Nepal, India Sign MoU on Biodiversity Conservation

Nepal and India have signed a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on biodiversity conservation, aiming to strengthen cross-border cooperation in protected areas and wildlife management.

Nepal’s Ambassador to India, Shankar Prasad Sharma, and Tanmay Kumar, Secretary at India’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, signed the MoU in New Delhi on Wednesday in the presence of Nepal’s Minister for Forests and Environment, Madhav Prasad Chaulagain, and India’s Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupendra Yadav.

Both countries are signatories to various United Nations treaties on environmental conservation, including biodiversity. The two nations share several protected areas and biological corridors along their border that provide habitats for wildlife such as elephants, rhinos and tigers, which frequently move across the frontier.

The MoU is expected to facilitate coordination and cooperation between the two countries in managing protected areas, conserving biodiversity and controlling wildlife crime. It also envisions the adoption of shared strategies, capacity building of personnel, and enhanced collaboration in research, monitoring and awareness programmes.

Minister Chaulagain said the agreement would help control and regulate poaching and illegal wildlife trade in border areas and strengthen joint patrols and information sharing.

Under the MoU, both countries may exchange wildlife crime-related information through the South Asia Wildlife Law Enforcement Network (SAWEN) to combat international wildlife crimes.

The MoU will be automatically renewed every five years unless terminated through diplomatic channels and will be reviewed every three years. Any issues arising during implementation will be resolved through mutual understanding. -- RSS