Park Establishment and Management (1973 to 1995)

National elections and political movements

Rhinoceros poaching turned out to be higher during the political events, particularly at the national elections and the movements during this period, as the interviewees informed. Poaching increased during the referendum in 1979 and the subsequent national elections of the Panchayat in 1981 and 1986. In addition, poaching came to be higher in 1990 due to the national movement for democracy. An employee from TAL mentioned:

“As all people, including the Park staff and the Army, concentrated on such events, Park patrolling became very weak. So, the poachers entered the jungle and killed the rhinoceros. In addition, the lack of coordination between the Army and the Park’s Chief Warden in 1990 was also responsible for the poaching”.

Park management and the policy development

After the declaration of the founding of CNP on the recommendation of an expert appointed by the UNDP/FAO, according to the respondents, initiatives for its

management and research projects were undertaken. After shifting the settlements and declaring the Park, grazing of domestic animals at the river banks was allowed until 1976. After this, the grazing was controlled, but grass cutting was permitted for a few years. Slowly, this was also stopped. With this, research activities also went forward. A senior staff at NTNC noted that:

“International experts and scientists such as Eric Dinnerstein and Dev Smith came to CNP for their PhD research and began to discuss how the rhinoceroses could be saved. They also carried out some wildlife management activities such as Machans (watching towers) and waterholes constructions for the rhinoceros. We also got opportunities to work with these experts and understood the importance of rhinoceros”.

Interviewees further stated that the required policies for Park management, including rhinoceros protection, were developed during this period. The National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1973, its regulation 1974, and Chitwan National Park Regulation 1974, were endorsed. A respondent from CNP added:

“Later, the Act was amended provisioning the penalty rates for a rhinoceros poacher to be up to 15 years imprisonment. This revision became more effective in decreasing the rhinoceros poaching for a few years”.

Deployment of the Nepal army

Gainda Gasti was replaced by the Nepal Army in 1975 for stricter Park protection,

including for the rhinoceros, local wildlife tourism stakeholders reported. In the

beginning, about 200 personnel of the Nepal Army, commanded by a captain, operated the joint patrolling with the Gainda Gasti. Later, the Army solely took the responsibility of Park protection and established about 30 security posts until the 1980s. A retired Park officer recalled that:

“After the Army was deployed, it was noticed that Park protection became more effective and rhinoceros poaching was nearly controlled for a few years. Probably, wrongdoers, including rhinoceros poachers, were frightened of the Army”.

However, the Army patrol could not be effective for long in comparison to the Gainda Gasti, the respondents expressed. The Army did not have the skills and training to work in the jungle. They used to follow the same route for Park patrolling each time.A retired Park employee further explained:

“When people understood the patrolling systems of the Army, they started to enter the Park and participate in illegal activities including rhinoceros poaching”.

Initiated intelligence network

An intelligence network was initiated to develop the effective APOs, particularly focussing on rhinoceros, so the Park staff stated. Informants began to be hired after 1991 in the support of the ITNC, but the anti-poaching network has operated since 1996 with the financial support of ITNC and WWF Nepal. The retired Park officer further explained:

“In the first, a team comprised of Park staff (a senior game scout and a game scout), and a local villager, was formed for Park patrolling and intelligence collection. ITNC used to cover their payments. Later, the informant network was initiated. It greatly succeeded in the control of rhinoceros poaching at that time”.

5.9.3 Period of Political Insurgency (1996-2006) Maoist insurgency (1996-2006)

Respondents noted that the period of the Maoist armed combat was the most vulnerable period for rhinoceros conservation in Nepal. Maoists were frequently attacking the Nepal police, Army, civil servants and Government’s offices. Security posts were merged from 32 to 7 in CNP as the Nepal Army had to live in bigger strength. A Park ranger recalled:

“As national security became the priority over the rhinoceros for the Nepal Army, the Park’s surveillance was almost dead after 2000”.

Rhinoceros conservation became further vulnerable in 2002 when then King Gyanendra dissolved the parliament and began to rule by himself, the Park staff expressed.

Rhinoceros poaching had been so common that Park staff could hear frequent gun shots inside the Park, with possible rhinoceros shootings, sometimes very near to the

settlements. However, they were unable to do anything, because of the severe conflict between the Maoists and the State. A Park ranger informed:

“We could not enter the Park because we might be shot by the Maoists, blaming us as the informants of the State and security people accusing as the Maoists. After a few hours, we came to know that rhinoceroses were poached. We also could not go into the villages and collect information about the rhinoceros poaching activities due to the conflict”.

The routes and paths developed by the Maoist rebels for their movement inside the Park were frequently used for rhinoceros poaching, a few respondents shared. It allowed the poachers to perform their activities easily through the valleys and deep gorges of the Chure, the hill extended throughout the south border of the Park. An employee of the TAL informed:

“It increased rhinoceros poaching threats inside the Park”.

Respondents further shared that the number of tourists visiting the Park also decreased during the insurgency, mainly due to travel advisory. An NGO representative suggested:

“Tourism operators exaggerated it more than the true condition of the insurgency prevalent in Nepal. This further played a role in decreasing tourist numbers in Chitwan”.

Changes in poaching techniques

Rhinoceros poachers are changing poaching techniques with time and using new ones, the respondents reported. They were accustomed to using primitive technologies such as digging pits, spearing, snaring and poisoning in the past. A senior Park officer mentioned:

“These methods were much harder and laborious, and poachers had to wait a long time to kill the rhinoceros. The poachers could not be sure that rhinoceros will always fall in the pits. It used to take many days to dig a pit and to make the rhinoceros fall in there. During such times, there might be the possibilities of being encountered and convicted

by the Park patrol team.So, these methods were risky too”.

However, poachers adopted home-made firearms since the 1990s, which were cheaper and faster than the previous methods, as Park staff informed. It is a very easy technique for rhinoceros poaching. A Park ranger expressed:

“Iron pieces are used in these home-made guns, which can easily kill the rhinoceros in

one shot. Poachers are so fast that they can cut a horn and escape within 30 minutes. If

the shot does not hit, a huge sound produced by the blast can also make the rhinoceros become unconscious. So, rhinoceros poaching heavily increased after the use of the guns which has been a great challenge for rhinoceros protection”.

Strong anti-poaching operations

Park staff expressed that mobilisation of the informants’ network was the most important tool to convict the poachers and save the rhinoceroses during the Maoist insurgency. In spite of the insurgency, the Park effectively carried out the APOs. A Park ranger stated:

“Then assistant warden Kamal Jung Kunwar made the anti-poaching team and the intelligence network very active and strong. He convicted around 200 rhinoceros poachers during his working period only”.

The buffer zone of the CNP made a significant financial contribution to carrying out the anti-poaching activities during this period, the respondents informed. The government declared the buffer zone, approved the required policies (Buffer Zone Management Regulation 1996 and its guideline 1998) and released money from revenue for buffer zone management. A Park staff member explained:

“The buffer zone provided important financial support for APOs during this time, that resulted in the arrest of many rhinoceros poachers. It provided the money required to pay the wages of the informants and reward them during this critical period of rhinoceros conservation”.

5.9.4 Integrated Conservation (2007-2012)