Zoological Society of London

The project will strengthen the status of tigers and tiger prey in Banke National Park (BaNP), (Nepal’s newestNP) while improving the socio-economic wellbeing of residents in two buffer zone communities, strengtheningthe relationship between park and people. These aims will be achieved by better management of the park’swildlife and habitats to improve tiger prey density, reducing human-wildlife conflict (HWC)developingconservation awareness and facilitating stewardship among communities, and the promotion of alternativeincome streams including tourism.

This project aims to address these challenges by: 1) strengthening capacity and improving transboundary LE coordination, and 2) building capacity of newly established provincial LE agencies by enabling data sharing and intra-agency enforcement efforts to disrupt priority IWT trafficking routes and international wildlife crime through Nepal. 3) by securing community stewardship at key pangolin source sites outside the PA network, through proven Community Management Pangolin Conservation Areas (CMPCAs) which empower communities to manage their community forests, protect pangolins and participate with LE agencies 4) improving well-being through community-led sustainable livelihood schemes, promoting gender equity and social inclusion, increasing local economic and ecological resilience, further “future-proofing” community engagement.

Protected areas in Nepal’s Terai Arc Landscape are fragmented, meaning recovering wildlife populations (like tiger and rhino) in Parsa National Park are pushed towards human settlements in surrounding buffer zones, increasing human-wildlife conflict, with particularly negative impacts for women and Indigenous communities disproportionately reliant on forest resources. This project will secure connectivity between protected areas and northern Shivalik hills using a corridor of community-managed forests; mitigate human-wildlife conflict; and reduce communities’ dependence on resources through diversified livelihoods and enhanced agroforestry.

This project aims to reverse the current rate of decline in the gharial population through: robust monitoring of the river ecosystem and gharial population; providing knowledge for the formulation of a river ecosystem management plan; increasing river protection through forming community-based protection units; and enhancing the effectiveness of the Gharial Conservation Breeding Centre (GCBC).

Stewardship and Rural Development for poor and marginalised frontier communities living alongside protected areas and high conservation value species.

Championing change: Living in harmony with wildlife in lowland Nepal