detectWILD: Identification tools to strengthen Nepal’s wildlife enforcement
Key Facts
FUNDING SCHEME Evidence
VALUE £49,662
WHERE Nepal
Summary
Frontline enforcement officials at checkpoints across Nepal have proved key to reducing IWT. However, their narrow focus on charismatic megafauna is overlooking “neglected” species, and we know little about what support frontline staff need to better protect these species. We will produce Nepal’s first needs assessment for frontline IWT staff; develop and trial a new identification resources for “neglected” species and products/derivates, and evaluate whether and how these new resources help conservation practice.
Over 600 arrests and more than 500 convictions in wildlife crime since 2017, alongside a decline in ivory trafficking cases and an increase in elephant and rhino populations.
