NTNC 40th Anniversary with Prime Minister and conservation leaders

NTNC celebrated its 40th Anniversary on October 20 amidst a wide gathering organized at the NTNC Complex in Khumaltar, Lalitpur. The Prime Minister and Patron of NTNC, the Rt. Hon'ble Sher Bahadur Deuba, was the chief guest with the event being chaired by the NTNC Chairman Dr. Krishna Prasad Oli.

In attendance were also Mr. Chiri Babu Maharjan, Mayor of Lalitpur Metropolitan City, Hon. Saloni Singh Pradhan, Member of the National Planning Commission, Dr. Pem Narayan Kandel, Secretary of the Ministry of Forests and Environment, Dr. Madhav Bahadur Karki, Advisor to the Rt. Hon'ble Prime Minister, senior persons from the Nepal Army and the Nepal Armed Police Force, including senior officials, past and present, both from within and outside of government, as well as foreign dignitaries, and the country's leading conservation stakeholders and personalities.

Highlights of the event included the launching of the "NTNC - Patron Conservation Award" that was handed over by the Prime Minister to Mr. Bishwa Nath Upreti, Founder Director General of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC). Mr. Upreti has been a pivotal figure in the establishment of country's national parks and wildlife reserves, leading institutional reform and policy innovation instrumental for preparing Nepal's conservation course for the future, with lasting contributions in building Nepal's conservation profile globally. The Patron Conservation Award also included a cash prize of NRs. 125,000.

In addition to the "NTNC - Patron Conservation Award", eleven more recognitions were awarded by the Prime Minster to institutions and individuals making remarkable contributions for conservation. They included three awards to government institutions—the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC), the Department of Forests and Soil Conservation (DFSC), and the National Park and Wildlife Conservation Directorate of the Nepal Army; three awards to conservation organizations—WWF Nepal, ZSL Nepal, and IUCN Nepal; three awards to community-based conservation institutions—CAMC Chhoser from Annapurna Conservation Area, CAMC Chumchet from Manaslu Conservation Area,  and CAMC Alampu from Gaurishankar Conservation Area; plus two individual awards given to Mr. Devi Prasad Ghimire, advisor of Friends of Zoo (FoZ) committee, and Mr. Chungba Sherpa, wildlife photographer.

Addressing the event, the Prime Minster and Patron of NTNC, the Rt. Hon'ble Sher Bahadur Deuba spoke about the important role of institutions like NTNC in demonstrating Nepal's capacity in nature conservation. He noted that Nepal's biodiversity conservation, sustainable development and prosperity agenda were inseparable and encouraged NTNC and related institutions to do more to tie Nepal's success story in wildlife species recovery and ecosystem restoration with improved wellbeing and economic benefits for protected area communities through tourism and other nature-based economic opportunities.

Keynote speakers, Mr. Dipak Gyawali, former Minister and former NTNC Trustee, and Dr. Krishna Prasad Acharya, former Secretary of the Government of Nepal, spoke about the Trust's conceptualization as a specialized autonomous institution abled to generate unique capacities and resources for strengthening Nepal's biodiversity conservation, wildlife research, and protected area management capacities. They reflected about the Trust's legacy and its contributions, especially in its role in pioneering participatory community-based protected area management models, leading Nepal's R&D in the wildlife sciences, grooming and developing future national-level conservation leaders, the Trust's intrinsic role in supporting and adding value to the government's initiatives, including its role in expanding international partnerships and goodwill for driving Nepal's conservation interests.

NTNC Chairman Dr. Krishna Prasad Oli and Member Secretary Sharad Chandra Adhikari elaborated on the event theme, "Four Decades in Conservation: A Glorious History and the Way Forward". They acknowledged the important contributions and efforts of former leaders and personalities in the establishment and growth of NTNC, both from inside Nepal and abroad. Future priorities in climate change, synergizing green development opportunities with conservation, developing NTNC as an international-standard academic and training institution, reviving NTNC's foreign chapters and affiliations, and expanding NTNC's rich legacy were also shared. NTNC Program Manager Dr. Naresh Subedi presented about the Trust's evolution, its present capacities, ongoing national-level contributions and a vision of the roadmap for the coming decade.