Forest fires in Nepal constitute a complex socio-ecological challenge extending beyond climatic determinants, with gender and community diversity fundamentally shaping how fire is experienced, understood, and managed. Despite this recognition, no baseline assessment exists on how gender and social diversity perspectives have been integrated into Nepal's forest fire research. This systematic scoping review examines research-based literature (n=40) from the Scopus database, national journals, and Google Scholar over the past five years (2021–2025) to identify predominant research foci and the extent of gender and social diversity integration. Findings reveal that Nepal's forest fire research remains overwhelmingly focused on biophysical, ecological, and spatial-temporal domains, with human and socioeconomic dimensions receiving superficial attention. Research persists in treating communities as homogeneous entities, reflecting a substantial gap in analysing how gender, caste, ethnicity, age, disability, and other social identities shape forest fire vulnerability and management capacity. The paper concludes that advancing sustainable forest fire management in Nepal necessitates a paradigm shift in Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) responsive forest fire research positioning gendered roles, social identities intersecting vulnerabilities, disproportionate impacts, and changing sociodemographic dynamics at the core of forest fire related research agendas, while also progressing on technical aspects.
Climate change and human negligence are often cited as main drivers of forest fires in Nepal. However, this prospective argues that these factors are the result of underlying economic and institutional failures in forest management. Reduced interactions between forests and people, protection-oriented forest management practices, and weakened forest-agriculture interactions have led to underutilisation of forest biomass and the accumulation of combustible fuel. Consequently, recurrent and intense forest fires have emerged as negative externalities, where social costs exceed private benefits. Although they have caused significant economic, environmental, and health costs, the prevention and suppression of forest fires are not viewed as co-benefits of forest management. Hence, aligning forest fire management with biomass utilisation, incentive mechanisms, and climate policy commitments can help convert fire prevention into a long-term investment for sustainable forest management in Nepal.
The economic potential of forest-based enterprise has remained an important issue of policy and academic studies and debates in Nepal. However, there is limited or no attention on cultural dimensions. This paper explores the cultural dimensions by focusing on the complementarities and/or contradictions between the culture of people and forest-based enterprise interventions. This paper, based on an ethnographic study of a handmade paper enterprise (between 2015 and 2019 in Sawa village in Tyamke-Mayum Rural Municipality in Bhojpur district in the eastern hill of Nepal), has attempted to discuss the interface between the cultural attributes of Rai people as amoral economy and the techno-bureaucratic processes of the community-based forest enterprise (CBFE) as a part of the global phenomenon of the neoliberal economy. The paper argues that the establishment and functioning of CBFEs in remote village is not only a socio-political process of expansion of state’s bureaucratic controls; but this processes, as a part and parcel of the expansions of neoliberal economic institutions and ideas, have also been displacing and/or destroying the indigenous way of local economy. The paper suggests that there is a need of further studies and evidence-based policy debates about the significance of integrating the indigenous way of the local economy and neoliberal economic institutions and ideas in new Nepal.
Invasive Alien Plant Species (IAPS) pose significant threats to biodiversity and ecosystem services, particularly in ecologically sensitive regions like Nepal. This study investigates the distribution and ecological impacts of IAPS across altitudinal gradients in the Jajarkot district, with a focus on forest ecosystems and agricultural landscapes. Field surveys employing quadrat plots identified four dominant IAPS, notably Ageratina adenophora and Bidens pilosa, which were more distributed across altitudes. Biodiversity indices, such as the Shannon-Weiner index, indicated impact of IAPS in distribution of native species. The Importance Value Index (IVI) revealed IAPS dominance at lower altitudes, contributing to reduce in frequency of native species and ecosystem destabilisation. The spread of IAPS was closely linked to human disturbances, decreased canopy cover and increased IAPS cover suggesting that these factors may facilitate, their upward expansion under changing environmental conditions. Our study had uneven plot distribution and a research focus on community forest as a limitations. The findings underscore the urgent need for integrated IAPS management. Strategies should prioritise targeted interventions, including community engagement, sustainable forest management practices, and policy reforms, to mitigate IAPS spread and safeguard biodiversity along altitudinal gradients.
Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are integral to the livelihoods and socio-cultural practices of forest-dependent communities in Khare village, Dolakha district, located within Nepal’s Gaurishankar Conservation Area. However, their availability is increasingly threatened by climate change and human-induced pressures. This study, conducted in 2023, applied a convergent parallel mixed-methods approach to assess both the status of NTFP availability and local perceptions of climate-related changes. A total of 95 randomly selected households were surveyed using a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.82), supplemented by key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and field observations. Results show that 95.8 per cent of respondents observed noticeable changes in NTFP occurrence. While fodder (100%) and fuelwood (99%) were most commonly used, medicinal plants (42%) and honey (21%) had lower usage, largely due to ecological degradation and overharvesting. Significant altitudinal variation was observed (p < 0.05 for most categories), with decreased availability reported below 1600m and increases above. Key stressors identified included overexploitation (75%), climatechange (52%), forest fires (36%), invasive species (Ageratina adenophora), and pest outbreaks (Gazalina chrysolopha). Respondents emphasised reduced grazing and growing conservation awareness as contributors to localised recovery. The study calls for stronger regulatory mechanisms, sustainable harvesting guidelines, and community-led restoration efforts to safeguard NTFPs and strengthen rural resilience in Himalayan landscapes.
