Gandaki Zone trip planner

Gandaki zone ((Kali Gandaki, Trishuli, Budhi Gandaki, Marsyangdi, Madi, Seti Gandaki, and Daraudi)(ACAP), the first and largest conservation area in Nepal, covers, some 5.8% of the total land area of Nepal. Launched in 1986 as an innovative concept in the protected area management system of the country, the conservation area embraces multiple land use principles of resource management that combine environmental protection with sustainable community development. Traditional subsistence activities are woven into a framework of sound resource management, supplemented by conservation, development and alternative energy programmes to minimize the negative impacts of tourism and enhance the living standards of the local people.Some of the activities of ACAP: Conservation of resourcesCommunity developmentTourism managementConservation, education and extension ACAP is spread over five districts of the Western Development Region of Nepal and covers 55 village development committees (VDCs). ACAP is divided into seven unit conservation offices located in the field - Jomsom, Manang, Lho Manthang in the Northern Program section and Bhujung, Lwang, Sikles and Ghandruk in the Southern Program section. While the focus of Jomsom, Manang and Ghandruk, which are also popular areas for trekking, is on integrated tourism management and agro-pastoralism, the programme priorities for Bhujung, Sikles and Lwang are poverty alleviation and integrated agriculture and livestock development, agro-forestry, and community development respectively.