India and which country have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on wildlife conservation and sustainable biodiversity utilization?

Solution

The Government of India and Government of the Republic of Namibia have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on wildlife conservation and sustainable biodiversity utilization for establishing the cheetah into the historical range in India.Kuno National Park in the state of Madhya Pradesh was considered ready for receiving cheetah with the least management interventions since a lot of investments had been done in this Protected Area for reintroducing Asiatic lions. The main thrust areas of MoU are: o   Biodiversity conservation with specific focus on conservation and restoration of cheetah in their former range areas from which they went extinct, o   Sharing and exchange of expertise and capacities aimed at promoting cheetah conservation in two countries, o   Wildlife conservation and sustainable biodiversity utilization by sharing good practices in technological applications, o   mechanisms of livelihood generation for local communities living in wildlife habitats, and sustainable management of biodiversity. o   Collaboration in areas of climate change, environmental governance, environmental impact assessments, pollution and waste management and other areas of mutual interest. o   Exchange of personnel for training and education in wildlife management, including sharing of technical expertise, wherever relevant.     As per the directions of the Supreme Court of India in 2020, the cheetah reintroduction in India is being overseen by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), guided and directed by the committee of experts designated by the Supreme Court of India. The main goal of the Cheetah reintroduction project in India is to establish viable cheetah metapopulation in India that allows the cheetah to perform its functional role as a top predator and provides space for the expansion of the cheetah within its historical range thereby contributing to its global conservation efforts. The Wildlife Institute of India (WII), national and international carnivore/cheetah experts/agencies would provide technical and knowledge support to the programme. About Namibia Capital: Windhoek       Currencies: Namibian dollar, South African rand     President: Hage Geingob