Dr. Ram Prasad Chaudhary
Coordinator
Systematics & Ethnobotany Biodiversity & Environmental Management
1. Research Interest
Biodiversity, Plant systematics, Ethnobotany, Environment, Plant Genetic Resources, Molecular approach to biodiversity assessment.
2. Education
1.M.Sc. in Botany - Tribhuvan University (TU), Nepal – 1978
2.Ph.D. in Biology (Plant Systematics) - Komarov Botanical Institute, St. Petersburg (then Leningrad), Academy of Sciences of the USSR - 1988
3.Honorary Degree: Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) - The Open International University for Complementary Medicines, Sri Lanka – 1997
3. Teaching experiences
1.Professor in the Central Department of Botany, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal (since July 1997).
2.Associate Professor in the Central Department of Botany, Tribhuvan University (1990-1997).
3.Assistant Lecturer in the Central Department of Botany, Tribhuvan University (1978-1990).
4. Special appointment
Member, National Planning Commission of Nepal (June 2005-May 2006). Portfolio: Agriculture, Forest, Local development, Sustainable development, Rural roads, irrigation, drinking water.
5. Research Experiences
1.Field: Over 30 five field trips have been conducted in different parts of the Nepal Himalaya including Sagarmatha, Annapurna, Langtang-Gosainkunda, Makalu-Barun, Khaptad, Ganesh Himal, Milke-Jaljale, Dolpo, Mustang-Manang, Kalingchowk, Parsa, Chitwan, Koshi Tappu, Shukla Phanta since 1978. I have traveled widely in the mountains (up to 5,000 m) and in the Tarai (plains) of Nepal.
2.Herbaria worked/visited (Abroad): (i) K (Kew) (ii) BM (London) (iii) P (Paris) (iv) S (Stockholm), (v) GH (Harvard) (vi) B (Berlin) (vii) LE (St. Petersburg) (vii) W (Austria) (viii) E (Edinburgh)
3.Laboratory work (with modern equipments): (i) Scanning Electron Microscope, (ii) DNA research with RAPDs
4.Reviewer: I have made review of peer reviewed international journals and books including Environmental Conservation, Intern Plant Genetic Resources, Jr Ethnopharmacology, Jr Ethnobiol. Ethnomedicine; Forest Ecology and Management, Journal of Mountain Science, and several national journals including Jr. Inst. Science & Technology, Jr Nat Hist Mus; Scientific World; Ecoprint; Biodiversity conservation in the Kanchenjunga landscape (ICIMOD-Nepal)
6. Awards/Grants
Grants received from national organizations, and international organizations including USAID/USA, WWF/USA, IUCN/Nepal and IUCN/Bangkok, Ford Foundation/India, NUFU/Norway, NOMA/Norway.
7. Selected Publications
Books & Fascicles Authored (based on Research): Five including
Chaudhary, R.P. 1998. Biodiversity in Nepal - Status and Conservation. S. Devi, Saharanpur, India & Tecpress Books, Bangkok, Thailand, 325 pages (ISBN: 974-89833-6-6).
Books Edited: Six including
1. Chaudhary, R.P., Subedi, B.P., Vetaas, O.R., Aase, T.H. 2002 (Eds.). Vegetation and Society – Their Interaction in the Himalayas. Tribhuvan University, Nepal and University of Bergen, Norway, 317 p.
2. Chaudhary, R.P., Aase, T.H., Vetaas, O.R., and Subedi, B.P. (Editors). 2007. Local Effects of Global Changes in the Himalayas: Manang, Nepal. Tribhuvan University, Nepal and University of Bergen, Norway.
Research Papers: Over 95 published since 1979 including:
1.Chaudhary, R.P. 1979 Report on weeds in the wheat fields of Kathmandu valley. Journ. Nat. Hist. Mus. (Nepal), 3: 83-93
2.Chaudhary, R.P. 1998 a. A synopsis of the genus Anemone (Ranunculaceae) in Nepal and Adjacent Regions of the Himalaya. Bot. Zhurn., 73(8): 1188-1202. (In Russian)
3.El-Ghazaly, G. and Chaudhary, R.P. 1993. Pollen morphology of some species of the genus Euphorbia L. Rev. Palaeobot. Palyn., 78: 293- 319
4.Adams, R. and Chaudhary, R.P. 1996. Leaf essential oil of Juniperus indica Bertol. from Nepal. J. Essential Oil Res., 8: 677-680
5.Vetaas, O.R. and Chaudhary, R.P. 1998. Scale and species- environment relationship in a central Himalayan oak forest, Nepal. Plant Ecology, 134: 67-76.
6.Shakya, L.R. and Chaudhary, R.P. 1999. Taxonomy of Oberonia rufilabris (Orchidaceae) and allied new species from the Himalayas. Harvard Papers in Botany, 4(1): 357-363.
7.Chaudhary, R.P., Sah, J.P., Singh, R.L. and Tiwari, R.D. 2002. The use of plant resources and its impact on conservation in Parsa Wildlife Reserve, Nepal. Environmental Biology and Conservation, 7: 67-80.
8.Chaudhary, R.P., Gupta, V.N.P. and Taylor, R.S.L. 2004. Cleyera japonica Thunb. var. wallichiana (DC.) Sealy (Theaceae)-A tea-beverage plant of the Himalayas. Economic Botany, 58: 114-117.
9.Mahato, R.B. and Chaudhary, R.P. 2005. Ethnomedicinal plants of Palpa district, Nepal. Ethnobotany, 17(1&2): 152-163.
10. Panthi, M., Chaudhary, R.P., Vetaas, O.R. 2006. Plant species richness and composition in a trans-Himalayan inner valley of Manang district, central Nepal. Himalayan Journal of Sciences, 4(6): 12-19.
11. Ziman, S.N., Ehrendorfer, F., Keener, C.S., Wang, W.T., Mosyakin, S.L., Bulakh, E.V., Tsarenko, O.N., Dutton, B.E., Chaudhary, R.P., and Kadota, Y. 2007. Revision of Anemone Sect. Himalayicae (RANUNCULACEAE) with three new series. Edinburgh Journal of Botany, 64(1): 51-99.
12. Rajbhandari, M., Mentel, R., Jha, P.K., Chaudhary, R.P., Bhattarai, S., Gewali, M.B., Karmacharya, N., Hipper, M., and Lindequist, U. 2007. Antiviral activity of some plants used in Nepalese traditional medicine. Evidence-based Complimentary and Alternative Medicine (eCAM), doi: 10.1093/ecam/nem156.
13. Bhattarai, S., Chaudhary, R.P. and Taylor, R.S.L. 2006. Ethnomedicinal plants used by the people of Manang district, central Nepal. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 2:41.
14. Bhattarai, S., Chaudhary, R.P. and Taylor, R.S.L. 2008. Antibacterial activity of selected ethnomedicinal plants of Manang district, central Nepal. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 5(1&2): 01-9.
15. Aase, T.H., Chaudhary, R.P. and Vetaas, O.R. 2009. Farming flexibility and food security under climatic uncertainty: Manang, Nepal Himalaya. Area: 1-11 (doi: 10.1111/j.1475-4762.2009.00911.x
16. Sharma, L.N., Chaudhary, R.P., and Gupta, V.N.P. 2010. Weed diversity in the trans-Himalayan wheat fields of upper Manang, Nepal. In: Sustainable use of Biological Resources in Nepal (Eds.: P.K. Jha, S.B. Karmacharya, M.K. Balla, M.K. Chettri and B.B. Shrestha), pp. 72-78. Ecological Society (ECOS), P.O. Box 6132, Kathmandu, Nepal.
17. Bhattarai, S., Chaudhary, R.P., Quave, C.L. and Taylor, R.S.L. 2010. The use of medicinal plants in the trans-Himalayan arid zone of Mustang district, Nepal. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 6:14 (www.ethnobiomed.com/contents/6/1/14)
18. Shrestha, U.B., Shrestha, S., Chaudhary, P. and Chaudhary, R.P. 2010. How representative is the protected areas system of Nepal? Mountain Research and Development, 30(3): 282-294.
19. Adhikari, B., Chaudhary, R.P., and Ghimire, S.K. 2010. A new species of Leptopus (Euphorbiaceae) from Nepal. Blumea, 55, 162-163.
Research Review Papers: Total 28 including:
1.Chaudhary, R.P. 1985. The Nepalese Environment: Problems, Policies and Prospects. The Environmentalist, 5(1):51-53
2.Chaudhary, R.P. 1995. Biodiversity in Nepal - Conservation and Management perspective. In.: Taxonomy and Biodiversity, (Ed.: A.K. Pandey), pp. 22-28. CBS Publishers & Distributors, New Delhi.
3.Chaudhary, R.P. 1999. Intellectual Property Rights and Farmers' Rights. In: Proceedings of National Conference on Wild Relatives of Cultivated Plants in Nepal (June 2-4, 1999), Green Energy Mission/Nepal, pp. 215-223.
4.Chaudhary, R.P. 2000. Biodiversity Prospecting in Nepal - Constraints and Opportunities. In: Proceedings of the 8th International Workshop on BIO-REFOR, Kathmandu, Nepal (Nov. 28-Dec. 2, 1999), pp. 256-260. BIO-REFOR, IUFRO/SPDC.
5.Chaudhary, R.P. 2000. Forest Conservation and Environmental Management in Nepal - A REVIEW. Biodiversity and Conservation, 9: 1235-1260.
6.Taylor, R.S.L. and Chaudhary, R.P. 2003. Ethnobotanical Field Studies: Consideration for Researchers. Botanica Orientalis, 31-34.
7.Chaudhary, R.P. 2006. Biodiversity and MDGs in Nepalese perspectives. IUCN Nepal Newsletter, 7(1): 2-6.
8.Chaudhary, R.P. 2008. Cultural landscape and sustainable livelihood in response to global changes: Lessons from Manang, trans-Himalayas, Nepal. In: Shifting Paradigms in Protected Areas (Eds.: S.B. Bajracharya and N. Dahal). National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC), Kathmandu, Nepal, pp. 123-131.
9.Chaudhary, R.P. 2008. Constitutional Rights Related to Environment and Biological Resources in the Context of New Structuring of Nepal (Nepal ko Naya Sanrachna ma Batabaran tatha Jaivik Shrot Sambhandhi Sambaidhanik Hak). In: Chepang Food Culture and Agricultural Biodiversity (Eds.: Rishi Ram Bastakoti and Lila Nath Sharma). RIMS, Nepal, pp. 1-7 (In Nepali).
Popular Articles on Science & Technology (Twenty five including)
1.Chaudhary, R.P. 1992. Blending of Indigenous Knowledge with Modern Science: A Strategy for Survival. Science Universal, 3(3): 25, 5, 3
2.Chaudhary, R.P. 1996. Biological and cultural heritage of Khaptad National Park. Today (the National and International Magazine), 14(3): 30-32,44
3.Chaudhary, R.P. 1997. Biodiversity and Ecotourism in Nepal. Welcome Nepal -International Tourism Magazine, 5(4): 7-12.
4.Chaudhary, R.P. and Gupta, V.N.P. 1998. Wilderness and Diversity in Makalu-Barun National Park and Conservation Area. Welcome Nepal -International Tourism Magazine, 6(2): 7-12.
8. Others
1. Academic supervisor: Four Ph.D. (Nepal), about 50 Masters (TU-Nepal, and UiB- and UMB-Norway), and eight undergraduate (Cornell-Nepal Study Programme).
2. Examiner of ph. d. dissertation Six in the areas of biodiversity, NTFPs, ethnobotany, plant systematics submitted to University Bergen, Norway; University of Kalyani, west Bengal, University of Coimbatore, India; and Tribhuvan University, Nepal.
3. Assignments/ membership in professional organizations Life member, member, Editor/Associate editor, President, General secretary, Advisor, Board member, Referee of 41 professional organizations and University including Chairperson, Board of Governors (2005); Member, Board of Governors, (2005-2006); Member (2005-2006), Finance Committee, (2006) Director General Search Committee, Chair (2007- ), International Technical Advisory Committee (ITAC) for Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Programme in Asia (MAPPA) of International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Kathmandu.
