For Environment, Democracy and Livelihoods
Jalthal is a biodiversity-rich forest island in South-East Nepal. It is a remnant of once contiguous lush forest popularly known as Charkoshe ban. In the recent years, forests of Jalthal have been infested with Invasive Alien Species (IAS)-particularly by Mikania-mile a minute, thus posing threat to biodiversity. In an effort to restore the degraded forests of Jalthal and promote conservation of its biodiversity, ForestAction Nepal in collaboration with the Royal Botanical Garden Edinburgh (RBGE), FECOFUN Jhapa, and community forest user groups of Jalthal, have been implementing activities targeting the removal of IAS along with supporting the livelihoods of community forest user groups.
Good progress has been made in regards to having a solid scientific foundation including documentation of key biodiversity components, identifying specific threats and their proximate and underlying causes, communicating ecological significance of the forest with local communities and government, piloting invasive species management practices, and identifying locally suitable agroforestry for forest biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of forest biological resources.
