WWF Nepal Staff - Dr. Chandra Gurung

"You need to have strong partnerships.."

As the Country Representative of WWF Nepal Program, Dr. Chandra Gurung is the head of the Nepalese office. Having worked in this position for 6 years, he is very happy about how things are running at the office.

"The staff I have is very hard-working and very committed, and they help each other whenever necessary", he says.

Involving local communities in conservation is something Dr. Gurung has been reflecting on for a long time. "In the TAL project, local people have to be allowed to be decision-makers. Things must not be imposed from outside", he says.

Dr. Gurung has been working in conservation since 1988; before WWF, he was working for the King Mahedra Trust for Nature Conservation.

Originally coming from the northern mountains of Nepal, he proceeded to have two master's degrees, one in geography and the other in rural development and planning, and his Ph.D. thesis was on human geography and child mortality.

"In conservation, one thing that is difficult but also challenging is coming out with new ideas and trying to sell them. People are naturally suspicious about new ideas, but if you believe strongly, they will get accepted in the end."

What does he think are the keys for success in conservation? "As conservation is such a challenging job, you need to have strong partnerships - beyond your friends and niche.

If you become a lone rider, it will be very difficult. And when you have success, you need to be willing to share the credit with others who contributed to it."