A Day in the Field: Insights into Conservation Work in Nepal

By Abarta Pandey
Senior Programme Development Specialist, ZSL Nepal

• Parsa National Park is a key conservation landscape linking Nepal’s Chitwan National Park (CNP) and via CNP India’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve, providing vital wildlife corridors for species like tigers and elephants.
• A visit to the women’s cooperative, established by ZSL, highlighted its impact in supporting livelihoods and fostering solidarity, with members prioritising loans for those in urgent need.
• Fieldwork included planning waterholes to mitigate climate impacts and reduce human-wildlife conflict, showcasing adaptive conservation efforts.

Nepal’s Parsa National Park is a vital conservation area containing a mosaic of lush forests and grasslands, forming a critical habitat for a wide variety of species. Bordering Nepal’s Chitwan National Park to the west and India’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve via CNP, this transboundary landscape is a critical wildlife corridor for species like tigers, elephants, rhinos and leopards. By linking habitats, this transboundary region supports migration for food and mating ensuring genetic diversity by preventing inbreeding. For ZSL Nepal, Parsa is a focal point for collaborative conservation efforts, with a dedicated field office working closely with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation to protect this biodiverse haven.

As a Senior Programme Development Specialist, I am usually based in ZSL Nepal’s head office in Kathmandu, where I focus on designing and developing conservation projects. However, field trips to project sites like Parsa, which has ongoing projects supported by WildCats Conservation Alliance, are essential to truly understand the situation on the ground. They help us pave the way for future project design and development of conservation projects by engaging with local communities, collaborating with our field teams and maintaining relationships with national park staff.

Consultation with key stakeholders during project design

On this particularly hot and sunny day, I joined Mr. Prachanda Maharjan, ZSL Parsa Office in-charge and other members of the team on a visit to the Parsa National Park headquarters, where we met the National Park team to discuss plans for a new conservation proposal for upcoming years as part of ZSL Nepal’s strategy to consult key stakeholders during the design of the project. Following a fruitful meeting, we returned to the ZSL field office for a quick lunch. Taking a breather under the shade of a tree, we enjoyed the sight of the four elephants—Raptikali, Minakali, Gaurikali, and Shwetakali—lounging nearby. Conversations naturally turned to Yamgaj, a notorious wild bull elephant known for its dangerous encounters with humans, including several casualties in the past 3 years (PNP Annual Reports).

Women-led and run livelihood cooperative group

In the afternoon, we travelled to the monthly meeting of the Suraksha Mahila Aayaarjan Upasamuha (Security Women’s Income Subgroup), a women’s cooperative established through a ZSL project. The cooperative is part of ZSL’s Community Bank schemes where the women community members are technically supported to establish the cooperative along with the provision of seed funding to allow the members to access low-interest loans. The members contribute to the cooperative monthly and loans are provided regularly. For instance, with the help of the cooperatives, many members have started poultry and pig farming, established shops and added numbers to their existing livestock supporting them to increase their income.

Suraksha Mahila Aayaarjan Upasamuha, a women’s cooperative established through a ZSL project

The meeting took place in an old livestock shed, where the 34 members of the all-female cooperative gathered to discuss finances, challenges, and future plans. As we approached, we could sense the positivity of the group. On the right, four executive members, including the cooperative’s president, sat surrounded by, intently counting and recording transactions. Across from them, around 30 cooperative members sat together, their scattered laughter filling the space. Banging my head on the pole before entering the shed only added to the amusement, sparking even more laughter.

After shortly introducing myself, I started having conversations regarding the cooperative, how much money they had collected, how many had applied for loans, for what purposes, how effective it had been and what challenges they were facing. With the executive members busy recording the transactions, I started getting answers from around the room. Seventeen members had already accessed loans to support small enterprises, demonstrating the cooperative’s success in fostering economic opportunities. However, the group highlighted the need to meet the increasing costs and raise their loan ceiling, which ZSL plans to address through a second allocation of seed money. With the confirmation from Mr Maharajan, I enthusiastically said it would be coming within a couple of months, bringing a smile to many faces.

As the counting and recording continued, I asked who would be receiving a loan during this meeting. The cooperative’s president explained that while one member had initially planned to take it, they decided to prioritise another member who was in greater need. This person had been attacked by a bear in a nearby buffer zone forest and required medical treatment but couldn’t afford the costs. This prompted the group members to fill in the application on her behalf for the ZSL-established Quick Relief Fund, a revolving fund for human-wildlife conflict victims ensuring quick access to finance for medical treatment while the compensation application, which usually takes time, is being processed. I was overwhelmed by the supportive nature of this group. Witnessing my emotions, they further added how a couple of months ago they collected money and provided support to a member whose child was critically ill.

As the meeting concluded, the president invited me to share a few words. I expressed my gratitude and appreciation for their efforts. I came out of the shed and hopped on the motorbike with a smile on my face and felt honoured to be part of the team that created such a significant impact on wildlife and the community.

Adaptive Conservation Measures

After the meeting, we returned to the field office for a brief tea break, with reports of Yamgaj still roaming around. We then headed into the park to assess a proposed waterhole construction site. Parsa, like many protected areas, is grappling with the effects of climate change—floods, droughts, and wildfires have become increasingly frequent. Adaptive measures like waterholes are essential to provide reliable and regular water sources for wildlife, reducing the need for animals to venture into human settlements and mitigating human-wildlife conflict. At the site, we also installed a camera trap to monitor the effectiveness of the intervention and produce scientific evidence and data showing the path for future conservation interventions.

A waterhole built with the support of ZSL Nepal

By the time we got back into the office, it was starting to get dark, we then ended the day with a warm dinner and alongside conversation on what demands had been made from the community in terms of preventing and mitigating human-wildlife conflict and sustainable livelihood interventions, collecting ideas to be considered for upcoming project design and development.