Nepal Achieves Zero Poaching, Twice

Poaching is a social problem that reflects the fragility of a nation-state. From official corruption, weak laws, and organized crime to hunger and poverty, poaching is a symptom of wider ills. A developing nation, Nepal has nevertheless shown Asia and the rest of the world that something can be done to stop the destruction of our fellow creatures on our planet. Twice the Bhuddist nation has gone 365 days without a single poaching incident: in 2011 for rhinos and in 2014 for rhinos, tigers, and elephants. That is a major accomplishment for a poor, mountainous country whose GDP of $19.3 billion is drawfed by its neighbors China and India, and only barely above the value of the global trade in wildlife estimated at $19 billion.

Nepal has the political will and religious ethic to stop poaching. That committment is shared down the line by army, police, rangers, communities and judiciary in a coordinated response. In order to stop a sophisticated, professional trade worth billions, the response must be the same quality, noted WWF-Nepal's official monitoring wildlife trade.

Nepal's multi-pronged approach was developed in cooperation with WWF and contains six key types of law enforcement activities: on the ground assessments and monitoring of wildlife populations; use of best available technologies; adequate training and care of rangers; engagement and education of local communities; sound prosecutorial process; and information sharing with international anti-poaching efforts. No one prong is more important than the others. If Nepal can do it, so can other nations in Asia suffering a epidemic of wildlife crime and alarming declines in native species. Nepal was able to recently announce the arrest of Rajkumar Praja, the nation's most wanted rhino poacher because of cooperation among the Nepal's police, army, Malyasian authorities and INTERPOL. At a recent symposium hosted by Nepal's minister of forests and WWF, 13 nations discussed how Nepal's success can be achieved elsewhere. All of the anti-poaching experts attending adopted the "Zero Poaching Toolkit". The goal of zero poaching incidents is now not just one country's success story, but a regional aspiration. Perhaps it also the beginning of the end of the immoral wildlife trade in Asia.