HPHP in Nepal

When many of us think of Healthy Parks Healthy People, it’s from the perspective of wealthy countries, where parks and green spaces are easily accessible. For many in the developing world, it’s a different story. In societies where governments struggle to provide citizens with the most basic needs, is there a role for a concept like Healthy Parks Healthy People?

In February 2010, a Healthy Parks Healthy People workshop was help in Kathmandu, Nepal, to raise awareness of the HPHP initiative and explore how it could be adapted to suit a developing country. The three-day workshop was conceived by the IUCN Asia and Nepal and staged in partnership with the IUCN, Parks Victoria and other health and environment sector stakeholders.

Life in Nepal

Nepal is a small land-locked in the Himalayan region of South Asia, with a population of about 30 million. It’s one of the world’s poorest countries, with about a third of the population living below the poverty line.  About 20 per cent of Nepal’s surface area is protected, with many locals heavily dependent on these areas’ rich natural resources for their livelihoods. However, urbanisation is also on the increase, placing pressure on already crowded cities like Kathmandu, Biratnagar and Pokhara.

The Kathmandu workshop

The three-day workshop was held in Kathmandu in February 2010. Workshop organisers had initial concerns about the relevance of Healthy Parks Healthy People to a country with so many immediate problems. However, the response from local delegates was extremely positive.

‘It was so fantastic to see the Nepalese representatives at the workshop wholeheartedly embrace Healthy Parks Healthy People as a principle of both park management and community engagement on a range of issues,’ says Parks Victoria delegate Jo Hopkins.

Workshop delegate Dr Chhatra Amatya, the chairman of Chhahari Nepal for Mental Health, says HPHP is all the more needed in a country like Nepal. ‘Our children do not have space to play a game in an urban city. We need managed, healthy parks if we are to have healthy people,’ she says.

By the end of the workshop it was agreed there was great value in tailoring an HPHP initiative to Nepal. Importantly, Nepali government delegates endorsed the HPHP concept and agreed to support its development.

The workshop identified a modular approach to a HPHP Nepal initiative which would include five
components:

• Research/inventory and knowledge management
• Awareness and education
• Urban pilot project/s
• Rural/peri-urban pilot project/s
• Outreach program

HPHP Congress workshop

A follow-up workshop was held at the International Healthy Parks Healthy People Congress 2010 in Melbourne in April. It brought together international representatives from health, environment and aid sectors to discuss HPHP in the developing world – with a focus on Nepal. Key points raised included:

• the need to protect the environment to help raise people out of poverty;
• the importance of making strong connections between youth and nature in a country like Nepal, which has a median age of 20;
• the need to tailor programs to the needs of both Nepal’s growing urban population and its rural communities;
• the need to foster a culture of park usage in urban areas;
• the challenge of seeking partnerships with businesses to create community assets.

The workshop reinforced the growing interest, especially from the park management sector, in the applicability of HPHP in developing countries,’ Ms Hopkins says. ‘Parks Victoria and the IUCN are determined to develop a sustainable model for HPHP project implementation in the world’s poorer nations, starting with one of the most diverse and beautiful countries on earth- Nepal!’

The next step

Since the Congress the IUCN, Parks Victoria and other partners have completed a Draft Proposal for Investment to move HPHP in Nepal forward.

Parks Victoria has been working to generate support for HPHP Nepal by discussing possible research partnerships between Australian and Nepalese universities. Parks Victoria is also very hopeful of continuing to work with World Vision Australia, which has a number of established community projects throughout Nepal.

Internationally, the IUCN have been concentrating their efforts in research and generating donor support. A short list of potential donors and supporters will soon be approached with the Proposal for Investment in HPHP Nepal.

The momentum gained for HPHP at the Congress has led to a more formal approach being taken to globalise Healthy Parks Healthy People. This is great news for the HPHP Nepal Initiative – with hopes it will become a flagship project of the global HPHP agenda.

HPHP Central will provide regular updates as this project develops.

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