Minister for Forest and Soil Conservation Bikram Pandey has underlined the need of minimizing the wildlife-human conflict.
Inaugurating a building of the District Forest Office, Chitwan in Bharatpur on Wednesday, he said, "Preparations are being made to construct walls around human settlements to prevent the entry of wild animals in the settlements."
The Minister stated that the wild animals that stray out from the Chitwan National Park (CNP) and forest areas and enter the human settlements have caused a big loss of life and property and argued the wildlife-human conflict cannot be removed unless effective measures for the same are undertaken.
Issuing directives to the bodies concerned to take effective measures to prevent wild animals from entering the settlements, Pandey said, "Extensive public awareness should be created on harsh legal punishment on crimes related to the wildlife and forest."
He said it is an irony that the country which has 45 percent of its area under forest has to import timber, urging the sustainable use of timber.
Chitwan chief district officer Narayan Prasad Bhatta said the state should give special emphasis to the conservation of forests and wildlife.
Chief of the District Forest Office Chitwan, Kedarnath Poudel said the building was constructed at a cost of Rs 12.3 million.
Central Region Forest Director Shiva Kumar Wagle attended the program.
