CBAPU

The proponents of community-based wildlife management (CBWM) argue that devolving control of natural resources to local communities increases local participation, improves management of those resources, reduces conflicts, thereby improving the resource base and provision of benefits to communities. For achieving the success in conservation, increased patrol frequency should cover the maximum area of the national park by activating the anti-poaching units at grassroots level so as to strengthen the collaborative way of conservation ensuring the mechanism of benefit. Against this background, Community Based Anti Poaching Unit (CBAPU) is one of the initiatives of CBC at local level. In Nepal, CBAPU is a sub-unit of Buffer Zone User Committee (BZUC), which is a management committee of buffer zone (BZ) area. CBAPU is the unique community-based initiative (a voluntary association of user group members) dedicated for biodiversity conservation and curbing the illegal poaching, collection of fire and fuel wood in and around buffer zones. In CBAPU, involving people inclusively from different spectra of society will ensure motivation in conservation and discouragement of illegal activities. Currently, there are more than 600 CBAPUs consisting 5500 CBAPU members in Nepal (WWF, 2018). With the effective community based anti-poaching strategy, there was dramatic improvement in the successful Rhino conservation in Chitwan National Park.

Having virtue of a successful approach to curb the illegal activities, there is a greater need to assess its effectiveness, challenges and possibilities of replicating it to other parts on. Beeshazari Lake is part of Chitwan National Park (CNP), which embraces the buffer zones sharing the common boundary between people and wildlife. Thus, it acts as the easy and most viable area for the illegal trade of wildlife and wildlife products. Motivation of CBAPU in these areas can be prolific in reduction of illegal activities related to wildlife. Hence, investigations on the effectiveness of those units established in buffer zone and participation of diverse group of people in wildlife conservation was the primary focus of the study. It also includes cause and trend of poaching and illegal activities in CNP, activities of CBAPU as well as the success and challenges of CBAPU based on perception in and around Beeshazari lake of Chitwan National Park.