VI. INFORMATION AND TRAINING

[ VI-A | IV-B | VI-C ]

B. Existing training facilities

In terms of existing environmentally-related training centres, the most prominent are the five Regional Training Centres of the Department of Forests. They provide training for staff of all departments under the Ministry of Forest and Soil, Conservation, the Department of Forests, the Department of Soil Conservation and the Department of National Parks and Wild Life Conservation. They provide training of trainers both to departmental staff as well as to outside trainers. The centres are also providing the training required for the community forestry projects. Training is being provided on environmental aspects by various governmental training institutes, such as the Women's Development Centre and the Nepal Administrative Staff College. Various ad hoc measures have been taken by those agencies to create the minimum number of trained personnel. In that regard, training within and outside the country has been organized. Thus the Ministry of Population and Environment, the Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation and the Ministry of Industry/Irrigation have a core of trained professionals who can carry out limited functions.

One significant development towards human resources development has been the formation of the Environment Core Group (ECG). It is a multidisciplinary group of professionals from various environmentally-related government, non-governmental and private sector agencies, and now numbers 150 members. ECG has been active in, among other things, conducting training sessions and seminars by members and expatriate experts. ECG was conceived about two years ago, before the establishment of the Ministry of Population and Environment, and all decisions regarding environmental regulations, directives and controls had to be formalized at EPC. It was then intended to serve as a team of resource persons from different ministries to assist EPC in obtaining factual information and analyses on environmental issues before EPC took action. Thus it was expected to serve as a group of EPC contact persons from the respective ministries. A joint secretary level official from each relevant ministry was to act as the person of that ministry responsible for liaising with EPC. With the creation of the Ministry of Population and Environment, the initial role of ECG had to be redefined. Accordingly, it has since been broadened to include experts from outside the government. One example of how ECG could be meaningfully utilized is in helping to determine the scope of work and strategy for IUCN with regard to its future programme in Nepal.

Occasionally, training is also arranged for officials as well as private individuals. One such recent programme was on industrial pollution management. One comprehensive on-going activity, "Training on cleaner production technology" was started in Kathmandu in January 1997. It incorporates practical work and demonstrations, and is spread over several months. It has a wide participation from the Ministry of Population and Environment, the Ministry of Industry/Irrigation, the Department of Industry/Irrigation and NBSM, as well as private industry. Outside training of government officials consists of specialized training and participation in seminars abroad. Donor agencies have been funding such project and non-project related participation.

IUCN, the foremost institution related to the environment, in association with NPC and other agencies concerned, has been active in helping the to develop sustainable village-level strategies and plans, and in assisting local institutions to develop and implement conservation action plans. Sustainable Local Level Plans have been developed for eight villages in different parts of the country. One recent addition was the Conservation Action Plan for the Phewa Lake Watershed Area in Pokhara. Basically, the plans are drawn up on the initiative of, and rely on, the active participation of the stakeholders, with outside experts acting as facilitators only.

UNDP, in association with the Ministry of Local Development, has been assisting in introducing a Participatory District Development Programme (PDDP) which has had a great impact on the education and training of local people in environmentally-friendly development. PDDP is considered to be one of the most successful programmes ever in Nepal, because of its sustainable impact.

One other remarkable project, supported by UNDP, is the Parks and People Programme which stresses that the involvement of local people is imperative in sustaining conservation efforts. The programme, while addressing the issue of poverty, emphasizes human resources development and joint action both by natural parks staff and the local communities in managing national parks and reserves.

The World Wildlife Fund was one of the pioneers in assisting Nepal in sustainable parks management. The Annapurna National Park (box 2) has become a model in that regard. The training and involvement of the local people in the management of the park, thus removing the need for outside guards and other personnel, has been most effective and self-sustaining. One interesting and comprehensive activity undertaken in that regard was the development of environment focused district development plans for the Bagmati Zone by the International Centre for Mountain Development and sponsored by the Asian Development Bank. The plan gives a very comprehensive picture of the resource base, as well as a list of priorities for resource conservation and utilization, in a very simple form that is easily understandable by local people. Similarly, bilateral assistance projects involved in rural development have focused on environmental protection and have not only been creating awareness but also providing training for the local population in environmentally friendly development. The modality in all those projects is the active involvement of the stakeholders and on-the-job training.

NCRTC, under the aegis of KMTNC is an important training institution. One of the objectives of the centre is national capacity enhancement. The training component of NCRTC is jointly supported by UNDP and the Global Environmental Facility, and is implemented in close association with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation. Since 1994, it has conducted three two-week courses on wildlife techniques for 37 rangers and seven park wardens, two training courses on community forestry for 15 rangers, two training courses on community participation techniques for 25 game scouts and 17 park rangers, a week-long nature guide training course for 16 guides, and two week-long lodge and tourism management training courses for 24 lodge owners. An NCRCT training complex was recently set up at Sauraha.

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