Coexistence over conflict

While blaming tigers for human fatalities is easy, our flawed concept of conservation is the culprit.

In 2022, when Nepal’s Bardiya National Park (BNP) won the TX2 award for doubling its tiger populations since 2010, our conservation efforts were globally lauded. The country was the first to surpass the target among other nations committed to doubling their tiger number by 2022. However, in between the praises, the escalating human-wildlife conflict evinced by the human deaths due to frequent tiger attacks were unaddressed. When the dark side of the success story became apparent, some blamed the locals for entering the restricted forests, while others pointed at the increased tiger population.