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)

Success Stories

The Baghmara community forest now occupies 400 ha, including planted forest and a natural regeneration area formed by fencing off land from the grazing impacts of livestock. Baghmara was opened for tourism in October 1995 and generated NRs. 8,56,511 by the end of May 1996. The newly constructed machan has also started earning additional money and it is expected that US $8000 per year will be earned solely from the machan. A cost­benefit analysis of the machan has shown that the cost of construction will not only be covered, but that another machan could be constructed from the earnings with some balance in hand within a period of three years.

The income from tourism has been a contributing factor in biodiversity conservation. The Baghmara Users Committee used a certain portion of its income in the habitat management program. They constructed a mud­filled dam in addition to clearing two patches of land to create aquatic and grassland habitats for wildlife. The Committee also decided to give first priority to conservation programs and allocate money from its income each year for these programs. Besides these, other future programs such as introducing improved breeds of livestock and biogas plants will also provide support to biodiversity conservation by reducing the high demands for fodder and firewood that are major threats to the area's biodiversity. The Baghmara community forest will provide benefits to 584 households.

Tourists who visit Baghmara still have to purchase entry tickets to RCNP. Rerouting tourists from the RCNP to the buffer zone decreases tourist pressure on the park while avoiding loss of revenue from the park. This will provide ecological as well as economical advantages. Finally, the project has become popular as a model for other projects. Due to its success, the Nepal Conservation and Research Training Center at the site is establishing its reputation as a regional training center, using the BCN monitoring program, regeneration area, and plantations as learning vehicles to teach conservation to people from other countries.

Challenges

The project has encountered some challenges, many of which are related to concerns that various stakeholders have over the allocation of resources. For example, some people in Baghmara challenged fencing off the plantation from grazing, arguing that fencing most of the barren land for community plantation will increase crop depredation. Likewise, park personnel are worried that tourism in Baghmara may reduce the revenue that the park receives. Some members of the Users Group are opposed to the thinning operation. And finally, there is friction among members of the women's environmental group of Kumrose.

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