Interaction on lake conservation organized

Interaction on lake conservation organized

Press ReleaseDecember 16, 2008An expert team of International Lake Environment Committee Foundation (ILEC)- Japan is in a visit to Nepal from December 14 to 20, 2008 to do a rapid assessment of lakes conservation in Nepal building rapport with government, non-governmental organizations and institutions related to sustainable lakes and wetlands management in Nepal. In this connection, an interaction programme was organized at Nepal Tourism Board on December 16, 2008 to share Integrated Lake Base Management (ILBM) approaches and strategies among the Nepalese scientists and experts and to share the experience of International and Nepalese Non Governmental Organisations which are involved in conservation in Nepal. In the programme, Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation Ms. Hisila Yami said that once Kathmandu valley was full of lakes but all had gone due to urbanization and lack of conservation. She further said, "Although nature has given us plenty of lakes, I wonder why we are lagged behind in conserving them." Since there is a direct relation between bio-diversity, eco-system, lake and Ramsar, it has become imperative to conserve all lakes to address climate change in Nepal, she further said.Prof. Masahisa Nakamura, Chairman, Scientific Committee, ILEC, Sigha University, Japan made a presentation on the activities of International Lake Environment Committee Foundation and its possible support in conserving lakes in Nepal. Prof. Udea Throu of Japan shared the initiatives of International Lake Environment Committee and Integrated Lake Base Management taken in Japan where as Prof. Kodarkar Mohan, a member of Scientific Committee, International Lake Environment Committee shared his experience about the initiative taken by ILEC in India. Representatives of The Mountain Institute, ICIMOD, WWF, IUCN, Nepal Tourism Board and other donor agencies also interacted with Japanese team and shared their experience. It is believed that the visit of ILEC team would be a comparative advantage in accessing technical inputs for the initial preparation of recommending the lake-cluster of the Kaski district into the Ramsar List. Apart from this, the visit of ILEC team would accelerate opportunities for HR development through training, workshop and conservation education with regards to the ILBM applicable to the Nepalese context.The International Lake Environment Committee Foundation (ILEC) was formed in 1986 as an international non-governmental organization (NGO), and given legal status in 1987 by the Japanese Environment Agency and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. ILEC aims in promoting environmentally sound management of natural and man-made lakes and their environments consistent with sustainable development policies by promoting international research and investigation, and by facilitating the exchange of findings and knowledge among the experts throughout the world.