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Nepal Hazard Risk Assessment
2.5 LAND COVER / LAND USE
2.5.1 CLASSIFICATION OF LAND COVER
Department of Survey, Government of Nepal (DOS, 2001) has classification land cover into 15
categories which may be referred at table in Figure 2.4 which includes coverage of forest, cultivation,
barren land, and bush in overall region. Forest covers nearly 40% of the country, followed by cultivation
area especially in south. High mountainous area forms barren land and bush in northern part of country.
2.5.2 LAND COVER DISTRIBUTION
Cultivation areas (orange color in map Figure 2.4) are located typically in low floodplain of Terai area,
especially in eastern and central part of Nepal. This shows that eastern and central areas are more
developed compared to their western counterparts. In accordance, this cultivation area is more
vulnerable to disaster due to its concentration in low level floodplain that can be easily flooded.
Plantation also suitably developed in Terai region where human habitation is moderate to highly
concentrated and located in low level area. Therefore eastern and central parts are more suitable for
cultivation and human habitation while western and northern parts are suitable for forestry and
conservation.
Forests are dominant feature of land cover in Nepal, especially in far west and Midwest regions. Barren
lands are dominant in Mountain Midwest zone and overall mountain belt in Nepal. Bush zone is
developed around forest and barren land area, particularly in northern region. These forestry, bush and
barren land showed relatively unpopulated area of Nepal which pose lower risk zone for overall type of
hazard.
Figure 2.4. Major sectors landcover distribution. (Source: (DOS, 2001)).
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