Center for Spatial Technologies and Remote Sensing (CSTARS)
Ecology Graduate Group
University of California
Davis, CA, 95616, USA
rjzomer@ucdavis.edu
INTRODUCTION
Changing land uses and increasing resource extraction are rapidly changing the ecosystems of the Earth. These rapid changes are making preservation of ecologically fragile systems difficult to protect and manage. The demand for land use is likely to continue over the next several decades due to increasing global population density, therefore, conservation largely depends on developing improved management strategies and better methods to balance these conflicting demands. Management decisions are often ineffective or contradictory because of inadequate or inaccurate information about the resource base. These problems and pressures are universal but they are especially difficult in countries having few financial (and/or human) resources to obtain accurate information that is needed for effective planning and decision making. This study to develop a methodology to efficiently provide new environmental map bases using digital information technologies for the Makalu Barun National Park and Conservation Area (MBNPCA) of eastern Nepal illustrates these issues and demonstrates the utility of this approach.
The MBNPCA (87°00’ E, 27°30’ N) is a vast wilderness stretching from the high snowy peaks of the Everest Massif to the deep tropical valleys of the Arun River Basin of eastern Nepal. A deeply carved landscape containing some of the highest mountains in the world, these slopes harbor an astonishing diversity of habitats and biological species. This ecologically unique area spans bioclimatic zones and ecotypes ranging from tropical monsoonal rain forests, through temperate oak and maple forests, up to subalpine coniferous and elfin forests, to alpine meadows and icy peaks. Over 3,000 species of flowering plants, including 25 of Nepal’s 30 varieties of rhododendron, 48 primroses, 47 orchids, 19 bamboos, 15 oaks, 86 fodder trees and 67 economically valuable aromatic and medicinal plants have been reported for this area. Several species of endangered wildlife are found in the park as well, including red panda, musk deer, barking deer, ghoral, flying squirrel, thar, common leopard, and snow leopard. Bird fauna is rich and diverse, ranging from large Himalayan griffons to white-necked storks and brilliantly colored sunbirds.
More than 32,000 people live within the Conservation Area, designated as a development-oriented buffer zone surrounding the Park. Inhabitants are of several distinct ethnic groups and languages, with the vast majority being subsistence agriculturalists. Agricultural systems common to this area include not only sedentary cropping activities, but also swidden slash and burn rotations and trans-humance pastoralism. Local people depend heavily upon nearby natural resources , particularly grazing and animal fodder collection, fuelwood, timber collection, and the collection of medicinal and other economically valuable plants. Several local handicraft industries depend upon forest resources for raw materials, notably lotka (Daphne spp.) paper production. In addition, local people find seasonal employment as porters, some for trekking groups going up into the high mountains. There is substantial seasonal out-migration from this food-deficit area to employment in the Terai, or India, and remittances form an important part of the economy of this part of Nepal. At this time the MBNPCA is remote and inaccessible by road, and has few foreign visitors, compared to the many thousands now annually visiting the adjacent Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) National Park. Foreign visitors generate alternative income opportunities for local people with few options, but increase pressure on local resources, and within the park. With recent establishment of official National Park status, it is certain that visits by tourist groups and climbing expeditions to the pristine and fragile areas within the park will substantially increase. At the time that our research was initiated (1991), the World Bank had proposed and planned construction of the largest hydroelectric facility in Nepal (the Arun III) on the boundary of the MBNPCA, along with construction of a major road to the dam site. This plan has generated a great deal of controversy in the meantime, and has now been delayed indefinitely. The road is currently in the process of being built. When it arrives, within the next five years perhaps, it will be the first motorway in an area currently three to ten days walk from the nearest roadhead. This opening of the Arun Basin to road access is projected to significantly increase resource pressures within the MBNPCA.
The MBNPCA faces challenges that are common to many parks in the lesser developed countries, specifically integrating the often conflicting demands of land use, ecological conservation and resource protection. As is true of many reserves, managers and policy makers lack reliable resource data. Balancing the needs of subsistence economies with the essential goal of preserving natural environments and biodiversity conservation requires a broad base of resource information in order to make informed land management decisions. For parks within resource poor countries, even basic geographic data, such as large-scale topographic maps, correct place names, or accurate feature locations may be unreliable or unavailable. This is especially true in remote or mountainous areas, such as the eastern Himalaya, where difficulty of access and rugged terrain hinder mapping efforts and ground surveys. Lack of this basic information limits the ability to apply advanced information technologies, for instance GIS spatial analysis, to environmental management and policy decision-making. Spatially referenced data sets for many protected areas are either unreliable or of a scale inadequate for the purposes of resource management or ecological research.
Rapid ecological assessment (REA) and landuse and land cover change analysis are important tools for park management and conservation efforts. Our research describes a comprehensive methodology combining ecological fieldwork and information technologies to provide landscape to watershed level resource and landuse data. Satellite remote sensing, and other advanced information technologies, e.g. spatial analysis and global positioning systems, are combined as a suite of tools to provide efficient and cost-effective methods for acquiring up to date, accurate landscape level information. Digitized map products useful for increasing the efficiency of fieldwork and preliminary data needs assessment are produced as examples of the utility of satellite remote sensing based GIS landscape analysis. Combining these with ecological fieldwork provides the basis for detailed and accurate ecological mapping.