Daily Times

Nepal has much to celebrate. This year’s National Conservation Day, commemorated on Sunday, coincided with the news that the country is firmly on its way to becoming the first of the 13 tiger range nations to double its tiger population by 2022.

This deadline was set within the framework of the World Wildlife Foundation’s (WWF) “Tx2” programme whose sole aim is to double global tiger populations over a 12-year period. Launched back in 2010, it is scheduled to run from the last Chinese Year of the Tiger to the next. Thus far, Nepal’s tiger population has increased from 121 in 2009 to 235 for this year.

Thus the initiative appears to be working. After all, the WWF has confirmed that for the first time in around a century, the world’s tiger population is no longer in decline. As of 2016, it stands at 3,890; up from the 2010 level of 3,200. Nepal has played its part by linking conservation to a crackdown on poaching. Indeed, it became the first nation ever to achieve zero poaching in 2011; with bans covering not just tigers but elephants and rhinos, too. In fact, this can be the only way forward. If, that is, there is any hope of reaching the minimum target of the 6,000-strong tiger population that was agreed upon at the first-ever International Tiger Conservation Forum in 2010.

It is hoped that this in the bag. For the bottom line is very simple: tigers are crucial for ecosystems. As the WWF puts it, these majestic animals represent the top predators of the food chain. They are therefore able to keep prey species in check while maintaining a balance between the herbivores and the vegetation on which the latter feed. Meaning that conserving natural tiger habitat and not keeping them in zoos is crucial.

And while Pakistan is not a tiger range country, there is much for it to learn from Nepal’s experience. Not least because Islamabad has long fallen victim to poachers and those involved in illegal wildlife trade. This extends to freshwater turtles, tortoises, falcons, snakes and other reptiles as well as those animals that are prized for their fur and skin. Thus it is imperative that Pakistan does more to monitor its road, air and sea transit routes. Similarly, it must kick its zoo habit that sees it import exotic species that can never acclimatise to the local environment here.

For simply put, animals are neither trophies nor toys. But a vital part of the ecosystem. It is about time that all nations treat them with the dignity they deserve.  *

Published in Daily Times, September 25^th 2018.