COVID-19 lockdown frees wildlife to roam but increases poaching threats in Nepal

Narayan Prasad Koju; Ram Chandra Kandel; Hari Bhadra Acharya; Bed Kumar Dhakal; Dinesh Raj Bhuju

doi:10.1002/ece3.7778

COVID-19 lockdown frees wildlife to roam but increases poaching threats in Nepal

Ecol Evol. 2021 Jun 22;11(14):9198-9205. doi: 10.1002/ece3.7778. eCollection 2021 Jul.

Authors

Narayan Prasad Koju^{1

2}, Ram Chandra Kandel^{3

4}, Hari Bhadra Acharya³, Bed Kumar Dhakal³, Dinesh Raj Bhuju^{5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Natural Resources Management Program Centre for Postgraduate Studies Nepal Engineering College Pokhara University Pokhara Nepal.
² Department of Psychology University of Washington Seattle WA USA.
³ Department of National Park and Wildlife Conservation Ministry of Forests and Environment Babarmahal Nepal.
⁴ Ministry of Industry, Tourism, Forest and Environment Janakpur Nepal.
⁵ Resources Himalaya Foundation Kathmandu Nepal.
⁶ Mid-Western University Surkhet Nepal.

Abstract

To contain transmission of COVID-19, lockdowns or strict restrictions of people's mobility outside their residences were instituted in a majority of countries worldwide, including Nepal, where the first phase of nationwide lockdown was observed from 24 March to 21 July 2020. This sudden halt in human outdoor activities brought positive and negative impacts on forests and wildlife. We undertook a study to learn the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on wildlife and forests in the protected areas (PAs) of Nepal. Between July and September 2020, data on illegal activities recorded by the staff of PAs and also those reported by media were collected and analyzed. Key informant interviews (KII) were done with the park officers and security personnel by virtual communication (telephone, messenger app, and video call) to collect detailed information and for corroboration. The collected data were categorized into four groups: (a) wildlife killed, (b) wildlife injured, (c) arrest incidents related to forest crime, and (d) arrest incidents related to wildlife crime. Data from the fiscal year 2019-2020 were analyzed, comparing before lockdown and after. Among 20 PAs investigated during the lockdown, the study found substantial increases in wildlife death in two PAs, Banke National Park, and Bardia National Park. Similarly, Chitwan National Park (CNP) and Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park (SNNP) witnessed a rise in wildlife poaching. CNP and SNNP are located close to densely populated cities and also have human settlements in their peripheries. Wildlife was sighted freely roaming inside PAs during the lockdown, presumably because the absence of visitors and human activities during the lockdown decreased disturbance. Thus, the wildlife was enjoying the freedom of movement on the one hand, and on the other hand was threatened by poachers, many of whom were laid off from other activities and were taking advantage of the lapse in security.

Keywords: SARS‐CoV‐2; biodiversity; poaching; security; wildlife crime.