Abstract
Himalayan mountains have rich biodiversity and species endemism. Simultaneously, critical level of socio-economic vulnerability and poverty presents significant potential for Community Based Conservation (CBC) practices aiming to provide both environmental and social benefits. Community based anti-poaching operation is poorly documented that hinders in assessing CBC practices in the field. To assess the effectiveness of Community Based Anti-Poaching Unit (CBAPU) in and around of Beeshazari lake of Chitwan National Park, Nepal, primary data was collected using semi-structured questionnaire, key informant interviews and focus group discussions. Unemployment and the consequent poverty were found as the key reason of poaching and other illegal activities. Patrolling, surveillance and information gathering against illegal activities, rescue of wildlife and awareness raising activities were the major activities of CBAPU, which has significantly contributed to wildlife conservation. Inadequate financial resource was found to be the greatest hindrance for anti-poaching operation in an organized and effective way.
Highlights
Participatory conservation models including community-managed buffer zones and conservation areas (Bhattarai et al, 2017) have been common throughout developing countries
The approach synthesizes on the idea that the communities will protect and conserve wildlife only if it is in their own interest to do so (Liebenberg and Grossman, 1994), integrating the rural development objectives with continuous biodiversity conservation and rural livelihood enhancement (Persha et al 2011)
To avoid gender bias, survey was based on the availability of household members during the field study, but still Community Based Antipoaching Unit (CBAPU) was found dominated by males with low female participation
Summary
Participatory conservation models including community-managed buffer zones and conservation areas (Bhattarai et al, 2017) have been common throughout developing countries. The approach synthesizes on the idea that the communities will protect and conserve wildlife only if it is in their own (economic) interest to do so (Liebenberg and Grossman, 1994), integrating the rural development objectives with continuous biodiversity conservation and rural livelihood enhancement (Persha et al 2011). For achieving the success in conservation, increased patrol frequency should cover the maximum area of the national park by activating the anti-poaching units at grassroots level so as to strengthen the collaborative way of conservation ensuring the mechanism of benefit sharing (Mahatara et al, 2018). Against this background, Community Based Antipoaching Unit (CBAPU) is one of the initiatives of CBC at local level. With the effective community based anti-poaching strategy, there was dramatic improvement in the successful Rhino conservation in Chitwan National Park (Mahatara et al, 2018)
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