Table 1. Historical profile of the Annapurna region summarizing major events that occurred at the national (N) and local (L) levels from 1951 to 2008. The four phases of the adaptive cycle are shown: exploitation (growth) = r, conservation (maturation) = K, release (collapse) = Ω, and reorganization = α. The phases of the adaptive cycle are applicable to the Annapurna region only, not to the national level.

Year Phase Level Events
1951 N Modernization in Nepal began
1957 Ω N The government nationalized all forests managed by local communities and assumed the absolute authority over them
1960 N Nepal opened its doors to the outside world; influx of international tourists
1961 N The King took over executive power and established a political order of an absolute monarchy
1982 α N The KMTNC† was established by the legislation
1986 L ACAP‡ started a pilot project in the Ghandruk village
1990

r

 N Multiparty democracy and constitutional monarchy political order was re-established
1991 N/L ACAP received the Tourism for Tomorrow Award

1992		 N/L ACA§ was legally gazetted as a protected area, and the KMTNC secured its management authority for 10 years
N The Ghandruk CAMC| received the Paul Getty Wildlife Conservation Award
1993 N/L Forest Act 1993 gave momentum to community-based forest management
1994 N/L The Ghandruk CAMC received the United Nations Environment Programme’s Global 500 Award
1995 N/L Forest Regulations 1995 empowered local communities to manage forest resources

1996		 N/L The Conservation Area Management Regulation and Directive were passed
N The Maoist insurgency began

2001

K

 N King Birendra was killed in the Royal Palace massacre in June
N The government declared a state of emergency in November
L The Maoist rebels attacked the ACAP headquarters and field offices in Lwang, Sikles, and Bhujung

2002		 N/L The government extended the management authority of the KMTNC to manage ACA until 2012
L The Maoists destroyed the ACAP Ghandruk office
2003

Ω

 L ACAP staff of four regional headquarters were evicted from the field bases and moved to ACAP headquarters in Pokhara
2005 N King Gyanendra took executive power and imposed absolute monarchy

2006		 N King Gyanendra relinquished absolute power; severed ties with the KMTNC/ACAP; the KMTNC was renamed the National Trust for Nature Conservation
N The Maoists signed a comprehensive peace pact with the government declaring the official end of the insurgency
2007
α		 L Evicted ACAP staff returned to field bases; CAMCs reinitiated regular committee meetings

2008		 N The newly elected Constituent Assembly abolished the monarchy and declared Nepal a federal democratic republic
L All 56 CAMCs were reformed

†King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation
‡Annapurna Conservation Area Project
§Annapurna Conservation Area
|Conservation Area Management Committee