IUCN

The Siwalik (Churiya) range is a fragile land system formed from sediments during the raising of the greater and lesser Himalaya. The area is considered one of the world's most important sources of the later tertiary fossils of mammals and provides a basis for much of our current knowledge about the evolution of fauna, especially primates and reptiles. The Siwaliks, ranging east to west, occupy an estimated 13; of Nepal's total land area.

Urban centres in Nepal will continue to grow as the trend to migrate to urban centres from neighbouring rural areas in search for better economic opportunities continues. This trend will have a significant impact on the existing infrastructure facilities and services of the urban centres. Haphazard growth and inadequate services have not only degraded the environmental quality of the urban centres but have made some urban areas uninhabitable.

To explore the concept of green accounting, IUCN Bangladesh held two workshops in Dhaka (1997, 1998). The participants consisted of experts, academics, bureaucrats, policy-makers, and consultants representing a broad spectrum of government and non-government agencies. The workhop proceedings have been published to create a greater awareness of the need for the application of environmental accounting in Bangladesh.

There is international consensus that many of the world's commercial fisheries are in distress. Eco-labelling schemes are increasingly perceived as a way to simultaneously maintain the productivity and economic value of fisheries while providing incentives for improved fisheries management and the conservation of marine biodiversity.

The attention given to landscape in environmental law is new and the subject raises a series of interesting problems, which were highlighted at a Colloquium. Its central theme was the draft European Landscape Convention prepared by the Council of Europe, the first of its kind. Since 1998, the draft has evolved, and has reached its almost final form; it is expected to be adopted during 2000.

The Vietnam Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) was developed by the Ministry of Forestry and the State Committee of Science, in collaboration with WWF and UNDP. I was published in 1994 and approved by the government in 1995. This workshop was a critical assessment of the BAP's three years of implementation.