Farming Watershed Health in Nepal

Earning from Nature to Pay for its Upkeep (रुप फेर्दै रुपा) from Mahesh Shrestha on Vimeo.

Farmers in the Kaski district of Nepal have formed the Rupa Lake Rehabilitation and Fisheries Cooperatives Limited to help protect the watershed. Increased siltation from upstream degradation was threatening the lake ecosystem upon which local people relied. In order to mitigate this threat, residents of the watershed implemented riparian buffers of fodder for goats and preserved forested areas. Payments from downstream water users and beneficiaries, such as the cooperative, are helping upstream farmers make a better living and incentivizing practices that protect ecosystem services of the watershed. The video also discusses how the farmers are coping with climate change, by building resilience into their cropping systems.

The Local Initiatives for Biodiversity, Research and Development (LI-BIRD) produced the video.