. Km National parks 9 10,288 38 W
ildlife reserves 3 979 4 Hunting
reserves 1 1,325 5 Conservation
areas 3 11,325 42 Buffer zones 6
3,051 11 ----------------------------------------
------------------------------------- Source NBS
2002
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• Forests (29 )
• Master Plan for Forestry Sector (1989-2010) has
  put together a set of policies and objectives
• Sustainable utilization of forest resources
• Meeting the basic needs of the people
• Users participation in decision making and
  benefit sharing

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• Forests .....
• Five sub-categories of national forests
• Government managed forest
• Community forests
• Leasehold forests
• Religious forests
• Protected forests
• Community forestry(CF) programs
• Potential forest area for CF 3.5 million ha
  (24)
• CF has contributed restore a larger part of
  mid-hills ecosystems
• Local participation bottom up planning and
  sustainable use
• Decentralized resource decisions making
• 0.8 million ha, over 11,000 FUGs, 1.2 million
  households

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• Rangelands (11.5 )
• Represented in all-physiographic zones (80 in
  subalpine and alpine zones)
• Home of several threatened plant and animal
  species
• High altitude rangelands rich in endemic species
  and key NTFPs
• Indigenous system of rangelands management

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Agrobiodiversity High diversity of
agro-ecological practice reflected in terms of
variability of landrace of crops, fruits,
vegetables and indigenous livestock
breeds Traditional farming systems crucial to
management of agrobiodiversity
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• Wetlands biodiversity
• Nepals Wetlands 242 wetlands recorded (163
  wetlands in lowlands 79 in hills and
  mountains)
• One Ramsar site three new wetland sites
  proposed (Bishhazari tal, Jagadishpur reservoir,
  Ghodaghodi tal)
• Management Role of local communities (primary
  beneficiaries) crucial
• Wetland policy formulated

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• Mountain biodiversity
• Nepal a mountainous country (gt 80)
• High level of plant beta diversity
• Sustainability of mountain development provides
  basis of livelihood of majority of Nepalese
  people
• Integrated watershed management has been proven
  successful to rehabilitate watersheds using
  vegetative, agronomic, and water resource
  management measures

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• MAJOR THREATS TO BIODIVERSITY
• Ecosystem loss
• Species loss, and
• Loss of genetic resourses
• Threats to ecosystem loss
• Habitat loss and deforestation (1.7 )
• Year Forest () Shrubland () Total
• 1978/79 38 4.7 42.7
• 1990-91 29 10.6 39.6
• --------------------------------------------------
  -------------------------------
• Source HMGN-DFRS (1999)

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• Threats to protected areas
• Grazing
• Poaching
• Illegal timber harvesting
• Threats to rangeland biodiversity
• Enormous pressure of rangelands ecosystem (high
  number of grazing domestic cattles)
• Depletion of palatable plant species
• Threats to wetland biodiversity
• Encroachment of wetland habitat
• Unsustainable practice overgrazing, use of
  pesticides and poisons

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• Threats to agrobiodiversity biodiversity
• Loss of indigenous/local landrace and their wild
  relatives
• Extension of high yielding crop varieties
• Threats to mountain biodiversity
• Overexploitation of selected plant species and
  poaching of animals for trade

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• STRATEGIES TO CONSERVE BIODIVERSITY
• 1. Cross-Sectoral Strategies (17)
• Landscape planning approach
• Integrating local participation
• Institutional strengthening
• In-situ conservation
• Strengthening the national biodiversity unit
• Increasing support for biodiversity research and
  conservation
• Endorsing indigenous knowledge and innovations
• Cross-sectoral co-ordination and implementation
  of policies
• Enhancing national capacity
• Ex-situ conservation/biotechnology
• Securing intellectual property and farmers
  property rights
• Biodiversity prospecting
• Environmental Impact Assessment
• Women in biodiversity conservation
• Developing eco-tourism
• Increasing conservation awareness
• Biodiversity registration

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• Secroral Strategies
• 1. Protected areas (8)
• New models of protection and management
  (Annapurna, Kanchenjunga, Manaslu CA)
• Inceasing co-ordination
• Capacity enhancement
• Representation of all ecosystems in protected
  areas
• Biodiversity inventories
• Exchange of information
• Species conservation plan
• Management of protected area tourism

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• 2. Forests (9)
• Forest rehabilitation
• Inventory of floristic and faunistic components
  (for Flora and Fauna)
• Ecosystem network and representation
• Understanding forest resilience and biodiversity
  (to support subsistence agriculture)
• Local participation (Community forestry approach)
  
• Strengthening management practices (equity in
  community forestry)
• Sustainable harvesting of forest resources
• Non-timber forest products (NTFPs)
• Religious forest management

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• 3. Rangelands (4)
• Need for a national rangeland policy
• Conservation of rangeland biodiversity
• Pastoral development and management in the
  Himalayas
• Forage development through integrated management
  planning

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• 4. Agrobiodiversity (3)
• Participatory plant breeding
• Participatory variety selection
• Gene bank
• ..................................................
  ...........................
• 5. Wetlands (1)
• Management of wetlands through policy
  development, research, identification of
  responsible institution
• ..................................................
  ............................
• 6. Mountain biodiversity (2)
• National mountain policy
• Integrated management

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Organizational Structure for Implementation of
the Strategy National Biodiversity Co-ordination
Committee (NBCC) (based in the lead agency
comprising representatives from Government
organizations, private sector, Academia, Civil
society and Donors)
Thematic subcommittees 1. Forest
biodiversity 2. Agrobiodiversity 3. Sustainable
use of biological resources 4. Genetic
resources 5. Biosecurity
Implementing departments/ Institutional
organizations
National Biodiversity Unit
DISTRICT BIODIVERSITY COMMITTEE PROJECT
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• FINANCIAL RESOURCES
• Nepal Trust Fund for Biodiversity
• (GEF, bilateral, multilateral, private sector and
  Government)
• Fund will be constituted as a
• Legal,
• Autonomous, and
• Tax free entity

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• Flora of Nepal
• Resources Nepal Draft (1998)
• Biodiversity Policy and Baseline Information on
  biodiversity in community forestry (Endangered
  Flora and fauna), Potential collaborators
  identified DoF, FECOFUN, pp. 97
• Zimsky Draft (1999)
• Capacity Building of Protected Area (Nepal Flora
  Implementation) Potential collaborators
  identified DPR, CITES body, pp. 90
• Chaudhary et al. Draft (NBAP 2000)
• Inventory and publication of Flora, pp 102
• Potential collaborators DPR, CDB-TU, RONAST,
  ...., BM, TI, E, pp. 116
• Nepal Biodiversity Strategy (NBS 2002)
• Inventory and publication of Flora, pp 136

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Nepal Biodiversity Implementation Plan (NBIP)
Chaudhary et al. Draft (NBIP 2003)
Biodiversity Inventory and Publication of Flora
of Nepal, pp. 18 Nepal Biodiversity
Implementation Plan 2004 HMG/ MoFSC Status
Flora of Nepal Unknown
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Existing Agreements, Regulations,
RulesCITESForest Act 1993 and
amendmentsNational Parks and Wildlife
Conservation Act 1973 (animals)Local
Self-Governance Act 1998 Accomplishment
Supporting NBS 2002 NBIP (Draft) I. Access to
Genetic Resources Benefit Sharing Bill 2001
MoFSCII. TIPs Agreement and Policy Bill 2001
MoC III. Wetland Policy (May 22, 2003) MoFSC
IV. Plant Breeders and Farmers Rights (Draft
2004) MoAC
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Red Data BooksThe red data books provide
necessary information required to keep a
particular (plant) species from becoming extinct.
It covers information on threatened plants and
animals that fall in to IUCN threat categories.
Until 1970, very little substantial knowledge
about threatened plants had been published (Red
Data Book-I Mammalia by Noel Simon (1966) publ
IUCN.Today there is wealth of information.
In Europe, almost all countries have produced
endangered or threatened plant lists (so called
Red Data Books). The status of threatened
endangered species in the tropical regions is
relatively uncertain. Priority areas for
documentation of endangered flora I. Islands
(Cuba, Madagascar, New Caledonia)II.
Geographical regions with varied ecologty and
geology (Himalayas, California)III. Locations
under various types of human pressure (Nepal,
Malta, Cape-South Africa)
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Linkage to International and National Priorities,
Action plan and ProgramsCBD Article 7 (Glowka
et al. 1994) 7a. identify the components of
biodiversity for conservation sustainable
use7b. monitor the components of biological
diversity7c. identify monitor processes and
categories having or likely to have significant
adverse impacts on conservation and sustainable
use, and 7d. maintain and organize the data
derived from identification and monitoring
activitiesNBS 2002 - Biodiversity inventories
MPFS/N - 1989 NSC 1988NEPAP- I (1993)
NEPAP II (1998) Darwin Initiative Project
(1997-1999, and ongoing)
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IUCN Red List CategoriesExtinct (EX), Endangered
(E), Vulnerable (V), Rare (R), Indeterminate (I),
Insufficiently Known (K), Commercially Threatened
(CT)1994 categories 2001 categoriesExtinct,
EX Extinct, EX Extinct in the Wild,
EW Extinct in the Wild, EW Critically
Endangered (CR) A to E Critically Endangered
(CR) A to E Endangered (EN A to
E) Endangered (EN) A to E Vulnerable (VU) A
to E Vulnerable (VU) A to E Lower Risk (LR)
- Conservation Dependent (cd) - Near
Threatened (nt) Near Threatened (NT) - Least
Concern (lc) Least Concern (LC) Data Deficient
(DD) Data Deficient (DD) Not Evaluated (NE)
Not Evaluated (NE) ---------------------------
--------------------------------------------------
---------------------- A Reduction in
population based on (a) direct observation, (b)
an index of abundance, (c) a decline in
the area of occupancy, (d) Actual or potential
level of exploitation, (e) the effect of
introduced taxa, hybridization, pathogens,
pollutants, competitors or parasites B-
Geographical range B1 (extent of occurrence) or
B2 (area of occupancy) OR bothC- Population size
estimated to number fewer than 250 mature
individuals D- Population size estimated to
number fewer than 50 mature individuals E-
Quantitative analysis showing the probability of
extinction in the wild is atleast 50 within
10 yrs
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The USSR Red Data Book A.M. Borodin and others,
1978Moscow, 460 pp. (with illustration)Botanica
l nameFamilyStatusDistributionHabitatAvailabi
lity in nature RegenerationReason for
depletionCultivationConservation measures
takenConservation measures neededReference
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Illustration
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British Red Data Books mosses and
liverwortsCompiled and edited by J.M. Church,
N.G. Hodgetts, C.D. Preston and N.F. Stewart.
Publ NJCC, 2001(with few photographs)Preparation
of the Red Data Book I. Area covered II.
Taxonomy and nomenclature III. Initial
selection of species Collation of records
Botanical name, English names, Synonyms, site-
records, distribution, state of population,
international distribution, ecology, threats,
conservation needs, notes on identification,
existing site protection, existing legal
protection, experts with knowledge of the
species, and references IV. Allocation of
species to threat categories V. Interpretation
of revised IUCN criteria (1994) VI. Number of
species in threat categories
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Sources used during compilation1. Records
collected by BBS members2. Details of locality,
grid reference, date of record, recorder, and
source of the record3. Herbaria4. Literature
sources5. Expert knowledge6. Other
organisations
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Rare, Endemic and Endangered Plants of Nepal TB
Shrestha and RM Joshi 1996. WWF, NepalEach
plant species is provided withBotanical name
and citationFamilyStatus (IUCN Threat category
1966)Distribution in Nepal (Type others) and
altitudeHabitat and ecology (whereever
available)Botany (Description)Flowering time

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• Conclusion
• Nepal Biodiversity Strategy (NBS 2002) Red Data
  Books
• Nations blueprint for biodiversity conservation
  (national document providing guidelines to all
  Government organizations, NGOs, INGos, private
  sector civil society people of Nepal)
• Biodiversity conservation and sustainable use is
  crucial to the livelihood of the people of Nepal
• Success of NBS implementation needs
  co-ordination among all the sectors of the
  country
• Success of NBS implementation requires
  substantial resources
• Identification and Monitoring of components of
  Biodiversity (CBD Article 7) be an integral
  component of Nepal Biodiversity Implementation
  Plan also