Institutionalising community-based sustainable mechanism to compensate crop and livestock damage in Kangpara

Alternatives to mitigate Human Wildlife Conflict

Traditional watchtower to guard the crops

Consultative meetings with the stakeholders and communities of Passangphu and Madhuwa Tshowogs in Kangpara Gewog, Tashigang from 25^th April- 1^st May. The consultative meeting was a part of RSPN’s pilot initiative to reduce Human Wildlife Conflict (HWC) in the area. This two-year project, funded by UNDP and DANIDA, will focus on compensating the HWC affected farmers by institutionalising a community-based sustainable financial mechanism at the grassroots level. Interested households can register as a member of the scheme by contributing membership fee and premiums. The compensation will be partial and eligible only if the elected committee deem appropriate for compensation. In a socio-economic survey conducted by RSPN in Passangphu and Madhuwa in Kangpara Gewog (Thrimshing Dungkhag) and Tshogonpa and Moshi in Lumang Gewog (Wamrong Dungkhag) in 2008, it showed that Passangphu and Madhuwa were the most HWC affected villages mainly in terms of crop damage by wildlife.

The project seeks to address the HWC issue at the local level by identifying and piloting innovative solutions that are in line with the RGOB’s National Human Wildlife Conflict Management Strategy (2008). It complements the strategy objective specifically Strategy 2: “to devolve the management of the current, centrally run compensation program to the communities themselves and introduce an insurance program”.

hwc_meeting_reportMay2011

Participants of the HWC Consultative Meeting (Passangphu and Madhuwa, Kangpara Gewog).

The consultative meeting was conducted mainly with the objective to plan and inform the communities and the local stakeholders about the HWC pilot project, to identify feasible mitigation measures to reduce HWC in the area ( by accommodating farmers’ views), to enhance the understanding of the stakeholders on HWC issues, to identify HWC area and create a zonation map based on local people’s knowledge and to define the next steps toward the establishment of a formal HWC committee and to plan several short-term priority actions. Local stakeholders included local leaders such as village Tshogpas and Chupens, Territorial forest officer, Gewog Renewable Natural Resource Centre (RNRC) officers- agriculture, livestock and forest, Basic Health Worker of the Basic Health Unit (Passangphu BHU) and Principal (Passangphu Primary School).

Further, consultative meeting with the relevant stakeholders in Thimphu was also held on 26^th May 2011. The consultative stakeholder meeting was initiated mainly to inform and involve the stakeholders’ right from the very beginning of the project period. The meeting deliberated on the preliminary framework for HWC Sustainable institutional Financial Mechanism developed by RSPN. Mr. Sonam Wangdi, HWC Management Section, Wildlife Conservation Division also updated the stakeholders about its activities and the HWC Endowment Fund. Other stakeholders’ included representatives from Department of Livestock, Department of Agriculture, UNDP and BFTEC. The framework will be further consulted with the local communities for finalization.

Reported by: Tshering Phuntsho, RSPN

Royal Society For Protection of Nature

Institutionalising community-based sustainable mechanism to compensate crop and livestock damage in Kangpara