ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on governance, especially power dynamics between key stakeholders engaged in conservation through local institutions. The social significance of conservation and the economic opportunities that conservation brings through tourism are important areas of research from a political ecology perspective. A tangible outcome of Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) as an integrated conservation and development project (ICDP) has been a heightened awareness among local residents in Ghandruk about the importance of environmental conservation, and that environmentality is gradually being embedded in people's minds and livelihood experiences. Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA) is the largest conservation area of Nepal covering an area of 7,629 km2 in the north-central part of the country. ACAs efforts to include marginalized communities are commendable but not sufficient, as participation of marginalized communities is more symbolic than concrete. Integrated conservation and development programs in protected areas have been adopted as an efficient tool for ensuring conservation of natural resources and sustainable development of its local communities.
