Increased transboundary cooperation was needed to transform mountain forestry in Hindu Kush Himalayan region, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar, who addressed the inaugural session of the five-day symposium on ‘Transforming Mountain Forestry’ said, on Sunday.
The symposium, which began on Sunday, aims at creating conducive transboundary conditions, politically and institutionally, to protect the forest ecosystems in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region.
Mr Javadekar, who addressed the gathering through his video-recorded message, said, “The symposium gives an opportunity to share the best practices. It is important for the stakeholders in the entire Hindu Kush region to promote sustainable and inclusive forest management that brings together practice, policy, and science. There are also transboundary issues (that need to be addressed).”
The symposium, which is being jointly organised by the Dehradun-based Forest Research Institute and the Kathmandu Valley-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), is the first to focus on the mountain forestry in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region.
Director General of ICIMOD David Molden also stressed on the need for transboundary cooperation regarding forest issues and called for collective efforts to make Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD-plus) a reality.
The objective of the symposium is: ‘To outline options for sustainable forest management practices and policies that address the changing conditions in the Hindu Kush Himalayas while identifying transboundary opportunities that meet climatic and contemporary challenges, thus simultaneously addressing conservation and inclusive development.’
Over 200 regional and global experts from countries including United States of America, Germany, China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Nepal, and Italy with participants including cross sector policy makers, scientists, practitioners, donors, market actors, legal experts, forestry professionals and representatives from the business and civil society will be present at the five-day symposium.
