This page has only limited features, please log in for full access.
Community-based conservation in the developing world generally puts more emphasis on voluntary commitments and compliance rather than enforcement of formal laws and regulations for the governance of protected areas. However, as with other forms of organizational management, once institutions are established, they are required to comply with all relevant, legally binding regulations. Furthermore, it is broadly assumed that compliance with established regulations is critical for good governance. In this paper, we review these matters through an empirical study of Conservation Area Management Committees’ degree of compliance with regulations under Nepalese law, within the Annapurna Conservation Area—one of the best-known community-based protected areas worldwide—based on quantitative content analysis of the committees’ meeting minutes from 2008 to 2012. According to the established rules, two to four women and one to five minorities serve as committee members in each instance. On average, fewer members than expected attended meetings, and the number of decisions made per meeting showed a curvilinear relationship with the number of members present as well as their demographic diversity. Of the 13 committees selected for study, only two met the legal mandate of holding six regular meetings annually within two-month intervals. In all the other cases, non-compliance was noted for one to all five years of the committees’ terms. In general, compliance declined over the five-year terms, and some committees were significantly less-compliant than others. Although enforceable decisions were made within both compliant and non-compliant committees, several problems of non-compliance were identified that may affect conservation outcomes. We suggest several possible reasons for non-compliance and argue that these may be symptoms of institutional weaknesses. Organizations that fail to meet their commitments risk liability and may also lose the formal legal authority to govern. Regular monitoring is recommended to address compliance issues.
Nabin Baral; Joel Heinen. Regulatory Compliance of Community-Based Conservation Organizations: Empirical Evidence from Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal. Sustainability 2020, 12, 9420 .
AMA StyleNabin Baral, Joel Heinen. Regulatory Compliance of Community-Based Conservation Organizations: Empirical Evidence from Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (22):9420.
Chicago/Turabian StyleNabin Baral; Joel Heinen. 2020. "Regulatory Compliance of Community-Based Conservation Organizations: Empirical Evidence from Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal." Sustainability 12, no. 22: 9420.
The assessment of people's knowledge on biofuels is sporadic mainly due to a lack of an objective knowledge scale. We conducted large-scale mail surveys to fill the gap and assess people's knowledge of biofuels and the social-demographic characteristics related to this. We sent out mail surveys to 4733 valid addresses and received 1376 completed surveys. Biofuels knowledge was assessed with five items related to energy content, production capacity, and potential benefits and harm of biofuels, assigning + 1 or + 2 points for correct, and − 1 or − 2 points for incorrect answers depending upon respondents’ certainty about the answer, and 0 point for ‘I don’t know’ responses. We constructed a summary index by summing the points scored on the five items. The mean score for the biofuels knowledge index was 2.25 ± 3.33 on the scale of − 10 to + 10 points. The multiple regression results showed that socio-demographic attributes are significant predictors of biofuels knowledge: men scored 1.65 points higher than women; for one level increment in education, respondents scored 0.26 points higher; and Democrats scored 1.34 points lower than others. Possible reasons for these results and their implications for policy and management to make cellulosic biofuels successful are discussed.
Nabin Baral. What socio-demographic characteristics predict knowledge of biofuels. Energy Policy 2018, 122, 369 -376.
AMA StyleNabin Baral. What socio-demographic characteristics predict knowledge of biofuels. Energy Policy. 2018; 122 ():369-376.
Chicago/Turabian StyleNabin Baral. 2018. "What socio-demographic characteristics predict knowledge of biofuels." Energy Policy 122, no. : 369-376.
The Vulnerable snow leopard Panthera uncia experiences persecution across its habitat in Central Asia, particularly from herders because of livestock losses. Given the popularity of snow leopards worldwide, transferring some of the value attributed by the international community to these predators may secure funds and support for their conservation. We administered contingent valuation surveys to 406 international visitors to the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal, between May and June 2014, to determine their willingness to pay a fee to support the implementation of a Snow Leopard Conservation Action Plan. Of the 49% of visitors who stated they would pay a snow leopard conservation fee in addition to the existing entry fee, the mean amount that they were willing to pay was USD 59 per trip. The logit regression model showed that the bid amount, the level of support for implementing the Action Plan, and the number of days spent in the Conservation Area were significant predictors of visitors’ willingness to pay. The main reasons stated by visitors for their willingness to pay were a desire to protect the environment and an affordable fee. A major reason for visitors’ unwillingness to pay was that the proposed conservation fee was too expensive for them. This study represents the first application of economic valuation to snow leopards, and is relevant to the conservation of threatened species in the Annapurna Conservation Area and elsewhere.
Maurice G. Schutgens; Jonathan H. Hanson; Nabin Baral; Som B. Ale. Visitors’ willingness to pay for snow leopard Panthera uncia conservation in the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal. Oryx 2018, 53, 633 -642.
AMA StyleMaurice G. Schutgens, Jonathan H. Hanson, Nabin Baral, Som B. Ale. Visitors’ willingness to pay for snow leopard Panthera uncia conservation in the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal. Oryx. 2018; 53 (4):633-642.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMaurice G. Schutgens; Jonathan H. Hanson; Nabin Baral; Som B. Ale. 2018. "Visitors’ willingness to pay for snow leopard Panthera uncia conservation in the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal." Oryx 53, no. 4: 633-642.
Nabin Baral; Sergey Rabotyagov. How much are wood-based cellulosic biofuels worth in the Pacific Northwest? Ex-ante and ex-post analysis of local people's willingness to pay. Forest Policy and Economics 2017, 83, 99 -106.
AMA StyleNabin Baral, Sergey Rabotyagov. How much are wood-based cellulosic biofuels worth in the Pacific Northwest? Ex-ante and ex-post analysis of local people's willingness to pay. Forest Policy and Economics. 2017; 83 ():99-106.
Chicago/Turabian StyleNabin Baral; Sergey Rabotyagov. 2017. "How much are wood-based cellulosic biofuels worth in the Pacific Northwest? Ex-ante and ex-post analysis of local people's willingness to pay." Forest Policy and Economics 83, no. : 99-106.
Nabin Baral; Sapna Kaul; Joel T. Heinen; Som B. Ale. Estimating the value of the World Heritage Site designation: a case study from Sagarmatha (Mount Everest) National Park, Nepal. Journal of Sustainable Tourism 2017, 25, 1776 -1791.
AMA StyleNabin Baral, Sapna Kaul, Joel T. Heinen, Som B. Ale. Estimating the value of the World Heritage Site designation: a case study from Sagarmatha (Mount Everest) National Park, Nepal. Journal of Sustainable Tourism. 2017; 25 (12):1776-1791.
Chicago/Turabian StyleNabin Baral; Sapna Kaul; Joel T. Heinen; Som B. Ale. 2017. "Estimating the value of the World Heritage Site designation: a case study from Sagarmatha (Mount Everest) National Park, Nepal." Journal of Sustainable Tourism 25, no. 12: 1776-1791.
World Heritage sites must exhibit outstanding universal value, integrity, and authenticity. Based on this context, this study examined whether visitors to Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) National Park, Nepal (World Heritage Site inscribed under criteria vii in 1979) recognized it for its exceptional beauty and aesthetics. This study explored the basic concept of perceived park authenticity at this site, and associated factors that influenced the perception of World Heritage values. Questionnaire surveys were administered to 522 international visitors at the park. Exploratory factor analysis and ordinal logistic regression were used for analysis. Results indicated that visitors perceived the park to be authentic, preserved integrity, and constituted outstanding universal value. Additional regression results identified that overall trip satisfaction and educational level were statistically significant predictors of perceptions of authenticity, integrity and outstanding universal value of the park. Prior visits, substitutability of the park, age, and income were statistically significant predictors of perceptions of either authenticity, integrity or outstanding universal value of the park. Results suggest that emphasis on visitors‘ needs via interpretation and professional guides may solicit more favorable attitudes towards this site.
Nabin Baral; Helen Hazen; Brijesh Thapa. Visitor perceptions of World Heritage value at Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) National Park, Nepal. Journal of Sustainable Tourism 2017, 25, 1494 -1512.
AMA StyleNabin Baral, Helen Hazen, Brijesh Thapa. Visitor perceptions of World Heritage value at Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) National Park, Nepal. Journal of Sustainable Tourism. 2017; 25 (10):1494-1512.
Chicago/Turabian StyleNabin Baral; Helen Hazen; Brijesh Thapa. 2017. "Visitor perceptions of World Heritage value at Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) National Park, Nepal." Journal of Sustainable Tourism 25, no. 10: 1494-1512.
Nabin Baral. Assessing the temporal stability of the ecotourism evaluation scale: testing the role and value of replication studies as a reliable management tool. Journal of Sustainable Tourism 2014, 23, 280 -293.
AMA StyleNabin Baral. Assessing the temporal stability of the ecotourism evaluation scale: testing the role and value of replication studies as a reliable management tool. Journal of Sustainable Tourism. 2014; 23 (2):280-293.
Chicago/Turabian StyleNabin Baral. 2014. "Assessing the temporal stability of the ecotourism evaluation scale: testing the role and value of replication studies as a reliable management tool." Journal of Sustainable Tourism 23, no. 2: 280-293.
Nabin Baral; Anal Dhungana. Diversifying finance mechanisms for protected areas capitalizing on untapped revenues. Forest Policy and Economics 2014, 41, 60 -67.
AMA StyleNabin Baral, Anal Dhungana. Diversifying finance mechanisms for protected areas capitalizing on untapped revenues. Forest Policy and Economics. 2014; 41 ():60-67.
Chicago/Turabian StyleNabin Baral; Anal Dhungana. 2014. "Diversifying finance mechanisms for protected areas capitalizing on untapped revenues." Forest Policy and Economics 41, no. : 60-67.
SUMMARYEcotourism has been promoted to reconcile seemingly conflicting goals of tourism development and nature conservation. Given its importance, how has ecotourism fared in the Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA) and how resilient was it to the Maoist insurgency in Nepal (1996–2006)? Drawing upon more than 10 months of field research, participant observation, semi-structured surveys and content analysis of 21 annual reports, ecotourism was evaluated by organizing ACA's programmes and activities under the four major emerging themes, namely local capacity building, waste management, education and infrastructure development; the most prominent theme was local capacity building. Annual visitor numbers declined during the insurgency, but ecotourism managed to survive, mainly due to self-organization of local tourism entrepreneurs. Local tourism entrepreneurs facilitated self-organization through capacity building and diversification of livelihoods. In the aftermath of the insurgency, visitor numbers rebounded and ecotourism continued to develop and evolve; ecotourism was thus resilient to the insurgency. Building local capacity, facilitating self-organization and diversifying livelihoods can enhance the resilience of ecotourism, sustaining stability and helping to deal with uncertainty.
Nabin Baral. Evaluation and resilience of ecotourism in the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal. Environmental Conservation 2013, 41, 84 -92.
AMA StyleNabin Baral. Evaluation and resilience of ecotourism in the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal. Environmental Conservation. 2013; 41 (1):84-92.
Chicago/Turabian StyleNabin Baral. 2013. "Evaluation and resilience of ecotourism in the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal." Environmental Conservation 41, no. 1: 84-92.
Conservation Area Management Committees (CAMCs)-the functional decision-making units consisting entirely of local villagers-are grassroots organizations legally established to manage the Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA) in Nepal. These committees suffered due to the decade-long Maoist insurgency, but they survived. The paper attempts to test what factors contributed to their resiliency. For this, I surveyed 30 CAMCs during the summer of 2007 and conducted semi-structured interviews of 190 executive members of the CAMCs and 13 park officials who closely monitor the CAMCs. Regression results showed that the number of leaders (b = 0.44, t = 2.38, P = .027) was the most critical variable for building the resilience of CAMCs to the Maoist insurgency, i.e., retaining the same function, structure, and identity of the committees. As there were no reported conflicts among leaders and they were involved in negotiations and devising contingency plans, CAMCs actually benefited from having more leaders. Of the three diversity indices, the quadratic terms of age diversity (b = -5.42, t = 1.95, P = .064) and ethnic diversity (b = -4.05, t = 1.78, P = .075) had a negative impact on the CAMCs' resilience. Skill diversity and organizational memory had no significant influence on the CAMCs' resilience (t < 1.48, P > .10). These results have important implications for building resilience in community-based conservation.
Nabin Baral. What Makes Grassroots Conservation Organizations Resilient? An Empirical Analysis of Diversity, Organizational Memory, and the Number of Leaders. Environmental Management 2012, 51, 738 -749.
AMA StyleNabin Baral. What Makes Grassroots Conservation Organizations Resilient? An Empirical Analysis of Diversity, Organizational Memory, and the Number of Leaders. Environmental Management. 2012; 51 (3):738-749.
Chicago/Turabian StyleNabin Baral. 2012. "What Makes Grassroots Conservation Organizations Resilient? An Empirical Analysis of Diversity, Organizational Memory, and the Number of Leaders." Environmental Management 51, no. 3: 738-749.
Nabin Baral. Mick Smith: Against Ecological Sovereignty: Ethics, Biopolitics, and Saving the Natural World. Human Ecology 2012, 40, 965 -966.
AMA StyleNabin Baral. Mick Smith: Against Ecological Sovereignty: Ethics, Biopolitics, and Saving the Natural World. Human Ecology. 2012; 40 (6):965-966.
Chicago/Turabian StyleNabin Baral. 2012. "Mick Smith: Against Ecological Sovereignty: Ethics, Biopolitics, and Saving the Natural World." Human Ecology 40, no. 6: 965-966.
Nepal’s conservation areas and community forests are generally considered as successful community-based conservation models. The paper’s goal is to investigate the factors that consistently predict the level of trust local governing bodies have on administering agencies in these models. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected through field research in the Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA) in the summer of 2007 and adjacent community forests in the fall of 2008. The Conservation Area Management Committee (CAMC) and the Community Forest User Committee (CFUC) are the functional decision-making entities at the local level in ACA and the community forests, respectively. I conducted one-on-one semi-structured interviews with 66 executive members of 10 CAMCs and 67 members of 9 CFUCs. In multiple regression models relating the levels of trust committee members had for administering staff and agencies to a set of 7 theoretically informed covariates, 4 were statistically significant in ACA and 3 in the community forests. In ACA, committee members’ overall assessment of the agency’s performance, perceptions regarding the agency staff’s understanding of local culture, perceptions regarding the equitable distribution of conservation benefits, and perceptions regarding the dependence upon the agency were statistically significant variables that influenced trust. In the community forests, committee members’ overall assessment of the agency’s performance, perceptions regarding the agency staff’s understanding of local culture, and rational assessments of the benefits and costs associated with being a member explained significant variations in the levels of trust. The most consistent predictors of agency trust in both the models were committee members’ overall assessment of the agency’s performance, and perceptions regarding the agency staff’s understanding of local culture. These findings suggest that natural resource management agencies can devise strategies for building trust with local governing bodies by a combination of above average performance and deeper understanding of local culture.
Nabin Baral. Empirical analysis of factors explaining local governing bodies’ trust for administering agencies in community-based conservation. Journal of Environmental Management 2012, 103, 41 -50.
AMA StyleNabin Baral. Empirical analysis of factors explaining local governing bodies’ trust for administering agencies in community-based conservation. Journal of Environmental Management. 2012; 103 ():41-50.
Chicago/Turabian StyleNabin Baral. 2012. "Empirical analysis of factors explaining local governing bodies’ trust for administering agencies in community-based conservation." Journal of Environmental Management 103, no. : 41-50.
Ecotourism has become a valuable industry in developing countries with a promise of reconciling nature conservation and economic development goals. A sample of 315 international visitors to the Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA), Nepal was surveyed in April and May of 2006 to assess how they gathered information, evaluated ecotourism and rated their levels of satisfaction from their ecotourism experience. We developed a statistically valid and reliable ecotourism evaluation scale containing seven items through confirmatory factor analysis to assess visitors’ perceptions of the socio-economic and environmental outcomes of ecotourism. Visitors’ age, prior visits to the area, the use of a guide and perceptions of safety significantly influenced visitors’ evaluations, though combined to explain only a small portion of the variance in their evaluations. Contrary to a general expectation, visitors’ ecotourism evaluations were not related to their level of satisfaction associated with their visits. Overall, visitors expressed high levels of satisfaction with their visits and favorably evaluated ecotourism outcomes in the ACA. Repeat visitors exhibited more negative opinions about ecotourism outcomes. The findings suggest a link between hiring guides and visitors’ increased overall satisfaction and favorable evaluations of ecotourism. Perceptions of security also raised evaluation levels, but were not linked to hiring guides.
Nabin Baral; Marc J. Stern; A. L. Hammett. Developing a scale for evaluating ecotourism by visitors: a study in the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal. Journal of Sustainable Tourism 2012, 20, 975 -989.
AMA StyleNabin Baral, Marc J. Stern, A. L. Hammett. Developing a scale for evaluating ecotourism by visitors: a study in the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal. Journal of Sustainable Tourism. 2012; 20 (7):975-989.
Chicago/Turabian StyleNabin Baral; Marc J. Stern; A. L. Hammett. 2012. "Developing a scale for evaluating ecotourism by visitors: a study in the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal." Journal of Sustainable Tourism 20, no. 7: 975-989.
We have undertaken empirical research to explore relationships between the stock of various capitals and the resilience of conservation area management committees (CAMCs)—the functional decision-making units of community-based conservation—within the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal. We surveyed 190 members of 30 CAMCs during the summer of 2007, estimated the capital stocks of each CAMC, and interviewed 13 park officials to assess the degree of resilience of each CAMC during and after the Maoist insurgency (1996–2006). Multiple regression analyses suggest that human and social capital stocks are positively related to the resilience of the CAMCs. Of particular importance are themes of intracommittee trust, help networks, and the duration of members' tenure on the committees. Furthermore, natural capital stocks showed a parabolic relationship with resilience; the most resilient CAMCs had moderate amounts of natural capital under their jurisdictions.
Nabin Baral; Marc J. Stern. Capital Stocks and Organizational Resilience in the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal. Society & Natural Resources 2011, 24, 1011 -1026.
AMA StyleNabin Baral, Marc J. Stern. Capital Stocks and Organizational Resilience in the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal. Society & Natural Resources. 2011; 24 (10):1011-1026.
Chicago/Turabian StyleNabin Baral; Marc J. Stern. 2011. "Capital Stocks and Organizational Resilience in the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal." Society & Natural Resources 24, no. 10: 1011-1026.
Conservation areas (CAs) and community forests (CFs) are generally considered to be two successful community-based conservation (CBC) models in Nepal. Nepal’s two CAs are administered by a nongovernmental organization (NGO), and all of its CFs are administered by a government agency (GA). The goal of this research is to compare and contrast these two models using quantitative and qualitative data collected through field research in the Annapurna Conservation Area in the summer of 2007 and adjacent CFs in the fall of 2008. The Conservation Area Management Committee (CAMC) and the Community Forest User Committee (CFUC) are the functional decision-making entities at the local level in CAs and CFs, respectively. We conducted one-on-one semi-structured interviews with 66 executive members of 10 CAMCs and 67 members of 9 CFUCs. While both models appear to have performed well overall, the CA under the direction of the NGO appears to have fared better with regard to (i) developing trust of local constituencies, (ii) garnering favorable attitudes among villagers, (iii) building capacity of executive members, and (iv) improving standards of living. We suggest that the particular accountabilities associated with NGOs may situate them in a better position to cultivate local governance than state entities on their own.
Nabin Baral; Marc J. Stern. A comparative study of two community-based conservation models in Nepal. Biodiversity and Conservation 2011, 20, 2407 -2426.
AMA StyleNabin Baral, Marc J. Stern. A comparative study of two community-based conservation models in Nepal. Biodiversity and Conservation. 2011; 20 (11):2407-2426.
Chicago/Turabian StyleNabin Baral; Marc J. Stern. 2011. "A comparative study of two community-based conservation models in Nepal." Biodiversity and Conservation 20, no. 11: 2407-2426.
Baral, N., M. J. Stern, and J. T. Heinen. 2010. Growth, collapse, and reorganization of the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal: an analysis of institutional resilience. Ecology and Society 15(3): 10. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-03534-150310
Nabin Baral; Marc Stern; Joel Heinen. Growth, Collapse, and Reorganization of the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal: an Analysis of Institutional Resilience. Ecology and Society 2010, 15, 1 .
AMA StyleNabin Baral, Marc Stern, Joel Heinen. Growth, Collapse, and Reorganization of the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal: an Analysis of Institutional Resilience. Ecology and Society. 2010; 15 (3):1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleNabin Baral; Marc Stern; Joel Heinen. 2010. "Growth, Collapse, and Reorganization of the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal: an Analysis of Institutional Resilience." Ecology and Society 15, no. 3: 1.
SUMMARYDiversifying governance models for protected areas serves as one strategy to address some of the challenges they are facing. This paper explores the potential of local communities to be the primary actor in the governance of the Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA) following its planned handover to them in 2012. In doing so, the paper serves as an important baseline from which to monitor a new experiment in protected area governance. During the summer of 2007, the executive members and implementing staff of the Conservation Area Management Committees (CAMCs) were interviewed and local villagers surveyed. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected to assess the CAMCs’ capacities to manage ACA without outside support. All CAMCs had more than a decade of managerial experience and considerable local support. Villagers largely considered the CAMCs as legitimate institutions, and their executive members as trustworthy. CAMC members were confident about assuming management responsibility of the area. The devolution of power to an overarching local council to govern ACA will present some challenges, especially with regard to lower-performing CAMCs. However, key factors identified in the literature as critical to good governance portend positive prospects for the transition.
Nabin Baral; Marc J. Stern. Looking back and looking ahead: local empowerment and governance in the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal. Environmental Conservation 2009, 37, 54 -63.
AMA StyleNabin Baral, Marc J. Stern. Looking back and looking ahead: local empowerment and governance in the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal. Environmental Conservation. 2009; 37 (1):54-63.
Chicago/Turabian StyleNabin Baral; Marc J. Stern. 2009. "Looking back and looking ahead: local empowerment and governance in the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal." Environmental Conservation 37, no. 1: 54-63.
To determine willingness to pay (WTP) for candidate entry fees, contingent valuation surveys were administered to 315 foreign visitors to the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal, during April and May of 2006. The results of logit regression showed that the bid amount, family size, visitors' satisfaction, the use of a guide, and group size were the most significant predictors of WTP. Results suggest that most visitors would be willing to pay an entry fee considerably higher than the current fee of 27 U.S. dollars (USD). The mean and median WTP were 69.2 and 74.3 USD, respectively. The most common explanation for WTP by respondents was a desire to better protect the environment. The most common explanation for unwillingness to pay was that the bid was simply too expensive. Two models were developed based upon different predictions of visitor numbers (an optimistic case and pessimistic case) to calculate the expected revenue production and likely gross local economic impact of candidate entry fees. Based on this analysis, we recommend an increase in the entry fee to USD 50. In the optimistic scenario, this higher entry fee leaves a budget surplus. In the pessimistic scenario, it would reduce current budget deficits.
Nabin Baral; Marc J. Stern; Ranju Bhattarai. Contingent valuation of ecotourism in Annapurna conservation area, Nepal: Implications for sustainable park finance and local development. Ecological Economics 2008, 66, 218 -227.
AMA StyleNabin Baral, Marc J. Stern, Ranju Bhattarai. Contingent valuation of ecotourism in Annapurna conservation area, Nepal: Implications for sustainable park finance and local development. Ecological Economics. 2008; 66 (2-3):218-227.
Chicago/Turabian StyleNabin Baral; Marc J. Stern; Ranju Bhattarai. 2008. "Contingent valuation of ecotourism in Annapurna conservation area, Nepal: Implications for sustainable park finance and local development." Ecological Economics 66, no. 2-3: 218-227.
Park–people conflict is a serious challenge undermining the integrity of protected areas in developing countries. Developing effective human–carnivore conflict mitigation strategies requires an understanding of the spatio-temporal conflict patterns and the species involved. This study therefore aims to examine spatio-temporal variations in livestock loss, severity and magnitude of the problem, and the predators involved in the southwestern section of the Bardia National Park, Nepal. Of 484 households surveyed, 66.5% reported 442 livestock loss over a 6 year period. About 45% of the total livestock loss occurred during the hot dry season. Tigers (Panthera tigris) and leopards (Panthera pardus) were the two major predators in the area: tigers killed larger livestock while leopards killed smaller livestock. Although the western villages lost livestock grazing inside the park, the eastern villages lost livestock either from corrals or from buffer zone forests. The estimated total economic loss was US$11,709.53 in 6 years. Rather than enforcing stringent rules, alternative approaches to the problem should be explored. Involving local residents in conflict management, providing incentives to maintain and relocate corrals, and introducing grass and fodder species can be helpful in mitigating the problem.
Bijay Tamang; Nabin Baral. Livestock depredation by large cats in Bardia National Park, Nepal: Implications for improving park–people relations. International Journal of Biodiversity Science & Management 2008, 4, 44 -53.
AMA StyleBijay Tamang, Nabin Baral. Livestock depredation by large cats in Bardia National Park, Nepal: Implications for improving park–people relations. International Journal of Biodiversity Science & Management. 2008; 4 (1):44-53.
Chicago/Turabian StyleBijay Tamang; Nabin Baral. 2008. "Livestock depredation by large cats in Bardia National Park, Nepal: Implications for improving park–people relations." International Journal of Biodiversity Science & Management 4, no. 1: 44-53.
SUMMARY Nepal formally embarked on decentralized participatory conservation programmes in 1990. To assess who participates in and benefits from such programmes, stratified random questionnaire surveys of 234 households and interviews with 29 user group chairs were conducted in the buffer zones of two protected areas of the Nepalese Terai: Bardia National Park and Suklaphanta Wildlife Reserve. The Poisson regression shows that gender, education, household affluence, and conservation attitudes were significant predictors of people's participation in decentralized conservation programmes, while family size, ethnicity and resource dependency were not. The benefits of participation outweighed the costs based on respondents' estimates. The performance of grassroots organizations and levels of participation were correlated. Nepal's decentralized participa- tory conservation has achieved efficiency, relative equity and effectiveness to some extent. Yet the central government should devolve more power to local communities to sustain the achievements as well as to provide more equitable benefits to residents to ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of conservation programmes.
Nabin Baral; Joel T. Heinen. Decentralization and people's participation in conservation: a comparative study from the Western Terai of Nepal. International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology 2007, 14, 520 -531.
AMA StyleNabin Baral, Joel T. Heinen. Decentralization and people's participation in conservation: a comparative study from the Western Terai of Nepal. International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology. 2007; 14 (5):520-531.
Chicago/Turabian StyleNabin Baral; Joel T. Heinen. 2007. "Decentralization and people's participation in conservation: a comparative study from the Western Terai of Nepal." International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology 14, no. 5: 520-531.