Dhorpatan caught between conservation and trophy hunting

As roads, homestays and trekking routes expand, stakeholders are divided over whether Nepal's only hunting reserve should continue to rely on trophy hunting or focus on nature, culture and biodiversity.

Dhorpatan, Nepal's only hunting reserve, generates between Rs40 million and Rs50 million in annual revenue for the government through tightly regulated trophy hunting. But as tourism infrastructure expands, a debate is growing over whether the area's future lies in hunting tourism or ecotourism centred on its natural beauty, biodiversity and culture.