Specials
Nepal’s natural resources
Morphological characteristics
Nepal is a relatively small country with a total area of little less than 150,000 square kilometres, and no access to the sea. China lies to the North of Nepal, while the border with India is in the remaining directions. From a geological point of view it is also a relatively young country, because according to the theory of plate tectonics, the entire Indian subcontinent is still moving northwards, pushing the Himalayan belt.
Notwithstanding its small size, the territory can boast a difference in altitudes within its borders that has no equivalent worldwide : from the southern Terai plains situated at an altitude of 100 metres above sea level, the Nepalese geological conformation offers an impressive vertical excursion that reaches 8,848 metres on the tip of Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the World.
The Country can be subdivided into four main areas that are extremely diversified : the spectacular Himalayan mountain range with eight of the fourteen highest mountains in the World, positioned along the Northern frontier with China (Tibet), the fertile valleys of Central Nepal, another mountain range (the Mahabharat) and the Terai plains.
Nepal has rich water resources in the higher altitudes and in the internal valleys. The glaciers and perennial snow found above 4,000-5,000 metres provide an important water reserve, while the central valleys, which often are the ancient beds of large lakes, are now crossed by rivers that flow from the mountain tops of the Himalayas to the Terai.
The climate
The climate is characterized by the monsoons. There is an alternation of dry seasons (October – May) and wet seasons (June – September), characterized by plentiful rain in the summer months, accompanied by pre- and post-monsoon precipitation.
Since Nepal is below the sub-tropical belt, the climate is generally warm and humid, however it varies drastically depending on the altitudes. In fact in the Terai, for example, temperatures can vary considerably depending on whether one is in the plain belt or in the hilly area in the centre.
The different morphological areas have evident differences in climate, in the flora and fauna. These are due to the differences in altitude, so distinct, characteristic ecosystems are formed.
The southern plains : the Terai
The southern Terai plains, bordering with India, which are the direct continuation of the Gangetic plain, are a long and regular stretch of land at sea-level, and they cross Nepal longitudinally.
It is an area with abundant water and it is very fertile, particularly due to the effect of the rivers that transport alluvium in their course from the Himalaya. This has also led to the formation of a large number of marshes, even though efforts to reclaim the marshes, in the past thirty years, have contributed to subtracting land to malaria and the large reptiles that live there, such as gavials and crocodiles.
Climate in the Terai is characterized by very high temperatures during the summer months, with maximum temperatures exceeding 40 degrees centigrade, and abundant precipitation during the monsoon season. The air is extremely humid, and in winter the temperatures do not drop to particularly low levels.
The Terai is a vast stretch of cultivated land, interrupted by wide areas of non-cultivated land, formed by grasslands, with high grass where large mammals live, such as, Indian elephants, tigers, leopards, deer and the rhinoceros. In the cultivated parts there are long stretches of rice paddy, bordered by fields where lentils, citrus fruit, vegetables, mango trees and other plants grow. Tropical forests grow all around the cultivations, with sal trees and acacias, tall grasslands, wild banana and mango trees and cane groves.
The Hills and the Mahabharat
The northern part of the Terai changes conformation, and becomes more hilly up to the Churia Hills, a first hilly belt, at an altitude of a thousand metres, preceding the Mahabharat, a mountain range with peaks up to 2,500 metres. At the foot of the Mahabharat range, there is a mixed area, characterized by forests with evergreens, oaks, rhododendrons and subtropical plants, bamboos and orchids.
Also the fauna changes as the altitude increases. In fact wild boar, bears, deer, antelopes and other large characteristic herbivorous animals may be found, such as the serow and the ghoral, besides numerous species of birds, such as cuckoos, sparrows, peacocks, pheasants and crows. Here goats, sheep and hens are bred, and there are numerous wild dogs, furthermore, macaques and other monkeys may occasionally be seen.
The Central valleys
Behind the Mahabharat is the central region of the country, that stretches up to the southern slopes of the Himalayas and is characterized by wide valleys crossed by numerous rivers, situated at altitudes that vary from 500 to 3,000 metres above s.l.. For this reason, areas that are close by, as the crow flies, belong to different ecosystems, divided by mountain passes and deep depressions. This is one of the most densely populated parts of the country, as it is crossed by the three large rivers of Nepal, (Kali Gandaki, Karnali, Kosi) and their tributaries. It is here that we find the wide Kathmandu, Pokhara and Trisuli valleys, and the more developed districts. The land is mainly cultivated with rice and maize, and all around are vast areas of coniferous forests, birches and oaks. This area is populated with bears, wild boar, water buffalo, deer and antelopes. In the higher altitudes, around 3,500 metres, there are numerous rhododendrons, maples and bamboos, besides the Himalayan tahr, a kind of sheep that is suited to live in the high mountains.
The midlands and the mountain area
In the northern area of the Central region, finally, the midlands begin, and rise up to over five thousand metres. This area is the entrance to the roof of the world, here the coniferous forests and rhododendrons become more scanty and the soil becomes more deserted, as is typical in regions at high altitudes, with perennial plants without a trunk, mosses and wild flowers. Also the presence of animals, due the poor amount of vegetation available, is scarce and consist mainly in small sized mammals, such as rodents and groundhogs; with the exception of some larger high-mountain animals, such as the snow leopard, Tibetan sheep and the yak. This herbivorous animal is the symbol of the Sherpa populations and is often their only means of transportation, besides their main supplier of food : in fact, its milk is extremely nutrient and the cheese obtained from it is highly caloric and can easily be preserved for long periods of time.
Above the five thousand metre altitude, the perennial snow begins, with the large glaciers, that act as a backdrop to the massive peaks that are rarely lower than seven thousand metres. Here, naturally, the only forms of life that are able to venture out, are rapacious birds and the excursionists.
Potentiality and obstacles
The fortunate combination of fertility and variety of the ecosystems is an important resource for the country’s economy : in Nepal, over 80% of the population lives in rural areas, and most of them work in the fields and breed livestock as their only resource.
Notwithstanding the potentiality of the region, typical cultivation activities are concentrated on a limited variety of products, prevalently maize, wheat, lentils and rice with a family-run production, linked to the rhythms of the seasons and often oriented towards the survival of the group. This characteristic is harmful for two main reasons, on one hand, in fact, the families’ diet is conditioned, and often is poor from a nutritional point of view, and inadequate for the efforts required by the daily activities, on the other also the state of conservation of the soil suffers because of the exploitation in the form of intensive monocultures.
There are two main causes that bring about this situation : one is strictly cultural, and urges Nepalese farmers to cultivate only those products that are present in their diet, according to their religious beliefs, and thus there is no incentive to diversify the cultures and harvests; the other cause, instead, is conditioned by the distance of the production areas from the markets and outdated agricultural systems.
Cultivation and fertility
The cultivation techniques have remained unchanged over the centuries, and can be subdivided mainly into two different types : those which use water channelling systems, known as khet, created in the alluvium plains and the terraces cut into the sides of the hills and mountains, and those formed by basins in the ground at higher altitudes, called bari, that are fed exclusively by rain water.
The former type of cultivation is used for rice only, instead, in the basins, different types of plants and cereals, such as maize and millet are grown, and also wheat, barley, potatoes and other plants. Therefore, since rice monocultures occupy the irrigated and potentially more productive fields, it is extremely difficult to modify and diversify the cultivations, and in the long run even the soil is affected. The intense exploitation and poor crop rotation are the main causes of the phenomenon of soil erosion, that is even more severe due to the poor variety of seeds and plants that are cultivated, and also the terracing system, that requires specific maintenance in order to avoid portions of land from sliding under the weight of the monsoon rains.
And so, year after year, the Nepalese soil is becoming less fertile, while landslides and landslips, specially in the rainy season, are more and more often the cause of ruin and poverty for entire family groups and villages.
Biodiversity
The non governmental associations, and representatives of the institutions have been carrying out a campaign to promote agrobiodiversity in the whole country, for many years, through updating courses on cultivation methods, distribution of seeds and differentiated fertilizers, channelling systems and intensification of the productivity of the soil and strengthening the capacity to reach the markets and organize the distribution of the vegetable products.
Protection of biodiversity in Nepal reflects the great potentiality of social and economic development : due to the great fertility of the soil and the different altitudes at which it is possible to cultivate, diversification of the products can lead to a vast and precious market, not only of cereals but also of a greater variety of pulses, fruits and vegetables.
Two types of cultivations are considered strategic and are the symbol of the potentiality of agrobiodiversity : mango plantations in the Terai and medicinal plants at higher altitudes. The former have grown exponentially in the plains on the border with India, consolidating a rich and profitable market. The wide spaces available and the tropical temperatures of the region are ideal conditions for mango plants, and orange and lemon trees to grow. These fruits grow rapidly and can be easily processed by the food industry for the production of juices and syrups. Also medicinal plants represent a source of great riches as on one hand the demand for them by the world cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries make the cultivations on the Himalayan slopes a great source of profits and development. On the other hand their utilization is a fundamental resource for the health of the inhabitants of the rural areas, who often do not have any other solutions to prevent and cure the most diverse health problems.
In the western and trans-Himalayan regions of the country over 700 different species of high-altitude plants are cultivated and used for medicinal purposes, while 100 of these are sold in the Nepalese domestic market, and international markets (prevalently in India were over 90% of the production of Ayurvedic plants is forwarded).
Management of natural resources
The Nepalese population follows traditional practices for the conservation of the resources, depending on the local ecosystem, which directly involve the individual families in the villages. Each member of the community individually adopts different solutions, but generally one person (or one family) is entrusted to act as the guardian of the forests and the forest resources, and indicates and punishes any violations. This task is compensated through a system of contribution in money or food resources (rice and wheat) called manapathi, that each family considers necessary for the entire community.
Institutions and international projects
In the last thirty years, besides the management of resources, a number of different interventions have been carried out by the government and by international organisms, with alternating and often opposite results. In fact the State intervened to move responsibilities to a local level, without bearing in mind the geographic differences of the specific areas in which these would be used, and adopting purely administrative criteria that were far from the real world.
On the other hand, the large international projects have often been unable to obtain concrete and long-lasting objectives, due to the incompatibility of the environmental contexts and the designed development methods : in fact, for this reason in the past few years the capacity to manage the natural resources on a local scale has been evaluated again, and once again it has become one of the points of reference of the projects.
In water exploitation and channelling, the government and institutional interventions have been decisive. Through the realization of mechanical pumps and large scale channelling, many rural communities have been guaranteed access to fresh water, tanks have been created in accessible areas and collective irrigation systems for the fields have been realized.
Notwithstanding a greater awareness of the problems, today the natural resources in Nepal seem to be in danger and seem destined to progressive deterioration . The high rate of growth of the population and the consequent demand for land that can be cultivated, the lack of coordination and project interaction, the shifting of entire communities, escaping civil war, and the abandoning of the rural areas are just some of the factors that have led to an increase in the unsustainable exploitation of the country.
Nepal is well known worldwide because of the beauty of its territory and the magnificent Himalayan mountain range : these factors, together with an incredible variety of environments and the presence of a number of natural reserve areas, lead us to consider tourism as the first source of development and economic profit for the country. But, as may be foreseen, development of the tourist industry must bear in mind other fundamental factors to keep the delicate balances of the Nepalese ecosystem unaltered; the sharp increase in the flow of tourists in the past twenty years has led to the need to regulate tourism methods and practices in the rural areas of Nepal, both in the mountain areas crossed by long trekking courses and in the natural reserves that are to be found scattered all over the country.
Unsustainable tracks
At higher altitudes, in mountain areas, the situation has become more critical, the mountain track that leads to the peak of mount Everest, one of the most famous tracks in the World, has been called the highest rubbish dump, this is the condition of the surrounding environment due to the passage of the tourists. In fact, every expedition brings a fair amount of food and consumable material along with it, which is abandoned along the way. It may suffice to think of the thousands of bottles of mineral water scattered in the mountain areas, or the oxygen tanks used at the higher altitudes. So, during the last decade, great efforts have been made to limit the damages of tourism on the environment, promoting the collection of rubbish, maintenance of the tracks, use of eco-compatible materials and the study of the impact on the traditional communities.
Parks and reserves
In order to protect the flora and fauna of the country, a number of natural reserves and protected parks have been created. Three different intervention sectors can be distinguished : national parks, natural reserves and conservation areas.
There are eight official national parks, they vary in climatic conditions and natural habitats and have been designed to guarantee sustainable access to tourists coming from all over the world; in many cases the creation of these parks has however provoked imbalance and injustice vis-à-vis the autochthonous populations, from whom land and resources have been subtracted.
The aim of the natural reserves instead, is to directly protect the rarer and more important animal and vegetable species of the country. Thanks to these areas that do not allow the flow of mass tourism, some endangered animal species have been restocked, as for example tigers, dolphins from the Ganges plain, the red panda and other animals.
Conservation Areas
Finally, Conservation Areas are dedicated to the growth and protection of high-altitude medicinal plants, aromatic flowers, orchids, rhododendrons and other types of precious herbs. The risk of an excessive exploitation , for commercial purposes, has led the Government to create four specific areas that are regulated by severe rules and harvest-shares.
In this way, for tourists who care for the protection of the environment, there are various problems to bear in mind, types of behaviour that must be avoided and areas that can be visited paying particular attention, in order to admire nature with due respect.
written by Filippo Tessari
