Page 79 - Health, Population and Environment Education 10

Ecosystem of Hilly Region and Its Related Aspects

a. Physical Aspects

Hilly region covers 42% of total area of Nepal which ranges from 610m to 4877m. It
consists of hills, hillocks, valleys, plateaus, rives, lakes, pond, watershed, streams, water
falls, etc. Tumlingtar, Salyantar, Battar, Palungtar, Gwalwatar, Kalleritar, Chaurjahari tar,
etc. are some of the important and famous plateus in hilly region.
Some of the human settlements in hilly region are in Bandipur, Daman, Hile, Sailung,
Tyamake, Sindhuligahi etc. There are 39 districts in hilly region. Some of them are Illam,
Panchthar, Nuwakot, Palpa, Gulmi, Parbat, Surkhet, Doti, Rolpa, Rukum, Baitadi etc. The
soil in hilly region is made up of sedimentary and igneous rocks and lack humus, lime,
etc. Hilly region consists of 10% cultivable land. There is diversity in ecosystems in hilly
region.

The hilly region is also sub-divided into three regions as Mahabharat range, Middle hills
and Siwalik range or Churia range.

b. Biological Aspects

Hilly region consists of varieties of plants and animals. There is presence of some plants
and animals in hilly region which are found in mountain and terai region as well as. There
is presence of katus, utis, chilaune, bakieno, okhar, painyu, bamboo, etc. in this region.
The trees like pinus, cycas, rhododendron, etc. found in mountain region are also found
in hilly region. Similarly, simal, champ etc. found in terai region are also present there.
Animals like fox, cow, goat, buffalo, bear, etc. are also found in hilly region. Similarly,
animals present in terai region, like tiger, leopard, deer, horse etc. are also present there.
Birds like crow, parrot, pigeon, sparrow, eagle, kalij, etc. are also found in hilly region.
Wide range of fish are found in lakes, rivers and ponds in hilly region. People widely
cultivate rice, wheat, maize, barley, millet, buckwheat, potato, mustard, various fruits
and vegetables in hilly region. There is even cultivation of tea, coffee, ginger, cardamom,
amrisho, etc. as cash crops. The hilly region consists of several medicinal plants like bojho,
asuro, dhaturo, tulsi, neem, tejpat, etc.

c. Socio-economic Aspects
Hilly region is inhabited by wide range of castes of
people like Brahmin, Chhetri, Rai, Gurung, Tamang,
Limbu, Newar, Thakuri, Magar, Kami, Damai, Sarki,
etc. Many of them speak their own languages like
Nepali, Rai, Tamang, Gurung, Newari, Magar, etc.
They live in many cities like Pokhara, Surkhet,
Banepa, Dhulikhel, Palpa, Trishuli, Kushma,
Baglung, Gorkha, Illam, Damauli, Bhojpur,
Chainpur, Waling, etc. including Kathmandu valley. Fig: 9
People in this region wear daura-surwal, shirt, pant,
sari, cholo, gunyu, ghalek, patuki, etc. People in this region follow different religions like
Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, etc. They enjoy a lot in celebrating Dashain, Tihar,
Gaijatra, Indrajatra, Buddha Jayanti, Lhosar, Teej, Maghe Sankranti, Christmas, etc. This
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