Khajura, July 27 - Wire mesh fencing installed to prevent human-wildlife conflict and protect local farmers' crops from wild animals has benefited more than 1,400 households in various Community Forest User Groups and settlements within the buffer zone in Banke District.
The wire mesh fencing has benefited more than 1,400 local households residing within the forest areas of various Community Forest User Groups and within the buffer zone.
According to Shankar Gupta, Senior Divisional Forest Officer at the Division Forest Office, Banke, more than 1,400 local households living within the forest areas of various Community Forest User Groups and buffer zone settlements benefited during the last fiscal year 2082/83 (2025/26) through various programmes aimed at preventing potential human–wildlife conflict and protecting farmers' crops from damage caused by wild animals.
Senior Divisional Forest Officer Gupta said that during the last fiscal year, wire mesh fencing was installed between the forest areas of six Community Forest User Groups and one settlement near the buffer zone. According to him, a total of 5,260 metres of wire mesh fencing was installed between the forest areas of the six Community Forest User Groups and one buffer zone settlement.
He stated that this has directly benefited more than 1,400 local households. According to him, under the fencing programme for human–wildlife conflict management, 640 metres of fencing was installed at Navpratibha Community Forest User Group (Baijanath), 300 metres at New Hariyali Community Forest User Group (Baijanath), 1,400 metres at Bandevi Community Forest User Group (Rapti Sonari), 300 metres in the buffer zone settlement of Rapti Sonari-1, 720 metres at Jaydurga Community Forest User Group (Rapti Sonari), 400 metres at Laligurans Community Forest User Group (Rapti Sonari), and 1,500 metres at Aastha Community Forest User Group (Kohalpur), making a total of 5,260 metres of wire mesh fencing.
Senior Forest Officer Sushil Subedi of the Division Forest Office said that the wire mesh fencing was installed in the area through various programmes. According to him, fencing was installed with an investment of NPR 990,000 at Navpratibha Community Forest User Group, NPR 700,000 at New Hariyali, NPR 800,000 at Bandevi Community Forest User Group, and NPR 600,000 in the buffer zone area.
Similarly, wire mesh fencing at Jaydurga Community Forest User Group was installed with a total investment of NPR 1 million, comprising NPR 500,000 contributed by the group and NPR 500,000 through the Forest for Prosperity Programme. Subedi further informed that fencing at Laligurans and Aastha Community Forest User Groups was installed with NPR 1 million each, supported by the Integrated Landscape Management (ILAM) Programme.
Human settlements located within community forest areas had frequently experienced wild animals entering villages, attacking, injuring, and killing livestock, as well as damaging crops. Local residents themselves had also been unable to remain safe from wild animals. It is believed that the construction of the wire mesh fencing will prevent wild animals from entering settlements, thereby improving the safety of both wildlife and local residents and helping to end the conflicts between them.
