Features / Interview

What’s Delaying Nepal’s Tourism Boom?

By Raunab Singh Khatri In 2017, Nepal saw a record 940,000 visitors, missing the stated target of 1 million tourists by a mere 6 percent. Meanwhile, visitors to the Mt. Everest area surged beyond 900,000 for the first time. Thus, it is indeed a period of optimism for Nepal, which seeks to style itself on the global market as a ...

Mt. Everest height measurement

Nepal takes great pride for being home to Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain peak, which stands at 8,848 metres above sea level. But questions are frequently raised regarding its height, and they draw the attention of the bodies concerned, trigger discussions and debates and make media headlines. And finally, to make all confusions about the height of the peak called ...

Links between corruption and wildlife crime

The Secretariat of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) spearheaded a number of events at the 7th session of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC CoSP7, Vienna, 6-10 November 2017) to encourage Parties to both ...

India-Nepal Joint Statement during the State Visit of Prime Minister of India to Nepal (May 11-12, 2018)

Full text of India-Nepal Joint Statement during the State Visit of Prime Minister of India to Nepal (May 11-12, 2018) – The Prime Minister of India His Excellency Shri Narendra Modi is on a State Visit to Nepal from 11 to 12 May 2018 at the invitation of the Prime Minister of Nepal The Rt. Hon’ble K P Sharma Oli. ...

Focus on helicopter evacuations in Nepal

Opinion — A press release issued by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation in Nepal has announced the launch of an official Special Investigation Unit that will be looking into the activities of more than 500 expedition, trekking and helicopter companies in the country who are accused of corruption and price-fixing through unnecessary and fictitious helicopter rescues to ...

25 years of conserving biodiversity in the Hindu Kush Himalayas

By Janita Gurung , Pradyumna J.B. Rana This year marks a quarter century of the ratification of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) – an agreement among 196 countries to conserve the earth’s biological diversity while ensuring it is used sustainably and that the benefits from using genetic resources are shared fairly. All eight countries of the Hindu Kush Himalaya ...

‘Success of Everest expeditions disseminates positive message globally’ – By Ballav Dahal

By Ballav Dahal — With the success of many expeditions to Mt. Everest and nominal human casualties on the world’s tallest mountain this spring, Nepal has been highlighted internationally. During the period, more than 400 climbers from across the world reached the summit of the 8,848-metre peak. Four women journalists from Nepal were also among them. “A good message about ...