Threats in Nepal - Poaching

Illegal fishing, hunting, poaching, logging...

In addition to deforestation and other habitat loss, poaching is the main threat to the wildlife in Terai.

Poaching directly threatens the existence of endangered species like the tiger and rhino that have a high commercial value in the black market. Smaller animals, like deer, are sometimes poached for meat.

Fish poaching occurs frequently in protected areas, and the poachers use not only nets, but also poison contaminating rivers. One more form of poaching is illegal logging in protected areas. 

The TAL project, working together with Government of Nepal and local people, successfully implemented various anti-poaching activities. A number of poachers has been apprehended by park staff and local volunteers, who are consistently involved in awareness-raising campaigns and voluntarily patrolling in and around the protected areas.

Foreign demand is threatening Nepal's megafauna
"Having anti-poaching activities at the local level is, however, not enough to solve the poaching problem", reminds Santosh Nepal, who works as a Coordinator for the Terai area in WWF Nepal Program. "The root cause of poaching large animals like tigers and rhinos is the demand at international markets."

The international demand for poached products is rising alarmingly. "Because of the economic development in China, more and more people there can now afford tiger products", says Dr. Tirtha Man Maskey, Director General of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation in the Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation - one of TAL's stakeholders.

"The increase in demand for tiger parts has caused an increase in poaching. Because of this, tigers have now completely disappeared in some protected areas in India. The situation poses a serious danger for tigers in Nepal, too", he says.

The underlying factor for the local people to get involved in poaching is poverty. The opportunity to earn huge sums of money by killing just one tiger or a rhino is tempting when there are few other alternatives to feed the family. Thus, measures to alleviate poverty and promote sustainable livelihoods have also had an indirect effect in reducing poaching.