Publications

Khadka, N., X. Chen, M. Shrestha, & W. Liu. 2024. Risk perception and vulnerability of communities in Nepal to transboundary Glacial Lake Outburst Floods from Tibet, China. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 104476. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2024.104476

Byers, A. C., M. Shrestha,  A. Zackary, E. A. Byers, B. Coburn, T. Watanabe, & M. B. Chand. 2024. The Changing Ecology of a High Himalayan Valley: Challenges to the Sustainable Development of the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area, Eastern Nepal. Sustainability, 16(6), 2434. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16062434 

Emmer, A., Allen, S. K., Carey, M. ..... et al. 2022. Progress and Challenges in Glacial Lake Outburst Flood Research (2017–2021): A Research Community Perspective. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 22(9):3041-3061. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-3041-2022

Byers, A. C., D. H. Shugar, M. B. Chand, C. Portocarrero, M. Shrestha, D. R. Rounce, & T. Watanabe. 2022. Three Recent and Lesser-Known Glacier-Related Flood Mechanisms in High Mountain Environments. Mountain Research and Development, 42(2), A12-A22. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-21-00045.1

Adhikari, J., M. Shrestha, & D. Paudel. 2021. Nepal’s growing dependency on food imports: A threat to national sovereignty and ways forward. Nepal Public Policy Review, 1, 68–86. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12345/nppr.1.12345  

Byers, A. C., T. Gustafsson, M. Shrestha, N. Chhetri. 2020. A Sustainable Solid Waste Management Plan for Sagarmatha (Mt Everest) National Park and Buffer Zone, Nepal. Mountain Research and Development, 40(3):A1-A9 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-20-00018.1 

Byers, A. C, M. B. Chand, J. Lala, M. Shrestha, E. A. Byers, and T. Watanabe. 2020. Reconstructing the History of Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOF) in the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area, East Nepal: An Interdisciplinary Approach. Sustainability, 12(13), 5407; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12135407

Thompson, I., M. Shrestha, N. Chhetri, & D. B. Agusdinata. 2020. An institutional analysis of glacial floods and disas risk management in the Nepal Himalaya. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 47: 101567. DOI:https.://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2020.101567 

Byers, A.C., E. Byers, M. Shrestha, D. Thapa, & B. Sharma. 2020. Impacts of Yartsa Gunbu Harvesting on Alpine Ecosystems in the Barun Valley, Makalu-Barun National Park, Nepal. HIMALAYA, the Journal of the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies 39(2): 44-59

Sherpa, S., M. Shrestha, H. Eakin, H., & C. G. Boone. 2019. Cryospheric Hazards and Risks Perceptions in the Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) National Park and Buffer Zone, Nepal. Natural Hazards 96(2): 607–626. DOI:10.1007/s11069-018-3560-0

Ishtiaque, A., M. Shrestha, & N. Chhetri. 2017. Rapid Urban Growth in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal: Monitoring Land Use Land Cover Dynamics of a Himalayan City with Landsat Imageries. Environments 4(4): 72. DOI:10.3390/environments4040072

Chaudhary, P., N. B. Chhetri, B. Dorman, T. Gegg, R. B. Rana, M. Shrestha, K. Thapa, K. Lamsal and S. Thapa. 2015. Turning conflict into collaboration in managing commons: A case of Rupa Lake Watershed, Nepal. International Journal of the Commons 9(2): 744-771. DOI: http://doi.org/10.18352/ijc.561

Shrestha, M. 2014. The Changing Dynamics of Mountain Agriculture and Land Use in Lamjung, Nepal. Global Environmental Research, 18: 173-182

Zhang, S., A York, C. Boone, and M. Shrestha. 2013. Methodological Advances in the Spatial Analysis of Land Fragmentation. Professional Geographer, 65(3): 512-526. DOI: 10.1080/00330124.2012.700501

Shrestha, M., A York, C. Boone, and S. Zhang. 2012. Land Fragmentation due to Rapid Urbanization in the Metropolitan Phoenix Area: Analyzing the Spatiotemporal Patterns and Drivers. Applied Geography, 32(2): 522-531. DOI:10.1016/j.apgeog.2011.04.004

York, A., M. Shrestha, C. Boone, and S. Zhang. 2011. Land Fragmentation under Rapid Urbanization: A Cross-site Comparative Analysis. Urban Ecosystems, 14(3): 429–455. DOI: 10.1007/s11252-011-0157-8, 2011

Maharjan, A., McDowell, G., Pandey, A., Pasakhala, B., Shrestha, M., & Wang, X. (2023). Cryospheric change, adaptation, and sustainable development in the mountain societies of the Hindu Kush Himalaya. In ICIMOD (P. Wester, S. Chaudhary, N. Chettri, M. Jackson, A. Maharjan, S. Nepal & J. F. Steiner [Eds.]), Water, ice, society, and ecosystems in the Hindu Kush Himalaya: An outlook (pp. 165–217). ICIMOD. https://doi.org/10.53055/ICIMOD.1033

Byers, A. & M. Shrestha (2022). Conservation and Restoration of Alpine Ecosystems in the Himalayas: New Challenges for the 21st Century. In G. Nyaupane & D. Timothy (Eds.), Tourism & Development in the Himalaya: Social, Environmental and Economic Forces (pp. 55-73). New York, NY: Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003030126 

Shrestha, M. 2007. The Human Dimensions of Land Change in Lamjung District, Nepal. In the Proceedings of the 2nd Himalayan Policy Research Conference. Madison, Wisconsin. Albuquerque, NM: The Nepal Study Center, University of New Mexico.

Shrestha, M. 2006. Mountain Agriculture and Land-cover Change in the Nepal Himalaya. In Global Change in Mountain Regions, edited by Martin F. Price, pp. 232-233. Duncow, UK: Sapiens Publishing

2007. The Kuhls of Kangra: Community-managed Irrigation in the Western Himalaya (by J. M. Baker 2005). Himalaya (formerly The Himalayan Research Bulletin) 26(1-2): 68-69

2018. Hudson, A., M. Shrestha. When Disaster is Always Looming. Slate.com Future Tense. 

2015. Wagle, U. and M. Shrestha. 2015. Poverty in Nepal. In Encyclopedia of  World Poverty 2nd Edition, edited by Mehmet Odekon. SAGE.  

2009. York, A., S. Zhang, C. Boone, M. Shrestha. Landscape Fragmentation under Rapid Urbanization. Urbanization and Global Environmental Change Viewpoints, 1(2): 20-24. 

2007. Shrestha, M. The Human Dimensions of Land-use and Land-cover Change in Lamjung, Nepal. HIMALAYA, the Journal of the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies, 25(1-2): 42-43.  

2000. The Land-use Change, Livelihood and Social Exclusion Nexus in Nepal submitted to the Robert McNamara Fellowship Program of the World Bank, Washington DC 

1998. Self-help Banking Program and Women’s Empowerment submitted to the Centre for Self-help Development (CSD), Kathmandu, Nepal. DOI: 10.13140/2.1.2152.2889

Invited Presentations

A Comparative Analysis of Land Fragmentation and Socioecological Gradients. Department of Geography, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas. October 9, 2009.

Studying Land Change in Mountains: Lamjung District of Nepal as a Case Example. The CAP LTER, Global Institute of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe. October 3, 2008.

Professional Paper and Poster Presentations

Shrestha, M., I Thompson & A Byers. Perceptions and Governance of Cryospheric Hazards in the Mt. Everest Region, Nepal. Workshop 2.4.E: Natural hazards’ risk governance under changing framework conditions. The International Mountain Conference, Innsbruck, Austria. September 2019. 

Shrestha, M. & A Byers. Glacial Floods, Infrastructures, and Sustainability in the Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) National Park and Buffer Zone, Nepal. The Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers (AAG), Washington, DC. April 2019.   

Shrestha, M. & A. Byers. Socio-Cryospheric Systems of Glacial Floods and Disaster Risks in the Mt. Everest Region, Nepal. The 79th Annual Meeting of Society for Applied Anthropology (SfAA), Portland, Oregon, March 2019.   

Poster: Ishtiaque*, A, M. Shrestha, and Netra Chhetri. Urbanization in the Himalayas? Detecting loss of agricultural land due to urban growth in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. The 20th Annual Central-Arizona Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research (CAP LTER) All Scientists Meeting and Poster Symposium, Skysong, Scottsdale, AZ. January 2018 

Shrestha, M. and S. Sherpa. Melting Glaciers and Glacial Floods in the Mt. Everest Region: The Interface of Culture and Disaster Risk. The 116th Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association, Washington, D. C. December 3, 2017

Balancing on a Beyul: Memories and Perceptions of Glacial Hazards and Risks in Solukhumbu, Nepal. The 5th Association of Nepal and Himalayan Studies,  September 1-3, 2017. University of Colorado, Boulder.

Dealing with Uncertainties and Risks: A Focus on Livestock Management and Livelihood Security. The 4th Himalayan Studies Conference of the Association of Nepal and Himalayan Studies (ANHS), February 4-7, University of Texas, Austin.

Poster: Shrestha, M., A. M. York, and K. Kane. Updates on the Spatio-temporal Patterns of Land Fragmentation in Phoenix: Analyzing the Conversion of Peri-Urban Agriculture Land to Housing. The 2015 Long-term Ecological Research (LTER) All Scientists Meeting (ASM), August 30 – September 2, Estes Park, CO.

Shrestha, M., N. Chhetri, and P. Chaudhary. Long-term Changes in Livestock Management and Mountain Agroecology in the Upper Gandaki River Basin. Global Fair and Workshop on Long-term Observing Systems of Mountain Socio-ecological Systems, University of Nevada, Reno. July 2014

Transhumance and Its Future in the Gandaki River Basin: A Focus on the Socio-ecological Systems. The 3rd Himalayan Studies Conference of the Association of Nepal and Himalayan Studies (ANHS), Yale University, New Haven, CT. March 2014

Retreat or Revitalize? Transhumance and Land Use Change in the Gandaki River Basin, Nepal. Society of Range Management Symposium “Unsettled futures for subsistence pastoralism: adapting livestock systems in the face of changing climate and land use” Orlando, Florida, March 2014

Coping with Food Insecurity in the Nepal Himalaya: Agricultural Change and Migration. The 112th Annual Conference of American Anthropological Association (AAA), Chicago, IL. November 2013

The Changing Dynamics of Land-use, Livestock, and Livelihood in the Nepal Himalaya. In the session The Himalaya in the 21st Century, the Annual Meeting of Association of American Geographers, Los Angeles, CA, 2013.

Adaption to Climate Change in the Nepal Himalaya: Livestock, Food Security and Transcending Borders. The 111th Annual Conference of American Anthropological Association (AAA), San Francisco, CA, 2012.

The Socioecological Dynamics of Urbanization in the Kathmandu Valley. The Second Himalayan Studies Conference of the Association of Nepal and Himalayan Studies, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI. 2012

Climate Change in the Nepal Himalaya: Examining Vulnerability and Livelihood Security Issues. The First Himalayan Studies Conference of the ANHS, St. Paul, MN. 2011.

Mountain Agriculture and Anthropology: A Focus on the Nepal Himalaya. The 109th Annual Conference of American Anthropological Association (AAA), New Orleans, LA, 2010.

Paper (Shrestha, M., A. York, S. Zhang, and C. Boone): Rapid Urbanization and Land Fragmentation in the US Southwest: A Socio-ecological Gradient Analysis. The International Conference on Urbanization and Global Environmental Change – The Global Land Project, October 15 – 19, Tempe, Arizona, 2010.

Paper: Contending Institutions and Reconfiguration in Common-pool Resource Management in Lamjung, Nepal. The International Association for the Study of the Commons (IASC) North America Regional Meeting, September 30 – October 2, Tempe, Arizona, 2010

Poster (Shrestha, M., A. York, C. Boone and S. Zhang): Rapid Urbanization and Land Fragmentation: A cross-site comparative analysis. The 12th Annual Symposium of CAP LTER, Arizona State University, 2010

Poster (Zhang, S., A. York, C. Boone, and M. Shrestha). Methodological Issues in Land Fragmentation Gradient Analysis. The 12th Annual Symposium of CAP LTER, ASU, 2010

Paper: Agricultural Change and Livelihood Security in Lamjung, Nepal, the 108th Annual Conference of American Anthropological Association (AAA), Philadelphia, PA. December, 2009.

Poster (M. Shrestha, S. Zhang, A. York, and C. Boone): Socioecological Gradients and Land Fragmentation: A Cross-site Comparative Analysis. Long-term Ecological Research (LTER) All Scientists Meeting, Estes Park, CO. September 13-16, 2009

Paper: Assessing Vulnerability to Glaciers Retreat and Food Shortage in the Nepal Himalaya, the 69th Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology (SfAA), Santa Fe, NM. March 2009

Paper: Food Security and Vulnerability in Lamjung, Nepal: A Focus on the Likely Impact of Climate Change on Mountain Agriculture, the 107th Annual Conference of American Anthropological Association (AAA), San Franscisco, CA. November 2008

Paper: Globalization, Mountain Agriculture and Livelihoods in Lamjung, Nepal, the 68th Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology (SfAA), Memphis, TN. March 2008

Paper: Smallholder Land-use Change and Agro-diversity in Lamjung, Nepal. The 106th Annual Conference of American Anthropological Association (AAA), Washington, DC. December 2007

Paper: Community Forestry and the Changing Context of Smallholding in Lamjung, Nepal. The 36th Annual Conference on South Asia, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI. October 2007

Paper: The Human Dimensions of Land Change in Lamjung, Nepal. The 2nd Himalyan Policy Research Conference, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI. October 2007

Paper: Accuracy Assessment of Land-cover Mapping in Lamjung District, Nepal. American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) Conference, Tampa, FL. May 2007

Paper: The Institutional Context of Agrarian Change in Lamjung District, Nepal. The Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology (SfAA), Tampa, FL. April 2007

Paper: Integrated Land History: Analyzing the Cultural Context of Agricultural Change in Lamjung of Nepal. The 105th Annual Conference of AAA, San Jose, CA. November 2006

Poster: Land-use and Land-cover Change in Agricultural Areas: The Example of Lamjung, Nepal. The Academy of the Environment Symposium, UGA, Athens, GA. October 2006

Paper: Integrated Land History and Land-cover Change in Lamjung, Nepal. The 35th Annual Conference on South Asia, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI. October 2006

Paper: Integrating Satellite Data with Household and Community Data to Detect Land-use and Land-cover Change in Lamjung, Nepal. The ASPRS 2006 Annual Conference in Reno, NV. May 2006

Poster: Smallholders Land-use Strategies and Land-cover Change in the Nepal Himalaya: Integrating Household and Community Data with Remote Sensing Applications. The NASA Land-cover and Land-use Change (LCLUC) Science Team Meeting, April 11-13 2006, MD. April 2006

Paper: Ethnoecology of Land-use and Land-cover: An Application in Community-based Natural Resources Management. The Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology (SfAA), Vancouver, Canada. March 2006

Paper: Mountain Agriculture and Land-cover Change in the Nepal Himalaya. The Open Science Conference: Global Change in the Mountain Regions, Perth, Scotland. October 2005

Paper: Land-use and Land-cover Change in the Nepal Himalaya: Revisiting the Verticality Concept. Thematic workshop “Process Studies along Altitudinal Gradients to Serve Conservation and Sustainable Development, ” Samedan, Switzerland. July 2005

Paper: Smallholders’ Land-use Choices and Mountain Farming Systems. The Annual Meeting of SfAA, Portland, OR. March 2003

Paper: Land-use/cover Change and Livelihood Diversification: Characterizing Mountain Agriculture Systems of Nepal. The Annual Meeting of the SfAA, Atlanta, GA. March 2002

Poster: The Land Use Change, Livelihood and Social Exclusion Nexus in the Nepal Himalayas. The International Mountain Research Symposium sponsored by Grenoble Pôle Européen Universitaire et Scientifique, Grenoble, France. June 2000