Problem overview:

     Awareness and visions: The initiative of the Annapurna Conservation Project (ACAP) has helped conserve and manage natural resources while at the same time promote economic development through the decentralization of power from central government to the local level.

     Framework for coordination: Decentralization of management has increased the role of local communities in managing their own resources, while the role of authorities was redefined as promoters and facilitators.

     Integrating stakeholders: The Conservation and Development Committee (CDC) of ACAP comprises of specialized committees from various fields such as, lodge management, electricity management, community management, etc. and this made ACAP able to achieve success in its multifarious areas.

Background in summary:

     Origination of ACAP: The problem of environmental degradation and economic deprivation of the local people started being felt in the area with an increasing population, trekking tourism, deforestation and over-grazing of pastures. To address the problems, ACAP was launched in 1986 under the auspices of the King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation (KMTNC), a non-governmental organization created under a special act.

     Main strategy to involve the community: The initiative of the Annapurna Conservation Project (ACAP) has helped conserve and manage natural resources while at the same time promote economic development through the decentralization of power from central government to the local level. Hence active participation of the local community at all stages of project planning; implementation, monitoring and evaluation constitute the cornerstone of this pioneer project.

     Institutional Arrangements: ACAP consists of the project organization on the one hand and the local organization on the other. The local institutions consist of the main Conservation and Development Committee (CDC). CDC is the main institution responsible for the formulation of policies and programmes relating to resource management and community development.

     Core programmes of ACAP:

• Resource conservation
  
  
• Sustainable rural development
  
  
• Sustainable tourism management
  
  
• Conservation education and extension
  
  

     Finance: The main sources of finance are the entry fee for visitors, income from support services, HMGN contribution, and multilateral and bilateral foreign assistance. Contribution from local communities also constitutes a significant part of income.

     Accomplishments: ACAP has been able to achieve success in its multifarious areas of activity, including development of local institutions, tree plantation, heritage conservation, forest conservation, community development, literacy enhancement, horticultural development, tourism promotion, and conservation education and extension. The project has carried out a number of scientific studies on various ecological and social aspects such as biodiversity and conservation.

Peer Review Committee Good practice rating: (1 for the best, 5 for the lowest score)
Sustainability		Efficiency
2	Improvement in either the environment of economic condition with no harm to the other.	2	Cost efficient.
2	Sustainable over time (not one-off)	Process
Adaptability		1	Participation of the community
2	Location adaptability (can the project be done in other places?)	1	Participation of resource owners/users
3	Socio-cultural adaptability.	1	Partnerships between various actors (Governments, NGO, Academia, Private)
3	Level of development adaptability.	1	Degree of coordination and cooperation between government departments.
2	Style of government adaptability.	2	Ability to attract political interest/support
2	Degree of decentralization adaptability.	-	Procedures for feedback and review.
Comments on this example:      In most countrys the fees from such places goes to the Government Treasury and hence cannot be used for the development of the area concerned. These can rapidly backfire by discouraging tourism to the entire country. Hence, the funds available for management of these areas are often inadequate. So long as the entry fee is genuine, and goes to maintain the facilities and prevent destruction tourists will seldom object to it. Sustainability of the project:      Awareness and visions: This programme has raised awareness to local communities and tourists since its existance. Basically, these 2 parties, communities and tourists are the ones imposing a strain on the environmental condition from tourism and increasing population. If these 2 parties have become aware of the problem, hopefully, their actions would change in a more sustainable manner. This theory has been applied in Annapurna and has already proven that awareness does help make change in behavior. Adaptability of the project to other situations:      Degree of decentralization adaptability: In order for other countries to create a community programme similar to Annapurnas, a degree of decentralization must already exist or needs to be established.      Other countries, including the Cook Islands and Galapagos Islands, have similar guarantee funds. Process of decision making and implementation:      Framework for coordination: Since there are at least 3 stakeholders involved in this community programme, namely, the government, local communities and ACAP (an NGO), a good coordination framework is required in order for the 3 stakeholders to clearly understand their roles and to work cooperatively with each other.      Integrating stakeholders: Integration of stakeholders, the state, communities and the private sector, is one key factor required for the success of this programme. The private sector could assist in providing the facilities, the communities by the provision of services and the state through advice and guidance for management of such areas.      Integrating local communities at the beginning stage of the programme has helped the government and NGOs understand more about the current environmental and economic problems. The communities benefit in return from expressing their expectations of how they want the problem to be solved. Cost efficiency: