Prabhu BudhathokiDr. Prabhu Budhathoki, former member National Planning Commission of Nepal has been active since last three decades in the field of sustainable development, natural resource management, participatory biodiversity conservation, environment and climate change. He holds extensive experience of working with the government agencies, international development organisations and NGOs from making policies to programme implementation. Dr. Budhathoki was Country Representative of IUCN in Nepal form 2006-08 and has also worked for UNDP and FAO in Nepal, Iran and Bangladesh as Chief Technical Advisor for more than a decade to help design and implement various natural resource management policies and programmes for sustainable environment, livelihood improvement and climate change resilience. Before joining international agencies, he was associated with the Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation of Nepal for about 13 years in various capacities including warden of Chitwan and Langtang National Parks popular for national and international tourists. Dr. Budhathoki is one of the authors of 14th Development plan (detail) of Nepal and Nepal’s Position Paper on Rio+20. Currently he is serving as an Adjunct Professor in Institute of Forestry of the Tribhuvan University in Nepal and teaches human dimension of wildlife management and participatory conservation. With a passion on nature arts and crafts, since last few years, he has been organising art workshops and exhibitions to promote nature art and nature –human harmony through art in Nepal.
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Prabu's Vision:
The ultimate aim of human life is salvation from all suffering. Salvation comes from fulfillments or the end of all desires. Similarly, key to happiness is reduction of desires. We must understand that reduction of desires does not mean reduction of human duties but in contrary performing more duties rightfully which means duty with love, compassion and empathy towards all living and non living beings or nature. I like to remember here one verse of Yujur Veda, an ancient Hindu text ‘The one who loves all intensely, begins perceiving in all living beings, a part of himself. He becomes a lover of all, a part and parcel of the Universal Joy. He flows with the stream of happiness, and is enriched by each soul.’
Human wellbeing and happiness depends on how we interact with our nature. The COVID -19 pandemic has severely exposed human capacity and vulnerability, and our knowledge gap on natural phenomena. This crisis clearly signals us that human beings are a part of nature not the master and suggests resetting our lifestyles and development pathways. This means we should be ‘just’ to our fellow beings as well as ‘just’ to nature. Not competition but coexistence and love with fellow beings and nature are keys to our sustenance and wellbeing. Since ancient times it is clear that our wellbeing and happiness depend on how much we will ‘give’ and ‘give up’. Unfortunately most of the human actions so far have been mostly guided by greed than the accumulated human wisdoms. As we are reaching a tipping and turning point, our chance of continued existence depends on our choice.
The ultimate aim of human life is salvation from all suffering. Salvation comes from fulfillments or the end of all desires. Similarly, key to happiness is reduction of desires. We must understand that reduction of desires does not mean reduction of human duties but in contrary performing more duties rightfully which means duty with love, compassion and empathy towards all living and non living beings or nature. I like to remember here one verse of Yujur Veda, an ancient Hindu text ‘The one who loves all intensely, begins perceiving in all living beings, a part of himself. He becomes a lover of all, a part and parcel of the Universal Joy. He flows with the stream of happiness, and is enriched by each soul.’
Human wellbeing and happiness depends on how we interact with our nature. The COVID -19 pandemic has severely exposed human capacity and vulnerability, and our knowledge gap on natural phenomena. This crisis clearly signals us that human beings are a part of nature not the master and suggests resetting our lifestyles and development pathways. This means we should be ‘just’ to our fellow beings as well as ‘just’ to nature. Not competition but coexistence and love with fellow beings and nature are keys to our sustenance and wellbeing. Since ancient times it is clear that our wellbeing and happiness depend on how much we will ‘give’ and ‘give up’. Unfortunately most of the human actions so far have been mostly guided by greed than the accumulated human wisdoms. As we are reaching a tipping and turning point, our chance of continued existence depends on our choice.
