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Nepal is a rich source of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) in terms of production and trading practices. The altitudinal and climatic variations in various pockets of Nepal have contributed to their diversity. This article attempts to outline the current status of NTFPs and its importance in the Nepalese economy. NTFPs provide rural people with food, medicine, construction materials, and income. About 80% of the rural population depend on the NTFPs for their livelihood and Nepal. NTFPs have commercial, socioeconomic and environmental values in rural communities. More than 700 species of plants are recognized as producing NTFPs and about 150 species of these are commonly used in international trade. The management of NTFPs has been receiving increasing attention from donors, development agencies and user groups who are involved in different aspects of NTFP promotion. Sustainable exploitation, use, and commercialization of NTFPs are important for socio-economic development, poverty reduction, and livelihood enhancement of rural people in Nepal.

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Wild Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) are one of the most endangered wildlife species in Nepal. Currently, there are approximately 200 to 250 wild elephants counted in Nepal. Of  them, 15-20 are in Jhapa district, 17 are in KoshiTappu Wildlife Reserve, eight in Sindhuli, and 45-50 in Parsa National Park andChitwan National Park. More  than 100 elephants are in Bardiya National Parks and adjoining municipalities, and 25-30 are in Suklaphanta National Park and adjoining municipalities.Elephant conservation is challenged by habitat fragmentation, obstruction of migratory routes and human-elephant conflict. The governments of Nepal, law enforcement, NGOs, and local communities have made various initiatives to conserve elephants. In the paper, we have outlined the current status of the elephant population, and its conservative efforts. This study may be a useful tool for the scientific communities and ecologists to protect elephants from extinction.

Barking deer is found in dense tropical and subtropical forests of Asia. It is listed as “least concerned” by the International Union of Conservation of Nature and as “vulnerable” in Nepal, where it is also protected. Due to the habitat loss and fragmentation by human activities, barking deer abundance is decreasing, which may even ultimately lead to its extinction. This in turn might negatively affect local ecosystem such as the abundance of the endangered common leopard, for which barking deer is the main prey species in the mid-hills of Nepal. We therefore need to know factors affecting barking deer abundance and its habitat preferences. To determine these factors, we recorded barking deer either by direct sighting or by any evidence of its indirect presence observed through transect surveys in January and February, 2019. To analyze habitat preference, the presence of barking deer was set to 1 if the barking deer or any sign of its presence were observed “used plots,” or to 0 if the barking deer or any sign of its presence were not observed (“habitat availability plot”). We measured main four ecological drivers such as forest management regime, microclimate, disturbance and food resources, which include 11 habitat characteristics in spots where barking deer was present, and in randomly selected spots. We found that elevation, slope, distance from settlement, presence of tree species, depth of leaf litter and percentage cover of leaf litter were most significantly affecting its presence. These results can serve as guidelines for local authorities to prevent decline in abundance of barking deer.