Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Protected soil. Nepal suffers from a major erosion problem related to powerful monsoon rains
that wash away soil in areas where forest has been logged and steep mountainsides converted to
agriculture. These terraces near the village of Kagbeni in Mustang province are sheltered from
the rains, reducing the threat of erosion. The crops are watered by ingenious irrigation channels
from a river higher up in the mountains. The village, once an important stop for salt caravans
travelling from Tibet to India, is today a popular destination for trekkers. Buddhist monks still
use the mountainside caves for meditation
plant growth, exposing the soil to the risk of erosion. Artificial fertiliser would be
a solution but developing-world farmers often cannot afford such luxuries. In fact,
manure from livestock is not always left in place but instead sometimes used for
fuel when supplies run short.
A family in one of the villages invited my colleagues and me to stay in their
home of sun-dried mud with a straw roof. In one half of the house stood tethered
animals and in the other half, the lady of the house cooked on an open fire. Smoke
from the fire impregnated the straw roof and helped to keep pests at bay. We were
told that a Swiss aid organisation had donated cooking ovens fitted with chimneys
but the villagers had been forced to go back to open hearths because the lack of
smoke turned the roofs into a breeding ground for insects. One of the owner's
daughters sat on the dirt floor picking corn from dry cobs before grinding them
into flour.
Above the village grew a sparse pine forest planted in the 1970s as part of an
Australian aid project. The wood, used for timber and pulp, has provided income
for the state but not the local community. Villagers initially used pine needles as
bedding for livestock, but this led to erosion in areas where the protective layer of
needles was harvested. Only remnants of the indigenous forest remain, but they
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