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WEPA
Network
WEPA
works together with a network of elephant handlers, veterinarians,
scientists, government bodies, and non-governmental organizations. In
each category, we have included experts from both East and West.
Bringing together this expertise from various fields has enabled us to
together achieve changes that would have been impossible for any of us
alone.
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WWF
Nepal, an office of the World Wide Fund for Nature,
started developing the programme in 2005 together with WEPA founder
Helena Telkanranta, carrying out the
in-the-field discussions and majority of arrangements during the first
years.
Green Society Nepal
is currently the partner NGO that represents the programme in Nepal. It
is a non-profit organization
promoting
wildife conservation and research, community
development, health care, education, and environmentally sustainable
technologies.
One of our
most
important
co-operating partners in Nepal is DNPWC,
Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation of the Ministry
of Forests and Soil Conservation of Nepal, which also is responsible
for elephants working in the conservation sector.
Two of the largest government-owned Hattisars (elephant camps)
of Nepal have been in a key role in the cooperation. The Hattisar of
Bardia and the Elephant Breeding Centre of Chitwan have been the sites
of several workshops on elephant training and management.
Several Nepali experts, especially veterinarians,
have contributed to the co-operation in various
ways, such as giving lectures at the workshops and providing valuable
information.
Dr.
Ajit Karna (on the left), one of the veterinarians in Nepal involved in
the network, giving instructions during training.
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WWF
Finland, an
office of the World Wide Fund for Nature, was the main funding body
during the first six years, until 2011. During this time, the programme
was run as a part of WWF Finland's support for the TAL programme of WWF
Nepal and DNPWC, an integrated programme to promote mutual benefits
between development cooperation and nature conservation.
WSPA, World
Society for the Protection of Animals, was one of the funding bodies
that made the creation of the programme possible, by their start-up
grant covering the years 2006 to 2008.
HELP
Foundation (Human
Elephant Learning
Programs) is a recently
founded NGO based in Australia, created by using WEPA as a model. HELP
has now taken up the continuation of providing tutoring in elephant
training in Nepal, while WEPA focuses on developing new ways for
improving the well-being of elephants and mahouts in Asia.
Australia
Zoo has supported WEPA from the beginning of 2009
by providing several visits of Laurie Pond, an internationally
recognized expert in elephant training, to the field in
Nepal.
Zoological
Society of London has provided additional staff for
the field work.
Elephant
Care International is an NGO of veterinary experts
working for healthcare and conservation of elephants. WEPA and Elephant
Care International collaborate by exchanging information and planning
for field activities in areas of mutual interest.
Elephant
Earth Initiative
is an NGO initiating and supporting
conservation and research of wild elephant habitat, and helping to
develop animal-friendly and sustainable forms of elephant tourism. Our
co-operation with Elephant Earth Initiative focuses especially in the
latter.
Several private donors have also helped make our
work possible by their
kind donations.
Laurie
Pond of Australia Zoo (on the front right) has taught in several
workshops in
Nepal. The young elephant trained here is the three-year-old male
Samir Gaj with his mahout Bhagga Tharu in Bardia, Nepal.
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Ranjana
Pajiyar (on the right), who has strong family ties to the Nepali
community of mahouts and a M.Sc in environmental management,
has been one of the key coordinators in the field. In the photo, she is
discussing with mahout Ravi Lal Tharu (on the left) and with researcher
Surendra Varma from the Asian Elephant Research and Conservation
Centre, University of Bangalore, India, while he was visiting a WEPA
workshop in 2010.
Vice President of WEPA, zoologist Marc Pierard, and Chief Warden of
Bardia
National Park, Tika Ram Adhikari.
Director
of WEPA, zoologist
Helena
Telkanranta.
Chandra
Tamang, head of Bardia
Hattisar (on the left), and mahout Rajbir Chaudhary are training a
two-year-old male called Kush Prasad at the Elephant Breeding Centre of
Chitwan, Nepal.
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