- Nepal is both a source and transit hub for wildlife crime targeting iconic species like tigers, rhinos and pangolins. Conservationist Prasanna Yonzon has led efforts for over two decades through an NGO to train law enforcement, gather intelligence and build networks for combating wildlife crime.
- The NGO, Wildlife Conservation Nepal (WCN), played a pivotal role in establishing a dedicated wildlife crime unit under Nepal Police. It collaborates with various law enforcement agencies, providing intelligence, capacity building and resources to curb illegal wildlife trade.
- Over time, WCN’s training programs have evolved to focus on practical skills, intelligence sharing and tools like visual aids, helping officers retain critical information and adapt their approach to combat wildlife trafficking effectively.
- WCN’s efforts have helped officials apprehend big perpetrators. However, Yonzon and his team faced personal risks, including threats, underscoring the dangers of addressing transnational wildlife crime.
KATHMANDU, Nepal — Wildlife crime continues to plague Nepal, even as the law enforcement strives at the forefront. The country functions both as a source and transit hub for wildlife trade. Most of the wildlife crimes reported here revolve around the illicit hunting and smuggling of its iconic megafauna such as tigers (Panthera tigris), greater one-horned rhinos (Rhinoceros unicornis) and snow leopards (Panthera uncia).
Other animals that make it to the black market, according to seizure records, include clouded leopards (Neofelis nebulosa), Himalayan musk deer (Moschus chrysogaster), black bears (Ursus thibetanus) and pangolins (Manis sp.), along with various avian species and turtles.
In this context, law enforcement agencies often find themselves challenged by the adaptability, and audacity, of criminal networks that circumvent regulations and exploit security loopholes. Officials say around 120 to 130 cases of wildlife crime are recorded across the country’s protected areas and division forest offices every year, although official data isn’t available.
When conservationist Prasanna Yonzon started his work at the NGO Wildlife Conservation Nepal (WCN) 22 years ago, the country’s law enforcement authorities hadn’t yet prioritized tracking and dismantling wildlife crime networks. Yonzon took on the challenge to do something about it and, for the last two decades, has been organizing training workshops, developing resource materials for identifying wildlife products, and conducting awareness activities for enforcement agencies and other stakeholders.
Considered as one Nepal’s pioneering NGOs working in the field of wildlife crime, WCN works closely with national park authorities, law enforcement agencies and other related stakeholders in controlling wildlife crime in both rural and urban settings. Yonzon and WCN also played a pivotal role in establishing a dedicated wing under the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) in Nepal Police to address wildlife crime. This has led to transformational changes in the way officials deal with wildlife crime in the country.
Mongabay’s Abhaya Raj Joshi met Yonzon at his office in Kathmandu to talk about his work, and the past and present of wildlife crime in Nepal. The following interview has been translated from Nepali and edited for clarity.

Mongabay: Let’s start with your association with WCN. How did it come about?
Prasanna Yonzon: It all started in the early 2000s when I completed my degree in leadership at the University of Hawaii in the U.S. My professor told me that he could offer me a job if I wanted to stay in Hawaii, but I wanted to return home.
When I returned, my brother Pralad Yonzon, who was already a leading researcher and conservationist in the country, told me about an opportunity to run a new NGO called Wildlife Conservation Nepal. The organization was to be set up with funding from the Soaltee Hotel Group, one of the biggest in the country. I was interviewed for the post of the chief executive of the organization and subsequently hired.
However, the Soaltee Group pulled out of the organization after its owners faced criticism from Nepal’s then royal family. Members of the royal family were patrons of the King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation (now National Trust for Nature Conservation), and they didn’t like other people trying to emulate them. I then told the founders of the organization that I would run WCN on my own. I have been doing that for the past two decades now.
Today, I have a professional team under me. My staff were trained in intelligence gathering and securing and passing information, and they have proven their mettle in the field. Through our work, many absconding poachers, traders and other wildlife offenders were brought to justice.
We have built ties with different law enforcement agencies to share intelligence, provide capacity building and support for the common cause of protecting endangered wildlife species. Today, we have Nepal Police, Nepal ExPolice Organization, Nepal Army, Division Forest Offices, and the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation supporting our work.
Mongabay: What were the initial days like? Wildlife crime is such a big issue, how did you know where to start?
Prasanna Yonzon: That my father once served as head of the country’s police force provided me access to people working in law enforcement. We started working with the Nepal ExPolice Organization. In fact, we first hired people who had retired from the police force as their skills could help fight wildlife crime.
Yes, there were a lot of things to know and learn, but we made progress. We first attended public awareness workshops run by the national parks as we understood that the national parks are at the center of wildlife crime in Nepal. Then we worked on providing valuable information to the law enforcement so that they could act on it. We understood that our role as an NGO was limited and that was the only thing we could do.
They gave us a list of offenders who had been on the run for years. Eventually we helped the officials catch many of them in a matter of weeks. This left a good impression on the park authorities who became more willing to work with us over time.
Mongabay: Regardless of the work you did, at the end of the day you were still an NGO. How clear was the line between the work you could do and couldn’t do because you weren’t authorized to do it?
Prasanna Yonzon: Yes, the line was clear. It was clear that it wasn’t our job to arrest anyone. We would collect information, analyze it in Kathmandu and talk to the police at the central level. Then, with their consent and permission, send our staff members to the field to help the police. We wouldn’t stay longer than we were required to, we didn’t even bother about recognition for our work.

Mongabay: WCN also assisted police in apprehending the people behind the biggest wildlife parts seizure in Nepal. Could you tell us how this was possible?
Prasanna Yonzon: It all started when, one day, there was a strange smell emanating from a transport vehicle at a check post near the Tibetan border in September 2005. The security personnel there were astonished when they found five tiger skins, three dozen leopard skins, 238 otter pelts and more than 100 kilograms (22 pounds) of tiger and leopard bones.
I received a tip from one of my friends in India linking the incident to a trader based in a neighborhood with a sizable Tibetan population in Kathmandu. We helped the officials track down that person and arrest him so that he could face charges.
Our staff members posed as local residents and convinced the suspect to visit the police station to report a theft in the neighborhood. When the suspect arrived at the police station, the officials arrested him. It took WCN’s team a long time to gather the information needed to make this possible.
Mongabay: Before the establishment of the CIB, how were police dealing with wildlife crime?
Prasanna Yonzon: Wildlife crime was an unknown territory for them. They didn’t get too involved in it as they had other priorities. Also, they had to coordinate with the local national park or the forest authorities to file charges and appear in court. This would take a lot of time. I wouldn’t say they were reluctant to do it, but they had a lot of things going on and they didn’t have the resources for it.
Mongabay: Let’s talk about CIB’s wildlife crime unit, also known as Pillar IV. How did WCN play a role in its establishment?
Prasanna Yonzon: When the CIB was established in 2010 to deal with organized crime, it didn’t have a wildlife crime unit. At an informal gathering of law enforcement officials and the then forest minister, I proposed that the CIB establish a dedicated unit to look into wildlife crime. The then chief of Nepal Police, Ramesh Chand Thakuri, said he would support the proposal if the minister was willing to take it forward, which they eventually did.
Now, they have a specialized unit with wings across the country to investigate wildlife crime.

Mongabay: Now let’s talk about your experience training law enforcement officials. What kind of changes have you seen in their approach to such training?
Prasanna Yonzon: We’ve seen a lot of changes in the way law enforcement officials approach training. The first thing is that every training session they participate in adds to their points needed for promotion. That is one of the biggest incentives for them.
Earlier, they would only listen and not comment on anything. When I asked whether they understood, they would nod their heads. But these days, they speak out to talk about their own experience dealing with crime.
Mongabay: After years of training thousands of law enforcement officials, can you predict what questions they are going to ask you after a session? What is your strategy while providing such training?
Prasanna Yonzon: The human brain is unique and unpredictable. People respond to different situations differently, so it’s not easy to predict how someone would respond to the training. But these days, they are more open to listening and learning.
My experience suggests that law enforcement officials are also human, and they have a lot of things on their mind. It’s difficult for them to remember everything. While the content must be engaging throughout the training, I have seen that the session becomes much more effective when we tell them the most important things, such as practical ways to be on the lookout for illegal trade, and provide them with posters to help with these. This ensures that they retain the information for longer and employ it in the field.
Mongabay: In Nepal, the general public perception is that, in most cases, only the mules are caught while the main people profiting from the trade are rarely arrested.
Prasanna Yonzon: The idea is to break down the network. When CIB catches someone, they interrogate them and extract information about their other accomplices. One person leads to another and soon the whole network is exposed. This wasn’t possible when the CIB wasn’t around.
Also, the CIB maintains its investigation files even when someone isn’t caught immediately, and investigators always remain on the lookout. So, it is a matter of time before everyone involved in wildlife crime is caught.
Mongabay: Human rights violations are a pressing issue in conservation and wildlife crime in Nepal. How do you address these issues during your training?
Prasanna Yonzon: Yes, we do talk about human rights, in a practical sense. We ask them to treat those they’ve caught humanely.
We also tell them that if they beat up the suspects, they themselves will also feel the pain. No matter how strong you are, when you beat someone up, your own hands and legs also take a beating. So, it’s better not to resort to such practices and let the law take its own course.

Mongabay: What were some of the personal challenges of working in wildlife crime?
Prasanna Yonzon: There were many. I used to get calls from informants and staff members late into the nights. Sometimes, my wife thought I was dating other women!
Some people would also call me saying they knew the whereabouts of my children. At first, I felt anxious, but as time went by, we got used to it. Fortunately, nothing untoward happened. I told my kids to remain aware of the situation and not stay out late. That seemed to work.
I always take different routes to go home from work every day.
I feel happy and satisfied with the work that I’ve done. I feel good that the remaining wild animals in the national parks are doing well, and people know that if they kill or poach an animal, they will be punished. And there was this organization that did its job well. My mother tells me that she’s proud of me as I served the country without wearing the uniform.
Lately, we have stopped actively doing the work we did in the past as the government doesn’t want NGOs to get involved in wildlife crime cases. But we are continuing the important work we do by providing training and raising awareness.
Banner Image: Conservationist Prasanna Yonzon gives a presentation to personnel from Nepal’s Armed Police Force (APF). Image courtesy of WCN.
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