Kathmandu, Sept 13, Nepal has put up a proposal to launch a worldwide campaign against soil erosion and desertification which has emerged as global challenge. The proposal was tabled in the global conference on desertification, land degradation and drought, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification held in New Delhi, India.
Addressing the conference, Minister for Forests and Environment Shakti Bahadur Basnet stressed the need for joint worldwide efforts to curb soil erosion that is creating environmental problems and destroying farm lands.
As a result of the disaster, livelihood of thousands of people of the world has been threatened, and agricultural productions have decreased, he outlined. Stating that Nepal has come up with a concrete plan to control soil erosion, the minister said the government has announced the fiscal year of 2019/20 as the year to plant trees, and has prioritized the President-Chure Tarai Madhes Conservation Programme.
Minister Basnet led a Nepali delegation to the conference that ran from September 2 to 13. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the conference attended by minister for forest and environment of 89 countries and head of the state and government of some of the countries. Nepal became signatory to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification in 1997.
