Message from the Country Rep with Each Passing Year WWF Nepal's Commitment Towards Biodiversity 2 Conservation Is Becoming More Profound
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NOVEMBER Vol 6 | No. 1 | November 2011 WWF Nepal newsletter 2011 © WWF Nepal Message from the Country Rep With each passing year WWF Nepal's commitment towards biodiversity 2 conservation is becoming more profound. The recent launch of the Hariyo Ban Remembering our Conservation Program heralds a new era of partnerships and synergies that complement our overarching goal of creating a world in which humans live in harmony with Heroes nature. Community-led snow leopard monitoring in the Himalayas is being further strengthened with our maiden project using camera traps in Kangchenjunga. The fact that we could capture an image of a snow leopard on the first day of the installation of the camera traps itself is a major landmark. 4 In this issue of ‘Inside the Himalayas’ these are two of the many stories I would like to share with you; a fitting tribute to our Conservation Heroes whose First camera-trap image memories we celebrated during the 3rd National Conservation Day. of Nepal’s Snow Leopard I take this opportunity to thank all our conservation partners, stakeholders released at the national and international levels and most importantly the local communities working on the ground. 7 Happy reading! The Great Escape Crossing the landslide in Langtang Anil Manandhar Inside Country Representative LEAD STORY Remembering our © WWF Nepal Conservation Heroes © WWF Nepal © WWF Nepal “FOR THE SAKE OF THE LIVES WE’VE losT… BUT A LEGACY THAT LIVES ON" © WWF Nepal In memory of Nepal's Conservation Heroes, the Pragati Shahi, reporter with The Kathmandu Post, the day. The performance blended music, motion 3rd National Conservation Day was celebrated in Mr. Pramod Kumar Tandan, reporter with Naya and messaging to celebrate the importance of Kathmandu under the leadership of the Government Patrika Daily, and Hamro Sampada, a monthly forests for people, for wildlife, and for a living planet of Nepal and the support of the Conservation magazine. The Government of Nepal declared Asoj 7 (23 Consortium on 24th September 2011. To coincide The Nepal Memorial Scholarships were awarded September) as National Conservation Day in 2008 with the International Year of Forests 2011, the to John Lhomi Nuppa and Salina Rai while Bharat in memory of the Conservation Heroes who lost theme for this year’s event was ‘Celebrating Forests Prasad Bhatta and Kabita Poudyal received the their lives in the tragic helicopter accident on 23 for People’ in recognition of the central role of Chandra Gurung Memorial Scholarships. Likewise, September 2006 at Ghunsa, Kangchenjunga.. people in the sustainable management, conservation the Jill Bowling Schlaepfer Memorial Scholarships and sustainable development of the world’s forests. were awarded to Bal Kumar Nepali and Deepak National Conservation Day is led by a Conservation Consortium comprising WWF Nepal, Bird Vice President of Nepal, Rt. Honorable Parmanand Tharu Dahit while the Jennifer Headley Memorial Conservation Nepal, Environmental Camps for Jha was the Chief Guest of the event and Mr. Scholarships were awarded to Sabina Rijal and Conservation Awareness, The International Centre Mohhamad Wakil Musalman, Minister for Forests Yashodhara Chaudhary. for Integrated Mountain Development, IUCN– and Soil Conservation, chaired the function. Two video documentaries of WWF-Nepal The World Conservation Union, Nepal Forum On the occasion of National Conservation Day, showcasing conservation impacts in the Sacred of Environmental Journalists, National Trust WWF-Nepal felicitates leading organizations Himalayan Landscape and Terai Arc Landscape and for Nature Conservation, Wildlife Conservation and individuals who have excelled in biodiversity five publications including a book on Late Dr. Tirtha Nepal, and The Mountain Institute and Wildlife conservation in Nepal each year through the Man Maskey titled Tirtha Man Maskey: The Tiger Watch Group under the leadership of the Ministry Abraham Conservation Awards and Scholarship Warden of Chitwan were also formally launched at of Forests and Soil Conservation, Government of programs. the event. Nepal. This year, the Abraham Conservation Awards were Speaking at the event, Jha stressed on the significance of biodiversity conservation which has awarded to three individuals and two organizations © WWF Nepal in recognition of their contribution to grassroots been rapidly degraded in recent times due to human activities. He said human existence is directly linked level conservation. The award recipients were with environment and it is our duty to preserve it. Mr. Bed Bahadur Khadka, Mr. Rajendra Singh Bhandari and Ms. Kalawati Chudhary in the Similarly, Rt. Honorable Minister for Forests and individual category, and Shiv Community Forest Soil Conservation Mr. Mohhamad Wakil Musalman, and Alternatives Herbal Products Pvt. Ltd in the expressed sincere gratitude to the Government organization category. of Nepal and consortium members for their commitment towards biodiversity conservation. Mr.Raj Bahadur Air received the Matthew Preece and Yeshi Lama Young Conservation Leader Anil Manandhar, Country Representative, WWF Award awarded in honor of Matthew Preece and Nepal said that we have been able to follow the path Yeshi Lama for their life-long contribution to which were envisioned by our conservation heroes conservation. and I believe all our conservation heroes looking at us from above are proud of us. Similarly, WWF Media in Conservation Awards, founded to recognize the transformational role of The program concluded with a contemporary media persons or organizations in highlighting performance 'The Tree of Life’ presented by Earth- conservation issues in Nepal, were awarded to Ms. Beat Nepali Theatre, in keeping with the theme of © WWF Nepal 2 November 2011 I N THE N Network of wildlife criminals arrested EWS in Chitwan for poaching and smuggling Rhino horns © WWF Nepal A Climate Witness from the Himalayas © WWF Nepal Kathmandu, Nepal – I had never thought I would get an opportunity like this to represent my country in such a big platform expressed Chungda Chitwan, Nepal – The first complete chain of criminals involved in poaching Sherpa, popularly known as Himali Chungda who recently returned to Nepal and trading of the one-horned rhinoceros in Nepal has been detained by after attending the Climate Witness Symposium organized by WWF-Japan in Chitwan National Park (CNP) authority. Japan. Mr. Sherpa, hotelier and a farmer from a remote village, Ghunsa, in Kanchenjunga, represented Nepal alongside Kenya and Mongolia in the Climate Organizing a press meet at the Parks’ headquarter in Kasara on 25 October 2011, Witness Symposium organized in two different cities of Japan, Tokyo and Osaka, the CNP authority made public the 17 people held on the charge of poaching the on 8th and 10th November respectively. endangered species and smuggling their derivatives. Rs. 900,000 ($11,465) was also confiscated from some members of this group. Sharing his excitement and experience with the WWF Nepal team Mr. Sherpa says, "On the symposium I was able to portray how remote communities like The success of this operation, which lasted for ten days, is attributed to the ours live with the impacts of climate change on a day-to-day basis and how we close coordination among the authorities of Chitwan National Park, Criminal need help to adapt. I am hopeful that the government of Japan would provide Investigation Bureau, Nepal Army and the local administration. WWF Nepal us some financial assistance to initiate the adaptation work in Kanchenjunga" also played a vital role to achieve this success. Sherpa added. This arrest is being seen as a significant achievement since it has led to the Sujeet Shrestha, Project Manager-Kanchanjunga Conservation Area at WWF complete breakdown of a network of poachers and smugglers right from the Nepal, who accompanied Mr Sherpa at the symposium stated, “for native people grassroots to the international level. A more interesting facet brought out by this like Chungda, watching and studying the climate is a matter of survival as their operation was that one of those arrested, TanjingNima Lama, who runs an illegal lives are strictly interwoven with the climate and the symposium was a platform trade network was legally declared dead in 2003; his family had submitted a to bring about the core problems as the speakers were the real climate witness false death certificate to the government then. Lama’s arrest is expected to lead themselves. the CNP authorities towards valuable information on the gamut of the poaching and illegal trade network in Nepal. "It was highly significant for Japanese audience to have a testimony of climate impacts direct from its witness like Mr Sherpa", said Mr Takamasa HIGUCHI, The CNP authorities are now carrying out a series of interrogations with the Chief Executive Officer, WWF Japan. I believe his urging message would also arrested criminals so as to acquire new and critical information on the network’s contribute to building up momentum toward more support from Japan to links both within the country and outside which could lead to fresh arrests in the developing countries like Nepal for their adaptation to the climate change" future. The smuggling ring is believed to be part of a larger network involving Mr. HIGUCHI added. Chitwan, Nawalparasi and Kathmandu in Nepal. Eastern Himalayan nations reach base camp on regional climate deal Thimphu, Bhutan – The nations of Bhutan, Nepal, India and Bangladesh have signed a regional climate change adaptation declaration