Ecological buffering and the future of monkey management in Nepal

A farmer in Nepal can legally lose an entire season’s harvest to monkeys and receive little more than sympathy in return.

Imagine any other sector of the economy functioning this way. If a factory lost half of its production due to repeated external damage, the government would intervene. If a road project were destroyed year after year, emergency funds would be allocated. Yet when farmers lose maize, wheat, vegetables, fruits, and even their willingness to continue farming because of monkey attacks, the response is often limited to temporary solutions and political promises.