Julie Shaw recently participated in a CEPF mission to the Eastern Himalayas. With the assistance and guidance of CEPF’s regional implementation team —including WWF-Nepal and Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment in northeast India — she and Grant Director Dan Rothberg visited several projects in the region that are receiving support from the program, and met some of the people involved in and affected by the resulting conservation efforts.
Nepal
In Kathmandu
Day 1After many hours on a plane out of Washington, D.C., and following an overnight stop in Doha, I landed in Kathmandu for my first visit to Nepal. The travel time was useful for cramming about the region I was about to visit. I came armed with two borrowed travel guides and a little desperation to quickly figure out what I was about to experience.
Some quick facts, courtesy of the BBC and UNICEF, about Nepal to set the scene:
- Population: 29.3 million (UN, 2009)
- Area: 147,181 square kilometers (56,827 square miles)
- Major language: Nepali
- Major religions: Hinduism, Buddhism
- Life expectancy: 66 years (men), 67 years (women) (UN)
- Adult literacy rate: 57 percent
- Main exports: Carpets, clothing, leather goods, jute goods, grain
- GNI per capita: $400 (World Bank, 2008)
- Government: Until Nepal became a republic in May 2008, it had been ruled by monarchs or a ruling family for most of its modern history. Maoist rebels waged a decade-long campaign against the monarchy beginning in 1995, leaving more than 12,000 people dead and 100,000 people displaced according to U.N. figures. King Gyanendra's direct rule ended under public pressure in April 2006. Maoists emerged as the largest parliamentary party after elections in April 2008. The monarchy was abolished a month later, and a Maoist-dominated government took office in August. The Maoist-led coalition government disintegrated in May 2009, and was succeeded by another coalition excluding the Maoists.
At the Kathmandu airport I was, happily, greeted by a familiar face — Angphuri Sherpa of WWF-Nepal, who serves as the Nepal country coordinator with CEPF’s regional implementation team (RIT) for the Eastern Himalayas. I had the pleasure of meeting Ang previously, in Tanzania of all places, for a CEPF meeting in 2009.
Ang was taking one for the team by picking me up during prime weekday traffic. I have seen some bad traffic in my travels, and this was right up there with the worst: roads packed to the gills, a freewheeling approach to lanes and lane changing, and virtually no traffic lights or signs. I made a mental note not to ever consider trying to drive here.
In addition to, and related to, the traffic, one of the first things I noticed about Kathmandu was the air: thick and dirty. Many people out walking or riding bikes had scarves covering their mouths. The other thing I noticed was that I might have miscalculated how cold it would be. I thought the guide books and the Weather Channel Web site said it would be in the 60s Fahrenheit, but it didn’t feel like it.
Ang briefed me on the agenda for the rest of the day and delivered me to the hotel, where I took a big, beautiful nap, embracing the jetlag. Next Grant Director Dan Rothberg and I met up (Dan had flown in from South Africa) and went to dinner with the RIT members.
We dined at a Nepali/Russian restaurant (odd but true) that featured traditional dance performances. Our table was in its own cozy little room, one of several surrounding the stage. Mercifully we had our own heater. A dancer dressed as a very large peacock went door-to-door, followed by others on the central stage wearing various colorful costumes including an elephant-like ensemble and some traditional masks with bright red gowns. A flutist and drummer provided the music.
We had a big dinner with seemingly endless courses of traditional Newari food. Sarala Khaling, regional coordinator for the CEPF investment, praised the small portions, but there were so many tasty dishes that I wondered if my trousers’ seams would make it through this trip. We also tried a bit of the local alcoholic beverage called ayla.
Day 2
The next day we were up early for a meeting with the RIT team and national coordinators from Nepal, northeast India and Bhutan. CEPF’s investment period for the Eastern Himalayas finishes up at the end of 2010, so most of the projects are well on their way or completed.
Grantees in all three countries have had their fair share of challenges. In Bhutan the limited number of NGOs and flash flooding slowed progress; in Northeast India bureaucracy and ethnic conflict made activities difficult; and in Nepal they faced problems associated with the aftermath of civil strife, including extortion by militant groups, broken down institutions, lack of clear local leadership and lack of Internet access for grantees.
Despite these issues, much has been accomplished to date, with 28 projects across the region that are contributing to improvements to sites identified by CEPF as key for conservation, and 42 that are providing data on and helping to support key species.
Over the next several days, the Eastern Himalayas team will take Dan and I to see some of the projects and grantees in Nepal and Northeast India.
We were supposed to have traveled on to Nepal’s Chitwan National Park to the south of Kathmandu today, but instead were stuck here due to a strike called by Maoists, prohibiting travel. The strike call was issued in response to a deadly clash between government authorities and Maoist-backed laborers in far western Nepal over forest land ownership. The strike was later rescinded, but it was too late for us to make the trip.
Next: Chitwan National Park - Gharials