A recent cabinet decision has extended the term of the ACAP, which is run by the Nepal Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC), only for six months.[break]
On July 28, the government had instructed the Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation (MoFSC) to find an alternative for managing the Annapurna Conservation Area before the expiry of ACAP´s term.
"There is an agreement that the management of the Annapurna Conservation Area will be handed over to the local community after a certain period of time," said Man Bahadur Gurung, the president of Conservation Area Management Committee (CAMC). "Now is the right time for the government to hand over the conservation area management to us."
The locals say ACAP has failed to effectively manage the conservation area. "If somebody felled trees, the concerned Village Development Committee (VDC) had no rights to take action against him and ACAP would do nothing," says Harka Bahadur Gharti, former president of Sardikhola VDC, which lies in the conservation area. "If we took up such a case with ACAP, they would ask us to settle the issue at local level. How can conservation efforts be effective in such a situation?"
The local community has also raised the issue of lack of transparency in ACAP. "ACAP has certainly done some good works. But, there was no transparency," says Surya Gurung, the president of a local sanitation committee in Machhapuchchhre VDC. "The govenrment should probe financials of ACAP."
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