A landlocked country in Asia, situated in the Himalayas, bordered by both China and India, with more than 9 ethnic groups and languages, with the most prevalent religion being Hindu (80.6%).1 Altitudes in Nepal increase dramatically from less than 100m above sea level in the tropical south, to the highest point on the earth's surface at 8848m at the edge of the Tibetan plateau.2 In total Nepal has 118 ecosystems, and although it only covers 0.1% of the world's land surface, has high flora populations with 246 endemic species.3 Comprising of 147,181 sq. km in total, approximately 26% of Nepal is forested, and over 19% of the country is designated as protected areas.3 The country has been marred by a 10 year civil war that began in 1996, which led to the formal abolishment of the monarchy and it becoming a democratic republic in 2008.1
Nepal has a rich variety of ICCAs, both old and new, inclusive of sacred groves, forests and rangelands. It has been at the forefront in south Asia in implementing policies that benefit local people: it has initiated a number of collaborative governance measures, shared the benefits from protected areas with communities living in the buffer zones, supported community forests and implemented other initiatives, for example, handing over the management of Kanchenjunga Conservation Area to the local people. In 2007 the government of Nepal ratified ILO Convention No. 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, the first country in mainland Asia to do this.2 Legislation in Nepal also recognises the management and governance of both community and religious forests by communities.2 However policies still need to be more sensitive to the rights of indigenous peoples and laws are yet to be implemented that support many of the articles of ILO 169.2 Currently all protected areas are managed by the government, bar a few exceptions, and legislation does not yet recognise ICCAs as protected areas themselves.2