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Trade and legislation: consequences for the conservation of lichens in the Nepal Himalaya

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Abstract

Lichen harvest and trade are closely associated with the livelihood of most of the rural people in Western Nepal. The present study investigates the commercial collection of lichens, quantifies the traded volume and relates it to a market scenario, and discusses conservation measures in relation to established legal practices in Nepal. Data on lichen trade and revenue generated for the 12 years (2000–2011) were collected and analyzed from 74 districts of Nepal. Voucher specimens were deposited at TUCH (Tribhuvan University Central Herbarium) in Nepal. The lichens collected in West Nepal are mainly used in international trade, while those in East Nepal are used locally for food. A total of 20 commercially important species of lichens were identified from five trade centers and one local market. During 2000–2011, Nepal legally exported 2020 tons of lichens and collected NRs 25,293,305 (USD 240,000). The average annual quantity of turnover was 168 tons, though it is estimated that much was exported illegally. The hill districts in Nepal, which traded 1774 tons, were more important for the collection of commercial lichen species than the Mountainous and inner-Tarai districts, which traded 167 and 108 tons, respectively. Through the Forest Act, Forest Regulations and its amendment in 2011, the collection of lichens for harvest, trade and export in any crude or processed form was banned. However, the legislation lacks an effective implementation strategy, and sustainable harvest of lichen resources based on scientific data would better serve local livelihood and lichen conservation in Nepal.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC), Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation, Government of Nepal for the permission to conduct research and to traders in the studied areas for their cooperation. We thank Christine Keller from WSL, Switzerland for helping with TLC analyses. Prof. Krishna Kumar Shrestha CDB, TU, Sanjeev Kumar Rai DPR and Arjun Chapagain FECOFUN are acknowledged for their constructive discussion of legal aspects. We are also grateful to Jyoti Prasad Gajurel, Hem Bahadur Katuwal, Khem Lal Kadel and Rabindra Parajuli for their support during the field collections. We would like to thank Melissa Dawes for English editing and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions on an earlier version of this manuscript. The project grant funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (Grant JRP IZ70Z0_131338/1 to CS) is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Zürcherstrasse 111, 8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland

    Shiva Devkota, Silke Werth & Christoph Scheidegger

  2. Central Department of Botany, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal

    Ram Prasad Chaudhary

  3. Research Centre for Applied Science and Technology (RECAST), Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Nepal

    Ram Prasad Chaudhary

  4. Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Graz, Holteigasse 6, 8010, Graz, Austria

    Silke Werth

Authors
  1. Shiva Devkota
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  2. Ram Prasad Chaudhary
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  3. Silke Werth
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  4. Christoph Scheidegger
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shiva Devkota.

Additional information

Communicated by Pradeep Kumar Divakar.

This article belongs to the Topical Collection: Biodiversity exploitation and use.

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Devkota, S., Chaudhary, R.P., Werth, S. et al. Trade and legislation: consequences for the conservation of lichens in the Nepal Himalaya. Biodivers Conserv 26, 2491–2505 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-017-1371-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-017-1371-3

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