September 15, 2001

Biratnagar: Minister for Forests and Soil Conservation Gopal Man Shrestha has said that as the country lacks a legal apparatus concerning access to genetic resources and sharing of the benefits derived from their utilisation, a relevant parliamentary bill is about to be introduced.

Minister Shrestha was inaugurating a programme on genetic resources and sharing their benefits organised under the joint auspices of the Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation and International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Nepal Chapter for the officer level employees of His Majesty’s Government based in the Eastern Region at Biratnagar.

He said that as clear policy in this regard is lacking, efforts are on to formulate a policy concerning access to the genetic resources and sharing of the advantages of their utilisation.

Convenor of the IUCN Surendra Bhandari and task force member Dr. Madhusudan Upadhyaya also expressed their views at the programme chaired by officiating secretary at the Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation Dr. Udaya Raj Sharma.

Participating in the three day programme are 35 officers of various offices of all the 16 districts of the Eastern Region.