Apart from the primary duty of safeguarding national security and defence, the Nepali Army (NA) Tuesday said that it has been giving an utmost priority to the protection and conservation of national parks, wildlife and maintenance of mountain ecology.
Nepali Army has said that over 8,000 military personnel have been involved themselves in conservation of different 12 national parks, one wildlife reserve, one hunting reserve, six conservation areas and 13 buffer zones for the past four decades.
Speaking at a press conference organised at the Army Headquarters today, Brigadier General and director for the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Directorate under the NA, Himanshu Khadka, said in the last four decades 114 soldiers had lost their life while on duty. Lately, a soldier of Nepali Army was killed in the attack of wild tusker in Chitwan National Park (CNP).
Over the same period, Nepali Army in coordination with Nepal Police, and other units associated in nature conservation and wildlife protection, had detained 2,349 alleged wildlife poachers and traders, Director Khadka said.
There have been 203 total army posts in these national parks and wildlife reserves across the country and deployed over 8,013 military forces for its protection and control of an illegal poaching, he said. Khadka said of the country’s total land area, 23.39 per cent land is occupied by national parks, wildlife reserves and conservation areas in Nepal.
Similarly, in the last seven months alone, the Army has seized 10 weapons, 628 home-made electric and cable traps, 111 local weapons, 304 vehicles, and 24 wildlife parts. Within the same months, nine general locals were killed from the attack of wild animals and injured 12.
Stating that a joint multi-sectoral approach in the protection and conservation of wildlife is a must, Brigadier General Khadka said Nepal has become able to increase the population of tiger from 50 to 235 from 1973 to 2018 A.D. The number of tiger population which was 121 in 2009 reached 235 in 2018.
Similarly, the population of one-horn rhino reached 752 from 70 from 1970 to 2021 A.D. Likewise, the population of government registered elephants reached over 120 as of today, snow leopards reached over 350 and wild buffalos number increased to 441 from 33, according to the records of army.
Army’s Khadka also said Nepal marked the years 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019 as zero tiger and leopard poaching years.
Similarly, open cross-border points, haphazard and illegal pasturing habit of livestock, illegal and organised poaching, and environment pollution are some of the major factors that are posing risk and challenge in the conservation of wildlife, said Brigadier General Khadka.
Meanwhile, as per a government decision of the last week Cabinet, over 90 squad team of Nepali Army in support of Sherpas, is scheduled to conduct ‘Clean Mountain Campaign-2022’ in March 2022, for two months and expected to collect 35 tonnes of garbage collected in
four mountains including Mt. Everest.
Source : TRN,
