The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

World Wetlands Day 2008 -- Nepal

Hindu Kush Himalayan Benthological Society

Warm regards from Nepal

Deep Narayan Shah; Chairman, Hindu Kush Himalayan Benthological Society (see www.hkhbenso.com.np) located in Bhaktapur had organized programs (poster exhibition, Art and Essay Competition and National Seminar) on the theme "Healthy Wetlands, Healthy People" on the occasion of World Wetland Day 2008 in cooperation with Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC), Kathmandu. Our aim was to share knowledge, understandings & experiences on wetlands & issues of wetlands from experts & conservationists of Nepal & to disseminate their knowledge & understandings to the students and teachers of schools and students of Bachelor and Master Level of the valley.

Poster Exibition: Different posters were displayed in the Bhaktapur Durbar square, a world heritage site. Several visiters watched the posters. It showed clearly in the visitors face that they were very excited and interested to know about it.

Art and Essay Competition: The art & essay competition was participated by 12 schools of the Kathmandu Valley. There were 42 participats in the art & essay competition.

A National Seminar on "Healthy Wetlands, Healthy People" was organized for the wider group of people as a resource person or a participant such as wetland specialists, biodiversity experts, environmentalists, environmental lawyers, etc government officials, planners, representatives of INGOs, NGOs, environment school teachers of the valley and students of Environment Science from different academic institutions within the valley. Our themes were Wetland and livelihood; Wetland and Environmental Investigations; Wetland Management, Conservation and Sustainability; and Wetland Policy, Implementation and Effectiveness. On the behalf of the Seminar Organizing Committee, I thank the bureau for sending us the package material for the Wetland Day 2008 celeberation. Altogether 140 participants participated in this important seminar.

The event was financially supported by World Wildlife Fund Nepal (WWF Nepal), National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC), Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC), Lalitpur Sub-metropolitan City (LSMC) and Resources Himalaya.

Our program was successful and the report of the program is been attached here (PDF).

Mr. Deep Narayan Shah
Executive Chairman
Hindu Kush Himalayan Benthological Society (HKH BENSO)
Kaushaltar, Madhyapur Thimi, Bhaktapur

For further information about World Wetlands Day or the Convention on Wetlands, please contact the Ramsar Convention Secretariat, Rue Mauverney 28, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland (tel +41 22 999 0170, fax +41 22 999 0169, e-mail ). Posted 11 February 2008, Dwight Peck, Ramsar.