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| (from left) Vice Minister for Natural Resources and Environment of Thailand Pimuk Simaroj, Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and Minister for Forest and Soil Conservation Deepak Bohara at the inaugural ceremony of the Global Tiger Workshop in Kathmandu, Tuesday, Oct 27 09. nepalnews.com/rh |
Some 250 scientists, tiger experts, policy makers, conservationists and government officials from 20 countries, including India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Thailand, China, are participating in the workshop.
Addressing the workshop, PM Nepal expressed Nepal's commitment towards the preservation of tigers and announced some key strategies Nepal will adopt for the same.
"I would like to reiterate that the Government of Nepal is firmly committed to the cause of conservation of this unique species and its habitat," PM Nepal said. "We are now in the process of having high level mechanisms for National Tiger Conservation Authority and Wildlife Crime Control Coordination Committee."
PM Nepal also sought international cooperation to curb trans-border poaching of tiger parts.
Nepal has set an ambitious target of increasing the tiger population to 250 by the next ten years. At present there are 120 adult tigers in Nepal.
In the world, the tiger population in the wild is 3,500. It was about 7,000 in 2000. Besides, tiger is also reared in controlled situation in countries like China, Vietnam and Thailand. Whether tigers should be reared in controlled situation or not will also be discussed in the workshop.
Nepal government is also planning to double the size of Bardiya National Park, one of the chief tiger habitats, by annexing some 900 sq. km of forest area in a bid to preserve tiger along with other wild animals.
The workshop will conclude Friday issuing a Kathmandu declaration which includes various strategies and policies to increase the tiger population. nepalnews.com