| Langtang
Conservation and Enterprise Project
Overview I Project Area I Activities
& Accomplishments I Results
& Future
The Langtang Conservation and Enterprise Project is working closely with Langtang National Park to strengthen the abilities of people living within the Park and adjoining Helambu Buffer Zone region to conserve their cultural heritage, and the natural resources upon which their lives and the protected wildlife depend. The Project aims to increase the capacities of village organizations and national park staff in community-based ecotourism and natural resource management. It links the economic benefits of small enterprises with conservation in a way that improves local livelihoods and promotes the sustainable use of forest and non-forest resources.
Overview
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Travelers have been coming to the Langtang region of Nepal for centuries as pilgrims, traders, and now as tourists and their guides. Some 9,000 foreign trekkers visit the Langtang/Helambu region every year, making it the third most popular trekking destination in Nepal. In addition, more than 10,000 Indian and Nepali pilgrims trek to the holy Gosainkund Lakes each summer to worship the Hindu god Shiva and propitiate Shamanic spirits. Trekking and mountaineering generate income for lodge and tea shop owners, local guides and porters, and women who sell hand-knit and woven items. Besides livestock grazing and limited farming, there are few other sources of income. As a result, as many as 70% of young people migrate to Kathmandu, India, Korea or the West in search of employment. Village leaders are concerned that their culture is vanishing, and monasteries once filled with monks are crumbling. The Langtang Conservation and Enterprise Project addresses the Government of Nepal's priorities for involving local communities in natural resource conservation, and assisting in the development of livelihood opportunities, including ecotourism, within national park buffer zones.
Project Area
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Langtang National Park covers 1,710 sq. km. of mountainous terrain ranging from 2,500 to 7,200m in elevation. It is located some 35 km northeast of Nepal's capital, Kathmandu. The Park has been under the protection of His Majesty's Government of Nepal since 1976 for its natural beauty, exemplary biodiversity, and rich cultural heritage. Langtang contains some of the best preserved silver fir/rhododendron forests in Nepal, and at least 1,000 recorded plant species, including the rare Larix nepalensis (Himalayan larch), the only deciduous conifer in the region. Among the 160 bird and 130 highland mammal species residing in the Park are five threatened species, including the red panda.
Activities and Accomplishments
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Community empowerment and skill development are critical to building a sustainable bottom-up approach to ecotourism management. Since field activities commenced in early 1996, the Project has been working side-by-side with Langtang Park staff, and in partnership with national and local level non-governmental organizations (NGOs), conducting a series of training and planning workshops in nine villages along the major Langtang and Helambu trekking routes.
- Village tourism management committees have been established in each of these villages, comprising lodge operators, farmers, women weavers, Buddhist lamas, teachers, and others. These committees serve a liaison function with the Project, and through the Buffer Zone legislation, will evolve into national park-recognized community user groups eligible for buffer zone fees to support ecotourism and conservation activities. The institutional strength of these organizations, linked with their abilities to access buffer zone fees, are key to the sustainability of community-managed ecotourism and conservation.
- Training workshops introduced Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) techniques specifically developed for village-based ecotourism planning and management by The Mountain Institute. As a result villagers were able to chart and map baseline socioeconomic conditions, natural resource use, and ecotourism opportunities.
- The Project responded to villagers' interest in improving lodge management
and food preparation with a training curriculum that weaves practical
conservation messages and a participatory approach throughout, from litter
disposal and toilet construction, to promotion of locally-grown, fuel-efficient
foods for trekkers.
- Participatory planning and lodge management courses
are conducted by national park staff, partner NGOs, and national tourism
trainers, building ecotourism
training skills among Nepali nationals.
- Through involvement with the
Project, National Park rangers and scouts are breaking out of their
traditional regulatory roles and
working to support community initiatives.
- Village Ecotourism Planning
Workshops have used an Appreciative Participatory Planning and Action
approach, developed across TMI's
programs, to develop village plans that will ultimately fit into
a Langtang National Park Ecotourism Management Plan. The plans
build upon valuing what tourists and the local people appreciate about
the
community, and identify activities -- with specific Action and
Monitoring
Plans -- that the villagers themselves can do to attain the shared
vision for their community and environment.
Results and Future Plans Return
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Immediate results are readily visible showing an increased sense of local
empowerment -- particularly among women -- and numerous initiatives have
been launched linking ecotourism with conservation. Tourism management
committees, women's groups, and lodge owners are keeping trails and villages
clean, building toilets, reducing fuelwood use, collaborating on fair
pricing, and raising funds for cultural site restoration. Building upon
the motivation and strengthened skills of community organizations and
Park staff, the second phase of the project is helping to further develop
national capacities in the management of grazing lands, community forests,
sacred landscapes, and in micro-enterprise and ecotourism management
and training. The increased involvement of the private sector (trekking
agencies, guides, and entrepreneurs) will aim to mobilize market forces
to support conservation initiatives.
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