The Natural History Museum of Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu has accepted the task of hosting the Prolinnova network in Nepal. Since the network started in 2003, it has been capably hosted by LI-BIRD (Local Initiatives in Biodiversity, Research and Development) based in Pokhara.
On 27 March 2016, the Executive Director of LI-BIRD, Balram Thapa, handed over the Prolinnova-Nepal secretariat to the Dean of the Institute of Science and Technology (IOST) of Tribhuvan University, Mrs Chirika Shova Tamrakar. She named the Natural History Museum of IOST as the secretariat office and Dharma Raj Dangol as the new network coordinator. The handover function was chaired by Ramesh Shrestha, Chief of the Museum, and attended by Ridish Kumar Pokharel, Chief of the University’s Planning Council; Satya Narayan Sah, Assistant Dean of IOST; Jawar Bhai Prajapati, IOST Finance Controller; Krishna Hari Acharya, IOST Planning Officer; and faculty and staff of the Museum. A briefing about Prolinnova-Nepal was given by the former coordinator, Suman Shekhar Manandhar, who has taken up a position with the United Nations Development Programme, and had passed on the coordination task to Bharat Bhandari, Deputy Director of LI-BIRD. The Natural History Museum plans to form a “Prolinnova Unit” of staff and students who will promote farmer-led participatory innovation processes and will expand the Prolinnova-Nepal community of practice to include a wide range of people and organisations in Nepal.
