As the world struggles with the current refugee crisis particularly regarding Syria, a late night phone call from Health Officer Suresh Dawati (see image) was another factor helping confirm in my mind that the responsibility of humanity to get things right "inside nations" is the only answer. Yes, people are leaving Nepal in droves as well, logging onto local news sites tells why. The country is not completely broken but it's certainly taking a beating.
Suresh is a good man, a hard working community leader in the Simjung area where WildTiger has given aid since the earthquakes. Suresh works his guts out, he is one of many trying to fix Nepal at ground level during a time of serious political and social instability. He is just like many of us, he just wants a better Nepal, better than it's ever been because it has struggled in many ways for so long.
Nepal needs tourists to come back, urgently. Signs are not good for the upcoming season which is sad because although things are not great very few tourists ever have to endure real hardship. Believe me, coming here as a traveler is very different to living and working here. There are still plenty of places to stay, plenty of good trekking routes to enjoy and even the civil unrest on the Terai does not prevent tourists from visiting places like Chitwan National Park.
A projection that Nepal's population could hit 36 million by 2050 is worrying from a conservation standpoint. I am convinced the tiger, leopard, snow leopard and everything related to their ecosystems can survive here if the human population is kept to the right level. The economic factors can be fixed, people like Suresh are doing their best at social level and there are good people here who just need to be resourced properly so as to safeguard the environment in a country, as I've written many times before, where it is vital for our planet that the rivers remain healthy.
The Human Breeding Program is the biggest problem, not just in Nepal, not just in Syria but virtually everywhere. Using the tiger as a metaphor for our planet, people who really care and understand will only have one or two children if the tiger is to really stand a chance.
We're starting our COME BACK TO NEPAL campaign soon. Yeah you can even bring the kids, I just hope you don't have too many of them...
