Dr Uday Raj SHARMA

Countries of this WCPA Region

The South Asia Programme

WCPA South Asia has been in existence for six years. As at October, 2000 there are over 60 members who are mainly professionals working directly or indirectly on protected area issues. There have been a number of Regional Working Sessions in South Asia, including in Islamabad in 1995, and in Colombo, Sri Lanka in 1997. The 1997 workshop agreed to prepare a Regional WCPA Action Plan for protected areas in South Asia and this was published in 1998. This regional action plan outlines the status of protected areas in South Asia; country recommendations, focused recommendations relevant to protected areas in the region; and general recommendations. The Regional Action Plan also outlines priority projects for the following areas:

• capacity building;
• regional guidelines for protected area management;
• regional guidelines on community involvement in protected area management; and
• case studies of transboundary protected areas.

One of these priority projects was effectively implemented through a workshop on collaborative management of protected areas. Action is well advanced in other priority projects.

A work plan for WCPA South Asia for 2000-2002 has been identified

it includes the following actions:

• prepare a directory of WCPA members in South Asia;
• publish a Regional WCPA Newsletter;
• facilitate the establishment of a protected area database for the South Asia region;
• explore opportunities and funding for implementing priority projects; and
• establish regular communication with WCPA South Asia members.

Key Issues

South Asia is a densely populated region that contains spectacular scenery and important biodiversity, ranging from Mount Everest (Sagarmatha) in Nepal to the tiger reserves of India. The line where nature ends and human influence begins is often indistinct and, as for other regions, only an artifact of a limited perception of time. Protected areas encompass an area of roughly 211,000 sqkm in South Asia. The percentage of protected area coverage varies greatly among countries with, for example, Bhutan having designated over 20% of its territory as protected, and Pakistan and India approximately 4%. Key protected areas issues include: Adequacy of coverage. It is important to note that while there may be a high percentage of area covered within the protected areas system of some countries, not all habitats are adequately represented. Important areas of endemism and other biologically significant areas still need to be protected. As for other regions, marine areas and wetlands have been poorly represented in protected area designation and remain underrepresented in protected area networks. Threats to protected areas. The following threats are common to protected areas in South Asia:

• commercial - industrial pressure including mining, logging, and development projects;
• poaching and illegal felling and removal of timber;
• human dependency for fuelwood, non-timber forest products, and grazing
• mismanaged tourism;
• weak legislative control and enforcement; and
• lack of political commitment for conservation.

News

Newsletter 2006
Newsletter 2005

	IUCN members call for action against rhino poaching in Nepal 12 January 2007 SSC Rhino poaching is the most pressing issue facing Nepal's wildlife today. With rhino populations shrunk by about a third since 2000, commission members of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) in Nepal submitted a petition to the Environment Conservation Committee of the Nepalese House of Representatives on 12 January 2007 to prompt immediate action in favour of Nepal’s rhinos.
Webstory Species Survival Commission
	World Conservation Union Mourns Helicopter Crash Victims 25 September 2006 The World Conservation Union (IUCN) today is mourning the victims of the recent helicopter crash in Nepal. Many of the believed victims were IUCN Commission members or worked for IUCN member organizations including WWF and the Nepalese government.
Full storyWWF InternationalWWF Nepal

SIACHEN PEACE PARK GAINING MOMENTUM

The Siachen glacier between India and Pakistan is the longest mountain glacier in the world - and the world's highest battlefield. Since 20 years, the armed forces of India and Pakistan have fought on the Saltaro Ridge, south of the Siachen Glacier, with at least 15,000 casualties - mainly from altitude and weather - and devastating the unique glacier environment. 1000 kg of human waste per day are dropped into crevasses on the Indian side alone. Causing pollution and degradation in the mountain area, all this garbage will eventually end up in the Indus River, on whose waters millions of people depend.

Turning the entire area into a Transboundary Peace Park may help resolving this conflict. This park would enable both parties to withdraw under conditions of honour and dignity; it would save thousands of lives and billions of rupees; and it would stop further degradation of a magnificent mountain area. Transboundary Peace Parks aim to foster cooperation and peace between countries and to conserve ecosystems which do not recognize national borders. The number of Transboundary Protected Areas, more than 169 today, has doubled since 1990.

An informal group of the World Commission on Protected Areas, together with a range of international organisations, is promoting the Siachen Peace Park. This includes an active group in the USA, based at the University of Vermont. IUCN - The World Conservation Union joined with the mountaineering group of the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) in 2002 to sponsor a series of summit climbs in Switzerland as symbolic Peace Climbs involving Indian and Pakistani mountaineers. Under the Italian "K2 2004 - 50 years later" project, the idea of the Siachen Peace Park was presented at the Vth IUCN World Parks Congress, with representatives from Indian and Pakistani non-governmental organisations amongst the audience.

At this year's International Environmental Security conference in The Hague, international organizations expressed their will to help in funding and supporting the Siachen Peace Park. For September this year, a workshop "Save the Siachen: an Environmental Initiative" is planned after the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of India and Pakistan, with some 80 diplomats, celebrities and researchers expected to attend. However, the success of all activities is dependent on the military negotiations first, that are only recovering slowly after the major crisis caused by terrorist attacks in 2001 and 2002.

Mountain Research and Development, Vol 22, No 4 (abstract)
The IUCN/UIAA Peace Climb
Siachen Peace Park Presentation at Vth IUCN World Parks Congress

South Asia Update 2003

A LAUNCH PAD FOR PROTECTED AREAS AS A BASIS FOR DEVELOPMENT IN VIETNAM
March 22, 2004

After two years of intensive consultation, field research and policy analysis in the four countries of the Lower Mekong region, the Protected Areas and Development (PAD) Review is now drawing to a close. Four national PAD reports have been endorsed by the respective governments of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam; a regional report providing a framework of strategies for a regional conservation action plan has been produced; field studies covering clusters of protected areas have been conducted in each country; and, lessons from global PAD experience during the past decade have been compiled.

Full Press Release
South Asia Region
Protected Areas and Development in the lower Mekong River Region