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Nepal is aspiring for a stable government and prosperous developmental initiation and progress. When we start the confab about development, environment appears simultaneously. However, more often than not, environment and development are mistaken as two sides of the same coin, which cannot come together. This is contrary to the global understanding.

Global development discourse, through a series of adaptive learning, has reached the general consensus that the achievements made on the development arena cannot be sustainable without proper integration of environmental aspects. The same has been the central idea behind Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which is the blueprint for peace and prosperity across the globe. Nepal must make some serious efforts to join hands on this global development discourse. The question is not about written commitments, as Nepal is party to a majority of multilateral environmental agreement, it is about implementation.

Environment and development

Environment Protection Act and Environmental Protection Rules (EPR) of Nepal mandate the proponent of development activities to conduct an Environmental Assessment (EA) before initiating development works. The proposals (policies, programs or projects) can have both positive and negative impacts on the physical, social or economic environment. EA was originally initiated to minimize or avoid negative consequences of development projects and their alternatives while amplifying the positive impacts. However, some of the factors have undermined the potentiality of EA in meeting stipulated objectives in the case of our country. 

First, development activists take the investment in environmental sectors as unnecessary liabilities. However, we need to take that investment to be analogous to insurance. Investing three to five percent of the total budget of the project in environmental issues can assure that your investment will provide a sustainable benefit. This means the cost-benefit ratio of investment in the environmental sector can be greater than 20. 

Godawari marble factory (Godavari, Lalitpur) and Himal cement factory (Chobhar, Kathmandu), among others, were terminated because of their failure to acknowledge environmental impact. 

The situation could have been different with identification of environmental aspects and adoption of mitigation measures from the first phase itself.

Secondly, EAs in Nepal are generally ill-timed. In case of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), the study is initiated after preparation and approval of the Detailed Project Report (DPR). The scenario is worse in the case of Initial Environmental Examination (IEE). A majority of IEEs are carried out after the start of project works, restricting the ability of environmental assessment studies to properly explore the alternatives, which is very crucial for EA, to assist in the decision-making process. 

Third, EA requires an interdisciplinary approach. So, after initiating EA in Nepal to fulfill the commitment made on the global agenda, especially at the Rio convention (Earth Summit 1992), the government introduced Environmental Science at the Tribhuvan University (TU). The main motive was to produce skillful human capital for conducting EAs. The subject was designed focusing on the need of EA as it requires an interdisciplinary approach. Absurdly, even when there are sufficient environmental science graduates, untrained persons with backgrounds other than environmental science are getting the opportunity to conduct EAs in most of the cases. This makes the EA study liability instead of insurance. 

Fourth, even the students of environmental science lack adequate training. Most of the environmental graduates in Nepal are from TU. The Department of Environmental Science of constituent colleges of TU itself does not have adequate academic resources. The facilities are not adequate. The situation is even worse for other universities. 

The government has to make investments for raising the capacity of human resources. Furthermore, training the human resources through real field experiences in monitoring and evaluation work as a third-party monitoring body could provide the students with the real field experience of EA.  

Fifth, a majority of decision-making bodies lack the human resources with understanding of EIA. Most of the comments made to experts during the defense of the assessment report are either related to social aspects of the proposal or are related to the forest. Other aspects are often overlooked as support staff with administrative backgrounds and a scant understanding of technical issues often get to comment on EIAs prepared by subject experts. In the past, when the report was prepared in English, they used to make comments only on the executive summary section. As the reports are drafted in Nepali these days, a majority of comments are on grammatical errors, often at the expense of other critical issues. 

Sixth, the report cannot ensure sustainable development on its own. Environmental monitoring and auditing is the heart of an effective EA. If proper monitoring is done while undertaking development projects as stipulated in the assessment report, we can customize and address the issues that are often overlooked during the report preparation phase. In fact, the responsibility of monitoring has not been adequately assigned in the existing laws. Government has hired some Environmental Graduates as Environmental Inspectors. However, most of them have been posted in the Environment Division. Relevant ministries tasked with approving IEE reports lack human resources capable of understanding the interdisciplinary nature of the subject. 

Seventh, the Department of Environment (DoEnv) is often bypassed during the EA approval process. Though some of the officers get involved in the process, the department itself is bypassed. The Biodiversity Section approves the EIA while MoFE shows reluctance to pass on the authority to DoEnv, which is hard to understand. 

Finally, policy documents related to EA in Nepal focus only on project level assessment. Other tools such as cumulative impact assessment, sectoral impact assessment and strategic impact assessment need to be introduced to expand the horizon of impact assessment beyond the project level. Among other things, strategic environmental assessment is the utmost urgent need for Nepal. 

What next?

Government should prioritize the environmental sector, as they are crucial for national prosperity. Strengthening environmental issues by creating a platform for environmental science graduates at each level of the government will be a tactful decision. Those graduates can assist local bodies in devising and executing the plan based on local contexts. This will also enable local bodies to properly monitor environmental impact of developmental activities carried out within their jurisdiction. Currently, some local and provincial authorities have the authority to evaluate and approve IEE and brief environmental study (BES) reports. However, as they do not have qualified human resources, the government should think about appointing at least one environment expert for each local body. At the central level, strengthening the Department of Environment and allocating authorities related to environmental assessment should be a priority action. We also need to start discussing and implementing cumulative impact assessment, sectoral environmental assessment and strategic environmental impact assessment. 

Beside these, restructuring the course of Environmental Science at the Bachelor level as a stand-alone subject (BSc CSIT model), establishment of well-functioning governing bodies (Equivalent to that of Medical Council/Engineering Council) to take examination and issue licenses for EA and compulsion of license for passing assessment reports are also equally vital. 

The author is an assistant professor at the Department of Environmental Science, Padma Kanya Multiple Campus

Pangolins, also known as ‘scaly anteaters’ are unique mammals, owing to their specialized diet (eating ants and termites) and  external “armor” of overlapping epidermal scales. These creatures are threatened to extinction primarily due to anthropogenic influences. Limited reproductive capacity and lack of sufficient intervention along with growing anthropogenic influence imply that the mammal needs interventions to avoid its extinction.

Pangolin are represented by nine species distributed along tropical and subtropical Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa. All the species of pangolin are listed under appendix I of CITES, indicating the level of threats they are experiencing, primarily due to illegal international trade. Pangolins represent the most trafficked mammals in the world with more than 20 tons of pangolin and their parts trafficked annually.

In Nepal, two species of pangolin are found: ‘Chinese’ and ‘Indian’. Both the species are threatened to extinction as Chinese pangolin is listed as critically endangered while Indian pangolin is listed as endangered on the IUCN red list. A study on the distribution of pangolins shows that the species have been recorded in 61 districts. 

Despite a significant presence of the species in Nepal, what is alarming is the fact that illegal trade in pangolin reportedly grew eight-fold between 2009 and 2015.

A national-level survey of pangolins has been conducted and Pangolin Conservation Action Plan 2018-2022 drafted for the species’ conservation in Nepal.  The action plan has set out four objectives: To enhance the understanding and knowledge on conservation status, ecology and habitat dynamics of pangolin; Curb poaching and control illegal trade in pangolin; Identify and manage priority sites to improve habitat quality for pangolin conservation; and Develop local stewardship for conservation of pangolin. Despite a lack of information to assess effectiveness of the action plan, it would be safe to say that many targets and objectives of the plan have remained unachieved. 

The national survey conducted field verification in the remaining 16 districts, with confirmation made on the basis of the Key Informant Interview and other methods primarily due to limitation of resources. There is a need for field verification of the information thus received. Additionally, as macro-level information is of limited importance at the implementation level, understanding the fine scale conservation biology of species is essential, something which the concerned agencies are yet to realize. Despite growing attention toward pangolins in Nepal, information about the population status of the species is lacking, hindering our ability to carry out conservation interventions such as identification of hotspots for conservation, something which the action plan has stipulated as its third objective.  

Second objective is to curb poaching and control illegal trade in pangolins. Limited information regarding the illegal trade in the species means significant interventions are yet to be made toward the species’ conservation. According to a study conducted by Bishal Sharma, a researcher at the Environment Protection and Study Center (ENPROSC), based on seizure records from district forest offices, a large fraction of confiscation of pangolins and their parts have been made in Kathmandu. This may be an indication of the lack of sufficient personnel to limit trade in other parts of the country primarily due to limited staffing. 

Notably, during a field survey, we made observations of pangolins’ burrows in areas close to the foot trails within the forest and mostly in areas with a moderate level of canopy. Other studies have also observed similar trends, indicating the vulnerability of the species. 

Pangolins were almost unknown nearly two decades ago. However, in the second decade of the 21st century, with growing global concern about the species, awareness is rising in Nepal as well. An increasing number of researchers and conservation biologists working on pangolin conservation and some level of government intervention and media coverage point toward this. 

But growing concerns have also proved to be a curse rather than a boon for the species. Most of the conservation interventions in Nepal are focused on awareness raising, without due understanding of ways to change human behavior toward wildlife. This will amplify threats to the species.

For instance, while visiting a private forest in Dhankuta in 2018, I found a burrow and during interactions, some locals admitted to poaching pangolins for meat. They admitted that local-level exploitation of pangolin had increased after news related to international trade in pangolin started to appear. Similar findings have been reported from other districts in eastern Nepal, where money outweighs the traditional belief in conservation of pangolin. 

On the front of developing local stewardship, limited progress has been made. For example, community-based conservation intervention has been initiated at the Rani community forest in Hetauda of Makwanpur district. Pangolin parks have been established in Hetauda. In 2021, Smriti Dahal, a student at the Department of Environmental Science, Padma Kanya Multiple Campus, Bagbazaar conducted a survey in the area and found that people living near the pangolin parks had better knowledge of the species. Gauri Jaiswal, a student at the Department of Environmental Science, Tri-Chandra Multiple Campus, studied the Rani community forest and found community-based conservation at the forest to be effective. 

However, conservation practices adopted at the forest in question may not be suitable for other pangolin habitats across the country. Furthermore, we have to think about the sustainability of the scheme as pangolins are nocturnal, with a limited scope for connecting them with livelihood through ecotourism and related measures. 

Nonetheless, pangolins are an important element of the ecosystem as they provide ecosystem services by controlling insect populations and excavating burrows, which likely affect soil processes through turnover of organic matter and aeration. Burrows also provide shelter and thermal refugia for a range of commensal taxa. But these ecosystem services are delimited due to anthropogenic influences. Thus, we need to take underpinning action based on the evidence on the field and by connecting conservation action with the socioeconomic and ecological setting of the pangolin and its habitat.

The author is an assistant professor at the Department of Environmental Science, Padma Kanya Multiple Campus

One day, back in 2014, at the Central Department of Environmental Science, Tribhuvan University, 19 aspiring wildlife biologists, who had taken Wildlife Conservation and Management as a major, were discussing the human influence on biodiversity, wildlife species in particular. The late Man Kumar Dhamala, who was moderating the class as a faculty, gave an example of a species—Bengal Fox. According to him, the species, which was quite common a few decades earlier, is experiencing tremendous pressure and is declining rapidly despite having a wide dietary niche. Among the 19 folks, only one person, Narayan Niraula, who also hailed from Jhapa like the late Dhamala, said he knew about the species while others had no idea. Later on, Narayan Niraula went on to conduct his Masters dissertation to explore the conservation ecology of Bengal Fox in West Jhapa. As far as I know, thus far, this is the only dissertation written in Nepal with Bengal Fox as primary subject. This highlights the attention that this species has received from wildlife biologists in the country.

Bengal Fox

Bengal Fox, a member of the Canid family, is a medium-sized carnivore species known to occur in Nepal, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan and is endemic to South Asia. The range of the species is reported up to an elevation of 1,500m, however, the claim is still debated. There is a report claiming the record of the species from Lamtang National Park, however, as the species has not been recorded in mid-hills and the Himalayan Range, the case could be one of misidentification.

Bengal Fox mostly live in the interface of agricultural fields and forests and they usually avoid heavily forested areas. They are an omnivorous species with a wide dietary niche, consuming arthropods, rodents, reptiles, fruits and birds. This dietary niche means, Bengal Fox can have wider adaptability and significant impact to balance the ecosystem.   

Threats to Bengal Fox

In a recent assessment conducted in 2016, the global population of Bengal Fox was listed as least concerned species in IUCN Red List. However, the species is facing diverse forms of threats. As the species has not been studied well, we do not have ample evidence to prove the threats facing it. However, there are incidental records of Bengal Fox killed in road accidents and some records of poaching. Furthermore, the species prefers the small scrubs or short grassland; nowadays they usually build dens in the Agricultural field, escalating the threats to the species.

Back in 2016, when I was at Sundarpur area of Udayapur district for my dissertation, I noticed a den of Bengal Fox in the middle of the paddy field. One person was nearby and I had a conservation with him, who admitted that the species is causing the damage to the field and people usually damage the den and try to kill the species. 

Furthermore, the species is widely hunted in parts of Nepal for food. According to Narayan Niraula, some indigenous groups like Satar regularly hunt and consume the species in Jhapa. Given its status in Nepal. “Status of Nepal’s Mammals: The National Red List Series” has listed the species as vulnerable (VU).  

In Nepal and elsewhere, hunting on localized scale for trade of skin, tail, teeth and claws for medicinal and charm purposes is rampant. Furthermore, they undergo population fluctuations due to prey population cycles and disease outbreaks. In some cases, they may undergo local extirpation.

Local extirpation

On 2 July 2022, I was chitchatting in Tanahun with one of my relatives in his early 60s. We were discussing how the environmental factors, especially wildlife and their distribution, have changed. He recalled his childhood and teen years when the animal called “Khyak” that looked like a jackal but was smaller than them was common in Khairanitar of Tanahun district.  Back then, the Kumal community, an indigenous group known for their clay pot making skills, used to set the animals’ den afire and kill them. 

The species is extinct now, according to him. Based on his description, I thought the species could be Bengal Fox. When I wrote a post on social media, especially Facebook, stressing the need for conversation of the species, I received many comments. Narayan Niraula said that the species is known with different names in local dialects such as Khirkhire, Khek Shyal and Khekri. Sagar Dahal, a wildlife biologist, who works on research and conservation of small mammals, informed that Kanchan Parajuli from Hetaunda, Makwanpur district, had once spotted the species in Khairenitar (Kaski district) and taken its pictures. The elevation range of Khairenitar is nearly 600m, meaning the climatic condition was suitable for the species. 

According to Shashank Sharma, who was doing a PhD on Common Leopard, in the survey of nearly 600 sq km across Tanahun, Lamjung and Kaski, he had found no trace of the Bengal Fox. He adds, even the Asiatic Golden Jackal were also missing. This highlights the fate of wild canids as a whole.

Conservation measures

Owing to threats resulting from international trade in the species, India has kept the population of Bengal Fox in their country in Appendix III of Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). However, the Bengal Fox Population in Nepal has not seen any such measures. 

Way forward

As we lack information about the species in Nepal, it is essential to establish a baseline. Thus, the first initiatives should be exploring the distribution of the species and the threats facing them in those areas. Furthermore, based on the baseline, we need to plan and implement tailored conservation measures. Drawing from the concluding lines of the late Dhamala’s lectures, I reiterate here that all conservation biologists should aim to keep common species common. We all have to work together to keep Bengal Fox common.

The author is an assistant professor at the Department of Environmental Science, Padma Kanya Multiple Campus, Tribhuvan University

Asiatic Wild Dog (Cuon alpinus), which is known with different names such as Dhole, Pack hunter and Whistling hunters,  is a non-charismatic mammal from the canidae family (a family of dogs).The population of Dhole is imperiled throughout its range primarily due to anthropogenic influences, earning it a place in the IUCN Red List, but it is yet to get due attention from concerned stakeholders, pushing it further toward extinction.

Like other members of the Canidae family, these dogs prefer communal living, living and hunting in a group. These group hunting characteristics make them efficient hunters. Studies have shown that a pack of Dhole can hunt prey species nearly 10 times their size. Ungulates predominate the diet of the Dhole but, in some instances, they can hunt other animals, including the calf of elephants, as well. Furthermore, the species can live from the tropical to the alpine climate at altitudes ranging from the sea level to 5,300m. These two characteristics are sufficient to know that Dhole are highly adaptable species.  Despite this high adaptability, the global population of the Dhole is reported to be following the declining population trajectory with the current estimate of population to range between 949 and 2215 individuals.

According to an IUCN assessment, habitat destruction due to urbanization and housing; agricultural and aquaculture expansion; depletion of prey species due to illegal hunting and other anthropogenic activities; habitat degradation due to invasive species; transmittance of diseases by the feral dogs are major threats to the species. Besides, retaliatory killings have been reported from Bardia National Park and Kanchanjunga Conservation Area of Nepal.

At present, the presence of Dhole have been confirmed from 11 countries of the world while they have been extirpated from nine countries, including Afghanistan, Russia Federation, South Korea and Singapore. Besides, the presence of the species in North Korea and Pakistan are uncertain while they are supposed to be extinct from Vietnam as well.

Status in Nepal

In Nepal, the estimated population of Dhole is nearly 100, covering a wide range of habitats from tropical to alpine, their presences have been confirmed from very few locations in recent times. This includes Kanchanjunga Conservation Area and Tinjure Milke Jaljale area of Eastern Nepal, Parsa National Park and Chitwan National Park of Central Nepal and Annapurna Conservation Area, Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve and Bardia National Park of Western Nepal.

Additionally, there are some documents proclaiming the presence of Dhole from other areas as well. Forest Resource Assessment, 2000 mentions the presence of Dhole in Langtang National Park and DNPWC states that Dhole can be found in Khaptad National Park as well. This information needs further verification. Global Biodiversity Information Facility, which maintains the global database of species occurrence, contains a single occurrence data of Dhole from Nepal, representing the specimen collected from Nuwakot district and kept at the Field Museum of Natural History (Zoology) Mammal Collection. These indicate that Dhole occupies a wide range of habitats in Nepal as well ranging from lowland to high Himalayan region.

Most of these records of Dhole are based on anecdotal records. Discovery/rediscovery of Dhole in both Bardia National Park and Chitwan National Park were made primarily through the camera trap placed for tigers while the records in case of Parsa National Park also predominates the records based on accidental encounters. The efficiency of hunting by Dhole implies that they are an essential component of the ecosystem which can regulate trophic level dynamics. But stakeholders, including researchers and conservationists, are yet to acknowledge the importance of this species. NPWC Act is a glaring example of this: While it gives special protection to the leopard contrary to the IUCN Red List, the Act fails to recognize Dhole as an endangered species.

As their population status suggests, these dogs are more threatened than tigers in Nepal or elsewhere. Despite this, conservation intervention targeting Dhole is unheard of. This is primarily because of the lack of information about Dhole and lack of advocacy. As the studies focusing on the Dhole are limited in number and scope in Nepal, we are yet to understand the ecology of these neglected canids. 

Way forward

Investment on conservation intervention without comprehensive understanding of the ecology brings significant change. Thus, research on the population status and dynamics throughout their distribution range in Nepal is highly essential. But, as the species is a non-charismatic one, the potentiality to receive attention from the international donor agency is limited. So, the government should invest and encourage the ecological study of this species. Also, regulation and control of feral dogs and enhancement of habitat and prey condition throughout their range are vital. Otherwise, these top predators living on the brink of extinction will disappear from their habitats soon.

The author is Assistant Professor at the Department of Environmental Science, Padma Kanya Multiple Campus