An account of widespread degradation and deforestation in Nepal has been noticed in various literature sources. Although the contribution of community forests (CF) on the improvement of forest cover and condition in the Mid-hill of Nepal is positive, detailed study to understand the current situation seems important. The study area (Tanahun District) lies in the Gandaki Province of western Nepal. The objective of this study was to estimate the forest cover change over the specified period and to identify factors influencing the change. We used Landsat images from the years 1976, 1991, and 2015 to classify land use and land cover. We considered community perception in addition to the forest cover map to understand the different causes of forest cover change. Forest cover decreased from 1976 to 1991 annually at a rate of 0.96%. After 1991, the forest increased annually at a rate of 0.63%. The overall forest cover in the district regained its original status. Factors related to increasing forest cover were emigration, occupation shift, agroforestry practices, as well as particularly by plantation on barren lands, awareness among forest users, and conservation activities conducted by local inhabitants after the government forest was handed over to community members as a community forest management system.

Mikania micrantha, a neo-tropical vine, is spreading rapidly in the tropical part of Nepal and is now threatening the rural ecosystem including biodiversity and rural livelihoods. However, no attempt has been made to control the spread of M. micrantha. As a result, the vines are spreading freely and rapidly. After a thorough literature review and assessment of forest management practices, we proposed a manual cutting method, as it suits the Nepalese situation for several reasons: required labor is readily available, as local communities are managing forest patches, and the method does not have any potential adverse effects on non-target native species. Experimental plots were laid out in August 2011 to examine the effectiveness of manual cutting. Two different site types based on canopy coverage were selected and divided into three blocks based on cutting strategy. Four treatments were assigned across the experimental plots following a complete block design. We harvested above-ground biomass according to the assigned treatment. The results suggested that there should be at least two consecutive cuttings within a 3-week interval before flowering, and that three consecutive cuttings resulted in 91% mortality of the vines. In addition, cutting promoted regeneration of native plant species. Employing regular cutting operations can modify understory shade enhancing regeneration of native species, which is a desirable condition to constrain proliferation of M. micrantha. Periodic cuttings reduced the competitiveness of M. micrantha regardless of canopy openness, but native ground cover should be retained.

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Because of the influence of climate change and human activities, an in-depth analysis of land use/cover change (LUCC) and its drivers in Nepal is important for local community forestry management and sustainable development. This paper analyzed the direction, magnitude, and rate of LUCCs and their spatial aggregation, as well as landscape fragmentation in Nepal, from 1995 to 2020 using the ESA/CCI (European Space Agency Climate Change Initiative) dataset. A total of 10 factors including population, socioeconomic development, climate factors, and forest management factors were selected to determine the dominant driving factors affecting LUCC in Nepal by Principal component analysis (PCA) and linear regression analysis. Our study showed that climate change, human activities, and forest management (e.g., community forestry) all influenced LUCC. In Nepal, land use/cover shifted among forest, shrub, grassland, and cropland from 1995 to 2020, mainly from forest to cropland. The most significant LUCC in recent decades has been caused by the expansion of cropland and urbanization. The area of coniferous and broadleaf forests decreased from 1995 to 2001 due to deforestation and forest degradation, and recovered gradually after 2001, which was attributed to the successful practice of community forestry in Nepal. Accelerated urbanization was also found in Nepal, and the significant expansion of construction land came mainly came from cropland. Land fragmentation in Nepal was severe and exhibited spatial aggregation characteristics. Human activities played a greater role in LUCC in Nepal than climate factors. The community forestry, GDP growth, and precipitation were positive driving factors for increases in forest area, while the development of the services sector and rising temperature were negative driving factors.

The climate change discourse has been evolving globally, and it has generated new ideas, debates and interests within the community of experts in local context too. People’s perceptions are critical components of the socio-cultural context within which people and societal system operate. People’s perception can compel or constrain social, economic cultural and political action to address particular risks and are liable of great influence. Present study is contemplated to construct a measuring tool to elucidate people’s perception about variability, causes, effect and impacts of climate change on production and productivity of major staple cereals of Nepal (Rice, maize wheat and potato) and standardized the same. Study was conducted on 15 different agro-ecological region of Nepal (n=900). As a result, screening and sorting from 105 statements collected and through content validation process final perception measuring instrument comprised of 70 statements was designed using equal appearing Likert scale. General criteria for perception scale construction related to item development, response set and statistical procedures are discussed. This scale was standardized for administration.