Kathmandu, Sept. 13 -- This time last year, SR Nursery in Dhumbarahi was bustling with activity. There was a constant flow of customers coming in and out, and throughout the day, the nursery's staff remained busy loading dozens of plant saplings on the back of trucks, which were then transported to hotels, restaurants, party palaces and offices.

On a single day, the nursery sold anywhere between 500 to 1,000 saplings.

But this year, the scenario is starkly different.

The number of customers visiting the nursery is less than 10 a day, and demand for saplings has fallen so dramatically that Sunil Syangtang, the nursery's proprietor, says that these days he barely sells more than 20 saplings a day.

This massive dip in demand is alarming ...