Assessment of Biodiversity Conservation Program in Terai Arc Landscape, Nepal

The study aims to assess the biodiversity conservation program in Terai Arc landscape of Nepal. The overwhelming majority of the respondents (98.64 %) have found satisfied with the programs because the improvement of sustainable livelihoods of the poor people, conservation of species and ecosystem conservation, sustainable forest management, Climate Change Adaptation, alternative energy and conservation education and capacity building of women, men, youths, ethnic groups and conflict affected people. The overall performance of programs has been increased from 4.1 to 7.5 mean score out of ten with 3.4 differences over the period of five years. The women, poor men, Dalits and marginalized groups of the society particularly the buffer zone community, corridor and bottleneck restoration project areas are positive and cooperative towards the programs due to getting direct economic benefits from the programs. The forest conservation works have been done by mobilizing the buffer zone forestry user’s committees and groups. The Corridor and bottleneck restoration program have also done good conservation works through the community forestry users groups. There has been done achievements like hundreds of community based anti-poaching units established and functional, 25 Wildlife Crime Control Bureau are being set up in 25 districts to look after wildlife crime. However, some challenges are reported to sustain the programs. The sustainable livelihoods program needs to be scale-up in the years to come to make a difference in the life of poor people in the areas.