Challenge and Opportunities of Agroforestry practices in Nepal for fuel wood supply and environmental improvement

1. Faculty of Forestry
Agriculture and Forestry University
Community Based Forest Management(603 NRM)
2019 Hetauda
Challenge and Opportunities of Agroforestry practices in
Nepal for fuel wood supply and environmental improvement
Presenter
Divesh Shrestha
Roll no : 6
M.Sc. Forestry

2. Introduction
• There are seven agroforestry systems in Nepal. They are : agrisilviculture, silvopastoral,
agrosilvipastoral, Silvofishery, home gardens, woodlots and shifting cultivation
(Amatya, et al, 2018).
• Agroforestry could be defined as a practice of raising
trees and agricultural crops in a given space and time
(Amatya, 2016).
• An agroforestry practice is defined by the combination of
agroforestry components particularly species having
unique biological and economics relationships requiring
similar management strategies and techniques. An
example of agroforestry practice is Utis– Cardamom
agroforestry (Alnus- Amomum sabulatum) in Eastern and
Central Nepal (Amatya, et al, 2018).

3. Introduction cont.…
• Based on a survey of agroforestry systems and practices in
Nepal, 35 agroforestry practices within seven agroforestry
systems are documented (Amatya, et al, 2018).
• Traditionally, the people of Nepal are heavily dependent
on forests for the supply of fuelwood, fodder, and timber.
Fuel wood alone contributes about 85% of the total
energy. Different types of agroforestry systems support
the requirement of fuelwood (Paudel et al., 2017).
• Agroforestry has been claimed, to have the possibility of
improving agricultural land use systems and providing
lasting benefits and alleviating adverse environmental
effects at local and global levels (Paudel et al., 2017).

4. Objectives
• To explore the challenge and opportunities of agroforestry practices in
Nepal for fuel wood supply and environmental improvement.

5. Methodology
• Secondary data
• Different literatures, journals & thesis reports.
• Other related materials from different sources.

6. Finding and Discussion
• Fuel wood alone contributes about 85% of the total energy and rests come from other
source of energy (MoFSC, 2011). According to the Annual Household survey 2015/2016
60.9% of the people in Nepal use firewood still a major source of cooking fuel. Annual
household demand/consumption of fuel wood for Nepal is urban 1438 kg and rural
2958 kg.
• Opportunities
• A lot of fuel is generated from agricultural residues
such as straw and dried stalks as well as cowdung,
farmers cultivate Dalbergia sissoo and Cajanus cajan
which twigs and woody stalks are used to enhance
the calorific value of the cow dung sticks "Guintha“
(Paudel et al., 2017).

7. Finding and Discussion
• The two major environmental benefits are carbon sequestration and biodiversity
conservation. Soil C stocks have been demonstrated to generally be larger in
agroforestry systems compared to conventional cropping systems (Kumar and
Nair, 2011).
• In Nepal, Pandit et al., (2012) estimated that a total of 48.60 ton C per hectare
per year carbon stock from agriculture practice whereas Bajracharya et al.,
(2015) found that leasehold agroforestry in cool agroecological has more carbon
stock than conventional agriculture practice.
• Agroforestry promotes farm trees that can sequester carbon and thus
contributes in mitigating climate change, building resilience to climate variability
and increasing food security and income at the household and national level
(Bhatterai, Joshi, Windhorst, & Ning, 2016).

8. Finding and Discussion Cont.…
• Agroforestry policy 2076 provides the opportunities to develop agroforestry
models with appropriate species of plants.
• 6.1.5 Facilitation will be done in the transportation and selling of produced Forest
based products from Agro-forestry practice.
• 6.7.3 Needed support and services will be provided to employees and technicians
willing to receive higher education in Agro-forestry subject.
• 6.5.2 In specified areas, Agro-forestry models will be tested and referred.
• Tree on farm site protect soil from degradation
due to rain, wind and radiation while protecting
the flora and fauna from overexploitation. Trees
also help muffle urban noise (Paudel et al.,
2017).

9. Finding and Discussion Contd…
• Challenges
• FAO, 2015 explained challenges which are delayed return on investment,
under-developed markets, emphasis on commercial agriculture, limited
awareness of the advantages of agroforestry, unclear status of land and tree
resources, adverse regulations and lack of coordination between sectors.
• Due to hilly topography, the majority of agricultural fields, particularly irrigated
rice fields, are terraced. Farmers do not grow trees in irrigated paddy fields.
They do, however, grow trees on rain fed terraces or on degraded lands
(Amatya, 1999).
• In public land agro forestry in Nepal, conflicts with the local elites,
legitimization, choice of management models and equitable benefit sharing,
tenure security, unpaid ecosystem services and forest regeneration versus
livelihoods are the major issues.

10. Finding and Discussion Contd…
• Some studies reveal that some of the AF practice system raises the
Greenhouse gases emission by 30% yearly like shifting cultivation,
pasture maintenance by burning and over fertilization (IPCC, 2007).
• Farmers have limited access to improved tree seeds, new technologies,
and market opportunities (DoF, 2015). The time it takes to obtain the
permit for harvesting and transport from three government agencies:
Municipalities/Rural Municipalities, the Department of Land Revenue,
and the Department of Cadastral Survey (Amatya & Lamsal, 2017).
• There is also a lack of financial incentive, including access to credit
from financial institutions for owners to grow trees on their farm land.
Such constraint disincentives farmers and jeopardises the ability of
farmers (Amatya & Lamsal, 2017).

11. Conclusion
• In Nepal, 35 agroforestry practices within seven agroforestry systems are
documented.
• Majority of the Nepalese depends upon the fuelwood for the household
purposes. Agroforestry play an important role in the fuelwood supply reducing
the pressure from the forest.
• Tree-based farmland tree play significant role to carbon sequestration both in
above and below ground as well as reduces biodiversity conservation from
agricultural practices.

12. Way Forward
• The government of Nepal should focus on increasing growing of AF
species in private land and provide financial incentives.
• Farmers should encourage to grow trees in irrigated paddy fields in
hilly topography.
• There should be provision of financial incentive, including access to
credit from financial institutions for owners

13. References
• Amatya, S.M and Lamsal, P., 2017 Private Forests in Nepal: Status and Policy
Analysis, Government of Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepal
• Amatya, Swoyambhu Man, Shrestha, Kanhaiya Raj and Cedamon Edwin (2016).
Nepal Forestry Handbook. Kathmandu, Nepal.
• Amatya S.M., Cedamon E., Nuberg I. (2018), AGROFORESTRY SYSTEMS AND
PRACTICES IN NEPAL-Revised Edition, Agriculture and Forestry University,
Rampur, Nepal, 108pp + xviii
• DoF. 2015. Present Status of Private Forest Management and Issues for
Improvement. Report on Fifth DFO’s National Workshop (pp. 111-115).
Department of Forests, Government of Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepal.

14. References
• IPCC, 2007: Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of
Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change.
• Paudel et al., 2017; Agroforestry System: An Opportunity for Carbon Sequestration and
Climate Change Adaptation in the Mid-Hills of Nepal.
• MoFSC. (2011). THE FUTURE OF NEPAL'S FORESTS OUTLOOK FOR 2020. Bankok: FAO
Asia Pacific Regional Office.
.

15. THANK YOU