Nepal Forum of Environmental Journalists (NEFEJ) expresses serious concern on the government initiation to allow privately-owned elephants inside the Chitwan National Park for business purposes.

Nepal’s first national park - Chitwan National Park - is famous for biodiversity conservation and has been listed as the World Heritage Site. The park is known world over as home to Asian Rhinoceros and Royal Bengal Tiger.
After the ten years of political conflict, media, conservation organisations and other stockholders initiated conservation activities which helped increase the population of rhinoceros and tiger.
In this situation, NEFEJ is concerned that the government initiation to allow elephants owned by private businesses to enter the national park will severely affect the conservation efforts.
Thus, NEFEJ urges the government to control the movement of privately-owned elephants into the national park and help encourage the wildlife conservation.