PM Deuba stresses coordination for nature conservation

 By A Staff Reporter, Kathmandu, Oct. 21: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has said that tourism has become an important basis for the development and prosperity of Nepal through nature conservation and biological diversity.

Speaking at the 40th anniversary of the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC), he said that a lot of work needs to be done in the field of biodiversity conservation and climate change. He also expressed his belief that the country and its people can benefit from biodiversity conservation. For this, coordination and facilitation between agencies working in the field of nature conservation is essential, he added.

Prime Minister Dueba said, "I would like to recall that the NTNC's contribution to conservation and wildlife studies based on people's participation in protected area management is renowned in the national and international arena. The NTNC is significantly supporting the Nepal government in controlling the conflict between humans and wildlife, conducting various studies and research regarding the protection of various wild animals such as tigers, rhinoceros, elephants, snow leopards and vultures."

Nepal's picturesque snow ranges, geographical diversity and culture from the Terai to the Himalayas, and the wildlife and birds found here are jewels of nature, he said. The NTNC has set an example in the world in biodiversity conservation and protected area management. By radically changing that old thinking, the Trust has succeeded in setting a new trend by practising community-based conservation, Prime Minister Deuba said.

 Prime Minister Deuba, who is also the patron of the NTNC, said that Nepal has achieved significant success in the field of tiger conservation and mentioned that Nepal has sent a positive message to the international community in recent years.

"In 2010, Nepal had an international commitment to double the number of tigers from 121 to 250 but Nepal has had tremendous success by getting the number 355. We have increased the number of tigers but the fear of human-wildlife conflict is increasing, we need to find unlimited possibilities in this challenge," he said.

Prime Minister Deuba mentioned that the conservation of nature and biological diversity is directly connected with the sustainable development of the country and he directed the related agencies to formulate concrete and successful conservation programmes in connection with this. He said that the NTNC has succeeded in adopting new practices by formulating community-based conservation and expressed the view that the model of Annapurna Conservation Area is world-renowned in the management of conservation areas.

Stating that the NTNC's contribution to conservation and wildlife studies based on people's participation in protected area management is well-known in the world, he pointed out the need to increase the protected areas from 23.39 per cent of ​​Nepal's total land area.

Stating that the contribution of the Trust to the management of the Central Zoo is memorable, he instructed to keep this zoo as a conservation education centre and to develop Bhaktapur's Surya Binayak into an international zoo.

He said that the NTNC has entered into the climate finance mechanism in the field of climate change and has been recognized as Direct Access Accredited Entity of the green climate fund of the region, as a related body, a comfortable environment has been created to introduce projects for the country's climate adaptation and mitigation.

The NTNC celebrated its anniversary with the slogan 'Four Decades of Conservation: Glorious History and Future Path'. 

In the programme, the Mayor of Lalitpur Metropolitan City, Chiri Babu Maharjan, said that the NTNC plays an important role in the promotion of nature, wildlife and biodiversity conservation. He also emphasized the work of nature conservation asked to make effective by coordinating between agencies.

The Metropolitan is ready to adopt an animal, one of the most expensive, under the NTNC's Adopt an Animal scheme. It will bear up to Rs. 1.5 million a year by adopting an animal, he informed.

Member secretary at NTNC Sharad Adhikari said that NTNC has played a vital role in environmental protection and biodiversity conservation in the last four decades. It has been managing Annapurna, Manaslu and Gauri Shankar Conservation Areas, which are famous tourist destinations in the mountains, he added.

Biodiversity Conservation Centres in Terai, Chitwan, Bardiya, Shuklafanta Conservation Programme and Kanchanpur have also been making significant contributions in the field of environmental and biological diversity conservation in Terai, Adhikari said.

Former minister and water resource expert Deepak Gyawali, Secretary of the Ministry of Forestry and Environment Dr. Pem Narayan Kandel and Chairman of the NTNC Dr. Krishna Prasad Acharya emphasized on Nepal's achievements in the field of conservation and said they are exemplary for the world community.

NTNC was established in 1982 to protect and manage nature and natural resources. 

Krishna Prasad Oli, chairman of NTNC, said that with the increase of wild animals, there should be homework on protected areas expansion from the current 24 per cent of the country's land.

On the occasion, Bishwanath Upreti, founder director of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, who has made a significant contribution to the field of nature, forest and wildlife conservation, has been honoured with the Patron Conservation Award. The award carries a purse of Rs.125,000.

Prime Minister Deuba honoured Upreti with cash and a letter of appreciation. The Trust has also honoured various organisations and individuals who contribute to wildlife conservation.