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    INTERNATIONAL JOURNALS
     
    Frequency: Quarterly
    ISSN Online: 2581-6853
    Language: English

     
     

    Grassroots Journal of Natural Resources

    Vol. 2, No. 1-2 (2019)

     

    Understanding the Nexus of Climate Change and Migration: A Case of Dhye Peoples from Upper Mustang, Nepal

    Pragya Sherchan

    Abstract: People of Dhye village are recognized as the Nepal’s first climate refugees. Historical records show that mass migration of people from Dhye village has occurred for three times, with latest one attributed to the climate change. This article aims to explore and understand the underlying causes of the Dhye people’s migration, and to analyze the land suitability for their relocation. The article discusses that people of Dhye have migrated mainly to look for livelihood options, water availability and land for cultivation. As of now, more than two dozen water ponds have dried completely, and the only community reservoir serves as main source of irrigation water. This led to a decrease in cultivated area by one-fourth within last 40 years. The livestock farming has also been decreasing year by year with only one yak herder left in the entire Dhye village. The temperature trend is positive, whereas precipitation trend is negative. The land suitability analysis done by using Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) shows that Thangchung Chawale village is more suitable location than Dhye village in terms of cultivation area, water availability, and distance to health-post and transportation facilities.

    Full Article
    1-19

       
     

    Perception of Locals on Management and Improvement of Forest Resources and Timber Exploitation in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

    Ebong Mbuotidem Sampson, Victory Udoh, Iniubong Ansa, Nsidibe Mbuotidem Sampson, Joseph N. Ogbobula

    Abstract: A study was carried out in Imo River Estuary, Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria to evaluate the perception of the local people on the environmental and socio-economic effects of timber harvesting and management. Five local government areas were purposively selected based on their proximity to the Imo River Estuary. Despite the high effect rates of timber exploitation, most of the locals of the study area have little or no knowledge of the severity of these effects on their environmental and socio-economic well-being; thereby, limiting the required rate and application of necessary mitigation measures as revealed by the Cmax of 0.89 affirming of the relationship of the perception of the locals to the implications of timber exploitation in the study area. Based on the findings, the constraints hindering effective timber utilization and management in the study area are lack of public awareness and poor value system supported, respectively, by 180 and 165 of the respondents out of 300. Hence, the study suggests that the local people of the study area should be educated about sustainable utilization and management of forest resources. Moreover, state government and logging companies should embark on reforestation, afforestation and regeneration programmes in order to replace extracted tree species and regenerate extinct species.

    Full Article
    20-25

       

    Comparison of Regeneration and Yield Status between Community Forest and Collaborative Forest

    Pitamber Gaire, Pramod Ghimire

    Abstract: The present article primarily addresses the silvicultural system (i.e., irregular shelter wood system) in Sal forest adopted in both community and collaborative forest in Kapilbastu district of Nepal. Systematic sampling with 0.5 percent sampling intensity along with statistical tools like SPSS and MS-Excel were used for resource inventory and data analysis, respectively. The result of the study shows notable increase in seedling status during the first year (2015/16) in community forest. A decrease in sapling number during the second year (2016/17) was noticed in Tilaurakot collaborative forest at its initial level of implementation. At the same time, community forest has higher yield status with a smaller number of trees felled in Tilaurakot collaborative forest under regeneration felling. The regeneration status of species varied insignificantly (p>0.05) between the community forest and Tilaurakot collaborative forest. A recommendation is made for proper implementation of irregular shelter wood system for managing the existing degraded Sal forests of the Terai region of Nepal; however, its long-term effects on plant species diversity should also be further studied in detail.

    Full Article
    26-36

       

    Understanding the Distribution, Conservation and Threats to Pangolin (Manis spp.)

    Uchita Lamichhane, Basudev Pokhrel

    Abstract: This article is based on the study carried out in Rani Community Forest (CF) of Makwanpur district of Nepal to assess the distribution of and key threats to pangolin along with its conservation efforts at the community level. The methodology includes searching the direct and indirect signs of pangolin (burrows, footprints, faecal material). Simple random sampling method was applied for the collection of social information related to pangolin. 130 burrows (44 new and 86 old) were recorded during the survey. Distribution of burrows was clumped type and not uniform throughout all elevations. Most of the burrows were found in the elevation range of 500-600m. Most of the people had awareness about pangolin while only few respondents had seen it directly inside the community forest. It indicates that there was occurrence of pangolin in the community forest. Key threats to Pangolin were construction activities, drying water resource, rapid urbanization, habitat loss, lack of food, overgrazing, mining, deforestation, poaching, predation of associated animal species, and forest fire. Among them the construction activities were considered as biggest threat to pangolin. Various community-based conservation programs were initiated by authorities of Rani Community Forest; however, these programs were still not effective for the conservation of pangolin.

    Full Article
    37-44

       

    Assessment of Soil Organic Carbon Stock of Churia Broad Leaved Forest of Nawalpur District, Nepal

    Bharat Mohan Adhikari, Pramod Ghimire

    Abstract:The present article is based on the study carried out to quantify aspect wise variation in Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) stock of Churia broad leaved forest in Bhedawari Community Forest of Nawalpur district, Nepal. The total amount of SOC stock in upto 30 cm soil depth in Bhedawari Community Forest was found to be 33.91 t/ha. Aspect had made significant difference upon SOC stock with p value of 0.002 (p<0.05). The total SOC was higher in the northern aspect (36.83 ± 1.34 t/ha) than in the southern aspect (30.98 ± 1.22 t/ha). Hence, soil carbon sequestration through community managed forest is a good strategy to mitigate the increasing concentration of atmospheric CO2.

    Full Article
    45-52

       

    Assessment of Opportunities and Challenges of Urban Forestry in Nawalparasi District, Nepal

    Pragya Sharma, Pramod Ghimire

    Abstract:This article highlights a research carried out in Gaindakot municipality of Nawalparasi district, Nepal to evaluate the opportunities and challenges of urban forestry regarding identification of existing policies and documentation of institutions involved in the field of urban forestry. Systematic random sampling method was used for the data collection during household survey. The study revealed that urban forests are governed through the all-size-fits-all forest policies, which are not favorable to urban forestry development. Plantation in the barren lands, park development, social mobilization and awareness raising are the major activities of urban forestry. The research also showed that main opportunities of urban forestry development in the study area are newly formed local government, high level willingness of local people to participate in urban forestry development, and presence of community forests around the city. On the other hand, lack of public space, narrow roads, increasing fragmentation of land, and lack of coordinated and planned efforts are major constraints to urban forestry development. This study recommends that government should take necessary steps to establish the institutional setup to facilitate the urban forestry development programmes. For this, mobilizing social organizations could be an effective tool to promote urban forestry, but a long-term plan for plantation and their management needs to be in place.

    Full Article
    53-62