For last two and half decades, Nepal has shown a remarkable effort to conserve its biological resources by setting up a system of National Parks and Protected Areas. The efforts have been outstanding in conserving rich biodiversity of the country. Nepal has experienced that conservation of biological resources need continuous efforts to cope with changing time and environment which demands the innovative approaches to conserve the natural resources successfully.
It is felt that to conserve the biodiversity areas of Nepal effectively, the researches/studies need to be integrated with the conservation and management of the areas. Therefore, research is accepted as one of the important aspects for the effective conservation of protected areas. In the mean time, protected area managers have been raising the issues that they do not have the scientific data to manage/or monitor the protected areas’ resources in the broader context of nature/environmental conservation and socio-economic development of people living in the buffer zone or adjacent to the parks/reserves.
Even though many institutions and individuals have been conducting various research activities for many years, the research documentations are scattered and not correctly utilized for conservation and management of biodiversity rich areas in Nepal. It is, therefore, obvious that without suitable research policy it is difficult to manage the research activities in the protected areas. The National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1973 has provision that the research activities can be carried out in protected areas with the prior approval from the Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation of His Majesty’s Government of Nepal. It also mentions that a copy of research report with findings must be submitted to HMG/N after the completion of the research/study. Further, the Buffer Zone Management Regulations, 1997 authorized the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation to issue permits to conduct research in buffer zones. Recent HMG/N’s policy on wildlife farming has also encouraged and stipulated terms and conditions for carrying out in country research on both endangered and common species of wildlife. In this context, DNPWC seriously felt that there is a need of research policy for systematic management of protected areas. The main purpose of the research policy is to formalize research activities in systematic, efficient and effective, and coordinated ways.
Overall policies and strategies
It is aimed that the research strategy will address the issues of research related to the nature conservation and socio-economic development. Specifically, the policies and strategies will be as follows:
Policies
- To support for the establishment of a physical, biological, socio-economic, and cultural database for the protected areas including buffer zones
- To identify and prioritize research need, and promote and support inter-disciplinary action and basic research directed towards the enhancement of protected area management policies and programs.
- To encourage national and international participation, develop linkages and networking in research and program implementation.
Strategies:
- Develop a roster of scientists/professionals to provide guidance and direction in research
- Develop scientific and standardized research methodologies for action and basic research.
- Facilitate the research that benefits scientists, park managers, conservation practitioners, students, and the indigenous people of Nepal and global scientific communities.
- Encourage people to involve in research activities, which lead to the conservation awareness, conservation practices, and development through conservation activities.
- Support research that detects, monitors and safeguards environmental pollution, degradation and the depletion of biodiversity and cultural heritage
- Promote different aspects of nature tourism/ecotourism research.
- Develop collaborative research projects in order to promote international linkages between researchers and sponsor organizations.
- Promote national and international networking in matters of mutual interest in protected area management and biodiversity conservation.
Research Prioritized Areas:
- Action Research (Short Term Application):
- Livestock/grazing impact on wildlife habitat and pasture development
- Wildlife depredation/interaction, alternative cropping pattern
- Park/People interrelationships/conflicts and mitigation measures
- Dynamics of change, predictive manipulation of ecosystem
- Cultural studies/ethno botanical studies
- Nature tourism development, tourism impact
- Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFP)
- Indigenous or traditional knowledge
- Local capacity enhancement, institutional empowerment, governance in conservation
- Crop diversification to reduce animal damage
- Offences of various categories and anti-poaching activities
- Land tenure studies and land use conflicts
- Resource inventory of buffer zone
- Natural resource use pattern by local communities
- Socio-demographic studies
- Study on the introduction of innovative technology
- Basic Research (Long Term Application)
- Qualitative and quantitative inventory of flora, fauna and natural resources
- Ecological relationship regarding food-chain, competition, prey-predator relationship
- Species needs of particular habitat components and requirement, control of Invasive species and weeds
- Ecosystem dynamics and monitoring (vegetation mapping and succession study, population trends, changes in hydrological regime
Linkage between human beings and various ecosystems
- Habitat management
- Biodiversity documentation and profiles
- Basic descriptive ethnography, cultural and ritual complexes
- Socio-economic studies indicating relations with surrounding lands, economic justification and visitor use, employment and income generation
- Policy implication relating to park and buffer zone
- Tourism/ecotourism study and sustainability approaches
- Land productivity/crop productivity studies, multiple cropping and appropriate agro forestry
- Appropriate technology development and adoption
- Pathological studies in cattle and wildlife disease
- Economic analysis on protected area conservation
