© WCN 2005

Chuba Dress – Leopard skin

During monitoring of wildlife trade in Kathmandu City by WCN, Chuba Dress made of leopard skin, worn by Tibetans during festive occasions was seen adorned by a senior lady along with her consort in Boudha. They did not want to be photographed; however under pretense of being a collector of fancy dresses, WCN’s investigators were able to persuade them to take few shots. The Chuba dress has a leopard skin draped over the shoulder that comes in the front and is tied to the waist. This indicates leopards skins are very much in demand in Kathmandu among the Tibetans despite the animal is categorized as endangered and its trade made illegal by Nepal’s government. A symbol of wealth and high society, the Tibetans have an affinity towards it.

Himalayan Marmot skin

WCN in its line of investigation came across a Himalayan marmot skin being sold discreetly in Boudha. The skin purchased by WCN was later identified as marmot by Natural History Museum on September 30, 2005. WCN informed DNPWC on October 5, 2005 about the trade. WCN also took up the matter to Nepal Police who then mobilized a unit to look into it. The merchants were nabbed by the police and the skins confiscated. Marmot trade has not been in operation since to this date. Any wildlife products sold in Nepal is illegal (NPWCA 1973 and its amendment 1999) and can be prosecuted under the Nepal law.

Ivory

Bangles, beads and small caskets, jewelry boxes made out of ivory (tusk of elephants) are hand crafted in Patan (Lalitpur district) and sold in shops of Boudha, Patan and Thamel. The raw materials are brought from India and some also come from Nepal. The people dealing in ivory trade are aware it is illegal and thus present ivory bones as yak bones if they are not to sure about the buyer. Few shops in Boudha were found by WCN to be selling ivory. Few shops were also found to deal with hats ornamented with fox fur.

Orchid Trade

Table source: “Hamro ban” Department of Forests

Orchids are a subject of great fascination to gardeners, botanists and nature lovers particularly due to their unique and attractive flowers. Unfortunately Nepal’s orchids are under threat due to increasing destruction of their natural habitat and over exploitation. Over 2,000 species are known to occur in Asia while Nepal has a little over 360 species. Buddhi R. Dangol, research officer at WCN carried out a study on orchid trade in Kathmandu. The report reveals that illegal trade in orchid is on the rise. The study further provides information that orchid habitat in the wild, especially in Makwanpur district have been dislodged due to intensive harvesting. The orchids are brought all the way from Makwanpur and Chitwan districts. Dakshinkali has been one of the entry point for the trade. Local nurseries in Kathmandu place order in advance and the local sellers deliver it to the nurseries. However, there are ocassional buyers who inadvertently purchase orchids just out of curiosity and fascination. Today, collectors especially women and children have to venture deeper into the forest for collecting orchid. There is no mechanism to regulate the trade within the country. However, HMG of Nepal has been able to collect revenue by collecting orchids from all the districts of Nepal (Fig. right).

Shahtoosh Trade

The Tibetan Antelope ( Pantholops hodgesonii) commonely known as chiru gained international attention when it was listed on appendix 1 of CITES in 1979 due to over hunting for its fur. Threew chirus are killed for one shawl famously known as Shahtoosh. Shahtoosh is a finel woven shawl made my master weavers especially in Kashmir which for generations has been considered as a traditional heirloom passed onto daughters by family members. Since the late 1980’s poaching and illegal trade of chiru has increased dramatically due to its high demand in the international market. The international conservation community has indicated that its fur trade is being passed from Tibet via Nepal into India for making shawls.

During an undercover investigation in Kathmandu and Phokhara WCN found Shahtoosh shawl being sold with price tags starting from US$ 500 and above. WCN was told that a number of shawls could be made available in Kathmandu provided an order was placed. The shop keepers are well aware of the fact that the trade of Shahtoosh is illegal which shows that Tibetan Antelope or chiru is still in peril and its business lucrative despite the prohibitory laws.

WCN

On 23 September 2005, a sixty year old woman was found to have two tiger trophies in her flat. She was charged and the skin confiscated. She claims innocence as the trophies were gifts from her father-in-law, a prominent political figure in the Panchayat regime. Convent educated, completed Masters in USA and completely ignorant of Nepali law.

Such existing trophies that have been a part of heirloom reside in many families. Nepal has yet to do an inventory. WCN will seek to do an inventory and legalize them through the support of CITES unit of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation.

Major seizure in wildlife product
September 1, 2005

Wildlife product worth more than NRs. 50 million has been confiscated by joint security forces stationed in Sybaru besi of Langtang National Park. On September 1, 2005 a huge consignment of fur containing 5 tiger skin, 36 leopard skins and 238 common otter skin and 113 kg of tiger bones were seized in Syabru Besi by an army patrol, which is stationed inside Langtang National Park for its protection. Today, Syabru Besi is a small town with few lodges and hotels that caters to the need of trekkers entering or exiting Langtang national park. The entrance to the park is through Dhunche, which is about 4 km away. This consignment had come in card board boxes along with daily commodities (perishable goods for the communities that live in and around the fringes of the park) and the army (stationed at the entrance of the park) in its usual check, did not find anything unusual in the truck. The truck did not unload its merchandise till late in the evening. It was eight in the night, when a commotion was seen by the army patrol. They went to check and in the process, the locals got angry and then the army clamped the whole area and found the illegal consignment hidden besides perishable goods. These goods were being sent to Tibet from Syabru besi.This is the biggest consignment seized in Nepal in recent times says Prasanna Yonzon, CEO of WCN who is working in controlling illegal wildlife trade in conjunction with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation. It is just a matter of time before the culprit is caught. They will face the consequences and Nepal's law against wildlife crime is very harsh compared to other South Asian countries. WCN believes that such wildlife nexus exists in Boudha and Swaymbhu vicinities, today WCN has learnt that the trade which remained within the mountain communities and Tibetans have spread to other Nepalese communities as well. Profit is unlimited, consequences of getting caught is marginal, however WCN is working despite all odds.