The 2nd International Sustainable Mountain Development and Tourism Conference started today with more than 100 participants. The 3-day Conference is organized by Kathmandu University and Hokkaido University of Japan and is being hosted by Nepal Tourism Board.

The Conference has scheuled more than 70 technical discussions and keynote presentations by noted scientists and academicians, from India, China, U.S.A., U.K, Japan, Vietnam, Spain, Chile, Poland and Nepal. Topics are focused on different aspects of mountain tourism.

Hon'ble Minister of Finance of Gandaki Pradesh Jit Bahadur Ale Magar, Chief Guest, opened the Conference at a formal program on Oct. 6 at Lakeside, Pokhara. NTB CEO Dr. Dhananjay Regmi welcomed the guests as Convener and Host. Similarly, Prof. Dr. Rijan Bhakta Kayastha, from Kathmandu University, thanked the guests as Chairman of the Conference.

Representative of Government of India Mr. Rajiv Ranjan Mishra and Professor Dr. Bishwojit Roy Chaudhari spoke at the program on the shared heritage of mountains and rivers. Chairman of Pokhara Tourism Council Mr. Pom Narayan Shrestha appreciated the organizers for choosing Pokhara as venue for the Conference that addressed the most pressing current issues ie "sustainability" of the tourism industry. He eas positive the program would highlight Pokhara as a top MICE destination.

NTB CEO Dr. Regmi said that the Conference would provide an ideal platform to discuss and share about the challenges and best practices in sustainable mountain tourism on a global level.

Prof. Dr. Martin Price and Prof. Dr. Teiji Watanabe were keynote speakers presenting on "Mountains on global agendas: 5-decade perspective" and "Regenerative tourism: case study Daisetsuzan National Park" respectively.

Technical sessions on the first day of the conference highlighted: "Geo-conservation, geo-park and geo-tourism". Parallel sessions were conducted on "Ensuring provision of sustainable recreational use in mountainous protected areas"; "Geodiversity and connectivity in mountain rivers with high-definition surface data"; "Hydrology and water resources management".

The Conference ends on Oct. 8.

Some of the glimpses of the event are: