Covid-19 lockdown sets wildlife free but increases poaching threats in Nepal

Abstract

To contain transmission of COVID-19, lockdown or strict restriction of people’s mobility outside their residence was imposed worldwide. In Nepal, the first phase of nationwide lockdown was observed from March 24 to July 21, 2020. This sudden halt in human activities brought positive and negative impacts on forests and wildlife. We undertook a study was undertaken to know the impact of the CoViD-19 lockdown on wildlife and forests in the protected areas (PAs) of Nepal. The study was carried in July and September 2020, data of illegal activities recorded by the PAs and also those reported by media were obtained and analyzed. Key Informant Interview (KII) was done with the park officers and security personnel by virtual communication that included telephone, messenger app, and ZOOM video meeting to collect detailed information and for verification. The collected data were categorized into four groups: i) wildlife killed, ii) wildlife injured, iii) arrest incidents related to forest crime, and iv) arrest incidents related to wildlife crime. Data from the fiscal year 2019-2020 were analyzed, comparing before lockdown and after. The study found trends of substantial increases in. wildlife death in two PAs, Banke National Park and Bardia National Park out of 20 during the lockdown. Similarly, Chitwan National Park (CNP) and Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park (SNNP) witnessed a rise in wildlife poaching. CNP and SNNP are located close to highly populated cities and also having human settlements in their peripheries. Interestingly, wildlife was easily sighted inside PAs during the lockdown, presumably because the absence of visitors and human activities during the lockdown decreased disturbance. Thus, a paradoxical situation was observed with the wildlife enjoying the freedom of movement on the one hand, but with poachers, many of them laid off from other activities, taking advantage of the lapse in security.

Uncovering patterns of public perceptions towards biodiversity crime using conservation culturomics

“…Such empirical cases are related to various degrees to biodiversity crime, e.g., poaching, illegal logging, and fishing, in the sense of non-compliance to- or voluntary violation of—conservation rules (e.g., Solomon et al, 2015 ) through mechanisms relating to market distortions and administration incapacities (Troumbis & Zevgolis, 2020 ). Interestingly, similar criminogenic mechanisms have been proposed or predicted to apply during and after the Covid-19 pandemic human confinement, even within protected areas (e.g., Koju et al, 2021 ).…”

Uncovering Patterns of Public Perceptions Towards Biodiversity Crime Using Conservation Culturomics

“…Such empirical cases are related to various degrees to biodiversity crime, e.g., poaching, illegal logging, and shing, in the sense of non-compliance to-or voluntary violation of -conservation rules (e.g., Solomon et al 2015) through mechanisms relating to market distortions and administration incapacities (ΧΧΧΧ and ΧΧΧΧ 2020). Interestingly, similar criminogenic mechanisms have been proposed or predicted to apply during and after the Covid-19 pandemic human con nement, even within protected areas (e.g., Koju et al 2021).…”

Improving Sustainability by Privatizing Wildlife Conservation

“…One of the many unintended consequences of Covid-19 lockdowns across much of the globe was a documented increase in poaching in many nations, including Malaysia [70], India [71], Nepal [72] and several African countries [73] [74]. Top-down regulation of wildlife was particularly fragile in Africa because it was new there, largely implemented around the turn of the new millennium during a "bushmeat crisis" that threatened the livelihoods of growing numbers of poor agriculturalists and led to increased top-down regulatory attempts [75].…”