Kathmandu, January 26:

State Minister for Environment, Science and Technology Man Bahadur Bishwakarma today said Nepal would work as a model country in the South Asia in the coming years in the field of environment conservation.

Nepal is chairing the governing Council of South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme (SACEP) for the coming two years. Environment ministers of all South Asian countries are members of the 25-year-old SACEP, which includes members from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Talking to the press after conclusion of the tenth meeting of the governing council of SACEP, Bishwakarma said Nepal would be leading a model role in upgrading the environment situation of the whole area. A Kathmandu Declaration was announced at the concluding session of the conference, which agreed to ink an Environmental Treaty for the sub-region.

“We urge the donor countries, relevant United Nations bodies and agencies, multilateral financial institutions, other intergovernmental organisations, the private sector, academia, non-governmental organisations and civil society to provide financial and technical support to the SACEP secretariat in implementing the programme focus approved by the Governing Council,” the declaration stated.