Kathmandu, October 24
Nepal’s Minister for Forests and Environment Shakti Bahadur Basnet has said snow leopard conservation is the government’s priority. He has added the conflict between humans and wildlife and lack of sufficient habitat and food are major challenges in that process.
Speaking in the fourth steering committee meeting of Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection, currently ongoing in New Delhi of India, Basnet said the government alone could not make meaningful impacts on the conservation drive, adding that government had also included local communities and the youth in the campaign. He claimed the locals’ participation had been proved effective.
The minister added that the government would further promote cooperation with the private sector as well as national and international agencies. During the meeting, he proposed establishing a regional mechanism to control the smuggling of body parts of snow leopard.
Nepal’s current population of snow leopards is estimated to be over 500.
