NEPAL

The Western Terai Landscape Complex project promotes landscape-level conservation and the sustainable management of natural resources across the Western Terai.

Background

Nepal's western Terai, with its extensive areas of sal and chure forest, grasslands, wetlands and two major river systems, is an important home for globally significant biodiversity including:

• royal Bengal tigers, Asian one-horned rhinoceroses, wild Asian elephants, black bucks, Gangetic dolphins, and hispid hares;
• more than 350 species of birds out of which more than 20% are threatened; and
• extensive crop diversity, including local varieties of paddy rice, barley, and millet.

The area's rapidly growing population of over half a million people is seriously threatening this biodiversity as over-grazing, over-exploitation and uncontrolled forest fires degrade the forests; as forests are converted into farmland; as poaching and other human pressures reduce the number of wild plants and animals and as traditional crop varieties are replaced by modern cultivars. The loss of forests and other habitats means that the forest corridors through which wildlife travel from Nepal's protected areas to protected areas in India to the south and the Churia forests to the north, are being rapidly degraded.

The project

Although the western Terai has two large protected areas — Bardiya National Park and the Suklaphanta Wildlife Reserve — the long-term viability of the area's biodiversity depends on managing large adjoining areas to provide a more extensive system of habitats across whole ecological landscapes.

The Western Terai Landscape Complex Project began in 2006 to establish a landscape-level management model to safeguard the area's biological wealth and its vital ecological functions. The project is promoting landscape level conservation across the two protected areas, their buffer zones and adjoining landscapes in 52 VDCs of Bardiya, Kailali and Kanchanpur districts. Forests make up 60% of the area.

Work is on-going in the following ways on the challenging task of bringing together government agencies, local people and non-governmental expertise to sustain the area's biodiversity in tandem with meeting local people's needs.

Enabling policies — The project is promoting enabling policies and helping build an institutional framework for the integrated management of the area. The aim is to overcome the sectoral boundaries between forest department- and the department of wildlife-managed areas and between areas managed for conservation and areas managed for agricultural crop and livestock production. This division often hinders conservation efforts.

Early achievements include:

• making central Government officials more aware of the advantages of landscape-level biodiversity conservation;
• supporting a Landscape Coordination Committee across sectors, and training members of the three district forest coordination committees to plan, coordinate and monitor environmental conservation projects; and
• supporting Government agencies to plan for more integrated management by supporting the production of: a forestry sector development plan to resolve policy problems in community forest management; forest sector plans for the more integrated and holistic planning of forests in Kailali and Kanchanpur; the ministry of forest's Wildlife Damage Relief Policy and a management plan for important habitats in the Chure forests.

Biodiversity conservation — Measures supported so far include:

• establishing 530 hectares of plantations in 45 forest corridors and critical buffer-zone areas close to Suklaphanta WR and Bardiya NP;
• producing an action plan to conserve the area's elephants and reduce conflict with humans; and
• supporting 30 community anti-poaching units to prevent forest encroachment, poaching and illegal woodcutting.

Empowering communities — The project is empowering communities to practice the sustainable and biodiversity-friendly management of natural resources by:

• running forest management and entrepreneurship trainings for user groups and providing grants to start income generating activities;
• supporting the formation of 51 new community forest user groups;
• forming eco-clubs in 62 schools and running women's literacy classes;
• supporting the building of 500 biogas-attached toilets and 45 solar lamps to decrease local people's dependency on firewood.

To the end of 2008, 40% of people in the project area had been involved in project activities.

Importance of this project towards achieving the MDGs and consolidating peace

This project is working for environmental sustainability (MDG 7) by making poverty reduction (MDG 1) a key strategy for getting local people to conserve and improve animal and plant habitats outside the protected areas for their economic benefit.

The conflict saw increased tiger and rhino poaching and a large drop in tourist numbers. The project's contribution to promoting tourism and local livelihoods will help peaceful development in the area.

Some project activities

Broadcasting conservation

With project support the weekly radio programme Sanrakchen Sansar (Conservation World) broadcasts on the importance of conserving biodiversity. The programmes are popular and the local Tharu people appreciate the shows broadcast in their language.

Reducing crop damage caused by wildlife

Installing of of Bardiya National Park has greatly reduced the damage caused by wild elephants to neighbouring households and their crops.

Afforestation for biodiversity and livelihoods

Local user groups, with project support, have planted 122 hectares of the Mohana River's banks with multipurpose tree species that protect the soil, provide non-timber forest products, fodder and firewood and are an important wildlife habitat.

Project Details
 

For more information

(+977-1) 4262310, 4218458
info@wtlcp.org.np
www.wtlcp.org.np

Contact