End of solo trekking in Nepal

From September 1, solo tourists traveling to any trekking destination in Nepal will have to take at least one certified porter or guide with them. The measure, first announced by the Ministry of Home Affairs last month, is intended to ensure the safety of tourists as well as to promote jobs for local guides. This measure also seeks to minimize illegal trekking agencies operated by foreigners.

The announcement follows the disappearance of a number of solo tourists and  the murder of a Belgian trekker hiking in Nepal's Langtang National Park earlier this year. Groups of trekkers are already required to use government-registered trekking agencies.

From September 1, solo trekkers will need to allow for an additional fee to hire a certified porter or guide. Certified porters or guides have completed a six-month training course which includes orientation training as well as emergency procedures to support the travelers. Porters or guides speak several languages including English, Spanish, German, and French, among others.

Nepal and its iconic Himalaya mountains have attracted huge numbers of tourists since the country first opened its borders in the 1950s. Hikers come to experience the relatively easy trails to the famous Everest or Annapurna peaks, among others. The latest report published by the Immigration Office of Nepal shows a total of 719,597 international tourist arrivals to the country in 2011, mainly from neighbors India, China and Sri Lanka, followed by British and Americans. Around 10% of the total number of international tourists came to the country to do trekking.

Tiger population doubles in Nepal

Camera traps in Nepal's Bardia National Park identified 37 tigers living in and near the park in 2011, a marked increase from two years before when only 18 were recorded there, according to the conservation group World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The credit to the increase goes to the commitment of the Nepalese government to protect the endangered big cats and crack down on illegal poaching, as well as better training and resources given to park rangers, cooperation by local communities and improvements in grassland habitat.

 The growth of the Royal Bengal Tiger in this region shows that the animals can rebound quickly if given the opportunity. "This is a result of the government's commitment to doubling Nepal's tiger numbers [by 2022] and is proof positive that this goal is achievable if grassroots efforts by local communities and rangers on the frontlines of tiger conservation are complemented by high-level political support," said a research worker.

Rangers have cracked down on poaching, arresting more 300 poachers and traders in the country in 2011 alone. The local communities and the Nepalese government have doubled the number of guard posts in the park since 2008.

However, illegal hunting of the endangered cats throughout their range remains an enormous threat to their survival and is fueled by growing demand for their parts, which are traditionally thought to have medicinal value (despite strong evidence to the contrary). Camera traps used in the study, published in an announcement by the government of Nepal, also found tigers moving through the Khata wildlife corridor to reach India's Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary. These wildlife corridors are vital for allowing the animals to move throughout their range, and in the future, the WWF plans to better protect and improve the habitats of these pathways in Nepal and elsewhere.

Researchers have improved grassland habitats by removing trees and conducting controlled burns over the past few years, which has allowed ungulates and other deer species — a primary food source for tigers — to thrive. Tigers can have many offspring if they are healthy; photographs by tourists suggest that one Nepalese female has given birth to eight cubs in the past few years.