Governance of forest resource use in western Nepal: Current state and community preferences.

Improved governance of natural resource use is critical to the sustainability and maintenance of environmental quality. In western Nepal, unsustainable resource extraction is seen by the local community as a major threat to forest sustainability. While most respondents to a survey of 243 households inside and outside a protected area (PA) thought the laws for managing resource use were adequate and appropriate, a far smaller proportion thought they were achieving their objectives. Disenchantment with the existing governance regime was strongest outside the PA, probably because there was greater investment in community engagement within the PA. The most likely reason for this failure is the deeply embedded corruption within the forest governance system. Devolution of power to local communities by increasing governance participation is one of the most likely means of containing corruption. It was therefore not surprising that governance participation was rated as the most important governance principle by respondents in a best-worst scaling experiment. Respondents also regarded effectiveness, accountability and transparency as important governance principle to improve management of forest resource extraction from red panda habitat.

Suitable habitat of wild Asian elephant in Western Terai of Nepal.

BACKGROUND: There is currently very little available research on the habitat suitability, the influence of infrastructure on distribution, and the extent and connectivity of habitat available to the wild Asian elephant (Elephas maximus). Information related to the habitat is crucial for conservation of this species. METHODS: In this study, we identified suitable habitat for wild Asian elephants in the Western Terai region of Nepal using Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) software. RESULTS: Of 9,207 km2, we identified 3194.82 km2 as suitable habitat for wild Asian elephants in the study area. Approximately 40% of identified habitat occurs in existing protected areas. Most of these habitat patches are smaller than previous estimations of the species home range, and this may reduce the probability of the species continued survival in the study area. Proximity to roads was identified as the most important factor defining habitat suitability, with elephants preferring habitats far from roads. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that further habitat fragmentation in the study area can be reduced by avoiding the construction of new roads and connectivity between areas of existing suitable habitat can be increased through the identification and management of wildlife corridors between habitat patches.