Chitwan, November 12

Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Co-chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal said undertaking conservation and development work simultaneously was a challenge.

Inaugurating the 9th World Ranger Congress organised by International Ranger Federation and Ministry of Forest and Environment in Sauraha today, Dahal said there was pressure for both development and conservation.

He said conservationists working to minimise human-wildlife conflict endured the pressures of need for human development as well as need to protect wildlife. Dahal also said Nepal had set an example in the world in the field of forest and wildlife conservation.

At the programme, Minister of Forest and Environment Shakti Bahadur Basnet said rangers were the real heroes as they worked for conservation of wildlife by risking their own lives.

Minister Basnet said Nepal had fulfilled the commitment it had given to the international community as the number of tigers and rhinos, among other wild animals, had increased and at the same time, incidents of poaching had dropped to zero.

IRF Chairman Sean Willmore expressed his gratitude to Nepal for hosting the International Ranger Federation for the first time in Asia. He said he was pleased to attend the congress amid a huge crowd of rangers.

World Ranger Congress will run for five days. It is held every three years and was first held in 1995.

WRC Preparation Committee Coordinator Dr Maheshwor Dhakal said 550 representatives of 72 countries had attended the conference. Nepal will present achievements in buffer zone management, human-wildlife conflict minimisation, zero poaching, local community partnership in tourism, among others, in the conference.

Different countries will present papers on progress and problems of technology in the world. Experts from different countries will present successful models in the field of wildlife conservation and minimisation of human-wildlife conflict, among others.