Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T15:33:45.518Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Park-People Relationships: The Case of Damage Caused by Park Animals Around the Royal Bardia National Park, Nepal

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2009

Jan Erik Studsrød  and
Per Wegge
Jan Erik Studsrød
Affiliation:
Centre for International Environment & Development Studies (NORAGRIC), Agricultural University of Norway, 1432 Ås-NLH, Norway
Per Wegge
Affiliation:
Department of Biology & Nature Conservation, Agricultural University of Norway, 1432 Ås - NLH, Norway.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Crop damage and livestock predation were a serious problem in three Village Development Committees (VDCs) situated adjacent to the Southwestern Part of the Royal Bardia National Park. The seriousness of crop and livestock losses varied considerably with the distance from the Park's border and the specific location of farms. This was explained by the variations in the distribution of animal wildlife inside the Park, the presence of natural and Man-made barriers, the availability of forested areas outside the Park, and the agricultural cropping pattern. Adjacent to the section of the Park with the highest animal densities, crop losses varied from 47% for Lentil to 24% for Wheat. Farther away, the extent of crop losses was reduced. In the ‘Far’ zone situated 2–8 km from the Park, only 3% of the Paddy was reported lost.

Two wildlife species, Chital and Wild Boar, were responsible for roughly half of the total damage to crops by animals. Damage from a newly-introduced population of Rhinoceros unicornis was increasing, with Paddy (Rice) and Lentil the crops most affected by that species. The economic value of livestock loss to wild predators was estimated to be two percent of the value of total crop losses. The estimated value of grasses harvested by local villagers inside the Park, seen as ‘compensation’ for crop losses and denial of access to traditional resources, constituted only 10% of the total economic loss from crop losses and livestock predation.

Type
Main Papers
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 22 , Issue 2 , Summer 1995 , pp. 133 - 142
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 1995

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Andersen, H.J. & Næss, K.M. (1993). Assessing Census Techniques for Wild Ungulates in Royal Bardia National Park, Nepal. MSc thesis, Agricultural University of Norway, Ås, Norway: iv + 102 pp., illustr. (unpubl.).Google Scholar
Bolton, M. (1976). Royal Karnali Wildlife Reserve Management Plan. FAO/NEP/72/002 Project working document 4, Rome, Italy: vii + 70 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Brechin, S.R. & West, P.C. (1990). Protected areas, resident people, and sustainable conservation: the need to link top-down with bottom-up. Society and Natural Resources, 3, pp. 77–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dinerstein, E. (1979 a). An ecological survey of the Royal Karnali—Bardia Wildlife Reserve, Nepal, Part I: Vegetation, modifying factors, and successional relationships. Biological Conservation, 15, pp. 127–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dinerstein, E. (1979 b). An ecological survey of the Royal Karnali—Bardia Wildlife Reserve, Nepal, Part II: Habitat/animal interactions. Biological Conservation, 16, pp. 265–300.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dinerstein, E. (1980). An ecological survey of the Royal Karnali—Bardia Wildlife Reserve, Nepal, Part III: Ungulate Populations. Biological Conservation, 18, pp. 5–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gadgil, M. (1990). India's deforestation: patterns and processes. Society and Natural Resources, 3, pp. 131–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ghimire, K. (1992). Forest or Farm? The Politics of Poverty and Land Hunger in Nepal. Oxford University Press, Delhi, India: xiv + 206 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Heinen, J.T. (1993). Park—people relations in Kosi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, Nepal: a socio-economic analysis. Environmental Conservation, 20(1), pp. 25–34, 2 figs and 3 tables.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heinen, J.T. & Kattel, B. (1992). Parks, people, and conservation: A review of Management issues in Nepal's protected areas. Population and Environment, 14(1), pp. 49–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
IUCN (1993). Nature Reserves of The Himalaya and the Mountains of Central Asia. (Prepared by the World Conservation Monitoring Centre.) IUCN, Gland, Switzerland, and Cambridge, England, UK — Oxford University Press, Oxford, England, UK: xxiv + 458 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Jnawali, S.R. (1989). Park People Conflict: Assessment of Crop Damage and Human Harassment by Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) in Sauraha Area Adjacent to the Royal Chitwan National Park, Nepal. MSc thesis, Agricultural University of Norway, Ås, Norway: xi + 67 pp., 6 figs and 20 tables.Google Scholar
Jnawali, S.R. & Wegge, P. (1993). Space and habitat use by a small re-introduced population of Greater One-horned Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) in Royal Bardia National Park — A preliminary report. Pp. 208—17 in Rhinoceros Biology and Conservation. (Proceedings of the International Rhino Conference, 9–11 May 1991, San Diego, California) (Ed. Ryder, O.A.). Zoological Society of San Diego, San Diego, California, USA: v + 368 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Johnsingh, A.J.T. & Panwar, H.S. (1992). Elephant conservation in India — problems and prospects. Pp. 36–56 in Mammal Conservation in Developing Countries (Ed. P. Wegge). (Proceedings of a Workshop held at the 5th Theriological Congress, Rome, Italy, NORAGRIC Occasional Papers Series C, Development and Environment Nr 11.) Agricultural University of Norway, Ås, Norway: 152 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Khatri, T.B. (1993). Status and Food Habits of Nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus) in Royal Bardia National Park, Nepal. MSc thesis, NORAGRIC, Agricultural University of Norway, Ås, Norway: vi + 46 pp., 11 figs and 25 tables.Google Scholar
Kiss, A. (1990). Introduction. In Living with Wildlife Resource Management with Local Participation in Africa (Ed. Kiss, A.), World Bank, Washington, DC, USA: vii + 179 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Lehmkuhl, J.F., Upreti, R.K. & Sharma, U.R. (1988). National parks and local development: grasses and people in Royal Chitwan National Park, Nepal. Environmental Conservation, 15(2), pp. 143–8, illustr.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leisure, B. & Mehta, J. (1993). The Effects of Forested Bufferzones on the Park/People Relationship in Bardia National Park, Nepal. Institute of Forestry, Pokhara, Nepal, unpublished report: 38 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Milton, J.P. & Binney, G.A. (1980). Ecological Planning in the Nepalese Terai: A Report on Resolving Resource Conflicts Between Wildlife Conservation and Agricultural Land-use in Padampur Panchayat. Threshold International Centre for Environment Renewal, Washington, DC, USA: 35 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Mishra, H.R. (1982). Balancing human need and conservation in Nepal's Royal Chitwan Park. Ambio, 11, pp. 246–51.Google Scholar
Mishra, H.R., Wemmer, C., Smith, J.L.D. & Wegge, P. (1992). Biopolitics of saving Asian mammals in the wild: balancing conservation with human needs in Nepal. Pp. 9–35 in Mammal Conservation in Developing Countries: A New Approach (Ed. P. Wegge). (Proceedings of a Workshop held at the 5th Theriological Congress, Rome, Italy, NORAGRIC Occasional Papers Series C, Development and Environment Nr 11.) Agricultural University of Norway, Ås, Norway: 152 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Mitra, A. (1994). Caught between boars and bureaucracy. Down to Earth, 01 15.Google Scholar
Nepal, S.K. & Weber, K.E. (1993). Struggle for Existence: Park—People Conflict in the Royal Chitwan National Park, Nepal. Bangkok: Division of Human Settlements Development, Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand: xxi + 199 pp., 18 figs and 77 tables.Google Scholar
Sæthre, D.V. (1993). People and Grasses: A Case-study from Royal Bardia National Park, Nepal. MSc thesis, NORAGRIC, Agricultural University of Norway, Ås, Norway: vi + 76 pp., 16 figs and 12 tables (unpubl.).Google Scholar
Schultz, B. (1986). The management of crop damage by wild animals. The Indian Forester, 112(10), pp. 891–9.Google Scholar
Sharma, U.R. (1990). An overview of park—people interaction in Royal Chitwan National Park, Nepal. Landscape and Urban Planning, 19, pp. 133–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sharma, U.R. (1991). Park—People Interactions in Royal Chitwan National Park. PhD thesis, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA: 274 pp., 3 figs and 46 tables (unpubl.).Google Scholar
Sharma, U.R. & Shaw, W.W. (1993). Role of Nepal's Royal Chitwan National Park in meeting the grazing and fodder needs of local people. Environmental Conservation, 20(2), pp. 139–42, illustr.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shiva, V., Sharatrchandra, H.C. & Bandyophadhyay, J. (1982). Social forestry — no solution within the market. The Ecologist, 12, pp. 158–68.Google Scholar
Støen, O.G. (1994). The Status and Food Habits of Tiger (Panthera tigris) Populations in the Karnali Floodplain of Royal Bardia National Park, Nepal. MSc thesis, Agricultural University of Norway, Ås, Norway: ii + 41 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Wells, M. & Brandon, K. With Hannah, L. (1992). People and Parks: Linking Protected Area Management with Local Communities. The World Bank, Washington, DC, USA: xii + 99 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
West, P.C. & Brechin, S.R. (Ed.) (1991). Resident Peoples and National Parks. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, Arizona, USA: xxiv + 443 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
World Resources Institute (cited as WRI) (1994). World resources 1994–1995. Oxford University Press, New York, NY, USA: xii + 400 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Zube, E.H. & Busch, M.L. (1990). Park-people relationships: an international review. Landscape and Urban Planning, 19, pp. 117–31, illustr.CrossRefGoogle Scholar