Local units demand role in park buffer zone management

As federal government works on new regulations to manage buffer zones, stakeholders call for balancing conservation with livelihoods and local needs.

As the federal government is working on new regulations to manage buffer zones around national parks and reserves for implementing conservation-related programmes and policies, people’s representatives of local governments are calling for urgent and significant reforms. During a recent discussion held at the headquarters of Chitwan National Park in Kasara, local representatives voiced strong dissatisfaction with the current structure and functioning of buffer zones.