Back to news

Lemon farming introduced at International Biodiversity Day Bahundangi, Jhapa

1 min Read

70% Complete

Students, teachers and the local community celebrated International Biodiversity Day 2016 at Mechi Janasadharan Higher Secondary School, Bahundangi, Jhapa on May 22, 2016.

The occasion initiated lemon farming at Bahundangi as a strategy to support community livelihoods. As per the assumption that the lemon farms are not destroyed by elephants in case they enter into the farms, one hundred lemon seedlings were planted on the land owned by the school. Prior to planting, interested people from the community of Bahundangi visited the lem-on farm at Sunsari and met the owner Dhalu Ram Tharu. Mr Tharu was invited to participate planting the seedlings at the celebration along with older students who brought green manure from home and also helped out.

The programme was organised in two sessions. In the first session, biodiversity experts Prof. Ram P Chaudhary and Prof. Khadga Basnet discussed the importance of biodiversity. Mr. Subedi, District Forest Office (DFO) Jhapa and the chief guest talked about the importance of biodi-versity to livelihoods and conservation. Mr. Tharu talked about the feasibility of lemon farming and potential cost-benefit analysis. Notebooks and pens were handed over to the school by KLCDI team to distribute to the students whenever needed.

Prof. Chaudhary plants a lemon seedling.
Photo: Yadav Uprety/RECAST

In the second session, community members, students, teachers, DFO and team from Kathmandu all participated in planting the lemon seedlings.

The community learned about farming methods and potential income from lemon farming. The the seedlings will be provided to the community once they’ve met outlined criteria: first priority for elephant victimized families, second priority for the families whose farms were damaged by elephants, and third priority for the land holders along  an established electric fence, and fourth to interested households. It was agreed the Human-Elephant Conflict Mitigation Committee would distribute the seedlings in coordination with DFO. KLCDI committed technical and finan-cial support and monitoring of the initiative.

The celebration day was proposed under the Kangchenjunga Landscape Conservation and De-velopment Initiative (KLCDI), Research Centre for Applied Science and Technology (RECAST) with Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation and International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). A team from RECAST joined the function along with District Forest Of-ficer, Bodhraj Subedi. The programme was coordinated by Human-Elephant Conflict Mitigation Committee chaired by Dundiraj Poudel.

Stay current

Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.

Sign Up

Related Content

Continue exploring this topic

3 Jul 2015 News
Two senior ICIMOD staff in Silk Road think tank

ICIMOD’s Director Programme Operations Dr Eklabya Sharma and Livelihoods Theme Leader Dr Golam Rasul have been named members of the Silk Road ...

12 Oct 2015 News
Water management training in Myanmar

ICIMOD held a five-day training session on integrated water management 25-29 August 2015 in Nyaung Shwe, Myanmar. Participants were instructed in ...

16 Apr 2015 News
Kiwi orchard established in Bhutan

Bhutan’s Agriculture and Forests Minister Lyonpo Yeshey Dorji inaugurated a kiwi fruit orchard (demonstration farm) in Wangkha on 15 March ...

7 Feb 2019 RMS
Myanmar delegation visits Nepal to learn about community forestry practices

Myanmar has developed Community Forestry Strategic Action Plan 2018–2030 to address forest degradation and improve the livelihoods of forest-dependent communities ...

15 Sep 2016 News
Flood Mapping Made Easier in Bihar

Bihar, India’s most flood-prone state, is under constant threat of flooding. Every year, floods destroy lives, livestock, infrastructure and bring ...

28 Dec 2018 News
ICIMOD receives Global Outstanding Achievement Award 2018

The Transboundary Landscape Programme facilitates cooperation based on shared ecosystems between countries and has fostered partnerships with over 55 government ...

25 Mar 2015 News
Local Stakeholders in the Koshi basin receive Training on WUMP Facilitation

A four-day training on Water Use Master Plans (WUMPs) facilitation was jointly organized by HELVETAS ...

Pakistani Team Travels to China to Explore Possibilities for Strengthening Yak Value Chains in Pakistan

A team of yak value chain actors from Pakistan travelled to Lanzhou is Gansu province, China, in April 2017 to ...