A friend of Bhutan lost in Nepal airlines crash

Biratnagar, September 25: Status of one of the contributors of wildlife conservation in Bhutan has remained unknown for the last three days as helicopter of one of the Nepalese airlines — the Shree Airlines – lost in the eastern Nepal.

Mingma Norbu Sherpa worked as WWF country representative to Bhutan between 1998 and 2004.

Currently working in Washington DC as Director of Conservation, WWF's Asia and Pacific Programs, Sherpa is a man very well acquainted with conservation sector in the Himalayas.

Born in 1955 in the Sherpa village of Khunde, Nepal, in the Everest region, Mingma is one of the first students to have graduated from the Hillary Khumjung School – the first of many schools developed for Sherpa children with the assistance of Sir Edmund Hillary, famed conqueror of Mt Everest.

Between his studies abroad, Mingma returned to Nepal and worked as a park warden for Sagarmatha National Park. He was the first Sherpa to have served as Warden of Sagarmatha after Sir Edmund Hillary helped establish the park in 1976.

Mingma held this position for three years prior to joining WWF as the director of the Himalayan program for WWF's Nepal, Bhutan and Himalayan Program. In this capacity, Mingma was responsible for the development and oversight for a variety of projects, including Annapurna Conservation Area Programme, as well as the management of Shey Phoksundo National Park in Nepal and Royal Manas National Park in Bhutan.
 
Next, Mingma went on to become the country representative of WWF's Bhutan and Nepal Program for the six years prior to his move to the United States in 1998. In this role, he handled the program development, supervision, and coordination of all WWF program interests in Bhutan.
 
Among his other achievements, Mingma was a Fulbright Scholar in 1987 at the School of Natural Resources, University of Michigan, to develop a strategy for environmental education in the ACAP. Additionally, he is a recipient of the Gorkha Dhaksin Bhahu medal from His Majesty the King of Nepal for his conservation. Mingma has also been awarded the Order of the Golden Ark Award from His Royal Highness Prince Bernard of the Netherlands for his conservation achievement in the Himalayas. Bhutan News Service