The Nepal Weekly 
October 10, 2023
The Second International Sustainable Mountain Development and Tourism Conference concluded. The event participated in by more than 100 experts was commenced October 6 in Pokhara, Nepal.
The three-day event was jointly organised by Kathmandu University and Hokkaido University of Japan, and hosted by the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB).
In the conference over 70 technical discussions, papers and keynotes were presented by distinguished experts and scientists from India, China, USA, UK, Japan, Vietnam, Spain, Chile, Poland and Nepal.
These discussions primarily focused on various aspects of mountain tourism.
The conference concluded with a seven point declaration. Potential Geopark site to find out and recommend to the Government, emphasize sustainable tourism development in high Himalayas, workout support livelihood of the high mountain people and their welfare, emphasize environment friendly technologies in the mountain tourism , marketing and planned development were among the seven point.
During the inaugural session, representatives of the government of India, Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, and Professor Bishwojit Roy Chaudhari, stressed the shared heritage of mountains and rivers. Chairman of Pokhara Tourism Council Pom Narayan Shrestha addressed critical issues of sustainability in the tourism industry and foreseeing that the programme would promote Pokhara as a premier MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) destination. NTB CEO Dhananjay Regmi elaborated that the conference serves as an ideal platform to discuss and share insights on the challenges and best practices in sustainable mountain tourism on a global scale.
Keynote speakers, Professor Martin Price and Professor Teiji Watanabe delivered presentations on ‘Mountains on global agendas: 5-decade perspective’ and ‘Regenerative tourism: Case study Daisetsuzan National Park’, respectively.
At the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, Agenda 21, a “blueprint for sustainable development” was established and signed. Chapter 13, “Managing Fragile Ecosystems: Sustainable Mountain Development” included as its mandate the generation and strengthening of knowledge about the ecology and sustainable development of mountain ecosystems. During the 30 years since the creation of Chapter 13, significant progress and improvements have been made in mountain biodiversity conservation, cultural conservation, education, scientific research methods, tourism development, and art.
Under the banner of “Science for Sustainable Mountain Development,” the purpose of the Second International Conference on Sustainable Mountain Development was to explore and celebrate each of these sectors from the perspective of globally renowned professionals and practitioners from the physical and social sciences, education, development, art, filmmaking, tourism, and conservation.
