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IV. MULTILATERAL AGREEMENTS AND DOMESTIC POLICY
[ IV-A | IV-B ]
B. Constraints on implementation of Conventions
The most serious constraint on the implementation of environmentally-related Conventions to which Nepal is committed has obviously been the absence of any coordinating agency such as the Ministry of Population and Environment which is responsible for the incorporation or integration of various international obligations into the existing laws or when preparing new legislation. Even where there is a specific government agency directly concerned with or obviously responsible for implementation of some Conventions, implementation has not been particularly encouraging. The glaring examples are the Department of National Parks and Wild Life Conservation with the implementation CITES, 1973, and the Department of Archaeology with the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Culture and Heritage, 1972. It should, however, be noted that under the present trade policy, introduced in 1992, the government has imposed a ban on export of images of gods and goddesses, palm leaf inscriptions (Tad Patra) and plant leaf inscriptions (Bhojpatra), scrolls (Thanka) of historical importance, wild animals, bile and any other part of animals, musk, snake and lizard skins, raw hides and skin, and logs and timber.
Even after almost two decades, important and relevant Conventions have not yet been effectively implemented. CITES and the World Cultural and Natural Heritage Conventions are glaring examples. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization/International Council of Monuments and Sites Review Mission of 14-30 November 1993 recommended that several World Heritage Sites in the Kathmandu Valley be placed on the World Heritage in Danger List. When even the implementation status of international environmental instruments to which Nepal became a party more than 15 years ago is so weak, the status of other Conventions such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and Convention on Climatic Change can easily be imagined.
Although Agenda 21 is not legally binding, Nepal is committed to it as are all other nations which attended the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in June 1992. It deserves immediate implementation by the government, especially those chapters which have a direct relevance to Nepal such as those dealing with integrating environment and development in decision-making, managing fragile ecosystems, sustainable mountain development, promoting sustainable agriculture and rural development, and conservation of biodiversity.
Since two important central coordinating agencies, that is, EPC and the Ministry of Population and Environment, now exist with the necessary mandates, they can be expected to take appropriate and effective steps to see that the international obligations of Nepal are duly honoured and implemented in the interests of both Nepal and the international community. As an initial and immediate step, it is necessary first to take stock of those international obligations emanating from environmentally-related Conventions to which Nepal is already a party, and to examine how those obligations can be implemented effectively. To facilitate such action, the Ministry of Population and Environment could constitute a "legal committee" of experts and take the necessary steps on the basis of the findings and recommendations by that committee. The extensive study jointly commissioned by NPC and the World Conservation Union (IUCN), entitled the National Conservation Strategy Implementation Project, is now near completion. The study will serve as an excellent document for both the government and the proposed "legal committee" in making their review and recommendations, and in taking the necessary actions.
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