Nepal is very famous for its wildlife conservation but it is becoming notorious as an international transit route to smuggle illegal wildlife goods between India and China. Because of its geographical location and open border area, Nepal has become a hotbed for smugglers. Moreover, many government officials are involved in smuggling. Nepal has devoted 20% of its land to national parks to preserve endangered species but outside these parks wildlife goods traffickers are very active.
BBC reports:
"The amount of wildlife goods seized in the recent past really tells us that Nepal is indeed a transit point," says Prasanna Yonjan of Wildlife Conservation Nepal, an organisation that has helped authorities catch many traffickers and poachers.
"We know Nepal is a conduit for the international market, particularly the Orient. Most of the goods seized here are not products from Nepal but from down south, particularly India, Bangladesh and perhaps also from Bhutan."
The superintendent of police, Devendra Subedi, who heads the crime branch in the capital, Kathmandu, says illegal wildlife trafficking has become a part of organised crime.
"There are several layers involved, and the people in it are found to be [involved] in other crimes like drug trafficking as well," he explains.
Rhino horns, elephant tusks, tiger skins and bons have been seized from various locations around the country. The Chitwan National Park in Southern Nepal has been used as the storage facility for these wildlife goods. Dhan Bahadur, chief of the storage depot, said that every month he receives three such products seized from different places. Another major problem is that most of these goods are seized by chance. Lack of human resource has made the tasks far easier for the smugglers. These goods are mainly smuggled to Bangkok, China, and Hong Kong.
Illegal poaching and wildlife goods trafficking claim lives of hundreds and thousands of animals every year. Nepal government alone cannot solve this problem. The government of Nepal, India and China should come together and form some kind of agency to stop this trafficking or else many beautiful and exotic animals will become extinct.
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