Call For Proposal

WWF Nepal in partnership and technical guidance from Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) is requesting proposals for “Assessment of water quality in wetlands used by Greater One-horned Rhinoceros in Chitwan National Park (CNP)”. This call is a part of a comprehensive project which intends to secure habitat and wetlands used by rhinos in Chitwan National Park. 

Wetlands and waterholes are crucial for the survival of rhino populations as they provide sources of water and areas for wallowing across the entire extant range of greater one-horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis). Chitwan National Park being the land of second largest one-horned rhino population in the world, it is imperative to ensure the health of the wetland ecosystems.

In the last 3 years, more than 30 rhinos are reported dead every year. While some mortalities are due to density-drive issues such as territorial aggressions, there are also cases for which exact cause for morality is not understood. As rhinos spend most of their time wallowing, degraded water quality and toxins present in harmful algal bloom (HAB) in the lakes, water holes and other wetlands could be one of the potential percussors for compromised health of rhinos leading to death. Thus, it is necessary to assess the water quality focusing more on HAB in these wetlands, lakes, and water holes to ascertain if they have any causal linkages with the death of this vulnerable species in the region.

In this regard, this study aims to assess water quality including the extent of HAB in the wetland habitat of the rhino in Chitwan National Park in purview of assessing toxicity levels harmful to rhinos. The results from the assessment will provide a baseline on the water quality of wetlands in CNP which will encourage evidence-based mitigation measures to be adopted for better management of the wetlands in and around Chitwan National Park for long-term sustainability of rhino population.

Interested organizations are requested to submit technical and financial proposals as separate pdf files electronically to info@wwfnepal.org  with “CNP Water Quality Assessment 2023” as the subject. Please name the files as ‘PROPOSAL WQ 2023_organization name’ for technical proposal and ‘FINANCIAL WQ 2023_organization name’. The proposal must be submitted within 05:00 PM Nepal Standard Time, October 13, 2023.
 
Only shortlisted organizations will be contacted. Telephone inquiries are not entertained.
WWF Nepal reserves the rights to reject any or all applications without assigning any reasons.