National 6 (Spotlight Weekly)

Wings of Hope

Bird enthusiasts have a new destination to explore

By NIRAJ POUDYAL

Nepal's tourism sector is dying thirsty of some exciting packages. The country is in need of new tourist destinations instead of a few over-crowded ones like the historical cities of Kathmandu valley, Pokhara and Chitwan. New visitors want something new.

Aqua Birds Unlimited Private Limited is organizing the third Koshi Tappu Migratory Bird Festival with the promotional support of Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) and Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) at Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve (KTWR) from February 2 to 8, 2003. The festival also coincides with World Wetland Day.

The festival includes ethnic dance competition, bird survey, environmental educational tour and a public interactive program. Elephant rides, boating and documentary films are the other attractions. The fees for these along with entrance charges in the reserve have been waived by the DNPWC during the festival.

Ethnic dance competition, sponsored by IUCN-Nepal and coordinated by Participatory Conservation Program (PCP), is being organized to introduce the living cultural heritage to the visitors. The organizers believe this would be helpful in terms of income generation when the reserve develops into a large tourist destination.

A day is allocated to survey the birds of the reserve, an event organized by Bird Conservation Nepal. The two-night package has been set Rs.2500 for Nepalese and US$100 for foreigners. Children under 10 years are offered a 50 percent discount.

"To encourage environmental education, we have requested the chief district officer and local school administration to encourage students to participate in the event," said Subash Niroula, director of Tourism Products & Resources Development of NTB.

Koshi Tappu is a very important wetland-conservation and eco-tourism destination. It is the biggest bird-watching destination in Nepal. The reserve is also the habitat of rare Gangetic River Dolphin and Wild Water Buffalo (Arna). KTWR was established in 1976 under the DNPWC covering 17,500 hectare of flood plains. Sapta Koshi and Trijuga are the major river systems of the reserve.

Situated at an altitude range of 75-71 meters above sea level, the reserve has a high potential for eco-tourism. Over 461 bird species have been recorded in this reserve, among which 190 are wetland dependent. Resident species number around 176, summer migrant 37 and winter migrants 165. About 60 species are passage migrants. Seventeen species among globally threatened species are found in Koshi Tappu.

"This is the place where largest number of species can be seen in a single day. Over 180 bird species could be observed in a single clear day during spring migration," said Rajendra Suwal, coordinator of Aqua Bird Unlimited Camp and bird expert. "Congregation of ducks, numbering over 50,000, could be observed in late February," he added.

It is the bonus for the reserve that the birds from along Siberia and Europe migrate here in and around late February. Endangered species like Swamp, Partridge, Lesser Adjutant Stork, White-rumped and Slender Billed Vulture, Lesser and Bengal Florican reside in the Tappu.

Despite its own peculiarities, it has failed to be the major tourist destination of Nepal, because of lack of awareness among tourist entrepreneurs, travel agencies, and local people about Koshi Tappu.

"Once I met a tourist who went to Biratnagar and asked a local resident about where to go for a visit. The resident answered that there is nowhere where one can enjoy his holiday. This pictures the lack of knowledge about the reserve," said Suwal.

"In the event, only about 50 foreign tourists are expected to participate, but this festival will help to attract bird-watchers. British tourists offer the most potential in this context," said Suwal.

"Despite its easy accessibility - 2.5 km from East-West highway - this piece of heaven is still hidden untouched. Foreign tourist arrivals last year was just around 600 (excluding India). About 3,000 domestic tourists were recorded," said Niroula.

But the records imply that correct target has been chosen. Tourist arrivals from third countries were just 32 in 1994, far less than last year's.

"Through these kinds of festival we can develop the reserve as one of the most reliable tourism products," he added. "Development of Koshi Tappu as the bird-view tourist destination can be a milestone in the diversification of tourism products in Nepal," he emphasized.