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Matthew Patay's
Note of the Month
August 2008
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Map and flag images provided by Graphic Maps
This month's featured note
is from Nepal.
The denomination is 1 Peso and the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money
(SCWPM) Number is P-New.
The note is not dated but
was issued in (2008).
-dml_f-550.jpg)
(front)
The banknote is blue-gray and red on multicolored underprint.
Mount Everest is at left and flowers are at right a temple is at center.
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The following information
was obtained from:
Wikipedia the free
Encyclopedia
Mount Everest
(For the full article, please refer to
the link above.)
Mount Everest, also called Chomolungma, Qomolangma or Zhumulangma or Sagarmatha is the highest mountain on Earth, as measured by the height of its summit above sea level, which is 8,848 metres (29,029 feet). The mountain, which is part of the Himalaya range in High Asia, is located on the border between Sagarmatha Zone, Nepal, and Tibet, China.
In 1856, the Great Trigonometric Survey of India established the first published height of Everest at 29,002 ft (8,840 m), although at the time Everest was known as Peak XV. In 1865, Everest was given its official English name by the Royal Geographical Society upon recommendation of Andrew Waugh, the British Surveyor General of India at the time. Waugh was unable to propose an established local name due to Nepal and Tibet being closed to foreigners at the time, although Chomolungma had been in common use by Tibetans for centuries.
The highest mountain in the world attracts climbers of all levels, from well experienced mountaineers to novice climbers willing to pay substantial sums to professional mountain guides to complete a successful climb. The mountain, while not posing substantial technical climbing difficulty on the standard route (other eight-thousanders such as K2 or Nanga Parbat are much more difficult), still has many inherent dangers such as altitude sickness, weather and wind. By the end of the 2007 climbing season, there had been 3,679 ascents to the summit by 2,436 individuals. This means climbers are a significant source of tourist revenue for Nepal, whose government also requires all prospective climbers to obtain an expensive permit, costing up to US$25,000 per person. Everest has claimed 210 lives, including 15 who perished during a 1996 storm high on the mountain. Conditions are so difficult in the death zone that most corpses have been left where they fell, some of which are visible from standard climbing routes.----------
The following information
was obtained from:
Wikipedia the free
Encyclopedia
Nepal
(For the full article, please refer to
the link above.)
Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, also Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is bordered by China to the north and by India to the south, east and west. The Himalaya mountain range runs across Nepal's northern and western parts, and eight of the world's ten highest mountains, including the highest, Mount Everest, are within its territory.
The modern state was formed with the Unification of Nepal by Prithvi Narayan Shah on December 21, 1768. Prior to 2006, Nepal was a kingdom. It was also the only modern nation with Hinduism as its official religion Nepal is now a federal democratic republic. Its recent history has involved struggles for democratic government with periods of direct monarchic rule. From 1996 until 2006, Nepal suffered from a Civil War between government forces and guerrillas of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist).
On December 28, 2007, the Interim Parliament passed a bill and declared Nepal to be a Federal Democratic Republic. The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly officially implemented that declaration on May 28, 2008.
Nepal is a multi-cultural, multi-linguistic and multi religious country. For a relatively small country, Nepal has a diverse landscape, ranging from the humid Terai plains in the south to the mountainous Himalayas in the north, which makes it a major tourist destination. Hinduism is practiced by a huge majority of the people, but the country also has a strong Buddhist tradition; Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha Siddhartha Gautama is located in the Terai, one of the three regions of Nepal.
The capital Kathmandu is the largest city in the country. The official language is Nepali and the state currency is the Nepalese Rupee (NPR) Nepal's Flag is the only national flag in the world that is non-quadrilateral in shape. It is believed that Lord Vishnu had organized the Nepali people and given them this flag, with the sun and moon as emblems on it. In a Hindu Purana, it is written that it was Lord Shiva who handed the flag to Lord Vishnu, and then Lord Vishnu to Lord Indra, for the purpose for battling demons. The official version of the flag states the two ruling families in Nepal, the Shahs and the Ranas. The upper crescent sun signifies the Shah ruling faction and the below Sun signifies the Rana family. However, over the years the flag signifies the importance of Nepal as a Hindu country and Nepal will continue to exists as long as the sun and the moon.
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-dml_b-550.jpg)
(back)
Flowers are at left and a Nepalese Elepant is at center..
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The following information
was obtained from:
Elephants and
Elephant Conservation in Nepal
Elephants in Nepal
(For the full article, please refer to
the link above.)
Elephants have long been part of Nepalese culture and tradition. Elephants play an important role in religious (mainly Hindu) beliefs in Nepal and there is a long history of domestication particularly related to religious use.
Nepal Elephant Population Figures
Elephant Range 2,500 kmē approx
Country Ranking Joint 10th of 13
Total Wild Elephants 100 - 170
Country Ranking 12th of 13
Total Captive Population 170
Country Ranking 8th-13th
Source: R Sukumar - A Brief Review of the Status, Distribution and Biology of Wild Asian Elephants Elephas maximus- International Zoo Yearbook 2006
While this information source is considered the very best available, accurate data on wild elephant populations is difficult to obtain and scientifically verify.
Wild Elephants in Nepal
Up until the 1960's there was a large elephant population throughout the lowland forest area of Nepal. However rapidly rising human populations saw mass resettlement and land clearance which has had a devastating effect on elephant numbers.
Wild elephants in Nepal are often migratory visitors from Bengal. Most of the wild populations are found in small heavily fragmented groups with little chance of being viable in the long term. However one glimmer of light is within the boundaries of the Royal Bardia National Park where a significant population increase has been recorded rising from 25 elephants in the early 90's to over 50 individuals a decade later.
The Nepalese government has recognised the importance of elephant conservation and has established five protected reserves and an elephant breeding facility at Khorsor.
Domesticated Elephants in Nepal
The number of domesticated elephants in Nepal had been steadily declining from the turn of the 20th century to the 1970s. However the last 25-30 years has seen an increase in numbers. The reason for the reverse of the trend is partially for the increasing availability of work for a growing eco tourist industry and also a conscious decision by the Nepalese authorities to use domesticated elephants to conserve the wild population.
Most of the captive elephants are located in camps based around the National Parks and are used for tourist excursion. However a small number are used to help with other conservation policies. Trained elephants were used to capture 5 wild rhinos who were translocated to create a viable family group. Elephants have also been used in the forests to help count wild rhino and tiger.
Summary
Although small in number, Nepal's elephant population is stable and probably has long term viability. A forward thinking conservation policy and motivated officials will almost certainly contribute to to the maintenance of numbers in the near and medium term future.
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For more information about Nepal visit:
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