EPRC >> About EPRC

Empowering People For Rhino Conservation

It is about one decade that buffer zone management program has been implementing in the buffer zone areas of Chitwan National park; but, due to inadequate awareness level, neither local communities are able to understand the theme of the program and know the legal procedures to obtain their rights. Nor the enough initiatives have been rendered to educate, empower and involve bufferzone people towards the conservation. Along with these circumstances, woes of bufferzone people are further compounded when rhinos make forays into their standing crops and damage properties. This tendency has only furthered resentment of bufferzone people culminating into antagonism against wild lives.

Mobilization of the communities in conservation is still unsatisfactory. Bufferzone people are directly involving in the rhino poaching and the rhino poaching is going unabated. Among the detainees of CNP on poaching cases, 50% are from bufferzone areas, mostly from indigenous and marginalized group. According to officially data, after the Rhino Count of 2005, 48 rhinos were dead till now. Among them 27 rhinos were killed by the poachers and 21 from natural cause. Rhino Count 2005 numbered 372 rhinos in Chitwan National Park where it was 544 in 2000.

The protection of endangered one horned rhino is not viable without convincing conservation aspects and enhancing direct involvement of people that reside on the fringes of Chitwan National Park.

Considering these facts, Media Consultancy Nepal has been implementing Empowering People for Rhino Conservation (EPRC) program with the support of Asian Rhino Project, Australia. The program has covered five conservation threat VDCs of Chitwan National Park. They are Meghauli, Jagatpur, Kumroj, Kolhuwa and Kumarwarti.

The program has envisaged to improve rhino-human relationship through conservation education, to enhance CBOs role of bufferzone on rhino conservation advocacy, to influence practice and policies of government, to strengthen local and national co-ordination on conservation and to widely disseminate information on rhino conservation locally, nationally and internationally.

Following outcomes are expected from the EPRC program through the activities mentioned below

Output 1

Improve rhino-human relationship through conservation education.

		Focus group discussions with indigenous groups
		Establishment of five rhino clubs
		Discussion with environment and science teachers
		Interactions with mother groups and farmer groups.
		Truth sharing programs

Output 2

CBOs of bufferzone area effectively advocate for rhino conservation.

		Training of trainer (ToT) to selected CBOs members
		Training for other CBOs members by ToT participants
		Awareness rallies by CBOs
		Conservation awareness cultural programs
		Public hearings

Output 3

Influence practice and policy of governmental and nongovernmental organizations on rhino issues.

		Workshop with bufferzone committees
		Interaction with local political parties
		Discussions with VDC chairpersons
		Seminar with advocates
		Interaction on economic reimbursement for wildlife victims.

Output 4

Strengthen local and national co-ordination and collaboration.

Output 5

Information on rhino conservation more widely available primarily to the bufferzone community and also disseminate at district, national and international level.

		Create rhino conservation website
		Establish a network of conservation journalists.
		Journalists tour to different bufferzone and protected areas
		Best Conservation Journalist Award
		Production of Annual Nepalese Calendar
		Information desk on VDCs office