Kathmandu, June 5

Nepal celebrated the World Environment Day today with various awareness campaigns related to environment conservation.

Speaking at a programme organised by the Ministry of Population and Environment, President Bidhya Devi Bhandari urged all to save forests, environment and wildlife for the future generation.

“Celebrating World Environment Day should not be only a formality. We should conserve forests, environment and wildlife for the future generations,” she said. The head of state further said there should a balance between our development efforts and environmental conservation while addressing the effects of climate change.

She hailed Nepal’s practice of community forestry, saying it was a pioneering concept in the forestry sector and that had helped put rural local communities on the path of social and economic prosperity.

Addressing the programme, Minister for Population and Environment Jay Dev Joshi said efforts for environmental conservation had gained momentum after the country became a republic.

Women, Children and Environment Development Centre Makawanpur was honoured with the Environment Conservation Award for its works in the environmental sector.

The award was also conferred on Lal Bahadur Rawal from Kailali for his contribution to nature conservation.

The award carries a purse of Rs 150,000. Under the female category, the Award was given to Indira Parajuli from Kaski. With it, she received Rs 50,000.

Other persons and organisations receiving awards include Laxmi Prasad Upadhyay (Enviroment Journalism Award), Unilever Nepal (Environment Friendly Industry Award) and Abhisekh Shrestha (Climate Change Management Award). These awards carry cash prizes of Rs 50,000, 25,000 and 25,000 respectively.

“Connecting People to Nature”, was the theme for the World Environment Day of this year. It is the biggest annual event for positive environmental action and takes place on June 5 every year. This year’s host country Canada got to choose the theme and will be at the centre of celebrations around the planet.