The Soul of the Rhino- By Hemanta Mishra with Jim Ottaway Jr

“The Soul of the Rhino” a masterpiece which weaves together the captivating world of rhinos and the need for their conservation. Through engaging storytelling and emotional depth, Hemanta Mishra takes readers on an emotional journey, shedding light on more than three decades of efforts to conserve One-horned Rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis) in Nepal. From heart-wrenching decisions of rhino killings to heartwarming tales of their translocations, the book strikes a perfect balance, leaving readers both informed and deeply moved. The author’s dedication to conserving these magnificent creatures and their natural habitats shines through the very first page. Not only this, but the author is successful in urging us to confront our role in their survival. “The Soul of the Rhino” is a wake-up call, reminding us of the connection between humanity and the natural world, and inspiring us to take action to conserve biodiversity before it’s too late. A must-read for anyone passionate about wildlife conservation and its history in Nepal.

Conflicts and Conservation: Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve

Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve is one of the protected areas in subtropical climatic belt of Nepal. It has an area of about 175 sq. km with an additional buffer zone of 173.5 sq. km, in the flood plain of Spatakoshi River within parts of Sunsari, Saptari and Udayapur. It was established in 1976 AD with an objective of preserving the habitat of Wild Asiatic Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) as well as the prime terrestrial winter habitat of ten thousands of migratory birds.

Conflict between the local people and wildlife has always been a major challenge in conservation. The same scenario is seen in Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve. The needs of local people clash with the need of endangered wildlife and a problem arises in the way of conservation. Historically, local people of the conservation area had open access to the Koshi River Flood plains and they were engaged in fishing, hunting and collectin fuels, fodder and livestock grazing. The National Park and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1973 declared the collection of resources and grazing of livestock within protected areas illegal. Due to this act local were deprived of their historical habits and conflict arised.

The effects caused by wildlife in the area were crop depredation and human harassment while the challenges from the locals were illegal activities of people around the conservation area. During our field visit of 15 days we saw many people carrying fodders and firewoods illegally from the conservation area. And during our stay we got chance to encounter wild Asiatic elephant and wild water buffalo. They were seen around the human habitat area frequently which suggested that conflict between people and wildlife is very high in the area. During our interaction with the locals we came to find out that they have negative attitude towards the conservation area though they know the importance of conservation. The level of awareness about the importance of conservation may be because of the awareness related programmes done by different organisations and KTWR itself. Furthermore, we saw people queing for taking compensation from the head office of the reserve. While interacting with them they were also not satisfied with the long and tiring procedure of getting compensation. Ferral cattles was another problem seen in the conservation area. Group of thousands of ferral cattles were seen grazing across the Koshi River. This suggests that there is a high degree of competition for the resources in the area which may be the reason for forcing the wild animals to enter the living area for grazing the fields. Fences that are the barriers to stop animals entering the village were also broken in many places. This was another carelessness shown by the adminstration office.

License has been provided to the local fishermen for fishing within the reserve, which is an initiative of involving locals in conservation program. Likewise, many other works can be done in order to involve locals in conservation. Fences must be repaired in time that will control the flow of animals in village and other community oriented programs must be started. Socioeconomic development is necessary for the successful completion of conservation project in the area.

Conservation can go hand on hand by involving local people

The Cause of rapid decline of old world vultures in Asia in 1990s was unknown for several years until diclofenac was proved to be the reason for the decline of population in 2004. The population of vulture has dramatically decreased from the Indian subcontinent; Nepal is also not an exception. This decline in vulture population is due to lack of ecological awareness that is provided by vulture. Local people are directly related to the conservation  so the attitude or perception of people towards them can influence conservation of that species.For the conservation of the species Nepal has implemented Vulture Conservation Action Plan from 2006 onward. This has helped to revive the population of the declining species. Though Conservation practices are done mainly the people’s perception towards these conservation practices are unknown in Dang. So, a study was conducted in Dang to understand the perception of people towards vulture conservation practices that is done in their area. The survey was done by using closed ending questionnaire. Many of the respondents showed positive perception towards vulture conservation efforts (48%) followed by neutral reaction (42%). And very little population that is 10% of the respondents had negative perception. Many of the respondents did not use diclofenac drug for treating their cattles and people throw carcasses in open area or provide to the VSFS officials for feeding vultures. Therefore, for long term conservation of the vultures, local perception and participation must be considered a major factor.This can influence a great deal in the field of conservation.