Animals and wildlife

Without urgent action, environmental collapse could lock Afghanistan into a vicious cycle of poverty, migration, and instability for generations to come. The war may have ended for now, but the battle to save Afghanistan’s environment, and the lives it sustains, is only beginning.

The turning point came in 2002, when the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), in partnership with the Gujarat Forest Department and Tata Chemicals Ltd., launched an audacious campaign to save the species.

Union minister of state for environment, forest and climate change, Kirti Vardhan Singh, released the report, ‘Guardians of the Wild: Supporting India’s Frontline Forest Staff’.

In 2008, Nepal recorded 97 deaths; since then, annual fatalities have ranged between 6 and 32. But experts caution that the real numbers, especially in remote areas with limited surveillance, are likely higher.

The state had proposed expansive eco-tourism development in this area, which spans over 745 square kilometers.

The crisis is not only ecological but cultural, symbolizing the collapse of protection strategies and the fragility of coexistence in a land where these pachyderms once roamed freely.

on this World Ranger Day, while the world scrolls through headlines, the forest remembers – not in words, but in silence. In every rustling leaf, in every tiger that crosses a camera trap, in every rhino calf curled beside its mother – it remembers those who guard it, so others may live.

Accidental encounters with tigers have historically led to fatalities and injuries, making rapid medical response and efficient crisis communication a critical need.