Kathmandu, September 4 :

Ananda Prasad Dhungana, a member of parliament from Nepali Congress, today said conservation of rhinos is not possible until the royal palace and the Nepali Army are detached from the national parks.

“It is a known fact that the royal palace is involved in poaching and smuggling of wildlife products,” he said, while speaking at a programme organised by Nepal Forum of Environment Journalists.

MP Prakash Jwala, from CPN-UML, who is also the chairman of the parliamentary committee for natural resources, said the Nepali Army should be shifted out from the national parks because they still are a part of the monarchy and are responsible for hunting and helping poachers.

“Take the army out of the national park and let the local people guard the bio-diversity of their land. You will definitely see the difference soon,” he said.

Former director general at Department of National Park and Wildlife Conservation Dr Tirtha Man Maskey said that the conservation efforts cannot be ignored as Nepal has done some noteworthy deeds in the past several decades.

Dr Tirtha Bahadur Shrestha, a bio-diversity expert, said that the situation of rhinos in Nepal has become very pathetic.

Rabi Sharma, an expert on wildlife trade, said the situation of poaching has worsened after the ceasefire.