CHITWAN: Co-chair of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP), Pushpa Kamal Dahal, inaugurated the 9th World Ranger Congress, jointly organised by International Rangers Federation (IRF) and Ministry of Forests and Environment, at Sauraha in Chitwan district, today. Co-chair Dahal talked about how challenging it is to minimise the conflict between humans and wildlife. Nepal has been successful in the field of forests and wildlife conservation, stressed Dahal, asking all rangers, experts, researchers, policymakers participating in the conference to share their experiences and success stories with each other. Minister for Forests and Environment, Shakti Bahadur Basnet, said that the rangers who risk their lives to protect others are true heroes. In the programme, IRF President Sean Willmore thanked Nepal for hosting the first-ever World Ranger Congress in Asia. 'We are thrilled to have such a large number of rangers present and attend this important meeting and be inspired by this beautiful country,' he said. Former finance minister Surendra Pandey, National Planning Commission member Krishna Prasad Oli, chair of Chitwan National Park central region management committee Madhukar Malla, Ratnagar Municipality mayor Narayan Ban, secretary at the Ministry of Forests and Environment Bishwanath Oli, assistant secretary Maheshwar Dhakal, among others, wished that the conference would be a success. The Congress, which began in 1995 is organised every three years in different parts of the world. The eighth congress had taken place in the United States in 2016. According to assistant secretary Dhakal, 550 representatives from 72 countries including Nepal are participating in the five-day conference where the discussions will revolve around land degradation, human–wildlife conflict, zero poaching, eco tourism, among others. It is also to be noted that the conference is scheduled amidst Visit Nepal Year 2020 and is expected to promote its agenda.