Protected areas are widely
held to be among the most effective means of conserving biological
diversity in situ. The Convention on Biological Diversity
defines protected areas as "a geographically defined
area which is designated or regulated and managed to achieve
specific conservation objectives."
IUCN
the world conservation union defines protected areas as "an
area of land and/or sea especially dedicated to the protection
and maintenance of biological diversity and of natural and
associated cultural resources, managed through legal or other
effective means".
Protected area management in Nepal received a real thrust
in the 1970s. Not only protected areas came to be added, but
also action on both their protection and conservation was
intensified. The first organized approach to managing protected
areas in Nepal dates back to the year 1973 by establishing
Chitwan National Park. Now, the protected areas in Nepal include
nine national parks, three wildlife reserves, one hunting
reserve and four conservation areas and eleven buffer zones
covering an area of 28,998.67 sq. km that is 19.7% of the
total area of the country.
