Ecotourism in the Forests/Grasslands of Royal Chitwan National Park, Nepal

by King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation

Partners:

King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation (KMTNC) World Wildlife Fund (WWF - US)

Current Accomplishments

Perhaps the most exciting development has come in the policy arena in which national legislation was passed in February recycling tourism revenues to local communities.

Another major set of activities focused on increasing the size of the buffer zone plantations. 140 hectares were planted in Kumrose and about 50 hectares were planted in Bagmara. These plantations have already produced substantial products - thinning operations produced 1,048,564 kg of woody biomass from Kumrose and 51,766 kg of woody biomass from Baghmara. The plantations have also provided critical habitat to animals - species have been sighted in the plantations and a female rhino gave birth to a calf in the Kumrose plantation. Finally, the plantations have provided excellent wildlife watching opportunities to tourists. A machan (wildlife viewing platform) was constructed in the Baghmara buffer zone in which tourists can stay.

Other project activities included a seven-day Green Camp that was held for school students to develop environmental awareness, a study tour to a community-based conservation project in Annapurna that was conducted for stakeholders, and a tourism impact study that was completed. Finally, bird and rhino monitoring and a vegetation study are ongoing.

Successes and Challenges

"OK...So What?"

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