BackgroundLocal people in the Himalayan region use a wide range of wild and non-cultivated edible plants (WNEPs) for food, spice, medicinal, and cultural purposes. However, their availability, use, status and contribution to livelihood security are poorly documented, and they have been generally overlooked in recent agro-biodiversity conservation and management programmes. The study aimed to investigate WNEP diversity and current status in a part of the Kailash Sacred Landscape—a transboundary landscape shared by Nepal, India and PR China—in terms of collection, use, management and conservation initiatives.MethodsMultiple methodologies and tools were used for data collection. A series of participatory tools (45 key informant interviews, 10 focus group discussions, a crop diversity fair, direct observation of species through a transect walk and rapid market assessments) was followed by a household survey (195 respondents) and complemented by a literature review.ResultsThe study recorded 99 WNEPs belonging to 59 families of which 96 were angiosperms, one gymnosperm and two pteridophytes. Species were used for food, spice, medicine, rituals and income generation. Thirty-five species had multiple uses, including these: 40 species were used for fruit and 31 for vegetables. WNEPs contribute significantly to daily food requirements, especially the vegetables. The use value of Dryopteris cochleata was found highest (0.98) among frequently used vegetable species. The values of informant consensus factor were found maximum for worms in the stomach (0.99) and minimum for skin disease treatment (0.67). Nearly 85% of households depended exclusively on WNEPs for at least more than a month per year. Results on the importance and use of different species, gender roles in WNEP activities and conservation approaches are presented.ConclusionsPeople living in the Kailash Sacred Landscape depend significantly on WNEPs, and this is especially critical in times of food shortage. The WNEPs have considerable potential as an important supplement to cultivated food crops. Farmers prioritise species with multiple use values and popular vegetables. However, there are numerous challenges and interventions needed to ensure conservation and management of species and their continued availability to support food security and local livelihoods.

h i g h l i g h t s• Temporal change in land cover and forest fragmentation were analyzed.• The results showed 9% decrease in forest cover and 12% increase in cropland.• A further 4% decline in forest cover and 5% increase in cropland were predicted. • 10% decrease in large core forest and 10.6% decline in core forest was predicted.• Expansions of cropland coupled with high dependency on forests are the drivers. a b s t r a c tLand cover change is one of the most important drivers of forest ecosystem change. The Hindu Kush Himalayan region (HKH) has experienced severe forest degradation but data and documentation are limited. We undertook this study in the Nepalese part of the Kailash Sacred Landscape (KSL), an important transboundary region known for its biodiversity and the scared values. Forest is an important ecosystem within the landscape and provides various goods and services including habitat for many keystone species. However, precise information on forest change and overall land cover change in the area is limited. We analyzed land cover change and forest fragmentation between 1990 and 2009, and the predicted change for 2030. There was a 9% decrease in forest cover and 12% increase in cropland between 1990 and 2009. A further 4% decline in forest cover and 5% increase in cropland was predicted by 2030, together with a slight increase in grassland and barren area. Fragmentation analysis showed a 10% decrease in large core forest between 1990 and 2009, accompanied by an increase in patch forest. A further 10.6% decline in core forest was predicted by 2030, accompanied by an increase in patch, perforated, small-sized core, and mediumsized core areas. The study suggests that expansions of cropland coupled with high dependency on forests are the major drivers of the observed forest change. Recommendations are made based on the results of the study that will help to maintain and restore forest, and support biodiversity conservation and livelihoods.

BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.

BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.

Hindu Kush Himalaya is home to many cultural and religious sites. The literature on the valuation of cultural sites in the mountain terrains is thin. Hence, their development and sustainability are often ignored. Using primary survey data from three different sites in the Kailash Sacred Landscape of India and Nepal, the cultural value of religious sites to the visitors and households living in the surrounding areas was estimated using a modified travel cost method. As visitors travel by foot and offer donations at the religious sites, the estimations account for these aspects in travel cost calculations. For the sample sites, the per year average use value of cultural services was estimated to be USD 2.9 million. Excluding the use value to the outside visitors, the annual estimated use value of cultural services to the approximately 200,000 households of the entire KSL area, which covers 31,252 km2, is over USD 22.6 million, which is over 7% and 15% of the per capita income of Indian and Nepali households, respectively, indicating the importance of the natural-cultural environments in rural livelihoods. The estimated values will help planners manage these cultural sites sustainably for improving the livelihoods of the people living in the area.

Satellite imagery has proven extremely useful for repetitive timelinebased data collection, because it offers a synoptic view and enables fast processing of large quantities of data. The changes in tree crown number and land cover in a very remote watershed (area 1305 ha) in Nepal were analyzed using a QuickBird image from 2006 and an IKONOS image from 2011. A geographic object-based image analysis (GEOBIA) was carried out using the region-growing technique for tree crown detection, delineation, and change assessment, and a multiresolution technique was used for land cover mapping and change analysis. The coefficient of determination for tree crown detection and delineation was 0.97 for QuickBird and 0.99 for IKONOS, calculated using a line-intercept transect method with 10 randomly selected windows (131 ha). The number of tree crowns decreased from 47,121 in 2006 to 41,689 in 2011, a loss of approximately 90 trees per month on average; the area of needle-leaved forest was reduced by 140 ha (23%) over the same period. Analysis of widely available very-high-resolution satellite images using GEOBIA techniques offers a costeffective method for detecting changes in tree crown number and land cover in remote mountain valleys; the results provide the information needed to support improved local-level planning and forest management in such areas.

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Throughout the Hindu Kush Himalayas, uncultivated plants provide a green social and cultural security to millions of people supporting their livelihood. Review on evaluating the multifunctional role of uncultivated plants in perspective of livelihood support finds that plants add diversity to local food systems, reinforce local culture and contribute diversity to farming systems, and finally are important for household food and nutrition security, social security, income generation and health care. Further, this paper clarifies that local people maintain and conserve diversity for the sake of use. The wise conservation and use of uncultivated plants are essential elements for increasing food security, eliminating poverty, and maintaining the environment. However, the value and potential of uncultivated plants for food and nutrition security, household level health care, income generation opportunity are not yet realized. Fast changing climate and early projections on its impacts suggest that such programmes must increasingly consider the sustenance of ecosystem that promotes uncultivated plants as basis for the welfare of millions.