KATHMANDU — Nepal has too many tigers and too much forest, according to the country’s leader.
The offhand remarks by Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli at a Dec. 26 event in Kathmandu on climate change sent shockwaves through Nepal’s conservation community. In one of the few countries on Earth where conservation efforts have made material gains, the head of the government was suggesting, in a delivery reminiscent of a stand-up comedy routine, that they should be toned back.
Nepal famously tripled its tiger population between 2010 and 2022, to 355 of the big cats. But according to Oli, the country only needs around 150 as the country can’t go on increasing tiger numbers at the cost of human lives.
Similarly, Nepal’s forest cover today stands at 44%, nearly double what it was in 1992, thanks to long-running efforts by conservationists and communities. Yet for Oli, the ideal number should be 30%.
Oli’s comments echo similar remarks made by his predecessor, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, and his ministers.
For conservationists, they undermine hard-fought achievements that have been instrumental in protecting biodiversity, fighting climate change and, above all, providing income-earning opportunities to rural communities.
They indicate Nepal’s conservation sector faces increasing pressure from politicians to overlook ecological sustainability in the name of “development” — a rhetoric backed by government measures to open up protected areas for commercial infrastructure such as hydropower stations and hotels.
This article by Abhaya Raj Joshi was first published by Mongabay.com on 27 December 2024. Lead Image: A Bengal tiger in the Khata Forest in Nepal. Image courtesy of WWF-Nepal.
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