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Message from the Country Rep With each passing year WWF Nepal's commitment towards biodiversity conservation is becoming more profound. The recent launch of the Hariyo Ban Program heralds a new era of partnerships and synergies that complement our overarching goal of creating a world in which humans live in harmony with nature. Community-led snow leopard monitoring in the Himalayas is being further strengthened with our maiden project using camera traps in Kangchenjunga. The fact that we could capture an image of a snow leopard on the first day of the installation of the camera traps itself is a major landmark. In this issue of ‘Inside the Himalayas’ these are two of the many stories I would like to share with you; a fitting tribute to our Conservation Heroes whose memories we celebrated during the 3rd National Conservation Day. I take this opportunity to thank all our conservation partners, stakeholders at the national and international levels and most importantly the local communities working on the ground. Happy reading! Inside Remembering our Conservation Heroes First camera-trap image of Nepal’s Snow Leopard released The Great Escape Crossing the landslide in Langtang 2 4 7 © WWF Nepal WWF Nepal newsletter Vol 6 | No. 1 | November 2011 NOVEMBER 2011 Anil Manandhar Country Representative

2 Inside Happy reading!assets.panda.org/downloads/news_letter_issue_6.pdf · Sujeet Shrestha, Project Manager-Kanchanjunga Conservation Area at WWF Nepal, who accompanied Mr Sherpa

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Page 1: 2 Inside Happy reading!assets.panda.org/downloads/news_letter_issue_6.pdf · Sujeet Shrestha, Project Manager-Kanchanjunga Conservation Area at WWF Nepal, who accompanied Mr Sherpa

Message from the Country RepWith each passing year WWF Nepal's commitment towards biodiversity conservation is becoming more profound. The recent launch of the Hariyo Ban Program heralds a new era of partnerships and synergies that complement our overarching goal of creating a world in which humans live in harmony with nature.

Community-led snow leopard monitoring in the Himalayas is being further strengthened with our maiden project using camera traps in Kangchenjunga. The fact that we could capture an image of a snow leopard on the first day of the installation of the camera traps itself is a major landmark.

In this issue of ‘Inside the Himalayas’ these are two of the many stories I would like to share with you; a fitting tribute to our Conservation Heroes whose memories we celebrated during the 3rd National Conservation Day.

I take this opportunity to thank all our conservation partners, stakeholders at the national and international levels and most importantly the local communities working on the ground.

Happy reading!

Insi

deRemembering our Conservation

Heroes

First camera-trap image of Nepal’s Snow Leopard released

The Great Escape Crossing the landslide in Langtang

2

4

7

© WWF Nepal

WWF Nepal newsletterVol 6 | No. 1 | November 2011NOVEMBER

2011

Anil ManandharCountry Representative

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In memory of Nepal's Conservation Heroes, the 3rd National Conservation Day was celebrated in Kathmandu under the leadership of the Government of Nepal and the support of the Conservation Consortium on 24th September 2011. To coincide with the International Year of Forests 2011, the theme for this year’s event was ‘Celebrating Forests for People’ in recognition of the central role of people in the sustainable management, conservation and sustainable development of the world’s forests.

Vice President of Nepal, Rt. Honorable Parmanand Jha was the Chief Guest of the event and Mr. Mohhamad Wakil Musalman, Minister for Forests and Soil Conservation, chaired the function.

On the occasion of National Conservation Day, WWF-Nepal felicitates leading organizations and individuals who have excelled in biodiversity conservation in Nepal each year through the Abraham Conservation Awards and Scholarship programs.

This year, the Abraham Conservation Awards were awarded to three individuals and two organizations in recognition of their contribution to grassroots level conservation. The award recipients were Mr. Bed Bahadur Khadka, Mr. Rajendra Singh Bhandari and Ms. Kalawati Chudhary in the individual category, and Shiv Community Forest and Alternatives Herbal Products Pvt. Ltd in the organization category.

Mr.Raj Bahadur Air received the Matthew Preece and Yeshi Lama Young Conservation Leader Award awarded in honor of Matthew Preece and Yeshi Lama for their life-long contribution to conservation.

Similarly, WWF Media in Conservation Awards, founded to recognize the transformational role of media persons or organizations in highlighting conservation issues in Nepal, were awarded to Ms.

2 November 2011

“FOR THE SakE OF THE LiVES wE’VE LOST…BuT a LEGaCy THaT LiVES ON"

Remembering ourConservation Heroes

© WWF Nepal

© WWF Nepal

© WWF Nepal

© WWF Nepal

© WWF Nepal

© WWF Nepal

Pragati Shahi, reporter with The Kathmandu Post, Mr. Pramod Kumar Tandan, reporter with Naya Patrika Daily, and Hamro Sampada, a monthly magazine.

The Nepal Memorial Scholarships were awarded to John Lhomi Nuppa and Salina Rai while Bharat Prasad Bhatta and Kabita Poudyal received the Chandra Gurung Memorial Scholarships. Likewise, the Jill Bowling Schlaepfer Memorial Scholarships were awarded to Bal Kumar Nepali and Deepak Tharu Dahit while the Jennifer Headley Memorial Scholarships were awarded to Sabina Rijal and Yashodhara Chaudhary.

Two video documentaries of WWF-Nepal showcasing conservation impacts in the Sacred Himalayan Landscape and Terai Arc Landscape and five publications including a book on Late Dr. Tirtha Man Maskey titled Tirtha Man Maskey: The Tiger Warden of Chitwan were also formally launched at the event.

Speaking at the event, Jha stressed on the significance of biodiversity conservation which has been rapidly degraded in recent times due to human activities. He said human existence is directly linked with environment and it is our duty to preserve it.

Similarly, Rt. Honorable Minister for Forests and Soil Conservation Mr. Mohhamad Wakil Musalman, expressed sincere gratitude to the Government of Nepal and consortium members for their commitment towards biodiversity conservation.

Anil Manandhar, Country Representative, WWF Nepal said that we have been able to follow the path which were envisioned by our conservation heroes and I believe all our conservation heroes looking at us from above are proud of us.

The program concluded with a contemporary performance 'The Tree of Life’ presented by Earth-Beat Nepali Theatre, in keeping with the theme of

the day. The performance blended music, motion and messaging to celebrate the importance of forests for people, for wildlife, and for a living planet

The Government of Nepal declared Asoj 7 (23 September) as National Conservation Day in 2008 in memory of the Conservation Heroes who lost their lives in the tragic helicopter accident on 23 September 2006 at Ghunsa, Kangchenjunga..

National Conservation Day is led by a Conservation Consortium comprising WWF Nepal, Bird Conservation Nepal, Environmental Camps for Conservation Awareness, The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, IUCN–The World Conservation Union, Nepal Forum of Environmental Journalists, National Trust for Nature Conservation, Wildlife Conservation Nepal, and The Mountain Institute and Wildlife Watch Group under the leadership of the Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation, Government of Nepal.

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3November 2011

a Climate witness from the HimalayasKathmandu, Nepal – I had never thought I would get an opportunity

like this to represent my country in such a big platform expressed Chungda

Sherpa, popularly known as Himali Chungda who recently returned to Nepal

after attending the Climate Witness Symposium organized by WWF-Japan in

Japan. Mr. Sherpa, hotelier and a farmer from a remote village, Ghunsa, in

Kanchenjunga, represented Nepal alongside Kenya and Mongolia in the Climate

Witness Symposium organized in two different cities of Japan, Tokyo and Osaka,

on 8th and 10th November respectively.

Sharing his excitement and experience with the WWF Nepal team Mr. Sherpa

says, "On the symposium I was able to portray how remote communities like

ours live with the impacts of climate change on a day-to-day basis and how we

need help to adapt. I am hopeful that the government of Japan would provide

us some financial assistance to initiate the adaptation work in Kanchenjunga"

Sherpa added.

Sujeet Shrestha, Project Manager-Kanchanjunga Conservation Area at WWF

Nepal, who accompanied Mr Sherpa at the symposium stated, “for native people

like Chungda, watching and studying the climate is a matter of survival as their

lives are strictly interwoven with the climate and the symposium was a platform

to bring about the core problems as the speakers were the real climate witness

themselves.

"It was highly significant for Japanese audience to have a testimony of climate

impacts direct from its witness like Mr Sherpa", said Mr Takamasa HIGUCHI,

Chief Executive Officer, WWF Japan. I believe his urging message would also

contribute to building up momentum toward more support from Japan to

developing countries like Nepal for their adaptation to the climate change"

Mr. HIGUCHI added.

Eastern Himalayan nations reach base camp on regional climate deal

Chitwan, Nepal – The first complete chain of criminals involved in poaching

and trading of the one-horned rhinoceros in Nepal has been detained by

Chitwan National Park (CNP) authority.

Organizing a press meet at the Parks’ headquarter in Kasara on 25 October 2011,

the CNP authority made public the 17 people held on the charge of poaching the

endangered species and smuggling their derivatives. Rs. 900,000 ($11,465) was

also confiscated from some members of this group.

The success of this operation, which lasted for ten days, is attributed to the

close coordination among the authorities of Chitwan National Park, Criminal

Investigation Bureau, Nepal Army and the local administration. WWF Nepal

also played a vital role to achieve this success.

This arrest is being seen as a significant achievement since it has led to the

complete breakdown of a network of poachers and smugglers right from the

grassroots to the international level. A more interesting facet brought out by this

operation was that one of those arrested, TanjingNima Lama, who runs an illegal

trade network was legally declared dead in 2003; his family had submitted a

false death certificate to the government then. Lama’s arrest is expected to lead

the CNP authorities towards valuable information on the gamut of the poaching

and illegal trade network in Nepal.

The CNP authorities are now carrying out a series of interrogations with the

arrested criminals so as to acquire new and critical information on the network’s

links both within the country and outside which could lead to fresh arrests in the

future. The smuggling ring is believed to be part of a larger network involving

Chitwan, Nawalparasi and Kathmandu in Nepal.

Network of wildlife criminals arrested in Chitwan for poaching and smuggling Rhino horns

Thimphu, Bhutan – The nations of Bhutan, Nepal, India and Bangladesh

have signed a regional climate change adaptation declaration that will see wide-

ranging collaboration on energy, water, food and biodiversity issues, a deal that

could lead the way to similar climate adaptation plans being implemented to

cover other threatened ecosystems.

“The success of our initiative will not only have direct and immediate benefits for

our own people, but we could be setting a worthy precedent for other countries

that share similar conditions,” said Bhutan’s Prime Minister Lyonchhoen Jigmi

Y. Thinley.

The declaration was signed at the Climate Summit for a Living Himalayas –

Bhutan 2011, a two-day summit that brought high-level government officials,

NGOs, leaders of civil society, and youth ambassadors from the four Eastern

Himalayan nations to Bhutan’s capital, Thimphu to work out a deal on energy

security, natural freshwater systems, food security, and biodiversity across the

region.

© WWF Nepal

© WWF Nepal

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Climate-Vulnerable Nepal to Benefit from ambitious New initiative

First camera-trap image of Nepal’s Snow Leopard releasedKathmandu, Nepal – WWF Nepal released the first picture of a snow leopard taken by a

camera trap on 24 October 2011 in Khambachen valley of Kangchenjungaon 23 November 2011.

Ten camera traps (Moultrie D- 40) were installed in various parts of Kangchenjunga

Conservation Area in October 2011 under a pioneering initiative to monitor snow leopards in

Nepal’s Himalayas. The monitoring is being led by local communities through the Kangchenjunga

Conservation Area Management Council and the Snow Leopard Conservation Committee-

Ghunsa. It is expected that the camera traps will guide the estimation of snow leopard

populations in the future.

“The camera traps are a means to empower local communities to lead conservation efforts of

snow leopards,” stated Mr. Anil Manandhar, Country Representative of WWF-Nepal. “With

habitat loss, poaching and retaliatory killing by herders posing as major threats to snow leopards,

community stewardship in conservation is key to the protection of snow leopards,” he added.

The camera traps were installed with the support of WWF-Nepal and Department of National

Parks and Wildlife Conservation through financial assistance received from WWF.

Kathmandu, Nepal – Hariyo Ban, a five-year program to

reduce the adverse impacts of climate change and threats to

biodiversity in Nepal, was officially launched at a ceremony in

the capital on November 8, 2011.

The Hariyo Ban program is a new investment in biodiversity

conservation and climate change in Nepal, funded by the U. S.

Agency for International Development (USAID). The program

will be implemented by a consortium comprised of four leading

conservation organizations in Nepal –WWF, the Cooperative

for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE), the Federation

of Community Forestry Users in Nepal (FECOFUN) and the

National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC) – with WWF

serving as the managing partner.

Climate change is emerging as a major threat to people and

biodiversity of Nepal. More than 1.9 million people are highly

climate vulnerable and 10 million are increasingly at risk.

Biodiversity has also been affected by increased intensity

and frequency of forest fires, floods and landslides. Glacier

retreat in the Himalayas has increased the risk of glacier lake

outburst floods, which could have devastating consequences for

downstream communities, infrastructure, property and wild

species.

“Nepal, being a Himalayan country, is one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world and the Government of Nepal welcomes the efforts being made

by Hariyo Ban,” said chief guest Mr. Deependra Bahadur Kshetry, Vice-Chairman of the National Planning Commission. “The year 2011 is being celebrated as the

International Year of Forests and the theme ‘Forests for People’ also complements the goals of Hariyo Ban, which is expected to bring positive results to the people

and environment of Nepal.”

Meaning “green forests” in Nepali, this program will help to build resilience to climate change in communities and ecosystems by restoring and conserving Nepal’s

forests. It will also improve the livelihoods of some Nepal’s most impoverished communities.

Hariyo Ban will build on the successes of past conservation initiatives like the Terai Arc Landscape in southern Nepal, which is the biggest and most ambitious

landscape level conservation site in Nepal, and the new Chitwan-Annapurna Landscape, which links the high Himalayas to the Terai.

“Recognizing the inseparable link between climate change and development, USAID is proud to lead President Obama’s vision for global development that includes

the Global Climate Change Initiative,” said Ms. Patricia Mahoney, Chargé d’affaires, U.S. Embassy. “This initiative promotes strategic efforts to build lasting

resilience against climate impacts, reduce deforestation and land degradation, foster low-carbon growth, and promote sustainable societies, thus, meeting the

adaptation and mitigation needs of developing countries like Nepal.”

“This ambitious project recognizes that forests are the true wealth of Nepal as forests not only support the livelihoods of millions of people and provide a safe haven

for endangered species but also are vital to combat the impacts of climate change,” said Judy Oglethorpe, Chief of Party, Hariyo Ban. “For WWF, this project also

marks a return to the world famous Annapurna Conservation Area, which was created through the pioneering efforts of the late Mingma Sherpa and Dr. Chandra

Gurung, both of WWF.”

Hariyo Ban program aims to reduce emissions/sequester over 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in the target landscapes. It also aims to provide

direct capacity building and livelihoods support to 180,000 people; bring 50,000 hectares of forest areas under improved management; and generate vital revenue

from successful payments for environment services systems.

© WWF Nepal

© WWF Nepal

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As a first step in the implementation of the Green Economic Corridor program to

showcase the world's first Himalayan Conservation and economic development

zone, around 1500 saplings of broom grass, Salix species, Bakaino and Lapsi

species have been planted in Syaphrubeshi.

The plantation which was carried out under the leadership of the Ministry of

Forest and Soil Conservation saw the active representation from park office,

armed force, Janapad, youths, mother group members, Suryakunda Community

Forest users group and project staffs . WWF provided technical and financial

support to the government and partners in the implementation process.

"Along with maintaining the greenery and stabilizing the soil in the bordering

area, the friendship plantation is a symbol of having a long lasting friendship

between countries", opinedMr. Kamal Kanta Regmi, the Chief District Officer of

Rasuwa district.

The friendship plantation is one of the key factors instrengthening

thetransboundary cooperation on sustainable forest management and

biodiversity conservation. The Suryakunda Community Forest User Group has

been given the responsibility of managing the plantation.

The Syabrubensi-Rasuwagadhi Road runs along the Bhote koshi River

originating from the Tibetan Autonomous Region. SinceChina is heralding

the new avenue to boost economic activities, it is estimated that more than

50 settlements of approximately 50,000 populations residing within Rasuwa

district willbenefit from the new opportunity.

Development of Demonstration Plot at Pankhu CatchmentGone are the days when vegetable farming was a luxury for the locals of Panku

Catchment. Until few years back, the inhabitants had to rely solely on the

nearby market for vegetables for their daily consumption. The situation has

however changed now. The locals’ dependence on the market products has

significantly reduced as most of them have started cultivating seasonal and

off-seasonal vegetable in their own farms. Their produce has not only catered to

their daily needs but has also allowed them to earn additional income by selling

the surplus vegetables in the local market.

Farming of seasonal and off-seasonal vegetables has become a new trend

at Pankhu catchment in Okhaldhunga thanks to the support provided by

Dudhkoshi Sub-Basin Project (DKSBP). DKSBP has helped in improving the

lifestyle of local communities by implementing activities related to conservation

and management of water resources and its proper use.

24 water promotion groups or “water smart communities” have been formed

in this area for the sustenance of the vegetable farming. The communities have

been supported through cost effective technologies such as conservation ponds

and micro irrigation facilities like sprinklers and drip irrigation system for

multiple uses of water (household use, irrigation and water for livestock). The

conservation ponds help store water during dry periods and provide irrigation

facilities to approximately 21 hectares of rainfed farmland, benefiting 926 local

people from 202 households. Pankhukhola Integrated Resource Management

Committee (IRMC) is playing a leading role in promoting and mobilizing the

water smart communities.

Friendship plantation at Green Economic Corridor

© WWF Nepal

© WWF Nepal

© WWF Nepal

Besides this, DKSBP has continued empowering the IRMC, enabling them

to formulate and implement natural resource management plans with the

coordination of district government line agencies such as District Agricultural

Development Office (DADO) for the conservation and management of existing

water resources. In this regard, DADO, Okhaldhunga leveraged a total amount

of NRs 199,000 for Pankhu IRMC for the promotion of four water smart

communities in Pankhu catchment. 45 households are benefitting from this

support. Other local users are also benefitting from the regular technical

facilities provided by the DADO. DADO, Okhaldhunga has formally recognized

Pankhu Catchment as a ‘’Demonstration Plot’’ in managing and wisely using

existing water resources for agricultural development. According to IRMC

from Pankhu catchment, both DADO and IRMC are actively engaged in

formulating strategies and action plans to build the basic infrastructure for the

development of the demonstration plot at Pankhu catchment. DKSBP has, in

effect, strengthened the IRMC to ensure greater participation from different

sectors and stakeholders in formulating and implementing programs/activities

of DKSBP in line with Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) and

Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) initiative of Koshi River Basin

Management. Moreover, Pankhu IRMC and water smart communities are

continuing their efforts to streamline and strengthen their institutional set-up

at the grassroots level so as to build linkages with government line agencies for

implementing IWRM/IRBM activities in the project areas in a more coordinated

manner. This is also expected to ensure the long-term programmatic and

financial sustainability of the IRMC in Pankhu catchment.

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November 2011

The award of the Hariyo Ban program brought with it a lot of excitement for

WWF-Nepal. For the Operations unit, especially HR, it also meant a lot of

work. This quarter was the busiest for the HR unit in the history of WWF Nepal

probably, be it in organizing the annual Dashain party or the mammoth task

of recruiting new staff for the Hariyo Ban program. This quarter was indeed a

major rush coupled with excitement and anxiety.

As with every year, a Dashain party was organized at WWF-Nepal office on 30

September. The festival of Dashain encapsulates cultural as well as social aspects

of Nepal. Understanding and keeping this in view, WWF celebrated the onset of

the festival by inviting staff’s family members and making sure that there was

something for everyone to take part in and enjoy – game stalls, balloons and face

painting, bingo and a lucky draw. Children and parents alike were seen to be

having a great time. The success of the Dashain celebrations goes to our interns

who made sure that the event was well organized and that everyone went off for

the holidays with a happy heart!

Together with the excitement of Dashain, there was the more serious and

enormous responsibility of recruiting 16 positions, that too within a month.

With so much to do in so little time, we landed a record of completing the

recruitment process on time and with a good mix of skills, gender and ethnicity

in the new recruitments.

The growth of WWF-Nepal from a staff-strength of 54 to that of 76 in a span of

2 months has been phenomenal. And our interest is beyond the numbers and

rather on the bigger milestones that we can achieve with a larger WWF-Nepal

family.

[email protected]

Prajana Waiba PradhanHuman Resources Officer

wwF growingBiGGER

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Looking back, I can’t remember when I had a more frightful experience. Born in the mid-mountains of Nepal and having worked in rural areas for almost a decade, I was always confident that I could survive any challenging terrain, but this incident in Langtang was a quite an eye-opener. It feels like yesterday that the grounds beneath shook and my survival was about to be ambiguous.

Langtang is WWF Nepal’s pilot climate adaptation site and, more importantly an example to the outside world of how mountain communities can devise their own ways of facing the climate complexities. I was in Langtang in July 2011 to attend stakeholders’ meetings on climate change adaptation initiative along with my colleague, Moon, WWF’s Senior Climate Adaptation Officer. We were headed to Dhunche, the district headquarter of Rasuwa district.

After driving for a few hours through the crowded little towns, with the beautiful mountain landscape before us and the raging Trishuli River below, we stopped at our usual halt for lunch in a small shanty town of Kalikasthan situated on the south-facing hill slope en-route to Dhunche. During lunch, we chanced upon a conversation of the local people there regarding the monsoon landslides that had worsened since the last few days. We felt quite nervous listening to it since our journey would in fact be taking us through the landslide area. We were advised by the locals to exercise caution while driving through that area since it was really risky. Somehow, it never crossed our minds that the landslide could actually be life-threatening; for us it was just one of those many hurdles that conservationists faced in their daily work.

Soon we were on the road again. We had to make it to Dhuncheon time for the stakeholders’ meeting as our field manager, Ashok, had already informed the relevant stakeholders about the venue, time and agenda of the meeting. After an hour’s drive from Kalikasthan, we reached Mulkharka, the landslide-hit area that the locals all over had been chatting about. To our sheer disappointment, a section of the road ahead had been swept away by landslide and we our only choice was to cross the landslide area on foot and catch another vehicle on the other side to complete our journey to Dhunche. A number of eager village youth offered to carry our bags across for a small sum of money. “Where some saw misery, others of the entrepreneurial bent saw opportunity,” I thought to myself. As we were approaching the landslide zone, all of a sudden, we were enveloped in a thick blanket of mist. The mist also brought with it as light drizzle. The visibility soon plunged and we couldn’t even see what lay a few meters ahead of us. Suddenly the landscape around us took on a very eerie look as if filled with a sense of foreboding. I was completely frightened though I tried not to show it to Moon who was, in the meantime, trying to figure whether it would be a good idea to wait or to continue walking. But we knew that the people were waiting for us in Dhunche and that we had to get there fast.

Soon we came across some local people, including porters, who were hurrying across the landslides from the opposite side while at the same time warning us of falling rocks. The porters bluntly told us that if we were lucky, we would live to see another day. This added all the more to our misery. Now and then we heard rocks rolling down the hill in the dark, which only heightened our fear. We stood transfixed in silence, not knowing what to do next. We didn’t mind waiting if

only we knew for how long, but there was absolutely no way of finding out. After waiting for almost 15-20 minutes and with the mist absolutely refusing to clear our, I asked Moon what our best alternative would be. To my surprise, Moon had made up her mind. She had decided to cross the landslide no matter what the consequence. I tied my shoe laces and prepared myself for a run. I suggested to Moon to do the same while keeping an eye and ear out for falling rocks. We then ran like crazy.

It took only five to seven minutes to cross the critical part of the landslide-affected zone. I heard more sounds of falling rocks as Moon and I safely made it to the other side.

But while we took a moment’s sigh of relief, we also knew that we would have to cross the landslide one more time on our way back. . We kept hoping and praying for the weather to clear out but it just got worse. The night before our return, it rained the whole night further aggravating the situation. When we got to the landslide area, we found that it had gotten even worse. But both Moon and I were mentally prepared for the worst and we took some relief in the fact that at least the visibility that day was better.

We left our hired vehicle and started to walk. After two hours of walk, we reached the landslide area. We saw bulldozers there to clear the path. The soil was sliding slowing due to heavy rain. At certain intervals, rocks were also falling. The locals waited for the rocks to fall and once it stopped, they ran to the other side. We could see everyone saying their prayers and we decided it was the only thing that would give us courage to run to the other side. As we began our descent to the muddy ground, we realized it was not an easy escape as it looked. The ground below was very muddy and our feet got stuck with every step we took. As we crossed the half way, a roaring sound caught us completely off guard…we stood there frozen. “This was it,” I thought when suddenly it dawned on me that it was actually the sound of the bulldozer’s ignition from the other side. I could not help laughing!

As the land slide slowly under us, and we were helplessly trying to find our way, I suddenly saw the trail under Moon’s feet had given away. I immediately grabbed her wrist while the local villager next to her held her arm instinctively. It was a horrifying feeling to see Moon completely hanging on to our support; the section she was walking on a second ago did not exist anymore. Nervous as we were, Moon stayed completely frozen. The question that haunts me till this day is what if we had missed her by a second?

Slowly and cautiously, we made it to the other side finally. Once on safer ground, all we could do was breathe in relief and thank our lucky stars and guardian angels for looking after us. We knew it was a risk we should perhaps have not taken, but I guess that’s what conservationists are made for. We believe in taking risk to fulfill the mission of conservation we believe in. For us the blanket of mist was just among many hurdles we cross each day to materialize our work for the benefit of the grassroots communities, for the sake of a living planet!

[email protected]

The Great Escape...Crossing the landslidein Langtang ©

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© WWF Nepal

Roshan SherchanProgram Manager, Sacred Himalayan Landscape

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Grants & Compliance Officer, Hariyo Ban

Pallavi Dhakal

Communications Officer, Hariyo Ban

RajeshreeBista

F&A Officer, ChAL, Hariyo Ban

Haisuba Gurung

Office Messenger, ChAL, Hariyo Ban

SangitaRamjali

Driver, ChAL, Hariyo Ban

Luna Devi Ghimire

M&E Assistant, Hariyo Ban

Anil Kumar Rai

M&E Assistant, TAL, Hariyo Ban

Manoj Kumar Chaudhary

M&E Assistant, ChAL, Hariyo Ban

Ram Bahadur Praja

Office Messenger, Hariyo Ban

Raju Kumar Khadka

Driver, Hariyo Ban

Muna Thapa

F&A Assistant

SobhanaBista

Accounts Officer

Sanju Gurung

Front Office Assistant

ChaturmanMahato

F&A Officer, TAL PABZ

Mreedu Gyawali

Communications and Marketing

Associate

Abdul Sahim Ansari

Project Co - Manager, TAL PABZ

Yashaswi Shrestha

Program Associate – Lumbini Project

Ang Phuri Sherpa

Program Development Specialist –

Tsum Valley

STaFF aNNOuNCEMENTS

For Living HimalayasWWF’s work in Nepal is part of WWF’s

Living Himalayas Initiative which aims

to bring the three governments of Nepal,

Bhutan and India together to effectively

manage and conserve the Eastern

Himalayan region for the sake of their

exceptional wildlife, breathtaking

environment and unique people.

Editor:

Simrika Sharma

Marasini

Editorial Team:

Akash Shrestha

Eliza Sthapit

Prajana Waiba Pradhan

On the Cover:Lhonak-Snow leopard habitat, Kanchenjunga Conservation Area.

WWF, the Global Conservation OrganizationNepal ProgrammeBaluwatar, Kathmandu, NepalTel: +977 1 [email protected]

www.wwfnepal.org

Species and Climate ChangeSnow Leopard Conservation

Hariyo Ban

WWF Nepal newsletterVol 6 | No. 1 | November 2011