Thirteen undergraduate students from Oregon State University (OSU), are currently visiting Nepal as part of their coursework titled “Intersections of Biodiversity and Buddhist Cultures in Nepal.”
Between September 04 and 21, the OSU team, led by Professor Dee Denver, Department Head of Integrative Biology at OSU, and accompanied by Graduate Teaching Assistant and PhD student Ms. Brenna Prevelige, will engage with and learn from conservation scientists, indigenous community members, academic scholars, and Buddhist monastics and thinkers in Nepal. In the process students will have better exposure and understanding about Western scientific frameworks of biodiversity and Buddhist philosophical perceptions of nature.
The course component in Nepal is designed as part of an agreement between NTNC and OSU.
Last week the OSU team were at the Biodiversity and Conservation Centre (NTNC-BCC) facility in Sauraha, Chitwan, learning from classroom and field sessions, about research and local initiatives driving the successful conservation of endangered and vulnerable species like tigers, rhinos and elephants.
Classes were also conducted by the member secretary of NTNC Dr. Naresh Subedi, the chief warden of Chitwan National Park Mr. Dil Bahadur Purja Pun, and the project manager of NTNC-BCC Dr. Madhu Chetri, together with senior officers, veterinarians and technicians of NTNC.
Moving up from the lowlands to the mountains, starting from yesterday up to September 17, the OSU team are visiting the NTNC-managed Gaurishankar Conservation Area, an area rich in Buddhist traditions and community-based conservation practices.
