Journalist Roshni Adhikari Pathak elected member of IUCN Regional Council

Kathmandu, August 30. Roshni Adhikari Pathak has been elected as a Regional Councilor from Nepal for the East and South Asia Region of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). She has been elected for the term from 2026 to 2029.

The election was held in Abu Dhabi on the occasion of the recently concluded IUCN World Conservation Congress 2025 from 9 to 15 October. Candidates from seven countries including Nepal, India, China, Pakistan, Japan, Malaysia and Indonesia competed in the election.

Roshni Adhikari Pathak is an experienced environmental journalist and conservation activist. She has been actively contributing to the fields of biodiversity conservation, climate change, and gender equality for more than two decades. She is also the former president of the Nepal Environmental Journalists Group (NEWAPUS, NEFEJ) and a board member of SMCRF.

The inaugural ceremony of the program was attended by Nepali Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates Tej Bahadur Chhetri. The Nepali delegation included representatives from the government and non-government sectors. The government team was led by Deputy Director General of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Bed Kumar Dhakal, while Deputy Head of the Nepali Embassy in Abu Dhabi Ranjita Dhakal also participated.

On the occasion, Nepali NGOs also organized a “Red Panda Carpet Event”, which was inaugurated by Deputy Head of the Nepali Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In addition, on October 12, the Nepali Embassy in Abu Dhabi also organized an interaction program with the Nepali delegation participating in the IUCN conference.

Meanwhile, the IUCN General Assembly has elected new leadership and country representatives for the next four years. This is seen as an important step towards the implementation of the organization’s 20-year strategic vision and new four-year action plan. The United Arab Emirates’ Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak has been re-elected as the President of the IUCN for a second term.

The IUCN World Conservation Congress is held every four years, in which representatives of governments, scientists, the private sector and indigenous communities participate. This time, the conference has set a global common action plan on climate adaptation, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable development.

In the context of Nepal, a press release issued by the Nepali Embassy in Abu Dhabi states — “Spreading from the Terai to the Himalayas, Nepal is a very rich country in terms of biodiversity. Rare species like the one-horned rhinoceros, Bengal tiger, red hyena, and snow leopard are the pride of Nepal. However, recent disasters and climate crises have made Nepal even more vulnerable.”

The embassy stated that Nepal will now take forward sustainable conservation initiatives under the leadership of IUCN through a combination of climate-resilient development, community resilience, and traditional knowledge along with scientific innovation.