KATHMANDU — When Nepal’s government approved a controversial measure at the start of the year to permit hydropower development inside protected areas, there was an uproar in the conservation community — but a largely muted one. While many privately expressed their discontent, only a few people and organizations publicly criticized the move, despite its potential to undermine the country’s hard-won conservation gains. “It is difficult for us to openly criticize the government even when we know its actions could have negative consequences,” said Shiva Raj Bhatta, senior adviser to WWF Nepal. This sentiment was echoed by several other senior executives in the NGO conservation sector, researchers, and conservationists who spoke to Mongabay over the past year. They noted that publicly criticizing the government has become increasingly difficult as the issues related to who benefits from natural resources and who pays the costs have become politicized. Nepal is home to 12 national parks, a wildlife reserve, a hunting reserve, six conservation areas, and 13 buffer zones, covering nearly a quarter of the country’s total land area, according to the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation. It also hosts several iconic and threatened species such as Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris) and greater one-horned rhinos (Rhinoceros unicornis). Similarly, around 40% of the country’s land area is now covered by forests, up from around 20% in the 1990s, thanks mostly to the implementation of community-prepared management plans. In recent years, the politicization of natural resources has become more pronounced. Top political leaders frequently…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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