19th March 2026, Kathmandu: The Government of Nepal with support from WWF Nepal has launched a four-year project, “Reviving Faith Leadership for High Mountains Rangeland Conservation in Nepal,” to conserve high-altitude rangelands in remote upper Dolpa in Karnali Province while benefiting local livelihoods and cultural preservation. Funded by the Government of UK through the Darwin Initiative, the collaboration explores an innovative co-management approach leveraging strengths of stakeholders and integrating local indigenous knowledge and modern science.

2026 marks the International Year of the Rangelands and Pastoralists. The rangelands in Nepal’s high mountains have sustained nature and people for millennia. They are also an important source of revenue and help assure water security for people. In Dolpa, as elsewhere in the Himalayas, they support a wide range of biodiversity, including the snow leopard, and serve as a socio-economic lifeline for Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IP & LCs). Yet these rangelands face direct risks from increasing anthropogenic pressures, aggravated further by impacts of climate change.

“WWF Nepal has a strong history of working with underprivileged communities in some of the country’s most remote landscapes. With support from the Darwin Initiative, we have improved the lives of economically and socially disadvantaged groups in the Terai” said Dr. Ghana Shyam Gurung, Country Representative, WWF Nepal. “Through this new project in upper Dolpa, one of Nepal’s most remote regions we aim to deliver similar impact by strengthening community-led conservation and livelihoods” he added.

Nepal prioritizes safeguarding the natural and cultural integrity of these rangelands. Forward-looking policies have created an enabling environment for collaborative management of these rangelands, including meaningful engagement of IP & LCs. However, it acknowledges practical challenges including remoteness, limited resources and unclear management responsibilities affecting effective conservation.

WWF has been supporting DNPWC and local communities in holistic conservation efforts in SPNP, focused on snow leopards as flagships. Noting that conservation sustainability relies on stewardship of the stakeholders, these efforts have prioritized enhancing coexistence by strengthening positive correlations between nature and people’s wellbeing. Managing conflicts with wildlife, supporting livelihood diversification, education, supporting clean energy access are some of the priorities. 

“Community engagement and integration of traditional knowledge in rangeland management is a priority strategy of the government of Nepal. DNPWC would like to acknowledge the donors and partners in contributing on it through this important project” remarked Dr. Budhi Sagar Paudel, Director General of DNPWC.

This UK Government funded project will build on these foundations to secure rangelands and their tangible and non-tangible services for people’s long-term wellbeing. 

Led by the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) and Shey Phoksundo National Park (SPNP), and guided by the Shey Phoksundo Rural Municipality (SPRM), this project strives towards a replicable governance model for high altitude rangelands of Nepal. The rangelands in the project site support over 650 households in the Buddha and Mukporong Buffer Zone User Committees, where communities rely on livestock herding, non-timber forest products, and traditional medicine for their livelihoods and wellbeing. 

Guided by GoN policies, indigenous knowledge and global best practices, the Project will capacitate local community members – notably youth, women and herders, as members of local Rangeland Management Sub-committees (RMSc) of the BZUCs. To preserve and strengthen traditional knowledge systems, the RMScs will be led by faith leaders and traditional medical practitioners – known as Amchis. The initiative will also support Amchis to transition toward legal and sustainable medicinal ingredients, reducing reliance on threatened wildlife and plant species while preserving the integrity of traditional Sowa Rigpa practices.
In addition to WWF, the project’s civil society partners include Asia Network for Sustainable Agriculture and Bioresources (ANSAB) Nepal and Sowa Rigpa Association Nepal (SRAN). ANSAB Nepal with expertise in sustainable harvest of non-timber forest products (NTFPs), value addition and trade linkage for improved livelihood prospects, will support SPNP and the communities in scientific management. Likewise, SRAN, an institution promoting preservation of traditional Sowa Rigpa (Buddhism-based ‘Science of Healing’) will support adaptation to current context, by capacitating Amchis to strengthen this generations-old medical practice on which these remote communities depend.

“This project is a brilliant example of how UK support through the Darwin Initiative can strengthen local leadership to benefit both people and nature. By working with faith leaders and community rangeland committees, we recognise a simple truth long taught by the Buddha: the wellbeing of people and the natural world are closely linked”  said His Excellency Robb Fenn, Ambassador of the UK to Nepal.