Bio-diversity

Gwalek forest lies in Baitadi district and is one of the biggest forest patches in the remote hilly region of far western development region of Nepal covering an area of 2571 hectors. Approximately 24000 people of adjoining villages are directly dependent on this forest to meet their demand of leaf litter, fuel wood, fodder, and timber. Apart of that the Gwalek forest is also the main watershed of various streams, which are used for the supply of drinking water. The project site is a valuable ecological treasure, full of various flora and fauna representing middle mountain region of Nepal and also a sacred site for the Hindus. Its conservation and management is imperative for the National environmental protection strategy. The project is focused on poor agricultural households of the community where the potentiality of the bee-keeping is quite high because of its diversified flora and fauna. The project package also consists of encouraging the farmers to cultivation of bee-flora namely mustard and sunflower and engages them in extraction of oil from the seeds of these plants. Thus the project tries to integrate the conservation of forest via natural pollination through bee and income generation bee keeping enterprise and mustard and sunflower oil production.

Nepal