Seminar on Small Mammals Conservation begins

Kathmandu - The three-day-long South Asian conference on Small Mammals Conservation 2017 started in the capital city Sunday. The theme of the event is “Small Mammals: Sustaining Ecology and Economy in South Asia”. 

The event is the first of its kind on small mammal on South Asian region. 

The objectives of the conference are to intensify the information exchange of the results in research and practical development in the conservation of small mammals by expanding the network of like-minded people and updating the data on small mammals, building capacity and disseminating the achievements, opportunities and challenges in conservation and research activities on small mammals. 

The conference is being organized by Small Mammals Conservation and Research Foundation in collaboration with the Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation) Central Department of Zoology, Tribhuvan University, with the financial support from many organizations 

Total 105 participants from 10 different countries (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Taiwan, USA, UK, China, Malaysia, South Korea and Nepal) gathered for the conference. 

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Member of the National Planning Commission Dr Parbhu Budhathoki stressed that there is big knowledge gap on the status of small mammals and therefore this conference is very critical as it brings the issues in front of the policy makers. 

He asked to bring key recommendations to bring the key policy changes in small mammals that would help in landscape based conservation to species specific conservation to contribute in the conservation and development of small mammals. He emphasized that SMCRF can be the leading institution and center of excellence in the South Asian region.