Carbon Sequestration Status of Sunaulo Ghaympe Danda Community Forest, Mid Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

Developing countries like Nepal has the potentiality to earn money from the carbon sequestration if the forest are managed properly either by government or through participation approach. Community forestry in Nepal was beginning through handover of degraded forest area. Researches on carbon sequestration capacity of community forest in Nepal indicate towards high capacity. Globally, climate change and mitigation issues have been receiving an increasing attention, and Nepal is no exception. Deforestation is the second single Greenhouse Gas (GHG) source, behind energy production, responsible for about a quarter of anthropogenic GHG emissions. Forests in Nepal cover nearly 40% of the total land areas and significantly contribute to mitigating the adverse impact of climate change. This paper strongly revealed the data of carbon sequestration of Mid-Nepal's community fores, i.e. Sunaulo Ghyampe Danda Community Forest. Present study was carried out to estimate carbon sequestration rate for eight years (2004-2014) by using standard methods. The study result revealed biomass organic carbon as 23.5ton /ha, 25.95ton /ha, 27.24ton /ha, 28 ton /ha and 24 ton/ha for the respective years 2004, 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2104. Similarly, the average yearly carbon sequestration rates starting from 2004 to 2014 was 0.63 ton /ha/yr. The stored biomass can be used as energy in sustainable way in many developing countries.

Key words: Biomass Carbon, Carbon Sequestration, Climate Change, Community Forest, Deforestation, Energy, Soil Organic Carbon