KATHMANDU: Nepal has launched its first drone-based rangeland restoration initiative in Rasuwa, 17 years after one of the country’s largest recorded forest fires devastated Gatlang.
The 2009 fire burned for nearly 100 days and destroyed 472 hectares of forest, severely affecting yak-herding communities that depended on the area for grazing.
Now, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and Tribhuvan University’s Institute of Forestry have used drones to sow more than 125 kilograms of juniper seeds across steep and remote terrain where manual seeding is difficult.
Local communities have also cleared invasive weeds and replanted native grasses, while the District Forest Office has revised restoration practices. Nepali researchers are conducting trials to determine which approaches are most effective for restoring fire-damaged mountain ecosystems.
The initiative is supported by the UK through Climate Action for a Resilient Asia (CARA), a regional programme focused on strengthening climate resilience across South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
With forest fires becoming increasingly frequent across Nepal, the Gatlang project could provide a model for restoring vulnerable mountain landscapes after future wildfires.
