Esther

future for nature academy report

esther

My name is Esther Leystra, I am 25 years old and for three months I am conducting research in Bardia, Nepal for my Master thesis. Currently, I am involved in the Masters Program Sustainable Development – International Development at Utrecht University and since I am in the second year of the program, I am writing my final master thesis. Since I am really interested in Wildlife and Conservation, I have chosen to write my thesis about this topic. More specifically, my research is about Human-Wildlife Conflict in the buffer zones around Bardia National Park and as I read and observed here, this is a big issue in this area. With doing research and conducting interviews with the local people in this area, I hope to gain more insights on this problem and how this influences the attitudes of local people towards Wildlife Conservation.

During my stay in Bardia, I made some short videos about my life here. These videos cover several topics such as; why am I here, where do I stay, how do I conduct research, what does the area look like, what activities can you do in this area, and what are typical cultural traditions? So with these videos I hope I can give you some insights in my life in Bardia!

Bardia: a wild place

Esther's last weeks in Bardia, Nepal were packed with conservation. Besides doing field work for her thesis, she also got the chance to learn more about mitigating human-wildlife conflicts. In her last video, which also shows the magnificent wildlife Bardia National Park, she tells us more about that!

Life in the field

As a conservationist, being in the field is not only limited to observing animals and/or doing research. Whilst doing her research in Nepal, Esther tells us that her life in the field is also about enjoying (and adapting to) different cultures and the (inevitable) office work.

Researching Human-Wildlife Conflicts in Nepal

Going abroad for conservation research is very interesting of course, but can also raise a lot of questions: "where do you stay?", "what's it like to be in another country?" or "how do you actually conduct the research?". In her first video, Esther gives you a first small glimpse into her life as a researcher in Nepal.