Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-c47g7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-17T11:58:05.366Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Park–People Relations in Kosi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, Nepal: A Socio-economic Analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2009

Joel T. Heinen
Joel T. Heinen
Affiliation:
Lecturer, School of Natural Resources, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1115, USA.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Park-people interactions in Kosi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, located in the lowlands of Southeastern Nepal, were studied intensively over a two-years' period from 1986 to 1988, through a variety of economic and attitu-dinal surveys. The Reserve had been established for the conservation of wild Water Buffalo and migratory waterfowl, and protects some of the most important wetland habitat in Nepal; it is therefore vital for the conservation of biodiversity on a national and regional level. The results showed that people in the area are dependent on the Reserve for the collection of grasses etc. which they use as building materials, while the Reserve provides fish which are sold cheaply in local markets. Other products, such as fuel-wood, edible and medicinal plants, and seeds, are occasionally collected legally in the Reserve.

Despite the measurable benefits, attitudes about the Reserve are generally poor in the region, at least among local inhabitants who do not understand its main raisons d'être. The best predictors of attitudes were the caste or ethnic group and the literacy rate of the family of the respondent, and not the socio-economic standing of, or the direct cost to, the respondent due to crop damage by wildlife. These results suggest that religious inculcation, societal discrimination, and education, may all play a role in shaping attitudes and therefore influencing park-people relations. Short-term solutions to park-people conflicts should include more education and extension programmes on the part of the Reserve's management, and legal efforts to return at least some control to local villages.

Type
Main Papers
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 20 , Issue 1 , Spring 1993 , pp. 25 - 34
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 1993

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anon. (1977). National Park and Wildlife Conservation Act of 2029 (1973). (Official Translation.) His Majesty's Government Ministry of Law and Justice, Law Books Management Committee, Kathmandu, Nepal: 13 pp.Google Scholar
Anon. (1987). Statistical Yearbook of Nepal, 1987. National Planning Commission, His Majesty's Government National Planning Commission Secretariat, Central Bureau of Statistics, Kathmandu, Nepal: iv + 516 pp.Google Scholar
Anon. (1990). United Nations List of National Parks and Protected Areas. IUCN Publications, Cambridge, England, UK. viii + 275 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Areola, O. (1987). The political reality of conservation in Nigeria. Pp. 277–92 in Conservation in Africa: People, Policies and Practice (Eds Anderson, D. & Grove, R.). Cambridge University Press, New York, NY, USA: ix + 355 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Bowonder, B. (1986). Profile: environmental management problems in India. Environmental Management, 10(5), pp. 599–609.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Callicot, J.B. & Ames, R.T. (Eds) (1989). Nature in Asian Traditions of Thought. State University of New York Press, Albany, NY, USA: xxi + 335 pp.Google Scholar
Coburn, B. (1982). Alternative energy sources for Sagarmatha National Park. Parks, 7(1), pp. 16–8.Google Scholar
Cockrill, W.R. (Ed.). (1974). The Husbandry and Health of Domestic Buffalo. FAO Publications, Rome, Italy: xiv + 993 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Dahmer, T.D. (1978). Status and Distribution of the Wild Asian Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) in Nepal. Unpubl. MS thesis, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, USA: ix + 71 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Dixon, J.A. & Sherman, P.B. (1990). Economics of Protected Areas: A New Look at Benefits and Costs. Island Press, Washington, DC, USA: xvii + 234 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Fienburg, S.E. (1980). The Analysis of Cross-classified Categorical Data. MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA: xiv + 198 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Fitzgerald, S. (1988). USAID's new program to conserve biological diversity. Ambio, 17(4), pp. 291–3.Google Scholar
Heinen, J.T. (1988). Rare and new bird records for Kosi Barrage and Kosi Tappu Wildlife Reserve during Winter and Spring, 1987. J. Nat. Hist. Museum (Kathmandu), 10, pp. 23–30.Google Scholar
Heinen, J.T. (1990). The design and implementation of a training program for tour guides in Royal Chitwan National Park, Nepal. Tigerpaper (Bangkok), XVII(2), pp. 11–5.Google Scholar
Heinen, J.T. (in press a). Applications of the island equilibrium model to managing reserves in the Nepalese Terai. J. Forestry Institute (Kathmandu).Google Scholar
Heinen, J.T. (in press b). Range and status updates and new sightings of birds in Kosi Tappu Wildlife Reserve. J. Natur. Hist. Mus. (Kathmandu).Google Scholar
Heinen, J.T. (in press c). A population viability analysis for wild Water Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) in Nepal. Biological Conservation.Google Scholar
Heinen, J.T. & Thapa, B.B. (1988). A feasibility study of a proposed tekking trail for Royal Chitwan National Park. J. Forestry Institute (Kathmandu), 10, pp. 19–28.Google Scholar
Hough, J.L. (1988). Obstacles to effective management of conflicts between national parks and surrounding human communities in developing countries. Environmental Conservation, 15(2), pp. 129–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hough, J.L. & Sherpa, M.N. (1989). Bottom up vs. basic needs: Integrated conservation and development in the Annapurna and Michiru Mountain Conservation Areas of Nepal and Malawi. Ambio, 18(8), pp. 434–41.Google Scholar
Inskipp, C. (1989). Nepal's Forest Birds: Their Status and Conservation. (International Council for Bird Preservation Monograph No. 4.) Cambridge, England, UK: xvi + 187 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Inskipp, C. & Inskipp, T. (1985). A Guide to the Birds of Nepal. Croom Helm, London, England, UK: 392 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Lehmkuhl, J.F., Upreti, R.K. & Sharma, U.R. (1988). National parks and local development: Grass and people in Royal Chitwan National Park, Nepal. Environmental Conservation, 15(2), pp. 143–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lohman, L. (1991). Who defends biological diversity? Conservation strategies and the case of Thailand. The Ecologist, 21(1), pp. 5–13.Google Scholar
Lucas, P.H.C. & Bajimaya, S.S. (1987). National Parks and Wildlife Development Plan: Master Plan for Forestry Sector Nepal. His Majesty's Government Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation, Kathmandu, Nepal: viii + 102 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
MacKinnon, J., MacKinnon, K., Child, G. & Thorsell, J. (1986). Managing Protected Areas in the Tropics. IUCN Publications, Cambridge, England, UK: xvi + 295 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
McNeely, J.A. (1988). Economics and Biological Diversity: Developing and Using Economic Incentives for Conserving Biological Resources. IUCN Publications, Cambridge, England, UK: xvi + 236 pp.Google Scholar
Mishra, H.R. (1984). A delicate balance: Tigers, rhinoceros, tourists and park management vs. the needs of local people in Royal Chitwan National Park. Pp. 197–205 in National Parks, Conservation and Development (Eds McNeely, J.A. & Miller, K.R.). Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC, USA: x + 825 pp.Google Scholar
Moench, M. (1989). Forest degradation and the structure of biomass utilization in a Himalayan foothills village. Environmental Conservation, 16(2), pp. 137–46, 7 figs and 5 tables.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Murdoch, W.W. (1980). The Poverty of Nations: The Political Economy of Hunger and Population. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland, USA: xv + 382 pp.Google Scholar
Oldfield, M.L. (1989). The Value of Conserving Genetic Resources. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, Massachusetts, USA: xvii + 379 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Prescott-Allen, C. & Prescott-Allen, R. (1987). The First Resource: Wild Species in the North American Economy. Yale University Press, New Haven, Connecticut, USA: xv + 529 pp.Google Scholar
Remington, R.D. & Schork, M.A. (1970). Statistics with Applications to Biological and Health Sciences. Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, USA: xii + 418 pp.Google Scholar
Repetto, R. (1986). World Enough and Time. Yale University Press, New Haven, Connecticut, USA: xiv + 147 pp.Google Scholar
Shaffer, M.L. & Saterson, K.A. (1987). International Conservation News: The biological diversity program of the U.S. Agency for International Development. Conservation Biology, 1(4), pp. 280–3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shaw, R.P. (1989). Rapid population growth and environmental degradation: ultimate versus proximate factors. Environmental Conservation, 16(3), pp. 199–208, 3 figs and table.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sinclair, L. (1986). World economy can expand without destroying natural resources. Ambio, 15(1), pp. 45–6.Google Scholar
Singh, V.P. & Singh, J.S. (1989). Man and forests: a case-study from the dry tropics of India. Environmental Conservation, 16(2), pp. 129–36, 12 figs and 6 tables.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, P.G. & Theberge, J.B. (1986). A review of criteria for evaluating natural areas. Environmental Management, 10(6), pp. 715–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thapa, G.B. & Weber, K.E. (1990). Actors and factors of deforestation in ‘tropical Asia’. Environmental Conservation, 17(1), pp. 19–27, 3 figs and 2 tables.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thorsell, J. (1985). World Heritage Report —1984. Parks, 10(1), pp. 8–9.Google Scholar
Turton, D. (1987). The Mursi and national park development in the lower Omo Valley. Pp. 169–86 in Conservation in Africa: People, Policies and Practice (Eds Anderson, D. & Grove, R.). Cambridge University Press, New York, NY, USA: ix + 355 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Wilson, E.O. (Ed.) (1988). Biodiversity. National Academy Press, Washington, DC, USA: xiii + 521 pp.Google Scholar
Yonzon, P.B. & Hunter, M.L. Jr, (1991). Cheese, tourists, and red panda in the Nepal Himalayas. Conservation Biology, 5(2), pp. 196–202.CrossRefGoogle Scholar