We already had Biodiversity themed many mothly reports on may. I read many great reports about the biodiversity of their region and wrote about Nepal too. This report is the detailed report on how diverse is the biodiversity of our country Nepal. As I am studying Agribiodiversity as one of the subjects in my seventh semester of undergraduate agriculture study, I thought of writing the detailed report of the biodiversity of my country.

BIODIVERSITY refers to the variety of life, and includes all living things (plants, animals and micro-organisms) and their unique characteristics.

Components of Biodiversity

I)               Ecosystem Biodiversity: It can mean the variety of habitats, living communities and ecological processes in an ecosystem.

II)           Genetic Biodiversity: It can mean the variety of species in a given area.

III)       Species Biodiversity: It can mean the diversity of genetic characteristics within a species.

Status of Biodiversity in Nepal

Nepal has varied geographical stuructures from plain land, high hills to the snow capped mountains which has created the space for the various ranges of biodiversity in Nepal. Nepal’s contribution to the global diversity:

Birds - 9.3%

Reptiles- 1.6%

Butterflies- 2.6%

Fishes- 2.2%

Flowering Plants- 2.6%

Mammals- 4.6%

Nepal is also know as the hotspot of the biodiversity. Out of 200 vegetable species 50 species are in cultivation. There are 71 wild relative of fruits under 42 genera e.g. Wild apple (Mallus spp) locally known as `Edimayal' and `Surkhilo' are indigenous to Karnali zone. Nepal has floral diversity of:

Flowering plants- 6500 species

Endemic Plants- 375 species

Medicinal Plants- 700 Species

Fungi- 1822  species

Lichen- 465 species

Algae- 687 species

Faunal Diversity

Mammals- 182 species

Birds-863 species

Herpetofauna-143 species

Fishes- 185 species

Butterflies- 640 species

Moth- 600 species

Spider-144 species

Drivers of Change

With the several anthropogenic activities, there has been a reduction in biodiversity all over the globe. Some of the drivers of change are:

1.  Demographic change: Increasing population and their activities have been the major driver for change

2.  Climate Change: Impacts of the climate change has been seen in many field leaving no behind in the field of biodiversity too.

3.  Negligence of the local and traditional biodiversity

4.  Deletion of natural resources and unsustianble utilization of the resources