Posted on January, 12 2006
The handover of the 4WD with the communication set will help improve the mobility, speed and efficiency with which anti-poaching operations Nepal 's first and foremost national park can respond to a crisis. The Rhino Count 2005 found a drastic decline in the RCNP population of the Greater One-horned rhinoceros, primarily because of poaching to fuel the demand created by the illegal wildlife trade. As efforts to address this transboundary international problem gathers steam, concerned organizations are banding together to contribute in ways big and small.
This joint step by VOITH and WWF, the global conservation organization, is an important beginning for corporate Nepal to join hands with the cause of conservation to safeguard our rich natural biodiversity.
At the event, VOITH presented two special awards: the first to a Nepali conservationist who has spent a lifetime working in our national parks and the second award, which is a scholarship from the Jasutara Foundation, to Ishswari Aryal, daughter of Narayan Bahadur Khatri, a staff of Parsa Wildlife Reserve, who was killed in Maoist mine ambush on 20 January 2005.
Dr Tirtha Man Maskey, Director General of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation was awarded the prestigious on being awarded the prestigious Duke of Edinburgh Conservation Medal 2005 in recognition of his outstanding contributions and commitment to conservation in Nepal; from the implementation of a visionary landscape-level conservation approach to championing the cause of the endangered freshwater Gangetic gharial, promoting ex-situ conservation, influencing national policy, paving the way for the participatory involvement of local communities and coordinating trans-boundary efforts to deter poaching and illegal wildlife trade.
The event at the Garden of Dreams , Kesar Mahal, was attended by representatives of His Majesty's Government of Nepal, dignitaries, prominent industrialists and important media persons.
