Posted on December, 08 2023

8^th December 2023: A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC) and WWF Nepal to establish a working mechanism where both institutions come together by sharing expertise, knowledge, and resources in achieving common goals and objectives for the promotion of agrobiodiversity conservation and utilization in Nepal and joint implementation of the “deep regenerative agriculture project” supported by The Rockefeller Foundation in Nepal.

“Through this collaboration, we are hoping to create a synergy to protect the local biodiversity and create a hub within the Himalayan range. NARC is extremely happy to partner with an organization like WWF which does great work in the field of conservation. We look forward to make collective efforts towards the development of agrobiodiversity conservation in partnership with local Indigenous People.” said Dr. Dhurba Raj Bhattarai, Executive Director, NARC. “Signing this MOU is a beginning. More importantly, we need to produce results and impact on the ground”, he added.

Through this MOU, NARC and WWF Nepal seeks to work together to develop new concepts and build capacity in the development and implementation of agrobiodiversity conservation and utilization alongside the conventional conservation approach implemented in Nepal.

“WWF Nepal is extremely happy to enter into this partnership and we are excited to work together with NARC and Lumbini University to create solutions to environmental and conservation issues with agrobiodiversity at the centre. Utilizing the strengths of both organizations, we will bring global knowledge and contextualize it to local needs to create positive impact” said Dr. Ghana Shyam Gurung, Country Representative, WWF Nepal.