Nepalese conservationist gains Tongariro experience

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 269, 22 December 1988, Page 7

Nepalese conservationist gains Tongariro experience

"Kia ora bro", says one of Tongariro National Park's long term visitors, Hum Badahur Gurung from Nepal to the reporter who has called to hear his story.

Hum is here in the park to gain practical experience of park management to compliment his studies at Lincoln College, where he is enrolled in the three year Bachelor of Parks and Recreation course. While here he has "been doing everything", from pine pulling with Peter Devlin and the volunteers to mowing grass. The degree and much of the management experience will help him when he returns to his job of project assistant in the Annapurna Conservation Area Project in central Nepal. This project aims to counter some of the problems caused by the popularity of the area for trekkers. The biggest is the destruction of native rhododendron forest and subsequent loss of soil through erosion. This is caused by the need for timber as a fuel for heating and cooking in the trekker lodges. The project covers five main aspects: Forestry and Wildlife, which includes the setting up of reforestation and fodder nurseries and environmental impact studies; Alternative Energy - providing kerosene depots, solar energy projects

and micro hydro installations as alternatives to wood a s fuel; Community Development - helping villagers with water supply improvement and composting and pit toilets, and family planning and health care; Conservation Education - in schools, villages and providing information for trekkers; and For the Tourist - providing services such as radio communications, search and rescue,

information and emergency health posts. Hum says conservation in his country has to take a different ap-

proach, with villagers so dependent on the environment. He said projects must call for co-operation of the villasers rather than

imposing conservation laws. "Everywhere there is conflict between people and governments over conservation," he said. Hum comes from a village in the Annapurna Conservation area, called Siklis. The town is at about 2000 metres above sea level and is two to three times the population of Ohakune. He says it takes him a day to walk there from Pokhara, which is a town on the road from Kathmandu.

"Tourists take two days," he said. Hum was married shortly before coming to New Zealand and he is trying to get her to New Zealand, but that is proving difficult thanks to red tape and slow postal services. He said it takes 20 to 25 days to get a letter to Purna, his wife. Though he has telephoned her since being in Ohakune. Purna Gurung has a similar education background to Hum and also works on the Annapurna project.

The degree Hum is working towards will be worth a lot to him when he returns because of the very high standard of education here. Hum had the choice of the Lincoln course or a six month course in Britain before coming here. He said Sir Edmund Hillary helped him in his application for the New Zealand course as well as Bruce Jeffries, ex-chief ranger for the Tongariro National Park who now works in Nepal.