Half century in biodiversity and conservation research in Nepal: a review

Scientific research on biodiversity and conservation generates the knowledge base useful in achieving sustainability targets. The knowledge gap limits our ability to design well-founded strategies and impedes the prospects of addressing myriad conservation challenges. It is therefore important to assess trends and biases in biodiversity and conservation literature to monitor progress and make corrective actions where needed. Nepal is considered among the most biodiverse regions globally, yet little is known about the progress of biodiversity and conservation science. Here we reviewed 1098 articles published over the last fifty-six years (1964–2019) and provide a snapshot of research patterns, trends and gaps in terms research lens, physiography, ecosystem, protected area, taxonomy, ecological focus, funding, research recommendation, and research authorship and collaboration. The results of our study showed a monotonic trend of article publication until 1990, which increased significantly after 1999. There is a growing trend in the number of publications with socio-economic and multidisciplinary lens. Research publications are highly biased in favour of few taxonomic groups, mainly gymnosperms and mammals, with a preponderance of certain species, while other classes of both the plant and animal kingdoms were less studied. There was disproportionately low focus on certain physiographic regions (e.g., high Himalaya, Siwalik), ecosystem types (e.g., wetlands) and non-protected areas. Articles with an ecological focus were mainly exploratory—e.g., describing general distributions—whereas specialized ecological/evolutionary research (e.g., grazing, competition, physiology), except for genetics and climate change, were rare. More than half of the articles were authored only by foreign-based researchers, who contributed up to 89% of published articles, and consistently maintained dominance as corresponding and lead authors. There is a need to realign research efforts and support home-grown researchers with training, funding and institution-building. This requires a concerted commitment by the Government of Nepal, conservation organizations, researchers and academic institutions. There remains a great need for more empirical science to inform decision-making and consequently achieve ambitious national conservation targets.