Nepal's achievements on conservation set it apart

A wise man once said, "If you are looking for an investment with a good return, plant a tree." But in today's reality, neither the investment nor the return looks like what we would call "good" because, despite intensive global efforts, there has been a sharp decline in the health of our planet.

According to the WWF Living Planet Report covering the global environment, wildlife populations around the world have fallen by 60 percent in just over four decades, due to accelerating pollution, deforestation, climate change and other man-made factors.

But as they say, while there is life, there is hope. Nepal's conservation story has certainly been one of optimism and hope. The Himalayan nation today is one among many countries working relentlessly toward conserving the natural world for generations to come.

With the target of graduating from a least-developed country to a developing one by 2030, Nepal has been doing its bit to try and bend the conservation curve, be it in the face of insurgency or political instability.

The country's 45 percent forest cover and 24 percent protected land surface are proof of that commitment, making it a model for the conservation of wildlife as well as the environment.

Nepal is in the top five of 12 countries holding the largest populations of snow leopards. We have come a long way in ensuring the protection of snow leopards in partnership with local communities.

During the 1970s, wildlife specialist Rodney Jackson radio-collared a few snow leopards in Shey Phoksundo, Nepal's largest national park. Less than five decades later, Nepal deployed satellite-linked collars on four snow leopards in an eastern Himalayan priority landscape under the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Program.

In 2010, 13 countries where tigers still roam made a commitment to double their wild tiger numbers by 2022, which will be the Year of the Tiger in the Chinese zodiac.

The most recent tiger survey conducted in Nepal puts its tiger population at 235, nearly doubling the 2009 base line and suggesting that ongoing conservation efforts have the potential to double its numbers of the big cat by 2022. That would make Nepal the first country to mark such an achievement.

A combination of effective conservation strategies with a focus on protection, habitat integrity and community stewardship will be pivotal in achieving such ambitious goals.

Nepal's history of species translocation started during the early 1980s, with the translocation of the greater one-horned rhinoceros. Continuous efforts were made in the following years to establish a viable population of rhinos in two other parts of western Nepal.

By learning and building on the experience of the past three decades, Nepal has been successful in establishing and reviving the dwindling population of a range of species including rhino, blackbuck, water buffalo and swamp deer.

However, among other challenges, poaching has been a global threat facing the conservation fraternity for decades.

During the 2000s, rhino poaching was at its peak in Nepal. However, over time, this bitter reality drew the attention of people from all walks of life who came together and took collective action to tackle the crisis. As a result, in 2011 Nepal recorded a whole year without any cases of rhino poaching, a milestone not only for the conservation fraternity but for the country and the world at large.

Over the years, Nepal's efforts and experience have helped draft a zero-poaching framework for the world to follow.

Having achieved 365 days of zero poaching of rhinos five times, Nepal today leads by example when it comes to bringing the illegal act to a screeching halt.

Our next milestone is to eradicate the transit of the illegal wildlife trade in Nepal, to close the loop in our efforts to protect our iconic wildlife.

It goes without saying that local communities have been an integral part of the ecosystem and the main actors of Nepal's conservation story. Nepal's community forestry program and participatory conservation, built on local stewardship, have managed to engage people from all walks of life, particularly women and youths. The forestry program helps to maintain a crucial corridor for the safe dispersal of wildlife among core areas.

Nepal is where it is today because of significant backing by the global community－including international aid agencies, governments, individuals and institutions.

As we look to the future, building Nepal as a model for green infrastructure will be a key area of focus, together with the boosting of tourism. That includes protecting the natural world to continue decades of conservation results for sustainable development to benefit people and nature.

The author is the country representative at WWF Nepal. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.