An evaluation of the effectiveness of a protected area management Model in Bhutan: A case study of Phrumsengla National Park, Central Bhutan.
Phrumsengla National Park (PNP) located in central Bhutan, is an important protected area due to its biodiversity and as a source of natural resources for local communities. The focus of this research was to study the effectiveness of PNP management under the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources World Commission on Protected Areas' framework. Document analysis and semi structured interviews provided the data. The interviews were conducted with staff from different levels of government, and community members. An in depth interview was conducted with officials from Wildlife Conservation Division, Policy and Planning Division and park officials. A total of twelve community respondents representing all four districts and seven geogs (block of communities) living inside and in buffer areas were interviewed. It was found that the management of the PNP was geared to achieve its mandates of biodiversity conservation, and also to benefit the rural population dependent on PNP's natural resources. Park officials count the recent tiger survey and physical boundary demarcation as recent achievement. The communities saw the management of the PNP as protecting trees for their sustainable utilisation, and for most of them, PNP's Integrated Conservation and Development Program was identified as benefiting rural communities. On the other hand, the management plan (2008 2013) was not fully implemented due to lack of resources and technical skills. Multiple challenges and issues were identified that affected overall management effectiveness: the national highway, construction of new roads, poaching, illegal timber harvesting, human wildlife conflict and conflict of interests between the PNP management and local communities. It was also found that the failure of management plan implementation was due to absence of support and monitoring from central agencies. The research findings led to recommendations being made to address the issues identified.