Arjun Bhusal
- Project name: Community-based conservation initiative of East Himalayan Yew in western Nepal
- Project site: Modi & Jaljala Rural Municipality of Parbat District, Nepal
- EDGE species: East Himalayan Yew, Taxus wallichiana
- Active: 2022 - ongoing
Biography
Arjun currently works part time as a research assistant within Nepal after completing his MSc in Wildlife Management and Biodiversity Conservation at Tribhuvan University.
Arjun hopes that during his Fellowship he will receive the training and technical support from advisors to enhance his skills and improve his conservation efforts. Additionally he is looking forward to working closely with community groups.
EDGE Project
Arjun’s project aims to conduct a resource inventory and provide technical assistance to community forests to mainstream Taxus wallichiana conservation.
His objectives are to:
- Map out the distribution range of each sub-population and locate the major groves of yew within the distribution.
- Assess population density, regeneration status, and population size of species in each sub-population.
- Examine the habitat characteristics of species occurrence and factors affecting seedling germination of species.
- Assess the local issues, threats, local religious/cultural uses and ethnobotany of species in the area.
- Draft the operational pan chapter of each community forest on management of species.
- Conduct workshops to build capacity to use the drafted operational pan to minimise threats and harvest sustainably.
