| Abstract | Given the long, narrow river valleys flanked by lofty ridges, with
heterogeneous spatial, physical and socio-economic features, rational
watershed management in t he middle Hills of Nepal must be based on the
systematic analysis of relationships among spatial , physical and socioeconomic phenomena. Planning for environmentally suitable and
economically sustainable watershed development requires a multipronged
strategy, with foci on all aviating the otherwise ever increasing
pressure on forest and arable land resources and on eradicating abysmal
poverty. In doing the groundwork for such planning strategy, cross-sectional as well as longitudinal research was undertaken in the Upper
Pokhara Valley, covering four ridge and valley settlements each
represented by 298 farm households of different landholding categories
and castes, with emphasis on their resource use and management systems.
Factors determining resource management were tested. To complement the
inventory of existing conditions, spatial and temporal processes of l and
use changes since 1957 were investigated, using topographical and land
utilization maps, aerial-photographs, and satellite imagery.
Findings reveal that erstwhile existing forests were destroyed
mainly in the pursuit of expanding agricultural lands , while future
degradation and depletion will likely be caused by fuelwood and fodder
collection. Results of investigations into use and management of
resources under both the public and the private domain show that caste
level and landholding size were related to resource endowment and
utilization intensity. Resource use and management systems were found
being relatively sensible in valley settlements at accessible locations
i n contrast to ridge settlements particularly at hardly accessible
locations. Although numerous ridge households disposed of non-farming
income , that finance had apparently not been invested in activities
related to watershed management. Overal1, the resource use and
management system was inefficient owing to the strong dependency on
subsistence agriculture, characterized by an inadequate l and use system,
small and fragmented landholdings, difficult access to support services
and faci1ities, and backwash effects of market centers, compounded by
somewhat lopsided and counterproductive changes in government forest
policies over the past decades. To alleviate the pressure on watersheds
and to institutionalize sustainable development , t he suggested
multipronged watershed management strategy includes the creation of mass
awareness, provision of manpower development training, adoption of an
environmentally suitable and economically sustainable cropping system, promotion of agribusiness, improvement and strengthening of support
services and facilities, establishment of agro-processing industries,
and rehabilitation of critical locations. Recognizing the ecological
variation, area specific and target group oriented watershed
management programs are outlined in the context of this multipronged
watershed management strategy. |
