Mountain tourism day being celebrated

The two-day book and technology fair organised by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) on the theme "Sharing Mountain Knowledge" started in the capital Monday.

The fair was organised on the occasion of the International Mountain Day.

According to ICIMOD, the fair is being held in along with the Himalaya Tourism Conference 2006 on the theme 'Mountaineering, Livelihood and Environment' organised by the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA).

The fair encompasses exhibition of photographs, posters and slides related to mountains. Technology for bio-briquettes, bio-composting, beekeeping and renewable energy are included in the demonstrations' session, the ICIMOD said.

Other partners of the program include Apiculturists' Network (API-Net, Nepal), Centre for Rural Technology-Nepal, Department of Plant Resources, Ministry of Forest & Soil Conservation, Federation of Community Forestry Users, Nepal (FECOFUN), Forest-Action Nepal, Foundation for Sustainable Technologies (FoST), Himal Association, Himalayan Indigenous Women's Network (HIWN) & the Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (NEFIN), Mountain Forum, National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC), Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC), Nepal Participatory Action Network (NEPAN), Plan International Nepal, Practical Action Nepal, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), IUCN (together with South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics, SANDEE) and ICIMOD. nepalnews.com ia Dec 11 06