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Government of Nepal has enlisted Paris polyphylla as the priority medicinal and aromatic plant (MAPs) for the economic development of the country due to its high market price and demand. But in Panchase Protected Forest (PPF) its value is not well recognized. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the distribution of the plant, assess threats and interventions for conservation and promotion in Bhadaure Tamagi area of Kaski district. Participatory resource mapping, semi-structured questionnaire and key informant survey were carried out for data collection. The plant was distributed at nine different patches of the forest at moist, fertile, and sloppy sites in Northern and Eastern aspects, and spotted only at two patches. Among 10 threat factors, illegal collection with Relative Threat Factor Severity Index (RTFSI) value of 0.90 was the major threat to the plant, and forest fire with value of 0.25 was the least impacting threat. Poor management and institutional factors were not understood by local people directly. Though the plant has high market value, only 6% of the locals used the plant for direct income whereas the rest used for the household purpose as they have no idea of the market. It is recommended to empower and support local people for commercial cultivation and trade, sustainable harvesting techniques, and to bring all the concerned stakeholders of PPF together to work effectively to conserve and promote this wonder herb.

Following a case study, community adaptation plans are a bottom-up approach that focus on increasing climate-vulnerable communities’ engagement in local adaptation planning and policy design, prioritization, and implementation in Nepal. This paper explains how Community-Based Adaptation Action Plan (CAPA) groups are being studied to assess the climate vulnerability of the local socio-ecosystem and to develop community-level adaptation measures. However, there is insufficient research to differentiate local vulnerabilities caused by climate change. This paper, therefore, examines climate change vulnerability with respect to community vulnerability and potential adaptation measures to increase community resilience and adaptive capacity through CAPAs. The study compares differences by gender, caste/ethnicity, and wealth in relation to specific climate-related hazards (exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity) of communities. The study draws on secondary sources of information along with field observations, 73 household interviews, 13 key-informant interviews, consultations, and 9 interactive meetings in 3 districts of Nepal. Differential impact analysis refers to the exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity of local socio-ecological systems. In addition, multivariate analysis was conducted using the Canoco program to analyze the role of actors with respect to climate vulnerability. The results conclude that the degree of vulnerability varies widely at the household level and is strongly influenced by socio-economic characteristics such as gender, caste/ethnicity, and wealth. Immediate and focused attention is needed to improve access to government resources for vulnerable households, requiring positive support from decision makers. Equally important is improving the chain of communication, which includes information, skills, knowledge, capacity, and institutional arrangements. Analysis of the differential vulnerability and the adaptive capacity of a vulnerable community is more appropriate for the design of local adaptation plans. Therefore, the study suggests that engagement of local partners, including local authorities, in addressing vulnerability and adaptation is required to confront the social process, new institutional arrangements, local adaptation, and capacity-building with technical solutions.

Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) contribute to livelihood of rural communities which is influenced by numerous socio-economic variables. This study assessed the financial contribution of Zanthoxylum armatum and the influence of respondents’ various socio-economic characteristics on such contribution in Ghatan of Beni Municipality, Myagdi District, Nepal. For this study, we used semi-structured questionnaires to 80 purposively selected households, followed by 10 key informant interviews, four focus group discussions, and direct field observations. A Pearson correlation matrix was used to determine the dependence of several socio-economic variables on average annual household income from the sale of Z. armatum. The average annual income per household from the sale of Z. armatum was found to be the highest (494 USD) in Brahmin/Chhetri households and the lowest (372 USD) in Dalit households. Among five variables used in the regression model, only three of them: land holding size (khet), time taken to harvest (days), and wealth ranking (rich) were found positively significant with p-values of 0.042, 0.000, and 0.064 respectively. Whereas, the education status of the respondents (literate) and the main income source (agriculture) were found negatively significant with p-values of 0.046 and 0.064, respectively. Furthermore, we believe that this result will help to promote the conservation of Z. armatum and other valuable medicinal plants as well as their sustainable management in the study area and similar areas.