Trekking tourism and protected area management in the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal

This investigation examines local trekking tourism in the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal and how evaluation of the management of this activity contributes to strategies of integrating conservation and development in protected areas. A framework of political economy is used to place key analytical components—ecosystems, participatory approaches, and strategies for generating local economic benefits—and provide insight into factors underlying the distribution of local tourism benefits, decision-making arrangements and implications for conservation.; Field work was conducted over 15 months in a popular trekking area on the southern slopes of the Annapurna range. This site was also the focus of Annapurna Conservation Area Project's (ACAP) efforts to promote sustainable tourism. Data collection techniques included observation, interviews, sample surveys and literature reviews.; Conditions favoured a locally-owned response, (lodges in this case), to economic opportunities. However, factors of political economy (namely access to resources and social status) have enabled members of the predominant local Gurung ethnic group operating large and medium sized lodges to benefit more than others. Local economic linkages were weak since lodges integrated related activities into their operations. Operators also made significant investments and expenditures outside the region leading to leakage or a flow of economic activity out of the local economy.; Fuelwood extraction is the primary tourism impact on forest resources, but was considered by the author to be localised and most acute at high elevations. ACAP activities have reduced per trekker fuelwood consumption rates, and thus have potential to accommodate increasing numbers of annual visitors. ACAPs efforts to promote local stewardship of forest resources raise issues of reconciling local decision-making over forests with management of large-scale ecosystems.; The creation of ACAP highlighted the need for strategic interventions by external and non-traditional agencies to integrate conservation, and to promote widespread distribution of site-based tourism benefits. Elements of the model of local participation have been applied elsewhere in Nepal. From the analysis, key continuing issues for ACAP include integrating scales of decision-making in meeting conservation objectives, building local capacities to design and manage interventions and finding workable institutional arrangements for the governance of the area.