s in the mountains. In the Kathmandu Valley is where there is the most habitable land area. In Nepal the population is eighty-five percent rural, and the urban population is all within this valley. This valley is naturally isolated making resource in the area limited to scarce. People have to do many different things to scratch a meager existence out of the land. As I said before the Valley was once covered in forest, but now most of the forest has been removed by the area's population. The forest was removed for the timber, which is used for building and more often for fuel and energy. It is also has been deforested to clear area for agriculture. Often slash and burn tactics are used, or the trees are pulled out by their roots, which removes the topsoil and makes the ground very difficult to farm on anyway. Once the topsoil is removed, it will never again replenish itself. The isolated environment has forced the people to destroy their forest for fuel and agriculture. The physicality of the region has also made people search for new resources to pool for their needs. Now that forests have become scarce people have begun to rely on water for energy. They are using glacial flow for hydroelectricity. The energy created is used and partially stored and sold, hopefully saving what remains of the battered and burnt woodlands. The rugged terrain has also made travel difficult, which is why the area must be so self-sufficient.The people of Katmandu Valley have also influenced their local geography in many ways. If you look at the ridges bordering the valley, you will see terracing reaching sometimes to the peaks. This terracing is used obviously for farming and to make the mountains more livable. It also helps prevent mudslides. While this action may prevent action mudslides, other human actions have created mudslides. The deforestation of the area has made the soil unstable and very prone to mudslides during the region’...
