WWF - Publications

Hariyo Ban Program, E-newsletter, Issue 6, April 2013

2013-04-29

Restoring forests and adapting to climate change – one step at a time

"I was ill, I have even had heart surgery, and my health was deteriorating because of the smoke while cooking," shared Laxmi Rana, who is very happy to have installed biogas in her home with the help of the Hariyo Ban Program. Rana is from Jumdanda, one of the least developed regions in Bandipur Village Development Committee, in Tanahun District in the mid-hills of Nepal, where most women are tied to home and hearth. Today 25 households in Jumdanda have installed biogas. Rana says, " Now since less time is needed for gathering firewood, cooking, and cleaning, I have spare time to do other work."

Currently Rana is using some of the time saved from household chores to act as the vice president of Jum Dada Jhapri Community Forest Users Group (CFUG), and today there are also many other women members in the CFUG committee. One of them is Sugmaya Thapa.

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Safeguarding rhinos through ID based monitoring

The birth of a rhino calf in the Sauraha block of Chitwan National Park is an exciting event, helping to increase the population of this endangered species. Rhino with ID number two, named Lumsi Pothi, gave birth to a new calf which is now over three months old.

Like all other wild rhinos in the ID based monitoring program, Lumsi Pothi was given an ID number and her distinctive features were documented. Individual identification of rhinos helps in monitoring the rhino population and reducing the risk of poaching. This process also immediately helped identify the presence of the new calf. Babu Ram Lamichhane, Conservation Officer, National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC), says, "We take particular care to record the individual features of each rhino such as sex, shape of its horns, scars or marks on its body, etc. Then, an ID profile is built up for each animal along with a photo, which we maintain in a database."

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Power fencing: Helping people help wildlife

"Our relief cannot be expressed in words," says Bishnu Rijal, a resident of Bhimapur-6, Bardia. "Earlier, elephants and rhinos frequently raided our village, often coming across the border from India, and we lost wheat crops worth Rs 5-8 million each year. This spelled disaster for poor families who own only a few square meters of land. But since the electric fence has been installed we sleep soundly at night, as our lives and valuables are safe." Ganga Ram Tharu from Bhimpaur-5 adds, "We had no protection except sticks and stones. Now, the fence keeps the animals away. Last week an elephant loosened a pole, but could not get past the fence."

These statements reflect the views of most Bhimapur residents, where a 15 km long electric fence was inaugurated on March 11, 2013. The Bhimapur Electric Fence Installation Management Committee erected the fence with Hariyo Ban support through NTNC's Bardia Conservation Program (BCP). It will benefit 1,031 households (6,755 people) by protecting 2,700 hectares of land near the Karnali River, where the communities cultivate paddy, wheat and sugarcane.

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VIDEO CORNER

Click Here to watch a video where Laxmi Rana from Jumdanda shares her experience after Hariyo Ban Program interventions.

Earth Day, April 22

On Earth Day, the Hariyo Ban Program organized a media workshop entitled "Earth Matters: Changing the Lens on Environmental Reporting". The 2-day workshop of discussions and 4 days of field research aimed to encourage established Nepali journalists to produce environmental news with more in-depth analysis and connect the dots on why earth matters to Nepal's socio-political dialogue.

Twelve participant journalists will share their work produced from the 4 days of field research on World Environment Day, June 5.

Look out for our next month's newsletter for the journalists' stories.

Find out more about the workshop and the speakers HERE

Major updates this month

On the occasion of World Wildlife Week, U.S. Ambassador Peter W. Bodde visited Terai Arc Landscape to understand Hariyo Ban Program work in Chitwan, particularly the support provided to the Government of Nepal in tiger survey and initiatives to mitigate human-wildlife conflict. Find out more
Hariyo Ban Program supports celebration of Earth Hour. Read more
Skill based training provided for Sisnu powder production in Gorkha (Follow us for the full story next month).
Iron poles distributed to 120 households in Chhekampar VDC of Manaslu Conservation Area to support prayer flags. An additional 280 households will receive iron poles in the near future; this activity is expected to directly protect 400 pine trees.
Chitwan Annapurna Landscape climate change vulnerability assessment conducted in Pokhara.
Laliguras community learning and action center established in Makwanpur.
Forest fire control trainings provided in Chitwan,Tanahu, Lamjung, Gorkha, Rautahat, Dhading, Syangja and Parsa.
Training of trainers on integrated climate vulnerability and capacity assessment and participatory monitoring, evaluation, review and learning provided in Chitwan.
Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) and climate change sensitization workshops conducted in Dang, Dhangadhi, Parbat, Tanahu and Syangja.
Community based anti-poaching training provided in Lamki.
Good governance, biodiversity conservation, and gender and social inclusion trainings carried out in Lamjung and Nawalparasi.
Training of trainers on public hearing and public auditing organized in Nawalparasi.

^{_{Disclaimer: The Hariyo Ban Program is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this website are the responsibility of WWF and its consortium partners and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.}}

Hariyo Ban Program, E-newsletter, Issue 5, February 2013

2013-03-21

In harmony with nature

Having just travelled six hours from his village in Palpa to Pokhara to take part in a song competition, 22-year-old Toya Biswakarma had every reason to be exhausted. But a smile played on his lips, and he expressed happiness at being given the platform to display his singing talents. Biswakarma, who has been visually challenged since birth, is determined to focus on his singing. This made him enter his name for the song competition organized by the Hariyo Ban Program. After emerging as the winner from over 30 participants in Gulmi and Palpa Districts, he managed to clinch the second place in the landscape level song competition held on February 24 in Pokhara.

"This is a very good platform," said Biswakarma, content even after missing the first position, "The subject matter set for this competition is quite apt, too. We all need to understand that the absence of forests means extinction of our existence." As for handing over leadership roles to women, the major theme of the competition, he opined, "Women should definitely be promoted to decision-making levels. With their sensitivity and gentleness, they will add a new dimension to conservation."

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Saga of the three conservation heroes

Risking her life for conservation

With her hands on her lap Nanda Devi Kuwar waits quietly and as her name is announced to recognize her bravery and courage, she walks slowly amid the echo of applause, holding her hands that are still recovering from injury.

On International Women's Day, 2013 Hariyo Ban Program recognized three individuals for their remarkable work as change agents in conservation and women's leadership promotion. They are from the two landscapes where Hariyo Ban Program works - Terai Arc Landscape (TAL) and Chitwan Annapurna Landscape (CHAL). Nanda Devi Kuwar from Kailali was given a special recognition for her bravery, and Durga Gole from Makwanpur and Ek Bahadur Budhathoki Magar from Gorkha were honored as outstanding female and male change agents respectively. Find out about their inspiring struggle and accomplishments.

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Relocated blackbuck thriving in Shuklaphanta

Along with the arrival of spring, there is another reason to rejoice at Hirapur Phanta in Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve – the birth of three blackbuck fawns in the last month. The first of the fawns was born on February 9, followed by two others on February 14 and February 17. Three other blackbuck are due to give birth soon. The upcoming two months, March and April, are the peak season for blackbuck births in the wild.
After the first relocation of blackbuck from Nepalgunj Mini Zoo to Hirapur Phanta, Hariyo Ban also supported Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation to translocate six blackbucks from the Central Zoo. Ganga Jung Thapa, NTNC, says, "Prior to translocation, NTNC's Suklaphanta Conservation Program office conducted community consultation with locals from Jhalari, the village adjoining Hirapur Phanta, regarding the government's plan to reintroduce blackbuck. The locals were receptive to this, and also suggested conducting development activities in the buffer zone area."

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Major updates this month

•Finale of a campaign "Amplifying voices of women's leadership in conservation and climate change" held on International Women's Day, 8 March, 2013
Please click to view more pictures
•Hariyo Ban Program supports tiger survey work in the Terai Arc Landscape
•Community Based Anti-Poaching Unit (CBAPU) Day celebrated in Bardia on 10 March, 2013
•ID-based rhino monitoring initiated to update profiles and monitor rhinoceros in Chitwan National Park
•Community Based Anti-Poaching Operation (CBAPO) Training held in Terai Arc Landscape, Kailali
•Gender and Social Inclusion (GESI) Training conducted to enhance capacity of women and socially excluded groups in Dalla, Bardia
•Electric fencing effort in Bhimapur VDC, Bardia inaugurated
•Training on Climate Change Adaptation Plan Preparation provided in Malekhu, Dhading
•Wildlife monitoring training given to Citizen Scientists in Tikapur, Kailali and Khata corridor, Bardiya
•Community Forest Users Group (CFUG) members coached on bamboo plantation in Brahmadev Corridor, Kanchanpur
•Training of Trainers (TOT) provided to facilitate Community Learning and Action Centers (CLACs) in Bode, Bhaktapur
•Forest fire fighting sensitization provided in Ghorahi, Dang
•Rapid assessment for water source protection initiated in Terai Arc Landscape

Answer to last month's question:

According to the community forest development guideline 2065 BS, what proportion of a community forest users committee members should be women?

50% of community forest users committee members should be women.

Participate in Earth Hour
Earth Hour is being celebrated on 23 March 2013 in Pokhara, Nepal.
Time: 6:00 PM onwards

What is Earth Hour?
Earth Hour is a global event that brings together communities from across the world to raise awareness about the need to take action on climate change by encouraging households and businesses to turn off lights for one designated hour.

^{_{Disclaimer: The Hariyo Ban Program is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this website are the responsibility of WWF and its consortium partners and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.}}

Inside the Himalayas

2013-01-29

Its again time to welcome the new edition of 'Inside the Himalayas'. The January edition is dedicated to two of our mega species, snow leopard and tiger, from Sacred Himalaya Landscape and Terai Arc Landscape.

Hariyo Ban Program, E-newsletter, Issue 4, January 2013

2013-01-25

Training budding Citizen Scientists

Sarada Jha is 25 years old and comes from Manpur Tapara-2, Bardia; she is training to become a Citizen Scientist. Citizen Scientists are youths and others from local communities who are involved in scientific activities such as the systematic collection, analysis and dissemination of data on forests, wildlife, water or climate. Sarada recently participated in a seven-day forest inventory training organized by the Hariyo Ban Program, WWF Nepal. "I have always been active in protecting forests and my family is very supportive. So, when the opportunity arose to train as a Citizen Scientist I happily seized it," says Sarada.

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Communities come together to protect wetland

The 12- hectare Tikauli Lake is located in Mrigakunja Buffer Zone Community Forest, Chitwan and is a part of the Bishazari lake system that contains 46 wetlands. Bishazari is a Ramsar site of international significance. Tikauli Lake forms part of Tikauli forest that is an important wildlife corridor, particularly for animals moving between the Siwalik hills range to the Mahabharat mountain range. Tikauli Lake is significant in many aspects – it provides important habitat for migratory birds and mugger crocodile, and also serves as a water hole for large mammals including endangered species such as elephant, rhinoceros and tiger. The lake is seriously affected by invasive water plants, and the Hariyo Ban Program is supporting local communities to manually remove water hyacinth, water lettuce and water cabbage.

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Public Hearing and Public Auditing helps minimize corruption

Ekendra Sunuwar from Kailali, Sugarkhal is very happy. Recently at the start of Hariyo Ban Program activities the Wandali Community Forest Users Group from Sugarkhal gathered for the first time for a public hearing. "In our public hearing around NRs 99,072 was caught in embezzlement and official steps were taken to retrieve the money immediately from the perpetrators. The communities here have understood the importance and effectiveness of Public Hearing and Public Auditing, and now we are committed to continue this every year and to take relevant actions against anyone involved in corruption," says Ekendra Sunuwar.

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Major updates this month

Production of a training manual on mainstreaming Gender and Social Inclusion (GESI) in NRM and climate change initiated.
Biogas installation support by NTNC in Chitwan, Bardia and Kanchanpur under full swing.
Climate Change thematic meeting conducted with participation of climate change specialists from the four consortium partners.

Answer to last month's question:

Name any three greenhouse gases among the six main dangerous ones identified by the Kyoto Protocol?

Any three from the following six gases

•Carbon dioxide (CO2);
•Methane (CH4);
•Nitrous oxide (N2O);
•Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs);
•Perfluorocarbons (PFCs);
•Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6)

This month's question:

According to the Community Forest Development Guideline 2065 BS, what proportion of community forest users committee should be women?

^{_{Disclaimer: The Hariyo Ban Program is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this website are the responsibility of WWF and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.}}

Socio- economic basesline

2013-01-21

Hariyo Ban Program, E-newsletter, Issue 3, December 2012

2013-01-07

This month's issue is the very first e-newsletter of the Hariyo Ban Program.

Please click on the links below for more information on the topics covered in this newsletter:

Major Updates this month:

Hariyo Ban Program Gender and Social Inclusion (GESI) mainstreaming strategy process initiated.
Hariyo Ban Program Core Partners joint monitoring visit to Terai Arc Landscape Area on 10-14 December, 2012.
Support to National tiger and prey based monitoring starts in early January 2013.
Hariyo Ban Program annual work plan 2013 roll-out begins nationally and in the two landscapes.
Team building workshops have been held at the national level and in the two landscapes.

Answer to last month's question:

Which countries were the first to propose the concept of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation?

Answer:
Papua New Guinea and Costa Rica tabled a proposal in the 11th Conference of Parties that emissions from "avoided deforestation" be included in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change compensation scheme.

This month's question:
Name any three greenhouse gases among the six main dangerous ones identified by the Kyoto Protocol?

Download to view the full newsletter.

_{^{Disclaimer: The Hariyo Ban Program is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this article are the responsibility of WWF and its consortium partners and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.}}

Hariyo Ban Program, Newsletter, Issue 2, November 2012

2012-12-14

Inside the Newsletter:

In the limelight : Sukbir Thami - Get to know the people behind the Program.
Minimizing Human-Wildlife Conflict in Nepal.

Major updates from last month:

Blackbuck Translocation
Gender and social inclusion training
Livelihood Improvement Plan prepared

Download and read the full newsletter.

Hariyo Ban Program, Newsletter, Issue 1, October 2012

2012-12-14

Inside this Newsletter

Message from the Chief of Party, Judy Oglethorpe
SPOTLIGHT : Youths Active in Conservation - Youths help to curb wildlife crimes
Watch the video on Community Based Anti- Poaching Units (CBAPUs)
Youths protect Barandabhar Corridor against fire

Download and read the full newsletter.

Decent Work: Healthy Environment

2012-12-05

The High Ground: Sacred natural sites, bio-cultural diversity and climate change in the Eastern Himalayas

2012-10-19

The High Ground: Sacred natural sites, bio-cultural diversity and climate change in the Eastern Himalayas, examines how sacred places, beliefs and practices in the Himalayas can aid efforts to conserve areas of value in the face of modern-day threats including the unrelenting pressure human demands place on the planet.

Biogas Booklet

2012-10-18

Annual Report 2012

2012-10-16

WWF In Nepal

Since 1961, WWF has worked to conserve nature and ecological processes through a combination of actions on the ground, national and international advocacy work to establish appropriate policies, and international campaigns to highlight and demonstrate solutions to crucial environmental problems.

WWF started working in Nepal from 1967 when it launched a rhino conservation program in Chitwan. To keep up with the evolving face of conservation and the environmental movement, WWF's focus evolved from its localized efforts in conservation of single species in the 1960s, integrated conservation and development approach in the 1990s, to a new horizon of landscape level conservation encompassing national, regional and global scales of complexity in the early 2000s.

WWF's work in Nepal is focused in the Terai Arc Landscape (TAL) and Sacred Himalayan Landscape (SHL), including Koshi River Basin, and Chitwan Annapurna Landscape (CHAL). WWF-Nepal works to conserve flagship and priority key species, forests, freshwater, and to mitigate the pervasive threat of climate change to communities, species and their habitats. The effective delivery of conservation results under the above four thematic areas are supported by crosscutting programs on policy and advocacy, curbing illegal wildlife trade, sustainable livelihoods, communications, and education.

In Nepal, WWF works closely with the Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation through the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) and Department of Forests (DoF), Ministry of Environment, Water and Energy Commission Secretariat (WECS) and National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC). Besides the national priority areas, WWF-Nepal also works in conservation issues of regional and trans-boundary importance.

Vision

WWF-Nepal envisions a prosperous Nepal with a society possessing an ethic of stewardship and responsibility towards nature.

By 2050 Nepal will have:

• Conserved biodiversity and the natural processes that sustain it in the Global 200 Eco regions within Nepal
• Established social and economic development patterns that assure the sustainable and equitable provision of natural goods and services, improving livelihoods and quality of life for current and future generations
• Eliminated or mitigated critical threats to species, habitats, and ecological processes that derive from climate change, over exploitation of resources, unsustainable consumption, and pollution

Mission

WWF-Nepal's Mission is to stop the degradation of Nepal's natural environment, and to build a future in which people live in harmony with nature by:

• Conserving biological diversity
• Ensuring the sustainable use of renewable natural resources
• Reducing pollution and wasteful consumption
• Securing sustainable livelihoods

Goal
By 2015 WWF-Nepal shall conserve at least 3 priority landscapes within the Global 200 Eco regions by:
• Reducing threats to species, habitat and ecological processes
• Improving the livelihoods of local people

The Status of Nepal's Mammals: The National Red List Series

2012-10-03

Nepal is a highly diverse and unique country harbouring an extraordinary variety of landscapes, cultures and wildlife. Despite making up less than 1% of the world's total land mass, its physiographic features range from the highest terrestrial ecosystem in the world, the Himalayas, to the subtropical lowlands of the Terai.

This contrast makes Nepal one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, containing within its small area of 141,181 km²: 4.2% of all mammals, 8.5% of all birds and 2.2% of all flowering plants on Earth, including threatened flagship species such as the Royal Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus), Greater One-horned Rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis) and South Asian River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica) (Shrestha et al. 2001). In addition to the vast faunal diversity, 35 forest types and 118 ecosystems are present in Nepal (GoN, MoFSC 2009). Almost 25% of the country's landmass is designated as protected area, with 10 national parks, three wildlife reserves, five conservation areas and one hunting reserve

Water Poverty of Indrawati Basin - Analysis and Mapping

2012-07-27

The idea of a Water Poverty Index (WPI) with a numerical value was formulated by scientists in an effort to express the complex relationship between sustainable water resource management and poverty at all units of human organization, all the way from community to nation. The numerical values generated for the WPI are then used to create a Water Poverty Map, which presents a clear visual picture of the water situation in the given area.

Initially, 'Water Poverty' was measured as a combination of resource availability and people's ability to access the resource. Sullivan et. al. (2002) formulated the WPI to consider all the aspects involved with water management. Consequently, the WPI deﬁnes water poverty according to ﬁ ve components – Resource, Access, Capacity, Use and Environment.

The study area for this research project is the Indrawati River Basin in the Central Region of Nepal. The WPI is calculated for the basin and subsequently a Water Poverty Map is drawn on a High-Medium-Low category scale. The estimated average WPI for the entire basin is 52.5 points (medium water poor) out of 100. Out of a total of 20, component scores of 13.2 for Resource, 11.0 for Access, 6.7 for Capacity, 9.8 for Use and 11.8 for Environment were calculated. In the upper parts of the basin, the Resource component is high whereas Capacity is low. The reverse is true in the lower parts of the basin where Resource is 'medium low' but Capacity ranges from 'medium low' to 'medium'.

Field investigations were carried out to verify the calculated WPI with the situation on the ground. Through the course of the ﬁ eld investigations, local residents across the study area identiﬁ ed the drying up of water sources, poor capacity, poor accessibility, deforestation and chemical fertilizers as major factors causing water poverty in the Indrawati Basin.

Inside the Himalayas

2012-06-18

TAL Reloaded

2012-04-26

Putting the issues together; a case study analysis on Conservation and Livelihoods Linkages in Khata Corridor, Bardia, Nepal

2011-12-26

"Putting the issues together; a case study analysis on Conservation and Livelihoods Linkages in Khata Corridor, Bardia, Nepal "

The case study on conservation and livelihoods linkages was carried out by WWF Nepal's own internal human resources. It is a reflection of a decade investment together with corridor resources users on corridor management with its analytical findings specially in following five areas i) Institutional capability (sustainability issues), ii) Livelihoods resources (assets/wellbeing), iii) Livelihoods Strategy (trend/pressures); iv) Livelihoods issues (trends, seasonality and shocks) and v) Good governance and social inclusion (equity, inclusion and transparency).

The document further shed light on WWF's inputs, investment, community leveraging and role sharing, their logical linkages, community observed changes in issues, trends, resources and their perceptions on human wildlife conflict etc. The study also outlined some findings with tangible evidences and area to be considered in future.

Inside the Himalayas Vol 6

2011-12-05

Bhutan Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas Brochure

2011-10-31

The Jewel of the Sacred Himalayas

2011-09-29

The Eastern Himalayas encompasing Bhutan, north-east India, Nepal, southern parts of Tibetan Autonomous Region of China and far north of Myanmar is a region where nature's myriad manifestations thrive in original splendor. It is the 'Jewel' of the Himalayas...