Scope of REDD+ in Eastern Himalaya of Nepal

Trilochana Basnett; Niroj Timalsina; Rajesh Bahadur Thapa; Bhaskar Singh Karky; Kai Windhorst

doi:10.36808/if/2019/v145i9/148678

Scope of REDD+ in Eastern Himalaya of Nepal

Authors

Trilochana Basnett International Center for Integrated Mountain Development, Kathmandu
Niroj Timalsina International Center for Integrated Mountain Development, Kathmandu
Rajesh Bahadur Thapa International Center for Integrated Mountain Development, Kathmandu
Bhaskar Singh Karky International Center for Integrated Mountain Development, Kathmandu
Kai Windhorst Deutsche GesellschaftfÃ¼r Internationale Zusammenarbeit

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36808/if/2019/v145i9/148678

Keywords:

Land Cover Mapping, Forest Change Analysis, REDD , Nepal.

Abstract

Changing forest landscape is a global phenomenonand an indicator of deforestation and forest degradation. Utilization of remote sensing technology gives a unique opportunity to map, estimate and identifythese indicators. This study aims to trace land cover patterns and the forest cover change in five districts namely, Sankhuwasabha, Bhojpur, Sunsari, Dhankuta and Terhathum of Nepaloverthe last eighteen years (2000-2018). Time series land cover maps of three years (2000, 2010 and 2018) were derived from Landsat satellite imagery. These maps along with the use of GIS tools helped in identifying the land cover change matrix. Adding to that, spatial metrics were computedto analyze landscape fragmentation and degradation of land cover. The results highlight two main points: 1) overall, forest growth in terms of the area across the region with some deforestation and forest degradation still evident. Forest land to cropland conversion still observed to be the dominant cause of change, 2) a gradual decreasing trend in landscape fragmentation observed which could be due to restricted human interferences indicating improved management of land resources. The knowledge of existing forest cover change helps in managing the forest in an efficient manner and could be an area for further REDD+ programs.

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