Political Economy of Conservation in Nepal under the Federal Structures: Challenges and Opportunities

Mountain Spirit in collaboration with The Asia Foundation (TAF) and Snow Leopard Conservancy) through the expertise of a multidisciplinary team of Nepali and international experts developed a policy paper critically analyzing potential impacts and outcomes of Nepal’s Constitution and the new laws/rules and regulations on government structure outline under the new federal structure.

The team organized a national level workshop on “Political Economy of Conservation in Nepal under the Federal Structures: Challenges and Opportunities ” on 6th April 2018 at Hotel Yellow Pagoda. The workshop comprised delegates and government officials. Around 60 participants attended the workshop.

The team conducted comprehensive document reviews and interviewed 109 key respondents, government officials, civil society members, elected representatives at local and provincial levels, local community members, and individuals from the private sector. The team also identified eight experts as Delphi panelists to review the policy paper and provide comments for finalizing the document.

Field consultations were conducted in the Terai and mountain protected areas. In a concluding national level workshop, findings were presented to an audience of 55+ key policymakers including conservation professionals, private sector actors, government officials, civil society leaders, and elected local and provincial level representatives.

This document was prepared in the leadership of Dr. Shailendra Thakali, Advisor of Mountain Spirit and Team Members were Brian Peniston, Dr. Govinda Basnet, and Dr. Mahendra Shrestha.

The publication can be downloaded here