Abstract
Mountain ecosystems in western Nepal provide critical habitats for the endangered Red Panda. These habitats also need to satisfy the daily livelihood requirements of local communities. High levels of resource dependence and unsustainable resource use are creating pressure on the provision of ecosystem services in the region. Understanding the views of local villagers about their willingness to constrain the use of forest resources is the first step towards helping them realise sustainable environmental management. We conducted a survey among villagers to determine their willingness to participate in a potential PES-like scheme to help the conservation of the red panda habitat through reduced use of forest resources. Choice experiment results indicate that a high proportion of respondents (87%) were willing to accept payments in return for reducing the use of the high pastures for animal grazing while a reduction in the harvest of medicinal plants would require more compensation. People living inside a protected area were willing to accept a lower compensation than those outside. Respondents indicated that they would prefer communal over personal compensation payments. The findings could support design and implementation of a PES-like scheme that concurrently manages the nexus between effective conservation, sustainable resource utilisation and livelihoods improvement.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 101388 |
| Pages (from-to) | 1-11 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Ecosystem Services |
| Volume | 53 |
| Early online date | Dec 2021 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Feb 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The authors would like to acknowledge the contributions and support of local communities, key informants, focus group discussants, and household survey respondents. We are thankful to the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation and the Department of Forests and Soil Conservation, Nepal for providing research approval. We are equally grateful to District Forest Office, Jumla, Rara National Park (RNP), Mugu, and RNP buffer zone committee members for their constant assistance and cooperation in data collection. Special thanks to Field Research Assistants, Dikra Prasad Bajgai (team leader), Madan Subedi, Bhim Fadera, Raj Bauwal, and Dipesh Acharya for their efforts and integrity during the fieldwork. Our thanks and appreciation to Er. Abhishek B.C. executive chairman of Pact Consultant (P.) Ltd. Kathmandu, Nepal who facilitated with arrangements of field assistants and provided office space during the planning phase of the field study. The research was funded by an Australian Postgraduate Award under the College of Engineering, IT, and Environment at Charles Darwin University, Australia.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier B.V.
Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
