Handing over the tents to Nepal Army for effective patrolling inside the reserve. © WCN.
Traders arrested with a nine feet long tiger skin at Gaidakot, Nawalparasi. © WCN.
In 2009/10, The Rufford Foundation provided a grant of £25,000 to Wildlife Conservation Nepal (WCN).
WCN initiated the project 'Protecting the Last Living Wild Tigers of Suklaphanta Wildlife Reserve - SWR (2009-2011)' in Suklaphanata Wildlife Reserve, Kanchanpur with the aim of fighting against the killing of tigers and trade in their skins and other body parts through an effective plan of action and capacity building of enforcement officials by providing them with proper tools and equipment to be effective in patrolling and curbing poaching inside protected areas.
Nepal’s tigers are at a crossroad for survival because of the high incidence of poaching in protected areas. Poaching of tigers in Nepal to meet the demand in oriental countries for their use in Traditional Chinese Medicine has brought forth the threat to the survival of the tiger.
In order to address these issues, various capacity building programmes were conducted. A training programme was conducted for the army cadre of Shree Chandi Prasad Battalion deployed in the reserve to protect wild flora and fauna wcn.org.np/wcn/events.php?id=62. Similarly, training was conducted for high ranking police officers with a focus on tiger conservation.
High ranking government officials were educated about wildlife crime and the role of police in controlling it in rural and urban areas. Similarly, representatives from legal bodies, civil societies and enforcement agencies of Kanchanpur district were also educated about these issues. In order to provide effective patrolling to curtail poaching inside protected areas, WCN handed over tents to the Nepal Army of Suklaphanta Wildlife Reserve and to the reserve itself to help the anti-poaching team.
More than 2,000 students and 50 teachers from 20 schools in the Kanchanpur district benefited from the school outreach programme on tiger conservation in the Buffer Zone of the reserve wcn.org.np/wcn/show_events.php?&cat=&page=2.
