Director of the Global Species Program of the World Wildlife Federation (WWF) International, Dr Sue Liberman warned that the shrinkage of tiger habitat was a "real and the biggest" challenge for Nepal, reported local newspaper The Himalayan Times Wednesday.

"Just like other countries where tigers are found, Nepal is also suffering from destruction of tiger habitats and people's encroachment in the wildlife areas," she said. Liberman is currently in Kathmandu to attend the International Tiger Symposium that started here Monday.

"Though Nepal's efforts in the conservation of tigers are appreciable, it is yet to come up with an up-to-date statistics of tigers," she said, adding that Nepal should produce better results in the field of tiger conservation. According to government officials, there are 350 to 370 tigers in Nepal as per the 2000 census.

Nepal is one among a few countries where tigers are found. Out of eight species of tigers, only five species are living in 10 Asian countries.

She said the activities of the Global Tiger Forum (GTF) were not satisfactory, stating "We have to say that the output of the GTF is not what we had expected. It could have done more with the resources available." 

She said she was disappointed when some countries presented the status of their tiger population without clear statistics and vision for the future.

She said the forum even does not have an up-to-date information about the tiger population and none of the range countries (the countries where tigers can be found) has produced a really appreciable result.