KATHMANDU: Speaker Dol Prasad Aryal has said Nepal has a negligible role behind climate change, but the country is at the receiving end of climate burden.
Addressing the first General Assembly of the South Asia Wildlife Law Enforcement Network in Lalitpur on Thursday, Speaker Aryal said a thousand of people lost their lives and thousands other went missing in the recent catastrophe in Nepal. Similar numbers of people are rendered homeless due to Bhotekoshi floods occurred on August 26.
Aryal further informed that the disaster ravaged property worth billions of rupees and also affected a large number of wildlife. “It is fair to say that the root cause of this colossal disaster is not we Nepalis but climate change that is a global problem. The people who lost their lives in the disaster were innocent, for they were not the cause at all,” he said, adding, “The disaster survivors deserve attention from the global community because they are forced to bear the impact of climate change though they have no fault of their own.”
The disaster-hit communities should be attended with climate justice, he argued. Importantly, the Speaker underscored the urgency of climate justice to Nepal, asserting that Nepal plays little role in climate change but is forced to bear disproportionate climate burden.
According to him, illegal wildlife trade is more than an issue of forest and wildlife conservation because it has links to natural heritage, rule of law, public institutions, economy and livelihood of local communities. Effective coordination among competent institutions, adequate resources including skilled workforce and relevant bodies are imperative to curb wildlife crime, he suggested.
Legal and institutional mechanisms also play vital roles in protecting nature in view of changing technology that facilitates new crimes, according to Speaker Aryal. In his opinion, regional cooperation can be further instrumental in controlling cross border crimes. Information exchange, direct contact and trust among the investigation and prosecution agencies of member states are other imperatives. South Asia is rich in natural resources and biodiversity, thereby requiring shared responsibility for conservation.
Speaker Aryal expected that the decision to be taken by the General Assembly would help reinforce cooperation among member states and contribute to capacity building of national institutions and effective conservation of wildlife. It is everyone’s responsibility to conserve natural resources for the coming generations, he underscored. (RSS)
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