The Annapurna Conservation Area Project

Background

His Royal Highness Prince Gyanendra Bir Bikran Shah, Chair of the King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation.

The Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) operates under the guidance of the King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation, Nepal’s leading non-profit, non-governmental environmental organisation. It is self-funded by entry user fees but receives additional support from the Worldwide Fund for Nature (USA) and the German Alpine Club.

The project was set up in 1986 and has undertaken an innovative and successful approach to natural resource and tourism management in the Annapurna region. ACAP practices a multiple land use method of resource management, combining environmental protection with sustainable community development and tourism management. Income from tourism is used to integrate traditional subsistence activities into the framework of resource management and to develop small-scale conservation and alternative energy projects in order to raise the living standards of the local people.

ACAP has a grassroots philosophy and approach that involves local communities in all aspects of the conservation and development process. ACAP’s role is that of ‘lami’, or ‘matchmaker’, between local communities and sources of appropriate skills, knowledge and technical and financial assistance which enables these communities to improve the quality of their lives.

Recognising that the breakdown of social structures contributes to environmental degradation, ACAP also strives to strengthen the cultural integrity of the area. At the heart of ACAP’s program is conservation education. ACAP believes that without increasing the level of awareness of both villagers and visitors, lasting environmental protection and cultural diversity cannot be achieved.

Objectives

The objectives of the project are to conserve both natural and cultural resources for the benefit of the local people of both present and future generations by implementing rational management policies and programs.

ACAP’s long term objective is to benefit the 40,000 inhabitants living in the 2600km² Annapurna Conservation Area by providing a viable means to help them maintain control over their environment.

Principles

ACAP bases its activities on three principles:

People’s participation

In order to have long lasting efforts in conservation in the Annapurna region, it was recognised that the interests of the local people and their needs must be considered first. Unless these people really felt that the fruits of conservation could be harvested by themselves and that the resources belonged to them, the support of the local people could not be obtained. Thus, the project considers the local people as the main beneficiaries and includes them in the planning, decision-making and implementing processes, and delegates more responsibilities for the management of the conservation area to them. Thus, various management committees (forest management committee, kerosene depot management committee, health centre management committee), selected and nominated by the local people, are formed in order to manage the various ACAP activities. Most of the community development projects undertaken by ACAP are carried out with 50% local contribution either in cash or kind. Thus, the project is administered by only a few staff, most of them hired locally.

Catalytic role

His Majesty’s Government of Nepal and various other national and international agencies have implemented a number of development and conservation projects in the region. It is not the aim of ACAP to duplicate or take over these projects but to work with them in order to improve the quality of life of the people. ACAP uses grassroots methods to help the villagers maintain control over their local resources as well as help them to identify their immediate needs and priorities. As a result, ACAP considers itself a ‘lami’ (matchmaker) that will bring together resources from outside in order to meet the needs of the local people.

Sustainability

One of the most important characteristics of the project is sustainability. Many of the foreign aided development projects in developing countries fail because they do not have any provision for sustaining them once the donor agency leaves. These projects once completed can neither be maintained and managed by the local people nor by the government – creating a great loss of time, energy and resources. ACAP has to be financially self-reliant once the funding from WWF-USA and other donor agencies is exhausted. Hence, an entry user’s fee of about US$7 is levied on all the international trekkers visiting the Annapurna region. His Majesty’s Government of Nepal allows ACAP to collect the fee and deposit it in its own account. Thus, there will not be any financial burden, either to King Mahendra Trust and and His Majesty’s Government or to the local people once funding from the donors is terminated. A similar approach is also maintained among community development projects where the local people are either trained or provisions made for the projects to continue. As an example, a community health centre in Ghandruk was founded by a ₨300,000 Endowment Fund to which ₨100,000 (US$3500) and ₨200,000 (US$7000) were contributed by the local people.

Source: His Royal Highness Prince Gyanendra Bir Bikran Shah, Chair of the King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation.