Nepal

To mark the International Day for Biological Diversity, a workshop entitled, “Community Biodiversity Register for Acquisition and Utilization of Biodiversity,” was recently organized in Pokhara, Nepal. The workshop was hosted jointly by the District Biodiversity Coordination Committee, Local Initiatives for Biodiversity, Research and Development (LI-BIRD), and the Small Grants Programme of UNDP. The purpose of the workshop was to share knowledge and experiences of Community Biodiversity Register (CBR) and increase institutional collaboration and networking to mainstream good practices of CBR. The workshop was chaired and inaugurated by Mr. Narahari Acharya, Chief Local Development Officer. There was about 60 participants from DADOs, DFOs, representants of different Kaski organizations, farmers, as well as local and national media. Two books on CBR were launched during the inauguration, as well as the presentation of 10 papers on CBR good practices and issues.

Other important events in Nepal included: a radio message by the honorable Minister of Forests and Soil Conservation, publication of the bulletin, and an essay competition on biodiversity and climate change. The Secretary of the Minister presented the prize to the winner of the essay competition.