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Biomass plays a vital role in the energy supply of many developing countries. It is the major energy source for the rural population of Nepal, where 70 % of the total energy is derived from woody plant biomass in the form of fuelwood. The main aim of this study is to describe the fuelwood consumption pattern and the role of community forests and trees on private farmland in biomass supply to rural households in Nepal. The study investigates whether demography and socioeconomic attributes of households affect fuelwood consumption. A household survey was conducted, along with measurements of fuelwood mass for six community forest user groups in Dolakha district of Nepal. Average daily household fuelwood consumption was estimated to be 8.4 kg, giving a mean annual consumption of 3060 kg per household. Per capita fuelwood consumption per day was found to be 1.7 kg. Total fuelwood consumption of households is significantly correlated with household size, ownership of cultivated irrigated terraces and number of livestock per household, and negatively significantly correlated with ownership of cultivated rain-fed terraces. Fuelwood consumption varies significantly between seasons. Among various sources of biomass energy, fuelwood from community forests contributes 23 % and trees on private farmland contribute 12 %. The rest is provided from other biomass sources, including the remains of fodder collected from private farmland vegetation, wood previously used for fences and trellises in private farmland, crop residues, and purchased fuelwood.

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Chepang, inhabiting the rugged terrain of Mahabharat and Churia range in central Nepal, is a group of indigenous people suffering from severe food insecurity. Their ancestors lived a semi-nomadic life up to one and half century back. To a large extent, Chepang still continue their traditional way of living, which includes collection of wild tubers ('kandamul'), hunting and fishing. Chepangs are especially connected with the tubers of Dioscorea spp. Wild and cultivated species of Dioscorea are being used as sources of carbohydrates to supplement cereal food. However, dependency on such wild food is decreasing with adoption of agriculture. In this study we documented local knowledge on the diversity and use of Dioscorea species among Chepang in Dhusa and Jogimara Village Development Committees in Dhading district. Ethnobotanical data were collected through semi-structured interviews, forest transect walk and participatory observations. Out of 13 species of Dioscorea reported from all over Nepal, 10 species have been recorded from the study area. Chepang people use one species (Dioscorea deltoidea) as detergent and the rest nine species are exclusively used as food although many of them have multiple utilities. Chepang people have diverse knowledge in the identification, processing and consumption of wild tubers of Dioscorea spp. and such knowledge might have developed as a strategy to combat severe food scarcity. Use of disproportionately higher number of Dioscorea species by a single ethnic group and within a comparatively small territory indicates very close affinity of local cultural practice and the nature. The richness of knowledge associated with wild tubers and high dependency of Chepang on them is the manifestation of severe food insecurity and traditional mode of life due to their social and economic isolation for long time.

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Legal protection has been used as means of conserving forests and associated biodiversity in many regions of the world since the eighteenth century. However, most forests in the global south, even those within protected areas, are influenced by human activities. Himalayan forests harbour much of the biodiversity of the region, maintain subsistence livelihoods, and provide regional and global ecosystem services like water regulation, flood control, and carbon sequestration. Yet few studies have quantitatively studied the impacts of legal protection on forest health and biodiversity. We assess woody biodiversity and forest health in relation to legal protection and biomass extraction in forests inside and outside Langtang National Park in Nepal (n = 180). We found more woody species in protected forests. Of the 69 woody species recorded, 47% occurred at both sites. Within protected forests, we found differences in forest health largely related to the intensity of biomass extraction expressed as walking distance to settlement. The closer the forest was to settlements, the heavier degradation it suffered, showing that within agro-forestry systems in the Himalayas, the resource-consumer distance is typically determining the intensity of biomass extraction. Our research brings forth the need to better address the drivers of resource extraction from protected areas in order to mitigate this degradation. It also brings forth the need to contribute to the development of appropriate participatory management programmes outside areas of formal protection in order to sustain both biodiversity and ecosystem service delivery from these forests for the future.

support and encouragement of my supervisors. My sincere gratitude is due to Prof. Ole R. Vetaas who, in fact, had already started supervising me even before I started my PhD. He was expedient in using every circumstance-at the coffee and dinner table, while travelling on the car and during the forest walk-to teach me the philosophy, concepts, methods and approaches of community ecology. Most importantly, he was always there whenever I needed him for discussion. My learning has done less than justice to the several learning opportunities he created for me. I am equally indebted to Dr. Inger E. Måren for her support and guidance, more particularly, in academic and research writing. Her feedback, corrections, tips and comments to successive versions of my every manuscript have offered a useful academic writing training to a novice researcher like me. I would also like to thank Prof. John-Arvid Grytnes for his supervision and, most importantly, the critical feedback on the manuscripts. I thank Prof. Tor H. Aase for suggestions during my study. I find myself very fortunate to get company of very loving and supportive friends. Madhu Rijal, I feel lucky that I could have him as someone whom I could take for granted either for support in academic or personal matters. I remember Yograj Gautam for his insightful perspectives on academic and contemporary social and political affairs of our homeland, and beyond. I would like to acknowledge the support of Madan Krishna Suwal on technical stuffs. Kamal Ghimire offered me a reliable company and help during my fieldwork in Chitwan, Nepal. I am also thankful to my friend Ambika Laxmi Shrestha for all her help to me and my family. I am thankful to all the help and company I obtained from Krishna Babu Shrestha and Keshav Poudel. I would also like to thank Anne-Kathrin Thomassen for her help in practicalities at the departments. Thanks also go to Cathy Jenks for editing my manuscripts. I like to acknowledge Lånekassen, Department of Geography, UiB and Meltzer fund for supporting my study. Last but not the least, what keeps me going is the love and understanding of my wife, Sita and lovely daughter Aarusi. Suniva, lovely little one joined our family, had not she remained quiet, final hours of thesis writing would not be easier.