Abstract
This chapter summarizes rare information and data on how biodiversity and wildlife were governed on a landscape scale during and after Rana/Royal times in Nepal. Such governance was virtually practiced since deep time, and it still carries much weight, beyond tradition. It’s probably among the longest-lasting governance schemes for watersheds in the study area of the Hindu Kush-Himalaya region. The wildlife and landscape of the lowland Terai region were historically safe and almost untouched before the Rana regime. That’s because people were scared of living in the Terai region due to the widespread presence of epidemic and fatal malaria. During the Rana regime, huge hunting parties (the infamous ‘shikaars’) by the Royal and Rana families and their foreign guests hunted hundreds of rhino, tiger and other animals in the Terai region. The status of wildlife and their habitats started improving again when the government established a protected areas network from 1973 onwards.
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Acknowledgments
We thank all the people who helped us directly and indirectly for gathering historical data, literature and sharing their experiences to prepare this book chapter. Special thank goes to Ganesh Puri for providing his knowledge on illegal wildlife trade and its impact on wildlife conservation in Nepal and beyond.
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Prajapati, J., Ghimire, T.R., Regmi, G.R., Huettmann, F. (2020). Nature and Landscape Governance in Royal Times: Experiences from the Shah and Rana Regimes in Nepal Re-assembled from Literature and Interview Data. In: Regmi, G., Huettmann, F. (eds) Hindu Kush-Himalaya Watersheds Downhill: Landscape Ecology and Conservation Perspectives. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36275-1_17
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