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The Himalayas have always been at the center of global seismological discourse, primarily because the region sits on a dangerous fault line
. At the junction of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates, an immense amount of energy builds up as the Indian plate continuously moves under the Eurasian plate. This buildup of energy has given rise to the highest mountains in the world; however, it also makes the Himalayan region seismically hazardous. As a result of this tectonic process, which began between 40 and 50 million years ago, the Himalayas have seen many great earthquakes, and seismic risks persist in many areas along the Himalayan arc, including in Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. On 25 April 2015, Nepal was struck by a huge Mw 7.8 earthquake with its epicenter located in the Gorkha region, about 80 km northwest of Kathmandu. It affected 31 of the country's 75 districts and more than 8 million people. The earthquake caused widespread damage and destruction of homes and human settlements in all the affected districts. Discussing a number of lessons learnt, this paper argues for a holistic approach to disaster preparedness and recovery, mainly focusing on the significance of livelihoods recovery. It also highlights the importance of cooperation and coordination among countries in the Himalayan region to improve understanding of seismic risks in the region and prepare for earthquakes and their subsequent impacts
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Kotru, R.; Rathore, B. M. S.; Pradhan, N.; Bhatta, L. D.; Acharya, G.; Karky, B.; Sigdel, S.; Bhojvaid, P. P.; Gera, N.; Sharma, S.
A five-day international symposium on ‘Transforming Mountain Forestry’ was held in Dehradun, India from 18 to 22 January 2015 to explore options for sustainable forest management practices and policies that address the changing conditions in the Hindu Kush Himalayas (HKH)
. The symposium was jointly organized by India’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEFCC); the Forest Research Institute (FRI); and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). Over 250 regional and global experts, including law makers, scientists, practitioners, donors, civil servants, the media, market actors, legal experts, and representatives of civil society and the business community, attended the symposium, which sought to address the challenges of conservation and inclusive development while identifying transboundary opportunities to meet climatic challenges.
Forests cover about 25% of the HKH and interface with numerous ecosystems, providing an invaluable range of ecosystem services. The goods and services from forests sustain mountain agriculture, which is an integral part of ensuring food, water, and energy security in the context of the transboundary socio-economic, environmental, and cultural linkages of the region. The health and vitality of many forest ecosystems have been affected by climatic and land use changes; it is possible that the impact of the latter may outweigh that of the former.
To sustain forest ecosystem services in the context of climate change and other contemporary issues, the symposium sought to move towards a third-generation forest management paradigm, state controlled and participatory paradigms being the first two approaches to forest management in the region. The symposium recognized the role of mountain forests as carbon pools and recommended that regional member countries in the HKH develop policies that promote people-centric sustainable management practices backed by relevant research to ensure that forests continue to play this role in neutralizing the impacts of global warming. The need to link science with policy and practice was stressed and innovative ways to exchange knowledge to bridge information gaps were suggested, including the creation of horizontal and vertical links among stakeholders. Specific recommendations were made by the participants on the five symposium themes for consideration by the governments of the countries in the region.
This document also gives some details on discussion held during various plenary, parallel, and brainstorming sessions held during the symposium. It starts with the overall introduction of the symposium, the need for the symposium, and various themes and sub-themes discussed during the symposium. After the introduction, a detailed report of various sessions are presented which helped the symposium come up with recommendations in all five specific themes as mentioned below.
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The paradigm shift in park management from a fortress mentality to the participatory concept is represented as a major transformation in the conservation discourse in Nepal
. The involvement of local people in the management of resources in national parks has been significantly effective in attaining the conservation goals of conserving wildlife without compromising the basic forest resource needs of the local people. Nevertheless, some economically important species have not been afforded due consideration during such management. This study investigates the species composition and regeneration status of Shorea robusta (Sal) and Terminalia alata (Saj) in 4 Buffer Zone community Forests of Bardia National Park in Thakurdwara VDC in 1999/2000, 2002/2003 and 2005. The results reveal that Shorea robusta (Sal) and Terminalia alata (Saj) both constituted a large proportion of species diversity but that their regeneration from seedlings to established stages were low, suggesting vulnerability of this forest and their sustainability at risk due to their dwindling conditions. Immediate management concern of these economically important forest tree species is warranted
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This study focuses on two types of conflicts in Community Forest User Group (CFUG): conflict between User Group Committee (UGC) and user, conflict among users
. Users were found impaired from the UGC decisions and their pattern of benefit sharing. Conflict also existed among users. Major strategies adopted to manage conflict were found to be either avoiding or forcing; but avoiding is the most widely used strategy. Moreover compromising and accommodating were found less frequently compared to forcing and collaborating that were rarely used. This study challenges the common perception that community forestry of Nepal is successful in managing its conflict. The findings of this study do not support this claim because collaborating strategy has rarely been used in Community Forest (CF) conflict management. In contrast, this study shows that avoiding and forcing were more commonly used. The greater application of avoiding and forcing strategy in conflict management indicates that CF is still lagging in realizing the best possible option of collaborating. This finding also challenges the effectiveness of the existing conflict management mechanism in CF. This study also suggests collaborating strategy as a better option for managing conflict. On the other hand, this study also reveals that CF is not benefiting the poor of the community. Though, many scholars trumpet CF as a successful programme in Nepal, this study points out that CF has not yet been able to manage its conflicts in a more constructive way. The study also pinpoints short comings of existing conflict management strategies that could be addressed to improve its performance in the days to come
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