CHAL Drivers of Deforestation and Forest Degradation-2013

Deforestation and forest degradation are two important dimensions of environmental change that are directly related to global warming and pose threats to biodiversity and livelihoods of forestdependent local communities. Deforestation refers to complete loss of forest cover. Forest degradation relates to loss of biomass (carbon) and reduction
in the capacity of forests to produce ecosystem services. Understanding human-induced causes of deforestation and forest degradation in different social, economic and ecological contexts is one of the key and contentious questions in environmental change research. In Nepal, there have been several studies aimed at explaining the causative pattern of forest cover changes in different pocket areas during the last two decades. There is, however, a dearth of studies that analyzed the drivers of deforestation and
forest degradation in larger geographical spaces. In this context, this study explored and analyzed drivers of deforestation and forest degradation in the Chitwan-Annapurna Landscape, using an integrated analysis and synthesis of available secondary data and information, stakeholder consultations, spatial analyses of remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) data, and limited field visits. The objective was to provide a basis for the USAID-funded Hariyo Ban Program to develop a strategy for addressing these problems in the landscape.