Project Incorporation of local knowledge into soil and water management interventions which minimise nutrient losses in the middle hills of Nepal
Country Nepal
last update: 14/11/2005
Lead Organisation organisation details School of Agricultural and Forest Sciences, University of Wales
Project Leader person details Dr. Morag McDonald
Budget British Pound 303,000
Project Period 01/10/1999 to 30/04/2003
Countries: Nepal 
Url www.bangor.ac.uk/afforum 
Summary This project aimed to develop improved soil and water management interventions that reduce erosion and nutrient losses, through participatory approaches. By combining local and scientific knowledge through a process of Participatory Technology Development (PTD), locally appropriate interventions were developed to minimise nutrient losses by erosion. The collaborative process and methodology were further refined within locally-run projects by the target institutions.
Background In Nepal, upper rainfed terraces (bari land) in the middle hills are subject to increasing pressures because of population increase and migration. As a result, erosion and nutrient leaching losses are substantial. Understanding how and why these losses occur is an essential prerequisite to improving soil management, conservation and, ultimately, the livelihoods of rural Nepal.
Objective Through participatory approaches to the design of technologies, this project sought to develop improved soil and water management interventions that reduce erosion and nutrient losses.
Results The process and methodology are being further developed within locally-run projects by the target institutions: HARP PP-14/99 ('Assessment of strip cropping to minimise soil and soil fertility loss through run-off in sloping bari lands in the hills of Nepal'); and HARP 84/01 ('Participatory identification of integrated agricultural technological packages suitable for shifting and sloping land cultivation areas of the western hills of Nepal').
The project report was used in a subsequent NRSP cross cutting study (PD105, 'Livelihoods synthesis study: Key determinants of poor people's livelihood strategies and natural resources-related management opportunities'), which aimed to provide i) a characterisation of livelihood strategies and key natural resource-based factors influencing livelihoods, and ii) the identification and characterisation of key natural resource-related management opportunities.
Group Keywords
1.2 Institutional dimension Organizational change & learning
Social- livelihood systems/ Gender
Information & Communication
1.3 Natural dimension Water
Land/Soils
3.1 Natural Resource Mgmt. 2. Watershed/ River Basin mgmt
3.2 Pollution-Environmental Protection 1. Water
NRSP Keywords nutrient
soil erosion
knowledge
participatory research
soil fertility
methodology
rural livelihoods
water conservation
NRSP Node: suite Nepal 2: Linking field activities with development policy
NRSP Production system Hillsides
NRSP Themes 4. Better information for pro-poor service delivery
Role Expert Name
Project leader person details Dr. Morag McDonald
Collaborator person details G.P Acharya
Collaborator person details Rita Gardner
Collaborator person details David Jones
Collaborator person details Anna Lawrence
Collaborator person details P.K Shrestha
Collaborator person details Fergus L Sinclair
Collaborator person details Paul Stevens
Collaborator person details Anil Subedi
Collaborator person details Bhaba P Tripathi
Collaborator person details Tang Ya
Role Type Title Download
Project Document Book / Book chapter output details Interventions to minimise nutrient losses from bari land (rain-fed upland) in the middle hills of the Western Development Region of Nepal. 123kb
Project Document Book / Book chapter output details Locally derived knowledge of soil fertility and its emerging role in integrated natural resource management.  
Project Document Book / Book chapter output details Soil erosion.  
Project Document Book / Book chapter output details Using local knowledge to develop soil and water management interventions for minimising soil and nutrient losses in the middle hills of Nepal. 776kb
Project Document Conference or workshop paper output details Application of knowledge-based systems approach in Participatory Technology Development: A case of developing soil and water management interventions for reducing nutrient losses in the middle hills of Nepal.  
Project Document Conference or workshop paper output details Assessment of soil and nutrient losses from rain-fed upland (bariland) terraces in the western hills of Nepal.  
Project Document Conference or workshop paper output details Combining local knowledge in developing soil and water management interventions to minimise soil and nutrient losses in the middle hills of Nepal: Using a Participatory Technology Development approach.  
Project Document Conference or workshop paper output details Interventions to minimise nutrient losses from bari land (rain-fed upland) in the middle hills of the western development region of Nepal.  
Project Document Conference or workshop paper output details Re-thinking of nutrient management of sloping cropland.  
Project Document Conference or workshop paper output details Rethinking of nutrient management of sloping cropland.  
Project Document Conference or workshop paper output details Soil fertility status, soil and nutrient loss measurement and their conservation practices for improving the upland rainfed terraces (bariland) in the western hills of Nepal.  
Project Document Academic thesis output details Combining local knowledge in developing soil and water management interventions to minimise soil and nutrient losses in the middle hills of Nepal: Using a Participatory Technology Development approach.  
Project Document Academic thesis output details Crop water management in the middle hills of Nepal, Landruk village.  
Project Document Academic thesis output details Interventions to minimise nutrient losses from bari land (rain-fed upland) in the middle hills of the western development region of Nepal.  
Project Document Extension leaflet, brochure, policy brief or poster output details Protecting fertile soil from erosion by strip cropping in sloping bari lands.  
Project Document Media presentation (video, TV, radio, interview) output details Participatory Technology Development in soil and water management: A case from western hill of Nepal.  
Project Document Final Technical Report (FTR) output details Incorporation of local knowledge into soil and water management interventions which minimise nutrient losses in the Middle Hills of Nepal. 475kb
Project Document Project report output details Assessment of strip cropping to minimise soil and soil fertility loss through run-off in sloping bari lands in the hills of Nepal.  
Project Document Project report output details Incorporation of local knowledge into soil and water management interventions which minimise nutrient losses in the Middle Hills of Nepal. Scientific report. 529kb
Project Document Project report output details Review of soil and soil fertility losses from the cultivated hill lands of Nepal and their conservation.  
Project Document Project report output details Sampling and analytical protocol for 'Incorporation of local knowledge into soil and water management interventions which minimise nutrient losses in the Middle Hills of Nepal'  
Project Document Project report output details Soil erosion and nutrient loss in the middle hills of Nepal (1996-1998).  
Project Document Project report output details Synthesis of the participatory rural appraisal and farmers’ knowledge surveyed at Landruk, Bandipur and Nayatola.  
Project Document Dataset, Database, Software output details SoilWater: Farmers' knowledge of soil and water management practices in the middle hills of Nepal.