Perception Changed: A Case Study

Ek Raj Sigdel

April 27, 2009

"While going through the field verification report, I caught with a picture of plantation. Based on my previous knowledge, I could not imagine that the picture was really taken from the plantation site. Then, I decided to visit the site in person. After visiting the plantation site, I got surprise and changed my old aged perception that if done properly and ownership is fully transferred to local community, then any work can be successful" said Janak Baral, one of the UNDP Commissioned Auditors, who was in Dhangadi to audit Western Terai Landscape Complex Project (WTLCP) records between April 13 and 16, 2009.

With the community consultations at household level and several rounds of mass meetings, some 180 families of the local communities of Kailali, Phulbari 3, Lalitpur, were convinced to plant various tree species in two third of the 30 hectare degraded open grazing land in July 2008. The land was being grazed by some 2000 unproductive cattle every day. On their own initiation, the local community encircled the planted land by two kilometre trench. They also appointed a forest guard to safeguard the plantation. In total, the plantation work coasted Rs. 3, 75,750, of which 40,000 tree saplings of eight different plant species, like eucalyptus, bauhinia, bombax, bamboo equivalent of Rs. 1,16,000 was supported by WTLCP-Dhangadi.

Luckily, the devastating flood of Septembe 2008 did not disappoint the committed local communities, though it uprooted some 20% of the total seedlings.

Now, pointing towards the greenery land "these are my child and I should take care of the seedlings" said the forest guard. It is hoped that as the plantation being done in bottleneck area between Dudhuwa of India and Basanta of Nepal, it will work as a corridor for wildlife movement on the one hand and on the other grasses and fodder that comes from the land will support sustainable livelihood of the local communities.

[WTLCP is a joint undertaking of the government of Nepal, UNDP, GEF, SNV, WWF, Bioversity International, NARC and LIBIRD].

Note: (First Photo taken in February 2008; Second Photo taken in July 2008 and Third Photo taken in April, 2009)

Coordination and Cooperation for Promoting Tourism

Report prepared by

Ek Raj Sigdel

Interaction Workshop
In interaction workshop on "Coordination and Cooperation for Promoting Tourism in Mid and Far West" was held at Thakurdwara, Bardia in 20 - 21, April 2009. A total of 31 participants from Bardia, Kailali and Kanchanpur representing journalists, hotel and travel and tours entrepreneurs, ecotourism forum, youth forum, Nepal Chamber of Commerce, Bardia National Park and WTLCP were present at the workshop. Over 50% participants were journalists. The workshop was organised by Far Western Media Development Centre, Dhangadi and supported jointly by WTLCP - Dhangadi, Nepal Tourism Board and Bardia National Park. Nepal Tourism Board supported the program by sending a Resource Person and Bardia National Park shared tourism development activities in Bardia and arranged jungle safari for the participants. Likewise, WTLCP extended financial support for transportation, lodging and fooding and stationary of the participants.

Mr. Udaya Bhattarai, Assistant Manager, Nepal Tourism Board, made presentation on "Understanding Tourism & Tourism System". He covered a wide range of topics, including introduction and definitions of tourism, destination mix, attractions of Nepal, tourism system, tourism marketing, sustainability, key players and new trends in tourism and hospitality. Similarly, Bardia Ecotourism Forum Chair Person Mr. Bishnu Bhattarai shared Bardia experiences on tourism promotion and development. Likewise, Mr. Tika Ram Adhikari, Chief Warden of Bardia National Park shared importance of protected area management for tourism development in Nepal. The presentations were followed by a group exercise and sorted out various efforts made by different stakeholders to promote tourism in the Western Development Region. Also, the group exercises identified major problems and made various recommendations.

Efforts for Tourism Promotion
Bardia National Park has facilitated tourism development in Thakurdwara, Bardia by provisioning various activities, like jungle drive, elephant safari, rafting, fishing and camping. Also, road and nature trails are maintained inside the Jungle for tourists. Similarly, visitor information center, tharu cultural museum, wildlife view tower, and signposts are maintained at various strategic locations of the national park. Being a member of the Executive committee of the Nepal Tourism Board, the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) is being involved in preparing tourism policy and programs at national level. In addition, tourism sections in DNPWC and tourism units in protected areas are established which have helped in mainstreaming tourism development activities at institutional level.

Likewise, Kanchanpur Tourism Promotion Committee, Kailali Chamber of Commerce and various other tourism related community based organizations, like hotel associations, nature guide associations, and ecotourism forum have been formed and functional at local level. Similarly, to promote tourism, various tourism fair and festival are being organized in disaggregated manner. In addition, some promotional CD and brochures are prepared.

Problems
Despite putting various efforts and having unparallel natural and cultural beauty, the region has not been able to attract an expected level of tourists thus far. The following are reasons were identified why the tourism is not developed satisfactorily in the Western Development Region.

Tourism development and promotion
It was realized that, there is no systematic study on tourism promotion and marketing in the Western Region. Evan all the tourism sites are not explored and hence the government has put those areas in low priority. Fair and festivals are not regularly organized. In addition, the capacity of the tourism entrepreneurs, mainly in English language, nature guide, and cookery and bakery preparation are to be enhanced.

Air fare from Kathmandu to Nepalgunj is very expensive. Even, the price difference between Nepali and foreigners has discouraged foreigners to visit the Western Region. The government policy of making same fee structure for entering protected areas and experiences jungle safari does not favor tourism promotion. Tourism code of conduct for promoting responsible tourism is yet to be developed. Tourism income and employment opportunity is not distributed fairly at local level. Increasing number of locals and youth are yet to be engaged in tourism business. The government does not have a clear policy for promoting eco-tourism. In addition, lack of basic infrastructure, including communication, road network, and electricity was pointed as the major obstacles for tourism development and promotion in this region.

Park management
The Bardia National Park management needs further improvements for attracting greater number of tourists. Local communities are exerting pressure on the park for collecting fuel-wood, fodder and timber. Poaching of wild animals and encroachment for settlement and agricultural expansion is prevalent in the park. The rampant forest fir in the summer season may have caused shocks to wild animals and also posed visual pollution. The National Park management has perceived that the tourism promotion is their secondary priority. Further, tourism management capacity of the national park and reserve staff needs to be further enhanced.

Coordination
Tourism promotion and development activities are being done in a piecemeal approach and in an isolation manner. There is a very weak coordination amongst tourism entrepreneurs, and concerned government line agencies. Tourism development work is being done in an ad hoc basis. Bardia Tourism Plan, Western Terai Landscape Level Ecotourism Plan, and Khaptad Tourism Development Plan are yet to be fully implemented.

Recommendations
Firstly, tourism development activities are needs to be mainstreamed in the protected area management system. In this regard, the status of Reserve of Suklaphanta Wildlife Reserve (SWR) should be upgraded as National Park. To attract tourists, a resort should be established immediately inside the SWR. In the mean time, possibility of declaring Appi, Nampa Himal as conservation area should be explored. Moreover, the protected area administration should be more transparent and media friendly, mainly they should disclose wild animals data timely and easily. Efforts should be made to plough back part of the protected area revenue towards promoting tourism.

Secondly, close coordination amongst tourism stakeholders, including hotel, park authority, I/NGO, local authority, journalists, political leaders and local community should be maintained. Formation of a District Tourism Development Coordination Committee could be an option to embark planned tourism development.

Thirdly, fund for tourism development should be explored. In this regard, BZMC should give pressure to the DDC for allocating part of the development fund for tourism infrastructure development. Also, the part of the park revenue should be shared for tourism development in the protected areas.

Finally, the tourism site people should give priority to improve sanitation, drinking water, communication, electricity and transportation facilities. Over and above, the prevailing culture of highway blockade should be discouraged.

Action Points
The participants identified following activities for immediate implementation.
A loose network for coordination amongst partner organisations, like journalists, tourism entrepreneurs, Chamber of Commerce, women and youth needs to be formed immediately.

A promotional souvenir like hat, baskets from Banana leaves needs to be developed and potential of agro tourism should be explored.

Politicians should be made aware on the higher importance of tourism and conservation for income and employment generation.

Ambassador of India should be requested to play a proactive role for promoting tourism in the Mid and Far Western Development Region.

Media coverage on tourism promotion and marketing should be increased

Media persons, including editors and reporters should be trained on conservation and tourism so that the level of understanding amongst the stakeholders about tourism development could be equal.

Conclusion
Finally, realising the importance of coordination amongst the diverse stakeholders a 19 member loose network forum of journalists, tourism entrepreneurs, Chamber of Commerce, women and youth was formed. The program reiterated a slogan "Now turn of West".

Chure Conservation Initiatives

Report prepared by
Ek Raj Sigdel

Interaction
District Forest Office Kanchanpur organised an interaction program on Chure Conservation at Mahendra Nagar, Kanchanpur on April 17, 2009. Far Western Regional Forestry Director Mr. Govinda Prasad Kafley chaired the program. A total of 47 participants, including six women attended the program. The participant represented District Agriculture Office, Kailali District Soil Conservation and Watershed Management Office, FECOFUN, Journalists, political parties, Terai Arc Landscape Program, WTLCP, District Forest Office, Chure conservation network, NGO and community forest use groups. Mr. Jaya Raj Pandey, resident of Krishnapur, Kanchanpur and Mr Surya kanta Sigdel, District Forest Officer, Kanchanpur presented working concept papers on Chure Conservation. Then, participants made comments on the papers and discussed on some Chure conservation issues.

Issues
After undergoing a thorough discussion, mainly chure conservation issues of the Kanchanpur district, the participants identified various chure management issues, like decreased wild animals and degraded their habitats and management of NTFP and eco-tourism for livelihood, flood, stone quarrying, over grazing, unplanned settlements and cattle sheds. Forest and water ecosystems are gradually covered by water hyacinth, Eupatorium spp, Lantena camera, and Mikenia micarantha. The major problems of Chure conservation include landslide and soil erosion, poor soil quality, recurrent flood, loss of agricultural productivity and changing water courses. Moreover, soil erosion ad land slide is conspicuous.

Under lying cause
Encroachment for cattle sheds, and agriculture land expansion has been in practice in the Chure Range for many years. Increasing trend of stone quarrying and tendency of keeping greater number of unproductive free grazing animals has caused has soil erosion and land slides. Likewise, poaching, and over utilisation of forest resources for firewood, timber and fodder has degraded wild animals' habitat and consequently reduced their numbers. Over and above, the law enforcement for discouraging illegal activities in the Chure Region is weak. Growing poverty incidence, lacking of specific policy and political commitment for chure conservation, increasing population, and growing number of unemployment are the major under lying causes of the ineffective conservation of Chure region.

Effect
Because of the aforementioned causes, as said by the participants, the water retention capacity of Chure has been decreased. Due to over utilisation of forest resources at foothill of chure, the north south movement of wild animals has become tenuous. People's dependency on Chure for various use have been on rise. To address those issues, the participants felt the urgent need of safeguarding the watershed and biodiversity value of the Churia and ensuring the sustainable livelihood of local communities. The meeting identified following activities to attaint the objectives.

Activity
District Forest Officer Kanchanpur has initiated to remove the unplanned cattle shed from the foothills of Chure for few months. With the mobilisation of local youths, a total of 126 cattle shed, including 36 permanent and 90 temporary have already been dismantled. It was estimated that some 800 cattle sheds are located in the Chure range. The meeting expressed commitment for making the chure as cattle shed free zone by two months.

Realising the trampling effect of unproductive free grazing animals on fragile chure area, particularly by goats, the meeting decided to replace those animals gradually by productive stall feeding livestock. Also, realised the need of planting fodder species in the chure area. In this regard, the Soil Conservation and Watershed Management Office Kailali, made commitment for availing necessary fodder saplings.

The meeting participants asked for more activities, mainly alternative energy, and community based anti poaching operation in chure range. They opined that the poaching of deer and leopard is still in practice in the chure range and beyond boundary. Therefore, anti poaching operation should go beyond Kanchanpur district and its chure area. Biogas and bio-briquattee should be promoted as an alternative energy. Promotion of bio-briquattee helps addressing the issue of invasive species.

Awareness program for controlling forest fire should be launched immediately. In addition, the government should make the law enforcement very effective and efficient for discouraging encroachment, illegal logging, forest fire and other unwanted activities. Further, the participants decided to plant various species like bamboo, amriso, salix, jatropha in chure area in this summer. Moreover, the participants were of the view that to conserve the chure effectively, it is urgent to transfer the ownership to local community by handing over it as community forests soon.

Government should prepare and implement an integrated management plan for chure conservation as soon as possible. To implement the plan, it is wise to create a conservation fund at the district level. Source of funding could be, paying environment services, carbon trading, CFUG contribution, donor supports and so and so forth. In this regard, the District Development Committee can initiate the process by keeping aside part of the forest, stone and gravel revenues for the development of churia region. Further, participants from the downstream also expressed their commitment for their continuous support to conserve chure. Because, they got realise that one of the causes of the last years devastating flood was the result of chure degradation.

According to the meeting participants, the conservation and livelihood improvement activities should be implemented simultaneously in the Chure range. Forest and NTFP based micro enterprises should be promoted. In addition, some part of the chure range vouchsafes higher eco-tourism value. Therefore, tourism promotion and development activities should be implemented timely. In this regard, efforts for attracting private sectors should keep vigilant. Over and above, the government should come with a very clear policy and plan for conserving chure area.

A separate multi stakeholder’s forum to facilitate implementing the integrated development plan of the churia should be provisioned. In this regard, role of the District Forest Coordination Committee should be made more effective. In addition, the government should initiate to elect local authority as soon as possible so that the chure conservation work can be made further effective. Likewise, efforts should be made to integrate the chure conservation agenda in the upcoming constitutions.

Need More Responsible Society

Ek Raj Sigdel
March 14, 2009

The indefinite Terai Band, called by Tharu and other local community group is now over after 14 days. They have put forth the demands of their own language recognition in government works and guarantee of federal structure based on ethnic, regional and lingual identities, among others. The strike was relaxed only for two days during holi festival. However, the agitation was intensified immediately after celebration of the Phagu Purnima, one of the biggest festivals of Terai.

From the very beginning of the strike, all public and private services, like educational institutions, government offices, transportations, and industries, among others were closed completely. Large numbers of Tharu people from nearby villages were thronged at district headquarters of Kailalil and Kanchanpur Districts to make remonstration more effective. They used all the available tools, like steak and torch rally, road blockade, tyre and effigy burning, vandalizing government and private offices and vehicles, among others to make the agitation more audible and effective. In addition, they made their demand public through various local and national electronic and other Medias. The life of local people further crippled when a separate group of students and civil society came onto the street to demonstrate their agitation against the government for its ambiguous decision of establishing university in their district headquarters. Additionally, a group of landless people staged demonstration in front of the District Administration Office, Kailali for including their representatives in Landless Commission and ensuring their daily requirements like food and shelter.

The strike has posed a multiplier effects. Every sector, including economic, environmental, political, and educational institutions was in immense impact from the indefinite strike. Income and employment opportunity of the poorest of the poor segments of society was curtailed. Supplies of goods and services in hilly districts such as Bajura, Bajhanag, and Dadeldhura were completely blocked. So, the hardest hit was in hilly area compared to Terai people. Similarly, over a thousand people of Baisebichuwa, Shankarpur who had to depend on Dhanagdi Market for various income generating activities, like rickshaw riding, and industrial and other labors were desperately waiting for strike free days. In the absence of transportation facilities, daily over 250 mountain people had returned from India were to be stranded at bus parks of the district headquarters. According to a reliable source, Mohana Trans-border Revenue Office, Dhangadi is going collect hardly 50% of the total expected revenue during the month of March 2009.

Burning large number of vehicle tyres, and other plastic materials on the road during these hot days caused several kind of impact, such as headache and hypertension. Consequently, it could contribute to the climate change, which may warrant a separate study. The dependency of poor on firewood increased significantly. However, no notable negative impact on the forest resources for timber and encroachment for settlement was reported during that period. The implementation and monitoring of biodiversity friendly activities were completely obstructed and hence there could be other illegal activities, which is yet to be known.

During the strike period, the public security of the region was further deteriorated. As the smooth flows of public and private services blocked, many people fearfully used nearby Indian road networks. A son of Mr. Ganesh Datta Joshi, Raikabarbichuwa, Kanchanpur who had to return to Kathmandu for resuming service, could not make it due to the ongoing strike and insecure situation on the highway. Government officials and other service holders got threatening for not to open their respective offices. Citing to the field difficulties, the constitution members, who were in the Far Western Development Region had to postpone the community consultation process. Likewise, a group of unidentified people vandalized few Village Development Committee Offices of Kailali. Additionally, some of the protesting students also damaged over a half dozen government institutions, such as District Plant Resources Office, District Education Office and a couple of public and private vehicles.

It is worthwhile to notice that some school children organized a protest rally in front of the Kailali Chief District Office, for halting the strike and resuming their school. This news was also aired by BBC Nepali Service. Because of the strike, regular exams of grade eight and 10 were postponed. Likewise, there is an ongoing strike called by college students of Kailali and Kanchanpur for establishing university in their respective district headquarters. Even, one of the political parties of Kanchanpur has threatened to obstruct movement of government vehicles on the road until decision is made in favor of establishing an university in their district.

On the whole, the strike severely impacted all the sectors of livelihood. At the cost of various difficulties including loss of public life, the demand of the agitating groups is now fulfilled. While looking underlying cause of the protest, it was found that local people were seemingly well aware on their right. To a large extent, this kind of organized movement was an upshot of donors support for making various community groups’ aware on their right. Also, the agitators’ leaders were able to link the poor people’s right with their livelihood opportunities. In addition, the locals’ ambition for fulfilling their demand for livelihood and peace has not satisfactorily addressed by the present government.

In conclusion, it can be learned from the strike that the government should response locals need timely on the one hand and on the other the community groups should simultaneously be made well aware on their responsibilities and consequences of such kind of strike on livelihood opportunities of all sections of society. In the mean time, the donor communities’ support should be for making communities more aware not only their right but also towards their responsibilities for making New Nepal, the very mission of the government.