Save vanishing wildlife (Nepal)

Author(s)

Saikat Kumar Basu, THE HIMALAYAN TIMES

Date Published
The human-animal conflict witnessed in different parts of Nepal is an extremely important and grossly complex eco-environmental issue plaguing the nation. In addition, conservation funding and security arrangements for protecting wildlife; another significant yet neglected eco-sociological aspect for successful conservation needs improvement in the socio-economic conditions of the people living in and around the premier of wildlife habitats of the landlocked nation. Most remote rural communities, fringe dwellers and forest residents live under abject poverty dependent on the scanty forest resources for their daily sustenance; and are vulnerable to be exploited by poaching and wildlife trafficking groups. Unless this anthropogenic issue is taken seriously no conservation efforts can be successful. To protect endangered wildlife and minimize human-animal conflicts; the eco-sociological perspective or the human factor needs to be made an important stakeholder in the process of conservation. Recently the Governments of Sri Lanka, Thailand and India have established elephant shelters for the sick and old domestic elephants from their countries; Nepal also needs to take similar measures for protecting her vanishing wildlife populations. My humble request to the Government of Nepal through your esteemed daily is to kindly take some initiative in slowly banning the buying, holding and caging of all indigenous wildlife in the country; and if necessary, take this to the parliament for in depth analysis and discussion under a special parliamentary committee dedicated towards wildlife conservation.