Several indigenous birds from Nepal are regularly illegally trafficked across the porous Indo-Nepal border and also bought and sold in the animal and bird markets of the adjoining Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. The Indian government has placed stringent restrictions and legal protection for buying and selling of any Indian species in their local markets and hence the trafficking of birds from Nepal has been gaining momentum. Since many Nepali species are also distributed in India, the captured birds from Nepal also belonging to Indian bird list are released in adjacent forests in India and the perpetrators are punished. But the trade still exists and is a grave long term threat to the avifauna of Nepal targeting mostly the different species of parakeets and hill mynahs. My humble request to the Nepal government is to take stringent regulatory and conservative measures to prevent the illegal trade and trafficking of indigenous Nepali birds across the porous border.

India and Nepal need to develop some joint border management mechanism to prevent such illegal wildlife trafficking. The Nepali traffickers and traders could be provided with some support or package to change their profession or may be absorbed in the forest department works as they are trained trackers and have multitude of experiences that may help in the efforts for conservation. Unless the socio-economic condition of the poor communities living around the border is improved such grave eco-environmental threats and challenges to local wildlife will continue to exist.

Saikat Kumar Basu, Canada

Self-reliant

On December 6, senior CPN-UML leader Madhav Kumar Nepal requested Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lift the blockade on the Nepal-India border points. But it is really not the way because it shows that we have fears with India because of the latter’s economic and military power. What is the use of asking the person to lift the blockade when it has become apparent that he himself had ordered to impose the blockade that has caused immense hardships to all Nepali people. The current Premier of Nepal should rather show his courage and firm stance in resolving the fuel crisis by importing from other countries. For this to happen, the ongoing political instability in Nepal should be brought to an end as soon as possible. In fact, the government must be strong enough to make the country self-reliant. If the country is made self-reliant in most of the economic sectors, including fuel and energy, nobody can interfere in our internal matters and dictate to us what should be done and what not. Nationalism and national interests can be saved only after we make our country strong economically. Let us work together to achieve the goal of self-reliant. Carrying a begging bowl all times will make us weaker than we are now.

Pratik Shrestha, Kathmandu