Nepali Army deploys over 9,000 personnel for nature conservation

Kathmandu: The Nepali Army has deployed personnel in 12 national parks, one wildlife reserve, and one hunting reserve.

Director of Operations Manoj Thapa said that 9,046 army personnel have been deployed for the protection of national parks, wildlife reserves, hunting reserves and the Chure region declared by the Government of Nepal.

According to him, the responsibility of protection has been assigned to eight battalions, two forest and environmental protection battalions, and seven independent companies. Director Thapa stated that in the current fiscal year, 42 various types of guns, 1,976 nets and traps, 1,965 domestic weapons, 335 vehicles, and 16 hunting trophies were seized from different national parks and wildlife reserves.

There has been a significant increase in the population of tigers and rhinos over the past 15 years, thanks to the enhanced security and protection efforts by the Nepali Army. According to the latest census, the number of tigers in Nepal stands at 355 and that of rhinos is 752.

Previously, the 2009 census recorded 121 tigers and the 2005 census recorded 400 rhinos. The Army has stated that 116 military personnel lost their lives due to wild animal attacks and other reasons while achieving that accomplishment.

The Directorate of Army Public Relations and Information stated that in the current fiscal year alone, five army personnel of various ranks were seriously injured due to attacks by such wild animals. The Nepali Army has been carrying out the annual mountain cleaning campaigns in the past decade to preserve the beauty of Nepal’s stunning mountains.

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