Sustainable financing for protected areas in Nepal: Exploring innovative incentives through wildlife sponsorship and ecolabelling

About the event

The Department of National Park and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC), in collaboration with ICIMOD’s Himalayan Resilience Enabling Action Programme (HI-REAP), is organising a national consultation to co-develop a forward-looking and inclusive financing framework for Nepal’s Protected Areas (PAs). The event will bring together government agencies, conservation organisations, the private sector, and development partners and focus on two emerging mechanisms – wildlife sponsorship and eco-labelling – as promising tools to mobilise private sector engagement and long-term investment in Nepal’s PAs.

Framed within the principles of sustainable financing, this event seeks to inspire new leadership on the part of different agencies, new thinking around collaborative partnerships, and new initiatives on innovative incentives that work for both people and nature.

Objectives

The specific objectives of this workshop are to:

• Understand and co-refine innovative financing mechanisms for PAs in Nepal aligned with national strategies and rooted in local context
• Understand private sector perspectives, and identify their motivations, and opportunities to support conservation
• Co-develop a governance and certification framework that ensures ethical, transparent and inclusive financing
• Identify pathways to embed these innovative financing models within Nepal’s conservation policy landscape and Nature based Solution framework.

Background

Nepal has made remarkable achievements in biodiversity conservation through protected area management, species recovery, and community involvement. The country has successfully increased populations of endangered species such as the one-horned rhinoceros and the Bengal tiger. The establishment of 20 protected areas (PAs) covering nearly 23.39% of the land, landscape-level conservation, people’s participation, and strong law enforcement have contributed to this success. These achievements are further highlighted by zero-poaching years and transboundary cooperation. However, PAs are not receiving sufficient funds to implement their management plans, which makes conservation efforts more challenging in a fast-changing socioeconomic and environmental context.

The goal of Nepal’s PA Management Strategy (2022-2030) is to create climate-resilient and financially self-sustaining protected area systems by 2030. It outlines strategic actions under 5 key thematic areas, including biodiversity conservation, habitat management, law enforcement, human-wildlife coexistence, and sustainable tourism. The strategy envisions enhanced coordination between government agencies, NGOs, the private sector, and local communities for implementation. It aligns with Nepal’s international commitments to biodiversity conservation, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and multilateral environmental agreements.

Sustainable financing mechanisms, such as Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES), carbon credits, and international conservation funding, are proposed to ensure long-term sustainability. In addition to these, there are other innovative financial mechanisms which can attract private sector participation and financing for biodiversity conservation.

Wildlife branding sponsorship

In this scheme, businesses directly sponsor flagship species of a given protected area for their conservation and in return, gain branding rights for wildlife species, including promotional visibility and Corporate Social Responsbility (CSR) certification. For example, companies can sponsor “one-horned rhino conservation programmes” and use the ‘Partnering for One-Horned Rhino Conservation’ label (for example) in their branding and get space in the Chitwan National Park for their advertisement.

Eco-labelling

The ecolabelling model aims to mobilise financial resources for conservation efforts in and around protected areas by engaging businesses through a structured and transparent certification system. This will enable businesses to demonstrate their commitment to environmental sustainability and sustainable biodiversity management, while gaining recognition and branding benefits. This model will allow businesses to use an officially recognised eco-label in exchange for financial support for conservation efforts.

How does this relate to the private sector?

These models offer CSR visibility, eco-branding rights, and association with flagship species, critical habitats, and iconic landscapes. They create a trusted framework for green and sustainable financing for businesses. They enable access to eco-conscious markets and green jobs.