Climate change will impact the dynamics of invasive alien plant species (IAPS). However, the ability of IAPS under changing climate to invade mountain ecosystems, particularly the Himalayan region, is less known. This study investigates the current and future habitat of five IAPS of the Himalayan region using MaxEnt and two representative concentration pathways (RCPs). Two invasive species, Ageratum conyzoides and Parthenium hysterophorus, will lose overall suitable area by 2070, while Ageratina adenophora, Chromolaena odorata and Lantana camara will gain suitable areas and all of them will retain most of the current habitat as stable. The southern Himalayan foothills will mostly conserve species ecological niches, while suitability of all the five species will decrease with increasing elevation. Such invasion dynamics in the Himalayan region could have impacts on numerous ecosystems and their biota, ecosystem services and human well-being. Trans-boundary response strategies suitable to the local context of the region could buffer some of the likely invasion impacts.

ABSTRACT. We investigated the participation of local ethnic groups in wetland conservation, determined the economic benefits that they received from the wetlands, and assessed socioeconomic factors that affect dependency on wetlands. A total of 217 wetland resource-user households residing around Ghodaghodi Lake, western Nepal were surveyed. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests and ordinary least squares regressions. The wetland resources contributed significantly to the household economy of the local people. Each household extracted lake resources at an annual worth of NPR 4379 ($63 USD), equivalent to 12.4% of the household total gross income. Although the people maintained a positive attitude toward wetland conservation, their participation in conservation efforts was inadequate. Socioeconomic factors such as larger household size, older age of the head of the family, and larger area of agricultural land increased the rate of resource extraction. In contrast, when households were involved with local conservation organizations, resource extraction was reduced. We recommend the following resource conservation and livelihood strategies: implementation of community-based conservation approaches to increase system productivity, adoption of biogas plants, and improved cooking stoves to reduce fuelwood consumption, coupled with conservation awareness programs.

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Wetlands comprise an important ecosystem but are under threat in developing countries due to increasing human encroachment. Community-based conservation is an approach for sustainable management of the wetlands near settlements. This study investigated willingness to pay of local people for community-based conservation activities and the variables affecting it in the Ghodaghodi Lake Complex, Nepal. A sample of 217 households residing near the lake complex was surveyed. The result showed that households were willing to pay for community-based conservation activities, at an average of NPR 378 (US$5.4) per annum. The age of the household head, wetland income, agricultural income and prior experiences on participation in conservation activities positively affected household's willingness to pay. Government expenditure of at least the amount of willingness to pay estimated by this study for the community-based conservation activities would be economically and environmentally justified.

This study documents aquatic and terrestrial/riparian biodiversity in an anthropogenically disturbed Ramsar site, the Ghodaghodi Lake complex, in the Western Nepal surveyed during the summer season (March-April) of 2007. The study site comprises three major interconnected lakes: Ghodaghodi (138 ha), Nakharodi (70 ha), and Bainshwa (10 ha). Five transect lines for aquatic macrophytes and three transect lines and 37 sampling plots were laid to sample terrestrial/riparian plants, birds, and animals. Five sample plots were established for fish and aquatic bird. A total of 45 species of aquatic macrophytes, 54 species of terrestrial/riparian vegetation, 19 fish species, 41 bird species, 17 mammals (endangered and vulnerable), and 5 reptiles (critically endangered, vulnerable, and near threatened) were recorded at the lake complex. Local people have used most of the aquatic and terrestrial plants for different purposes while many of the potential medicinal plant species were still untapped. Persistent anthropogenic threats, like excessive harvesting and poaching, habitat destruction—population pressure, forest fragmentation, siltation, fertilizer and pesticide seepage, water pollution, overgrazing, and unmanaged irrigation system found over the lake complex, endangered the existing biodiversity. The suggested remedial measures are further exploration of medicinal potential, prioritization of in situ biodiversity conservation strategies, and implementation of awareness program at local level against anthropogenic threats.