Speaking at the inaugural session of the four-day Kathmandu Global Tiger Workshop Tuesday, Nepal said, “We share a common concern and Nepal government is committed to promoting transboundary cooperation to save biodiversity and our rich natural heritage.”
He also stressed the need to look at saving wildlife in the larger context of climate change issues and habitat protection.
Also speaking on the occasion, Minister for Forest and Soil Conservation (MoFSC) Deepak Bohara announced the government´s plan to form a high-level Tiger Conservation Authority under the leadership of the PM and extend the areas of the Gaurishankhar and Apinampa conservation areas in the near future. The ministry has also decided to add 896 square kilometers to Bardiya National Park.
Stating that the workshop, hosted by MoFSC and co-organized and co-sponsored by the CITES secretariat, the Global Tiger Forum, Global Tiger Initiative, Save the Tiger Fund, the World Bank and WWF-Nepal, aims to devise a collective strategy to save tigers in the region, Minister Bohara said, “Joint efforts are now a must in the area of tiger conservation”.
Other speakers included Yuba Raj Bhusal, Secretary at MoFSC, Susan Goldmark, Country Director of the World Bank, Dr Latika Nath Rana, Vice-Minister Pimuk Simaroj of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Thailand, and Vladimir Kirillov, head of the Federal Service for Natural Resource Management Oversight, Russia. Robert Zoellick, President of the World Bank, made a video address to the gathering.
In his keynote address, conservationist Dr Hemanta Raj Mishra stressed the need for “political will” on the part of states concerned to implement protection plans for the tiger, its prey and habitat.
The function was given a Tihar flavor by a deusi song with a message about stopping tiger poaching presented by noted folk singer Ram Karki and his troupe. A skit titled “Tiger Today and Tomorrow” depicting the merciless killing of tigers in Nepal was performed by Earth Beat.
All 14 Tiger Range Countries presented their country profiles later Tuesday.
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