Dr. Hemanta Mishra, one of the founding members of NTNC, and a veteran conservationist of Nepal, made a courtesy visit at the NTNC central office today.
At the welcome and interaction, together sharing about NTNC's project-level initiatives and priorities, the NTNC Member Secretary Sharad Chandra Adhikary reflected about Dr. Mishra's institutional legacy, where his prominence in contributing to Nepal's overall conservation and protected area development and management is well known.
Other senior members at NTNC, who have been associated with Dr. Mishra in various capacities, shared about his intimate understanding of Nepal's conservation dynamics, and his role as a global conservation ambassador, where he continues to deliver significantly in advancing Nepal's domestic conservation capacities by synergizing global ideas and networks.
Dr. Mishra spoke about the change in the working environment for NTNC, and shared his admiration for the institution's ability to adapt and continue to lead conservation action in the country, offer unique national-level capacities and "notably be delivery backed." He stressed that it was important for NTNC to continue to be science-driven, further bringing into its scope other related disciplines from the social sciences to economics to infrastructure planning and conservation communication.
Dr. Mishra has over 50 years' experience working in Nepal's conservation sector and was part of the pioneering team that created the first national park of Nepal, the Chitwan National Park, including other protected areas. He was also the founding member secretary of NTNC in 1982 and has had professional affiliations working with the Government of Nepal, the Smithsonian Institution, WWF, the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, the Global Environment Facility, American Himalayan Foundation, among others. He is recipient of the notable J. Paul Getty Wildlife Conservation Prize and has five books to-date serving as an inspiration and knowledge source for many interested in understanding Nepal's natural heritage and its people.
