Nepal has managed to lead over several South Asian nations in environment protection, according to a latest worldwide survey.<br/> The 2010 Environment Performance Index released on Thursday at Davos, had placed Nepal 38th among 163 countries on 25 performance indicators covering environmental, public health and eco-system vitality.<br/> Only Japan ranked 20 and Singapore 28 are the other Asian countries that have performed better than the Himalayan nation. Nepal’s bigger neighbours India and China have been ranked 123 and 121 respectively in the survey.<br/> Iceland followed by Switzerland, Costa Rica, Sweden and Norway are the top five countries listed in the index while Togo, Angola, Mauritania, the Central African Republic and Sierra Leone occupy the bottom five positions.<br/> The biannual index prepared by a team of environmental experts from Yale and Columbia Universities ranks countries on the basis of progress made by them in addressing pollution control and natural resources management challenges.