AI Nepal, CSRC urge WWF Nepal to adopt human rights-based conservation programme in Nepal
31-05-2022
Cristina Nicoleta Niculae
Nepal and Human Rights Researcher
Global Human Rights Defence
Following the joint report on ‘Violations in the name of conservation: What crime had I committed by putting my feet on the land that I own?’, a delegation of Amnesty International Nepal and Community Self-Reliance Centre (CSRC) met a team of WWF Nepal on 10 May to present the findings and recommendations contained in the report.
The Director of Amnesty International Nepal, Nirajan Thapaliya, communicated the findings in the research report which focused on the two largest national parks –Chitwan National Park and Bardiya National Park (BNP). Director Thapaliya said:
“The report shows that Nepal’s conservation success has come at a high cost for the Indigenous peoples living in the vicinity of the protected areas who have faced a litany of human rights violations such as arbitrary arrests, illegal detention, torture, unlawful killing and forced evictions amidst the State’s abysmal failure to provide effective remedies and reparations to the victims”
Moreover, Thapakiya also stressed that social justice and environmental justice should be interconnected, urging the WWF Nepal to ensure a human rights-based approach in its conservation efforts and advocate for the same in its engagements with the government and other stakeholders.
Jagat Deuja, Director of CSRC, also contended that the WWF Nepal shall call upon the government to amend the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 2029 (1973). Dr. Ghana Shyam Gurung, Country Representative at WWF Nepal, acknowledged the findings of the research report and expressed that WWF has taken the concerns raised seriously. He added that the organisation is committed to practicing a human rights-based approach to conservation efforts in Nepal. He further informed the delegation that WWF Nepal has recently started its collaboration with the National Human Rights Commission to develop a training manual for the park officials and law enforcement agencies, referring to a recently organized training to the park officials and security personnel in human rights-based management of the park areas.
Sources and further reading:
Amnesty International Nepal. (May 10, 2022). AI Nepal, CSRC urge WWF Nepal to adopt human rights-based conservation programme in Nepal. Amnesty International Nepal. Retrieved May 31, 2022, from https://amnestynepal.org/activities/ai-nepal-csrc-urge-wwf-nepal-to-adopt-human-rights-based-conservation-programme-in-nepal
Amnesty International Nepal. (August 9, 2021). Nepal: Violations in the name of conservation. Amnesty International Nepal. Retrieved May 31, 2022, from https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa31/4536/2021/en/