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Late Monsoon Rains Trigger Fear of Landslides

FrontLines - February 2010

TRISULI, Nepal—The rain beat down in torrents all night on Oct. 7—the latest the monsoon had lasted in Nepalese history, possibly due to climate change, which might also have accelerated melting of vast parts of the Himalayan glaciers lost in the mists above.

The rain flooded rivers and rice paddies across Nepal’s flat Terai plains, causing destruction and ravaging agricultural land. And in the forests of the steep Himalayan Mountains rising all around this valley town, people feared the rain would unleash landslides that had already killed dozens of people this year.

But up several miles of steep roads, in the village of Kalikasthan, there is less fear these days thanks to a USAID-funded community forestry program that for some 20 years has helped local people control, protect, and improve the surrounding forests.

Now the thick groves of trees stand 50 to 60 feet tall, their roots keeping the rain water from eroding the mountainsides. Some 21 percent of Nepal’s forests are now protected community forests, watched over by 145,000 elected representatives.

A potter works at his wheel in Nepalgunj; nearby are many small oil lamps ready for a festival. Behind him is a charpoy, the simple roped bed that cools sleepers in the hot nights.

“Since we started the community forests, landslides are significantly reduced—we sleep better at night,” said Jaman Singh, who has been chairman of the village’s community forestry user group since 1992.

Back then, he brought in the first seedlings to restore the forest after years of logging for fuel and lumber. “Thirty years ago, there were no trees on this hill,” said a forestry expert working for USAID.

When forests were owned by the state, loggers, poachers, and others simply took what they wanted. But since communities were given control, they planted seedlings and took only the dead lower branches for fuel as the trees grew. They also cut standing dead wood, collected grasses and herbs, and hunted wild animals.

CARE, the World Wildlife Fund, and USAID have been the main supporters of the community forest user groups—training Nepalis to manage their resources.

Even living in the steep mountain villages with the small terraces growing rice and wheat, by protecting the environment, landslides can be reduced, biodiversity can be preserved, and livelihoods can be created. ★

FrontLines Editorial Director Ben Barber wrote this series of articles following a trip to Nepal in October. All photos by Ben Barber unless otherwise noted.

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