KATHMANDU, JUNE 5

Former President Bidya Devi Bhandari stressed the need to check excessive exploitation of natural resources, unwise consumption and haphazard development works.

In a message of best wishes on the occasion of the World Environment Day-2024 today, she highlighted that immoderate exploitation of natural resources and insane consumption patterns have resulted in imbalance in the environment, thereby triggering air pollution, loss of bio-diversity and climate change.

In the message, the former President said, "Today civil society, private sector and governments at all levels need to be responsible for enlivening the co-existence between nature and human beings while preserving sustainable ecological systems in the context of climate change taking the form of a global crisis".

She highlighted the need of conserving water sources including wells, ponds, rivers, lakes, sustainable utilization and recharge of groundwater, promotion of organic farming system, electric stoves and vehicles should be encouraged.

"The basic issues such as stopping fishing using pesticides and currents, stopping the tendency to fire, reducing and managing the use of plastic materials should be taken as an integral part of life according to the principles of circular economy", the message reads.