IRREPLACEABLE
M A D A N E F O R E S T, N E PA L
VARIETY IS THE
SPICE OF LIFE
A vegtetable-growing programme might not instantly set pulses racing – but its success has
put food on the plates of people, livestock and even insects
by Mitra Pandey
P
rewards they could reap from this new
initiative. It was the first time that farming
families in Hwangdi had ever had the
opportunity to independently grow a
diversity of vegetables on their own
farmland. As well as adding new flavour
and nutrition to their daily diets, families
now sell surplus vegetables at their local
market. According to one participant,
Mrs. Khima Gharti Magar: “We had to
borrow money from neighbours before,
but now vegetable farming has made us
self-reliant.”
The benefits aren’t just financial:
local people’s livestock used to feed on
forest plants, but now they can feed on
vegetable leftovers, taking even more
pressure off the forest. Growing a variety
of vegetables is also insect-friendly,
providing the food and space that vital
pollinators such as bees require to keep
the whole ecosystem healthy. It looks
like variety really is the spice of life.
Nepalese forest
Photo Bird Conservation Nepal
I
B A
F A C
T
F
I
L
E
rotecting your local forest
doesn’t have to entail a big
upheaval. Sometimes, you
just need to diversify a little.
In Hwangdi, West Nepal, the people
living around Madane Forest protected
area used to make their living growing
cash crops such as maize, millet and
potatoes – but their earnings were
limited, and the only way they could
make more money was to clear more
land and expand into the protected
forest. That changed when our Partner,
Bird Conservation Nepal, offered a
vegetable-growing programme to 62
farmers, providing them with vegetable
seeds and training them to grow
mushrooms, cauliflower, cabbage, lady’s
finger, gourds and tomatoes.
Having only ever grown a few seasonal
vegetables before, local people were
sceptical of the benefits at first, but
were pleasantly surprised by the many
MADANE FO R EST
(P OT ENT IA L IBA )
LOCATION: Western Nepal
TYPE: Mountain forest
Khima Gharti Magar selling
mushrooms
Photo Shambhu Bhattarai
SIZE: 13,761 HECTARES
SPECIES: Red-headed Vulture,
Egyptian Vulture, Cheer Pheasant, Asian
Woollyneck
WHAT MAKES IT A HOME?
Thanks to its diverse geography and
vegetation, this high-altitude forest
is home to a wide variety of wildlife.
Positioned between two other IBAs and
a lake, it is an important wildlife corridor.
ANY THREATS?
Habitat destruction, overharvesting of
natural resources such as vegetation and
water, illegal hunting and forest fires are
all pressures at this site.
FOCAL PARTNER
OCT-DEC 2019 • BIRDLIFE
WHAT IS BEING DONE?
In addition to sustainable forest
management schemes, PPN conducted
a survey of the birds in this area, finding
many globally threatened and restricted-
range species. BirdLife is always striving
to expand its IBA network, and this forest
is now high on the list of potential IBAs.
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