The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/rare-anti-cancer-tree-on-verge-of-extinction">Himalayan yew</a> has a chemical used to treat cancer, but it is an endangered coniferous tree which has been unsustainably harvested. Some rare species of orchids in the Nepal Himalayan are prized in Chinese <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/medicine-goes-back-to-its-roots">traditional medicine</a>, and are smuggled across the border. Nepali conservation scientist Reshu Bashyal has made it her life’s mission to save these two ‘flagship plants’ by protecting them from poachers and cultivating them sustainably to generate income for local communities. For her work, Bashyal was recognised with the £50,000 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hRc3dYG9hGA?si=Ii8DLCQnTkxiXAOP">Whitley Award 2025 </a>presented by Princess Royal Anne on Wednesday at the Royal Geographical Society in London. The awards are given out by the UK-based <a href="https://whitleyaward.org/2025/02/11/2025-whitley-awards-meet-the-shortlist/">Whitley Fund for Nature</a> that recognises individuals working to foster grassroots action on conservation. Bashyal works on research at the environmental non-profit <a href="https://www.greenhood.org/">Greenhood Nepal</a> which has been involved in protecting the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/people-tigers-trees-and-rivers">country’s biodiversity</a> by using <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/unsung-heroes-of-nepal-s-tiger-recovery">indigenous knowledge</a> and finding ways to benefit local communities by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/saving-nature-by-protecting-orchids">protecting nature</a>.&nbsp; “I first learned about the precarious status of orchids when I was in the field doing animal research,” Bashyal told Nepali Times on the phone from London. “I had no idea about the scale in which these plants, locally called ‘the monkey’s bananas’ were being harvested. I realised there was a lot to be done to save the orchid.” Many <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/orchids-of-godavari-phulchoki">orchid species found in Nepal</a> are in high demand in Chinese and Indian traditional medicine as pain relievers, aphrodisiacs, ingredients in Ayurvedic medicine and as ornamental flowers. Orchids were allowed to be legally exported before 2017, after which CITES put all but two species in its appendix, stopping its international trade unless it was harvested sustainably. Still, such is the demand that smuggling has continued. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/save-nepal-s-orchids">Save Nepal’s orchids</a>, Reshu Bashyal “Distinguishing traded plant parts is hard, because when dry they can be mistaken very easily for other plants, like potatoes,” says Bashyal, who did her MSc in Environmental Science at Tribhuvan University and an MSc in Conservation and International Wildlife Trade from the University of Kent. Some harvesters are simply not aware that it is illegal, and raising awareness is one of the first steps. Restoring the habitat of orchids and reducing poaching come next. Bashyal hopes to form community-based task forces to monitor orchid smuggling, just as been done to stop<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/what-drives-wildlife-poaching"> poaching of tigers and rhinos</a> in Chitwan National Park.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250501030536_5d128776d43de18fe17869c643fe7b054075d49b171d12074b5d01124a463a4c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20250501030536_5d128776d43de18fe17869c643fe7b054075d49b171d12074b5d01124a463a4c" data-rendition-name="original" width="7008" height="4672" loading="lazy" alt="Nepali wins Whitley Award 2025"> </figure>  Bashyal’s current project focuses on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeDWxQ1kCAY">the Himalayan yew (Taxus wallichiana)</a>, especially the mature Maire’s yew, which are most sought after for their leaves. Sadly, there are as few as 500 such trees left in the wild now. Maire’s yew is one of the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320225009_Yews_of_Nepal">three Taxus species found in the country</a>. Taxus wallichiana (Himalayan yew) is found in central to east Nepal, and the rarer &nbsp;Taxus mairei is found only in Kavre, Makwanpur and Sindhuli districts and is classified as ‘Vulnerable’ in the IUCN red list. Harvesting 10,000 kgs of leaves of the yew tree, known in Nepal as the Lath Salla, yields only 1-2 kgs of DAB-10, a white powder used to produce taxol, which is needed to treat early and late-stage breast, skin, and ovarian cancer.&nbsp; It has always been illegal in Nepal to harvest wild yew, although it is legal if the trees are cultivated. Part of Bashyal’s work is also to understand how best to grow the trees commercially.&nbsp; “I talk to people who grow yew trees to understand how it is being done, and to learn and document the best harvest guidelines,” says Bashyal. Such information will be key for the work she plans to do with the prize money of £100,000 over two years to focus research on five <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/reviving-nepals-community-forestry-success-story">community forests</a> in Makwanpur, where Maire’s yew is native.&nbsp; She and Greenhood Nepal also plan to restore 1,000 hectares of orchid habitat, plant 5,000 Maire’s yew, and create a 100-hectare community forest that will serve as a model to study and promote the best long-term practices. Bashyal has faced funding challenges for her work because most conservation grants went to protect <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/lesser-known-endangered-species">endangered animals</a> like the red panda or pangolins.“We tend to think only of animals when we think about conservation, but all living species must be considered,” she says. Bashyal is the fourth Nepali to win the Whitley Award in the last four years. Past winners include <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/owl-conservationist-raju-acharya-wins-whitley-award-in-hat-trick-for-nepal/">Raju Acharya</a> in 2024 for safeguarding owls in Central Nepal, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepali-conservationist-wins-whitley-again">Tulshi Laxmi Suwal</a> in 2023 for protecting pangolins, and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-conservationist-wins-whitley-award">Sonam Lama </a>for monitoring and conserving red panda in Eastern Nepal. <a href="https://whitleyaward.org/2025/02/11/2025-whitley-awards-meet-the-shortlist/">Whitley shortlists 12 candidates</a> each year, and awards are given to six candidates. This year’s shortlist included community-based conservationists from Tanzania, Indonesia, Colombia, Brazil and other countries in the Global South.

Vishad Raj Onta

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Nepali wins Whitley Award 2025

Raju Acharya from Nepal is one of the winners of the Whitley Award to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/lesser-known-endangered-species">protect owls</a> in central Nepal after spearheading a government-backed ten-year plan to safeguard the birds which had been overlooked from conservation efforts. Acharya is the founder of Friends of Nature, a Kathmandu-based environmental group and was instrumental in driving The Owl Conservation Action Plan in 2020 which addresses threats to owls from hunting, illegal trade, and habitat loss.&nbsp; <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-conservationist-wins-whitley-award">The Whitley Award</a> funding will help boost initiatives in central Nepal, home to the greatest density of birds and 19 of the country’s 23 owl species. Acharya received the award on 1 May at the Royal Geographical Society in a ceremony that marks three decades since the very first Whitley Award was presented.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240502050536_0508980af73328b90b5f18d7d03e4152ff685532992cc94e64ad6de3bff4e979.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20240502050536_0508980af73328b90b5f18d7d03e4152ff685532992cc94e64ad6de3bff4e979" data-rendition-name="original" width="1128" height="746" loading="lazy" alt="Raju Acharya Whitley Award NT"> <figcaption>Raju Acharya receiving the Whitley Award in London on Tuesday from Britain's Princess Royal for his work preserving owls in Nepal.</figcaption> </figure>  Sir David Attenborough, WFN Ambassador and a long-term supporter of the charity, said the growing network of winners represents some of the best conservation leaders in the world: “Whitley Award winners combine knowing how to respond to crises yet also bring communities and wider audiences with them." Raju has spent decades shoring up support for Nepal’s owls which include the jungle owlet, rock eagle owl and Eurasian eagle owl – all of which are currently listed as Least Concern or Data Deficient under the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List.&nbsp; Raju’s work addresses the danger of focusing conservation efforts solely on highly threatened flagship species. Threats to the owls are significant: the birds are the subject of an illicit trade in central Nepal, with 1,500 owls hunted or traded each year in Nepal.&nbsp; Owls represent good or bad omens in central Nepal, with s Some people associate them with death, while in other areas, owl feathers are regarded as sacred objects that can ward off evil.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240502030548_d206a97966188c4b99d27bb508d580372f5401a1fc078cae3e75ec1eb490e989.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20240502030548_d206a97966188c4b99d27bb508d580372f5401a1fc078cae3e75ec1eb490e989" data-rendition-name="original" width="3024" height="1702" loading="lazy" alt="Owl conservation in Nepal"> </figure>  Hunting by teenagers using catapults and habitat loss are other threats to the owls amid the felling of old trees whose cavities are crucial nesting sites for the birds. Forest makes up one-third of this region. Older trees also act as roosting, den or hibernation sites for owls which struggle to find nesting locations in semi-urban areas. Acharya’s project aims to build on Nepal’s success in conservation which has harnessed the proactive participation of communities. He aims to foster collaboration between the ethnic groups to foster a broader understanding of owls to reduce the use of catapults, discourage the consumption of owl meat and advocate for adherence to the government regulations which protect the birds. His Whitley Award project will conduct training events to increase the capacity of law enforcement agencies, policymakers and “owl envoys” – local ambassadors for the owls - with a goal of reducing hunting and trade by 25%. Acharya will also address the use of catapults by students who hunt the owls by creating five catapult-free zones. He aims to raise awareness among students and the public by creating 100 conservation camps. The abundance of birds significantly increases in those areas with larger numbers of old trees. His team will restore and rehabilitate 1,200 hectares of owl habitat by protecting 500 old trees and installing 100 artificial nests in semi-urban areas. “The appreciation from local people and colleagues serves as constant inspiration for me to continue my work,” Acharya said. At the forefront of owl research in Nepal and known locally as “Owl Sir” for his efforts to draw attention to the plight of owls, Acharya hopes to engage early career scientists to join him on his mission.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240502030548_fd983316cfac9bef9a1a146a8976a2479171969fc3c86d0f898690184f2a8487.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20240502030548_fd983316cfac9bef9a1a146a8976a2479171969fc3c86d0f898690184f2a8487" data-rendition-name="original" width="2304" height="1728" loading="lazy" alt="Owl conservation in Nepal"> </figure>  He also brings out a digital owl newsletter called Hapsilo, Raju set up the Nepal Owl Festival eleven years ago. The festival has boosted eco-tourism to the region and become one of the country’s biggest conservation events despite owls being lower priority species than tigers and snow leopards. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepali-conservationist-wins-whitley-again">The Whitley Fund for Nature</a> (WFN) is a UK charity supporting grassroots conservation leaders in the Global South. Over 30 years it has channelled £23 million to more than 200 conservationists across 80 countries. The other 2024 Whitley Award winners are: Fernanda Abra from Brazil who is pioneering the use of low-cost canopy bridges over highway BR-174 in the Amazon rainforest to restore connectivity for tree-dwelling mammals and save them from road collisions Naomi Longa from Papua New Guinea who is safeguarding coral reefs in Kimbe Bay and creating a network of marine protected areas led by local Indigenous women Aristide Kamla from Cameroon who is restoring the African manatee habitat in Lake Ossa, addressing threats from invasive species and pollution Kuenzang Dorji from Bhutan who is protecting the Endangered Gee’s golden langur and implementing solutions for farmers whose crops the primates are targeting. Leroy Ignacio from Guyana who is leading an expansion of one of the country’s first Indigenous-led conservation movements to protect the Endangered Red Siskin finch.

Nepal's 'Owl Sir' awarded

Nepali pangolin conservationist <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/planet-of-the-pangolins">Tulshi Laxmi Suwal</a> has won the Whitley Award worth £40,000 from the UK conservation charity, the Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN). This comes on the heels of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-conservationist-wins-whitley-award">Sonam Lama</a> of the Red Panda Network who won the prestigious award last year.
Suwal has been recognised for her work in protecting the world’s most trafficked mammal and their habitat increasingly threatened by unprecedented forest fires, which also put at risk an ambitious reforestation program in one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change.
Nepal’s Suwal along with five other winners from Mexico, Madagascar, Cameroon, Kazakhstan and Kenya were presented with the award by HRH The Princess Royal on 26 April at the Royal Geographical Society, also marking the 30th anniversary of the Whitley Fund for Nature. The ceremony was <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw6NlTEiWfU" target="_blank">live-streamed on YouTube</a>.
“Over my 15 years in conservation, I have always felt a strong connection with the Chinese pangolin with its dark brown skin, a flat nose, carrying a baby on its back just like I did,” said Suwal at the award ceremony. “The recognition of this award will make all the difference for the sustainable conservation of these species and their habitat.”
Nepal is home to two of the eight species of pangolin, the Critically Endangered Chinese pangolin and the Endangered Indian pangolin. Both pangolins are on Nepal’s protected list and killing, poaching, transporting, selling or buying the scaly anteater is punishable with an Rs1 million fine and/or up to 15 years in jail.
Yet, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/better-nepal-china-connectivity-helps-wildlife-smugglers">Nepal is not just a source site but also the transit hub</a> for <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-routes-for-the-world-s-most-trafficked-mammal">transborder trafficking</a> of the scaly anteaters from Africa to China and beyond. Some 100,000 pangolins are smuggled live into China from Southeast Asia and Africa.
Many Chinese believe the scales have therapeutic values, and pangolin meat is considered a delicacy. Some ethnic groups in Nepal also eat pangolins for their supposed health benefits, but most are now killed or trapped to be smuggled to China.
Suwal is the founder of the Small Mammals Conservation and Research Foundation (SMCRF) and has been involved in the research and conservation of pangolins for the past 15 years. She will be using the Whitley fund to conduct Nepal’s first impact assessment to focus on the effects of fires on Chinese pangolin across 4,000ha.
Read more: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-routes-for-the-worlds-most-trafficked-mammal/">The routes for the world’s most trafficked mammal</a>, Nepali Times
More specifically, the project will create ten sustainable Community Pangolin Conservation Groups in three districts in Bagmati province to monitor pangolin populations and their habitats, and equip them to manage fires and plant trees.
“Our major goal is to motivate local communities to take ownership of pangolin conservation at local levels,” says Suwal, adding that “local communities, especially community forest users groups, are now coming forward and are highly willing to conserve this species.”
Suwal’s project will support the livelihoods of local communities while assessing pangolin populations, implementing threat mitigation measures and restoring habitat by planting 20,000 local mixed broad-leaved trees. An awareness campaign will reach 200,000 people in households and schools.
A member of the IUCN Pangolin Specialist Group, Suwal is also a role model for fellow conservationists and young students, being the only person in Nepal to have received a PhD on pangolins.
Read more: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/protecting-pangolins-from-being-eaten-to-extinction/">Protecting pangolins from being eaten to extinction</a>, Sonia Awale

Nepali conservationist wins Whitley, again

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYvfs38byDENepali conservationist <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepali-activist-shortlisted-for-nature-award/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepali-activist-shortlisted-for-nature-award/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1651282183233000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3FlRPivX_wKqN3OOQlisfl">Sonam Lama</a> of the Red Panda Network has won the prestigious Whitley Award worth £40,000 from UK conservation charity, the Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN).Lama was recognised for his work training 100 citizen scientists to help restore the red panda habitat and invested in the mammals’ eco-tourism to generate income for local people, and plans to use the fund to turn poachers into protectors and diversify sustainable income for communities."Future generations should have the right to see this charismatic species. I would love my daughter to know about red pandas, wouldn't you?" says the conservationist.Listed in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) list as <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/red-panda-on-the-red-list/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/red-panda-on-the-red-list/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1651282183233000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1imzwaPUXVpIbdmiX-45eO">critically endangered</a>, the red panda has been seeing a record number of illegal seizures with its habitat fragmented into over 400 isolated patches. Lama is one of the six grassroots conservationists pioneering solutions to the biodiversity crisis recognised by the 2022 <a href="https://whitleyaward.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://whitleyaward.org/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1651282183234000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1Ga8iJH1cI5pl6RE0_cFpz">Whitley Awards who</a> were <a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v%3DRYvfs38byDE&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1651242291363000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1wXHyBI3nMxruk6iY89RWV" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.google.com/url?q%3Dhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v%253DRYvfs38byDE%26source%3Dgmail%26ust%3D1651242291363000%26usg%3DAOvVaw1wXHyBI3nMxruk6iY89RWV&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1651282183234000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3Pg63RZhiX99LFbfqbH8u9">presented with their prize</a> on 27 April by WFN Patron, HRH The Princess Royal. <figure><img width="1600" height="1067" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111152/63721e909c7e80680e0bd552jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>2022 Whitley Award winner Sonam Lama recieving his prize from WFN Patron HRH The Princess Royal. Photo: WHITLEY AWARDS</figcaption></figure><figure><img width="3264" height="1836" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111152/63721e939c7e80680e0bd553jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>"As we emerge from Covid-19 and take stock of its impact on planetary health as well as our own, this WhitleyAward will enable Sonam to address issues that have arisen including the increased poaching of an already Critically Endangered species,” says Danni Parks, WFN Director. She adds: “The charismatic red panda is a much-loved local emblem as well as an international star, and importantly, this holistic project will also benefit the people with whom it shares its home in the forested foothills of the Himalayas."The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/republic-of-nepals-animal-kingdom/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/republic-of-nepals-animal-kingdom/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1651282183234000&amp;usg=AOvVaw34VGfHwzqFJKI6Bu42oDd_">elusive panda of the Himalayas</a> was discovered 50 years before the giant panda and is considered a living fossil. Endemic to eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests, with thick bamboo understories and consistently cool temperatures, red pandas are indicators of ecosystem health.But the Covid-19 pandemic over the last two years has added challenges to their conservation and caused a surge in poaching with 37 pelts confiscated from the black market in 2021. Estimates suggest that 1 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3R0jDmIem8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v%3DR3R0jDmIem8&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1651282183234000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2H1psVb_QcywiAGk10q5jZ">red panda is poached</a> every 10 days in Nepal.Habitat loss compounding conditions for the 10,000 adult individuals that remain, with rates of deforestation over double the national average and forests now so severely fragmented that genetic inbreeding is likely. <figure><img width="750" height="321" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111152/63721e969c7e80680e0bd554jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Lama’s <a href="https://redpandanetwork.org/%3E," target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://redpandanetwork.org/%253E,&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1651282183234000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3JTj-H20KGQKJpP8yUVU3o">Red Panda Network</a> is leading the longest-running monitoring project in the world, with 10 wild red pandas successfully <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/tracking-nepals-red-panda-by-satellite/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/tracking-nepals-red-panda-by-satellite/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1651282183234000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3tF347NsB0domJmB5aBW79">GPS-collared and studied</a>. They have restored 400 hectares of habitat around the third highest peak in the world Mt Kangchenjunga, trained over 100 citizen scientists, and supported 100 school students with Red Panda Conservation Scholarships.Lama will be using his Whitley Award to diversify income sources for communities, particularly women and young people, through forest conservation nurseries and restoration to create a wildlife corridor that connects the habitat for red pandas. He also plans to establish community-led anti-poaching patrols and awareness-raising campaigns. Poised to expand, Lama's project has great potential for replication in other countries. He adds: "The goal of the project is red panda conservation but it is equally important to address the livelihood needs of communities."

Nepal conservationist wins Whitley Award

Fenerbahçe Beko won the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague finals in Abu Dhabi, held 23-25 May, defeating Monaco 81-70 in the final. Olympiacos, who defeated Panathinaikos 97-93, finished the series in third place. The Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the final match, Nigel Hayes-Davis from Fenerbahçe Beko, received a prize of 1,000,000 Miles&amp;Smiles from Turkish Airlines’ Chief Commercial Officer Ahmet Olmuştur. The carrier has been the title sponsor of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, a top tier tournament, since 2010.

Turkish Basketball

In the black and white photograph, General Wangdu smiles broadly in front of the dusty cactus garden in Kathmandu’s Annapurna Hotel. With an ill-fitting jacket and shaggy hair he looks benign enough, but this was the last leader of the Tibetan freedom fighters who led the resistance against the Chinese from their remote mountain hideouts in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/comings-and-goings-in-mustang">Mustang</a>. Five months later, Wangdu was dead. Snapped in March 1974, I had only recently arrived in Nepal. How did I meet this legendary fighter? Possibly with his devoted camp follower, Lynne Klapecki, and probably in the Om Restaurant near Freak Street which was the preferred <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/hippie-trail-nostalgia-in-kathmandu">hippie hang-out</a>. Om Lobsang and his brother Yeshe were <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/earthquake-brings-back-memories-of-camps-for-tibetan-refugees">refugees from East Tibet </a>whose cafe offered a friendly welcome and<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/momo-loco"> the best momos</a> - they became my in-laws after I married their eldest brother Tenzin, but that was a decade later.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_4573b34282b0f5395c007243d6bef12c7ba76bfd520419e994cdcea048d795a1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2025052403054_4573b34282b0f5395c007243d6bef12c7ba76bfd520419e994cdcea048d795a1" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1583" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Photo: LISA CHOEGYAL</figcaption> </figure>  Wangdu’s English was enthusiastically rudimentary, but even riding around town with him on the back of an aging <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/kathmandu-s-new-motorbike-museum">motorbike</a>, he was a commanding presence. Always flanked by armed outriders, impressive scars marked his forearms and a pistol hung from the cord around his neck. A charismatic guerrilla leader, Wangdu was celebrated by his followers for his tough commitment and respected for his measured pragmatism. He seemed so young to have shouldered such a responsibility of command, leading hundreds of hardened <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/50-years-after-the%20raid-into-Tibet,1012#google_vignette">Khampa combatants </a>through what had been a particularly <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/heavy-snowfall-over-nepal-himalaya">brutal winter in Mustang</a>, the last bastion to hold out against the Chinese invasion of their Tibetan homeland.&nbsp; The freedom fighters of Tibet, known as the Chushi-Gangdruk, had emerged to resist the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/territorialism">Chinese takeover</a> of Tibet during the 1950s. Estimated to be 80,000-strong at the time of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/what-or-who-after-the-dalai-lama">the Dalai Lama</a>’s final escape to India in 1959, the sheer number of Chinese deployed into Tibet eventually forced the Chushi-Gangdruk to retreat to Mustang, From this high Himalayan stronghold, they continued cross-border raids on the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) throughout the 1960s.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_8a4a935ba25ae79dc3a63bb5c14626927020e5ec098093c45ccb9a5982e009fd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="2025052403054_8a4a935ba25ae79dc3a63bb5c14626927020e5ec098093c45ccb9a5982e009fd" data-rendition-name="original" width="1114" height="676" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Guerrillas known as the Chushi-Gangdruk emerged to resist the Chinese annexation of Tibet during the 1950s. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>  Their Kathmandu base was a small discreet lodge in a back lane near Rani Pokhari. Sipping sweet tea from a blue mug with a chipped lid, I sat bemused in a corner of the Mustang Hotel room whilst Wangdu and his cohorts received a battered brown suitcase from their CIA connection, a tousle-haired American in a leather jacket. Heaved onto the dingy bedspread that covered the thin mattress, it was clicked open to reveal piles of neatly stacked dollar bills.&nbsp; I cannot think why Wangdu allowed me to witness this handover but I was clearly no threat, a newly arrived world traveller with no understanding of the stakes nor any Nepali or <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/tibetan-music-in-nepals-sacred-valley">Tibetan language</a>. Despite armed guards in the corridor,Wangdu radiated confidence and bravado, and there was a practiced familiarity to the tense transaction. This deadly dance for many years had been funded by the Americans, tolerated by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-kingdom-within-a-republic">Mustang’s residents</a>, and permitted by King Mahendra and the Nepali authorities who it suited to turn a blind eye.&nbsp; But Mahendra died in 1972, and times were changing. Richard Nixon’s ping-pong diplomacy thawed the cold war and signalled a fresh entente with China. Nepal’s yet-to-be-crowned <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/if-birendra-was-alive-nepal-could-still-be-a-monarchy">King Birendra </a>was under pressure to curb the irritating incursions against the PLA launched from the Nepali territory of Mustang. Keen to appease his northern neighbour, on several occasions the King summoned Wangdu for peace talks but, despite increasingly overwhelming odds, Wangdu refused to surrender.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_a8efd5cfb92cd997bd7cb74296a936fef46e2f7428f9cd642b03f1ac4ea11ecb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="2025052403054_a8efd5cfb92cd997bd7cb74296a936fef46e2f7428f9cd642b03f1ac4ea11ecb" data-rendition-name="original" width="1055" height="885" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>General Wangdu flanked by two Tibetan resistance fighters in Mustang in the 1970s. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_75969125a745847a2ef82b6fe8b9106c0b21a116d85b8efdf5d2ee89a347bb31.jpg" data-media-id="editor_15" data-image-id="2025052403054_75969125a745847a2ef82b6fe8b9106c0b21a116d85b8efdf5d2ee89a347bb31" data-rendition-name="original" width="1044" height="792" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>King Birendra with General Wangdu (right in dark glasses) taken in 1974 possibly in Mustang after one of their few attempts at negotiation. Photo courtesy: RAJRNDRA KUNWAR</figcaption> </figure>  While I naively rode pillion around Kathmandu in the spring sunshine, Wangdu was in the midst of what turned out to be his final round of negotiations with the Nepal government. Refusing to cease hostilities with the Chinese, Wangdu must have suspected the cost of his decision, making his cheerful smile in the photograph all the more poignant and brave. It was only much later that I appreciated the significance of the moment. Wangdu had been sent to replace the first resistance leader in Mustang, Baba Gen Yeshe, a much derided corrupt character who stole money meant for his troops and exploited fleeing refugees by seizing their treasures. Baba Gen Yeshe never forgave Wangdu,and sought revenge in May 1974 by betraying him and his commanders to the Nepal authorities. Renewed Chinese incursions from the north, active PLA collusion with the Nepali forces under the new King, and treachery from within the Chushi-Gangdrukranks combined to seal their fate.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_e0987a7c90d76431b0d7d5e6115ebfe3dbda7ab939e5941e079c18d722e884c0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="2025052403054_e0987a7c90d76431b0d7d5e6115ebfe3dbda7ab939e5941e079c18d722e884c0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1400" height="769" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>British television journalists George Patterson and Adrian Cowell embedded themselves with Khampa guerrillas and accompanied them from Tsum Valley on a cross border raid on a Chinese Army convoy in 1964. Photo: ESSAYS ON NEPAL / SAM COWAN</figcaption> </figure>  Mikel Dunham, renowned author of Buddha’s Warriors, writes: ‘It is possible that Wangdu was waiting for some cue from the Dalai Lama’s government-in-exile in Dharamsala, India. It is equally possible – during that last, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/the-human-cost-of-nepal-s-yarsa-gold-rush?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR31-Cqw8oyIwMPzf_35e4Skr0ululJvLf3_vDkzHn-AYG2h8uPw2rqqErg_aem_tGVn5coY1-jA7fze_xqhew">desolate winter </a>– that he made the decision to go out in glory rather than admit defeat. Over the last fifteen years, Wangdu had experienced Tibet’s organized resistance being squeezed and shoved around by every conceivable outside force.&nbsp; First they had been pushed out of their own country by the PLA; then they had been refused sanction while on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/borderlines/nepal-india-trans-boundary-bonds?fbclid=IwAR0PpJ5zUEbwdug3g_U3ar6FUugngRY0S8Tl2v_7wqzrsHmXWcXsKjvL4t4">Indian soil</a>; then they were abandoned by the Americans because, apparently, Nixon wanted to make friends with Wangdu’s mortal enemies, the communists; then they had been betrayed by the vampiric Baba Gen Yeshe – a Tibetan and, even worse, a fellow Khampa; and now, finally Wangdu’s army was being evicted by the Nepalis. One thing was certain: Wangdu was a warrior. To imagine Wangdu simply giving up and settling down in the pacific squalor of a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/elderly-left-in-bhutan-refugee-camp">refugee camp </a>was unthinkable.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_8fc1ffef4ae751628b90ae781b66e11e51e4fdde2787207c9042efbee345ce49.jpg" data-media-id="editor_20" data-image-id="2025052403054_8fc1ffef4ae751628b90ae781b66e11e51e4fdde2787207c9042efbee345ce49" data-rendition-name="original" width="500" height="746" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>The much derided Baba Gen Yeshe, the first Tibetan resistance leader in Mustang, who betrayed Wangdu for personal gain. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_b1d833cdb00d3ac4416b844d8730475cd88c238caaaf8da69889a584eea229a3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_21" data-image-id="2025052403054_b1d833cdb00d3ac4416b844d8730475cd88c238caaaf8da69889a584eea229a3" data-rendition-name="original" width="500" height="656" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Aditya SJB Rana of the Royal Nepal Army whose team ambushed Wangdu and his cohorts at the top of Tinker Pass in Darchula, West Nepal. Photo courtesy: GAUTAM SJB RANA</figcaption> </figure>  By August 1974 the game was up. Wangdu and six of his exhausted party were killed on their horses by <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=7270">the Royal Nepal Army</a> on the brink of escape. The officer in charge, Aditya SJB Rana, cleverly predicted their route into India after they failed to silence a police radio in Yari. A carefully laid ambush trapped them near the summit of the Tinker Pass in Darchula,at 5,000 meters the highest military operation of its time. Wangdu’s body was helicoptered to Kathmandu, and a big show made of the royal Nepal victory.&nbsp; The Tibetan armed insurgency against China had reached its end.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250524030520_3ff9c6fc85a65bc9a2c3afe9736d9f5f9413de752e790a5d9dca0981ea94f9b4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_23" data-image-id="20250524030520_3ff9c6fc85a65bc9a2c3afe9736d9f5f9413de752e790a5d9dca0981ea94f9b4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> </figure>

The Last Days of the Khampa

Starting 17 September Turkish Airlines will fly daily to Seville, one of Spain’s major tourist draws. This is Turkish’s sixth destination in Spain after Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga, and Bilbao. Seville is in the Andalusia region on Spain’s south coast with a rich Moor history. There are approximately 30,000 Nepalis living in Spain.&nbsp;

Turkish to Seville

The newly-formed Himalayan Art Council is set to launch Nepal’s National Art Protection Platform that seeks to preserve <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-history-of-heritage">Nepal’s unique cultural heritage </a>using<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/artificial-censorship"> AI-powered tools</a>. The Council seeks to safeguard <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepali-art-going-places">Nepali art works</a> from neglect, theft and counterfeiting as well as preserve existing artwork and celebrate living masters by giving them a cultural space to continue the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/sacred-survival">sacred art traditions</a>. "We are introducing a new digital platform designed to preserve, verify and elevate <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-new-generation-of-alternative-artists">Nepal’s art for generations to come,</a>” says a statement from the Council, adding that the digital platform will use AI told for authentication and blockchain to keep track of works of art. Artists can now be protected by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/ayo-ai?fbclid=IwAR1uwmTVq4gUB70ljfRezjzukD9ArWXPuMnUikopeQ8PoiZMjicToPSwhKE&amp;=1">AI tools</a> that detect forgeries, identify their work even when unsigned, and ensure they receive proper recognition and credit. The archives will be searchable with translated inscription and interactive guides. Says curator Meena Lama: “AI and blockchains are tools that give us the power to detect fakes and identify unsigned paintings and track every piece. With these tools we can restore trust, secure authorship and give artists the dignity they deserve.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53" data-rendition-name="original" width="1300" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum."> <figcaption>Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum.</figcaption> </figure>  The Council is also holding an exhibition of Nepali cultural masterpieces with 50 historical <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Buzz-the-art,671">thangka and paubha </a>by past masters and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/between-the-sacred-and-everyday">contemporary works by current artists</a>. This curated collection is a living tribute to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-yaks-go-so-does-culture">Himalayan culture</a> with economic depictions of deities, mandala and sacred narratives. The exhibition at <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/a-portal-into-patan-s-past-and-present">Patan Museum</a> also provides an opportunity to meet painters and custodians of art and culture. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/golden-deities">Golden deities</a>, Sewa Bhattarai ‘The exhibition is only the first step in a long journey to ensure that Nepali art is no just seen but fully understood, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Narratives-of-Faith-and-Memory-Remembering-the-Lost-Sculptures-of-Kathmandu-exhibition,987">protected and remembered</a>,’ the Council says. Artist Kailash K Shrestha of Artudio has spent decades promoting thankha and paubha traditions because of their beauty and devotional meaning. But he also says artists are underpaid, exploited and ignored. He adds, “AI and blockchain are not just buzzwords, they are powerful tools that can protect Nepal’s artists from fraud, verify authenticity and build a permanent record of provenance.” Traditional Art Exhibition Till 17 May Patan Museum

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