Bio-diversity

Terai is home for both poisonous and non-poisonous snakes. Poisonous snakes like krait and cobras are common sites during the summer whereas the king cobra is a rare site. In Terai region of Nepal, especially during summer, snakebite is common and more often people dies without any antidotes. Likewise, more than 5000 snakes are killed every year. The migratory Newtuwa tribes in Nepal are expert in snake catching and snake charming. The concept is to employ these poor tribal people in catching troubled snake and farming them for venom. The venom thus produced would be used in research, antivenin production and sale. The snake-park would also serve as a part of the ecotourism programme where, visitors would see and enjoy the milking of the snake. Thus the concept include not only increasing income of vulnerable Netuwa tribes but also serving in conserving the snake diversity in Nepal. The planning grant is awarded to develop full proposal, which include identification of site in the bufferzone of Royal Chitwan National Park. The other tasks included are obtaining legal permission for snake farming, assessing the market of venom and also exploring the possibility of antivenin production.

Nepal