A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the Degree of Master of Science, School of Engineering and Technology

Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1991

A major management problem in the protected areas of the developing countries of Asia is the ever increasing l and use disputes with the local people. The traditional rights of the local people to use the freely available natural resources, when curtailed by the establishment of protected areas results in direct conflict with the conservation goals of the protected areas. Should conservation and sustainable development be achieved, such disputes have to be immediately y solved. Thus, an in- depth study towards this direction is urgently needed which may provide future guidelines for conservation strategies and help build a mechanism for coexistence. This case study of park-people conflict in the Royal Chitwan National Park is an example t o t his direction. A t wo month field survey in and around t he national park was conducted. An analysis of data collected by means of a random sampling of 200 households represents t his case study. Some descriptive as well as multivariate statistics have been applied. The major findings indicate that conflict intensifies in places where no alternatives are available. At the same time , even in places where some alternatives do exist, l ack of development activities and associated problems of poverty have deteriorated the existing environmental condition. The local people seemed to be aware of t he changing environment , however , t heir heavy dependency on the park resources limited them t o ref rain from trespassing into t he park. The answer to the issue of the park-people conflict lies in t he effective park management strategy , which implies t ha t national parks should not only be an island in itself but play an important role in uplifting the economy of the region. Thus, a multi-sectoral integrated approach is essential in park planning and management. Buffer zone , one of the component of such an approach , provides excellent examples in reducing t he conflict. An effort in establishing a buffer zone may reduce t he conflict to a greater extent if not eliminate it completely . Some possibilities for establishing a buffer zone around the park have been indicated.