Raju Acharya, active in Latocosero conservation campaign, awarded with 'Whitley Award' worth 50,000 pounds in UK
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Conservationist Raju Acharya of Pokhara has received the famous Whitley Award for the Latocosero conservation project in Gandaki province. Based on his past contributions in the field of conservation, the Whitley Fund for Nature, an organization based in the UK, awarded him with an award.
The British Princess Anne presented the award during an event held in London, England on Thursday. The award of 50,000 pounds has been given to six research/conservation workers from around the world, including Acharya. This award is given for past contributions and future plans in the field of research and conservation.
Along with Acharya, research and conservation workers from Brazil, Bhutan, Papua New Guinea, Cameroon and Guyana also received the award. In 30 years, the organization has helped 200 conservationists in more than 80 countries with 23 million pounds.
Acharya, the founder of 'Friends of Nature', an organization working in the field of conservation, is known as 'Ullu Sir'. He got the name because of his constant commitment to Latocosero conservation . He will spend the money to identify the major threats of owls in Gandaki province and increase the cultural awareness of conservation through 'Nepal Owl Festival' annually. The amount will be spent on the works specified in the '10-year Latocosero conservation action plan' made by the Nepal government.
Under this program, there are gun control, protection of old trees, establishment of artificial nests and control of illegal poachers of latocosero etc . To do this, his group includes Som JC and Suman will also stay in Sapkota. "Getting this award is the happiest day of my life." The award is dedicated to all those birds that have not caught the attention of researchers and conservationists because they are not rare,'' he said.
Nepal's conservationist Raju Acharya was presented with the Whitley Award in London on Wednesday by British Princess Anne.
Acharya, who is currently also the Executive Director of Friends of Nature, has made a special contribution to the study and conservation of wildlife for the past 35 years. For 16 years he has been more active in Latocosero conservation . During that period, he directly reached more than 60,000 people and informed them about the importance of Latocosero. He has published 5 books on latocosero . He is also the editor of the digital magazine "Hapsilo" related to latocosero . He has published more than 125 nature-related articles.
He has traveled to 68 districts of Nepal and has inspired thousands of students to protect Latokosero. Nepal's biggest conservation campaign Nepal Latokosero and Huchil Utsav has been running under his leadership for 11 years. Apart from Latocosero, he has also worked in conservation of wolf, wild chaunri, snow leopard, snow leopard, forest dog, small carnivores, vulture, and lynx. His interests include human-wildlife conflict, biodiversity documentation, forest carbon, community-based nature conservation, and green schools.
He is leading the research and conservation of areas and species that other researchers have not reached. He is interested in doing innovative work. He has worked in areas from Humla in the west to Sankhuwasabha in the east. On his own initiative through 'Friends of Nature', the government prepared the Latokosero Conservation Action Plan in 2020 . The action plan addresses threats to owls from poaching, illegal trade and habitat loss.
His project addresses the threat of focusing conservation efforts on key species at high risk. Among the birds, owls are among the illegal trade in Nepal. There is a record of 1,500 owls being hunted or traded every year in Nepal. In Nepal, the owl is considered as a symbol of bad luck, but it has caused harm.
The owl prefers to sit in the treetops . Cutting down old trees damages the owl's habitat . Hunting using slingshots in the village is also a threat to owls. One third of the Gandaki region is covered by forest. Acharya's project aims to achieve success in owl conservation by leveraging the active participation of the community. The aim of the project is to reduce the use of owls through cooperation between local communities, discourage the consumption of owl meat, and advocate for compliance with laws and regulations in bird protection. As part of the
project, there is a program to create a slingshot-prohibited zone at five locations to discourage owl hunting students from using slingshots, and create 100 conservation camps to raise awareness among students and the general public. His team plans to restore owl habitat in 1,200 hectares by protecting 500 old trees and installing 100 artificial nests in semi-urban areas. He plans to involve early stage scientists in the project .
'Owl ambassadors' will also be trained to protect trees and install artificial nests. The project aims to reduce the negative perception of owls . Under the project, training programs will be conducted to increase the capacity of regulatory agencies, policy makers and owl ambassadors to reduce owl poaching and trade.
