To understand the new wave of migration from the remote mountains of western Nepal, one just needs to look at the nutrition status of its children. Hara BK’s 2-year-old son has an abnormally distended belly, his arms are thin — the result of insufficient food from fallow farms in this rugged and arid region of Nepal.&nbsp; “Nothing grows here, I’m tired of walking to the health post,” the mother of two tells us, showing the nutrition packet the baby was given. “He gets better as long as we feed him the packet, then he is hungry again.”&nbsp; Child marriage is still common in Bajura, and Hara was 15 herself when her parents married her off. By 16 she had her first baby. She is unable to produce enough milk for her baby, but already pregnant with a third child. Nearly 90% of women in Bajura are malnourished. Says ward chair Ajay Kumar BK: “Children born to malnourished mothers also become malnourished.” Geeta BK is 30. She has six girls aged 15, 12, 8, 6, 5 and 3, and a son who is 1. She tells us, “I had a baby every other year. There is no milk for this one.” In remote districts like Bajura, child marriage, multiple births, unspaced birth all lead to malnutrition in mothers who then cannot provide enough nutrition for their babies. “It is a vicious cycle of malnutrition and poverty,” says nutritionist Uma Koirala.&nbsp; Hara and Gita’s husbands are seasonal migrant workers who go to Dehradun in India six months a year to work as labourers. During that time, the wives are doubly burdened. Hazari BK, 23, of Muktikot village is severely undernourished, but has to raise a seven-year-old son and two-year-old daughter. She gave birth to her first child at 17, and two of her babies died young.&nbsp; “This small girl is getting better but I could not breastfeed my son,” says Hazari, who is pregnant again.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260212090240_bbfd747ded536931be4910d73f1234c245aec30401da3ffe05dac2ef690bf88e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260212090240_bbfd747ded536931be4910d73f1234c245aec30401da3ffe05dac2ef690bf88e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1001" loading="lazy" alt="Epicentre of hunger NT"> <figcaption>The four daughters of Geeta BK.</figcaption> </figure>  NUTRITION PROGRAMS The government has been implementing a ‘multi-sectoral nutrition plan’ in six districts including Bajura since 2013, involving education, agriculture, drinking water and sanitation, and local development ministries. The current phase of the program covering all local governments aims to reduce stunting to 15% by 2030.&nbsp; A ‘Nutrition Assessment and Gap Analysis’ conducted in 2009 recommended that agriculture, education, local development and health should all play a role in addressing malnutrition. Then in 2011, Nepal joined the global campaign ‘Scaling Up Nutrition’ (SUN) campaign, and a year later the government approved the multi-sectoral nutrition program which is still running with support from the European Union, UNICEF, the World Bank, the World Food Program, Canadian Aid, JICA, and the World Health Organization. Similarly, USAID’s Suhara program which started 11 years ago took nutrition programs to the remotest corners of the country. And while the program has been scaled back after USAID stopped, Hara and Gita are a stark reminder of how past programs have failed. Public health expert Mahesh Maskey sees a deeper malaise here. This is not a health issue, but linked to state neglect of education, agriculture, gender and food security. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260212100240_919551288adb9669472702c3937fac94e4268cbde1a39173853ee901f9b18947.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260212100240_919551288adb9669472702c3937fac94e4268cbde1a39173853ee901f9b18947" data-rendition-name="original" width="1572" height="950" loading="lazy" alt="Bajura map"> </figure>  HUNGER FIGURES According to the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2022, malnutrition has dramatically declined nationally, but not in western Nepal. A quarter of under-5 children in Nepal are stunted, but here in Muktikot village the proportion is a shocking 55%. The figure for Bajura district is almost double the national average with 49% of children too short for their age due to a lack of food. The survey also showed that 19% of under-5s are underweight. Here in Muktikot that percent is 51.2%. A third of the children in Bajura weigh below normal.&nbsp; Bajura does have nutrition programs, but there is lack of coordination between various government departments with unnecessary duplication of haphazard efforts. “There is no accounting of who is doing what, how much food is being distributed,” admits Bajura public health officer Kumar Neupane. “This in turn is increasing dependency and reducing local food production.” Health posts give out ready-to-use therapeutic food to severely malnourished children as a nutrition boost, but this is not a long-term solution. “These items are only supplementary, not substitutes for home-cooked meals,” says Lila Bikram Thapa at the Department of Health Services in Kathmandu. The World Bank’s recent Nepal Development Update 2025 states that in Madhes Province, delayed monsoon rains hurt paddy yields.&nbsp; Economist Keshav Acharya says that although funds are allocated for nutrition in the budget, its distribution system and identification of needs are not scientific: “If the target group is not reached and the program is not continuous, such programs are meaningless.”&nbsp; Malnourished children do not develop adequately mentally and physically, preventing them from rising above the poverty line. Nutritionist Aruna Upreti says that the government multi-sectoral nutrition program has failed due to misplaced priorities.&nbsp; “Even in remote villages, noodles and biscuits are easily available but nutritious food isn't,” she says. “The use and promotion of local nutritious crops should supersede dependence on external food aid.”&nbsp; Centre for Investigative Journalism - Nepal

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Epicentre of hunger

The Asia and the Pacific SDG Progress Report 2024 published by the UN’s Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) earlier this month shockingly revealed that the region will achieve all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) only by 2062, and not by the target year of 2030. &nbsp;
While the region has taken positive steps towards eliminating poverty, and bolstering sustainable industry, innovation and infrastructure; progress in other goals related to hunger, health, clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy and sustainable cities and communities have been less noteworthy. These require much more political will.&nbsp;
The UN adds in a supplemental note that while the country has shown progress to meet most targets in gender, inclusion and maternal-child health, Nepal is lagging behind in SDGs #2 and #10: achieving food security and combating undernourishment, as well as in reducing inequalities within and among countries.
Translated from UN-ese, this means: many Nepalis (especially children) still go to bed hungry every night, and some Nepalis are more equal than others. &nbsp;
Chronic hunger is measured by wasting and stunting in children. One of the targets under the SDG’s second goal is to eliminate stunting and wasting in children under five. The 2023 Joint Child Malnutrition Estimates by UNICEF, WHO and the World Bank Group stated that in 2022, stunting affected 26.7% of children under five in Nepal. The Demographic Health Survey in 2022 put stunting slightly lower at 24.8% of children under five.&nbsp;
To be sure, Nepal has reduced stunting significantly from 67% in 1995, when it was one of the highest in the world, to where it is now. But that is a nationwide figure, and there are parts of Nepal that are still far behind.
In Karnali Province 36% of children under five years of age are stunted. It is 29% in Madhes Province. Despite a reduction in Nepal’s poverty rate and improvements in the national nutrition levels, hunger still persists in these areas.
Food insecurity and undernourishment do not exist in a vacuum, they are also symptoms of societal inequities. Stunting is nearly three times as high among Nepali children from the lowest wealth group than among children of richer families. &nbsp;Undernourishment is directly affected by a mother’s education level.
Inequality is widening across the world. Oxfam International’s report Inequality Inc in January stated that while the richest five men in the world have doubled their fortunes since 2020, almost five billion people globally have become poorer during the same timeframe.
But not all the news is bleak. The school meals program managed by the World Food Programme (WFP) has been crucial in providing nutritious meals to children for more than four decades. In 2022, the program directly provided school meals to more than 250,000 children in nearly 2,500 schools across the country. The Nepal government has been gradually taking over the program, and stepping up funding while making the program cash-based, allocating around 6% of the national education budget for school lunches this fiscal year.&nbsp;
The fourth Nepal Living Standards Survey was published last month and showed that the proportion of Nepalis living below the poverty line had dropped from 25.16% in 2011 to 20.27% in 2023. The Gini index for Nepal in 2023 stands at 0.30, and the survey indicates that there are larger inequalities in per capita consumption spending in urban areas.&nbsp;
The most recent study on inequality in Nepal by Oxfam and the non-profit HAMI was in 2019, which found income and wealth gap to be wide, and widening. The Nepal Living Standards Survey and it showed that the proportion of Nepalis living below the poverty line had dropped from 25.16% in 2011 to 20.27% in 2023. But the income of the richest 10% of Nepalis is more than three times that of the poorest 40%. In 2022, Nepal ranked 112 in Oxfam and Development Finance International’s Commitment to Reducing Inequality (CRI) Index, which ranks countries on their policies to tackle inequity.&nbsp;
Landlessness, corruption, and lack of access to quality public services are some of the key contributing factors to inequality in Nepal. But again, these inequalities do not exist independently of one another. Gender inequality contributes to land and economic disparity, to education and resources. One inequality compounds another.&nbsp;
The moral of the story is that hunger, inequality, exclusion, landlessness, accountability and governance are all connected. As they say in development parlance: inequality is intersectional.
Shristi Karki

More equal than others

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121144/636b92f49c7e80680e06f17bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2550" height="1429"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Nepal has had one emergency heaped on top of another for more than a year now. The Covid-19 emergency, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-is-going-up-in-smoke/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">wildfires</a>, and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/monsoon-hits-nepal-with-a-bang/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">now floods</a>.Political flux in Kathmandu continues to undermine the state’s ability to respond adequately. But this is nothing new. The most glaring governance failure of Nepal’s rulers for the past decades has been their incompetence in being able to ensure nutrition for its youngest citizens.Be it during the absolute and constitutional monarchy days, the post-democracy period or now, in the new federal system, the state has failed abjectly in its primary responsibility to fulfil the most basic of all human rights – access to adequate food.Nepal did reduce childhood stunting from 57% to 36% in the two decades after 1990. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nearly-half-of-nepali-children-still-malnourished/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">But progress stalled</a> because of the conflict and political upheavals. Nearly a third of Nepali children are still stunted due to lack of adequate food, 12% are wasted, and 24% low weight.The statistics are shocking. Nepal’s hunger hotspots are Far Western Province where 41% of children are stunted, and in Province 2 where 34% of children have low height due to lack of food. A survey in May by Sharecast Initiative and UNICEF shows that one in five families across Nepal <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepalis-eating-less-due-to-lockdown-hardships/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reduced the quantity of meals</a> their children ate during the lockdown.Children have so far been largely spared by the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its variants, but they have become <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/children-are-collateral-damage-in-nepal-lockdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">collateral damage in the pandemic</a>. Schools have been closed for most of the past year, and half the students had no access to distance learning. Immunisation drives against pre-existing killer diseases have been disrupted.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/half-of-nepalis-lost-jobs-in-past-month/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">More than half of Nepalis lost their jobs</a> in the past month amidst the second wave, and loss of household income has led directly to insufficient food for children.Hunger is Nepal’s real national epidemic and rampant malnutrition pre-dated the Covid-19 outbreak. The pandemic has undermined the country’s past gains in battling childhood malnutrition.To meet its UN sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets, Nepal has to reduce stunting well below 15% and wasting and low weight to less than 5% in the next nine years. At the present rate, we will not meet those goals.Horrific as the statistics are, zooming down to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-epidemic-of-hunger/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ground level in Dhanusha and Mahottari districts</a> of Province 2, our Saglo Samajtv magazine report this week shows how much worse things have got during the lockdowns.Despite Nepal being declared open-defecation free amidst much fanfare, Dalit and other marginalised communities in Dhanusha and Mahottari do not have toilets. If they do have one, there is no running water or soap. They use the same village pond for both humans and cattle, for cleaning and drinking. Things are not much better in pockets in the western mountains. Gastric infections compound malnutrition.The least the government could do is equitably distribute the ‘nutrition allowance’ allocated for the Dalit families and educate the communities on the basics of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/toilet-trained/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">sanitation and hygiene</a>.Nutrition Rehabilitation Centres for severely malnourished children must be set up closer to the communities so that the neediest can access the service. The annual budget on nutrition should be increased so that local health posts have sufficient supplements and micronutrients for new mothers and their children.The government’s Multi-Sector Nutrition Plan has not delivered as expected, tangled up over jurisdiction under the new federal structure. But it could just as easily deploy Female Community Health Volunteers, and local representatives to discourage <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/child-marriage-in-nepal-eloped-at-13-mother-by-17/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">child marriage</a> that feeds the vicious cycle of malnutrition and high maternal and child deaths.Malnutrition is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/junk-food-is-making-nepali-children-shorter/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">more than the availability of food</a> and access to clean water, it is also confronting patriarchy, casteism and gender discrimination. It is a result of poor governance, lack of accountability and corruption.But nothing is stopping newly-empowered local governments with technical and financial backing from the centre to now achieve results that Kathmandu’s past centralised governments could not. Training of farmers on climate-smart agriculture, and leasing land to the landless is a good place to start.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/the-face-of-hunger-debt-malnutrition,3604" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Children are hungry</a> because of poverty. Their families are poor because of state neglect. We must draw that causal link between lack of food and failure to deliver it by elected representatives. That is the real scandal the evening news bulletins should be highlighting.

Hunger for governance

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131144/636a4ffb9c7e80680e04fd36jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1191"/><figcaption>Photos: MARTY LOGAN</figcaption></figure>The publication of a paper last week in <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jn/advance-article/doi/10.1093/jn/nxz140/5530103">The Journal of Nutrition</a> that infants in Kathmandu were getting 25% of their calories from junk food shocked many. But what is even more worrying is that instead of being fat, those who consumed the most junk food were shorter than average.Stunting is a vital measure of malnutrition. It is also one of the indicators used to track a country's path to development. Infants who are short for their age can have impaired brain development and increase the risk of developing nutrition-related chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and obesity. Its causes include poor access to nutrient-dense foods and lack of dietary diversity.Nepal has done well at reducing stunting in recent years, cutting it from 57% in 1996 to 36% in 2016. However, the country is still not on track to reach the World Health Assembly stunting target of 24% by 2025, or the Sustainable Development Goal target of 15%.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepalis-binge-on-junk-foods-the-west-rejected/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepalis binge on junk foods the West rejected</a>, Duksangh Sherpa<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/living-to-eat/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Living to eat</a>, Aruna Uprety‘The current average annual rate of reduction of stunting needs to accelerate to meet these targets,’ points out a 2018 report of Nepal's National Planning Commission, <a href="https://www1.wfp.org/publications/nepal-zero-hunger-strategic-review">Towards Zero Hunger</a>. ‘Addressing inadequate maternal, infant and young child feeding practices, untreated episodes of acute malnutrition, infections, and deficiencies in micronutrients, all of which constitute immediate and underlying causes of stunting in Nepal, is of critical importance.'<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131144/636a4ffe9c7e80680e04fd37jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="758">Looking at the findings of the recent study published in The Journal of Nutrition carried out by Helen Keller International, raises the question of whether growing junk food consumption is contributing to the proportion of stunted children not going down.'Our results suggest that rapidly changing food environments and subsequent dietary patterns in LMICs (low and mid-income countries) might curtail recent achievements in the reduction of childhood stunting,' says the The Journal of Nutrition <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jn/advance-article/doi/10.1093/jn/nxz140/5530103">study</a>.However, the researchers, from Helen Keller International and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, note that their results do not prove a direct link between eating junk food and the children's growth but 'present a plausible biological pathway for this relationship'.Read also:<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/we-are-what-we-eat-aruna-uprety,3954" target="_blank" rel="noopener">We are what we eat</a>, Aruna Uprety<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/GUEST-COLUMN/promoting-nutritious-local-food-for-post-quake-children,524" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Local is best</a>, Aruna UpretyThe survey, which set out to study links between junk food consumption and nutritional health, looked at 700+ children aged 12-23 months, in Kathmandu Valley. The group that consumed the most unhealthy food and beverages – excluding breast milk – got nearly half (46.9%) of their total calories from those items, compared to 5.2% for the group that ate the least.Researchers found that those who ate most junk food were at risk of having inadequate levels of eight nutrients: calcium, zinc, vitamin A, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B-6, vitamin B-12, and folate. 'Our dietary results suggest that 1–2-year-old children living in the Kathmandu Valley are at high risk of multiple micronutrient deficiencies, which are further exacerbated by high intakes' of junk food, the report concluded.The study also warned about other long-term impact of eating junk food: 'In Nepal, the prevalence of adult obesity and diabetes is increasing, which indicates that these unhealthy eating patterns in young urban Nepali children urgently need to be addressed.'Researchers noted that although some of the junk foods had been fortified, the high amounts of sugar and sodium that were also added to the processed foods made them overall unhealthier.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131148/636a50029c7e80680e04fd38jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="1014"><h2>Junk food consumption among infants, 12-23 months, in Kathmandu</h2><table><tbody><tr><td width="100">Group</td><td width="85">Junk food calories as % of total diet (excluding breast feeding)</td><td width="91">At risk of inadequate protein</td><td width="91">At risk of inadequate calcium</td><td width="86">At risk of inadequate iron</td><td width="82">At risk of inadequate Vitamin A</td><td width="82">At risk of inadequate Niacin</td></tr><tr><td width="100">High consumption</td><td width="85">46.9%</td><td width="91">11%</td><td width="91">80%</td><td width="86">100%</td><td width="82">24%</td><td width="82">60%</td></tr><tr><td width="100">Medium consumption</td><td width="85">21.5%</td><td width="91">6%</td><td width="91">65%</td><td width="86">100%</td><td width="82">14%</td><td width="82">55%</td></tr><tr><td width="100">Low consumption</td><td width="85">5.2%</td><td width="91">6%</td><td width="91">49%</td><td width="86">97%</td><td width="82">14%</td><td width="82">52%</td></tr></tbody></table>Read also<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=2409#.XTWO-_IzbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Junk food epidemic</a>, Aruna Uprety

Marty Logan

Junk food is making Nepali children shorter

One aspect of colonial cartography of South Asia leaps out in this must-see exhibition – while the coastline of India, Ceylon, Burma are extraordinarily accurate in maps made more than 200 years ago, the Himalayan hinterland is wholly approximate and inexact. The accuracy improves as modern survey techniques are introduced by atlas-makers, but even then formidable terrain and forbidden lands thwart precision. Map aficionados will be fascinated by the 40 antique maps from The Rajbhandari Collection on display at the exhibition ‘Imaging South Asia: Nepal in the Making at Kathmandu Art Gallery’ at Baber Mahal Revisited from 13 February - 17 March.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211090252_0cbeb88674a97c6292e2b43b2135df219257ca641cbd4723e9aabf5541c2b258.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260211090252_0cbeb88674a97c6292e2b43b2135df219257ca641cbd4723e9aabf5541c2b258" data-rendition-name="original" width="4160" height="3485" loading="lazy" alt="Map Land NT"> </figure>  The first maps were made on clay tablets and cave paintings, but maps improved with Chinese maritime charts of Southeast Asia and beyond. Nautical maps created during the European Age of Exploration used geometry, latitude and longitude. Competition for colonial riches rested on the accuracy of these maps. The Portuguese had the lead in the 15th century, but were soon overtaken by the Spanish with Columbus voyaging to India but landing up in the Americas.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211090252_1fb21d20cf29b408119f5279ce666e73dee089356e52277d753a27e3440364eb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260211090252_1fb21d20cf29b408119f5279ce666e73dee089356e52277d753a27e3440364eb" data-rendition-name="original" width="4030" height="3407" loading="lazy" alt="Map Land NT"> </figure>  European mapping of the coastline of peninsular India &nbsp;began after Vasco de Gama sailed around the Horn of Africa to arrive at what is now Kerala in 1498. The British and French struggled for control of India, and the Carnatic Wars of the 19th century were extensions of their rivalry in Europe.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211090252_0fb0969dc3e07c5a77123b4aa5eb0f11d2ffea73c108077f7e4d1892d6bd4bb6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20260211090252_0fb0969dc3e07c5a77123b4aa5eb0f11d2ffea73c108077f7e4d1892d6bd4bb6" data-rendition-name="original" width="2842" height="4160" loading="lazy" alt="Map Land NT"> </figure>  While most of the maps at this exhibition were commissioned by the East India Company and the Survey of India, there are quite a few made by Parisian cartographers and feature Pondicherry and the Danish trading outpost at Tranquebar. Followed chronologically, the maps show improvements in cartographic techniques. The earliest French map L’Inde of J D Barbié du Bocage from 1760 is a copper engraving with hand painted colours demarcating boundaries. ‘Napaul’, ‘Gorka’ and ‘Catmando’ are depicted. The rivers of India are precisely drawn, as is the Brahmaputra (Yarou Tsanpou) even though locations across the rest of Tibet are rough estimates.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211090252_486dc1b12f391550516be164f27170d4702a69b5125c1b8c4b10f76fdae4c0b1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20260211090252_486dc1b12f391550516be164f27170d4702a69b5125c1b8c4b10f76fdae4c0b1" data-rendition-name="original" width="1675" height="604" loading="lazy" alt="Map Land NT"> </figure>  The 1781 map Carte des Indes en deçà et au-delà du Gange of Rigobert Bonne has slightly more detail about Nepal with even ‘Pattan’ and ‘Bagmally’ river marked. William Darton’s 1802 map has ‘Nogarcot’ and ‘Mocaumpour’ wrongly placed to the east of the valley of ‘Napaul’. Samuel Arrowsmith’s 1828 map ‘India and the Birman Empire’ has Nepal’s rough boundaries demarcated for the first time within a hand-coloured green border, with the mountain ‘Dholagiri’ and ‘Dhunchi’ appearing for the first time. The 1835 map by Boston-based American cartographer Thomas Bradford has a more precise ‘Burrampooter’ river with ‘Sgigatoe’, ‘Lassa’ and ‘Bootan’ marked. In Nepal, ‘Batgan’, ‘Macwampour’ and ‘Lelit Pattan’ appear near ‘Catmandu’.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211090252_5509c8e043a74b3e34e399c0684ca8eef7fc79953ee0dd18aedc738e8189d552.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20260211090252_5509c8e043a74b3e34e399c0684ca8eef7fc79953ee0dd18aedc738e8189d552" data-rendition-name="original" width="4094" height="3646" loading="lazy" alt="Map Land NT"> </figure>  One striking landmark appears consistently through a century of map-making from 1760 onwards, and that is the sacred Yamdrok Tso near Lhasa. It is precisely located, although it is drawn as a circular lake called ‘Jamdro or Palto Lake’ till J Bartholomew’s lithographic map in 1893 Constable’s Hand Atlas of India. Bartholomew’s map is also where ‘Mt Everest’ appears for the first time with its altitude ’29,002ft’ after Peak XV was calculated to be the highest mountain in the world by the Survey of India. Meanwhile, ‘Kinchinjunga’ appears in some of the earlier maps from the mid-1800s, north of ‘Dorjeloo’. The maps did not only have locations of towns, rivers and mountains but also other interesting facts about places. History buffs will find much to pore over in these maps.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211090252_8280c979b175946a2ac29e22b7a2b2427f7f36f22093c3456524f1f529311498.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20260211090252_8280c979b175946a2ac29e22b7a2b2427f7f36f22093c3456524f1f529311498" data-rendition-name="original" width="4160" height="2762" loading="lazy" alt="Map Land NT"> </figure>  Many have sites of major British battles while conquering India. The ‘British India’ map by J Rapkin has dates and times of the ‘Principle Massacres’ during the Indian Mutiny of 1857. The map also shows India’s growing railway network with completed lines and those ‘in progress’. Narrow gauge lines can be seen in successive maps snaking up to the Nepal border to haul sal logs for sleepers for India’s expanding railway network. Many maps were drawn by British military intelligence. One even has the Kuti route of the Nepal Army while invading Tibet in 1791, and the Chinese Army’s advance in hot pursuit through Kerung to Nuwakot.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211090252_a41ff6a7453f95d1e83c12ed3f831911d65ebd4d2389e0e3b774252dfa037132.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20260211090252_a41ff6a7453f95d1e83c12ed3f831911d65ebd4d2389e0e3b774252dfa037132" data-rendition-name="original" width="1173" height="679" loading="lazy" alt="Map Land NT"> </figure>  Pre-1857 maps show the western Tarai as a part of British India, but in later ones the Naya Muluk districts of Banke, Bardia, Kailali and Kanchanpur have reverted back to Nepal. The maps clearly mark Nepal as an independent nation, and represent it differently from Indian princely states. The Atlas of India of 1846 shows the ‘Dominion of the King of Nepal’.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211090252_52132146d9ee8b922560b98e90d866149715d7f53ced408b5f3af8f3b142a07b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20260211090252_52132146d9ee8b922560b98e90d866149715d7f53ced408b5f3af8f3b142a07b" data-rendition-name="original" width="4149" height="3682" loading="lazy" alt="Map Land NT"> </figure>  Visitors will be curious about Nepal's claim to Limpiyadhura and Lipu Lek. A map by Mason &amp; Payne from 1846 clearly shows the ‘Kallee River’ as being the border between Nepal and British India, with Kalapni within Nepal. The Lipu Gad tributary (which India claims is the border) is not marked. Some other maps, however, seem to show the border not following the Kali river to Limpiyadhura but the tributary up to Lipu Lek.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026021112024_9a1b6055a9fbecca7b64c3882c205efb336aac03e64ecf43a2044cb079cd699f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="2026021112024_9a1b6055a9fbecca7b64c3882c205efb336aac03e64ecf43a2044cb079cd699f" data-rendition-name="original" width="875" height="1215" loading="lazy" alt="Map Land NT"> </figure>  Imaging South Asia: Nepal in the Making&nbsp; Kathmandu Art Gallery, Baber Mahal Revisited&nbsp; 13 February – 17 March For guided walk-throughs and curatorial tours: +977 1-5318048 Panel discussions: -Cartographic Practices from the &nbsp;Gorkha Polity to the Present with Buddhi Narayan Shrestha and Kanak Mani Dixit&nbsp; Friday, 13 February, 4pm -Mapping Beyond Borders with Akhilesh Upadhyay and Amish Raj Mulmi Wednesday, 25 February, 4pm&nbsp;

Map land

The arrest on 25 January of six people on charges of insurance fraud has brought the scandal of fake helicopter rescue of trekkers in Nepal to the fore once more, denting the image of the tourism industry. Trekking companies, helicopter operators and hospitals were said to be in cahoots to carry out medical evacuations that were not necessary. In some cases, even the rescues were said to be fake with false names of ‘patients’ and their ailments. The six who were arrested were charged by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CIB) with <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/business/travel-leisure/nepal-s-rescue-helicopter-scam-casts-doubt-on-tourism-credibility2" target="_blank">cheating insurance companies</a>of millions of dollars in the past four years with more than 300 <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/heli-rescue-fraud-tarnishes-nepal-s-image" target="_blank">fake chopper medevacs</a> from the base of Himalayan peaks to hospitals in Kathmandu. Nepali personnel of three companies, Nepal Charter Service, Everest Experience and Mountain Rescue were accused of heavily overcharging &nbsp;for fraudulent rescues, faking or inflating medical bills, and claiming payment of over $18 million over the years, the CIB said.&nbsp; In some cases, trekkers themselves who do not want to walk back along the same trail to Everest Base Camp or other routes, and pretend to be sick, are also said to be involved in the scam. “Tourism will attract opportunists, that is true everywhere,” explains Raj Gyawali of <a href="https://socialtours.com/" target="_blank">socialtours</a> and a partner of <a href="https://ethicaltravelportal.com/" target="_blank">Ethical Travel Portal</a>. “Our responsibility as an industry is to weed them out, protect what matters, and keep tourism rooted in passion, integrity, and long-term value.” The scam got <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/world/asia/mount-everest-helicopter-insurance-fraud.html" target="_blank">wide international attention</a>, and tainted the reputation of Nepal’s mountain tourism sector that employs up to 1 million people. International media headlined allegations that trekker food was spiked to cause diarrhoea to force evacuations. Despite the bad publicity, tourism operators see a silver lining. It shows that Nepal is cleaning up its act and the system is working. Besides, the cheaters are in a minority in an industry that provides some of the best organised and most experienced mountain tourism service in the world.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260210040232_141217f8e5dc8a584642f7cb8d130de1a05cdcf149467334f9ab4e392f7d67aa.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20260210040232_141217f8e5dc8a584642f7cb8d130de1a05cdcf149467334f9ab4e392f7d67aa" data-rendition-name="original" width="1584" height="1500" loading="lazy" alt="Helicopter medevac scam NT"> </figure>  “After years of talk and investigation, we are now seeing arrests and it’s encouraging to finally see action. This didn’t happen overnight,” Gyawali says. “The post GenZ interim government works with much less politics, we are seeing a functional system for the first time in decades in Nepal.”&nbsp; This is not a new story. <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Insurance,361" target="_blank">Nepali Times first covered </a>trekking insurance scams in 2013, following up on an investigation by the British Mountaineering Council in <a href="https://www.thebmc.co.uk/" target="_blank">Summit magazine</a> about insurance fraud involving fake helicopter rescues. In <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/heli-rescue-fraud-tarnishes-nepal-s-image" target="_blank">another news item</a> published in this paper in 2018 cited an investigation by insurance watchdog <a href="https://www.travellerassist.co/" target="_blank">Traveller Assist</a> which showed that a third of the 1,600 helicopter rescues in Nepal that year were fraudulent, costing up to $4 million. Insurance companies gave the Nepal government <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-trekking-industry-in-damage-control-mode" target="_blank">an ultimatum</a> to clean up its act, and an investigation committee was formed and 13 companies said to be involved were named. It now looks like although insurance fraud declined, it was still continuing to some extent till 2025. In the cut-throat competition in Nepal’s mountain tourism industry, companies undercut each other, and there are some trying to make a quick buck. These rotten apples spoil the whole barrel. Given Nepal’s remote terrain and extreme weather along Himalayan trekking routes, helicopter rescues are vital in saving hundreds of lives every year, rescuing trekkers and mountaineers suffering from acute mountain sickness, stomach or lung infections. “Nepal has a unique advantage over other Himalayan countries like India, Pakistan, or China because it allows private helicopter companies to conduct rescues,” Gyawali says. “This makes rescues faster and more accessible, often life-saving.” The real problem is that sometimes rescues take too long because of &nbsp;permission needed from multiple government agencies to conduct rescues near the Chinese border, which is considered sensitive. Last year, a mountaineer died on Himlung Himal because a helicopter company could not get clearance in time for a rescue.

Fake rescues hurt Himalayan tourism

This is the 83rd episode of Diaspora Diaries, a Nepali Times series in collaboration with Migration Lab providing a platform to share experiences of living, working and studying abroad. Spain is regularising over 500,000 undocumented workers, and Nepalis come to me inquiring about the program. Those who benefit from it will be very lucky, as it is a life-changing opportunity. I know because I too benefited from the last large scaled regularisation program back in 2005. I left Nepal in 2000 and went to Germany, Belgium, France before landing in Spain. Things were pretty bad in Nepal back then with the Maoist conflict and strikes.&nbsp; Our business was impacted. There was not much hope. When you leave Nepal, you want to make something of yourself and support your family back home. But you have to dream in phases.&nbsp; The first dream is to get ‘kagaj’ or a temporary residence card (TRC). Only then can you focus on your actual dreams. Whether it was because the countries I traveled were not a good fit or because the chances of getting the document was low, I kept country hopping until I reached Spain in 2004. I have not left since.&nbsp; In Spain, I felt at home. The European dream had brought me here, salaries were higher than Gulf which I thought was too strict. Then there was the possibility of traveling to seven European countries back then with the Schengen visa.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260210150228_b57c873801361755cf25048f294b2d1d0574796ef70a0e270531ced2508f64ed.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260210150228_b57c873801361755cf25048f294b2d1d0574796ef70a0e270531ced2508f64ed" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1536" loading="lazy" alt="Nepalis in Spain"> </figure>  But mostly, I just wanted a secure life for me and my family. What I valued the most about Europe was free healthcare and education. This is very important because in other parts of the world including Nepal, people from our background are just one small disease away from losing half our capital and we spend a significant amount of money on educational expenses. Nepali dais back then told me it would be best to go to either Italy, Spain or Portugal if we wanted to establish ourselves as paper work was relatively easier there than in other European countries. My initial days in Spain without the paper work were difficult. Not concerns about being raided or deported because if we had our apartment, even police let us be.&nbsp; But it was because of unfair pay. You could not go home. It made you tense and irritable. It affects your mental well-being. Some are smart enough to invest time in skills as they wait that will prove useful. Others get depressed. The main reason we migrate is to support our family and when you cannot do it properly and are uncertain about when things will get better, it bothers you. This happened to me too, sometimes I would be staring at the TV and would flinch when other Nepalis asked me what is wrong, and why I look so lost.&nbsp; The newspaper Canarias also interviewed us about our conditions (pictured). I had not gone home since five years, and there was no way to. There was no social media like now to talk to family. Calling home from booths was expensive, just once every three weeks. You did not talk. It was just to hear voices, pass the phone around to say a quick hello.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260210150232_8af8b6f6acb1252e0d67a43556e21ff8074543acfcc318c985816479c6146fd9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260210150232_8af8b6f6acb1252e0d67a43556e21ff8074543acfcc318c985816479c6146fd9" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1536" loading="lazy" alt="Nepalis in Spain"> </figure>  When you are undocumented, you don’t get fair wages. But you make that sacrifice because my bigger goal was to establish myself and in the meantime, to support family with whatever I could earn with my wages. All we could do was wait for a regularisation program to open. When Spain initiated such a program in 2005, we were so relieved. We were relatively new so did not understand the language. Other Nepalis guided us and were well-versed in the latest updates via news and consultation with immigration lawyers which they would pass on to us. This time, the regularisation program will come through within 30 days, but back then it took time. I had to wait for nine months. Those nine months felt like nine years. I would keep visiting the cyber café to check my online status. When friends got their notification, I would get even more anxious and wonder if I would get rejected. Maybe today? Maybe tomorrow? It was a long wait. I wanted to know what it felt like to hold the card in my hand. Then I could hold my five-year-old baby back in Nepal in my hand. She was born after I left for Europe. When I finally got it after nine months, I could not be happier. I informed my family. I thanked God. Even when I was having food, I would put the card right in front of me on my table. Food never tasted better, I would eat twice the amount with happiness. It was a different kind of elation — it opened the doors for me to think about my dreams, my targets and how to realise them.&nbsp; There was no stopping me now, I was going to go far. But mostly, I could go home. In that flight back to Nepal after six years my heart swelled and I knelt on the tarmac to pay respect to my motherland. The minute I saw my parents, I touched their feet for blessings. My wife and I cried. My daughter was scared of me and would run away - it took some time for her to get comfortable with my presence. I still break down when I think about it.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260210150232_beba1745d845e219eaeaaf1bc33e0a02c07748ebd80bcc74a467c933cc5602e3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20260210150232_beba1745d845e219eaeaaf1bc33e0a02c07748ebd80bcc74a467c933cc5602e3" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1536" loading="lazy" alt="Nepalis in Spain"> </figure>  A few trips to Nepal later, I brought my family to Spain after I had fulfilled various rules for family migration. As expenses rise for a migrant, the choice is to either work extra hours or start your own business. Since I got the TRC, I have done it all: various jobs, businesses from selling handicraft from India to a cyber cafe, and the restaurant business.&nbsp; As an entrepreneur, I have seen highs when I could open a second restaurant branch or earn enough to buy an apartment. I have seen lows where I closed down businesses and sold apartment. I have gone from an entrepreneur to a wage job to recoup the losses I made by working extra hours. When I felt comfortable enough, I have gone back to starting a new business.&nbsp; I have met wonderful people who have supported me when I started my business either by providing me financial help or as business partners. I have been duped by my own business partner or worked with colleagues who did not want me to prosper. I now run a handicraft shop, an Indian restaurant and a café. The struggle never ends. There are many Nepalis like me who are running businesses here and have bought property. Back in 2004, Nepalis were mostly working in jobs and for a slight salary bump, we would keep switching jobs. Now, they run their own businesses and have bought property. The power of honesty and hard work that Nepalis are known for helps in businesses. Malaga is incredibly beautiful and reminds me of Thamel. The brilliant weather and beautiful beaches attracts tourists. The houses are kept small to preserve the culture and civilisation.&nbsp; I miss Nepal. I especially miss my father who passed in 2020. He was my biggest cheerleader as I struggled thousands of miles away, and always reminded me that he was here for back support. My mother reminds me to keep at it without worrying.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260210150232_2cea4b66ad47c15859980c696446362603b10981a1b471ab5e076a22a58727b1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20260210150232_2cea4b66ad47c15859980c696446362603b10981a1b471ab5e076a22a58727b1" data-rendition-name="original" width="2077" height="1433" loading="lazy" alt="Nepalis in Spain"> </figure>  Sometimes I ask myself, what did I leave behind to earn money and provide a good life to my family? I regret not getting to spend more time with my father before he died. I am not sure what would have happened if I had not left Nepal, but I would have figured something out. Whatever determination I have shown in Spain to navigate my life here, I would have used it back home, too.&nbsp; I have missed important milestones like weddings, births, deaths and festivals. I have missed it all. Of my three daughters I missed the births of the first two in Nepal. I was only there for my youngest’s birth, in Spain.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260210150232_a6295e4f58d73e5b340235caf916b98eba785e3559341ea4622629c262e7b1a4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20260210150232_a6295e4f58d73e5b340235caf916b98eba785e3559341ea4622629c262e7b1a4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1630" height="1125" loading="lazy" alt="Nepalis in Spain"> </figure>  The regularisation program from 2005 that allowed me to raise the living standards of a number of living around me and reunite with my family. This platform was life changing for me, and my loved ones. There are many Nepalis who will be applying for the 2026 regularisation program if they meet the criteria like presence in the country for at least five months before December 31, 2025. Other European countries have tightened their policies so many Nepalis are in Spain. This is a great opportunity for Nepalis. There are many more undocumented workers than the available quota, a majority from Latin America in Spain who want to benefit. The Nepali diaspora is helping raise awareness and provide accurate information about the processes so they can benefit and no one is left out. I do whatever I can to support young Nepalis because I was in the same position 20 years ago.

Dreaming in phases

If nature is left entirely unmanaged, ecological succession will proceed in ways that may undermine conservation objectives. For example, grasslands and wetlands in the lowland protected areas of Nepal have increasingly been overtaken by excessive vegetation growth.&nbsp; Without intervention, grasslands become taller, denser, and coarser, eventually becoming unpalatable to herbivores. Over time, such areas provide shelter and cover but are gradually succeeded by forest. Similarly, wetlands become silted, and open water surfaces are covered by native and invasive plant species.&nbsp; While this may provide cover, it reduces accessibility for several species to graze or browse and limits hunting opportunities for predators. These habitats effectively become ecological ‘blankets’, unfavorable to both prey and predators. Therefore, large herbivores in protected areas are forced to move beyond protected areas in search of succulent forage during lean seasons.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211030216_1124883bcd91793f7c916893b80cb0c06ed5012e10e77f2d54f7ef37f110db12.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260211030216_1124883bcd91793f7c916893b80cb0c06ed5012e10e77f2d54f7ef37f110db12" data-rendition-name="original" width="1434" height="806" loading="lazy" alt="grassland and drying pond"> <figcaption>A grassland and a drying pond.</figcaption> </figure>  Stalking the prey, predators come closer to human settlement. Farmers in Nepal’s mountains are leaving agriculture due to crop depredation by monkeys, porcupine and wild boars. Trees are taking over the terraces providing habitat for wildlife. Restriction and absence of youth in villages for fuelwood collection, fodder harvesting, grazing, and timber extraction in forests have contributed to accumulation of combustible forest litter. Higher up, the absence of grazers leads to the disappearance of forb, dominance of grasses, leading to wildfires.&nbsp; Nepal has over 300 days of sunshine, and this dries our vegetation faster. Combined with global warming and strong wind in spring, this has sparked widespread and uncontrolled forest fires in recent decades, destroying biodiversity.&nbsp; Low-intensity surface fires in late winter can control invasive species and stimulating new plant growth, providing forage for herbivores during lean periods. In contrast, crown fires occurring from March onwards when temperature and wind speed are higher, cause severe damage to wildlife, decimating nesting birds, insects, reptiles, mammals, as well as human life and property.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211030216_fcd82aa3b2f77fbf271c5b6f8e3145bb4ca3cf1294190d526b3848b5f1bfc420.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260211030216_fcd82aa3b2f77fbf271c5b6f8e3145bb4ca3cf1294190d526b3848b5f1bfc420" data-rendition-name="original" width="4032" height="1816" loading="lazy" alt="A wetland in Chitwan"> <figcaption>A wetland in Chitwan.</figcaption> </figure>  Successful conservation therefore requires strategies to accommodate increasing wildlife populations by ensuring adequate food, water, and shelter within the protected areas and buffer zones. Without such measures, the increased populations spillover into surrounding habitats, corridors, and farmlands and inevitably damage standing crops, human injury or death, and may result retaliatory killings.&nbsp; Efforts are under way for optimising grassland and wetlands. However, more need to be done to upscale harvest to rain water for food security, biodiversity conservation, to fight climate change and to recharge ground water. Retaliatory poisoning or electrocution become more frequently reported. Tiger, leopard and wild elephants are primary cause of human fatalities in buffer zones. Recently Himalayan black bears destroyed standing crops and attacked people. Growing tiger population tends to disperse and establish new territories beyond their natal area, bringing them closer to human activity or vice versa.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211030232_c8435e196c512835fdc6a23a30545e75a50608574b3cfaad49a3c553fce90320.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20260211030232_c8435e196c512835fdc6a23a30545e75a50608574b3cfaad49a3c553fce90320" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="844" loading="lazy" alt="Leopard"> <figcaption>Leopard.</figcaption> </figure>  Human life must remain paramount in conservation, and addressing human concerns is essential for sustainable and long-term conservation outcomes. Limited areas could support only certain number animals of certain megafauna, one must determine the numeric as an indicator for management, minimum viable population, and the limit of carrying capacity.&nbsp; It is hard to revive an endangered population, but what goes up must come down, and in the meantime, there should be a strategy to retain, relocate, deter, contain, or control the population, to safeguard human and crops for food security. Despite Nepal’s rich biodiversity and ecosystem services, the country generates limited revenue from biodiversity conservation. Although forest cover exceeds 45%, timber imports remain high, reflecting a negative economic growth. If mature timber is not harvested it become susceptible to fire hazard, emitting carbon.&nbsp; More than 23% of Nepal’s land area lies within protected areas, yet only a few derive enough ecotourism revenue. Other protected areas receive very few visitors. Limited entrance access to the protected areas also deprives many outlying communities of tourism economy. It is limiting benefits to local communities despite provisions allowing up to 50% of revenue to be allocated to buffer zone communities.&nbsp; Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve stands out as a successful revenue model, generating high income from low number of visitors through high-value hunting tourism. Hunting permits are auctioned annually, with fees of approximately $6,000 for Himalayan tahr and $5,000 for blue sheep.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211030240_1787054e26325b29c18fc62e3062473b2d05f97e781f594911b606a0710da5ad.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20260211030240_1787054e26325b29c18fc62e3062473b2d05f97e781f594911b606a0710da5ad" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="958" loading="lazy" alt="Himalayan Tahr"> <figcaption>Himalayan Tahr</figcaption> </figure>  There are no plans to establish new hunting reserves like Dhorpatan despite the growing demand for high-value tourism products. International examples, such as Pakistan’s Astore Markhor, which has fetched bids exceeding $370,000, per animal demonstrates the economic potential of regulated trophy hunting. In Africa, surplus megafauna is hunted to control the population, thereby contributing to national economy and safeguarding ecology, and reducing human wildlife conflict. While US is heavily reliable in hunting, fishing and outdoor activities. They determine annual quota for various wildlife and birds.&nbsp; Conservation priorities should emphasise safeguarding ecologically important species, including predators, scavengers, rodent controllers, insectivores, pollinators, seed dispersers, and aerial feeders that regulate growing populations. Economically important wild fish, reptiles, game birds, game mammals, and edible mollusks should be studied for science-based, seasonal, and quota-regulated harvesting from designated areas. High-value species should be identified, protected, and sustainably harvested to generate revenue through premium tourism. The introduction of Russian wild boar in 1976 in Nagarjun and Shivpuri has led to range expansion and significant crop damage has been reported across the central Mahabharat region. Similarly, rhesus monkey populations cause substantial agricultural losses in many hill villages.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211030236_e508aad200a31d7225c4b26052ff63e60806a29c3fcea7c89a82a82f89263345.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20260211030236_e508aad200a31d7225c4b26052ff63e60806a29c3fcea7c89a82a82f89263345" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="844" loading="lazy" alt="monkey paddy field menace meghauli"> <figcaption>Monkeys raiding paddy field in Meghauli, Chitwan.</figcaption> </figure>  Although the government has declared both as pest species, ambiguous regulations have hindered effective population control. Allowing licensed harvesting of invasive Russian wild boar, for example, could create opportunities for farm-based tourism, enhance food security, and generate revenue and reverse the migration of people to rural areas. The sarus crane is an aesthetically iconic species, with lifelong pair bonding, and cultural significance. In many agricultural landscapes, particularly in South Asia, the sarus crane is informally protected by farmers who recognise its ecological and cultural value. Farmers often tolerate crop damage, and refrain from harming nesting pairs, and in some cases actively safeguard nests and chicks. Such community-led stewardship reflects a harmonious coexistence between agriculture and biodiversity conservation. This may not be a case for other species. Science-based research is urgently needed to assess the impacts of pest species on agriculture, apiculture, fisheries, poultry, and livestock, and to develop effective control strategies that also support income generation. Even charismatic and iconic species may require management interventions once populations exceed ecological or social thresholds and begin causing human losses.&nbsp; Various stringent regulations are in place for culprits, however, there should be legal provision for economic incentive to support livelihood from the common, or pest species for the indigenous and people living in remote areas.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211030236_22d968ec614761d9684cf4d098db69da0ae591610ceac980dc77cf796507464b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20260211030236_22d968ec614761d9684cf4d098db69da0ae591610ceac980dc77cf796507464b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="994" loading="lazy" alt="wildife conservation"> </figure>  Lessons from African models, where problem animals are auctioned and their revenues support conservation and community compensation, could offer viable solutions. The National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act of 1973 provide legal provisions for hunting game mammals, game birds, pest species, and problem animals. And for wildlife farming, but it must be complimented by qualified Zoologists. Problem species are defined as individual or a population of animals posing direct threats to human life and food security within specific areas.&nbsp; Nepal could categorise wild animals for management and conservation and regulations. For instance, IUCN and globally and NPWC Act protected species, nationally endangered and ecologically important animals and trophy hunting species could be regulated under DNPWC and federal government.&nbsp; Provincial governments could take the responsibility of conservation, do inventory and monitor and regulate the harvest of peripheral game species, pest/vermin species and control of problems and harmful to human and crops and health related species. Small predators such as marten, civets, jungle cats and jackals are a nuisance to poultry farmers and goat farmers.&nbsp; A nationwide zoological survey could classify species based on abundance, rarity, economic value, pest status, and conservation priority. There should be an opportunity to include hybridisation with wild stocks to improve domestic breeds, such as wild arna with domestic water buffalo, bison with cattle, and red jungle fowl with domestic chickens.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211030236_5a6c3b9da5d94979e6189ed0ba8144caa8a08d15dcc5e95b4bc18b7c6d704936.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20260211030236_5a6c3b9da5d94979e6189ed0ba8144caa8a08d15dcc5e95b4bc18b7c6d704936" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="844" loading="lazy" alt="Red Jungle Fowl"> <figcaption>Read jungle fowl.</figcaption> </figure>  Monitoring the zoonotic diseases is another field of importance, including Covid-19, Nipah virus, avian influenza, avian cholera, foot-and-mouth disease, swine fever, parvovirus, canine distemper and rabies—to reduce risks to public health and protect the national economy. Producing forensic Zoologists is increasingly important for identifying illegally traded species to determine the species and produce evidence to sentence the culprits.&nbsp; Monitoring bird diversity and fauna in airports is an important task for zoologists to reduce, deter or prevent birds and wildlife hazards in the airport, aircraft and passengers’ safety. International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) provides guidelines to induct ornithologists to keep the records to bird strike in the planes and deter birds and wildlife in the airports. If Nepal effectively utilises the expertise of zoologists in all tiers of government in species research, population dynamics, and ecotourism planning, it could strengthen biodiversity conservation while generating revenue and supporting economic development.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260211030240_c7926dad8b93a8aad05fac2e4ec613c0ec450fd4b876821f3216c904c0771fdf.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20260211030240_c7926dad8b93a8aad05fac2e4ec613c0ec450fd4b876821f3216c904c0771fdf" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="844" loading="lazy" alt="Jackle"> <figcaption>A jackal in Mustang.</figcaption> </figure>  Over the past five decades, the Central Department of Zoology at Tribhuvan University has produced more than 2,000 MSc graduates. However, very few have been absorbed into government, with most employed in education, pursuing alternative careers, or emigrating.&nbsp; In contrast, graduates in forestry, botany, microbiology, and environmental sciences have secured greater representation in government roles. The Department of Zoology must evolve to meet modern demands with applied research, wildlife management, and revenue-oriented conservation strategies aligned with the regenerative nature of fauna. Rajendra N. Suwal is Vice President of Nepal Zoological Society in Kathmandu.

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