Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve established in the year 1987 in the ancestral territories of Magar IPs that covers an area of 1,325 km2 (512 sq m) in the Dhaulagiri Mountain of western Nepal in Rukum, Myadi and Balung Districts. In 2016, the government of Nepal established a military camp in the pretext of protecting the reserve without obtaining FPIC of the peoples concerned.
The Indigenous and local communities have started to stage protests from 29 May 2022 against the military move to expand the camp in Puthauttargana Rural Municipality-6, Eastern Rukum, a part of the ancestral territories of Magar Indigenous Peoples.
" The militarization at Dorpatan Hunting Reserve has caused abuses, harassment, threat, illegal arrest, and detention of the Magars. Many detainees have been illegally kept and tortured in the camps for several days without any legal processes" said, Surendra Pun Magar, Chairperson of Struggle Committee.
" The reserve has criminalized the customary practices of Indigenous Peoples. Thus, we have been facing intimidation and heteronomy for several years whilst adopting our customary practices of living based on natural resources. The reserve administration, with the help of the military, restricted us from accessing and controlling our resources . Therefore, we are against militarization, and are demanding our rights to land territories and resources to be respected " said Purna Bahadur Gharti Magar, an Indigenous leader, who has been leading the communities' movement for the past 15 years.
