Forest Cover and Sustainable Development in the Lumbini Province, Nepal: Past, Present and Future
The analysis of forest cover change at different scales is an increasingly important research topic in environmental studies. Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) is an integrated approach to manage and restore forests across various landscapes and environments. Such restoration helps to meet the targ...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-10-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/20/4093 |
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| author | Bhagawat Rimal Hamidreza Keshtkar Nigel Stork Sushila Rijal |
| author_facet | Bhagawat Rimal Hamidreza Keshtkar Nigel Stork Sushila Rijal |
| author_sort | Bhagawat Rimal |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The analysis of forest cover change at different scales is an increasingly important research topic in environmental studies. Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) is an integrated approach to manage and restore forests across various landscapes and environments. Such restoration helps to meet the targets of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)–15, as outlined in the UN Environment’s sixth Global Outlook, which includes the sustainable management of forests, the control of desertification, reducing degradation, biodiversity loss, and the conservation of mountain ecosystems. Here, we have used time series Landsat images from 1996 to 2016 to see how land use, and in particular forest cover, have changed between 1996 and 2016 in the Lumbini Province of Nepal. In addition, we simulated projections of land cover (LC) and forest cover change for the years 2026 and 2036 using a hybrid cellular automata Markov chain (CA–Markov) model. We found that the overall forest area increased by 199 km<sup>2</sup> (2.1%), from a 9491 km<sup>2</sup> (49.3%) area in 1996 to 9691 km<sup>2</sup> (50.3%) area in 2016. Our modeling suggests that forest area will increase by 81 km<sup>2</sup> (9691 to 9772 km<sup>2</sup>) in 2026 and by 195 km<sup>2</sup> (9772 km<sup>2</sup> to 9966 km<sup>2</sup>) in 2036. They are policy, planning, management factors and further strategies to aid forest regeneration. Clear legal frameworks and coherent policies are required to support sustainable forest management programs. This research may support the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), the land degradation neutral world (LDN), and the UN decade 2021–2031 for ecosystem restoration. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:14:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-61296426975c443f913b9fde742a4653 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:14:16Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj.art-61296426975c443f913b9fde742a46532023-11-22T19:54:08ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922021-10-011320409310.3390/rs13204093Forest Cover and Sustainable Development in the Lumbini Province, Nepal: Past, Present and FutureBhagawat Rimal0Hamidreza Keshtkar1Nigel Stork2Sushila Rijal3College of Applied Sciences, (CAS)-Nepal, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu 44613, NepalDepartment of Arid and Mountainous Regions Reclamation, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj 3158777871, IranCentre for Planetary Health and Food Security, Griffith School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD 4111, AustraliaDepartment of Environmental Management, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai 90112, ThailandThe analysis of forest cover change at different scales is an increasingly important research topic in environmental studies. Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) is an integrated approach to manage and restore forests across various landscapes and environments. Such restoration helps to meet the targets of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)–15, as outlined in the UN Environment’s sixth Global Outlook, which includes the sustainable management of forests, the control of desertification, reducing degradation, biodiversity loss, and the conservation of mountain ecosystems. Here, we have used time series Landsat images from 1996 to 2016 to see how land use, and in particular forest cover, have changed between 1996 and 2016 in the Lumbini Province of Nepal. In addition, we simulated projections of land cover (LC) and forest cover change for the years 2026 and 2036 using a hybrid cellular automata Markov chain (CA–Markov) model. We found that the overall forest area increased by 199 km<sup>2</sup> (2.1%), from a 9491 km<sup>2</sup> (49.3%) area in 1996 to 9691 km<sup>2</sup> (50.3%) area in 2016. Our modeling suggests that forest area will increase by 81 km<sup>2</sup> (9691 to 9772 km<sup>2</sup>) in 2026 and by 195 km<sup>2</sup> (9772 km<sup>2</sup> to 9966 km<sup>2</sup>) in 2036. They are policy, planning, management factors and further strategies to aid forest regeneration. Clear legal frameworks and coherent policies are required to support sustainable forest management programs. This research may support the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), the land degradation neutral world (LDN), and the UN decade 2021–2031 for ecosystem restoration.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/20/4093land cover (LC) changeforest managementforest restorationLumbini ProvinceNepal |
| spellingShingle | Bhagawat Rimal Hamidreza Keshtkar Nigel Stork Sushila Rijal Forest Cover and Sustainable Development in the Lumbini Province, Nepal: Past, Present and Future Remote Sensing land cover (LC) change forest management forest restoration Lumbini Province Nepal |
| title | Forest Cover and Sustainable Development in the Lumbini Province, Nepal: Past, Present and Future |
| title_full | Forest Cover and Sustainable Development in the Lumbini Province, Nepal: Past, Present and Future |
| title_fullStr | Forest Cover and Sustainable Development in the Lumbini Province, Nepal: Past, Present and Future |
| title_full_unstemmed | Forest Cover and Sustainable Development in the Lumbini Province, Nepal: Past, Present and Future |
| title_short | Forest Cover and Sustainable Development in the Lumbini Province, Nepal: Past, Present and Future |
| title_sort | forest cover and sustainable development in the lumbini province nepal past present and future |
| topic | land cover (LC) change forest management forest restoration Lumbini Province Nepal |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/20/4093 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT bhagawatrimal forestcoverandsustainabledevelopmentinthelumbiniprovincenepalpastpresentandfuture AT hamidrezakeshtkar forestcoverandsustainabledevelopmentinthelumbiniprovincenepalpastpresentandfuture AT nigelstork forestcoverandsustainabledevelopmentinthelumbiniprovincenepalpastpresentandfuture AT sushilarijal forestcoverandsustainabledevelopmentinthelumbiniprovincenepalpastpresentandfuture |