The economic value of wetland ecosystem services: Evidence from the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, Nepal

Implications of land cover change on ecosystems services and people’s dependency: A case study from the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, Nepal

“…This suggests that the reserve is of high value to the local community, also confirmed by Sharma et al (2015) who calculated the economic values of ecosystem services of the reserve showing high dependency. Similarly, Heinen and Kattel (1992); DNPWC (2000) and CSUWN (2009) reported a high dependency of local people on the reserve, contributing to the local economy of the area (Rayamajhi, 2009).…”

Reconciling Mountain Biodiversity Conservation and Human Wellbeing: Drivers of Biodiversity Loss and New Approaches in the Hindu-Kush Himalayas

“…national parks, sanctuaries, wildlife reserves) is an essential but insufficient strategy for biodiversity conservation (Chettri et al, 2007;Chettri et al, 2009). Now, the focus has shifted from simply preserving isolated patches of sustained wilderness in the form of protected areas, to the need for maintaining landscape integrity and to see -and conserve -ecosystems as part of larger agro-ecological and socio-cultural landscapes (Chettri et al, 2015). However, the progress towards wider landscape approach is also witnessing various challenges including the human wildlife conflict (HWC).…”

“…3) is being used to support programme design. The programme has a strong element of monitoring change through long-term environmental and socio-ecological monitoring (see Chettri et al, 2015) and focuses on managing the landscapes to sustain the flow of ecosystem goods and services in order to improve livelihoods and enhance ecological integrity, economic development, and socio-cultural resilience to environmental changes (Box 1). There are five thematic focus areas: Goal: Trans-boundary landscapes are better conserved and managed for sustaining ecosystem goods and services, and to improve livelihoods and enhance ecological integrity, economic development, and socio-cultural resilience to environmental changes.…”

“…The significance of HKH biodiversity as the source of a wide range of ecosystem goods and services has been well recognized by many scholars (Messerli and Ives, 1997;Viviroli et al, 2007). The HKH region plays an extremely important role as a provider of ecosystem goods and services to a downstream area with services such as provision of the vast water resources used for irrigation (Molden et al, 2014;Quyang, 2009), biodiversity based resources for food, shelter, and economic development (Pant et al, 2012;Sharma et al, 2015;Singh, 2002;2006) and climate regulation (Messerli and Ives, 1997). However, although the region is rich in resources, the levels of poverty are generally higher than in the downstream counterpart areas (Gerlitz et al, 2012).…”

“…It is important to improve scientific understanding of ecosystem structure and functioning and drivers of change as a basis for formulating comprehensive ecosystem management approaches and strategies that link to human well-being and poverty alleviation (Chettri et al, 2015;Molden et al, 2014). But, despite the significance of the HKH biodiversity, there has been little coordinated effort to understand the drivers of biodiversity loss or their impact on conservation and economic development .…”