Chronology

New Executive and General Members

Chairman: Mangal Man Shakya
Mangal Man Shakya is probably the first journalist specializing in wildlife in the country. In 1993, he began writing on the wildlife trade, inspired by a well-placed bureaucrat in the Ministry of Forests. At that time, Nepali newspapers rarely covered issues relating to wildlife trade. In 1996, he coordinated an informal group called the Wildlife Watch Group to motivate young journalists to write more on wildlife issues. As a result, wildlife issues have become a major issue in the mainstream media. Over the last seven years wildlife issues have been afforded unprecedented coverage. In 1993, he won Nepal's Best Environmental Journalist Award, and in 2002 he was one of the four recipients of the International Green Pen Award, from the Asia Pacific region.

Vice-chairman: Bigyan Pradhan used to work for the King Mahendra Japan Trust as Program Director. He is a conservationist, turned businessman, now based in Kathmandu.

Secretary: Dr. Suman Subedi is involved as a Lecturer at Tri‑Chandra Multiple Campus, Tribhuvan University and has been involved in several training, workshop and seminars. She has also been involved as Assistant Research Officer in National History Museum, Tribhuwan University. She has also been awarded with Mahendra Vidya Bhusan (grade Ka) by Ministry of education.

Treasurer: Lal Tamang is an eco-tourism promoter. He is also heavily involved in social organizations. He was executive member of the Kathmandu Environmental Education Project (KEE P) and operates a trekking company.

Executive Members:

Laxmi Badan Maskey is a coordinator of Dr. TM Maskey centre at WWG and author of recently published book "Tiger Warden".

Amrit Lal Joshi used to work in government of Nepal ministry of forest and soil conservation for more than two decades overseeing various programs and projects. He later resigned from the ministry and joined FAO headquarter in Rome, Italy. From FAO he came back to Kathmandu as technical advisor of Danish government funded natural resource project. He is widely known as the initiator of community forestry in Nepal.

Sanjay Ghimire is a television journalist. He is a reporter with Channel Nepal, a cable television channel popular in Nepal as well as overseas. Mr.Ghimire now based in USA.

General Members

Anil Chitrakar: Anil Chitrakar is an expert in the field of environment. Mr. Chitrakar is an environmentalist who has been contributing significantly to the preservation of the environment. He is also a creative writer.

Krishna Shrestha: Krishna Shrestha has been working for the Gorkhapatra, Nepal's oldest vernacular daily, for over 25 years. He was the recipient of the Abraham Conservation Award in 1995 in recognition of the reports he published on wildlife-related issues in the daily. Mr. Shrestha is a founder member of WWG.

Yeera Pradhan is a Journalist associated with Nepal Travel Trade reporter and also served in different NGOs as volunteer.

Shalu Adhikari: She is a conservationist currently working as Lecturer for BSc and Msc environment student of Kathmandu University, Dhulikhel and College of Applied science, Satdobato. She has been involved as a women development officer at The King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation, Biodiversity Conservation Centre, Tiger/Rhino Conservation Project, Sauraha, Chitwan and as Environmentalist at Mahila Bikash Pratisthan, Naxal, Kathmandu.

Ubraj Regmi is a conservationist at department of national parks and wildlife conservation and worked in various national parks as conservation officer. Currently he is in Makalu Barun National Park.

Razen Manandhar: He is a Senior Correspondent of The Himalayan Times an International Media Network of Nepal. He reports mainly on politics, water resources, environment and social issues.

Damodar Khadka: He is a Journalist turned wildlife researcher based in Canada.

Kumud Shrestha: He is a Volunteer Coordinator of National Initiative for Forest Certification in Nepal. He is also engaged in various forestry and natural resource management activities as an independent consultant.

Sidhartha Shakya: Sidhartha Shakya is a creative video journalist. He was involved with Channel Nepal as a cameraman. These days he devotes his time to freelance video journalism.

Bijaya Lal Shrestha is a senior journalist with The Rising Nepal, a leading National daily, published in English.

Suresh Manandhar is the Editor of the Sandhya Times, a Nepal Bhasa daily published from Kathmandu. He is a prolific writer, poet and play writer. Recently, he has focused his pen on writing about wildlife trade, and his investigative write-ups have become classic.

Rabin Sayami is ace illustrator of the country. His strokes - be it political satire, development woes or complex conservation issues - directly hit the reader. He is equally famous as a brilliant graphic designer of conservation reports and books.

Dhurba Madhikarmi is a journalist associated with Radio Nepal and vernacular weekly newspaper and one of leading contemporary literary figure in Nepal

Ram Prit Yadav was born in Tenwapatti VDC in Siraha district eastern Terai region of Nepal in 1942. Mr. Ram Prit Yadav is an extraordinarily dedicated conservationist. During his 32 years of civil service in the ministry of forest and soil conservation, he had spent around twenty-five years only in Chitwan National Park as ranger, assistant warden, warden and chief warden

Staff/volunteers that have provided their service in WWG in the past:

Some of staffs and volunteers of WWG that have provided their valuable assistance and service in the operations and running of the organization in the past includes

Staff Members
Shrijana Shakya
Kripa Maharjan
Ganga Lal Shrestha
Esha Manandhar (Intern)

Previous Staffs
Mr Shree Kumar Maharjan
(Program Officer)

from December 2007 to June 2007

Mr Ang Pasang Rai
(Program Officer)
from November 2, 2006 to November 17, 2006

Mr Lal Tamang
(Consultant Cum Accountant)
from June 2003 to September 2006

Ms Bipana Manandhar
(Program Coordinator)
from August 2005 to April 2007

Ms Rajani Karmacharya
(Administration Coordinator)
from November 2003 to May 2005

Mr Ramesh Shrestha
(Office Supporter)
from August, 2003 to September 2003

WWG shifts Office
From 14th April’ 2007, WWG has shifted its office venue from Ecca House Jwagal, Lalitpur to a new location.

Auditing & Financial Report

An auditing of the two projects of WWG was performed in accordance with Nepal Standards on Auditing (NSA). Embassy of Finland had supported and funded two projects of Wildlife Watch Group. The two projects supported by the Embassy included International Conference on Conflict and Conservation and Conflict and Conservation. The first project entitled International Conference on Conflict and Conservation was an international conference organised for reviewing the situation of wildlife in National parks and wildlife reserves of Nepal with the objective to attract attention of international wildlife journalist and to spread general awareness while the project entitled Conflict and Conservation was organised to study the effect of conflict on wildlife in eleven National Parks of Nepal, to raise awareness and finally publishing 1000 copies of the book containing the outcomes of the result.

The objectives of the audit done by Chartered accountants KB Chitrakar and Co in accordance with Nepal Standards on Auditing (NSA) was to

To check if the fund accountability statements for the project contracted with the embassy was presented fairly in all material respects, revenues received, cost incurred and commodities and technical assistance obtained from the embassy during the periods of the project.
To evaluate and obtain sufficient understanding of internal control, access control risk, and identifying reportable condition including material internal control weaknesses and to perform test to determine if the recipient had compiled in all respect with agreement terms, applicable laws and regulation related to program.

Within the auditing program a meeting was organised between the embassy and WWG officials. A proper examination of the documents supporting fund receipt and disbursement was conducted, a proper understanding and review of the accounting, administrative and internal control systems was also performed. The contracts, pertinent documents, work plan and other applicable rules and regulation was reviewed, and a appropriate test on transaction presented in Fund Accountability Statements was done, appropriate audit steps and procedures was taken to detect errors, the effectiveness of controls applied by management was tested to ensure its compliance with laws, regulation and agreement terms, and finally resolutions of past audit recommendation was also reviewed under the auditing program.