Illegal wildlife trade in Nepal ^{CEFR B2}

Illegal wildlife trade is a major global business; INTERPOL estimated it at USD 20 billion a year in 2023. Much trafficked wildlife is smuggled to China and Southeast Asia for use in traditional medicine or as food. Nepal acts as both a source country and a transit route, and it enforces strict wildlife laws. For example, anyone found involved with protected pangolins faces a fine of Rs 1 million and/or up to 15 years in jail.

In practice, many arrests concentrate on low-level actors. Two individual cases illustrate the point: Bishnu Adhikari, 24, said he joined a pangolin sale to support his family, and Bikash Chhetri, 17 and a Grade 11 student, was arrested after officers found pangolin scales; both received five-year sentences. Research by Kumar Paudel of Greenhood Nepal, based on interviews with more than 150 convicted people, found most were poor, illiterate and from marginalized groups.

Health risks are also central. The semi-nomadic Chepang in Makwanpur eat small fruit bats, and experts such as Dibesh Karmacharya warn that close contact with wildlife can expose humans to microbes that sometimes become pathogens. Climate change may move vectors and animals into new areas, increasing contact between species and people. Conservationists note that climate stress can harm pangolin health and raise disease risk.

Experts urge law enforcement reform and action against organised crime, calling for fair implementation so Indigenous people are not disproportionately punished, investigations into higher levels of the trade, and long-term efforts in education, behaviour change and livelihood support. Local initiatives provide models: SMCRF helped build the Pangolin Trail in Bagh Bhairav Community Forest in Kirtipur in 2019, which gave 100 Tamang households new income and local roles in conservation.