Author: Bishnu Hari Pandit
AIT Library Call Number: AIT Diss. no.RD-03-02
Year: 2003
Academic Program: Regional and Rural Development Planning (RRDP)
Type: Thesis (Ph.D.) – Asian Institute of Technology, 2003
Examination Committee: Gopal B. Thapa (Chairperson); Karl E. Weber, Edward L. Webb, Roberto S. Clemente(Examination Committee Members)
Abstract: Research rationale and corresponding objectives address six issues: [i] the once abundant stock of plant species that are sources of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) is under threat of depletion [ii] the degradation of the natural resource base is severe, thus making conservation mandatory [iii] local people have become ever more dependent on the use of NFTPs to secure their livelihood [iv] the sound alternative to the collecting of NTFPs in the wild as a supplementary activity to eking out a living through field crop cultivation on small landholdings in marginal lands appears to be the domestication of commercially valuable NTFP species [ v] potential and prospects of planting NTFP species need to be appraised and [vi] a two-pronged strategy for the domestication of NTFP species is required, with focus on the interfacing of natural resource conservation and gainful involvement especially of disadvantaged segments of the local population, for the overall improvement of socioeconomic conditions. Required data was collected in the Malekhu Khola watershed that covers part of Dhading District in the Central Middle Hills of Nepal, conducting surveys of NTFP collectors’ households and traders’ shops, and through PRA, group discussions with local people and simultaneous, structured field observation. Owing to the existing contrast of biophysical conditions and native people’s ways of making a living by elevation, a systematic distinction is made between lower zone (LZ) and upper zone (UZ). Analytical tools employed render marketing margin, wealth ranking, and benefit-cost ratio and regression results. Findings pinpoint the causes of degradation of NTFP species in UZ government forests and LZ formal as well as informal community forests as [a] competitive extraction of NTFPs from the UZ open-access government forest, [b] malpractices in collecting NTFPs from LZ and UZ forests, [ c] deficiencies in managing LZ forests, [ d] lack of enforcement of control over the UZ government forest, and [ e] incoherent policy fr
Scholarship Donor(s): Danish International Development Assistance (DANIDA)
Note: A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
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