Nepal and India have agreed to launch a joint patrol in parks and reserves along the Nepal-India border to deal with the issues of wildlife poaching.

The joint move will be targeted at finding the transborder hideouts of wildlife smugglers and crack down on poaching.

A two-day bilateral meeting also attended by chiefs of parks and reserves of both countries concluded here late evening on Thursday at Valmiki Tiger Reserve in India ended with this decision.

Chitwan National Park Chief Conservation Officer Ram Chandra Kandel headed the Nepali team while the Indian side was led by Valmiki Tiger Reserve's field director Chandra Shekhar.

The two sides agreed to exchange bilateral information, make the joint patrolling effective, enhance capacity of parks and reserve staff and to conduct a field monitoring.

The meeting decided to take an immediate measure if any problem is seen while undertaking joint efforts to combat wildlife poaching, according to CNP conservation officer Kandel. Representatives from the National Trust for Nature Conservation and Zoological Society of London were also present in the meeting.

It is noted that a bilateral of high-ranking officials concerned of both countries held in Patna on February 28, 2017 agreed to work in collaboration to combat wild life poaching. RSS