Conservation and discrimination: case studies from Nepals national parks

The document details the historical and ongoing marginalisation of Indigenous Tharu communities in Nepal, focusing on the Bardiya National Park. It argues that conservation policies have deprived these communities of land and resources, leading to forced evictions and economic exploitation. Despite legal frameworks like ILO Convention No 169 and UNDRIP, the Tharu face significant barriers to reclaiming land or receiving compensation, as the government requires formal land ownership certificates that many Indigenous people lack due to historical systemic abuses.

• Indigenous communities in Nepal have been historically deprived of land, forest, and water resources due to conservation policies, natural resource extraction, and mega-development projects, a process rooted in centuries of abusive taxation and forced labour.
• The Tharu community in Geruwa has suffered extensive forced evictions by Bardiya National Park authorities since the mid-1980s, with approximately 300 households and 274 Tharu community members evicted.
• The establishment of Bardiya National Park in 1976 and its subsequent restrictions have prevented Tharu communities from engaging in traditional livelihood activities, including cattle herding, fishing, and gathering forest products, resulting in the loss of collective traditional knowledge.
• Legal efforts by the Geruwa community to reclaim land through the supreme court in 2006 failed to result in compensation or resettlement as of November 2020, because the government requires land ownership certificates and tax receipts that many Indigenous people do not possess.
• Nepal has established 20 protected areas, including 12 national parks, which collectively occupy 23.39% of the land, often employing a 'fortress conservation model' that ignores the rights of marginalised and Indigenous peoples.

APA

Deuja, J. (2022). Conservation and discrimination: case studies from Nepals national parks. Green Economy Coalition. https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/news-and-resources/conservation-and-discrimination-case-studies-from-nepals-national-parks

Chicago

Deuja, Jagat. Conservation and discrimination: case studies from Nepals national parks. Green Economy Coalition, 2022. https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/news-and-resources/conservation-and-discrimination-case-studies-from-nepals-national-parks.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Deuja |first1=Jagat |title=Conservation and discrimination: case studies from Nepals national parks |publisher=Green Economy Coalition |date=13 April 2022 |url=https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/news-and-resources/conservation-and-discrimination-case-studies-from-nepals-national-parks |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{deuja2022conservation, author = {Deuja, Jagat}, title = {{Conservation and discrimination: case studies from Nepals national parks}}, institution = {Green Economy Coalition}, year = {2022}, month = apr, url = {https://www.greeneconomycoalition.org/news-and-resources/conservation-and-discrimination-case-studies-from-nepals-national-parks}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }