Some of the initiatives such as ecotourism trail developed by the Phrumseingla National Park were found to be unsuccessful in delivering their social objectives of attracting tourists and uplifting lives of people living nearby the park. This was noted in the research findings of Thinley Choden, a Senior Forest Officer of Ugyen Wangchuck Institute of Conservation and Environmental Research in Bumthang.
According to Thinley’s research carried out in 2015, the Rodongla trail along the Phrumseingla Park failed to promote tourism. Citing another example of the park’s initiatives, she said, the Integrated Conservation Development Programmes have not provided equal opportunities to the communities. The study was done to understand people’s perception on protected areas.
“People said there could be an improvement because when few communities were receiving benefits from the park, few others were not. So, at the policy making level and even in management plans, we should ensure such attitudes don’t develop among the people,” added the Senior Forest Officer. “For instance id people don’t support tiger conservation; they are going to kill tigers.”
The research also revealed there is misconception among public that some areas of the park are not allocated for timber extraction.
“From science perspectives, if you are to convince the people that this particular area has to be protected, then we should take measures in such a way that we should have figures and research findings with empirical evidences to convince the people that these areas should be protected in order to solve the conflict,” said Thinley Choden.
She also pointed out the community has to be involved in different preparation phases of the management plan to avoid such issues in the future. The study on ‘People’s Perception on Protected Areas’ is the first of its kind in the country. She interviewed 42 people including community, park officials and officials from the agriculture and forests ministry for her research.
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