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HARIYO BAN PROGRAM A STUDY ON PROMOTING COMMUNITY MANAGED ECOTOURISM IN CHAL & TAL 31 MAY, 2013 HARIYO BAN PROGRAM A STUDY ON PROMOTING IN CHAL & TaL HARIYO BAN PROGRAM A STUDY ON PROMOTING COMMUNITY MANAGED ECOTOURISM IN CHAL & TaL 31 MAY, 2013 © WWF 2014 All rights reserved Any reproduction of this publication in full or in part must mention the title and credit WWF. Published by WWF Nepal, Hariyo Ban Program This publication is also available in www.wwfnepal.org/publications PO Box: 7660 Baluwatar, Kathmandu, Nepal T: +977 1 4434820, F: +977 1 4438458 [email protected] www.wwfnepal.org/hariyobanprogram Authors This report was prepared by the Nepal Economic Forum, Krishna Galli, Lalitpur. The assessment team comprised: Sujeev Shakya, Prachanda Man Shrestha, Dr. Tej Bahadur Thapa, Sudip Bhaju, Shristi Singh, Raju Tuladhar. Photo credits Cover photo: © Nepal Economic Forum Disclaimer This report is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of Nepal Economic Forum (NEF) and do not necessarily reflect the views of WWF, USAID or the United States Government. Publication Services Editing: Katherine Saunders Design and Layout: Big Stone Medium Hariyo Ban Program publication number: Report 020 Contents List of Abbreviations ................................................................................................................................... i Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................... ii Section 1: Rapid Assessment and Site Selection 1. Background ............................................................................................................................................ 1 2. Objectives .............................................................................................................................................. 3 3. Scope of Work ....................................................................................................................................... 4 4. Methodology .......................................................................................................................................... 5 5. Tourism Industry of Nepal ...................................................................................................................... 8 6. Eco-tourism in Nepal ............................................................................................................................. 13 7. Community Based Ecotourism ............................................................................................................... 22 8. Literature Review .................................................................................................................................. 25 9. Rapid Assessment of Existing Eco Tourism Destinations ...................................................................... 33 10. Summary of Findings ........................................................................................................................... 56 11. District Profiling and Selection .............................................................................................................. 59 12. Pre-Feasibility Assessment .................................................................................................................. 64 13. Final Sites Assessment ........................................................................................................................ 69 14. Tourism Management and Development Plans ................................................................................... 74 Annexure 1: Total Budget for Establishing the Community Based Eco-tourism Sites in CHAL and TAL .... 76 Annexure 2: Ecotourism Initiatives in Nepal .............................................................................................. 77 Annexure 3: Shortlisted 37 Community Based Tourism Sites .................................................................... 80 Annexure 4: Questionnaire used for Pre-feasibility of Sites through Field Visits ........................................ 81 Rapid Assessment: Existing Community Managed Eco-tourism Destinations .................................... 82 Rapid Assessment: Questionnaire For Discussions With Community ................................................. 84 Feasibility: New Community Managed Eco-tourism Destinations or Clusters ..................................... 85 Questionnaire for Travel & Tour Operators ........................................................................................... 87 Key Informant Interviews .................................................................................................................... 88 User Group Questionnaire................................................................................................................... 89 Women Group Questionnaire .............................................................................................................. 90 Annexure 5: Scoring for Parameters .......................................................................................................... 91 Annexure 6: Tourism Potential in Far Western Region of Nepal ................................................................ 92 Annexure 7: List of Religious Sites in Panchase Lekh ............................................................................... 93 Annexure 8: List of respondents ................................................................................................................ 94 Annexure 9: Workshop Participants ........................................................................................................... 100 SECTION 1 Rapid Assessment of the Pilot Sites in CHAL & TAL List of Abbreviations ACA Annapurna Conservation Area ACAP Annapurna Conservation Area Program AoA Article of Association BCF Baghmara Community Forest BCFUG Baghmara Community Forest User Group BDT Bangladesh Taka CAGR Compounded Annual Growth Rate CARE Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere CBET Community Based Ecotourism CBT Community Based Tourism CHAL Chitwan Annapurna Landscape CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora CNP Chitwan National Park DNPWC Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation FECOFUN Federation of Community Forestry Users in Nepal FIT Free Independent Traveler GDP Gross Domestic Product GEF Global Environment Facility GoN Government of Nepal GTDMC Ghalegaon Tourism Development and Management Committee KCAP Kanchenjunga Conservation Area Project KCF Kumrose Community Forest KMTNC King Mahendra Trust for Natural Conservation MCAP Manaslu Conservation Area Program MoCTCA Ministry of Culture Tourism and Civil Aviation NCRTC Nepal Conservation research and Training Center NEF Nepal Economic Forum NRB Nepal Rastra Bank NTB Nepal Tourism Board NTNC National Trust for Nature Conservation NVR Nepal Village Resort OGT Organized Group Trekkers PATA Pacific Asia Travel Association SVTDMC Sirubari Village Tourism Development and Management Committee TAL Terai Arc Landscape TCU Tiger Conservation Unit TDMC Tourism Development and Management Committee UNDP United Nations Development Program USAID United States Agency for International Development WWF World Wildlife Fund i Even though the country boasts of unique biodiversity, and numerous other specialties, we have really not been able to package them to derive benefits from tourism. ii SECTION 1 Executive Summary 01/ Executive Summary 1.1. Overview The tourism industry of Nepal is to package it in a way that derives ben- port from the government. The tour- focused on two major motivations: efits from tourism. One of the major ism industry is viewed as a sector that namely the Himalayas and the rich reasons for this has been the low ben- has significant backward linkages and cultural heritage of the Kathmandu efit margins compared to the high risk helps to improve the livelihood of the Valley. Because of this narrow focus, of developing such tourism packages. poor; however, this has not yet mate- tourism has been centered primarily Even though the tourism industry is rialized significantly in the context of in Kathmandu and the cities, such as one of the major contributors to GDP, Nepal, as major tourism benefits are Pokhara and Chitwan. Even though it has time and again been affected by retained by tourism entrepreneurs at Nepal boasts of unique biodiversity the political turmoil of the country the center. One of the major reasons across the nation, it has not been able and a lack of commitment and sup- for this is the lack of capital, techni- iii cal, and human resources within rural approaches that include agriculture, ism activities, a third case study of the communities. Even though Nepal saw forestry and tourism. This five-year Sirubari village in Syangja district was an annual flow of 7.5 million visi- program currently being implemented also documented in the report. tors during the last fiscal year (2011– in the Chitwan Annapurna Landscape 2012), only 40 percent were directly (CHAL) and the Terai Arc Landscape Baghmara Community Forest was engaged in tourism related activities. (TAL), and funded by United States a dense forest famous as a hunting Agency for International Develop- ground for tigers. However, it has Nepal has emerged