Nepal and India Sign Five-Year MoU to Boost Biodiversity and Wildlife Protection
New Delhi: Nepal and India have signed a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at strengthening cooperation in biodiversity conservation and wildlife protection along their shared border.
The agreement was signed on Wednesday in New Delhi in the presence of Nepal’s Minister for Forests and Environment, Madhav Prasad Chaualgain, and India’s Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupendra Yadav.
Nepal’s Ambassador to India, Dr Shankar Prasad Sharma, signed the MoU on behalf of Nepal, while Tanmay Kumar, Secretary at India’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, signed for India.
Officials said the agreement will enhance coordination in managing protected areas and biological corridors that stretch across the two countries. These regions provide vital habitats for wildlife such as elephants, rhinos and tigers, which frequently move across borders.
According to Nepal’s Ministry of Forests and Environment, the MoU will support joint efforts to curb poaching and illegal wildlife trade, promote research and monitoring, and strengthen local-level awareness and capacity building. Both countries will also share intelligence on wildlife crime through the South Asia Wildlife Law Enforcement Network.
The agreement will be implemented through coordination between central and provincial forest and wildlife authorities in Nepal, including the Department of Forests and Soil Conservation and the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation.
The MoU will be automatically renewed every five years unless either country decides otherwise through diplomatic channels. It will be reviewed every three years, with any disputes to be resolved through mutual understanding.
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