April brought in various assignments and travels around western Nepal. This also was the month where Earth Day was celebrated with the emphasis on ending plastic pollution.
Plastic pollution has become a problem everywhere and it is more evident in developing countries like Nepal. Even though the government started to ban certain plastics, there is and will be used until a complete ban is enforced. As I travel to various places around Nepal and had the chance to observe wildlife in various forms and terrain, the one thing I’ve always witnessed is some form of plastic litter. From Bardiya National Park to Annapurna Conservation Area; from Chitwan National Park to Shivapuri National Park; there has always been evidence of plastic pollution and without shame, I can point out that we are the culprits of this mess. From Gutka to instant noodle bags, from snickers cover to chips bag; there have been various forms of litter everywhere.
It’s not just the litter we throw while we walk in the park but in my opinion, we should also start looking at the trash we discard in our localities and landfill sites. One example of these litters ending up in national parks is my visit to Chitwan National Park around September 2017. It had just been a couple of weeks since the floods happened around Sauraha along with the national park being affected. Post flooding on my jungle walk I could see plastics of various and usage and other non-biodegradable objects litter scattered around which not just was visually disturbing but also in some form affecting the animals.
So in conclusion to all these ramblings, I hope people understand what the impacts are from human wastes and especially plastic to the wildlife.
Coming back to the subject of my monthly segment “What I Saw”, a lot of traveling happened and a lot of species of flora and fauna were sighted. I was able to take pictures of a lot of species but as a summary following are the observations.
In birds, I was able to spot Eurasian Golden Oriole, Black Drongo, Asian Koel, Oriental White-eye, Black Francolin, Chest Headed Bee-eater, Red-collared Dove, etc. Common Earl Butterfly, Common Evening Browns Butterfly, Giraffe Weevil, etc were the insects that I could spot and take pictures of. Arisaema griffithii schott, Persicaria capitata aka pink knotweed, Rhododendron, Cobra lily, etc were the flora I was able to spot.
I am looking forward to the adventures the month of May will be bringing. Thank you all for supporting the blog as the first four months of 2018 have broken all the previous statistics of you all visiting the blog. Thank you so much for the support and hoping to bring out more interesting content in the future.
With regards,
Ajay Narsingh Rana
Peter
Great photos Ajay! Love the rhododendron and the giraffe weevil photos. You are absolutely right about the plastics….convenient but not worth the price.
ansr50@gmail.com
Hi Peter, thank you for liking the pictures. Seeing plastics everywhere in the park is a real nuisance and like you said not worth the price.
Shovna Upadhyay
What rocking photographs Ajay…treat to the eyes! You have raised a good point about plastic causing havoc to the environment. We really need to not only ban them but see that it is strictly enforced. Thank you for sharing your experience. waiting for the May experience. Best wishes.
ansr50@gmail.com
Thank you so much for the wonderful words. After visiting Chitwan and Bardiya national park, I think the authorities there should strictly enforce a no plastic policy so that we don’t end up seeing plastics everywhere. Hoping it becomes a reality soon. I’m also excited about May edition as the stay in Manang for 3 weeks will give me some good opportunities see some new flora and faunas. Thank you again for the comment and can’t wait to see more awesome pictures from your side as well.