- The Nepalese government is proposing zoning changes to allow adventure tourism activities such as canyoning, mountain biking and motorboating inside protected areas.
- The proposed changes are part of a wider initiative, which includes allowing the operation of hotels and cable cars inside protected areas, in order to commercialize the country's globally recognized conservation sector.
- Critics argue that the proposed changes could potentially undermine hard-won achievements in biodiversity preservation and land restoration.
This is the second article in a three-part mini-series on Nepal's development plans around protected areas. Read Part one And Second part.
KATHMANDU — Nepal's government has proposed zoning protected areas, where human activities have long been heavily restricted, to accommodate “adventure tourism” activities such as canyoning, mountain biking and motorboating.
Sweeping changes have been proposed under the new draft National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Regulations, which have been in the works for a few months now but have not yet been made public.
Nepal's protected areas and national parks, particularly in the southern plains where the iconic Bengal tigers live (Panthera tigris) live, have been preserved as highly restricted and restricted areas where even local people are not allowed to enter without permission. However, the proposed regulation could change all that, environmental advocates say.
Under the proposed regulations, a draft of which was reviewed by Mongabay, protected area managers will periodically develop management plans to identify and manage different areas within protected areas. This includes allowing park managers to designate certain areas under their jurisdiction as suitable for adventure tourism activities. Such activities could be carried out either by the ministry itself or by a contractor selected by tender.
“Carrying out such activities clearly goes against the ethos of national parks and protected areas,” said an official at the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, who asked not to be named because he does not was not authorized to speak to the media. “Protected areas are home to critically endangered species that should be able to live in pristine conditions; increasing visitation will disrupt their natural habitat.
Likewise, concentrating so much power in the hands of a single park bureaucrat is problematic, they added.
Nepal is home to 12 national parks, one wildlife sanctuary, one game reserve, six conservation zones and 13 buffer zones. These extend from the lowlands of the Terai arc to the highlands of the Himalayas, covering almost a quarter of the country's total area, according to the Department of National Parks and Conservation. wildlife. While local communities have been displaced to create national parks in the southern lowlands, highlanders continue to live in some national parks and conservation areas, such as Sagarmatha (Everest), Langtang and Annapurna, famous in around the world for their breathtaking peaks and scenic hiking routes.
One point of alarm from environmental advocates in the proposed rule is the inclusion of recreational boating among the activities that may be permitted. In February this year, authorities banned the operation of motorboats in Begnas lakes in Pokhara and Jagadishpur lakes in Chitwan, both of which are Ramsar wetlands of international importance. The reason for the crackdown was concern over pollution of the lakes. By formally allowing motorboating under the proposed regulation, conservationists warn, similar operations could arise in pristine lakes such as Lake Rara in the Himalayas, the centerpiece of Rara National Park and a site long coveted by tourism promoters.
The proposed changes come just months after the government published a controversial new directive allowing the construction of large-scale hydroelectric plants inside the country's protected areas, despite opposition from environmental advocates. The Ministry of Forests and Environment is also working on new regulations for allow hotels to operate in national parks like Chitwan, according to a project consulted by Mongabay.
Uday Raj Sharma, former director general of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, said he had not read the proposed regulations but added that the idea of adventure tourism within protected areas should not be completely excluded. On the other hand, he added, a blanket approach should not be taken either.
“Each national park and protected area is different from the others. So we cannot make general regulations,” he said. Sharma said detailed discussions with key stakeholders need to take place at the park level to determine what activities could be permitted.
The new regulations also allow the operation of hotels, resorts and cable cars inside protected areas, selected through competitive bidding. The changes are seen as a massive policy push to commercialize Nepal's entire conservation sector, which has garnered global accolades for nearly 20 years. triple the country's tiger population and reverse land degradation through community forestry programs.
“Opening protected areas to so many activities at the same time increases the risk of achievements that took so much time and effort,” said environmentalist Hem Sagar Baral. “In a country like Nepal, where monitoring and compliance with regulations is weak, progress could easily be reversed. »
Banner image: The Nepalese government is proposing zoning changes to allow adventure tourism activities such as mountain biking inside protected areas. Image by Tim Foster via Unsplash (Public domain).
Abhaya Raj Joshi is Nepal editor at Mongabay. Find it on 𝕏 @arj272.
