Manaslu Conservation Area (MCA)
with an area of 1,663 km 2, covers seven Village
Development Committees (VDC) of Gorkha District.
They are Samagaun, Lho, Prok, Bihi, Chumchet,
Chhekampar and Sirdibas. MCA with a population
of over 9,000 people, is actively managed by
the King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation
. The araea harbors some 11 forest types, well
over 29 species of mammals and 200 species of
birds. As cultural perspective is pivotal in
the motivation of the resident people in the
Manaslu region, lamas from monasteries like
Shringi Gompa in Bihi, Mu and Rachen Gompa have
prohibited the locals to hunt wildlife. This
has helped the wildlife and their habitat including
the snow leopard, Tibetan wolf, musk deer, blue
sheep and Himalayan Tahr.
Most of the villages do not have
safe drinking water supply or electricity. Education
and health services are almost non-existent.
Marginal agriculture, and animal husbandry are
the main stay. Dependency on natural resources
is on the rise. The management has opened several
kerosene depots, trained villagers as certified
medical assistants and lodge managers and has
brought several development-related activities.
