COVID-19 lockdown and the forestry sector: insight from Gandaki province of Nepal
Article
Article Title | COVID-19 lockdown and the forestry sector: insight from Gandaki province of Nepal |
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ERA Journal ID | 5674 |
Article Category | Article |
Authors | Laudari, Hari Krishna (Author), Pariyar, Shiva (Author) and Maraseni, Tek (Author) |
Journal Title | Forest Policy and Economics |
Journal Citation | 131, pp. 1-12 |
Article Number | 102556 |
Number of Pages | 12 |
Year | 2021 |
Place of Publication | Netherlands |
ISSN | 1389-9341 |
1872-7050 | |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2021.102556 |
Web Address (URL) | https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1389934121001623 |
Abstract | Almost all countries have imposed large-scale mobility restrictions (or lockdown) to stop the spreading of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The mobility restriction has disrupted all types of business; causing a devastating impact on countries' economies; and pushing millions of people into extreme poverty. Scientists have been assessing the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on various fronts but there is limited scholarship in the forestry sector. We navigated the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on the forestry sector by taking Gandaki Province (21,974 km2) of Nepal as a case. Employing semi-structured interviews (n = 62) with all ten stakeholder groups, literature review and media analysis, our study revealed that the COVID-19 lockdown suspended all types of forestry and ecotourism businesses; obstructed research and monitoring activities; halted capacity development and extension services; impacted forest development work; and increased incidences of illegal logging and poaching and trafficking of wildlife. Because of the complete shutdown of businesses, the forestry sector of Gandaki province lost 9.6 million USD and 3.2 million man-days of employment during the lockdown period. The economic cost of the lockdown was 1.73 million USD for NTFPs traders, 1.26 million USD for ecotourism entrepreneurs, 0.55 million USD for the community forest user groups and 0.24 million USD for the smallholder or private forest owner. We suggested four post-COVID recovery pathways, including sustainable forest management, nature-based tourism, improvement of forest products value chain and community-based natural resource management to bounce back from the loss. As the current pandemic is most likely to derail the Sustainable Development Pathways of several countries, including Nepal and necessitates the need for an immediate response, the finding and recommendation of our study may inform decision-makers to reimage post-pandemic recovery and leverage sustainable development. |
Keywords | post-pandemic recovery; nature-based solution; sustainable forest management; sustainable development goals; community-based natural resource management; eco-tourism |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 410402. Environmental assessment and monitoring |
Public Notes | Files associated with this item cannot be displayed due to copyright restrictions. |
Byline Affiliations | Ministry of Forests and Environment, Nepal |
Centre for Sustainable Agricultural Systems | |
Institution of Origin | University of Southern Queensland |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/q6798/covid-19-lockdown-and-the-forestry-sector-insight-from-gandaki-province-of-nepal
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