KATHMANDU: President Dr Ram Baran Yadav today called on the political parties to move ahead with consensus to keep the country’s integrity intact.

He also expressed concern about the widening rift among the parties.

“The yawning gap among the parties may undermine the constitution-drafting and the peace process,” said Yadav while addressing a programme organised on the occasion of the National Conservation Day 2009 in the capital.

The government in 2008 had declared September 23 as the National Conservation Day to pay tribute to those conservationists, who had died in the Ghunsa helicopter crash on the same day in 2006.

The president also shared his childhood days when he enjoyed the lush green and dense forest around his hometown. He expressed his worry over the rapid depletion of natural resources.

“There used to be a time when we used to feel proud of a huge swathe of forest known as charkoshe jhadi. But, unfortunately, my eyes witnessed rapid deforestation. If the current pace of cutting down trees continued in the days to come, I’m sure the Tarai will be desert like in the middle-east within a few decades,” he said.

“I would like to salute those heroes of conservation whose absence is regularly hitting us in our conservation efforts,” said the president. “It will be possible to preserve the natural resources only if we gain political stability in the country.”

Nepal was among

the first few Asian nations to develop national

conservation legislation, sign Convention on

International Trade on Endangered Species and develop a national conservation strategy.

Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Forest and Soil Conservation Deepak Bohora expressed his commitment for the nature conservation.

Meantime, the president launched a book titled A Boy from Siklis authored by Manjushree Thapa. The book chronicles conservation efforts by late Chandra Gurung who was also killed in the helicopter crash in 2006.