I mentioned in my blog three days ago how vital it is to have the right people involved. Sometimes pure dedication is born of tragedy. Many of you who have followed WildTiger will know elements of Hemant's story, it was the start of the Om Prasad Legacy. I met Hemant over six years ago, a couple of weeks after his father had been killed by an elephant. Losing someone close in sudden, tragic circumstances is something I could relate to in my own life so it seemed destiny that Hemant and I formed an immediate bond and only natural that a conservation alliance was born.
So Hemant has been part of WildTiger since that time. Much has happened, many things have changed but the challenges regarding the illegal hunting of wildlife remain serious. Hemant's role as an anti-poaching leader has evolved and our discussions in the last two days have been based around the implementation of technology. Hemant has left to show a device to the right people and I'll be travelling further west again soon to progress things further.
The west of Nepal is an area close to my heart. The tiger has been under serious attack again in that area of the Terai stretching through to northern India. Immediate action to reduce poaching has taken place and will be ongoing, we live in a world where it is very naive to think wildlife poaching will ever be stopped completely. We also live in a world where some areas and some people are marginalized. The west of Nepal is an example. Those of you who follow my blogs will know that marginalization of people and wildlife is a strong driver in my quest for change. My tolerance for political bullshit is pretty much at zero these days, the same with the reasoning for social divide. Every country is faced with these problems to some degree but Nepal does have a magnification.
The west of Nepal has some strong characters. Resourcing them to make sure they are effective is challenging but it produces results. I'm proud that Hemant is one of the strong ones. This is no time for back slapping, there is too much to be done, plenty of challenges ahead but WildTiger will continue to do its very best to play its part to help the strength grow... for the sake of the tiger, wildlife, people, habitat... and another certainty is that Hemant Acharya will continue to be a strong role model for the many youth he has mobilized while doing his work as an anti-poaching leader.
