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NEPALNATIONAL BIODIVERSITY STRATEGY ANDACTION PLAN2014-2020PREPARED BYGOVERNMENT OF NEPALMINISTRY OF FORESTS AND SOIL CONSERVATIONSINGHADURBAR, KATHMANDU, NEPALJULY 2014National Biodiversity Strategy and Action PlanPage i

Government of NepalKATHMANDUNEPALThe Prime MinisterMessageGovernment of Nepal is committed to the conservation and sustainable utilization of biodiversityfor the prosperity of its people and the nation. As Nepal is endowed with rich biological diversity, ithas tremendous potential in reshaping people’s livelihood and economic base of the country. Itsconservation and management through relevant strategy is indispensable. The National BiodiversityStrategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) designed for the period 2014-2020 is aimed to provide astrategic framework for the conservation of Nepal’s biodiversity.The NBSAP envisions a conserved biodiversity contributing for sound and resilient ecosystems andnational prosperity. This document has been revised from the earlier Nepal Biodiversity Strategy(2002) and Implementation Plan (2006-2010) after rigorous and extensive consultations engaging awide range of stakeholders from national to community level.The NBSAP embraces the commitment to fulfill the international obligation as signatory to theConvention on Biological Diversity. I am confident that this strategy will provide a firm basis forplanning and sustainable management of biological diversity across all sector in the country.Finally, I would like to appreciate the efforts made by Mr. Mahesh Acharya, Hon’ble Minister,Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation (MoFSC) and Dr. Ganesh Raj Joshi, Secretary MoFSCand his team for the preparation of this document.July 2014Sushil Koiralaii

Government of NepalMinistry of Forests and Soil ConservationSingha Durbar, KathamanduForewordNepal strives to achieve sustainable economic growth through wise use of its natural resources. TheGovernment of Nepal fully recognizes that the efforts to economic growth would only besustainable if undertaken through sound environmental management. Accordingly, we are fullycommitted to managing the country’s rich biological diversity as per the national need, and in thespirit of the Convention on Biological Diversity and other relevant multilateral environmentalagreements to which Nepal is a Party. This National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan(NBSAP) is a key step forward towards achieving this goal.We are proud to the achievements that the country has made in conserving its biodiversity duringthe past decades. Community based management of forests and agro-biological resources are someof the successful conservation models in the country, which also have direct positive contribution topoverty alleviation. Protected area is another sub-sector that has made impressive progress inbiodiversity conservation in the last few decades. With over 23 percent of its land area underprotection, Nepal now ranks second in Asia and one of the top 20 countries in the world for thepercentage of its surface area that is protected. Population of some mega wildlife species, such astiger and rhinoceros, have been continuously increasing during the past few years. However, somereal threats and challenges are still with us.I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our development and conservation partners for theirsupport and local communities for their sincere efforts to conserve and sustainably use the country’sbiodiversity. We look forward to even stronger cooperation and collaboration among all the nationaland international stakeholders in implementing NBSAP. The Ministry of Forests and SoilConservation (MoFSC) will leave no stone unturned in taking the lead in implementation of thestrategies and priority actions included in this document.I would like to thank Dr. Ganesh R. Joshi, Secretary MoFSC for coordinating the process ofpreparing NBSAP and reviewing it and his entire team and the then secretaries Mr. Keshav P.Bhattarai, Mr. Nabin K. Ghimire and Dr. Krishna C. Poudel for initiating the process.July 2014Mahesh AcharyaMinisteriii

Government of NepalMinistry of Forests and Soil ConservationSingha Durbar, KathmanduAcknowledgementThe unique geographic position and variations in altitude and climate have made Nepal as one of thestorehouses of biological diversity in the world. The Government of Nepal is committed to conserve and usethis important natural resource sustainably for the benefit of the country’s present and future generations.This National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) is a key milestone in the conservation historyof Nepal, following the Biodiversity Profiles of Nepal (1996) and Nepal Biodiversity Strategy (2002). It isalso a testimony of Nepal’s continued commitment towards fulfilling her international obligations. Thedocument provides a comprehensive account of the country’s biodiversity; identifies the threats tobiodiversity; describes the key efforts, achievements and gaps in the management of biodiversity; presentsstrategic approaches, theme-specific strategies and associated priorities for actions; and outlines theimplementation arrangement. The strategies and priority actions take into consideration of the national needsin terms of conservation, sustainable use of its components and equitable sharing of benefits. The strategywill be implemented in collaboration and partnership with all relevant stakeholders. I believe that thedocument like this will attract the attention of both national stakeholders as well as of the global community.Several organizations and individuals, including government agencies, NGOs, members of local user groups,civil society organizations, farmers and individual experts, contributed in different ways to this strategy andaction plan. I would appreciate the efforts and inputs of reviewers namely Mr. Batu K. Uprety, Dr. Ram P.Chaudhary, Dr. Bijay K. Singh, Mr. Bimal K. Baniya, Mr. Shyam Bajimaya, and Mr. Harihar Sigdel. I wouldlike to thank Mr. Braj Kishor Yadav, Joint Secretary MoFSC for coordinating the process and his dedicationand sincere efforts in finalizing this document; Mr. Ram P. Lamsal and Mr. Krishna P. Acharya, and Dr.Annapurna N. Das Joint Secretaries MoFSC and Mr. Bishwa N. Oli, Director General, Department of Forestsfor contributing to enrich the technical quality of this document. The support from IUCN Offices in Nepal,Thailand and Switzerland, especially from Dr. Yam Malla, Dr. Scott Perkin, Dr. Sonia Penamoreno and Dr.Thomas Greiber who provided valuable feedbacks to the draft and Mr. Hermes Huang for editing thedocument is highly appreciated. I would like to thank Mr. Santosh Nepal, WWF and Mr. Top Bahadur Khatrifor their technical inputs and feedback in the process of finalization; and Sagar K. Rimal, Bodh R. Subedi,Govinda B. Shrestha, Madhu Ghimire, Rajendra Dhungana, Hem Raj Acharya and Kapil Khanal, for theirdedication and hard work to complete this task in time. I would also like to express my great appreciation tothe Kathmandu Forestry College team led by Dr. Ambika P. Gautam and members Dr. Bishu H. Pandit, Dr.Deep B. Swar, Dr. Krishna P. Poudel, Dr. Madhusudan Upadhyay, Mr. Narayan Belbase, Mr. Ram C.Khanal, Dr. Shreeram P. Neopane, Dr. Sushila C. Nepali and Mr. Tulshi B. Prajapati for supportingMinistry’s initiation of preparing NBSAP.Successful completion of this work would not have been possible without the support and cooperation ofsenior officials at this Ministry and the departments under it, and various other ministries, departments andoffices. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to all of them. The Ministry is also thankful to all theagencies and individual experts who provided their valuable comments and suggestions.Finally, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the Global Environment Facility and UnitedNations Environment Programme for their financial support to prepare NBSAP.July 2014Ganesh Raj Joshi, PhDSecretaryiv

Acronyms and OIDORDPRDSCODSCWMBEDAccess and Benefit SharingAnnapurna Conservation AreaAssociation of Collaborative Forest Users NepalAsian Development BankAgriculture Development StrategyAlternative Energy Promotion CenterAnimal Genetic ResourceBird Conservation NepalBuffer Zone Community ForestBuffer Zone Development CouncilConservation AreaConvention on Biological DiversityCommunity Based OrganisationCentral Bureau of StatisticsCentral Department of BotanyClean Development MechanismCommunication, Extension and OutreachCommunity/Forest User GroupConsultative Group on International Agricultural ResearchClearing House MechanismClimate Investment FundsConvention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and FloraChitwan National ParkConference of PartiesCivil Society OrganisationConservation and Sustainable Use of Wetlands in NepalDistrict Agriculture Development Office/OfficerDistrict Biodiversity Coordination CommitteeDistrict Development CommitteeDepartment for International Development (UK)District Forest Office/OfficerDepartment of Forest Research and SurveyDistrict Forestry Sector Coordination CommitteeDepartment of Livestock ServicesDeoxyribonucleic AcidDepartment of National Parks and Wildlife ConservationDepartment of AgricultureDepartment of ForestsDepartment of IrrigationDepartment of RoadsDepartment of Plant ResourcesDistrict Soil Conservation OfficeDepartment of Soil Conservation and Watershed ManagementBiodiversity and Environment Divisionv

DLNPLPGLRMPLSGAM&EMAPMDGMEAMLJPAMOADEnvironment Friendly Governance District Coordination CommitteeEnvironment Friendly Local Governance FrameworkEnvironment Friendly Local Governance Municipal Coordination CommitteeEnvironment Friendly Local Governance Village Coordination CommitteeEnvironmental Impact AssessmentEnvironment Protection CouncilFood and Agriculture Organization of the United NationsFederation of Community Forestry Users NepalFederation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and IndustryForest Resource AssessmentForest Resource Information System ProjectGross Domestic ProductGlobal Environment FacilityGreenhouse GasGeographical IndicationThe German Society for International CooperationGlacial Lake Outburst FloodGovernment of NepalGender and Social InclusionGlobal Taxonomic InitiativeInternational/ Nongovernment OrganisationInvasive Alien SpeciesInternational Centre for Integrated Mountain DevelopmentInternational Food Policy Research InstituteIntergovernmental Panel on Climate ChangeIntegrated Pest ManagementIntegrated Plant Nutrients ManagementIntellectual Property RightsIndigenous Traditional KnowledgeInternational Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and AgricultureInternational Union for Conservation of NatureLocal Adaptation Plan of ActionLocal Biodiversity Strategy and Action PlanLeast Developed CountryLeasehold Forest User GroupLocal Initiatives for Biodiversity Research and DevelopmentLangtang National ParkLiquefied Petroleum GasLand Resources Mapping ProjectLocal Self-Governance ActMonitoring and EvaluationMedicinal and Aromatic PlantsMillennium Development GoalMultilateral Environmental AgreementMinistry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary AffairsMinistry of Agricultural Developmentvi