Among its many specialties, however, the beauty of Nepal lies largely in its success when it comes to wildlife conservation. Nepal has put itself on the front line when it comes to commitment in conserving and managing all sorts of resources and life - forms, including both plants and animals.
Wildlife conservation is an undeniable need. Most of Nepal’s people still rely on wildlife resources for necessities like fuel, fodder, and medicinal plants. Plus, a huge sum of currency is earned through wildlife - based tourism, which has been a welcome addition to Nepal’s GDP. The beauty of Nepal is astounding, but one can barely imagine this breathtaking beauty without Nepal’s greenery or mega - fauna.
More than 23 percent of Nepal’s total area is declared as protected area. That includes 12 national parks, one wildlife reserve, one hunting reserve and six conservation areas. Each national park has its own buffer zone to facilitate human - wildlife co - existence. It is a matter of pride that, within such a small geographical area, Nepal has two national parks that have been enlisted as world heritage site by UNESCO. Another interesting part is that, out of the six conservation areas, three are managed by an NGO, two by the Nepali government and one by the local community themselves.
The hunting reserve has also been a part of Nepal’s conservation approach. The prime aim of the hunting reserve is to control the population of blue sheep and use the income earned by legalized hunting for keystone species of the region.
Besides protected areas, various schemes of forest management have been used through the provision of national forests (community forests, collaborative forests, government managed forests, leasehold forests, protection forests, and religious forests) and private forests. Each type of forest is declared in accord to feasibility based on different criteria like the economic status of the local community, biodiversity of local resources, social beliefs of local community, and so on. Policies and guidelines have been formulated and amended in a timely manner in the context of both resource conservation and promotion.
I/NGOs like ZSL, NTNC, and the WWF conduct regular surveys of wildlife populations and habitat assessments as well. They have been providing technical and economic support in this context. They have catalyzed as well as increased the concentration of efforts of wildlife conservation.
Nepal’s results have not been obtained easily. SMART(Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool) patrolling, GPS (Global Positioning System) and GIS (Global Information System), and drones, among other technologies, have been deployed to scientifically research the outcomes of wildlife conservation. A substantial amount of revenue earned by protected areas is spent in the development and betterment of local communities.
However, this is not to say that Nepal has reached its upper limit in conservation; in fact, reaching 100 percent wildlife conservation is almost an impossible thing in the face of the growing demands and needs of human beings. Human - wildlife conflict is an ongoing issue. Similarly, the shortage of economic resources has been a barrier in some cases. However, Nepal’s efforts over the last decades have overshadowed these challenges as the positive achievements are marginally higher than this darker side. This remaining challenges can be overcome through community awareness, good governance, and sound collaboration among multi - stakeholders. Nepal has been putting its steps positively in that way.
Nepal has made progress by promoting current efforts, building appropriate strategies like NBSAP (National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan) and the forest policy. It has revealed a truth: That as long as the efforts of local communities are recognized and rewarded in several ways, controlling poaching and promoting the status of natural resources is not that complicated. Nepal’s example teaches that attention must be paid to sustainable development – only then can conservation efforts be stable.
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