Projects
Nepal
On this page you will find information regarding the project you selected. A summary of the project proposal can be found in the publications section at the bottom of the page.
Description
| Title: | Economic Incentives and Poaching of the One-Horned Indian Rhinoceros in Nepal |
| Theme(s) | Biodiversity, Agriculture |
| Method(s) | Valuation and CBA, Regression Analysis |
General Information
Nepal combines mountainous, hilly and lowland terrain, making its economic development difficult, as evidenced by the widespread poverty. These same geographical features make it a treasure-trove of globally significant biodiversity. The key national parks in Nepal’s Terai region – Royal Chitwan National Park (RCNP) and Royal Bardia National Park (RBNP) – contain important populations of large lowland dwelling mammals. The one-horned Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) is of special interest for its role in the growing eco-tourism industry, and for both poverty reduction and global biodiversity conservation. This rhino population faces a multitude of threats, the chief of which is poaching for valuable rhino horn. Our research aim is to undertake an economic analysis of poaching to clarify understanding of factors influencing poaching and to develop options for simultaneously combating poaching and promoting regional economic opportunities. The study will focus on key stakeholders and will include modelling of economic and related factors that have influenced the level of poaching. This full proposal expands on the pre-proposal by adding a household survey and including additional team members from Nepal and the Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM) in the Netherlands. The study will comprise two approaches and build on previous research by team members (Knowler and Gurung). The first approach is a detailed household survey in the RCNP buffer zone designed to obtain important information about use of park resources and to allow statistical analysis of stakeholder groups and random utility modeling of preferences for alternative management approaches involving local communities. The second is to model poaching behavior to provide information about the effectiveness of current interventions and to simulate alternative control policies.
Project partners:
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Publications for this project
- Journal Article: Population model for the greater one-horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) in Royal Chitwan National Park, Nepal. in: Pachyderm (2004) 37: 19-27.
- PREM Working Paper 05-12 - Economic incentives and poaching of the one-horned Indian rhinoceros in Nepal: Stakeholder Analysis
- PREM Working Paper 05-07 - Economic incentives and poaching of the one-horned Indian rhinoceros in Nepal: A Retrospective Econometric Analysis
- PREM Working Paper 05-11 - Economic incentives and poaching of the one-horned Indian rhinoceros in Nepal:Simulation modelling of policies to combat the poaching of rhino in Royal Chitwan National Park
- Policy Brief 01 - Economic Incentives and Poaching of the One-Horned Indian Rhinoceros in Nepal
- Summary Project #6: Nepal
