Beyond Protected Areas: Assessing Management Effectiveness of a Ramsar Site in Nepal

Abstract

Ramsar Sites, wetlands of international importance, are an international category of protected wetland areas recognized under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. Protected areas around the world are not achieving the conservation objectives for which they were established, often due to a lack in effective management practices. Hence, protected area management effectiveness and its assessments are crucial elements of achieving responsive and pro-active management. Ramsar Sites that are not recognized as a protected area under the national park and wildlife conservation act in Nepal are often ignored for such assessments and receive little attention in terms of conservation and management. This study aimed to fill this gap by assessing Jagadishpur Reservoir Ramsar Site, which falls into the above category. The Ramsar Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool was used to assess the management effectiveness. Transformed into the global standard reporting format, the overall management effectiveness was 0.27 on a 0 to 1 scale. This score is considered to be in an inadequate range, requiring significant conservation intervention from government with support from conservation partners. This first assessment of Ramsar Site outside of protected area in Nepal and its comparison to global and European regional-level assessments provides the benchmark for future evaluation to track progress in management effectiveness. In conclusion, Ramsar Sites outside formally protected areas are often neglected and intermittent projects, and ad hoc implementation of small-scale activities seems inadequate to improve management effectiveness.