The existing network of national parks and wildlife reserves is not representative of all the different ecosystems in the country. These are concentrated in the high Himalayas and lower Terai. National parks and reserves need to be established in the Middle Mountain regions to conserve all representative ecosystems.
Financial assistance for the TIP should be increased and more partners for technical enhancement should be searched.
The TIP should be reviewed and improved. Involvement in the programme should not be limited to the DFRS and TISC alone but be extended to Department of National Parks and Wildlife, Department of Plant Resources and other concerned institutions in the country. A coordinated Tree Improvement Network should be formed and include these institutions. Depending upon the mandate, specialised activities should be developed and implemented through this network. This network could work as a separate office with the experts from all the member institutions. Some suggested activities for the network include:
More than 10 000 plant species are reported in Nepal but only 5400 plant species have been recognised so far. There is a need to clearly identify and list out all rare, endangered and priority species.
In situ and ex situ approaches to conservation have significant roles in conserving and managing species genetic diversity. A clear policy and strategy should be developed for in situ and ex situ conservation.
Buffer zones in all national parks and wildlife reserves need to be managed to protect the core areas from population pressure.
Forest users need to be motivated to conserve species and genetic diversity for their use in future generation.
• Encourage farmers to domesticate and multiply rare, endangered and valuable species with appropriate technology.
• Identify other threatened species and develop technologies for domestication.
• Natural regeneration practices should be focused on Tree Improvement Programme.
• Management of community forests need to be improvised as the Community Forest Operational Plan of the FUGs allow removal of single species in an operation based on use.
Since tree improvement studies are time-consuming, other priorities such as conservation of genes and biodiversity and the trend of returning to natural regeneration practices are taking over. Tree improvement research does not get the funding as it did in the past. Provenance trials established in the past under the tree improvement programme could, however, be used for ex situ conservation. They could function as gene reservoirs for populations that are either already extinct or are endangered in their natural habitat.
