Kathmandu, July 12: The 25th meeting of governing board of trustees of King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation (KMTNC) was held here today under the chairmanship of His Royal Highness Prince Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah.
The meeting was convened to finalise the budget of KMTNC proposed for the fiscal year 2000/2001 and also to approve the performance report of the turst of the current fiscal year.
The governing board also reviewed the implementation of the directives given by the last meeting and discussed the status of some important issues.
The board also discussed the stategy paper on the development and management of micro-hydro projects and the sustainable harvesting of non-timber forest products in conservation areas.
In his opening address, His Royal Highness Prince Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah said that “most of our environmental woes are connected with poverty and population.Over the last fifty years the world population has increased from 2.5 billions to 6 billions. If this was not enough, majority of this rising propagation lives in the third world countries in abject poverty.”
This has not only increased demand for food and forest products beyond the sustainable yields, but has also exerted serious pressure on supply of water and other essential human services, His Royal Highness said.
While this is the plight of the developing world, the six-fold expansion in the global economy, over the past fifty years in the industrialised world has generated a different complex and changed set of environmental problems, His Royal Highness remarked.
“This growth dependent on the extensive use of fossil fuels has resulted in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and created the greenhouse effect,” HRH Prince Gyanendra said, adding “the change in temperature has not only caused storms and floods around the world, but has also contributed to the melting of ice covers of the poles, and that of the Himalyas.”
Increasing use of chemicals is posing a serious threat to the long-term viability of life on this planet, HRH Prince Gyanendra said, adding in recent times, we have witnessed with grave concern, deforestation, loss of wetlands, numerous types of pollution, loss of wildlife habitat, forest fragmentation, global warming, depletion of ozone layer, desertification and extinction of various species.
His Royal Higness said “all of these, with many others make a mosaic, that is the web of life and are so inter-related that none can be addressed in isolation but need a holistic vision.”
Recalling the importance of the local communities’ involvement in conservation works, His Royal Highness said that encouraging local communities in various aspects related to conservation and management could also reinforce conservation effort and make it sustainable.
After extensive discussion the board approved the budget of Rs. 190 million for the fiscal year 2000/2001.