Nepal has nearly tripled the tiger population in the past decade, thanks to rigorous efforts from conservationists, security personnel, policymakers and endless cooperation of the local communities. As per the authorities, who made public the tiger population on Friday, Nepal's total tiger population has reached 355 in 2022 from 121 in 2009. At an international conference held in St Petersburg, Russia in 2010, Nepal had pledged to double the tiger population in the following 10 years as per the plan unveiled by the 12 countries, where the majestic tigers roam in the wild. Nepal has been just as successful in preserving the rhino population. Nepal is the only country to meet or beat the tiger population target. While launching the survey of the tiger population, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba thanked everyone involved in the conservation of the wild cat. Conservationists and technicians surveyed the tiger population using thousands of motion-sensitive trapping cameras set up across a vast stretch of Nepal's southern plains, especially in Chitwan National Park (CNP), Parsa Wildlife Reserve (PWR), Bardiya National Park (BNP) and Suklaphanta.

In the past 12 years, the number of tigers saw the largest increase in the BNP, where the number of the elusive big cat soared from 18 in 2010 to 125 in 2022. However, the number of tigers in the CNP seems to be stable. As per the survey conducted in 2009/10, there were a total of 91 tigers in the CNP. As per the 2022 survey, the number of tigers in the CNP has increased by 37, totalling 128 in the past 12 years. Now, there are 41 tigers in PWR and 36 in the Suklaphanta Reserve. As many as 25 tigers are roaming in the Banke Reserve, which was declared a reserve to the east of the BNP in 2010 to add to the tiger population.

Tiger conservation, however, has come at a human cost. As per the government figures, at least 16 people were killed in tiger attacks, especially in the CNP and BNP, in the last one year. The key challenge in moving forward is, therefore, to ensure the cohabitation between the people and wildlife as well as reconcile with the country's growth aspiration while keeping nature intact and secure. Some of the major challenges for the government and conservationists are to restore the wildlife corridors, expand their core habitats and control wildlife attacks. Wildlife experts believe the main challenge right now is to manage the tiger population and minimise the human-wildlife conflict. Usually, tigers attack people when they sense insecurity for their cubs. Most of the people who live close to the national parks or reserves are poor and largely depend on the forests for fodder and firewood. The park officials need to educate the local people about the time to visit the protected forests and how deep they can venture into the woods to collect forest products. The government should also set up a permanent revolving fund to provide compensation to the human lives lost to wildlife attacks. Finding a way out of reducing overdependence on forest products could be an option to minimise human-wildlife conflict, which is a challenging task to deal with in most developing countries in Asia and Africa. The local people will stop visiting the forest areas if their living condition improves through other sources of income, such as tourism.

School health centre

A community school in Tulsipur, Dang has set up a four-bed health centre of its own for the treatment of its students, which could serve as a role model for other educational institutions. Gurujajur Secondary School has 2,300 students from pre-primary to grade XII, and every day about 15 to 20 students were falling sick. So, it decided to establish the health facility with proper beds, first aid materials and medicines at a cost of Rs 400,000. This is exemplary given that the government's policy of 'one school one health worker' has not fared very well.

A school with its own health workers or a health centre could be an added incentive for the students to attend school. Especially when there are outbreaks of diseases, the health workers can effectively disseminate the health protocols to be followed both in the school and at home through the students. A school's health facility could also be used to treat locals after the students have gone home in the evening or in the early morning before classes begin. Since budget constraints could prevent a school from employing a full-time health worker, he or she could also be assigned to teach hygiene or sanitation-related subjects.

A version of this article appears in the print on August 1, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.