WWFWWF NepalNepal AnnualAnnual ReportReport 2007-20082007-2008 Message from the Country Representative We added yet another rung on the ladder to reach our The community managing the Kangchenjunga Conservation Area conservation goals in the year 2008. Celebrating the year as got much empowered after the endorsement of the Kangchenjunga the year of wildlife monitoring, this year we have established Conservation Area Management Council regulations by the new baselines and verifi ed existing fi gures of several species Government of Nepal. In addition, WWF phased out the ongoing in Eastern Himalayas. Rhino, gharial, gaur and tigers were projects from Sagarmatha and She-Phoksundo National Parks as counted in their natural habitat while the relative abundance of the respective Buffer Zone committees are capable to implement snow leopard, Himalayan thar, musk deer and blue sheep were the conservation activities on the ground. estimated based on new survey and ancillary data. The results suggested for rigorous assessment of population and habitat in A new offi ce has been established in Salleri to initiate the order to formulate strategies for their conservation. implementation of fi eld programs at Dudh Koshi Sub-Basin area. This will be a milestone in the history of WWF Nepal for its Never before we had had such an effective political and public diversifi cation of partnership with yet another government body commitment to safeguard rhinos against poaching. Local - the Water and Energy Commission Secretariat (WECS). With communities around Chitwan National Park have formed a the establishment of the offi ce, WWF has forayed in the eastern Nepal human chain to share information and keep vigilant eyes on that includes the regions spanning from mountains to Terai. This offi ce possible intruders resulting into a year without any poaching will initiate the implementation of integrated river basin management Anil Manandhar incidents in the immediate outskirts of the national park. interventions in the sub-basins of Koshi River. Country Representative However, the bottlenecks and corridors where WWF has spent a signifi cant resource and time face an extraordinary threat due The thangka on the front and back covers of this report portrays WWF’s to changing socio-political condition in the country resulting into conservation initiatives throughout Nepal. The achievements, both small rampant encroachment. Nevertheless, with the support of local and big, motivate us to climb higher in the coming days. On behalf of communities, encroachments at critical sites in Basanta has WWF Nepal, I would like to thank you all for your continued support in our been partially managed. pursuit to save this living planet. Acronyms AEPC Alternative Energy Promotion Centre LIS Livestock Insurance Scheme BNP Bardia National Park LNPBZ SP Langtang National Park and Buffer Zone Support Project BZCFUG Buffer Zone Community Forests User Group MOFSC Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation BZMC Buffer Zone Management Committee NGO Non Governmental Organization CBAPO Community Based Anti Poaching Operation NMCP Northern Mountains Conservation Project CBO Community Based Organization NTFP Non Timber Forest Products CBRP Corridor and Bottleneck Restoration Project NTNC National Trust for Nature Conservation CFCC Community Forest Coordination Committee PHPA Public Hearing and Public Auditing CITES Convention on International Trade of PWBR Participatory Well Being Ranking Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna PWR Parsa Wildlife Reserve CNP Chitwan National Park SAGUN Strengthened Action for Governance in Utilization DNPWC Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation of Natural Resources GON Government of Nepal SHL Sacred Himalayan Landscape HAW High Altitude Wetland SLA Sustainable Livelihoods Approach IUCN The World Conservation Union SLCC Snow Leopard Conservation Committee ICIMOD International Center for Integrated Mountain Development SNPBZ SP Sagarmatha National Park Buffer Zone Support Project IRBM Integrated River Basin Management SPNP Shey Phoksundo National Park ISSC-MAP International Standards for Sustainable Wild Collection of SWR Suklaphanta Wildlife Reserve Medicinal and Aromatic Plants TAL Terai Arc Landscape IWRM Integrated Water Resource Management VDC Village development Committee KCAMC Kangchenjunga Conservation Area Management Council WECS Water and Energy Commission Secretariat KOSELI Koshi for Safeguarding Environment and Livelihood WTLCP Western Terai Landscape Complex Project KRBM Koshi River Basin Management WWF World Wide Fund for Nature Contents 1 1 WWF in Nepal 6 The Terai Arc Landscape 9 The Sacred Himalayan Landscape 18 Climate Change and Energy 22 Freshwater 18 25 Illegal Wildlife Trade 27 Sustainable Livelihoods 29 Communications and Conservation Education 31 CEPF 32 Financial Overview 19 33 Highlights 34 Acknowledgement 25 1 WWF Nepal works with local communities to restore and regenerate forests and biological corridors through community forestry. WWF in Nepal Since 1961, WWF has worked to conserve nature and ecological processes through a combination of actions on the ground, national and international advocacy work to establish appropriate policies, and international campaign to highlight and demonstrate solutions to crucial environmental problems. Our focus has been on species, forests, climate Forest conservation Species conservation change, freshwater, and toxics and pollutants. An important priority for WWF has been forest Nepal is endowed with a rich and varied biodiversity and WWF Nepal has, conservation. WWF Nepal works with local from the start, been actively involved in the conservation of endangered communities to restore and regenerate forests and species through activities ranging from grassroots level involvement to Nepal has been a pivotal country for biological corridors through community forestry. lobbying for policy changes. WWF since 1967 when it launched a rhino This fosters a sense of ownership among the people living on the fringe areas of national parks WWF Nepal supported the preparation of a CITES (Convention on conservation program in Chitwan. Our who depend on subsistence agriculture and forest International Trade in Endangered Species) Bill and the CITES Unit support and involvement in the country has products for their livelihoods. to work in conjunction with various government agencies to deter poaching and illegal trade in wildlife products. WWF Nepal also supports evolved from the early emphasis on species The success of restoration and regeneration community-based anti-poaching operations and informer networks that conservation in the 1960-70s to the integrated programs in salvaging degraded biological have garnered community support for conservation. corridors and success can be measured from the conservation and development programs in continued wildlife movement in areas like Khata, Climate Change and Energy which links Bardia National Park with India’s the 1980s to the landscape level conservation Climate change is a major global concern and Nepal is one of the most Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary. Community vulnerable countries because of fragile ecosystems, poverty, slow linked to sustainable development programs at forestry in the mountain protected areas such as economic growth and lack of resources for adaptation. Recognizing these Kangchenjunga Conservation Area are also aimed the start of the new century. WWF Nepal office factors, the Climate Change and Energy Program was started at WWF at regulating livestock grazing, and promoting Nepal in 2003 with a major focus on research, policy and advocacy, was established in 1993. non-timber forest products and medicinal plants to capacity building, awareness raising, adaptation and promotion of supplement the income of locals. renewable energy and Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects. 2 The Operation Unicornis was implemented outside CNP throughout the year and the rhino poaching was reduced to zero outside the CNP. Freshwater strengthening community based institutions’ capacity towards achieved. WWF Nepal produces newsletters and regularly Globally, WWF works with partner organizations to conserve building a society with young people dedicated to nature updates on its website, airs regular radio programs, television rivers and wetlands by redirecting harmful infrastructure and conservation. programs, and celebrates important dates on the conservation curbing water waste in agriculture through better management calendar with partner organizations. To share and promote practices and poverty reduction schemes compatible with Illegal wildlife trade conservation awareness, WWF Nepal started and supports a environmentally strong water policies. WWF Nepal began WWF Nepal supports community-based anti-poaching network of Eco Club in schools across Nepal. We also run non- a freshwater initiative from October 2004 with the long-term operations and informer networks that have garnered formal education for local women, organize exchange visits for vision of conserving and sustainably managing Himalayan community support for conservation. We supported the students and community members and have set up a stipend water towers and freshwater habitats in Nepal to benefi t people preparation of a CITES (Convention on International Trade in for girl students. and nature. Endangered Species) Bill and establishment of the CITES Unit to work in conjunction with various government agencies to Business and Industries Sustainable Livelihoods Approach deter poaching