SPRING Summer School in Nepal: Reconciling biodiversity conservation and livelihood needs in Nepal

Thanks to funding from DAAD, from September 20th to 29th 2016, alumni of the SPRING Master Programme as well as alumni of other German MSc courses came together in Kathmandu to share their experiences, present their own case studies and learn from the rich Nepalese experience. Prof. Dietwald Gruehn (Landscape Planning and Landscape Ecology), Dr. Karin Gaesing (International Planning Studies) and Prof. Einhard Schmidt-Kallert (now retired) shared their knowledge and experience from biodiversity conservation, tourism planning, regional planning and conflict resolution in Protected Area management. Participants from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, the Philippines, Pakistan and Thailand enjoyed the hospitality of the Nepali SPRING alumni. The opening sessions in Kathmandu were followed by real hands-on field experience in Chitwan National Park and some of its surrounding communities. Besides exploring the park on foot or on the back of an elephant, the participants interviewed park management staff and community members about their roles in biodiversity conservation, conflicts between conservation and livelihood needs as well as solutions to reconcile both. The case studies presented as well as lessons learnt from the workshop will be published in 2017.

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