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NEPAL
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Nepal Forest Figures
Forest Cover
Total forest area: 3,636,000 ha
% of land area: 25.4%
Primary forest cover: 349,000 ha
% of land area: 2.4%
% total forest area: 9.6%
Deforestation Rates, 2000-2005
Annual change in forest cover: -52,800 ha
Annual deforestation rate: -1.4%
Change in defor. rate since '90s: -28.9%
Total forest loss since 1990: -1,181,000 ha
Total forest loss since 1990:-24.5%
Primary or "Old-growth" forests
Annual loss of primary forests: -7000 ha
Annual deforestation rate: -1.8%
Change in deforestation rate since '90s: 918.2%
Primary forest loss since 1990: -35,000 ha
Primary forest loss since 1990:-10.7%
Forest Classification
Public: 99.9%
Private: 0.1%
Other: n/a
Use
Production: 5.1%
Protection: 12.1%
Conservation: 21.4%
Social services: n/a
Multiple purpose: 14.7%
None or unknown: 46.8
Forest Area Breakdown
Total area: 3,636,000 ha
Primary: 349,000 ha
Modified natural: 384,000 ha
Semi-natural: 2,850,000 ha
Production plantation: 43,000 ha
Production plantation: 10,000 ha
Plantations
Plantations, 2005: 53,000 ha
% of total forest cover: 1.5%
Annual change rate (00-05): 200,000 ha
Carbon storage
Above-ground biomass: 718 M t
Below-ground biomass: 251 M t
Area annually affected by
Fire: 400,000 ha
Insects: n/a
Diseases: n/a
Number of tree species in IUCN red list
Number of native tree species: 225
Critically endangered: 0
Endangered: 0
Vulnerable: 3
Wood removal 2005
Industrial roundwood: 67,000 m3 o.b.
Wood fuel: 52,000 m3 o.b.
Value of forest products, 2005
Industrial roundwood: $5,610,000
Wood fuel: n/a
Non-wood forest products (NWFPs): n/a
Total Value: $5,610,000
More forest statistics for Nepal
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Nepal is one of the world's most diverse, yet poorest, countries. High population pressures have led to deforestation on steep mountain slopes, causing massive soil erosion and flooding on the plains. Only a small portion of Nepal was ever covered by rainforests, but what does exist is threatened by fuelwood collection and subsistence agriculture.
Between 1990 and 2005, Nepal lost 1.2 million hectares of forest representing about 25 percent of its total forest cover. Primary forest cover was diminished as well, falling by nearly 11 percent during that period. While overall deforestation rates have fallen since the close of the 1990s, rates of primary forest loss have jumped significantly.
Nepal has some 1,240 known species of amphibians, birds, mammals, and reptiles, according to figures from the World Conservation Monitoring Centre. Of these, 2.9 percent are endemic, meaning they exist in no other country, and 5.6 percent are threatened. Nepal is home to at least 6,973 species of vascular plants, of which 4.5 percent are endemic. On paper, 7.6 percent of Nepal is protected under IUCN categories I-V.
Recent articles | Nepal news updates | XML
Asia's tigers could get big boost from small conservation efforts
(11/5/2007) Small changes to the management of wildlife reservers in India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal could dramatically boost endangered tiger populations, reports a new study published in the journal Biological Conservation.
Conservationists killed in Nepal helicopter crash
(9/25/2006) 24 people were killed in a helicopter crash in Nepal on Saturday September 23rd. Seven of the victims were staff members of WWF, a leading conservation group. The helicopter was carrying them from a conservation site at Ghunsa, in the remote eastern mountains of Nepal, according to WWF.
Why some Himalayan glacies aren't melting due to climate change
(8/24/2006) New research into climate change in the Western Himalaya and the surrounding Karakoram and Hindu Kush mountains could explain why many glaciers there are growing and not melting. The findings suggest this area, known as the Upper Indus Basin, could be reacting differently to global warming, the phenomenon blamed for causing glaciers in the Eastern Himalaya, Nepal and India, to melt and shrink.
Nepal: Environmental Profile
(2/15/2005) An overview of tropical rainforets found in Nepal. Includes forest cover and deforestation statistics.
Suggested reading - Books
Unless otherwise specified, this article was written by Rhett A. Butler [Bibliographic citation for this page]
Other resources
Contact me if you have suggestions on other rainforest-related environmental sites and resources for this country.
Image from the CIA World Factbook 2006
CIA-World Factbook Profile
FAO-Forestry Profile
Last updated: 4 Feb 2006 |
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