Fate of Annapurna area management remains on a knife-edge

KATHMANDU, AUG 08 -

Although the government officially decided to extend the authority of the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC) last week, local communities under the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) are advocating for their own authority to manage the protected Annapurna region.

The government extended the NTNC’s term to manage the ACAP for only six months, unlike the earlier tradition of extending the term by 10 years each time. This is the third time that the government extended the NTNC’s tenure after managing the protected area since its establishment in 1986.

Going against the proposal submitted by the NTNC requesting a term-extension of 10 years after their authority expired on July 19, the government came up with the six-month extension and is seeking alternatives.

While the decision drew serious concern from NTNC officials, who see it as the government’s failure to acknowledge their contribution to the successful conservation of the ACAP, local communities see it as an opportunity for them to further define their roles by successfully managing the conservation area.

Siddhartha Ratna Bajracharya, NTNC programme director, said that his organisation had played a vital role in establishing the ACAP as the conservation role model with involvement from local communities.

“Our ultimate goal is to capacitate local community with an institutional set-up and technical expertise to manage the area by themselves,” said Bajracharya. However, he said, more work remains in the ACAP to come up with a legal framework for the parties other than the NTNC to manage the area.

Meanwhile, Man Bahadur Gurung, chairperson of Parche Village in Kaski district adjoining the ACAP, said that this is the right time for local communities, who have played a vital role in preserving biodiversity and enhancing eco-tourism, to play a managerial role. “Given adequate technical and financial resources and an institutional set-up, we are capable of managing the protected area,” said Gurung.

At present, there are around 57 Conservation Area Management Committees run by local communities in each 57 VDCs that constitute the ACAP region. The team, which conducted a review on the status of the ACAP, some time back had recommended the Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation (MoFSC), to extend the management authority of NTNC for seven years and only then seek alternatives, including the establishment of a council to hand over the management to locals.

According to Nabin Kumar Ghimire, MoFSC secretary, the fate of the ACAP after the expiry of NTNC term in six months is still under discussion. A committee will be formed to study the alternatives and come up with conclusions, said Ghimire. “If we can enhance the capacity of local communities to manage the protected area along a legal framework, then handing over the management to communities is possible,” he said.

Source: http://www.ekantipur.com/2012/08/08/national/fate-of-annapurna-area-management-remains-on-a-knife-edge/358433/