During the past two and a half decades, community-based conservation has been introduced
in Nepal under the influence of global biodiversity and conservation policies. This develop -
ment was spurred by the emergence of ‘Indigenous Peoples’ and Community Conserved
Territories and Areas (ICCA)’ (see Dudley, 2008; Borrini-Feyerabend et al., 2010; IUCN/
CEESP, 2010) and urged to take actions for the recognition and promotion of Sacred Natural
Sites (SNS) (see Schaaf, 2003; Wild and McLeod, 2008; Verschuuren et al., 2010). Both gained
legitimacy through various international decisions and programmes that helped create the legal
foundations for the recognition of diverse conservation practices in Nepal (see IUCN, 2003a,
2003b, 2004, 2008a, 2008b, 2012, CBD, 2004, 2009, 2010).
As conservation paradigms in Nepal shifted from strict nature conservation towards parti -
cipatory conservation, the policies and legislation were revised throughout the early 1990s
and new policies followed, see Box 18.1 (Jana and Paudel, 2010; Rai, 2012b; MoFSC, 2014).
Hamzah et al. (2013: p. 90) suggest that ‘Asian philosophy of protected areas can act as a
powerful driver in the search of new solutions for meeting challenges in contemporary resources
management and biodiversity conservation’ and highlight the importance of recognising diverse
community conservation initiatives in the region. Wild and McLeod (2008: p. 281) also found
that sacred natural sites have long served as a primary conservation network for conserving
nature and culture, which may also be the case in Nepal.