INGOs plan Bengal tiger census in Nepal

Razen Manandhar
Kathmandu, January 30[2007]:


Various international non-government organisations are making plans to carry out a census of Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris) in Nepal’s national parks.
Recent studies have put the number of the wild cats in Nepal at about 350 to 375.
A tiger survey has been initiated in the Bardia National Park with a focus on the Babai river floodplain. A team of seven park personnel will start monitoring from the Chepang area, the gateway of the Babai, according to the last updated draft of the tiger count plan.
“We are currently working on methods to conduct a survey in the national parks to find out how many tigers are living in the habitat, which is constantly under human threat,” Dr Ghanashyam Gurung, the action country representative of WWF Nepal, told The Himalayan Times.

He expressed the hope that the count will most probably begin this season with support from various other institutions and will last for some six months.

“This is the first time the WWF is initiating such a survey. The past five years of the insurgency have had a marked impact on wildlife population in the Babai river floodplain,” he said.

Gurung added that the WWF will also develop a congregated methodology of counting rhinos. He, however, refused to comment on the financial aspect of the surveys.

The current tiger population estimation is based on various sources and surveys carried out in the past three decades.

However, it has been felt that there is insufficient information on the demographic patterns of the tigers such as population structure, spatial distribution, home-range size, movements, social organisations, age-structure, survival rate, extent for breeding etc, according to a recent outline document for tiger conservation.

Currently, three isolated areas in Nepal remain as tiger habitats. Chitwan occupies the largest area where 75 per cent of the tigers are within protected areas. The other two populations are those in Bardia and Shuklaphanta.

A $ 1 million revised action plan to conserve tigers and their habitat is on the final stage of drafting. It will consolidate various programmes on tigers for the coming five years.

Koshi river basin to be managed in integrated way{conservation}

Razen Manandhar

Kathmandu, January 3[2007]:


Seventeen districts under the watershed areas of the Koshi river and its tributaries in the eastern Nepal are being integrated into a long-term conservation programme under the name of Koshi River Basin Management (KBRM).

The programme is being envisaged by the Water and Energy Commission Secretariat (WECS) of the
government with technical support from WWF Nepal.

“We will cover all the areas of the eastern Nepal, which are considered important from the point of view of water, wetland, wildlife, vegetation and indigenous culture in one big programme,” said Neera Pradhan, programme manager. This is the first initiative of its kind in the country and the main objective is to explore partnership and formulate a vision for conservation, she said. The districts to be covered are: Sindhupalchowk, Kavre, Dolakha, Ramechhap, Sindhuli, Solukhumbu, Okhaldhunga, Khotang, Udayapur, Sankhuwasabha, Bhojpur, Saptari, Taplejung, Terhathum, Dhankuta, Panchthar, and Sunsari. The programme will bring Sagarmatha National Park, Makalu-Varun National Park,
Kanchanjunga Conservation Area and Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve Area under a single umbrella
institution.

Pradhan said the formulation of KBRM as a pilot programme was guided by the National Water Plan, a 25-year plan of the government to manage water for all purposes. A joint team of the government and WWF will soon visit selected areas to be covered by the programme and will prepare a strategic paper within a year, she said.

The importance of river basin management, instead of a project-to-project basis, lies in the inherent
interrelation of water and land resources to form a unit. This approach focuses development and management of water, land and related resources to maximise the resultant economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of ecosystem. Executive secretary of the WECS, Ram Krishna Tiwari, said the project will generate necessary information on resources within Koshi river basin to ensure their wise use.

Kalam tells nations to focus on rural development

Published: December 16, 2006 12:00 am On: Nepal

RAZEN MANANDHAR

New Delhi, December 15 :

President of India Dr APJ Abdul Kalam today urged ministers and experts on housing development from 35 countries to stress on the development of rural areas, if they want to make their countries free from urban poverty.

“If you want to reduce pressure on urban areas bring more support and development in rural areas,” he said. President Kalam was addressing the inaugural session of the first Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on Housing and Human Settlements today. Minister of state for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation of India Kumari Selja said that the countries must accept "inclusion" of the poor as part of core policy in all urban programmes. She said that the secretarial meeting held during the last two days has focused on four major themes -- pro-poor urban governance and planning, slum upgrading, delivery of Millennium Development Goals for water and sanitation and financing sustainable urbanisation in the Asia-Pacific.

Anna Kajumlo Tibaijuka, the under-general -secretary of UN and executive director of the UN-HABITAT assured that the new UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon is ready to offer the Asia-Pacific region all support in the field of water and sanitation.

"We are now at a significant turning point in history. The year 2007 will be the year in which for the first time, half of human population will be living in towns and cities. It makes the beginning of a new urban area," she said.

MoU signed

NEW DELHI: A memorandum of understanding between the government of Nepal and UN-HABITAT was signed on Friday. Kishore Thapa, the director general of Department of Urban Development and Building Construction, and Dr Anna Kajunmulo Tibaijuka, the under-secretary-general of UN and executive director of UN-HABITAT, signed the document, which will provide a grant of $2.5 million till the end of 2010. The money will be spent on development of infrastructure. Also present were Minister of Physical Planning and Works Gopal Man Shrestha and the advisor to UN-HABITAT Nepal Office Dr Ros-han Raj Shrestha. - HNS

Rescued pangolin dead; one held

RAZEN MANANDHAR

Kathmandu, November 30:

Officials of the Central Zoo, where a pangolin rescued from a taxi driver in Balkhu yesterday was kept for conservation, said today that the mammal had died.

Volunteers of the Wildlife Conservation Nepal and District Forestry Office had rescued the animal from Kiran Syangtang Lama, 25, of Hetauda.

“Our men saw the man walking with the mammal in a bag and caught him. He was probably trying to take it to the client,” said Chandra Man Dangol, the assistant forest officer at the Thankot Area Forest Office. The scaly mammal, which is found in Nepal and South East Asia, is in the protected list of 27 mammals in the country. Traditional healers use its scales for medicinal purposes and as pendants, believing that they protect the people wearing them from evil spirits.

Lama was seen with a friend and a client in a taxi, Dangol said, adding the two fled from the scene. “The mammal was found alive, but was suffering due to rough handling and consumption of contaminated food. Pangolins roam in jungles. Since the animal was in wrong hands for over a week, it suffered severely,” he said.

According to Dangol, since the animal is included in the “protected animal’s list”, the one who caught it can be slapped a penalty of Rs 100,000 and imprisoned for 15 years.

Lama, the convicted taxi driver in handcuffs, said he bought the animal from one Prem Bahadur Thokar for Rs 5,000 “without any concrete idea”.

“I came in contact with Thokar, who said he had brought the animal from Phaparbari of Makawanpur and had kept it in Chapagaon for a week. I kept the animal for three days,” he said. During three days, the animal drank water and ate nothing, he said.

Published: December 01, 2006 12:00 am On: Kathmandu
https://thehimalayantimes.com/kathmandu/rescued-pangolin-dead-one-held/

Sikkimese Newars to study mother tongue in TU

RAZEN MANANDHAR

Kathmandu, November 5:

While the charm of Newari language is on wane in Kathmandu, six Newars from Sikkim have arrived in the capital today to study their language.

Six Newar students from the Indian state of Sikkim are trying to join the Tribhuvan University to acquire degrees in Newari language, with a mission to take back academic and practical knowledge of their mother language to their hometown where people hardly understand use it.

Four aspirant Newari language students — two boys and two girls — are joining the Patan Multiple Campus to pursue Masters Degree, while two other girls have sought admission in Padma Kanya Collage in the Bachelors’ level.

“We are in search of our identity. We lately understood the value of our mother language and culture and now we want to study the language by enrolling in the university,” said Prajwala Pradhan, one among them, talking to The Himalayan Times.

With special programmes to promote local languages, the Sikkim government has made a provision to teach Newari language in some government schools and has allocated five seats for Newari teachers.

A resident from Milli of Southern Sikkim Prajwala Pradhan said she has chosen the study of Newari language as her career. Prajwala, Harimaya Pradhan, Chudamani Pradhan and Ashok Pradhan will study MA while Bina Pradhan and Babita Pradhan are studing BA.

Prof Prem Shanti Tuladhar, a Newari language professor in Padma Kanya Campus, said that thirst for cultural identity brought them here.

“It is their quest for identity which have driven them here. They have also found opportunity of winning a government job. That is why we say government policies matter,” she said.

Published: November 06, 2006 12:00 am On: Kathmandu

Newar body stresses on ethnic autonomy

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RAZEN MANANDHAR

Kathmandu, May 11:

The demand for ethnic autonomy – once considered a “weird” agenda of the Maoists when they launched the ‘People’s War’,has now become a common demand of all indigenous and ethnic organisations. However, it is still unclear whether a Constituent Assembly (CA) can pave the way for such autonomy.

The political parties have agreed on restructuring the state through elections to a CA, but they are still tight-lipped on the issue of granting autonomy to the Janajatis.

The Maoist and other ethnic leaders fear that elections to a CA will in no way meet their demands.

“We will not give up our revolution if ethnic autonomy is not guaranteed,” said Prabesh Man Shrestha, the general-secretary of the Newar National Liberation Front, a Kathmandu-based ethnic wing of the Maoists.

THe told THT that the revolution would end only if the government announced ethnic autonomous regions clearly, as, according to him, the present centralised political system only allows a group of people to remain in power.

“The issue of constituent assembly itself is abstract, which is not enough to ensure that all the people will have the right to political participation in all spheres,” he said. According to him, not assuring ethnic autonomy would be labelled an anti-revolutionary step and would invite a bigger revolution.

Dr Om Gurung, the general-secretary of the Nepalese Federation of Indigenous People and Nationalities (NEFIN) – the federal body of all 59 ethnic communities – said the Janajatis are not happy with the commitment currently shown by the parties on the issue of Constituent Assembly .

“The decision to hold election to a constituent assembly is welcome, but we are not happy with this alone. We also do not expect them to take up our agenda easily as all the parties are led by upper-class Hindus who have been ruling for centuries,” he said.

“The state should be restructured as the old feudal system has not incorporated everyone’s voice. But restructuring could also mean regional autonomy, which is meaningless for us,” he said.

However, UML leader Shankar Pokhrel said restructuring of the state would automatically solve the problems of ethnic communities. “We are heading for a proportional election system. In this way we don’t even need to set up constituencies. All parties will provide their lists with representation of all sectors and it will come up with inclusive results,” he said.

Published: November 05, 2006 12:00 am On: Nepal

https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/newar-body-stresses-on-ethnic-autonomy/

Spanish woman elated after adopting Nepali 'orphan' child

Razen Manandhar
Kathmandu, October 18 [2006]:

Paca Tomas, a Spanish woman in her forties, is elated, for her dream of adopting a Nepali child has turned into reality after three-and-a-half years. 
"It was like being on top of Everest. Everybody knows it is difficult, but you can imagine the pleasure of being there only when you are finally there," she said today, relating her feeling after she got the approval from the government to adopt the girl-child. 
It was almost four years ago when Tomas, an official at the International Oxfam, dreamt of adopting a child. "Now that Subhechha has come to my life, my professional life is a second priority," says the unmarried professional from Barcelona. 
Tomas first filed an application at the Ministry of Welfare Family and Adoption in Spain and followed an eight-month hectic process of giving interviews to the ministry officials, child psychologists, social assistants and padagogists. 
"It is a long story. They used to come to my home any time and asked any question they had in their mind. They sought my permanent work contract, bank accounts, health certificate and what not. But I was not tired. Then I felt how strongly I wanted to adopt a child," she said. 
After getting an approval from the Spanish government, she decided to adopt a Nepali girl. And the Honorary Consular of Nepal, Lluis Belvis, helped her a lot in contacting orphan homes and translating her Spanish documents into English and correspond with the orphanage from where she was to adopt the girl. 
"I came to Nepal in March to see my child. When I saw Subhechha in the orphanage, my heart told me she is the girl I love," she said. As the process of approving the adoption here was very long, she had to come here again in October to complete the "whole thing". Thereafter, she had to wait for two more weeks to get the paper signed by the secretary at the Minister for Women Children and Social Welfare. 
Meanwhile, she also found that the child, presented as an orphan by the orphanage, actually had parents and she also managed to meet them. "It was shocking. I felt sorry when I knew that Subhechha had parents but I could also understand that they might prefer her to be adopted due to poverty," she said, adding that she would be in contact with them. However, she refused to give the name of the orphanage, which gave her the "orphan". 
Tomas may have to face more bureaucratic hassles. The officials can refuse to sign papers without giving reasons. "The process is problematic and needs improvements," she said, smiling. According to the District Administration Office, there are over 600 orphanages in the capital city alone. Thanks to the conflict, many children are left without parents and some orphanages here are found showcasing children with parents as orphans to have them adopted by foreigners. 

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