Rara National park

Rara National park_Dil Bdr
Objectives:
The objectives of the RNP are to protect Rara Lake, tourism development and to conserve biodiversity by protecting rare and endangered species, communities, ecosystems, and diverse habitats to allow natural process with minimum management interventions.
Materials and methods:
Development of management plan of Rara National park was based on the review of present concepts and practices of biodiversity conservation. Study and update the Bhuju et al data, use of Google earth, GIS and Google search to get suitable photos and more information of RNP about conservation policy, issues, and lesson learned. ICIMOD, IUCN, WWF, WB, ADB journals are studied. An interview is taken with the warden of Rara National Park Mr. Durga Poudel to know experience and real problems. Literature review and many other related articles are also consulted.
Results: Promotion of economic condition, Protection and Wise use of Biological Resources, Promote Equitable Sharing of Benefits, Draw a Comprehensive Tourism Plan, Develop community infrastructures, Promote alternative energy technology, Develop facilities and services for tourists, Create public awareness and Build capacity of local people etc
Conclusion and recommendation: RNP conserves Rara Lake and surrounding biodiversity through local participation. Women Empowerment program, program for very poor people, compensation to the farmer for crop damage by NP animals, Alternatives for energy sources, Eco-tourism development, income generation through Non-timber forest product, far sighted government policy etc are recommendation. Revenue should invest to the Buffer Zone People.

Back ground
Rara national park is smallest but most scenic National Park of Nepal. It was established in 1976 and covers 106 sq km. most of the park lies in the Mugu District and a small area is within Jumla District of Karnali Zone. It contains the country's biggest lake; Rara (10.8 sq km). Rara National Park lies at an altitude of about 3000 meters and is protected by the most beautiful alpine and sub-alpine ecosystems of the Himalayas.
Flora of Rara National Park
The park contains mainly coniferous forest. The area around the lake is dominated by blue pine, black juniper, West Himalayan spruce, oak, Himalayan cypress and other associated species. Deciduous tree species like Indian horse-chestnut, walnut and Himalayan popular are also found.

Herbs of Rara National Park
Guchi chau, jatamasi,satubar, chiraito, panchaunle, attis, padamchal and pakhanbed are the important herb of RNPBZ. The collected amont is assembled in Nepalganj and send to India. Various types of herbs are exported by paying revenue to the government. This has added about Rs 2 million for government as revenue.
Pauchaule Paunchaule Dalechuk, Nepali Guchichyau

Chiraito Dalechuk juice Seeding of Atis Sugandhawal
Fauna of Rara national park
A small portion of the park serves as an ideal habitat for musk deer. The habitat supports animals like the red panda, black bear, yellow-throated martin, ghoral; serow, musk deer, leopard and wild boar. Snow trout is the only recorded fish species in the lake. The lake attracts some of the most stunning birds that will be appreciated by visiting birding enthusiasts which include a large number of migrant waterfowl and Resident Gallinaceous birds. Other common birds are the snowpack, choker partridge, Impeyan pheasant, kalij pheasant and blood pheasant.
Rara national park: summery
Park Area 106 sq km Park HQ Location Hutu, Mugu, Rara
Established in 1976 Wards covered 52
Buffer Zone Decleared, 2006 Households 1898
Buffer zone area 198 sq km Populations 1200 (2001 census)
District covered 2 (Mugu and Jumla) Birds 214 species
VDCs covered 9( 6 Mugu, 3 Jumla) Mammals 52 species
Park HQ Location Hutu, Mugu, Rara Flora 1074 species





Major Issues of RNP
1. Park is facing increasing pressure of grazing.
2. The possibility of lake bursting out in the eastern side.
3. The remoteness and proper physical facilities
4. Lack of marketing facilities and transportation is hurdle for overall development.
5. Flow of tourist to RNP is significantly low.
6. Owning to political conflicts flow of tourist is nil.
7. People have forgone their grazing rights and opportunities in the park.
8. Crop depredation by wild boars and problems to the already food deficit communities.
Challenges of Rara National park
1. How to improve the socio-economic of the local communities through tourism and developmental activities without causing any damage to the existing biodiversity.
2. To motivate people for the conservation of the biodiversity improvement of the living standard of the local people is needed. How to improve living standard?
3. How to Increase number of tourist in the national park
4. How to involve BZ people to protect and conserve biodiversity
5. Allocation of park revenue and its utilization for the hunger BZ people.
6. How to translate the legislative provisions into actions?
Land of Rara Karnali truck altitudinal zones
Major programs of RNP
The park primarily takes protection measures through regular staff. Again some of the programs undertaken by the park and buffer zone in collaboration with different projects (DNPWC, 2000)
1. Habitat conservation (pasture and livestock management, forest and wetland habitat)
2. Tourism development –support for infrastructure development
3. Sustainable development- support for infrastructure development
4. Capacity building and conservation education
5. Community infrastructure development
Policies of RNP
The management policy of Rara National park is guided by the Himalayan Park regulations 2036 under NPWC Act 1973 (Amendment 1993). Buffer Zone activities are guided by Buffer zone Management Guidelines 1999. At present the management policies of the park are:
1. Manage and conserve species and their popns in addition to ecosystem and habitat mgt
2. Promote conservation of cultural heritage through public awareness and participation
3. Strengthen institutional capacities of local communities and participate them in park mgt
4. Implementing holistic approach of ecosystem and habitat management
5. Promote eco-tourism to increase the income of local people
6. Give priority to subsistence needs of the people and provide excess to the park resources
7. Give priority to women, dalit, and poor in the participatory development process
8. Promote alternative energy so that burden on natural forest for fuel is reduced
Lesson learned so far
Participatory approach, improvement of economic condn of local people, utilization of revenue to BZ people, political stability, security of tourist, far sighted vision to protect biodiversity.
Conservation critique
Protected areas are the keystone of conservation policy. It covers 10% of the earth’s surface. The global estate includes over 100,000 protected areas (Borrini-Feyerabend, 2002).However; the modern foundation for protected areas was established in the late nineteenth century, with the designation of Yellowstone National Park in the United States. A major milestone in the history of environmental conservation, Yellowstone National Park shaped the perception of protected areas as uninhabited wilderness.
Protected areas in Nepal
Nepal crossed the threshold into the modern history of biodiversity conservation with the enactment of the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1973.. At present, the protected areas in Nepal include ten National Parks, three wildlife reserves, 6 conservation areas, and 12 Buffer Zones covering a total area of 34,186.62 km2. Altogether these areas constitute 23.23% of the country’s land area. These protected areas contain major ecosystems of the kingdom.
Landscape introduction
Landscapes are the places where people and nature are met and shaped by the inter-relationships between humans and their environment. Natural setting has shaped by how people live, their settlement patterns, livelihoods, cultural practices and beliefs. According to Adrian Phillips landscape can be seen as a meeting ground, between nature and people, between the past and the present, and between tangible and intangible values.
Protected landscapes are cultural landscapes that have co-evolved with the human societies inhabiting them.
Conservation practice that was launched in Nepal in the early Seventies had limited scope of species Protection. One of the important lessons learnt from the decades of conservation practice in Nepal is that encouraging results come only from awareness and involvement of the local people. Community participation has brought desirable results where the armed guards have failed. Due to population growth and destruction that has often come in the name of development, important ecological regions are being over-exploited and fragmented. Landscape level vision of conservation is to restart the ruined ecology and prevent further destruction in order to maintain vital biological linkages between national parks and reserves
Nepal biodiversity strategy
The Nepal Biodiversity Strategy has been prepared and was approved by the government. This will provide a broader framework for biodiversity conservation including agro- biodiversity. The objectives of the national biodiversity strategy, 2002 are Protection and Wise use of Biological Resources, Promote Equitable Sharing of Benefits, and Conservation in partnership approach.
Approaches to solving conservation problems
Convention of international trade of endangered species (CITES) prepares list of threatened species, their international trade is restricted. Demographic uncertainty and genetic loss helps for extinction to the small popn . Source popn can disperse to sink habitat. As in Meta popn several sub popn linked by immigration and emigration can be used to solve PA problems. Stake holders should be involved in decision making process because they have special interest in it. popn viability analysis is important in decision making. Due to popn dynamics popn will be affected at different level. The landscape approach recognizes the interconnectedness of popn and incorporates this concept into models and mgt plans. Spatially explicit popn model incorporates the actual locations of organisms and suitable patches and movement of organisms among such patches. Habitat loss and fragmentation are major problems in biodiversity conservation.
Conservation trials in Nepal

Conclusion:
Rara National park is the smallest but most scenic National park of Nepal .RNP is the home to protected species such as musk deer and other valuable and threatened plants such as Guchi chyau and panchaunle. RNP contains Rara Lake and RNP extends in Mugu and Jumla districts. Both Mugu and Jumla rank lowest interms of physical and human development indicators. RNP is trying to promote economic condition of the local people through tourism. For this RNP has prepared long term strategy in the collaboration with the DNPWC. According to the National Park Act 1973, 30-50% revenue generated by National Park should be invested for the improvement of the economic condition of the Buffer Zone people but in RNP revenue is not invested for the Buffer Zone people so far. Various activities for the conservation of the lake and other habitats of the protected and threatened species of the flora and fauna have been proposed to maintain existing biodiversity.
Recommendations:
1. Government should work with long term and far sighted plan
2. Women Empowerment program
3. program for ultra poor people
4. Alternatives for energy sources
5. Eco-tourism development
6. income generation through Non-timber forest product
7. Revenue for the Buffer Zone development