Location: Parsa National Park (PNP), Central Nepal
Goal: This project will carry out robust biological and habitat monitoring to inform conservation management of the landscape to the east of PNP. ZSL will also work with local communities to generate support for tiger conservation in the landscape through effective awareness campaigns as well as building a knowledge base for the participatory design of strategies to mitigate human-tiger conflict which will increasingly arise.
Objective 1: Conduct rapid wildlife and habitat assessment between the eastern border of Parsa National Park and the Bagmati River (February 2020 – Apr)
Objective 2: Conduct social surveys to identify vulnerable communities and map Human-Wildlife Conflict zones
Objective 3: Conduct awareness raising programmes for schools and communities (April 2019)
Background: Tiger population growth in Parsa National Park has supported around a 30% increase in Nepal’s tiger population in the last four years. ZSL has been working to secure Parsa’s tiger population as a future source population by supporting the implementation of evidence-based conservation measures. As the tiger population continues to grow in Parsa, it needs more space or suitable dispersal corridors to occupy other habitats. To fulfil the requirements of this growing tiger population, ZSL is now putting in place the foundations of scientific research and community engagement to enable continued population expansion and dispersal to the east. This will contribute to Nepal’s National Tiger Recovery Plan (NTRP) which calls for the doubling of tiger numbers by 2022 (121 to 250, based on 2009 figures).
This project proposes robust biological and habitat monitoring to inform conservation management of the landscape to the east of PNP. ZSL will also work with local communities to generate support for tiger conservation in the landscape through effective awareness campaigns as well as building a knowledge base for the participatory design of strategies to mitigate human-tiger conflict which will increasingly arise.
