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KATHMANDU: Chairperson of Media Action Nepal (MAN) Laxman Datt Pant has been elected to co-lead a key global network to defend and promote press freedom across the world.

Elections of the Media Freedom Coalition-Consultative Network (MFC-CN), consisting of 22 organizations from different countries, held to elect a vacant co-chair yesterday (February 8, 2022) elected Pant to the influential global post. The MFC-CN is a group of national, regional and international organizations that provides advice to the Media Freedom Coalition (MFC), a partnership of countries working together to advocate for media freedom and safety of journalists and hold to account those who harm journalists for doing their job.

With this, MAN Chairperson Pant, an internationally acclaimed media scholar and trainer as well as a fighter for press freedom, joins two other co-chairs Silvia Chocarro of Article 19 and Rachael Kay of IFEX to coordinate MFC-CN activities globally and represent the network in global meetings that MFC organizes to defend media freedom. 

Commenting on his elections, Pant said, “Being the new-chair comes with great responsibility. At a time when press freedom is under increasing attack in many countries including Nepal, we must collectively do everything we can to defend it.” “We need bold actions to promote media freedom where it is under attack. For that, I will work together with other co-chairs and members MFC-CN as well as with other like-minded organizations and individuals to better coordinate our actions and increase effectiveness.”

Members of MFC-CN are ARTICLE 19, International Federation of Journalists, International Press Institute, Reporters sans Frontières, Association of International Broadcasting, World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers, The Guardian, International Media Support, Committee to Protect Journalists, Public Media Alliance, Internews Europe, IFEX, South East European Network for Professionalization of Media and Media Monitoring Africa. The other eight members are MAN, Free Press Unlimited, Cambodian Center for Human Rights, Pakistan Press Foundation, Comité por la Libre Expresión, DW Akademie, Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa and Maharat Foundation.

Last month, MAN, a media rights advocate and research organization working across Nepal and also in South Asia, was selected as a member of MFC-CN. “This new global responsibility has made me personally and MAN further committed to work everything in our capacity to promote press freedom and improve safety of journalists,” Pant said.

Kathmandu- India-Nepal Centre (INC)  in association with the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) and Nepal SBI Bank Ltd (NSBL), PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) hosted the India-Nepal Startup Summit 2022. The key purpose of the Summit was to bring the important stakeholders of bilateral economic cooperation on a common idea platform from both India and Nepal to discuss some of the most crucial aspects concerning investment and partnership to support the thriving Startup Ecosystem in both India and Nepal.

The session was attended by the key policymakers from both the government and industry to ideate the way forward for ever closer cooperation between India and Nepal with a focus on fostering the startup ecosystem in both countries.

K V Rajan, Chair, India-Nepal Centre, PHDCCI & India’s Former Ambassador to Nepal mentioned that we must constantly revisit the critically important aspects like simplification, handholding and funding aspects of startups.

Ram Prasad Subedi, Chargé D'Affaires, Embassy of Nepal in India reflected on the broad trends concerning the bilateral economic cooperation between India and Nepal and identified startup cooperation as a very important factor of economic development.

 Dipak Kumar De, MD & CEO, Nepal SBI Bank Ltd (NSBL) said that India continues to be the most formidable economic partner due to deepen bilateral ties. Foreign investments and approval are the real issues. However, Indian investment in Nepal has been significantly impressive. NSBL is the partner in Nepal’s progress and it looks forward to supporting the startups, he said.  The Summit was curated and coordinated by  Atul K Thakur, Nodal Coordinator, India-Nepal Centre, PHDCCI.

Bardiya National Park in Nepal and Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve in India have won this year's TX2 Award for doubling their population of wild tigers since 2010. A second award for Tiger Conservation Excellence will be presented to Khata Forest Conservation Area in Nepal which secures transboundary connectivity for tigers between Nepal and India.

The awards celebrate the upcoming launch of the 2022 Lunar Year of the Tiger. In September tiger range countries will convene at the second Global Tiger Summit in Vladivostok to assess progress towards the ambitious TX2 goal - to double the number of tigers in the wild - and to identify tiger conservation priorities for the next 12 years, according to a press statement issued by WWF.

The tiger population of award winner, Bardia National Park, increased almost five-fold from less than 20 tigers in 2009 to almost 90 in 2018 - an astounding achievement given it is situated in one of the most densely populated regions of the world.

Sathyamangalam, designated a Tiger Reserve in 2013, was home to only 25 tigers in 2011 but today there are an estimated 80 individuals in the area. Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve, located in the Western Ghats Biodiversity Hotspot, connects with two other protected areas, supporting one of the most important and largest tiger populations in the world.

The associated award for Tiger Conservation Excellence is presented to the incredible transboundary Khata corridor where community based conservation efforts, including a network of 74 community forests covering 202 km2, have secured safe passage for tigers between Bardia National Park in Nepal and Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary in India. Over the last five years 46 individual tigers have been detected using the corridor together with other iconic and threatened mammal species including the Asian elephant, and the greater one-horned rhino.

The awards are presented by the Conservation Assured Tiger Standards (CA|TS), Fauna and Flora International (FFI), Global Tiger Forum (GTF), IUCN’s Integrated Tiger Habitat Conservation Programme (ITHCP), Panthera, UNDP, The Lion’s Share, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and WWF.

Stuart Chapman, Lead of WWF’s Tigers Alive Initiative, said: “The commitments made in 2010 demonstrate what can be achieved through long term commitments to tiger conservation.

The dedication of field teams, conservation partners and communities living with tigers are behind these extraordinary results.”

Sugoto Roy, Coordinator of the Integrated Tiger Habitat Programme, IUCN, said “Successful tiger conservation involves continuous management and improvement of habitats at the landscape scale, rigorous monitoring of tigers and their prey, and working extensively with local communities. All of these criteria have been met with excellence, giving us these globally significant results.“

Dale Miquelle, Tiger Program Coordinator for the Wildlife Conservation Society, said, “The results demonstrated by these three sites demonstrate what tiger conservation success can look like when government agencies, non-governmental bodies, and local communities work together, using the best science-based practices, to create a better future for both tigers and people. WCS congratulates these sites, these countries and the local communities involved for their commitment to excellence.”

Midori Paxton, Head – Ecosystems and Biodiversity, UNDP, said: “The award-winning reserves serve as a beacon of hope that tiger conservation is possible in fast growing economies and that tigers can coexist even in densely populated countries. This is the inspiration we need as we move towards the next Global Tiger Summit and the setting of new tiger conservation targets.”

Every disability is different. But all its variants hinder functionality, in one or the other way. While some disabilities might be visible, others that affect cognitive or learning abilities are called ‘invisible’. Nepal is still a long way from addressing the issues of persons with disability (PWD), mainly due to lack of coordination between different government agencies. 

Representation is another issue that needs to be addressed. Although political parties have quotas for people with disabilities, discrimination against them continues: those getting the benefits are mostly the kith and kin of influential politicians. Though PWDs get identity cards, there is no census or a proper system for their documentation. Disability is still socially stigmatized, preventing parents and people in general from freely talking.

ApEx recently organized a roundtable on the topic with the objective of understanding the basics: the most common forms of disabilities in Nepal and the problems the sufferers face. Here are excerpts.   

Rama Dhakal, Vice president, National Federation of the Disabled Nepal

Those like me with physical disabilities are at least visible and the media take up our issues to an extent, but those with invisible disabilities seldom get the needed exposure. Yet the biggest issue for all of us continues to be lack of inclusion in policy making. Political parties have ignored the essence of the constitution and misused PWD quotas by nominating their yes-men—those who don’t even consider themselves PWD. If people representing us can’t make it to the decision-making level, no one is going to advocate on our behalf and our issues will continue to be sidelined. Besides our mental, physical, and financial difficulties, lack of concern being shown by our political stakeholders is also a huge problem. This was also reflected in the recently concluded general conventions of major parties, where the issues of the PWD were completely sidelined.

Also read: ApEx roundtable: Mental health, youth and the pandemic

Devi Acharya, Chairman, Nepal Spinal Cord Injury Sports Association

A spinal cord injury (SCI) is a physical and visible injury, resulting in loss of functions such as mobility and feeling. Around 70 percent of SCI cases are the result of accidents at home like falling from trees or cliffs. A series of things should be done to stabilize an SCI victim, to be carried about step by step. That is an issue. There are hardly any professionals to assist disabled people in hospitals or disabled children in schools. Our hospitals lack even basic medical facilities for them. It takes hours or at times even days for a PWD to reach the hospital. Besides, we don’t have proper rehabilitation equipment, and the professional help needed to diagnose and treat SCI patients is inadequate as well.

Lakpa Norbu Sherpa, Chairman, Society of Deaf-blind Parents 

Deaf-blindness is a combination of sight and hearing loss that affects a person’s ability to communicate, access information, and move around. Among different forms of disabilities, deaf-blindness is among the more severe one. My son has deaf-blindness and either my wife or me have to be with him all the time. People with this disability have no access to education, transport, and other daily needs. We, caretakers, are ignored by the government, and nor can we go outside our homes for advocacy. So we have been deprived of our shares of allowances and facilities.

I sometimes feel people with minor disabilities have suppressed our issues. Alongside, the concerned stakeholders have not been able to create an environment for an inclusive school where students with any disability can attend. If we could send our children to such schools, perhaps they could feel like other regular kids, which is also important for their sound mental health.

Also read: No political party for Nepalis with disabilities

Dr Sunita Maleku Amatya, Chairperson, Autismcare Nepal Society

My son has autism, which means he has difficulties in social interactions due to his repetitive patterns of thought and behaviors. This is referred to as a developmental disorder of variable severity. It is important to diagnose it early to cope with it the best possible way. In developed countries, the newborn are tested for the functionality of their organs and treated in case a disability is found. Unfortunately, our health service has no such mechanism for screening, delaying diagnosis. Problems are compounded by lack of further treatment and services, even though timely recognition and treatment could minimize the damages. Moreover, caretakers have a huge role in the life of PWD. Mental health of the caretakers should be prioritized and they should be recognized, appreciated and made more visible.

Shila Thapa, President, Down Syndrome Society of Nepal 

Down syndrome is a condition in which a child is born with an extra copy of their 21st chromosome, resulting in physical and mental developmental delays and disabilities. But they can still live a healthy and fulfilling life. My son has this condition. What each stakeholder should know is people with Down can be valuable employees and are also ready to work, but often lack training and opportunity. The government has not done anything to help them be more independent. Nor has it financially supported the guardians of children with Down. The current government monthly allowances are peanuts. So the problems with all kinds of disabilities can be alleviated with due attention of policymakers as well as greater social awareness.