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Nepal, India excel at tiger protection: WWF

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Press Trust of India Kathmandu
Nepal excels at zero poaching of tigers while India is the "tiger heavyweight" in the region in terms of recovering the number of the cats, according to organisers of an anti-poaching summit here.

Nepal, which has pioneered in conserving tigers, is hosting an international anti-poaching conference beginning tomorrow.

The five-day international symposium on the theme 'Toward Zero Poaching' is aimed at forging international cooperation to curb illegal poaching of endangered animals.

The symposium is being organised jointly by Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation of Nepal, and World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

WWF experts called Nepal and India "tiger heavyweights" in the battle against poaching of the cats to protect them from extinction.
 

"Nepal and India are our tiger heavyweights leading the region. India excels at recovering tiger numbers and Nepal at zero poaching," said Mike Baltzer, WWF Tigers Alive Initiative.

Last month, India registered a 30 per cent jump in tiger numbers since 2010. Meanwhile, Nepal witnessed the numbers rise almost two-thirds between 2009 and 2013, with its last poaching incident reported in March 2012.

Nepal, with its highly successful conservation efforts, has achieved almost zero poaching of endangered species tiger over the past three years.

The number of tigers in Nepal's five protected regions is estimated to be more than 200, up 63 per cent from 2009, according to wildlife experts.

Nepal has achieved success in conserving endangered animals, including tiger, rhino and snow leopard, with its community-based conservation strategy.

The income generating activities in the country are linked to conservation efforts, which is resulting in a great success in conservation efforts.

Parts of the income generated by national parks and wildlife reserves are distributed among the local communities for various social and educational activities.

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First Published: Feb 01 2015 | 6:40 PM IST

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