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ACAP
of Nepal
Annapurna
Conservation Area Project
Most trekkers hear about ACAP
the first time when they enter the Immigration Office in Bhrikuti
Mandap, Kathmandu, to get a trekking permit to different trekking
areas in Nepal. You are required to pay a fee to get into any national
park or conservation area that falls under Annapurna Conservation
area.
ACAP was launched in 1986 with the initiation
of *King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation
(KMTNC) to protect the environment with sustainable community development
in Annapurna area by the local people without any intervention from
the Nepalese Government and/or any other institutions. This is the
first and the largest conservation area in Nepal that covers 7,629
sq. km. The head office of ACAP is in Ghorepani that lies at an
elevation of 2775m. ACAP office in Kathmandu is situated in Sanchaya
Kosh building in Tridevi Marg, Thamel. Approximately 25,000 trekkers
visit the Annapurna region every year and the trekking fee collected
from the tourists supports more than 40,000 local people. Thus,
ACAP with the participation of the trekkers have been able to increase
the standard of living of the local population, protect the environment
and develop sustainable tourism.
ACAP is divided into seven unit conservation offices
and spread out in 5 districts of the Western Development Region
of Nepal covering 55 Village Development Committees. Each village
development committee is assigned to carry out the responsibilities
to manage, utilize and protect all the natural resources within
the respective VDCs.
Some activities of ACAP are as follows:
Conservation of Resources
(with programs like forest management and wildlife management activities,
soil and water conservation, training for local nursery workers,
forest guards and leaders, promotion of alternative energy and fuel-efficient
technologies, restoration of sites of historical, culture and archaeological
importance, research and survey on subjects like biodiversity and
wildlife census and formation of local institutions like conservation
area management committees and sub-conservation area management
committees)
Community Development
(with programs like improvement, maintenance and construction of
schools, trails and bridges, general health and sanitation facilities
with health and family planning clinics, adult literacy, extension
of agro-forestry and agriculture through training, demonstrations
and seeds distribution and other programs targeted to women, youth
and socially and economically deprived people for their income generation)
Tourism Management
(with programs like formation of local lodge management
committees with hotel and lodge management training for lodge operators,
brochure and publicity materials, information posts, visitor centers,
helicopter evacuation for visitors for search and rescue during
emergency, training for trekking guides and eco-camp site development)
Conservation, Education and Extension
(with programs like conservation education classes in schools with
conservation awareness camps, indoor and outdoor conservation education
centers, education materials development, village clean-up campaigns,
programs on mobile audio-visual extension, natural history museum
and visitor information services, environmental resource library,
study tours and training for villagers).
ACAP is a non-profit organization which is supported and sustained
by various trusts and the fees collected from the tourists trekking
in the Annapurna area. The money is utilized in many ways to maintain
the two main objectives in the area of sustainability:
Objective 1 - Protect Natural and Cultural Heritage
Objective
2 - Education to Sustain the Economy and Social Benefits of Tourism.
through the promotion
of various projects like the following:
Creation of safe drinking water to the local villagers and tourists
in the Annapurna area. A project on this is financed by New Zealand
Overseas Development Assistance Fund which is enabling the training
and building of drinking water stations in many villages around
the Annapurna Conservation Area.
Creation
of nurseries to sustain woodland
Education
for efficient use of stoves
Creation
of kerosene depots for fires to prevent the burning of wood
Creation
of rubbish bins and toilet facilities
Creations
of health posts and telephone connections
Provide
financial assistance in the form of low cost and/or subsidized
loans for hydroelectric generators and solar powered water heating.
Nepal Conservation Research and Training Center
(NCRTC) was established in 1989 in Sauraha. The center emphasizes
on community oriented programs, making research and training on
wildlife and its habitat extension, community forestry and community
development, women and micro-enterprises development. Apart from
all this, the center also provides training to the park personnel
and conservations workers in various fields.
Bardia Conservation Program (BCP) was launched
in 1994 as a regular project for wildlife research and monitoring.
Apart from this, BCP has been mobilizing and supporting local efforts
in conservation and development programs like community forestry,
conservation education, health care, school support and women development.
*King Mahendra Trust
for Nature Conservation (KMTNC) is managing Central Zoo –
the only zoo in Nepal, located in Jawalakhel, Lalitpur since 1995.
The zoo was first established in 1932 by late Prime Minister Juddha
Sumsher J.B. Rana as a private zoo but it was later opened to public
by the Government in 1956. The zoo in Nepal boasts of housing 500
animals from 94 different species, out of which 30 are mammals,
52 are birds and 8 are reptiles. The zoo is open on all other days
except Mondays. KMTNC has also introduced a program called “Friends
of Zoo” to promote participation of the community, especially
the school students towards zoo development by raising awareness
on zoo conservation and it has been successful in collecting more
than 2000 members for this cause. Apart from ACAP, KMTNC is also
implementing Manaslu Ecotourism Project (MEP) in the Manaslu area
since 1997. The goal of MEP is to develop the Manaslu region into
a conservation area with improved access and infrastructure and
strengthening local manpower to manage tourism and conservation
activities.
For additional information, please contact:
King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation
P O Box 3712,
Jawalakhel, Lalitpur, Nepal
Phone: 977-1-5526571
Fax: 977-1-5526570
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