The human community is at a critical juncture in history. The Earth is facing a serious planetary crisis today due to problems such as biodiversity loss, pollution, and climate change. Under the ‘Convention on Biological Diversity’, a global initiative has been launched with the aim of conserving 30 percent of the Earth’s land and oceans under protected areas by 2030. This campaign is important to conserve biodiversity, reduce the impact of climate change, and maintain balance in ecosystems. To improve this situation, large financial resources are required to operate conservation programs. This is called biodiversity finance. There is a gap of about seven trillion dollars annually between the financial resources required for biodiversity conservation and the available investment. Nepal is no exception.

Nepal’s Protected Areas Strategy 2022-2030 aims to make protected areas self-sufficient by 2030. There are a total of 21 protected areas in Nepal, including national parks, wildlife reserves, hunting reserves and conservation areas. How is it possible to make protected areas self-sufficient, which receive a low income (about 175) compared to the allocated budget, which is much lower than the requirement?

Why is there low income in protected areas?

Nepal's protected areas are the main attractions for tourists. It is estimated that about 60 percent of tourists visiting Nepal visit protected areas. According to the annual report of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, 1 million 26 thousand 935 tourists visited protected areas in the fiscal year 2080.81. One-third of these were foreign tourists. This has generated revenue of Rs. 510 million through entry fees. Since the entry fees are in Nepali rupees, foreign tourists are getting concessions every year due to the exchange rate.

Nepal's protected areas are a major tourist attraction. It is estimated that about 60 percent of tourists visiting Nepal visit protected areas. Some national parks in Nepal have been charging a fixed entry fee of Rs 3,000 from foreign tourists since October 2015. On the surface, this policy may seem normal, but it is silently depriving Nepal of potential revenue worth crores of rupees. The main reason for this is currency depreciation. The Nepali rupee has depreciated by about 31.5 percent against the US dollar in the last decade. The exchange rate per dollar in 2015 was Rs 107.18, but by May 2026 it had reached Rs 153.25 (Nepal Rastra Bank). Accordingly, the entry fee, which was $27.99 in 2015, is now $19.58.

In the last 10 years (2016-2017 to 2024-2025), Nepal has lost 2.289 million US dollars from Langtang National Park, Sagarmatha National Park and Annapurna Conservation Area, which is equivalent to 350 million rupees at the current exchange rate. In 2000, the entry fee for the area was 2,000 rupees, which is 28.13 dollars at the exchange rate at that time. If we look at the accounts for 25 years, the revenue lost by Nepal's protected areas would be much higher.

Moreover, according to studies, foreign tourists visiting protected areas have shown a willingness to pay much more than the entry fee. According to studies conducted in the Annapurna Conservation Areas in 2008 and 2011, tourists' willingness to pay was 69.2 and 71.63 dollars respectively. Those studies proposed that the entry fee should be at least 50 dollars. By rejecting the proposals of these studies, the protected area alone has lost 27 million US dollars in entrance fees in the last 10 years.

Similarly, according to a study conducted in Sagarmatha National Park in 2012, foreign tourists were willing to pay an entrance fee of up to 80 dollars. It was estimated that even if the entrance fee could be increased by using the branding of the World Heritage List alone, an additional revenue of 566 thousand dollars could be increased annually. By rejecting such studies and research, it is seen that a large amount of revenue is being lost from Nepal's protected areas.

Private sector participation

Wildlife habitat management ensures the flow of environmental goods and services through the ecosystem associated with them. Industries and businesses related to those goods and services can be involved in conservation work. For example, conserving the snow leopard also means proper management of the habitats, i.e. pastures, of its prey (such as naur, thar, musk deer). Yak, buffalo and sheep farmers benefit from this. Their wool and milk production increases. And, industries like pashmina-carpeting receive high-quality raw materials continuously. Similarly, there is sustainable management of herbs and aromatic plants. An incentive system for the participation of industries and businesses that benefit in this way in the conservation of biodiversity is necessary.

Wildlife is also playing an important role as the identity and brand of many businesses and organizations. Businessmen are making their brands attractive, powerful and distinctive by using the names, symbols or images of wild animals such as tigers, snow leopards, rhinoceroses, antelopes in the market. Therefore, the commercial sector that directly or indirectly benefits from the identity of wild animals needs to fulfill its social and moral responsibility in their conservation.

Various incentive arrangements can be made to attract business organizations to invest and sponsor in wildlife conservation. For example, businesses collaborating in conservation programs for commercial purposes can be recognized as conservation partners and given the opportunity to use the joint partnership logo, or the right to use the official logo related to a wildlife species under certain conditions. Similarly, the names of those organizations can be placed on the website of the Government of Nepal and the information board of the protected area. Their names or logos can be included as conservation partners. Such incentives will encourage commercial organizations to actively participate in wildlife conservation by linking them with social responsibility.

To achieve the objective of making protected areas self-sufficient and sustainable in the long term, it is not enough to rely solely on the traditional government budget. It is necessary to use various financial sources and innovative financial mechanisms for protected area management and biodiversity conservation. Determining the entry fee of international tourists in US dollars and encouraging active participation and investment from the private sector may be important. Additional financial resources can be mobilized by encouraging commercial organizations that use the brand value of wildlife and biodiversity to become partners in conservation.

The Government of Nepal needs to establish a dedicated Biodiversity Conservation Fund to ensure long-term financial sustainability. Such a fund can mobilize the necessary financial resources for implementing protected area management plans, operating biodiversity conservation programs, and conserving important biodiversity outside protected areas. It can serve as a vehicle for integrating government resources, private sector contributions, donor agencies, tourism revenues, payments for environmental services, and other innovative financial resources.