MPs agree to focus on human aspect while drafting laws for biodiversity protection

By A Staff Reporter, Kathmandu, Aug. 27: MPs, Former Ministers and stakeholders agreed to focus on human aspects while forming laws to protect biodiversity in Nepal. 

Participating in a discussion on 'Protection of Natural Resources in Planned Infrastructure Development' in Kathmandu, they seemed to be ready to minimise human-animal conflict as conflict cases were increasing in recent years. 

Former Forest and Environment Minister Shankar Bhandari said that the human aspect should be focused while drafting laws to protect wildlife. “If you start comparing human lives with animals, human beings should be an undoubted priority," he said adding that even animals have the right to live on earth.

Bhandari further said balancing both lives by bringing down the conflict was the essence at this hour. "Let's pay more attention on the human aspect while creating laws related to biodiversity protection,” he said.

He viewed all the creatures in nature have equal rights to live however, the conflict needs to be reduced between human beings and animals. "We have to protect animals and preserve issues of biodiversity too." 

Bhandari also remembered some incidents where animals killed human beings during the discussion. 

Similarly, Deepak Bahadur Singh, Chairman of the Infrastructure Development Committee said that though all creatures in nature have the same right to live, laws should focus on human aspect. 

“Yes, we have to protect biodiversity for next generations. We also have to meet development targets for ourselves as we are in developing phase,” he added.

He further said it was necessary to encourage development to meet development targets and protect issues of biodiversity for generations while making laws. 

Singh emphasized that while developing infrastructure, attention needs to be paid for the betterment of future generations. 

"A law made today should last at least next 50 years, the future generations will thank you," he added.

Former Physical Infrastructure and Transport Minister Prakash Jwala said while developing infrastructure forests, environment and biological diversity should not be affected. 

He emphasized on the conservation of natural resources and their use and stressed for law harmonisation among federal, provincial and local entities during the programme. "Laws made from federal, provincial and local bodies need to harmonise with each other," he added. 

Another former minister Sita Gurung for Urban Development said that in terms of protecting biological diversity, huge human losses were being incurred to protect wildlife. "There is a huge loss of human side to protect wildlife. Because of the monkeys, the settlements are being displaced in several hilly areas of the country, other wild animals are also in danger", she said.

She stood in the practical humanitarian side.

MPs like Pratima Gautam, Sushila Shrestha, Rajendra Bajgain, Prem Maharjan said that the issue of human-wildlife conflict repeatedly arose in the House of Representatives, no work had been done to resolve it.

The program was organized by the Good Governance Protection Forum in coordination with the Infrastructure Development Committee under the House of Representatives.