Press release, 8/24/17
Bishkek – High-level delegations from all 12 snow leopard range countries and senior representatives of international organizations have arrived in Bishkek today for the 2017 International Snow Leopard & Ecosystem Forum.
The Forum will be opened tomorrow, August 25th, by President Almazbek Atambayev of the Kyrgyz Republic, who is leading the Kyrgyz delegation.
Mohammad Sarwar Danish, Vice President, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Yeshey Dorji, Minister of Agriculture and Forests, the Kingdom of Bhutan
Li Chunliang, Deputy Head of the State Division of Forestry, the People’s Republic of China
Harsh Vardhan, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the Republic of India
Askar Myrzakhmetov, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Agriculture, the Republic of Kazakhstan
Tserendorzhin Baybayar, Vice Minister of Environment and Tourism, Mongolia
Prakash Mathema, Secretary, Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation, Nepal
Mushahid Ulla Khan, Federal Minister of Climate Change, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Sergei Donskoy, Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology, the Russian Federation
Hairullo Ibodzoda, Chairperson Environment Protection Committee, the Republic of Tajikistan
Borit Alikhanov, Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Oliy Majlis, the Republic of Uzbekistan
Erik Solheim, Director General, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Cihan Sultanoglu, Assistant Secretary General, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Midori Paxton, Senior Technical Advisor, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Malik Amin Aslam, Vice President, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
Jaime Cavelier, Senior Environment Specialist, Global Environment Facility (GEF)
Keshav Varma, Chairman, Global Tiger Initiative Council (GTI-C)
Thomas Tennhardt, Vice President, Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU)
Michael Despines, Executive Director, Snow Leopard Trust (SLT)
Mary Melnik, Environment Team Leader, United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
Kimberly Rosen, Mission Director Kyrgyzstan, United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
Marco Lambertini, Director General, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)
Kate Newman, Vice President, WWF US
Lu Zhi, Chairperson, Snow Leopard Network (SLN)
Charudutt Mishra, Executive Director, Snow Leopard Network (SLN)
Ms Dia Mirza, actress and film producer, India
Mr Jubin Nautyial, singer and musician, India
Hari Sankaran, M.D. IL&FS
Wang Shi, Vanke Foundation
Binod Chaudhary, Chaudhary Group of Industries
Punit Lalbhai, Arvind Mills
The Forum’s high-level segment will be held at State Residence No. 1 “Ala Archa” in Bishkek. Technical meetings and side events are held at Jannat Regency and Hyatt Regency Hotels.
The Forum will be held at State Residence No. 1 “Ala Archa” in Bishkek. Range countries will endorse the Bishkek Declaration 2017, reaffirming their commitment to saving the endangered snow leopard.
A snow leopard in Kyrgyzstan’s Shamshy Wildlife Sanctuary. Photo: SLF Kyrgyzstan / Snow Leopard Trust
The Forum is hosted by Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev, and organized by the State Agency for Environment Protection and Forestry of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Global Snow Leopard & Ecosystem Protection Program’s secretariat. Strategic partners include the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Snow Leopard Trust (SLT), Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU), Global Environment Facility (GEF), Global Tiger Initiative Council (GTIC) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Several organizations such as FAO, WFP and OSCE are also providing support for specific deliverables. Additional support has been provided by General Sponsor Tsum Center, Official Sponsors United Cement Group and RSK Bank, Official Partners Ayil Bank and Ayu Holding, and Partners including Hyatt Regency Hotel, Jannat Hotel, Ambassador Hotel, Orion Hotel, Dostuk Club Hotel, Tour Asia, Beren Gold, Uni Yurt, Antares Group, Adver Group, World Ethnosport Federation, and Media Partners Novyi Bishkek and Sputnik.
More information: forum.globalsnowleopard.org
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