By A Staff Reporter
KATHAMNDU, Dec 4: Environmental experts Monday said that Nepal with 0.1 per cent area of the earth landmass is ranked between 25th and 31st position in the global context and 11th in the continental scale in terms of bio-diversity holding.
According to the status of bio-diversity plants, Nepal has 5891 flowering plant species, 534 Pteridophytes, 471 Lichens, 853 Bryophytes, 1,822 Fungi, 687 Algae. While 186 species of mammals, 847 Birds, 105 Reptiles, 44 Amphibians, 15 fresh water fishes, 5,0591 insects and 144 spiders.
Presenting a paper on the Western Terai Landscape Complex Project (WTLCP) Environmentalist Dinesh Karki said that the western Terai landscape complex is globally significant with regard to both its faunal and floral diversity. It is a home to threatened wildlife species including tiger, rhinoceros, Asian elephant, swamp deer, black buck, four horned antelope, Indian fox, sloth bear, hare, Gangetic dolphin, lesser adjutant stork, lesser florican, muger crocodile and Asiatic rock python.
He said the WTLC stretches from Bardia National Park in the east to Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve in the west and works in 52 VDCs of three districts in western Nepal ? Bardia, Kailali and Kanchanpur.
The objective of WTLCP is to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of globally significant bio diversity and to establish effective management systems and build capacity for the conservation and sustainable use of Nepal's WTLCP.
Mukesh Kummar Chalise, Ph.D. Central Department of Zoology presenting a paper on the conservation of Biodiversity said that more than 300 bird species in Asia are threatened due to logging, agriculture and development. While the poor people are most reliant on natural resources, which provide up to 50 per cent of household income.
In the 1960s about 45 per cent of Nepal's total land area was covered with lush green forest while the process of deforestation accelerated at such a rate that 29 per cent of the country's total land mass remained under green cover by 1994.
He said that for sustainable development a management approach should be focused to develop natural resources to meet the long-term human needs in a way that does not harm biological diversity.
Discussing the role of media in Conservation, Tirtha Koirala said that journalists are on the Cross roads of development and conservation but they should be clear on long term impacts about development and conservation on bio-diversity.
He said that the media should cover the issues in local perspectives using examples local knowledge and indigenous methods adding that they should give more importance to national priority on conservation with consensus of the local community. |
