Displaying items by tag: conservation

In rural areas of Nepal, families living near protected forests face growing danger as tiger populations increase. Pushpa Tamang, a survivor of a brutal tiger attack in 2019, lives with severe disabilities and ongoing medical needs which her family cannot afford. Like others in neighbouring districts, her household struggles under heavy debt from treatment costs while navigating slow and inadequate government relief systems. Although Nepal has been praised internationally for its conservation efforts which have successfully expanded tiger numbers, local communities bear the consequences through injury, trauma, and financial hardship. Many rely on the forests for daily survival, increasing their exposure to risk. While some local authorities offer limited support, gaps remain significant. The situation highlights a deep tension between conservation success and human vulnerability.

Three Japanese whaling ships returned to their home port in Shimonoseki on 30 March with 333 minke whales killed in Antarctica. They attracted international protests and condemnation. Supposedly, these sea mammals were harpooned ‘for scientific purposes’. The International Court of Justice ordered a suspension of Japan's ‘scientific whaling’ in 2014, which led the country to cut its whaling programme. Minke whales are categorised as great whales, and commercial hunting of great whales was banned in 1986. Japan wants whaling to be permitted once more, and its steadfast participation in whale hunts continues to provoke protests worldwide. In its defence, Tokyo points out that the International Whaling Commission allows whales to be killed for ‘research’ purposes.