Early Warning System Installed in Villages Near Banke National Park

Nepalgunj. An early warning system has been installed in villages in the buffer zone of Banke National Park to reduce human-wildlife conflict. The early warning system (siren) has been installed in Khadagwar of Kohalpur-13, Mahadeopur of Raptisomari-9, Buchapur of Raptisomari-8, and Gobharpur of Raptisomari-2 to protect locals from wildlife risks, informed ZSL Nepal Field Representative Kamal Regmi.

This system will help alert locals by providing timely information about potential attacks by wild animals such as elephants, tigers, leopards, and nilgai, he said. Banke National Park Chief Virendra Kandel informed that an early warning system has been installed in four locations to reduce the risk of wildlife. According to him, a GPS tracking system was also installed in Asar.

He stated that programs such as fencing, mesh netting, goat improvement, and shed improvement are being conducted to keep settlements safe from the park, and information about activities within the park can be obtained through the GPS tracking system.

Citizens living in the buffer zone of Banke National Park have been suffering damage to human life and crops from attacks by wild animals, including wild elephants, for years. The problem of elephant-human conflict is repeatedly occurring in the Ovary, Chyama, Gobharpur, and Buchapur areas connected to the park.

Shaligram Yadav of Buchapur Elephant Center said that since the siren rings as soon as elephants and other wild animals enter the village, locals receive timely information and take necessary precautions. He said this plays an important role in preventing human casualties.

There are 9 wild elephants in Banke National Park. Although fencing has been done to make settlements safe, elephants and other wild animals enter settlements from time to time due to lack of sufficient food in the forest.