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Thomas Bell

Demoralised park wardens complain of a lack of resources

Weak government is causing a surge in poaching of an endangered rhinoceros species, according to Nepali national park officials.

Eleven rhinoceros  unicornis, or the great one-horned rhino, have been found dead since August with their horns and hooves missing, indicating  they were shot to supply the market in Chinese medicine, where they are believed to be an aphrodisiac.

There are fewer than 2,300 of the animals left in the world, with the second-largest population in Nepal's Chitwan National Park, where 372 were counted in the spring of 2005.

In the grasslands on the edge of the park  and the public forests beyond, the enormous lumbering creatures with poor eyesight and little fear of humans make an easy target for poachers. A peasant who shoots one can earn about HK$3,500 from the gangs that run the trade, double Nepal's annual per capita income.

It is rare for gang bosses to be arrested because, many  suspect, they are wealthy enough to enjoy political protection. By the time a horn reaches the Chinese market, according to one figure, it is worth more than HK$22,000.

Ramji Shivakoti, the warden in charge of the eastern sector of the park, complains his demoralised staff are little more than glorified 'data collectors'.

He said that although a lot of resources were supposedly given to the park to save the rhinos, 'we don't even have the minimum logistics - no water, no fuel. No training is given'.

There are supposed to be 19 rangers in the  932 sq km  park with a  751 sq km buffer zone, but there are currently six vacant posts. Worse still, the army, which is supposed to provide security, was forced to reduce the number of guard posts from 34 to 10 after  attacks by  Maoist rebels.

With a peace process now under way, six posts have been re-established in recent weeks with more expected soon, if the funds arrive.

But discontent among park staff runs deeper. According to one disgruntled ranger, 'poachers are encouraged by the government'.

The allegation relates to the release of 11 convicted rhino poachers from jail over the summer in an amnesty after the current administration came to power.

Adding insult to injury in the eyes of many wardens is the fact that two of their colleagues are now in jail for beating an alleged poacher to death.

'It's a double standard,' complains the chief warden, Gopal Upadaya. 'The poachers are released and our staff are in custody.'

At the jail in the nearby town of Birgunj, the misspelled slogan 'Honesty is the best police' is messily written on the wall outside the jailer's office. All 11 convicted poachers in the facility  protest their innocence.

'If you managed to sell a rhino horn, you'd have enough money to get transferred to a better jail,' said 46-year-old Babul al-Maji, who has served six  years of a  15-year sentence. He claimed  he was a fisherman who simply discovered the body of a dead rhino, and  a national park warden demanded the equivalent of HK$5,800  to drop the charges.

Another prisoner claimed  he was beaten by  wardens until he signed a confession. It was impossible to verify their claims but they formed a consistent pattern with other interviews, and even a jail official found them plausible.

The chief warden has judicial powers to pass jail sentences of up to 15 years and impose substantial fines.

At the national park headquarters there were four prisoners who had been arrested in a raid on their village. Two had been in possession of an antiquated rifle, while the others had apparently been bystanders. Although one warden admitted there was little evidence against the men, another said  two would probably be released while those with the gun would be jailed.

Despite the many problems with the anti-poaching effort, chief warden Upadaya appealed for international support. '[Rhinos are] global property,' he said. 'It's the natural heritage for all.'

And despite the grim outlook, there is hope for Chitwan's rhinos. In the 1970s there were fewer than 100 in the park, but following a conservation effort, numbers rose to 556 in 1995 before again declining.



Dark days for the rare rhinos left to the mercy of poachers