Eastern Himalayas

Empowering local communities is a cornerstone of WWF's conservation program in the Eastern Himalayas. To successfully address the issues impacting the parks, reserves and biological corridors in the region, we work with the people who live within and alongside these areas.

Northern mountains conservation project
WWF, in collaboration with Nepal's Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, initiated the Northern Mountains Conservation Project (NMCP) in 1992 at Shey Phoksundo National Park. WWF chose this site because of the park's enormous conservation value. An estimated 300 snow leopards live in the area - the highest density of snow leopards in Nepal. The area also has other important species such as the black bear, blue sheep, the common leopard, the golden fox and the musk deer. And, there are over 375 species of medicinal and aromatic plants used by traditional doctors - known as amchis - to meet community health care needs.

A woman tends to seedlings in a forest nursery in Ghandruk, Nepal.
© WWF-Canon / Michel Gunther

Through the NMCP, WWF is promoting local management of resources, raising incomes through the formation and mobilization of community-based organizations and improving protected area planning and management. Activities include community nurseries and plantations, agro-forestry, savings and credit schemes, literacy classes, environmental awareness, ecotourism development and training of park personnel.

Medicinal plant conservation for healthy communities
Within the NMCP, the People and Plant Initiatives was created with support from UNESCO and the Kew Gardens, and focuses on medicinal plant conservation and community management of natural resources. WWF and partners are strengthening management systems for medicinal plants and primary health care at Shey Phoksundo National Park, helping train amchis and women, and strengthening professional and institutional capacities in applied ethnobotany. 

Women must carry fodder from the forests for fuel.
© WWF-Canon / Michel Gunther

Program successes include the legalization of community forests - occupying 11,000 acres of forest area and the creation of plantations to reduce pressure on natural forests. With its focus on local ownership and community based conservation, NMCP also provides benefits to the local community.