ECO-CLUBS OPERATE WEATHER STATIONS

Neelkantha Namuna Secondary School recently started a nursery with a capacity of 8,000 plants in the school premises. The nursery is an initiative to encourage the sustainable operation of the Weather Station. According to the school’s principal, Narayan Devkota, the sale of the seedlings will help generate funds for long-term operation of the Weather Station. “This will also motivate students towards conservation of the environment,” he added.

Many common varieties of seedlings are planted in the nursery such as catechu, myrobalan, Golmol, lilac tree, Tanki, coffee and pine. Rare plants such as acacia tree, fig, Dar tree, schima wallichii are also available in the nursery.

“Our village is lodged between two big landslide-prone areas, so plantation will help reduce the risk of landslides,” stated treasurer of Namuna Eco Club, Laxmi Devkota. “Afforestation will also bring additional benefits such as increasing the greenery of the area and providing clean air,” he opined.

NURSERy TO SUSTAIN THE WEATHER STATION

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“Three years ago, the average minimum temperature of Ramche in winter was 0

degrees Celsius. The temperature has now risen to 3 degrees Celsius.

With this information, students have a sense that the environment is getting

hotter every year.”- Ambika Lamichane,

Coordinator of Laliguras Eco Club

eather Stations were established by the Langtang National Park and Buffer

Zone Support Project (LNPBZ SP) in 2008 as a new initiative in Neelkantha Secondary School in Dhaibung, Bageswori Secondary School in Bhorley, and Shree Setibhumi Secondary School in Ramche of Rasuwa District. The Weather Stations were installed with the aim of increasing the level of understanding of the hydrometeorological sector and to disseminate information on climate change in the local community. The Eco Club associated with each school is responsible for operating the Weather Station by ensuring maximum student participation. Previous assessments showed that people lacked knowledge and information on climate change at the local level.

Bimala Poudel is a member of Namuna Eco Club in Neelkantha Secondary School. In the past, Bimala used to be everybody else, listening to the weather forecast at the end of every radio news bulletin. But nowadays she has a different role; she keeps a record

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of local weather conditions. Along with her fellow club members, Bimala reaches the local weather station in her school everyday at 8:45am to record temperatures. Bimala said, “From the Weather Station, we are well informed about maximum and minimum temperatures as well as humidity”. Narayan Devkota, Principal of Neelkantha Secondary School, felt that the Weather Station helped students to enhance their technical and scientific knowledge. “It is not just the students but also the whole community that is getting information about daily weather and learning about climate change,” he added.

Sagar Tamang is a student of the 9th grade and President of Laliguras Eco Club in Shree Setibhumi Secondary School. He has fond memories about how the students were surprised when they saw the Weather Station for the first time installed in the school. “It looked like a beehive. We later came to know that it was a weather machine,” he said. “School starts at 10am every day. At 8.30am, I measure maximum and minimum temperature and water quantity, and note it down,” Sagar added. Alina Tamang, past president of Laliguras Eco Club and a 9th grader, felt that it was not just students but also teachers who were keen to know about the Weather Station.

Both Sagar and Alina were trainees of a Climate Change Training Programme organised by the project. Sharing their personal experiences about changed climate extremes such as unpredictable monsoon, prolonged drought, change in temperature and precipitation, and hailstorms they felt that the Weather Station helped broaden the knowledge of local students about the use and importance of hydrometeorological data.

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ntil 2009, Kami Namgyal of Ramche-9 had to depend on rainwater for irrigation.

Sometimes he could manage limited irrigation by diverting drinking water from a narrow pipeline. Maympayalmo, president of the Agriculture Multi-purpose Cooperative of Ramche bazar, had also experienced the same problem. All of this changed with the experience they gained from a visit to Madanpokhara of Palpa. They observed that the locals there collected and stored waste water and rainwater in plastic tanks for future use. This gave them the idea of installing similar tank back in their village. With cooperation from the Langtang National Park and Buffer Zone Support Project for installing the plastic water tank, six farmers from the Farmer School including Kami and Maympayalmo started constructing plastic water tanks.

“The irrigation problem has been solved now that I have constructed the plastic water tank near my home,” stated Kami in a very elated mood. Kami now grows cabbage, potato, tomato, radish and cauliflower in four ropanis (0.13 hectare) of land. Kami understands that one impact of climate change is on the availability of water which causes drought. According to him, climate change has affected commercial farming, as the water source used for the crops kept drying up.

“The plastic tank can collect up to 8,000 litres of water which can irrigate 36,000 plants for one week”, Kami added. He was confident that the water tank will help reduce water shortages in the winter and help meet the irrigation needs of the households of Ramche village. While it used to take a full day to irrigate a vegetable farm using drinking water from the taps, now it took only half a day with the water tanks. Kami felt that the plastic water tank was very useful for helping the community adapt to the effects of climate change and that using the water tank for commercial farming would increase the production of tomatoes and provide a fixed income for farmers. Kami was of the view that the project was just the start and that they would have to move it ahead in the weeks to come.

According to Maympoyalmo, a resident of Kami’s village, it used to snow heavily in Ramche until a few years ago but since 2009, the snowline had been receding. “When it snowed in winter, it was helpful for wheat and mustard farming. It didn’t snow last winter and the mustard and wheat farming dried up. The summer season started early and the monsoon was not on time coming in March-April instead of mid-July. This unpredictable climate has had a negative impact on farming”, shared Maympoyalmo. To her delight, the plastic water tanks have tremendously helped to minimise the problem of water scarcity.

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PUTTING AN ENDTO WATER WOES

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Ditch • 4 m long• 3 m wide• 1.5 m deep

Plastic • 1 m wide• 10 m long

Cost • NPR 12000Grant Assistance• NPR 7500.

Construction of Plastic Water Tank:

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NURSERy FARMING FOR ENVIRONMENT CONSERVATION

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I t is worrying for Tirtharaj Bhatta and his mother Tikadevi Bhatta of Chiti, Bhorle, to see their crops and plants

being destroyed and infected by insects. 73-year-old Tikadevi remembered, “Until a few years back, the grass used to be very healthy; now the leaves on trees have started dying early.”

“The farming system in this area depends primarily on rainwater. Erratic monsoons, of late, are creating a lot of problems for both our crops and livestock,” added 46-year-old Tirtharaj. According to him, Tangi grass used to mature in August a few years ago; now it matures in June. Guavas were constantly being infected by insects. Tirtharaj now

planted paddy in July instead of June because of the change in the monsoon. Tirtharaj believed that these events were due to climate change. He had heard a little about climate change through informal chats in his village.

Experiencing difficulty in feeding his cattle, given shortage of fodder due to

low harvests, Tirtharaj started a nursery using 1 ropani (0.33 hectare) of land in February 2010 with the support of Bhorle Buffer Zone Consumer Group and the Langtang National Park and Buffer Zone Support Project.

This nursery, started in Bhorle of Chiti by the Bhorle Community Forest Consumer Committee and Tirtharaj, currently not only provides grass for the cattle but also houses eight types of grass like Ipil, acacia tree, Tanki, bamboo, butterseed plant, morus accdose, artocarpus lakcha and soapnut. These varieties of grass are helping to reduce pressure on the conservation area, reduce the risk of landslides, and to conserve the forest at large.

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Mempayalmo of Ramche improved her knowledge about agriculture after participating in Farmer School for 16 weeks. Through this school, she found out about nursery management, learned techniques to help save farm produce during the heavy rain and constructed a plastic water tank to reduce water scarcity in the winter season.

Mempayalmo also gained the skills to make compost fertilizer. Previously, she used to spend NRs. 2,000-3,000 on chemical fertilizer; now she has plans to produce compost fertilizer herself and sell it to the locals.

“By using chemical fertilizers, the fertility of the land was being degraded leading to negative impacts on the environment” Mempayalmo said. “It was difficult to get benefits and even to recover costs when we used chemical fertilizers under traditional farming,” she remarked.

Mempayalmo today saves NRs. 60,000 annually which is helping her maintain her livelihood.

ORGANIC FARMING FOR SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOOD

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“The nursery is expected to reduce the risk of landslides

and also help cattle grass to grow in the protected zones,”

added Tirtharaj.”

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RESTORING WATER SOURCE AFTER LANDSLIDE

The landslide in Dhobikhola of Dhaibung village is an event that its inhabitants remember with dread even today. Until 2002, the hill of

Dhobikhola was covered with lush green forests with a stream flowing down the middle of the hill. Four traditional water springs supported communities of five wards of the village. Gradually, farmers from surrounding wards encroached upon the stream and extended their farmland. Additional farming activity, unmanaged grazing and deforestation soon made the land fragile.

One evening in July 2003, a huge landslide destroyed Dhobikhola hill. The landslide damaged the water source by destroying three water tanks which had been built with the support of the Drinking Water Project in 2001.

Navraj Neupane, a member of the village Drinking Water Consumer Group recalled that they had to live without drinking water for days. “After spending days feeling helpless, members of our Group walked to the landslide site and were delighted to spot water leaking in some areas. After some digging, we managed to find the water source,” remembered Neupane.

Examples of climate extremes like heavy rainfall or drought have resulted in calamities such as landslides

with direct effects on water safety and livelihoods of many communities in rural Nepal.

With the support of NRs. 100,000 from the Langtang National Park and Buffer Zone Support Project, water source conservation work began at Dhobikhola. The conservation work will benefit 3,600 people in 600 households in five wards of Dhaibung village. While this work is a temporary solution as the water source can again be damaged by future landslides, villagers are committed to protect it further by building a gabion box (a stone wall fastened by metal wires to help withstand landslides).

“If a landslide covers the water source in the rainy season this time, we will dig it out again,” said Ram Prasad Neupane, a member of the Consumer Group.

Local consumer, Dil Kumari Neupane said, “We asked the Drinking Water Corporation for the necessary support but we were ignored. We have no alternative but to take the initiative now. If we do not get involved ourselves, we will not have water which is absolutely essential for our survival and livelihoods.”

“With the support of the Langtang National Park and Buffer Zone Support Project, the Consumer Group has planted Tanki and Pine and fast growing grass, Rasaili, around this source and in the landslide area,” stated Sarita Thapa, social mobiliser of the programme.

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CONSERVING TRADITIONAL WATER SPRINGS

he Ramche Buffer Zone Consumer Group recently initiated conservation of the Bongbo water source in ward

No. 3, the Polchet water source in ward No. 4, and the Dubcha water source in ward No. 7 of Ramche VDC. “This was possible because of the support of NRs. 120,000 received from the Langtang National Park and Bufferzone Support Project,” said Malphurpa Tamang, President of the Group and also a participant of a training programme on Climate Change.

“Until a few years ago there were many water sources in Grang village. However, most of them have dried up now and remaining ones are also showing signs of drying up,” shared Malphurpa. “Local residents have experienced low rainfall in the rainy season. In February it used to rain 5-7 times, which has drastically decreased and is almost nil now. As snowfall has also decreased, water scarcity has become more acute. Besides this, instead of mist, fog covers the sky most of the time,” he added. Malphurpa thinks that one of the key reasons of the disappearing water sources is rising temperature caused by climate change.

After the restoration of the Polchet water source, one could see the water pipe 1,200 metres away in the village. Since this work was completed, the problems of lack of water for drinking and irrigation have been solved. Through this project, 160 people from 32 households of ward numbers 3, 4 and 7 in Ramche VDC are benefiting.

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Scientific reSearch alSo indicateS that water Scarcity iS related to climate change. UndergroUnd water reServoirS are the main

SoUrceS of water, which get recharged by rainwater. however, dUe to increaSing temperatUre and leSS rainfall, and the

enSUing hydrological droUght, the average level of water in riverS, pondS and wellS iS decreaSeing leading to the drying Up of

traditional SoUrceS of water.

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one are the days when Man Maya Lamichane, now 75 years old, of Laharepauwa in Rasua had to walk for 4-5 hours just to collect grass for

her cattle and firewood. Being exposed to smoke from firewood for greater part of her day, she started suffering from asthma and the smoke also used to pollute the environment. Her life changed drastically when she received an improved stove with the grant assistance of NRs. 300 from the Langtang National Park and Buffer Zone Support Project in 2007.

As the improved stove consumed less wood, the time spent to collect wood was reduced. Cooking time previously was three hours, but now it was reduced to 25 minutes. She also did not need to walk far to collect grass for her cattle. As part of the project, Manmaya had planted different types of indigenous grasses like Nimaro, Chuletro, Kumiro,dhar, morus accdose, Kapro, fig, Dudhe, adhar, Koiralo, Gogan in 10 ropani (0.33 hectare) of land. This not only helped her to feed her cattle but also helped conserve the environment.

With these developments, Manmaya recalled how difficult it was previously and delighted at how comfortable she was today.

Manmaya’s son, Toyanath Lamichane, who is also the promoter of the improved stove said, “In the past we used to cut four trees in a year. Today we don’t need to depend on the forest for grass and firewood. We now use dried and waste wood from our own farm.”

Toyanath added that the new stove needs 40% less consumption of wood. Given the reduction in the

consumption of firewood, this project supported forest conservation and ultimately was helpful in minimising

the impact of climate change.Sushila Lamichane, a 10th grade student of Kalika Himalaya Higher Secondary School, seconded Toyanath’s opinion. According to her, the use of the improved stove created less smoke in the kitchen and also reduced felling of trees for firewood purposes.

Sarita Thapa Magar, a social mobiliser of the Langtang National Park and Buffer Zone Support Project shared a similar experience saying that the smokeless improved stove helped in preserving the forest and did not harm people’s health.

IMPROVED STOVE HELPING CONSERVE FORESTS

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LEADING FARMERS IN CATTLE-SHED IMPROVEMENT

Recognising Arjun Neupane’s interest and efficiency in agricultural practices, the Langtang National Park and Buffer Zone Support Project encouraged him to take part in the cattle-shed improvement programme. Six farmers, including Arjun, from Dhaibung village of Jibjibe received training in 2008 on cattle-shed improvement. The project provided NRs. 15,000 for shed improvement and building of a water tank.

rjun has experienced a big change in his agricultural practices since attending the

cattle-shed improvement training programme. Previously, he had a multitude of different problems. For example, with the traditional cowshed structure, animal discharge used to get wasted; livestock developed various diseases associated with cold; the dung dried up reducing its quality, and soil got degraded and infected by insects because of overuse of chemical fertilizers and presence of increased acidic levels.

“With the improvement of the cattle-shed, cattle urine is now collected in a drum through a pipe. The urine is then mixed with plants like ketuki, banmara, dhuto, peena, pati, masuro, neema and rotten fruits and vegetables, and decomposed for

one-and-a-half months to form bio-pesticide,” Arjun explained. According to him, this bio-pesticide was used both as a pesticide and a fertilizer, and slowly replaced the use of chemical fertilizers.

Bhawanath Paudel, another farmer from Jibjibe, said,”The improved cattle-shed helped in producing organic fertilizers using cattle urine. The use of such organic fertilizers over chemical ones made farming practices more eco-friendly.

Climate change has a direct and indirect effect on agriculture. Direct impacts of climate change on agriculture include the rise in temperature and inconsistency of rainy seasons which in turn affects irrigation needs of agricultural land.

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n April 2009, Chandrakumari Paneru visited three seed banks in Beluwa of Bardia district, and Masuria and Gadaria of Kailali district. This opportunity was

provided by the Langtang National Park and Buffer Zone Support Project. She observed the successful practice of using local seeds and not hybrid ones which had led to rich harvests in the Terai region. After returning to her village, she shared her observations at the Mahalakshmi Women Savings and Loan Cooperative with which she is affiliated.

Due to depleting supply of local seeds, many farmers are forced to use imported and hybrid seeds.

Such seeds need more water, which has a direct impact on retention of soil fertility given rising temperatures

day by day and lower than expected rainfall. Chandrakumari believes that local seeds have the capacity to adapt to and adjust with the climate. Local seeds have the capacity to endure excessive rain and drought and therefore are a better choice over imported ones.

According to Chandrakumari, the Community Seed Bank was formed with the primary objective of saving local seeds from extinction. “We formed the first seed bank in Rasuwa district by translating the experience we gained from our observation visit into practice,” she stated.

Govinda Poudel of the Farmer School reiterated Chandrakumari’s opinion. “The existence of local seeds is being jeopardised by the use of imported variety of seeds. The objective of the seed bank is to preserve the local seeds which are adaptable to local climate conditions and climate change,” he said.

Moon Shrestha, climate change expert of WWF-Nepal opined that imported varieties of seeds did not have resistance power to combat climate extremes. Local seeds, on the contrary, can withstand excessive rain, drought and climate extremes. “Bearing in mind this resistance capability of local seeds, the Langtang National Park and Buffer Zone Support Project seeks to promote their usage,” stated Shrestha.

In the Seed Bank, 68 varieties of seeds, which include 32 varieties of grains such as rice, maize and millet and 36 varieties of vegetables, are preserved. For the sustainable development of Community Seed Bank a fix deposit fund of NRs. 80,000 has been instituted. Members of the Bank can get a loan of 1-2kg seeds amounting up to NRs. 5,000 for six months at an interest rate of 5%. As repayment of the loan, the members need to pay double the amount of seeds.

To avoid spoiling the seeds, members put Nepali pepper and acorus calamus in the seeds of wheat, paste of oil and turmeric powder in black gram and long bean, paste the seeds of cucumber and pumpkin in the wall and dry the whole dishrag gourd.

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PRESERVING AND PROMOTING LOCAL SEEDS

© Anil Adhikari/ WWF nepal

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FARMER SCHOOL AND SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

itadevi Poudel, 51, a resident of Bhorle, Rupsepani is a member of the Farmer School. After

participating for 16 weeks in the Farmer School that was held in her village, she has gained substantial knowledge in producing bio-pesticide, using cow urine in her vegetable farm, reducing threats of landslide through plantation, and cultivation methods favourable to climate change. “I did research on seared disease in potatoes in the school. I found it very useful to know about how termites and ants could affect raw soil, diseases related to dampness in soil, burying the leaves when they got infected with seared disease, and mixing pandanus in the soil instead of chemical manures whenever an epidemic broke out,” she explained.

“There was a need to exchange information about climate change, and its impact on the farmers,” said Mr. Govinda Poudel, coordinator of the Farmer School. A discussion was held with the Langtang National Park and Buffer Zone Support Project after which NRs. 40,000 was made available for running a farmer school and for purchasing 13 water sprays and improving 11 cattle-sheds. “The Farmer School is now operating for the first time in our area,” exclaimed Govinda.

One of the objectives of the Farmer School is to educate farmers on income

generation methods by growing crops favourable to the climate. Govinda shared his experience saying that in their farming system, they practiced growing one crop after another (crop cycle) as a result of which the fertility of the soil remained intact and the chemical elements present in the soil were balanced.

From the Farmer School, farmers gained knowledge in diverse areas such as the importance of the chemical elements present in the soil ; adapting farming practices according to the impact of climate change; farming techniques favourable to the climate; change of time for planting; and chemical farming.

Binda Poudel, a student of class 12, shared her experience saying that the use of a mixture of nettle, oil cake, justicia adhatoda and cow’s urine instead of chemical manures benefitted farms and production and was also favourable to the environment.

Sita Devi who is conducting research into the effects of yellow virus on potatoes shared, “The use of green dung infests the land with worms and white ants, and gives rise to fungus because of the extra humidity. In such cases, chemical fertilizers should not be used; rather, broken tree leaves (ketukii) should be used as a better alternative.”

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Until 2007, local farmerS of bhorle

depended on traditional farming. they USed chemical manUreS with the hope of improving

farm prodUce. only a few farmerS UnderStood

that chemical manUreS were a caUSe of environmental

pollUtion and had a negative impact on crop prodUction.

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WHAT IS THE FARMER SCHOOL?

he Farmer School is a forum for learning, sharing and training, where farmers discuss, interact and experiment on different topics related to farming. After observing crops, they exchange their ideas in the school. Both males and females, young and old, take part in the interaction in the school.

“The concept of the Farmer School started in Nepal in 1998. With the assistance of the Langtang National Park and Buffer Zone Support Project and the District Agriculture Development Office (DADO) in Rasuwa, three Farmer Schools were established in Bhorle, Ramche and Dhaibung of Rasuwa district in 2009,” said Ashok Baniya, Project Manager of the Langtang National Park and Buffer Zone Support Project who is actively engaged in implementing the climate change adaptation project in Langtang National Park.

In the school, Integrated Pest Management, production of healthy crops, and the use of organic, liquid manure, dung manure and compost instead of chemical fertilizers are discussed. The procedure of fulfilling the protein requirement in crops is also taught in the school.

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Features of Farmer School• Farming based on climate change adaptation • Use of sustainable and suitable crops• Production of competent farmers• Use of crop cycle in farming• Production of unpolluted crops• Regular care of farms• Exchange of experience among the farmers• Organic medication of crops• Improvement of granaries

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