News

Biodiversity Day in the Hindu Kush Himalaya

28.05.2017

The United Nations proclaimed 22 May the International Day for Biological Diversity (IBD) to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues. Each year, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) celebrates this important day with a number of activities.

To mark IBD 2017, ICIMOD organized a knowledge forum featuring presentations on the theme "Biodiversity and Sustainable Tourism in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH)" at its headquarters in Kathmandu, Nepal. The event featured panel discussions and a cultural show reflecting biodiversity and sustainable tourism, the 2017 IBD theme. All eight ICIMOD regional member countries – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan – were represented at the event.

ICIMOD Director General David Molden shared a special message on the occasion, titled “Celebrating International Day for Biological Diversity (IBD): Biodiversity and Sustainable Tourism”. ICIMOD staff members Lipy Adhikary, Janita Gurung, Pratikshya Kandel and Anu Kumari Lama also wrote articles and blogs posts highlighting various aspects of biodiversity and sustainable tourism, which were published in several news platforms:

• 'Travel responsibly, respect indigenous communities' (May 22 World Biological Diversity Day) 
Vishal Gulati; Business Standard; 21 May 2017; Source: IANS
• Nature tourism 
Janita Gurung and Anu Lama; My Republica; 22 May 2017
• Khar’s experimentation with Himalayan nettle brings recognition 
Lipy Adhikari; Down to Earth; 16 May 2017
• Biodiversity and tourism 
Lipy Adhikari and Pratikshya Kandel; The Kathmandu Post; 21 May 2017

More media coverage is available here.

An array of events were organized at national and regional levels in several countries in the HKH to celebrate this day. In Bhutan, the Bhutan Media and Communication Institute (BMCI) held a workshop to raise awareness about the important contribution of sustainable tourism to both economic growth and the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. The programme was developed in collaboration with the Guide Association of Bhutan to identify and discuss challenges and opportunities related to biodiversity and sustainable tourism, and to prepare a set of guideline for tour guides.

In India, ICIMOD collaborated with the Centre for Environment Education (CEE Himalaya) to organize an IBD celebration in Jammu and Kashmir. The programme included presentations on the local biodiversity scenario, maintaining biodiversity registers, ecosystem services and benefits sharing. The event also featured panel discussions, an exhibition and a rally.

In Pakistan, the ICIMOD Country Office collaborated with World Wildlife Fund Pakistan to organize the seminar “Zero Poaching of Snow Leopards”. It aimed to raise awareness about this issue as well as about the contributions of sustainable tourism to economic growth and to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity at local, provincial and national levels for mainstreaming mountain biodiversity and enhancing tourism.

News by ICIMOD

Read more

Photo: Subhasish Chakraborty