KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 27
Speaking at a programme organised by the Ministry of Forests and Environment to review the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) on Thursday, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli stated that 30 per cent forest areas and 150 tigers should be sufficient. However, experts have criticised PM Oli's remarks as unscientific and preposterous.
Shristi Singh Bhandari, a conservationist and animal rights activist, told THT, "The Prime Minister's remarks are unscientific and preposterous."
"He is not a lay person, he is the Prime Minister of Nepal. So this is careless and dangerous and very stupid. Regarding conflict between tigers and humans , it is not that the tigers are more, it is their habitat that is being encroached," she added.
PM Oli went on to say that more than 150 tigers in Nepal should be given as gifts to friendly countries.
Pointing to the recent spike in human deaths from tiger attacks, he said, "Our is a small country with 350 tigers...150 will be sufficient. We cannot sustain tigers while endangering human lives."
PM Oli sarcastically stated that foreign experts had come to teach Nepal how to protect tigers, and that attention should be paid to the tiger carrying capacity. "Nepal has established 17 per cent protected areas to protect nature and the environment," he stated.
The prime minister's opinion comes at a time when Nepal has made significant progress in tiger conservation, which is being lauded by the international community.
Chandramani Aryal, assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences at Padma Kanya Campus, said, "The ecological carrying capacity of tiger habitat should be assessed through third-party monitoring. We must assess this."
He further said, "The livelihoods of local people should be linked to conservation. The majority of the people who died were killed in the jungle while collecting firewood."
According to government statistics, the number of spotted tigers in Nepal was 121 in 2009, rising to 235 in 2018 and 355 by 2022.
Referring to Nepal's 47 percent increase in forest area, Prime Minister Oli stated that the world should recognise and compensate Nepal for its contributions to nature conservation.
Meanwhile, PM Oli's arguments contradict Sher Bahadur Deuba's decisions. When Deuba was the prime minister, the Council of Ministers made a decision related to the environment on October 28, 2021.
In point 11, the Ministry of Forestry and Environment approved the 'Long-Term Zero Emission Strategy'. The Council of Ministers decided that forests should not be destroyed.
Furthermore, the government passed the Second Determined Contribution in 2020, while Oli was prime minister. It was stated that 45 per cent of the forest is in Nepal and will be preserved until 2030. The government also approved a report that was submitted to the United Nations Climate Change Agency.
The majority of the experts who responded to THT questions emphasised PM Oli's immaturity, which is reflected when the executive director speaks out against the decision after signing the treaty.
Experts believe that failing to fulfil commitments to the international community demonstrates leadership incompetence. Aside from this, Nepal has signed several other international conventions on biological diversity.
Moreover, in 1993, 165 countries, including Nepal, signed the report passed by the 1990 'Convention on Biological Diversity' conference in Brazil, which called on the world community to sign by 1992.
