Bird
Conservation Nepal (BCN) carried out a second stakeholder consultation workshop
to explore the possibility of bird conservation through sustainable
enterprising at Hangetham, Sandakpur Rural Municipality ward number-5, Ilam
District; a part of Mai Valley Forest Landscape on 16 June, 2024. The workshop
was carried out in collaboration with Mountain Organization Nepal (MOON), Ilam
and supported by BirdLife International.
A total of 27
participants were present in the workshop to discuss the current status of tea,
cardamom and Non-timber Forest Products (NTFPs) production in the area, market
availability, necessary interventions and appropriate benefit sharing mechanism
to foster bird conservation in the area. All the participants actively
participated in group discussions and presented their ideas on aforementioned
topics. During the workshop, BCN's Senior Program Manager, Khadananda
Paudel, discussed the organization's efforts to conserve birds and their
habitats throughout Nepal, the necessity of a bird conservation project in the
Mai Valley IBA, the project's goals, and its scope. Likewise, Kiran Gosai,
Research Associate of BCN facilitated the group discussion of the workshop.
Umesh Sauden from MOON moderated the program. The workshop ended with the
closing remarks from Dhan Bahadur Khamdang, Director of MOON. The workshop provided good base for the stakeholders
to strategize and make informed decision to conserve birds through sustainable
enterprising.