The case is about the struggle of the Bote, Majhi and Musahar communities for their right to fish in a river and have access to local forest resources in South-Central Nepal . The Bote, Majhi and Musahar, are indigenous and landless fishing communities of Nepal that reside on the banks of the Narayani River -part of which lies within the jurisdiction of Royal Chitwan National Park (RCNP)¹. Their traditional source of livelihood had always been fishing in the Narayani River , the collection of non-timber forest products (fruits, medicinal herbs, vegetables, firewood, fiber, and roofing materials), and the fees (both in cash and kind) generated from ferrying people and merchandise across the river.

However, from the later part of the 1960s, the Nepali government, with assistance from international agencies (such as the United Nations) began to implement conservation policies. RCNP was set up particularly for the protection of one-horned rhinos whose population had significantly declined by the 1950s. These policies were based on the assumptions that people' were the main culprits in the destruction of wildlife and, therefore, they needed to be excluded from the conservation areas. After the introduction of these policies, their entry to the forest was severely restricted and fishing in the river made illegal. By mid-1980s, ferrying was banned across the river.

By the late eighties, however, conservation agencies were becoming aware of conflicts between local fishing communities and the RCNP. Slowly, they began to implement the concept of partnership between conservation agencies and local people through some developmental programs. But exclusionary practices continued.

In fact, in December 1992, armed guards of the RCNP raided several villages lying along the river and seized all the boats, nets and most of other fishing utensils from all the houses in the villages. This led to an unprecedented livelihood crisis in the fishing communities. Incidents of human rights violations by park authorities and security personnel became common. It was in response to this crisis that a local people's organization named Majhi, Mushahar, Bote Kalyan Sewa Samiti (MMBKSS) was set up in 1993 by the fishing communities.