Uses of Nepal’s Slopes
Most of Nepal is sloping land. These are ways steep places elsewhere in the world have turned their slopes into an advantage, chosen because they are rare in Nepal or a new step on what Nepal already does.
- Water · Uses the slope Water-powered ram pumps for hill villages
A pump whose only moving parts are two valves uses a stream’s fall to push part of its water up to 100 m or more, without fuel or power.
Elsewhere: AIDFI, Negros, Philippines: 98 pumps at 68 sites for 15,000 people by 2007, villagers paying into a repair fund; over 1,100 pumps by 2021.
In Nepal: CRT/N has installed about 30 hydrams, mostly donor-funded (Dhading, Kavre, Nawalparasi); few farmers know them. New step: local making, servicing and repair funds.
The catch: Needs a stream flowing all year with a drop below the intake; lifts only a small share of the water; badly made pumps leak and stop.
Who can take it up: Household, Community, Business
Where: Chure, Middle hills
Read more → - Forests · Protects the slope Pine needles into fuel and power
Rake up the fallen chir pine needles that feed spring forest fires and sell them by weight, press them into briquettes or burn them for power.
Elsewhere: India: Avani’s gasifiers in Pithoragarh (2011); nearly 600 tonnes in a year sold to a cement plant in Himachal; briquettes for hotels in Jammu and Kashmir.
In Nepal: Chir pine covers 8.54% of Nepal’s forest; a Hattiban community forest study tested briquettes, but we found no pine-needle business.
The catch: Needles fall only in spring and are bulky to carry; most briquettes tested were smoky indoors; Uttarakhand’s power plants mostly failed.
Who can take it up: Community, Business
Where: Chure, Middle hills
Read more → - Protecting slopes · Protects the slope Green roads instead of dozer roads
Hill roads built to cut little into the slope, with cut and fill balanced, no spoil tipped downhill, drains before the monsoon and planted banks.
Elsewhere: Bhutan’s Department of Roads since 1999: excavators, not bulldozers; about 30% dearer to build, cheaper over its life after about nine years.
In Nepal: Green roads began in Dhading (1988), but most of 57,632 km of local roads were dozed without drainage. New step: municipalities requiring green methods.
The catch: Costs more up front; politicians are judged on road length; local governments can’t pay for land, so cuts get steeper; needs on-site checking.
Who can take it up: Business, Local government
Where: Chure, Middle hills, High hills
Read more →
Coming next
36 more uses, each to get a page of its own, written from sources. This list is a first draft: the entries marked “to be checked” are checked against sources when their pages are written, and a use whose sources don’t hold up comes off the list.
Farming and agroforestry
- Uses and protects the slope Contour hedgerows of nitrogen-fixing shrubs
Double rows of nitrogen-fixing shrubs on the contour every few metres; crops grow between; trimmings feed soil and animals; slopes slowly become terraces.
Elsewhere: SALT, from the Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Center, Davao del Sur, Philippines, made for smallholders on sloping uplands.
In Nepal: Sloping bari land; ICIMOD's Godavari trials (alder, Indigofera) cut runoff and soil loss, but few farms use it.
The catch: Hedges take land and two years' work before paying back; farmers drop them unless fodder or yields improve quickly.
Who can take it up: Household, Community
Where: Chure, Middle hills
Sources: fao.org · lib.icimod.org · journal.hep.com.cn
- Uses and protects the slope Alder-improved fallows for khoriya to be checked
Keep nitrogen-fixing Nepali alder in shifting-cultivation fields, pollarded not felled, so the soil recovers in a few years.
Elsewhere: Khonoma, Nagaland, India: the Angami Nagas' alder-based jhum; studies found more soil carbon than in nearby forest.
In Nepal: Chepang khoriya in the Chure and middle hills (Chitwan, Makwanpur, Dhading, Gorkha); we found no alder fallows there.
The catch: Alder grows best in the cooler hills, above the lowest khoriya; disputed rights to forest land can block tree planting.
Who can take it up: Household, Community
Where: Chure, Middle hills
Sources: ckan.ali-sea.org · vegetosindia.org · ilo.org · mdpi.com
- Uses and protects the slope Hazelnuts on fallow hill land to be checked
Hazelnut orchards on abandoned or degraded slopes: no ploughing, roots hold the soil, and the nuts keep and export.
Elsewhere: Mountain Hazelnuts, Bhutan (since 2009): 8,000+ grower households given free trees and a floor price; exports to Australia, Singapore, Japan.
In Nepal: Abandoned terraces at 1,600–3,000 m; we found no hazelnut farming in Nepal. Our atlas: needs winter chill, slopes up to 30°.
The catch: Four to five years to first nuts; some Bhutan orchards gave hollow nuts; needs a company that buys, cracks and exports.
Who can take it up: Household, Community, Business
Where: Middle hills, High hills
Sources: mountainhazelnuts.com · thestar.com.my · bbs.bt · Our crop suitability atlas (work in progress)
- Uses and protects the slope Macadamia on warm mid-hill slopes to be checked
Long-lived macadamia trees on frost-free sloping land: they hold the soil, and the nuts dry and store well.
Elsewhere: Smallholder macadamia in Kenya and Malawi; Vietnam's Central Highlands expanded fast, with officials warning of unplanned planting.
In Nepal: Helvetas trains nursery owners in Kavre; Bern models map suitable mid-hill land; still few growers. Atlas: frost-free, slopes under 20°.
The catch: About six years to income; frost kills young trees; needs a drying and cracking unit and a buyer lined up before planting.
Who can take it up: Household, Business
Where: Middle hills
Sources: helvetas.org · boris.unibe.ch · van.nongnghiepmoitruong.vn · Our crop suitability atlas (work in progress)
- Uses the slope Wasabi in mountain-stream terraces to be checked
Small stone terraces built in clean, cold spring streams under shade grow wasabi, which sells fresh at high prices.
Elsewhere: Shizuoka, Japan (FAO GIAHS 2018): tatamiishi stream terraces, about 40% of Japan's wasabi, grown with little fertiliser.
In Nepal: Cold, shaded spring streams in the high hills; we found no wasabi grown in Nepal. Atlas: wants 8–20 °C.
The catch: The market inside Nepal is tiny and fresh wasabi spoils fast; disease spreads down the stream; terraces must not divert drinking water.
Who can take it up: Household, Business
Where: High hills
Sources: jetro.go.jp · Our crop suitability atlas (work in progress)
- Uses the slope Farming high-altitude herbs, not wild picking to be checked
Grow kutki, jatamansi and similar herbs from seed or cuttings on high slopes instead of digging them out of the wild.
Elsewhere: Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh promote kutki on fallow land; India's NMHS wrote a cultivation guide for Chamoli farmers.
In Nepal: Wild harvest dominates in Dolpa, Jumla, Humla and Rasuwa. New step: farmed herbs. Atlas: kutki and jatamansi take 40° slopes.
The catch: Buyers pay little extra for farmed herbs; exporting some species needs proof they were farmed (CITES); two to three years to harvest.
Who can take it up: Household, Community, Business
Where: High hills, Mountains
Sources: ums.iust.ac.in · nmhs.org.in · civilsdaily.com · Our crop suitability atlas (work in progress)
- Uses and protects the slope Sea buckthorn on eroding high slopes
Plant thorny sea buckthorn on bare slopes and gullies: roots fix nitrogen and bind soil; berries make juice and oil.
Elsewhere: China's Loess Plateau: chosen for erosion control in 1985; about 1.27 million ha planted by around 2000.
In Nepal: Grows wild in Mustang and Manang; juice comes from wild berries; HimalAsia nurseries since 2003. New step: plantations on eroding slopes.
The catch: Thorny berries are slow to pick; juice sells little without processing and certification; wild stands are cheaper to harvest.
Who can take it up: Household, Community, Business
Where: High hills, Mountains
Sources: en.himalpress.com · rufford.org · globalgiving.org · topsoil.nserl.purdue.edu
- Uses the slope Fish and ducks in terrace rice
Keep fish, and ducks, in flooded terrace paddies: they eat weeds and pests, and one field earns from rice, fish and eggs.
Elsewhere: Hani terraces, Yunnan, China (GIAHS 2010): rice-fish-duck on 13,053 ha for 50,446 households, with several incomes per field.
In Nepal: Irrigated hill terraces; rice-fish is done in the Terai and was studied in Nuwakot and Kaski, but is rare on hill terraces.
The catch: Paddies need deeper water and stronger bunds, and a leaking bund on a slope can start a slip; fingerlings must be carried up.
Who can take it up: Household, Community
Where: Middle hills
Sources: chinadaily.com.cn · mdpi.com · nepjol.info
- Uses the slope Timber trees along terrace edges to be checked
Plant a single row of fast timber trees along terrace edges and boundaries, sold for timber when grown.
Elsewhere: Grevillea robusta boundary trees in Kenya's highlands (Meru, Embu), planted by smallholders since the 1970s for timber and fuel.
In Nepal: Middle-hill farms already keep fodder trees. New step: trees grown for sale, as farmers' private timber.
The catch: Nepal's private-tree registration, felling and transport permits are slow; trees shade the nearest crop rows.
Who can take it up: Household
Where: Middle hills
Sources: apps.worldagroforestry.org · nepjol.info · prasashan.com
- Uses the slope City families adopting terrace plots to be checked
City people pay a yearly fee to 'own' a terrace plot, come to plant and harvest, and take home its rice; villagers do the farming.
Elsewhere: Japan's tanada owner system: Shiroyone, Ishikawa (since 2007) and Tokamachi's terraces, including Hoshitoge, Niigata.
In Nepal: Abandoned terraces within reach of Kathmandu, Pokhara and Dhulikhel; one survey put hill farmland abandonment near 40%. We found nothing similar.
The catch: Villagers must do most of the work, and someone must run the owners' list; a bad harvest or poor welcome loses owners.
Who can take it up: Household, Community, Business
Where: Middle hills
Sources: resilience.org · ourworld.unu.edu · cambridge.org · rune.une.edu.au
Water
- Uses the slope Fog nets on foggy ridges to be checked
Fine mesh set across the wind on a ridge catches fog droplets, which drip into tanks: water where there is no spring.
Elsewhere: FogQuest's village projects in Chile, Peru and Guatemala; Nepal's own pilots since 1997 at Khumjung and near Kathmandu.
In Nepal: Dry ridge villages with pre-monsoon fog (Okhaldhunga projects 2024–26); still a handful of pilots. New step: a maintained village supply.
The catch: Small yields (litres per square metre a day) and only in the fog season; nets tear in storms; it suits only some ridges.
Who can take it up: Household, Community, Local government
Where: Middle hills, High hills
Sources: fogquest.org · smallearth.org.np · international-climate-initiative.com
- Uses the slope Ice stupas for spring irrigation to be checked
Winter stream water piped downhill and sprayed at night freezes into a tall ice cone that melts in April–May, when fields need water.
Elsewhere: Ladakh, India: Sonam Wangchuk's first ice stupa in 2013; dozens built since, using only the pipe's fall, no pumps.
In Nepal: Rain-shadow villages of Mustang, Manang, Dolpa and Humla short of spring water; we found no ice stupas in Nepal.
The catch: Needs freezing nights, winter flow and a long pipe drop; pipes freeze; in warm years it melts before planting time.
Who can take it up: Community, Local government
Where: Mountains
Sources: blogs.egu.eu · weforum.org · worldwateratlas.org
- Uses and protects the slope Recharging dying springs uphill
Map where a spring's water soaks in, then dig recharge pits and ponds and plant trees there, so the spring flows again.
Elsewhere: Sikkim's Dhara Vikas (since 2008): about 50 springs revived, about 900 million litres recharged a year, for Rs 2.5 crore.
In Nepal: ICIMOD pilots in Kavre since 2013; seven Kavre municipalities joined in 2026. New step: every hill municipality budgeting for it.
The catch: Needs a hydrogeologist to find the true recharge area; ponds in the wrong place can wet an unstable slope.
Who can take it up: Community, Local government
Where: Chure, Middle hills, High hills
Sources: indiawaterportal.org · icimod.org · thehimalayantimes.com
- Protects the slope A town water fund for upstream slopes
A town adds a small charge to water bills and pays upstream villages to protect the forest and slopes its water comes from.
Elsewhere: FONAG, Quito, Ecuador: funded mainly by 2% of the water utility's revenue; supports over 28,000 ha of watershed conservation.
In Nepal: Dhulikhel pays Bhumidanda about Rs 10 lakh a year; Kulekhani shares hydro royalty. New step: an independent fund that checks results.
The catch: Money drifts to roads and buildings instead of the watershed, as Kulekhani's studies found, unless the fund measures what it buys.
Who can take it up: Community, Local government
Where: Chure, Middle hills, High hills
Sources: greenfinanceinstitute.com · nature.org · repository.cam.ac.uk · thesis.eur.nl · watershedmarkets.org
Forests
- Uses and protects the slope Herbs grown under community forest trees to be checked
Shade-loving crops such as chiraito, wintergreen and valerian planted in the forest understory, with no trees cleared.
Elsewhere: Appalachia, USA: forest-farmed ginseng and other herbs, with a beginning forest farmer coalition since 2016.
In Nepal: Community forests could plant under trees through their operation plans; most herbs are wild-collected now. Atlas flags these crops as shade-tolerant.
The catch: The operation plan and Division Forest Office must allow it; theft from open forest; buyers can't tell farmed from wild.
Who can take it up: Community, Business
Where: Middle hills, High hills
Sources: psu.edu · projects.sare.org · news.vt.edu · Our crop suitability atlas (work in progress)
- Protects the slope Protection forests above villages and roads to be checked
Forests above settlements and roads managed first to stop rockfall and slides: kept young and deep-rooted, never clear-felled.
Elsewhere: Switzerland's protection forests (Schutzwald), whose upkeep the federal forest law funds because they protect settlements.
In Nepal: Forests above hill roads and towns; Nepal's laws allow protected forests and conserved watersheds, rarely used against slides.
The catch: Users lose timber income; needs foresters to pick the right slopes; a label without management does nothing.
Who can take it up: Community, Local government
Where: Chure, Middle hills, High hills
Sources: swissinfo.ch · bfh.ch · leap.unep.org
Protecting slopes
- Protects the slope Vetiver hedges on farm slopes to be checked
Vetiver grass planted in dense contour hedges: deep roots hold soil and slow runoff; cut leaves feed animals or thatch roofs.
Elsewhere: The Vetiver Network's work worldwide; Indian trials report over 90% less soil loss; Philippine farmers rated it well.
In Nepal: Used in Nepal's road bioengineering since the 1980s, but rare on farms and terrace risers. New step: farm hedges and slip nurseries.
The catch: Must be planted from slips, never seed; suits warm, low land best; needs a year of care before it holds.
Who can take it up: Household, Community, Business
Where: Chure, Middle hills
Sources: theannapurnaexpress.com · link.springer.com · vetiver.org · nationalacademies.org
- Protects the slope Village landslide early warning to be checked
Rain gauges, soil-moisture sensors and wire gauges on a moving slope sound a siren when thresholds pass, so people leave in time.
Elsewhere: Amrita University's sensor network on landslide slopes at Munnar, Kerala, India.
In Nepal: Pilots at Sundrawati (Dolakha) and Methum (Lalitpur); volunteers with rain gauges in Kaski. New step: municipalities running them.
The catch: Sensors break without upkeep; false alarms make people ignore sirens; it covers only slides already known.
Who can take it up: Community, Local government
Where: Chure, Middle hills, High hills
Sources: jms.imde.ac.cn · ucanews.com · nce.edu.np · thefridaytimes.com
- Uses and protects the slope Road drains that fill ponds to be checked
Road drains and culverts lead runoff into ponds, recharge pits or safe channels instead of gullying the slope below.
Elsewhere: Tigray, Ethiopia: road water harvesting raised the water table about 2 m and nearby yields 35% (MetaMeta, Mekelle University).
In Nepal: Hill roads whose culvert outlets start gullies and slides; Roads for Water lists spring work in Dhankuta. New step: designed outlets.
The catch: Putting water onto a wet slope can start a landslide; ponds only on stable ground, and road agencies must agree.
Who can take it up: Community, Local government
Where: Chure, Middle hills
Sources: grist.org · e360.yale.edu · roadsforwater.org
- Protects the slope Bioengineering nurseries and slope crews to be checked
A nursery grows the grasses, shrubs and cuttings that stabilise slopes, and a crew plants them for road builders and municipalities.
Elsewhere: Proven on Nepal's own national roads (Department of Roads standard); Bhutan and India use the same methods.
In Nepal: National roads use bioengineering; local roads built by municipalities rarely do. New step: private nurseries and crews selling to them.
The catch: Buyers pay only if contracts require it; planting is tied to the monsoon; survival must be guaranteed.
Who can take it up: Community, Business
Where: Chure, Middle hills, High hills
Sources: worldbank.org · roadsforwater.org
- Protects the slope Jute and grass erosion mats to be checked
Open-weave mats of jute, coir or babiyo grass pegged on bare slopes hold soil and seed until plants grow through, then rot away.
Elsewhere: India: jute geotextiles to Bureau of Indian Standards specifications for hill slopes, tested by ICAR in the Nilgiris.
In Nepal: Jute grows in the eastern Terai, babiyo in the Chure; we found no Nepali erosion-mat makers.
The catch: Must meet a weight and weave standard to work; buyers are road projects with slow payment; Indian imports compete.
Who can take it up: Household, Business
Where: Chure, Middle hills
Sources: wgbis.ces.iisc.ac.in · gender.cgiar.org
Transport and goods
- Uses the slope Gravity ropeways run by user groups
A steel cable from a hillside village to the road: the loaded trolley going down pulls the lighter one up, with no fuel.
Elsewhere: Brought from Uttarakhand, India; Practical Action and ICIMOD found transport costs fell by at least half where ropeways run.
In Nepal: About 18 built by 2010 (Mustang, Makwanpur, Kalikot, Jumla). New step: a user group charging fees into a repair fund.
The catch: Upkeep: Makwanpur's ropeway sat broken six months in 2025 over a Rs 7 lakh wire; a 1998 ropeway in Gorkha killed someone.
Who can take it up: Community, Business, Local government
Where: Middle hills, High hills
Sources: practicalaction.org · practicalaction.org · ekantipur.com · eco-business.com
- Uses the slope Small powered cableways for hamlets to be checked
Small electric cableways carrying goods, and later a few people, from a valley road up to farms and hamlets high above it.
Elsewhere: Canton Uri, Switzerland: about 40 small cableways serve mountain farms and hamlets, many backed by the canton.
In Nepal: Hamlets above roads where porters carry everything up; Nepal's cable cars are large tourist ones. Goods-only lines first.
The catch: Carrying people needs safety certificates and inspectors Nepal lacks for small lifts; electricity and a trained operator are needed.
Who can take it up: Community, Business, Local government
Where: Middle hills, High hills, Mountains
Sources: ur.ch · matterhorngotthardbahn.ch · srf.ch
Energy
- Uses the slope Turbines inside gravity water mains to be checked
Small turbines fitted inside a drinking-water main use pressure that would otherwise be wasted to make electricity.
Elsewhere: Lucid Energy, Portland, USA: four turbines in a gravity-fed city main, about 1,000 MWh a year under a 20-year contract.
In Nepal: Hill towns' gravity water schemes waste pressure at break-pressure tanks; we found no in-pipe hydro in Nepal.
The catch: Small output; must not change flow or water quality; selling the power needs an NEA agreement, or a use right at the tank.
Who can take it up: Business, Local government
Where: Middle hills, High hills
Sources: renewableenergyworld.com · wwdmag.com
Building and settlement
- Protects the slope Dry-stone terrace repair crews
Trained crews, with paying volunteers, rebuild collapsed terrace walls in dry stone, with drains, for owners, parks and municipalities.
Elsewhere: Cinque Terre, Italy: the national park's dry-stone projects and Save Vernazza's voluntourism; UNESCO listed dry-stone walling in 2018.
In Nepal: Terraces collapsing after abandonment and the 2015 earthquake. New step: walling as a paid trade with a training standard.
The catch: Owners rarely pay for walls they don't farm; it pays only with a buyer such as a municipality, project or tourists.
Who can take it up: Community, Business, Local government
Where: Middle hills, High hills
Sources: theflorentine.net · savevernazza.com · parconazionale5terre.it · ich.unesco.org
- Protects the slope Red-zone hazard maps for building
Map landslide, rockfall and flood danger in red, blue and yellow; no new building in red, conditions in blue.
Elsewhere: Switzerland, since the 1950–51 avalanche winter: Wengen's first map in 1960; hazard zones bind land-use plans.
In Nepal: Risk-sensitive land use plans exist for some places (Kathmandu Valley, Godawari, Birendranagar). New step: binding building rules from them.
The catch: Owners lose land value in red zones and resist; maps need redoing after earthquakes and new roads.
Who can take it up: Local government
Where: Chure, Middle hills, High hills, Mountains
Sources: slf.ch · preventionweb.net · kvda.gov.np · dpnet.org.np
Tourism and sport
- Uses and protects the slope Terraced valleys as heritage destinations to be checked
Name and protect one outstanding terraced valley, with trails, rice-season festivals and homestays, so visitors pay to keep it farmed.
Elsewhere: Ifugao, Philippines and Hani, Yunnan: FAO GIAHS and UNESCO sites; SITMo's tours fund rebuilding abandoned Ifugao terraces.
In Nepal: We found no GIAHS site in Nepal; many middle-hill valleys have fine terraces. New step: a nomination and a site plan.
The catch: Ifugao shows tourism money rarely reaches the farmers; uncontrolled tourism helped put it on the endangered list.
Who can take it up: Community, Local government
Where: Middle hills
Sources: fao.org · gmanetwork.com · newsinfo.inquirer.net
- Uses the slope A UNESCO Global Geopark to be checked
A region's rocks, gorges, landslides and villages explained with trails, signs and local guides, under UNESCO's geopark label.
Elsewhere: UNESCO Global Geoparks such as Itoigawa, Japan and Langkawi, Malaysia draw visitors with geology trails.
In Nepal: Kali Gandaki valley was proposed in 2012 and Pokhara called aspiring; Nepal has no UNESCO Global Geopark yet.
The catch: Years of preparation and a body to run it; the label is reviewed every four years and can be withdrawn.
Who can take it up: Community, Local government
Where: Middle hills, High hills, Mountains
Sources: nipr.repo.nii.ac.jp · nepjol.info
- Uses the slope Via ferratas near hill towns to be checked
Steel cables, rungs and ladders fixed to a cliff let non-climbers climb safely clipped in, usually with a guide.
Elsewhere: The Dolomites, Italy, and hundreds of routes in the Alps; Swiss resorts sell guided via ferrata days.
In Nepal: Only a high route in Rolwaling (about 5,100–5,400 m) and a small one near Jugal; none near Pokhara or Kathmandu.
The catch: Needs certified hardware, inspections and a rescue plan; one fatal accident ends the business; landowner and forest permission.
Who can take it up: Community, Business
Where: Middle hills, High hills
Sources: guinnessworldrecords.com · explorersweb.com · publications.americanalpineclub.org · myswitzerland.com
- Uses the slope An alpine coaster on a hill resort to be checked
Two-seat sleds run down a steel track on a hillside, the rider braking; a cable pulls them back up.
Elsewhere: Wiegand's alpine coasters across Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Italy, built to give ski resorts summer income.
In Nepal: Hill resorts near Kathmandu and Pokhara; we found no alpine coaster in Nepal.
The catch: Imported track (no reliable cost figure); needs land, power and safety approval; depends on weekend crowds.
Who can take it up: Business
Where: Middle hills
Sources: coasterpedia.net · gadling.com
- Uses the slope Purpose-built mountain bike trail networks
Trails designed for bikes, with drainage, switchbacks and steady grades, graded by difficulty and kept up by fees or sponsors.
Elsewhere: Whakarewarewa Forest, Rotorua, New Zealand: riders there spend an estimated NZ$30–50 million a year.
In Nepal: Ratnange Trail Center (Phaplu, 60 km) and the Bhanjyang trail near Kathmandu are first steps; most riding uses footpaths and roads.
The catch: Trails need constant upkeep and landowner or forest agreements; few riders come until a network is big enough.
Who can take it up: Community, Business, Local government
Where: Middle hills, High hills
Sources: nepalitimes.com · nepalitimes.com · rotoruanz.com
- Uses the slope Bolted climbing crags as village income
Bolt many routes on a village's cliffs, publish a free guide, and let homestays and cafés serve the climbers.
Elsewhere: Kalymnos, Greece: after the sponge trade died (1986), the municipality funded bolting from 1997; about 4,000 routes now.
In Nepal: A few dozen bolted routes near Kathmandu (Nagarjun, Hattiban); cliffs elsewhere unexplored. New step: a whole destination.
The catch: Bolts corrode and need a replacement fund; monsoon closes the season; the rock must be sound.
Who can take it up: Community, Business, Local government
Where: Middle hills
Sources: tovima.com · lacrux.com · nepalitimes.com · asianhikingteam.com
- Uses the slope A canopy walkway from a hillside to be checked
A walkway leading from a hillside into the treetops, so visitors see the forest, birds and orchids from above.
Elsewhere: Otway Fly and Illawarra Fly, Australia; Nyungwe's canopy walk, Rwanda.
In Nepal: Middle-hill forests near towns; we found no canopy walkway in Nepal.
The catch: Built in forest, so forest or protected-area permission; an engineered structure that must be inspected.
Who can take it up: Community, Business
Where: Middle hills
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org
- Uses the slope Signposted day-hike networks around towns to be checked
A municipality marks and keeps up day-hike trails with signposts giving walking times, plus free maps.
Elsewhere: Switzerland: about 65,000 km signposted by Schweizer Wanderwege and 26 cantonal associations, uniform signs since 1934.
In Nepal: Hill towns such as Bandipur, Tansen, Dhulikhel and Ilam have old trails but few signs; trekking is guided, day hikes aren't.
The catch: Signs get stolen or rot; new roads swallow trails; needs a yearly upkeep budget.
Who can take it up: Community, Local government
Where: Middle hills, High hills
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · aboutswitzerland.eda.admin.ch
Land and policy
- Uses the slope A municipal bank for idle terraces to be checked
The municipality leases idle land from absent owners and rents it in blocks to people who will farm it, protecting owners' title.
Elsewhere: Japan's Farmland Banks (since 2014): subleased land rose from 43,000 to 142,000 ha in 2016; harder in hilly areas.
In Nepal: Hill wards with many owners abroad. New step on informal adhiya sharecropping: written, guaranteed leases.
The catch: Owners fear tenants will claim the land, as tenancy laws once allowed; small scattered terraces make matching costly.
Who can take it up: Community, Local government
Where: Middle hills, High hills
Sources: ideas.repec.org · kaken.nii.ac.jp · ap.fftc.org.tw
- Protects the slope Payments for keeping steep terraces farmed to be checked
A yearly payment per ropani for keeping steep terraces farmed and their walls and drains in repair.
Elsewhere: Switzerland's federal direct payments include slope contributions, with separate, higher rates for steep and terraced vineyards.
In Nepal: Provinces or municipalities could pay where abandoned terraces collapse; nothing like it now.
The catch: Needs maps and checks to avoid paying for neglected terraces; budgets are small; must reward upkeep, not ownership.
Who can take it up: Local government
Where: Middle hills, High hills
Sources: ckan.opendata.swiss · ckan.opendata.swiss
About this list
Each use was kept only if it has worked somewhere else, fits Nepal’s slopes, is rare in Nepal or a new step on what Nepal does now, adds no landslide or erosion risk, is legal, can be taken up by someone in Nepal at a cost they could find, and has sources. The places and projects named are examples, not recommendations.