Kathmandu, Apr. 24: The U.S. Mission to Nepal, on the occasion of the 30th Earth Day, hailed the efforts of the Nepali government and people to protect and improve its environment. The U.S. government has for many years worked with the government and people of Nepal to promote environmental protection and the sustainable use of resources both inside Nepal and to promote such ideas regionally and globally, the American Centre, Embassy of the United States, press release stated today.

At present, a number of U.S. government agencies, including the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Peace Corps, the State Department, the National Parks Department and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are active in working with Nepali government ministries and non-governmental organisation on environmental project.

Higlights include: USAID’s fostering of 1,300 community forestry user groups in the Mid and Far Western Regions, assuming management of over 123,000 hectares of forest resources, leading to increased output for community users and a better forest sink to reduce the impacts of global warming.

USAID and the National Park Service’s assistance in Shey-Phoksundo National Park’s effort to be nominated as a World Heritage Site. In the park buffer zone, these U.S. government agencies are working to protect Nepal’s biodiversity by promoting sustainable management practices and promoting income-earning activities for local residents.

Thirty-five Peace Corps volunteers working on natural resources protection activities, including work in the buffer zones of the National Parks, community forestry, soil conservation activities, and agro-forestry efforts. These volunteers are working directly in the field through local parks offices, district offices of the Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation and an NGO.

The agreement to bring an innovative environmental education program, called GLOBE, to Nepal. This programme being established through the Ministry of Education will give Nepali students the opportunity to learn to interpret data about the environment — air, soil, water — themselves and better understand human impacts on the environment and its complex interactions.

The U.S. State Department’s decision to establish its Regional Environmental HUB for South Asia in Kathmandu in 1997. The HUB promotes regional cooperation in areas such as water resources, disaster prevention, and clean energy.

The establishment in 1999 of the South Asia Regional Energy Initiative, whereby USAID will be promoting clean energy development in South Asia. This programme compliments USAID’s Nepal country-specific clean energy development programme.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. State Department continue to work with our partners in Nepal’s Department of Forest and Soil Conservation to protect endangered species, not just in Nepal, but around the world. At the current meeting of the Council of Parties to Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), the U.S. and Nepali governments are co-sponsoring several resolutions aimed at protecting endangered species.

Earth Day began in the U.S. thirty years ago and has now spread around the globe. The U.S. Mission to Nepal appreciates Nepal’s efforts to promote environmental awareness, natural resource protection and sustainable management and continues to work with Nepal on these efforts.