Conservation efforts for tigers are jeopardised when local communities oppose tiger presence and kill tigers believed to pose a threat to people or livestock. We will work closely with communities living alongside tiger populations in Nepal’s Terai to reduce tigers’ impacts on communities.
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In the Terai, livelihoods are closely linked to forests with people dependant on natural resources for income. Entering the forests to collect resources or graze livestock risks tiger attack. Rising tiger numbers in Nepal have led to an increase in attacks on people and livestock. To prevent tiger conservation being undermined by human-tiger conflict, action to alleviate poverty by diversifying livelihoods is needed to improve human welfare and ensure long-term support for tiger conservation.
We will work closely with communities affected by tiger presence, empowering them to pursue livelihood opportunities that can lift households out of poverty while also reducing their dependence on forest resources. In particular, we will work with women and minority ethnic groups to develop culturally appropriate viable alternative livelihoods (e.g. farm-based products), explore micro-finance opportunities and provide the training necessary to allow local people to take up these alternatives.