Nepal ranks among the world's most disaster-prone nations, with agriculture employing 64 per cent of the workforce and contributing 21 per cent to GDP.
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.
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.
At the heart of the campaign were the fishermen and residents of the Negombo lagoon region – people for whom the wetland is more than land or water; it’s the lifeblood of their daily existence.
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.
Timely community action and strengthened health services will determine how many more young lives are placed at risk before cooler weather arrives, health workers say.
Timely community action and strengthened health services will determine how many more young lives are placed at risk before cooler weather arrives, health workers say.