Rajendra Gyawali Traditional healers in Kavre, Lalitpur, Makawanpur, Rasuwa and Dolakha  districts of Nepal have been utilizing the medicinal plants available in these areas which provides immense scope for the detailed study on their therapeutic properties. The research has been carried out on the medicinal plants collected from different geographical locations of Nepal, and twenty two medicinal plants were evaluated for their phytochemical profile, antimicrobial properties against human pathogenic microorganisms, cytotoxic properties. Essential oils of R. anthopogon, C.  glaucescens and Z. armatum oils possessed higher sensitivity to, S. aureus, E. coli and K. pneumonia respectively. Cytotoxic evaluation of these oils showed that R. anthopogan oil was found to be more toxic than C. glaucescens and Z. armatum. Synergistic effect with standard antibiotics and C. glaucescens oil on E. coli and…

Mohan Prasad Devkota Mistletoes do not only contribute as one of the important components of rich Nepalese biodiversity but have also been closely affiliated with culture of many indigenous communities of Nepal. Since early days, they have been considered as one of the most magical, mysterious and scared plants in Nepalese folklore, as well. Probably due to their parasitic nature, elusive method of dispersal, and strange growth habit, many indigenous communities have revered, feared, or considered them to have magical properties. Despite mistletoes of Nepal Himalayas have been overlooked by the researchers in the past and their ethno-botanical studies have never been carried out but the indigenous communities of the country have developed the traditional knowledge regarding their uses long back and inherited them from their ancestors. The most common…

Ila Shrestha Langtang National Park is one of the floral and phytogeographically diverse area of Nepal. The park is situated in Central Nepal located at 28 degree 00’ N to 28 degree 20’N latitude, 85  degree 15’E to 86 degree 00’E longitude, occupying 1,710 sq. km where the altitude differ from 600 to 7,234 m  above the sea level. The area is bounded on the north by China, on the south by Nuwakot district, on the east by Dhading district and on the west by Sindhupalchowk district. The park is mainly inhabited by Tamang and Sherpa communities followed by Brahman Chhetri, Newar, Gurung, Ghale and Sarki are also inhabited. The people of this park have rich indigenous knowledge since time immemorial and also have been depend on herbal practices. Altogether…

Steve Adkins and Sangita Shrestha Nepal is very rich in medicinal and aromatic plant biodiversity. However, various anthropogenic activities coupled with predicted climate change scenarios are major threats to the survival of many of the species in the coming decades. Therefore, this potentially high value plant biodiversity should be judiciously conserved, characterized and utilized for the future and in order to generate national benefits for health and economic benefits. In consideration of these facts, an International collaborative project is proposed which in the long term will not only conserve the medicinal plant biodiversity in both a national and an international seed banks, but will also characterize many of them at physiological, biochemical and molecular levels. In addition, the research outputs in the disciplines of seed science and technology, biotechnology, molecular…

Mary M Cameron The presentation explores the multiple natures co-existing in Nepal in the context of widely expanding biodiversity conservation projects aimed at sustainably cultivating and marketing medicinal plant species. As a framing concept of nature, the sustainable use of Nepal’s rich floral biodiversity (1463 of 7000 higher flowering plants are used medically) is reified in development and government circles. In Nepal, the differing visions of scientists, farmers, and Ayurvedic doctors, all deeply committed to natural forms, in the end compels one to ask whose methods best serve the future of human-nature relationships, the poor, and the diversity of plant species. The paper assesses this issue for Nepal through the lens of Ayurvedic medicine, a widely popular practice with global interest and socially recognized efficacy. Ayurveda’s materia medica are traded…

Bharat B Shrestha Deforestation and land use change are among the much debated environmental issues of the Nepal Himalaya. Forest degradation, deforestation and the subsequent expansion of agriculture land have been dominant phenomena in Guthichaur area of Jumla district in north-western Nepal. Population increase, inefficient use of forest resources (timber and firewood) and lack of new opportunities appear to the drivers of land use change from forest to farmland. Keywords: Forest fire, deforestation, land use change, Jumla, Nepal.  

Saumitra Neupane While the need to access, involve and empower citizens to the heart of public governance and decision making for effective and accountable policy formulation and implementation remains a celebrated ideal, its outcomes, in reality, have been unyielding to a large extent. Controlled arenas of public policy deliberation and deficits within traditional electoral representation system have curtailed actual voice and concerns of citizens in public policy, leading to failure in policy adoption and implementation. Increasingly, actors and institutions outside the government have been found identifying themselves with traditional functions of the government. Involvement of the third sector in complimentary roles in service provisioning, resource distribution and infrastructure management has enabled alternative modes of mainstreaming marginalized voices within public policy functions. Changing notion and dynamics of traditional political constituency has…