Advanced Academic Research Program

Nepal is located in the central part of the Himalaya Mountain Range and stretches about 800km along this mountain range which extends for some 2500 km. The entire Himalayan range is characterized by unique geography, geology, environment and bio-diversity. Because of its great diversity, Nepal is one of the best laboratories in the world to carry out research in all aspects of science, culture, custom, history and the social sciences. Considering these truths, this virgin, landlocked, Himalayan country can be a wonderful laboratory for scientists, researchers and graduate students to begin or to continue their research careers. Himalayan Dreams proudly announces a unique and rewarding program for scientists, researchers, and post graduate students desiring field research in a people friendly environment that offers a multitude of research possibilities including the following academic areas:

• Geology   • Environment sciences   • Bio-diversity   • Global warming   • Culture   • Sociology    • Hydrology   • Ecology    • Wetlands - Caste system by area - Transitional movement, rural to an urban society. - Conflict management.    • Government     • Education.    • Agriculture    • Transportation     • Urban infrastructure     • Sociology    • Linguistics     • Other areas.

BIODIVERSITY

Nepal has a complex biogeography due to its past geological history and its presence at the crossroads of two bio-geographic realms, Palaearctic and the Palaeotropic. Nepal lies at the crossroad of six floristic regions. There are six climatic and vegetation divisions in this classification of forest types of Nepal. There are 35 recognized forest types classified into ten major groups which have been widely adopted. Nepal’s landmass includes nine land-based eco-regions defined by ecological features, climate, and plant and animal communities. Of them, three each are in three different conservation statuses such as Critical/Endangered, Vulnerable, and Stable/Intact. The vegetation types have been further reduced to 36 in order to give a simplified ecological picture of Nepal’s vegetation based upon climax or near-climax vegetation type spread over potential areas of ecological homogeneity. The monsoon climate and huge altitudinal range found in Nepal create a wide array of habitats, through temperate broadleaved and coniferous forests to the tree line. Lichenologists estimate about 2,000 lichen species in Nepal. Nepal has a relatively high number of fauna species. Higher fauna groups have been relatively well studied; however, the taxonomy and distribution of lower fauna groups except for butterflies, and to some extent spiders, have yet to be studied. A comprehensive Fauna of Nepal guide is essential to understand the status of species for their conservation. So far, 2,253 species of moths (excluding Microlepidoptera) have been recorded in Nepal. The current list includes 651 species of butterflies and 785 species of moths. There are 187 species of fish and 195 species of herpeto fauna (117 amphibians and 78 reptiles) in Nepal. The number of bird species is 874, and mammals, 185. Mammals are well represented in the protected areas of Nepal (Fig. 1).

Species distributions are viewed from two perspectives: confinement, and richness. Based on phytogeographical and altitudinal zoning, Nepal’s landmass can be divided into nine blocks. Fig. 1. Distribution of protected areas in Nepal. The protected areas cover from Terai (elevation~ 60) to the Highest Mountain in the world, Mt Everest (elevation 8848 m). Geology The Himalaya is a classic example of an orogenic system created by continent–continent collision. Its youthfulness and spectacular exposure make the orogen ideal for studying diverse geologic processes related to mountain building. Its potential as a guide to decipher the feedback processes between lithospheric deformation and atmospheric circulation has motivated intense research in recent years on the history of the Himalayan–Tibetan orogen, its role in global climate change, and its interaction with erosion.

Many workers have also used the Himalayan knowledge to infer the evolution of other mountain belts: the Altai system in central Asia, the Trans-Hudson orogen and Canadian Cordillera in North America, the Caledonides in Greenland, and the East African–Antarctic orogen in Africa and Antarctica. Regional Background: The Himalaya represents the southern border of the largest zone of active crustal deformation on the Earth, resulting from the continental collision between India and Asia since the Eocene, about 55 Myr ago. Their kinematic evolution is largely controlled by major faults, bounding the various terranes that have been gradually scraped off the underthrusting Indian plate and accreted to the orogen. The entire Himalayan orogen may be subdivided into contrasting tectonic units separated by major thrusts (Fig. 2). From north to south, that is, from the internal to the external parts of the orogen, these units are:

• The Tethyan Himalaya, containing the Upper Proterozoic to Eocene sedimentary cover of the north Indian margin and lying above the South Tibetan Detachment System (STDS).

• The Higher Himalayan Crystalline Sequence (HHCS) bounded by STDS to the north and Main Central Thrust (MCT) to the south. This is composed of high-grade metamorphic gneisses and migmatites of amphibolite facies rocks.

• The Lesser Himalaya Sequence (LHS) exposed between MCT to the north and Main Boundary Thrust (MBT) to the south and mainly composed of low-grade Proterozoic sediments of the Indian plate; and:

• The Sub-Himalaya foreland basin. This is exposed between MBT to the north and Main Frontal Thrust (MFT) to the south and contains Oligocene to Neogene detrital sediments derived from erosion of the orogen.

These intra-crustal thrusts are believed to merge in basal decollement called Main Himalayan Thrust (MHT). These unique characteristic of the Himalaya is always inspiring student and geoscientist to carry out research on various aspects of geosciences like, tectonics, seismicity, metamorphism, geo-tectonics, geomorphology, neotectonics, sedimentology, climate change, thrust-tectonics, geochronology, geochemistry, active-tectonics, geodynamics, paleontology, gemstone etc. Fig. 2. Geological map of Nepal Himalaya (after Upreti and Le Fort, 1999)

SOCIAL CONDITIONS:

Nepal is a perfect stage to do research in many areas. With the transformation from a monarchy to a democratic republic the social and political areas for research are great. Moving beyond a 10 year Civil War (1996-2006) the resulting animosities creates other areas for study in conflict management and socio- political reform. The results of war on the rural family and the collapse of almost the entire infrastructure have resulted in an urgent need to restructure the whole of society at almost every level. The demands of the young to create a democratic and progressive society have resulted again in many areas for research and study. Nepal will be an area of study for many years to come.

Cost:

Duration of the research period will be dependent on the field of research being studied. The cost of the program will be dependent on the student’s point of origin, housing dependent on the type of research whether in the field or in an urban or village area. Government fees in certain restricted areas will be added to the cost of the research. Lastly, transportation requirements will also depend on how far outside of the Kathmandu valley the research is taking place. Himalayan Dreams will make all necessary arrangements with government agencies as needed. When application is made for a specific research area a more specific datasheet will be sent to the applicants as research teams are formed. Each research area will have available on request and at an additional fee, a consultant to aid in any specific questions. Himalayan Dreams can also organize talk programs or workshops to share research findings with scientist in your field from Nepal. We also provide expert help to collect literature, and data during field or desk study as well. For additional information, please contact our research coordinator.