Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-5nwft Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-02T23:50:55.661Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Impact of grazing restrictions on livestock composition and husbandry practices in Madi Valley, Chitwan National Park, Nepal

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 March 2010

BHIM GURUNG ,
KRISTEN C. NELSON  and
JAMES L.D. SMITH
BHIM GURUNG*
Affiliation:
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota, 1980 Folwell Avenue, St Paul, MN 55108, USA
KRISTEN C. NELSON
Affiliation:
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota, 1980 Folwell Avenue, St Paul, MN 55108, USA Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, 1530 N. Cleveland Avenue, St Paul, MN 55108, USA
JAMES L.D. SMITH
Affiliation:
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota, 1980 Folwell Avenue, St Paul, MN 55108, USA
*
*Correspondence: Dr Bhim Gurung Tel: +1 612 626 1213 Fax: +1 612 625 5299 e-mail: guru0023@umn.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Livestock grazing restrictions are a common practice in the protected areas of developing countries. Understanding the influence of these restrictions on livestock husbandry is critical because local people's livelihoods often depend on access to grazing lands and biodiversity conservation may be affected by grazing activities. Household surveys and government records were used to examine impacts of grazing restrictions on livestock composition and use of available forage resources in the Madi Valley of Chitwan National Park (Nepal) during early (1997) and late (2006) restriction policy periods. Households responded to grazing restrictions by reducing numbers of less productive cattle and high maintenance buffalo to offset forage demands, but there was no decrease in the number of goats. In 2006, average household fodder biomass (3.4 t yr−1) available from agricultural land was adequate for the average household livestock units (3.3 t yr−1) requirement. Although most households ‘stall fed’ livestock as an adjustment to the new policy, about 30% still depended on community forests and parklands for livestock rearing. Higher ‘stall feeding’ reduced grazing pressure and increased forest cover but demanded more fodder cutting, which has the potential to increase human/wildlife interactions, particularly with tigers in the buffer zone community forests.

Keywords

buffer zone forestgrazing restrictionhousehold livelihoodlivestockNepalprotected areas
Type
EC Perspectives
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 36 , Issue 4 , December 2009 , pp. 338 - 347
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adhikari, B., Williams, F. & Lovett, J.C. (2007) Local benefits from community forests in the middle hills of Nepal. Forest Policy and Economics 9: 464–478.Google Scholar
Agrawal, A. & Gupta, K. (2005) Decentralization and participation: the governance of common pool resources in Nepal's terai. World Development 33 (7): 1101–1114.Google Scholar
Baral, N., Stern, M.J. & Heinen, J.T. (2007) Integrated conservation and development project life cycles in the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal: is development overpowering conservation? Biodiversity Conservation 16: 2903–2917.Google Scholar
Berkmuller, K., Mukherjee, S. & Mishra, B. (1990) Grazing and cutting pressures on Ranthambhore National Park, Rajasthan, India. Environmental Conservation 17 (2): 135–141.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bjonness, I.M. (1980) Animal husbandry and grazing, a conservation and management problem in Sagarmatha (Mt Everest) National Park, Nepal. Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift 34: 59–76.Google Scholar
Bookbinder, M.P., Dinerstein, E., Rijal, A., Cauley, H. & Rajouria, A. (1998) Ecotourism's support of biodiversity conservation. Conservation Biology 12 (6): 1399–1404.Google Scholar
Brandon, K.E. & Wells, M. (1992) Planning for people and parks: design dilemmas. World Development 20 (4): 557–570.Google Scholar
Brower, B. (1990) Range conservation and Sherpa livestock management in Khumbhu, Nepal. Mountain Research and Development 10 (1): 34–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Budhathoki, P. (2003) A Category V Protected Landscape approach to buffer zone management in Nepal. Parks 13 (2): 22–30.Google Scholar
Budhathoki, P. (2004) Linking communities with conservation in developing countries: buffer zone management initiatives in Nepal. Oryx 38 (3): 334–341.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, B.M., Bradley, P. & Carter, S.E. (1997) Sustainability and peasant farming systems: observations from Zimbabwe. Agriculture and Human Values 14: 159–168.Google Scholar
DDC Chitwan (2002) District Profile of Chitwan. District Development Committee, Chitwan. Information and Resource Archive Center, Chitwan, Nepal.Google Scholar
DNPWC & PPP (2000) Royal Chitwan National Park and Buffer Zone, resource profile. Report, DNPWC & PPP, Kathmandu. Nepal.Google Scholar
Dong, S.K., Gao, H.W., Xu, G.C., Hou, X.Y., Long, R.J. & Kang, M.Y. (2007) Farmer and professional attitudes to the large-scale ban on livestock grazing of grasslands in China. Environmental Conservation 34 (3): 246–254.Google Scholar
Duncan, A.J., Rahman, A., Miller, D.W., Frutos, P., Gordon, I.J., Rehman, A., Baig, A., Ali, F. & Wright, I.A. (2006) Transhumance livestock production in the northern areas of Pakistan: nutritional inputs and productive outputs. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 117: 195–204.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
FAO (2005) FAOSTAT Data. Rome Italy: Food and Agriculture Organization.Google Scholar
Guneratne, A. (2002) Many Tongues, One People: The Making of Tharu Identity in Nepal. New York, NY, USA: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Gurung, B., Smith, J.L.D., McDougal, C., Karki, J.B. & Barlow, A. (2008) Factors associated with human-killing tigers in Chitwan National Park, Nepal. Biological Conservation 141: 3069–3078.Google Scholar
Gurung, K.K. (1983) Heart of the Jungle: the Wildlife of Chitwan, Nepal. London, UK: Andre Deutsch Limited in association with Tiger Tops.Google Scholar
Hackel, J.D. (1998) Community conservation and the future of Africa's wildlife. Conservation Biology 13 (4): 726–734.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heinen, J.T. (1993) Park- people relation in Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, Nepal. Environmental Conservation 20 (1): 25–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heinen, J.T. & Mehta, J.N. (2000) Emerging issues in legal and procedural aspects of buffer zone management with case studies from Nepal. Journal of Environment and Development 9 (1): 45–67.Google Scholar
Heinen, J.T. & Shrestha, S.K. (2006) Evolving policies for conservation: an historical profile of the protected area system of Nepal. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management 49 (1): 41–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Henneberger, J. (1996) Transformations in the concept of the Park. Trumpeter 13 (3): 1–14.Google Scholar
HMGN (1988) Master plan for forestry sector Nepal: Main report. Master Plan for Forestry Sector Project of His Majesty's Government of Nepal, Asian Development Bank, FINNIDA, Kathmandu, Nepal.Google Scholar
HMGN (1996) Buffer Zone Management Regulation 1996. Kathmandu, Nepal: MFSC.Google Scholar
Joshi, S. (1999) A socio-economic analysis of residents in the buffer zone of Royal Chitwan National Park, Nepal. M.S. thesis, University of Minnesota, USA.Google Scholar
Kremen, C., Merenhender, A.M. & Murphy, D.D. (1994) Ecological monitoring: a vital need for integrated conservation and development programs in the tropics. Conservation Biology 8 (2): 388–397.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lehmkuhl, J.F., Upretti, R.K. & Sharma, U.R. (1988) National parks and local development: grass and people in Royal Chitwan National Park, Nepal. Environmental Conservation 15: 143–148.Google Scholar
Lewis, M. (2003) Cattle and conservation at Bharatpur: a case study in science and advocacy. Conservation and Society 1 (1): 1–21.Google Scholar
Mandal, A.B., Paul, S.S. & Pathak, N.N. (2003) Nutrient Requirements and Feeding of Buffaloes and Cattle. Lucknow, India: International Book Distributing Co.Google Scholar
Marcus, R.R. (2001) Seeing the forest for the trees: Integrated conservation and development projects and local perception of conservation in Madagascar. Human Ecology 29 (4): 381–397.Google Scholar
McNeely, J.A. (1988) Economics and Biological Diversity: Developing and Using Economics Incentives to Conserve Biological Resources. Gland, Switzerland: International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.Google Scholar
Mishra, C. (1997) Livestock depredation by large carnivores in the Indian Trans-Himalayan: conflict perceptions and conservation prospects. Environmental Conservation 24: 338–343.Google Scholar
Mishra, C., Prins, H.H.T. & Van Wieren, S.E. (2003) Diversity, risk mediation and change in a Trans-Himalayan agro pastoral system. Human Ecology 31 (4): 595–609.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mishra, H.R. (1984) A delicate balance: tigers, rhinoceros, tourists and park management vs. the needs of local people in Royal Chitwan National Park, Nepal. In: National Parks, Cconservation and Development: The Role of Protected Areas in Sustaining Society, ed. McNeely, J.A. and Miller, K.R., pp. 197–205. Washington, DC, USA: Smithsonian Institution Press.Google Scholar
MFSC (2000) Royal Chitwan National Park and Buffer Zone: Management Plan (2001–2005). MFSC/HMGN, Kathmandu, Nepal.Google Scholar
Nanda, A.S. & Nakao, T. (2003) Role of buffalo in the socioeconomic development of rural Asia: current status and future prospectus. Animal Science Journal 74: 443–455.Google Scholar
Nash, R. (1970) The American invention of national parks. American Quarterly 22 (3): 726–735.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nautiyal, S., Rao, K.S., Maikhuri, R.K. & Saxena, K.P. (2003) Transhumant pastoralism in the Nanda Devi biosphere reserve, India: a case study in the buffer zone. Mountain Research and Development 23 (3): 255–262.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nepal, S.K. & Weber, K.E. (1995 a) A buffer zone for biodiversity conservation: viability of the concept in Nepal's Royal Chitwan National Park. Environmental Conservation 21 (4): 333–341.Google Scholar
Nepal, S.K. & Weber, K.E. (1995 b) The quandary of local people-park relations in Nepal's Royal Chitwan National Park. Environmental Management 19 (6): 853–866.Google Scholar
Oli, M.K., Taylor, I.R. & Rogers, M.E. (1994) Snow leopard Panthera uncia predation of livestock: an assessment of local perceptions in the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal. Biological Conservation 68: 63–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pingali, P.L. (1997) From subsistence to commercial production systems: the transformation of Asian agriculture. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 79 (2): 628–634.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Prins, H.H.T. (1992) The pastoral road to extinction: competition between wildlife and traditional pastoralism in East Africa. Environmental Conservation 19 (2): 117–123.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reed, C.A. (1970) Extinction of mammalian mega fauna in the old world late Quaternary. BioScience 20 (5): 284–288.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saberwal, V.K. (1996) Pastoral politics: gaddi grazing, degradation, and biodiversity conservation in Himachal Pradesh, India. Conservation Biology 10 (3): 741–749.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sebastian, L., Mudgal, V.D. & Nair, P.G. (1970) Comparative efficiency of milk production by Sahiwal cattle and Murrah buffalo. Journal of Animal Science 30: 253–256.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seidensticker, J. (1976) Ungulate population in Chitwan Valley, Nepal. Biological Conservation 10: 183–210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seidensticker, J. & McDougal, C. (1993) Tiger predatory behavior, ecology and conservation. Symposia of the Zoological Society of London 65: 105–125.Google Scholar
Sharma, U.R. (1990) An overview of park people interactions in Royal Chitwan National Park, Nepal. Landscape and Urban Planning 19: 133–144.Google Scholar
Sharma, U.R. & Shaw, W.W. (1993) Role of Nepal's Royal Chitwan National Park in meeting the grazing and fodder needs of local people. Environmental Conservation 20: 139–142.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Silori, C.S. & Mishra, B.K. (2001) Assessment of livestock grazing pressure in and around the elephant corridors in Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary, south India. Biodiversity and Conservation 10: 2181–2195.Google Scholar
Spiteri, A. & Nepal, S.K. (2008) Distributing conservation incentives in the buffer zone of Chitwan National Park, Nepal. Environmental Conservation 35 (1): 76–86.Google Scholar
Studsrod, J.E. & Wegge, P. (1995) Park-people relationship: the case of damage caused by park animals around the Royal Bardia National Park, Nepal. Environment Conservation 22 (2): 133–142.Google Scholar
Sunquist, M.E. (1981) The social organization of tigers (Panthera tigris) in Royal Chitwan National Park, Nepal. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 336: 1–98.Google Scholar
Thapa, G.B. & Paudel, G.S. (2000) Evaluation of the livestock carrying capacity of land resources in the Hills of Nepal based on total digestive nutrient analysis. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 78: 223–235.Google Scholar
Tulachan, P.M. (2001) Mountain agriculture in the Hindu Kush-Himalaya: a regional comparative analysis. Mountain Research and Development 21 (3): 260–267.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomas-Slayter, B. & Bhatt, N. (1994) Land, livestock, and livelihoods: changing dynamics of gender, caste, and ethnicity in Nepalese village. Human Ecology 22 (4): 467–494.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, S.W. & Macdonald, D.W. (2006) Livestock predation by carnivores in Jigme Singye Wangchuck National Park, Bhutan. Biological Conservation 129: 558–565.Google Scholar
World Conservation Union (1980) World Conservation Strategy: Living Resource Conservation for Sustainable Development. Gland, Switzerland: World Conservation Union.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Guring et al. supplementary material

Appendix

Download Guring et al. supplementary material(File)
File 93.2 KB