What do we actually know about the people thrown in jail for environmental crimes?
Kumar Paudel, Gary Potter and I recently published an article in Conservation Science and Practice. It drew on >100 interviews with people imprisoned for illegal wildlife trade in Nepal, and yielded interesting insights for how we conduct conservation enforcement. For example,
20% of the total prison population in the district around Chitwan National Park were wildlife prisoners;
61% of respondents were arrested for rhinoceros poaching;
75% of imprisoned respondents were from indigenous groups;
The 2 reported leading motivations for participating in trade were earning extra money (rather than primary financial need), and because it was easier than other jobs.
Prison sentences and fines were very high.
People were arrested within 1 year of their first reported involvement in wildlife trade, indicating that enforcement was quite efficient.
Of particular interest was that, while imprisoned people reported that they knew the trade was illegal, they had also seriously under-estimated the risks and social impacts that it involved. People were participating in wildlife trade opportunistically, and then being hit by very high fines and prison sentences.
Moreover, Kumar's interviews revealed tragic stories of loss from many of the imprisoned wildlife hunters and traders--suicides, familial shame, divorces, forced land sales, and debt. The reflect deep, often overlooked, social costs of conservation enforcement.
Kumar proposed that improved awareness about the scale and impacts of enforcement could help to increase the deterrence effects of Nepal’s very strict conservation laws -- while also reducing unintended social harms of conservation enforcement.
He collaborated with Prakash Gandharva, a Gandharva musician, to share these painful stories via traditioanl music. Gandharva troubadors are known throughout Nepal for their tragic ballads, which offered the perfect medium for sharing these stories.
Read more about these new songs and music videos.
