06 Dec
2006 - Chitwan, Nepal – In what turned out to
be the largest signature campaign to save rhinos
in Nepal, 21 Eco Clubs in Chitwan joined hands
to collect 101,500 public signatures on 700 meters
of cloth and handed them over to the State Minister
for Forests and Soil Conservation Mr. Dilendra
Prasad Baru at the Ministry of Forests and Soil
Conservation on Friday, 1 December 2006.
The signature campaign took
place from 17-24 November following a dramatic
rise in rhino poaching in Chitwan since July this
year. 20 student representatives from Chitwan
arrived in Kathmandu for the handover ceremony
and to deliver an Eco Club statement urging the
Government of Nepal to act swiftly to curb rhino
poaching.
The signature campaign was conducted
with the support of WWF team from regional office.
Dirgha Gandhari, Conservation Education Officer
WWF Nepal and Purna Kunwar, Sector Manager of
Terai Arc Landscape said, “I was very satisfied
by the active participation and voluntary service
from the Eco Clubs”. “It was a real challenge
to mobilize such a mass over such a short period
of time and we hope our efforts will make an impact.”
The event was extensively covered
by major print and broadcast media.
WWF is actively involved in
providing technical and financial support to set
up Eco Club networks across the country. Activities
are also aimed to educate the general public on
the importance of nature conservation and environmental
protection.
