Media releases

Students from Federation University Australia may come face to face with Bengal Tigers and the One Horned Rhinoceros in a three-week tour to study approaches used in the conservation of iconic wildlife species in Nepal. 

Hosted by the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC), the students will focus on techniques applied to the conservation and management of wildlife species in Chitwan National Park. 

The students are completing either a Bachelor of Environmental and Conservation Science or a Bachelor of Veterinary and Wildlife Science. The visit to Nepal allows them to see and experience an alternative approach to wildlife management to that applied in Australia. 

Leading the tour is Associate Professor Wendy Wright and Sharon Reid, Scholarly Teaching Fellow, both from the School of Health and Life Sciences. Associate Professor Wright has been working in Nepal recurrently since 2014 and is excited to be sharing the experience with her students. 

Following the study tour, five of the 18 students will stay in Nepal for a further three weeks to complete internships with the NTNC veterinary team, living and working with conservation and veterinary staff members. 

The tour has been made possible thanks to funding from the New Colombo Plan - a signature initiative of the Australian Government which aims to lift knowledge of the Indo-Pacific in Australia by supporting Australian undergraduates to study and undertake internships in the region. 

It is the second time the University has offered the Nepalese tour. The first tour was in January 2019 and involved 12 participants. 

Quotes attributable to Associate Professor Wendy Wright

“This is an amazing opportunity for our students. The trip exposes them to a very different model of wildlife and forest conservation – one that is managed and driven by local people living in communities adjacent to the National Park. It’s very different to the approach we see in the west.” 

“In Nepal, many of the conservation methods reflect the fact that the people managing the process are very connected to forest areas. They rely on the forest to provide food for themselves and their livestock and for materials for housing.” 

“Some of the participants have not previously travelled outside Australia and others may not have visited subcontinental Asia, so it is educational for them in many ways.”