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Environmental impact assessment (EIA) has evolved as an environmental management and sustainability tool. Despite common principles shared by EIA globally, there are considerable variations in EIA processes across countries. In this paper, we reviewed and compared EIA processes of China, Queensland State of Australia and Nepal considering five key steps (selection of consultants, report preparation, public participation, report review and approval, and monitoring and evaluations) of EIA. Our review indicated that the EIA is well recognised in legal instruments in all state and countries under consideration and there are both similarities and differences in key steps of EIA. Monitoring of EIA recommendations and the integration of feedbacks from the past and current practices are important in improving EIA processes. This study also found that there are elements for possible improvement in existing EIA processes by each state and country introducing the best practices from others' EIA system. Some of the practices that Nepal can follow from the EIA processes of Queensland and China are licensing and accreditation of individuals and firms to conduct EIA, establishment of separate monitoring unit within regulating department, development of clear guidelines for approvals and monitoring, and the use of independent third-party auditing in EIA monitoring. The findings of this paper are useful in revising and improving EIA policies, practices and processes in the selected state, countries and elsewhere.
Suman Aryal; Tek Maraseni; Jianshang Qu; Lisa Lobry de Bruyn; Yub Raj Dhakal; Jingjing Zeng. Key steps in environmental impact assessment: a comparative study of China, Queensland State of Australia and Nepal. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 2020, 192, 139 .
AMA StyleSuman Aryal, Tek Maraseni, Jianshang Qu, Lisa Lobry de Bruyn, Yub Raj Dhakal, Jingjing Zeng. Key steps in environmental impact assessment: a comparative study of China, Queensland State of Australia and Nepal. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. 2020; 192 (2):139.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSuman Aryal; Tek Maraseni; Jianshang Qu; Lisa Lobry de Bruyn; Yub Raj Dhakal; Jingjing Zeng. 2020. "Key steps in environmental impact assessment: a comparative study of China, Queensland State of Australia and Nepal." Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 192, no. 2: 139.
The theme of global sustainable development has changed from environmental management to climate governance, and relevant policies on climate governance urgently need to be implemented by the public. The public understanding of climate change has become the prerequisite and basis for implementing various climate change policies. In order to explore the affected factors of climate change perception among Chinese residents, this study was conducted across 31 provinces and regions of China through field household surveys and interviews. Combined with the residents’ perception of climate change with the possible affected factors, the related factors affecting Chinese residents’ perception of climate change were explored. The results show that the perceptive level of climate change of Chinese residents is related to the education level and the household size of residents. Improving public awareness of climate change risk in the context of climate change through multiple channels will also help to improve residents’ awareness of climate change. On the premise of improving the level of national education, improving education on climate change in school education and raising awareness of climate change risk among dependents will help to improve the level of Chinese residents’ awareness of climate change, which could be instrumental in promoting public participation in climate change mitigation and adaptation actions.
Jinjia Wu; Jiansheng Qu; Hengji Li; Li Xu; Hongfen Zhang; Suman Aryal; Jingjing Zeng; Yujie Fan; Qin Wei; Xiafei Liu. What Affects Chinese Residents’ Perceptions of Climate Change? Sustainability 2018, 10, 4712 .
AMA StyleJinjia Wu, Jiansheng Qu, Hengji Li, Li Xu, Hongfen Zhang, Suman Aryal, Jingjing Zeng, Yujie Fan, Qin Wei, Xiafei Liu. What Affects Chinese Residents’ Perceptions of Climate Change? Sustainability. 2018; 10 (12):4712.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJinjia Wu; Jiansheng Qu; Hengji Li; Li Xu; Hongfen Zhang; Suman Aryal; Jingjing Zeng; Yujie Fan; Qin Wei; Xiafei Liu. 2018. "What Affects Chinese Residents’ Perceptions of Climate Change?" Sustainability 10, no. 12: 4712.
Grazing-based livestock production, named pastoralism, is classified into nomadism, transhumance and agro-pastoralism. Transhumance is characterised by the seasonal and recurring movement of livestock whereby seasonal grazing areas and routes for livestock movement are fixed. All grazing based livestock production systems including transhumance are constrained globally for a variety of reasons. The major threats to the system are globalisation, nationalisation or privatisation of rangelands, national parks and community forestry policies restricting free grazing and shortage of labour. The collapse or decline of such social-ecological systems (SESs), which have existed for over 1000s years, often induces adverse impacts on societies and ecosystems. Here we review the literature on transhumance, and discuss reasons for transhumance, and the associated advantages and disadvantages of livestock movement in transhumance. Our review also focuses on how the integration of crop and livestock production in transhumance derives mutual benefits. The review indicates that the seasonal movement of livestock is an ecological necessity in areas with harsh climates and low pasture production. Transhumance is also a herders’ adaptive management to adjust to variable grazing resources and environmental conditions. The disadvantages of seasonal movement of livestock such as greater herding labour required and expenditure of more energy for livestock, are far outweighed by the ecological advantages. Some of these are: to minimise grazing competition and to protect rangeland pastures from being overgrazed. Our review also indicates that the integration of crop and livestock production derives mutual benefits and contributes for their enhanced sustainability.
Suman Aryal; Tek Maraseni; Geoff Cockfield; Lisa Lobry de Bruyn. Transhumance, Livestock Mobility and Mutual Benefits Between Crop and Livestock Production. Sustainable Agriculture Reviews 2018, 25 -39.
AMA StyleSuman Aryal, Tek Maraseni, Geoff Cockfield, Lisa Lobry de Bruyn. Transhumance, Livestock Mobility and Mutual Benefits Between Crop and Livestock Production. Sustainable Agriculture Reviews. 2018; ():25-39.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSuman Aryal; Tek Maraseni; Geoff Cockfield; Lisa Lobry de Bruyn. 2018. "Transhumance, Livestock Mobility and Mutual Benefits Between Crop and Livestock Production." Sustainable Agriculture Reviews , no. : 25-39.
Climate change vulnerability depends upon various factors and differs between places, sectors and communities. People in developing countries whose subsistence livelihood depends mainly upon agriculture and livestock production are identified as particularly vulnerable. Nepal, where the majority of people are in a mixed agro-livestock system, is identified as the world’s fourth most vulnerable country to climate change. However, there is limited knowledge on how vulnerable mixed agro-livestock smallholders are and how their vulnerability differs across different ecological regions in Nepal. This study aims to test two vulnerability assessment indices, livelihood vulnerability index and IPCC vulnerability index, around the Gandaki River Basin of central Nepal. A total of 543 households practicing mixed agro-livestock were surveyed from three districts, namely Dhading, Syangja and Kapilvastu representing three major ecological zones: mountain, mid-hill and Terai (lowland). Data on socio-demographics, livelihood determinants, social networks, health, food and water security, natural disasters and climate variability were collected and combined into the indices. Both indices differed for mixed agro-livestock smallholders across the three districts, with Dhading scoring as the most vulnerable and Syangja the least. Substantial variation across the districts was observed in components, sub-components and three dimensions (exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity) of vulnerability. The findings help in designing site-specific intervention strategies to reduce vulnerability of mixed agro-livestock smallholders to climate change.
Jeeban Panthi; Suman Aryal; Piyush Dahal; Parashuram Bhandari; Nir Y. Krakauer; Vishnu Prasad Pandey. Livelihood vulnerability approach to assessing climate change impacts on mixed agro-livestock smallholders around the Gandaki River Basin in Nepal. Regional Environmental Change 2015, 16, 1121 -1132.
AMA StyleJeeban Panthi, Suman Aryal, Piyush Dahal, Parashuram Bhandari, Nir Y. Krakauer, Vishnu Prasad Pandey. Livelihood vulnerability approach to assessing climate change impacts on mixed agro-livestock smallholders around the Gandaki River Basin in Nepal. Regional Environmental Change. 2015; 16 (4):1121-1132.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJeeban Panthi; Suman Aryal; Piyush Dahal; Parashuram Bhandari; Nir Y. Krakauer; Vishnu Prasad Pandey. 2015. "Livelihood vulnerability approach to assessing climate change impacts on mixed agro-livestock smallholders around the Gandaki River Basin in Nepal." Regional Environmental Change 16, no. 4: 1121-1132.
Indigenous people whose subsistence livelihoods depend upon the direct utilization of natural resources are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, and can yet be unaware of actual and possible change. Changes in seasonality, temperatures and rainfall could undermine traditional systems built in group's experience. In one such system in the Himalayas, some herders practice vertical transhumance whereby they ascend in stages to high-altitude rangelands for summer and similarly descend in winter. Climate change models have predicted warming in the Himalayan region but there is no information on whether or not herders are aware of any changes. For this study, temperature and rainfall data for the nearest stations were collected and analysed, 145 transhumant herders were interviewed and 6 focus group discussions were conducted in or near 3 mountainous Protected Areas of Nepal. Perceptions of herders corresponded with the trends of climatic variables but with some exceptions. The majority of transhumant herders reported early onset of summer and rapid melting of snow, early greening, early flowering/maturing of vegetation and the appearance of new plant species in the rangelands. They also reported reduced water availability, an increase in the number of droughts and the appearance of new livestock diseases. Findings suggest that the perceptions of local people towards changes in key climatic variables and other bio-physical indicators are useful in advancing understanding of climate change in remote mountainous areas.
Suman Aryal; Geoff Cockfield; Tek Narayan Maraseni. Perceived changes in climatic variables and impacts on the transhumance system in the Himalayas. Climate and Development 2015, 8, 435 -446.
AMA StyleSuman Aryal, Geoff Cockfield, Tek Narayan Maraseni. Perceived changes in climatic variables and impacts on the transhumance system in the Himalayas. Climate and Development. 2015; 8 (5):435-446.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSuman Aryal; Geoff Cockfield; Tek Narayan Maraseni. 2015. "Perceived changes in climatic variables and impacts on the transhumance system in the Himalayas." Climate and Development 8, no. 5: 435-446.
Landslides, floods, and droughts are recurring natural disasters in Nepal related to too much or too little water. The summer monsoon contributes more than 80% of annual rainfall, and rainfall spatial and inter-annual variation is very high. The Gandaki River, one of the three major rivers of Nepal and one of the major tributaries of the Ganges River, covers all agro-ecological zones in the central part of Nepal. Time series tests were applied for different agro-ecological zones of the Gandaki River Basin (GRB) for rainfall trends of four seasons (pre-monsoon, monsoon, post-monsoon and winter) from 1981 to 2012. The non-parametric Mann-Kendall and Sen’s methods were used to determine the trends. Decadal anomalies relative to the long-term average were analyzed using the APHRODITE precipitation product. Trends in number of rainy days and timing of the monsoon were also analyzed. We found that the post-monsoon, pre-monsoon and winter rainfalls are decreasing significantly in most of the zones but monsoon rainfall is increasing throughout the basin. In the hill region, the annual rainfall is increasing but the rainy days do not show any trend. There is a tendency toward later departure of monsoon from Nepal, indicating an increase in its duration. These seasonally and topographically variable trends may have significant impacts for the agriculture and livestock smallholders that form the majority of the population in the GRB.
Jeeban Panthi; Piyush Dahal; Madan Lall Shrestha; Suman Aryal; Nir Y. Krakauer; Soni M. Pradhanang; Tarendra Lakhankar; Ajay K. Jha; Mohan Sharma; Ramchandra Karki. Spatial and Temporal Variability of Rainfall in the Gandaki River Basin of Nepal Himalaya. Climate 2015, 3, 210 -226.
AMA StyleJeeban Panthi, Piyush Dahal, Madan Lall Shrestha, Suman Aryal, Nir Y. Krakauer, Soni M. Pradhanang, Tarendra Lakhankar, Ajay K. Jha, Mohan Sharma, Ramchandra Karki. Spatial and Temporal Variability of Rainfall in the Gandaki River Basin of Nepal Himalaya. Climate. 2015; 3 (1):210-226.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJeeban Panthi; Piyush Dahal; Madan Lall Shrestha; Suman Aryal; Nir Y. Krakauer; Soni M. Pradhanang; Tarendra Lakhankar; Ajay K. Jha; Mohan Sharma; Ramchandra Karki. 2015. "Spatial and Temporal Variability of Rainfall in the Gandaki River Basin of Nepal Himalaya." Climate 3, no. 1: 210-226.
Grazing systems in the high Himalayas are changing in response to socioeconomic factors and policy decisions. As well as effects on livelihood of herders, such changes may have significant impacts on plant species richness and composition. The objectives of this study were to explore how plant species richness and composition respond to livestock grazing in the high Himalayan rangelands. The study was conducted in three mountainous Protected Areas of Nepal viz. Sagarmatha (Mt Everest) National Park, Gaurishankar Conservation Area and Khaptad National Park. Species and environmental data were collected along perpendicular transects outwards from goths (semi-permanent stopping and camping points). It was found that the distance from goths generally represents a grazing disturbance gradient. The core areas near goths had low species richness per plot (α-diversity) where nitrophilous and grazing-tolerant species were commonly found. However, the highest species richness, total numbers of species and occurrences of rare species at mid- and farther distances from goths within 800 m suggest that negative effects of summer livestock grazing were small and confined to limited areas near goths. Altitude, soil moisture content, percentage shrub cover and distance from goths were the variables significantly correlated with species composition, although the relative importance of these factors varied across study sites. This research can be used to inform decision-making about seasonal livestock grazing in the Himalayan rangelands, which should incorporate both ecological as well as socioeconomic considerations.
Suman Aryal; Geoff Cockfield; Tek Narayan Maraseni. Effect of summer livestock grazing on plant species richness and composition in the Himalayan rangelands. The Rangeland Journal 2015, 37, 309 -321.
AMA StyleSuman Aryal, Geoff Cockfield, Tek Narayan Maraseni. Effect of summer livestock grazing on plant species richness and composition in the Himalayan rangelands. The Rangeland Journal. 2015; 37 (3):309-321.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSuman Aryal; Geoff Cockfield; Tek Narayan Maraseni. 2015. "Effect of summer livestock grazing on plant species richness and composition in the Himalayan rangelands." The Rangeland Journal 37, no. 3: 309-321.
The decline or loss of traditional social-ecological systems may induce adverse effects to the societies and ecosystems. Transhumance, the recurring and seasonal movement of grazing livestock, is increasingly constrained by a numbers of factors including policy, land use and socio-economic changes in Nepal. To explore how these changes have affected the transhumance, this study investigated transhumance at the Langtang valley in central Nepal. The specific objectives of this study were to determine the herd size and composition, spatial-temporal patterns and to identify the major drivers of the system and the system changes. Data were collected from field study comprising semi-structured interviews with the herders, focus group discussions, key informants survey, and observations of rangeland and livestock management systems. The study revealed that the transhumance system in the Langtang is influenced by two types of drivers. In one hand, traditional practices are contributing to the sustainability of the system. On the other hand, the grazing patterns and adaptive responses are strongly influenced by changes in government policies, socioeconomic and cultural transformation, livestock productivity, markets, rangeland conditions and climate change. The findings of this study help with the development and implementation of transhumance management policy for the sustainability.
Suman Aryal; Tek Narayan Maraseni; Geoff Cockfield. Sustainability of transhumance grazing systems under socio-economic threats in Langtang, Nepal. Journal of Mountain Science 2014, 11, 1023 -1034.
AMA StyleSuman Aryal, Tek Narayan Maraseni, Geoff Cockfield. Sustainability of transhumance grazing systems under socio-economic threats in Langtang, Nepal. Journal of Mountain Science. 2014; 11 (4):1023-1034.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSuman Aryal; Tek Narayan Maraseni; Geoff Cockfield. 2014. "Sustainability of transhumance grazing systems under socio-economic threats in Langtang, Nepal." Journal of Mountain Science 11, no. 4: 1023-1034.
Climate change vulnerability depends on who you are, where you are and what you do. The indigenous communities who primarily depend on natural resources for subsistence livelihoods are among the first and most affected by climate change. Climate models have predicted pronounced warming in high altitude regions of the Himalayas. The transhumant communities of the Himalayas follow traditional lifestyles based on seasonal livestock rearing and subsistence agriculture. There is however, no information on how vulnerable transhumant communities are to climate change, and how vulnerability of transhumant herders differs across the mountainous areas of Nepal. Based on semi-structured interviews with transhumant herders and using the IPCC climate change vulnerability framework, this study assessed and compared the vulnerability of transhumant communities from three districts representing Eastern, Central and Western mountainous region of Nepal. The results showed that the livelihood vulnerability and the climate change vulnerability differ across sites; both of them having lowest index values in the Central region. The vulnerability dimensions viz. exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity are largely influenced by diversity in livelihood strategies, income sources and crops, and access to food, water and health facilities. The findings will inform the design of policies and programmes to reduce vulnerability and enhance adaptive capacity of indigenous communities in general and the transhumant communities of the Himalayas in particular.
Suman Aryal; Geoff Cockfield; Tek Narayan Maraseni. Vulnerability of Himalayan transhumant communities to climate change. Climatic Change 2014, 125, 193 -208.
AMA StyleSuman Aryal, Geoff Cockfield, Tek Narayan Maraseni. Vulnerability of Himalayan transhumant communities to climate change. Climatic Change. 2014; 125 (2):193-208.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSuman Aryal; Geoff Cockfield; Tek Narayan Maraseni. 2014. "Vulnerability of Himalayan transhumant communities to climate change." Climatic Change 125, no. 2: 193-208.