Rituals doing little to protect the environment

BISHNU PRASAD ARYAL
KATHMANDU: Eighteen organisations, including government agencies, organised a Bagmati cleanup programme at Shankhamul today.

Also today, organisers planted 500 saplings at Nagdaha of Lalitpur as part of programmes to mark the World Environment Day, which falls on

June 5.

Dr Sumitra Amatya, executive director of the Solid Waste Management Technical Support Centre (SWMTSC), says she got tired attending these programmes. “I’ve taken ill as I had to attend Bagmati cleanup and tree plantation programmes,” she says.

However, these kinds of rituals, conducted every year to mark the day, have done precious little on nature conservation and pollution control fronts at a time when environmental and sanitary conditions continue to get worse in urban areas as well as in villages. Neither the government agencies nor NGOs have bothered to study sanitary and environmental scenarios and prepare reports.

The world is celebrating the environment day this year with the theme Think.Eat.Save. The objective of the anti-food waste campaign is to reduce carbon footprints. Ironically, even programmes organised in the name of environment conservation contribute to pollution with participants disposing of waste haphazardly.

Needless to say, ritual campaigns, expensive rallies and tree plantation programmes that are organised every year in Nepal to mark the great day does little, though budget for such programmes runs into millions of rupees.

Environment expert DR Pathak says the impact of these campaigns in Nepal is negative. He points, “There is no system of monitoring, evaluating and keeping records of the environmental situation in the country.”

The Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, Ministry of Forests and Land Conservation, Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development, Ministry of Urban Development, various government organisations, about a dozen international agencies and organisations and dozens of local NGOs have been working on the sanitation and environment sector.

The government does not have a proper record of the budget spent on the sector nor has it set parametres to assess the situation. Every year, people and organisations associated with environment conservation plant thousands of trees on public land in urban areas, but no one looks after them after plantation. “It is better to keep records of conserved plants rather than planting trees every year,” Amatya says. “Waste generation is on the rise, but it is not properly managed anywhere.”

Pathak says pollution and environmental mismanagement are on the rise. “Rivers are turning into sewers, streets and open places are full of plastics, and environment is full of contaminants,” he points. “In course of marking environment days, the organisers make the environment more polluted with their waste.”

“We have fallen behind in planning, monitoring and evaluation to achieve environment conservation targets,” Pathak goes. “For instance, if we plan for 10 years, we have to set a target for every two years and make two-yearly assessments,” he says. “No one is serious about environmental protection. Everyone is busy cashing in on the worsening situation.”

Read More

Waste from Everest being taken to Kathmandu

Bishnu Prasad Aryal
Namche (Solukhumbu), May 30
About five metric tonnes of waste dumped in the Everest region will be brought to Kathmandu within a few days..

In the initiation of Everest Summiteers Association (ESA), the government of Nepal, Eco Himal, Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA), Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee were involved in the collection of the waste from April 17 to May 27. The government provided Rs 7.5 million, Carlsberg Beer Rs 2 million, NMA Rs 2 Million, Laxmi Bank Rs 500,000 and donors from Sweden US$ 110,000 for the Saving Everest Campaign attempted from 2008 by ESA.

A total of 29 mountaineers were involved in collecting waste from base-camp to 8,700m of Everest more than a month.

They collected 8.1 metric tonnes of waste dumped in the Everest region since 1953 at Namche where 3.2 metric tonnes of waste, specially plastics and papers will be disposed within month at Namche and rest of the amount including oxygen cylinder, helicopter debris, metals, cans and bottles will be send to Kathmandu.

Wongchu Sherpa, president of the ESA, said that 4.9 metric tonnes of waste would be brought to Kathmandu by air by tomorrow. “We will suggest to keep some of the materials in museums and others will be handed to the government,” he said.

Sherpa further said that the campaign was initiated after the foreigners asked me garbage dumped in Everest dirty persons who dumped the waste at Everest. "Then we started campaigning to clean Everest targeting to collect at least 8 tonnes of garbage dumped in the highest peak of the world," he said.

"We will continue to clean the region next year too," he said. "Cleaning once is not enough but the government should make policy to discourage abandoning waste on the Himalaya," he said.

Carrying about 150kgs of materials each person, about 35,000 foreign visitors accompanying some 80,000 porters and helpers trek to the Everest every year, according to the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA).

Pasang Sherpa, mountaineer involved in collecting waste, said that they had to work up to minus 40 degree Celsius amidst challenges of death threats. "We had to spend 18 hours at a camp of about seven hours at the high altitude," he said. "We slept only two hours few nights on the high snow during the campaign."
However, the government was indifferent to clean the waste for about six decades, Wongchu blamed. “It failed to address the issue taking legal action,” he added.

Murari Bahadur Karki, joint secretary at the MoTCA, said that there was law of confiscating desposit of US$ 4,000 to trek on Everest if they throw waste on the Himalaya. "However, it is yet to be implemented fully," he said. "Both private and government should work jointly to get success," he said.

Karki also said that there was a need of cleaning other Himalayan peaks of the country.
About 2,000 metric tonnes of waste has been dumped in the Himalayan peaks and some 80 metric tonnes of waste at Everest region since 1953.

Read More

Korean govt setting up RDF plant in Lalitpur

Bishnu Prasad Aryal
Lalitpur, September 17

The ENVICO, a South Korea government organisation has been carrying out a feasibility study to set up RDF (Refuse Derived Fuel) plant in Lalitpur. The RDF plant to be fuelled with 30 metric tons of garbage is taken as a technology transfer to Nepal.

“A team of consultants hired by the ENVICO body has been carrying out feasibility study to establish waste-to-energy facility (RDF manufacture) construction project in Lalitpur,” said senior engineer Prabin Shrestha of the Urban Development Division at the Lalitpur Sub-Metropolitan City. “The plant will be set up in assistance with the Korean government,” he added.

According to the LSMC, the plant site will be at Sundarighat of LSMC-4. “The study will be completed by the end of December,” said Pradip Amatya, chief at the Environment Division of the LSMC. “After developing all the strategies, the setting up of the plant will be started from the next fiscal year that begins on mid-July,” he said.

LALITPUR: Lalitpur Sub-Metropolitan City is all set to prohibit plastic bags in certain areas. “We have planned to prohibit plastic bags in some areas in the initial phase,” said Pradip Amatya, chief at the Environment Division of the LSMC. The areas are five government schools-Namuna Machhindra, Yashodhara, Shramik Shanti, Bal Binod and Nilnath, and two departmental stores-Namste and Everest, according to the LSMC. The plastic bags were already banned at the Central Zoo, Jawalakhel. -- BPA

The feasibility study of Rs 40 million began from last December. “The plant to produce gas, electricity, energy and manure will be of Rs 210 million project, which will be provided by the Korean government,” said Amatya. “The construction of the plant will be completed within two years,” he added.

A team of LSMC visited South Korea to observe the RDF plants on the last week of July. Now, a Korean team is in the city in a bid to speed up the activities of the project, said Shrestha. “If the local people will allow us, the plant will be established in the city.”

Amatya said that the LSMC had already sent the documents to the Ministry of Local Development for the permission to open plant. “The MoLD and Ministry of Finance has permitted us to set up the plant,” he said.

This project has come into existence at a time when the government is planning to allow private sector to set up garbage-fuelled plant for the sustainable management of the waste in the Kathmandu valley. The government has recently formed a high level committee to deal with the private sector, which is likely to begin the process to construct a 500 metric-ton garbage-fuelled plant in mid-December.

Dr Sumitra Amatya, general manager of the Solid Waste Management and Resource Mobilisation Centre under the MoLD, said that the 30 metric-ton plant would not be capable to solve the valley garbage where more than 600 metric tons of waste is produced. “We will keep on our project,” she, who is member secretary of the high level committee, said.

Read More

UN to pay experts for garbage management

Bishnu Prasad Aryal
Lalitpur, September 15

The Public-Private Partnership Urban Environment, an INGO under United Nations is committed to pay the three experts of the government committee to deal with the private sectors for the garbage management.

“The PPPUE has assured us to pay the three experts to be hired for dealing with the private sector to set up garbage-fuelled energy plant,” said Dr Sumitra Amatya, General Manager at the Solid Waste Management and Resource Mobilisation Centre under the Ministry of Local Development. “Each of them will be paid Rs 200,000 for the tenure of three months,” Amatya, who is member-secretary of the committee, said.

The government has already formed a five-member high level special empowered garbage management committee, headed by Dr Dinesh Chandra Devkota, member of the National Planning Commission. Other members include MoLD secretary Krishna Gyawali; Niranjan Baral, executive chief of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City; secretaries of the Ministries of Land Reforms, Physical Planning and Environment.

Dr Amatya said that they would include three experts in the committee to prepare the Terms of Reference (ToR) for dealing with the private sector. “We have recommended the names of nine experts to the PPPUE for their payment as per the PPPUE rules. Among them, we will finalise the names of three experts tomorrow, who will be hired as the committee members,” she said.

The government has been working to involve the private sector in managing the valley garbage by setting up energy plant. According to the MoLD, the agreement between the government and the private sector will be signed by mid-December. Then the energy plant will be set up within two years.

Amatya said that they were discussing on the publication of call for expression of interest (EoI) from the interested firms to establish garbage-fuelled plant. “Then we will shortlist the interested companies for the final competition,” she added.

More than a dozen of private companies have already shown interests to set up garbage-fuelled plant.

Read More

Tardy slur on mobile toilet project

UNESCO warns to remove it from Heritage site

Bishnu Prasad Aryal
Kathmandu, August 21

Despite an agreement to install a mobile toilet each month in the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC), only one toilet has been installed even after four months of the agreement.

An agreement between the KMC and the Kathmandu Solid Waste Management Service, a private firm, was signed on April 4 to set up a mobile toilet every month for ten over crowded places respectively. Those places include New Bus Park, Old Bus Park, Sundhara, New Baneshwor, Basantapur, Thamel, Kalanki and Koteshwore.

“We could not establish such toilets each month one due to the delay in working,” said Basudev Uprety, proprietor of the KSWMS. “We are preparing next one, which will be installed at Kalanki within a month,” he added.

UNESCO WRIT AGAINST FACILITY

KATHMANDU: UNESCO has written a warning letter to the Kathmandu Metropolitan City to remove the mobile toilet from Basantapur, which falls under the World Heritage Site. “We received a letter from the UNESCO on Wednesdy, urging to remove the toilet from Basantapur,” said Rabin Man Shrestha, chief at the Environment Division, KMC. “We are searching for the next location. However, it will be kept around Basantapur or New Road,” he added. -- BPA

The first mobile toilet was set up on April 5 at Tundikhel and later it was moved to Basantapur. According to KSWMS, about Rs 800,000 is necessary to build a toilet. “Everything except steal pans is available in the local markets. A mobile toilet will be built in 25 days if two persons continually work,” said Uprety.

However, the workers are spending at least three months to construct a toilet, said Uprety. “Balaju Yantrashala took five months to prepare the first toilet. What can we do if the workers linger construction?,” he wondered. Now, nest toilet has been prepared at a local workshop in Teku.

Rabin Man Shrestha, chief at the Environment Division, the KMC, said admitted that the installation could not be done as expected in accordance with the agreement. “However, the company will be allowed to continue their job,” he said. “As the workers unnecessarily delayed in building toilet.”

KSWMS pays Rs 2,100 to the KMC per month for a toilet as per the agreement. “I earn Rs 30,000 to Rs 50,000 per month from one toilet,” said Uprety. “So I am excited to install other ones gradually,” he added.

This news was published on The Himalayan Times, August 22, 2009.

Read More

Garbage-fuelled power plant in offing

12-odd private firms keen on project that may rid valley of waste woes

Bishnu Prasad Aryal
LALITPUR, August 15

More than 10 private companies have shown interest to set up an energy plant fuelled by the Kathmandu Valley’s garbage. Up to 600 metric tonnes of garbage is produced in the valley daily.
Dr Sumitra Amatya, General Manager, Solid Waste Management and Resource Mobilisation Centre under the Ministry of Local Development, told The Himalayan Times that 12-odd companies and some individuals had submitted proposals for setting up garbage-fed energy plant in the valley. She, however, added that tender for the project was yet to be floated.
The companies who have submitted their proposals are Chaudhary Group Infra (I), Chaudhary Group (II), Panchkanya Group, Triveni Byapar, Action Nepal, Environment Development Research Pvt Ltd, Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industries, Changu Garbage Power Plant, Communication O Y, Nepal Environment and Energy Management, Bhusal Urja Company Pvt Ltd, KL Dugar Pvt Ltd and a few individuals.
“All of them have demanded a clear law, exemption of taxes, formation of high-level committee, supply of at least 400 metric tonnes of garbage everyday and purchase of products and electricity by the government,” said Amatya. “The government has already decided to bring appropriate law, exempt taxes and provide land for the plant,” she added.
To set up the plant, Panchkanya Group has proposed to merge municipal staff in its company and has not demanded any land from the government. CG (I) has proposed to build the plant for Rs 4.80 billion, demanding 20 hectares of land from the government. Action Nepal has proposed to use Canadian plasma technology, Triveni has demanded 30 acres of land, and CG (II) has proposed to set the plant on 25 ropanis of government land.
The MoLD has registered a proposal with the Office of Prime Minister and Council of Ministers to form an empowered waste management committee to work on scientific disposal of garbage. “The next meeting of the cabinet is likely to approve the formation of committee, which will float tender,” said Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya, spokesman for the MoLD.
The amendment bill of the Waste Management Act involving the private sector in garbage disposal has already been forwarded to the Ministry of Law and Justice, said Dipendra Bahadur Oli, legal officer at the SWMRMC. “The MoLJ will forward it to the cabinet within a week. After cabinet approval the parliament will endorse it,” said Oli. “The current parliament session will pass the bill.”
Dr Amatya hopes that by mid-November, the committee will sign an agreement with the selected company to establish energy plant within two years.

This news was published in The Himalayan Times on August 16, 2009.

Read More

KMC keen on hi-tech dumping

Bishnu Prasad Aryal/THT

KATHMANDU: The Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) is doing groundwork to dispose garbage using new technologies. A study draft on scientific disposal of city garbage and the management of Bishnumati river corridor is at its final stage.

“We have already completed 85 per cent of the study. The study started in February and will end in June,” Devendra Dongol, planner at the Physical Development and Construction Department, of the KMC said.

They study is being carried out in coordination with the Cities Development Initiative for Asia (CDIA). The project will be implemented after the study is completed. “We launched the study after the CDIA agreed to assist us in implementing the project,” Dongol said.

About 350 tons of garbage is produced in the city every day. Though 80 per cent of the garbage can be utilised, all of the collected garbage is being dumped at the landfill sites. “After implementing the project, we will be able to sort the degradable and non-degradable wastes The degradable wastes can be used to produce compost fertiliser while the non-degradable wastes will be recycled,” he shared. He further said only 20 per cent of the garbage would be dumped in the landfill sites.

As per the KMC’s plan, the Ministry of Local Development has prepared an amendment bill on waste management to involve the private sector in the disposal of garbage in a scientific manner.

The KMC has only one garbage collection centre at Teku. According to the plan, one more garbage collection centre, equipped with scientific processing technology, will be developed at Gongabu while the centre at Teku will be upgraded.

The KMC and CDIA will jointly fund these programmes. Dongol said they were in talks with various international development organisations to chip in more funds for the project.

The project will also upgrade the intersections of the Bishnumati corridor road. “Traffic jams at Tripureshwor, Shahidgate, Ratnapark, Kantipath and Maharajgunj intersections will be reduced by almost 50 per cent after the four-lane road comes into operation,” Shaligram Rijal, assistant executive at KMC added. He also said the KMC would approve the report in the next fiscal year and forward the project for implementation. “We will also treat water in the Bishnumati river and re-design and widen bridges on the corridor,” Rijal added.

This news article was published in THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, dated May 21, 2009.

Read More

Tourist hubs into vehicle-free zone

KMC plans to declare Thamel and KDS vehicle restricted zones

Bishnu Prasad Aryal
Kathmandu, May 19

With a big plan of developing parking system, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) is planning to launch a substantial project to declare the Kathmandu Durbar Square and Thamel vehicle restricted zones.

“The KMC is all set to develop the Hanumandhoka (Kathmandu) Durbar Square and Thamel as tourist hub with artful stone paving for heritage walk route,” said Devendra Dongol, senior planner at the Physical Development and Construction Department, KMC. “For this purpose, we have a grand plan of setting up parking system in Kathmandu,” Dongol told this daily.

Dongol said the KMC and the Asian Development Bank are working together to materialise the concept. “The ADB has already approved the proposal to study on the plan. We are carrying out a feasible study on the project from August,” said Dongol. “The report will be submitted in six months,” he added.

According to the KMC, only the pedestrians will be allowed in the Hanumandhoka Durbar Square and Thamel. “All of these areas will be paved with artful stones linking to each other temples, palaces, heritage sites and historical monuments,” said Dongol.

The KDS is enlisted under the UNESCO world heritage site while Thamel is popularly known as the centre of tourists.

Making plan was not enough for developing the city, he said. “So we will work to develop the special parking areas near by these places.”

He said that three parking areas would be developed at Khulamancha, Mahankal to Shaheed Gate and the Social Welfare Council, Lainchaur. “Underground and surface parking lots will be constructed at Mahankal to Shaheed Gate and Lainchaur,” said Dongol.

The Ministry of Finance has responded positively about the land of the Social Welfare Council to build parking place while Army Headquarters is also positive about the side of Tundhikhel for using to develop parking station, according to Dongol.

The proposed project ‘Sustainable Transport Project (Parking/Pedestrians) will also include management of the hazardous parking spree everywhere in the valley. “We can see parking encroachment at New Road, Khichapokhari, and other commercial areas,” he said. “This will study on the whole parking system of the valley, identify the problems and recommend proper places for developing parking stations.”

Under-secretary Shaligram Rijal, assistant executive of the KMC, said, “We’re planning on it to approve in the annual budget and consulting with the donors.” “The report will recommend all plans including financial need. After the submission of study report, it will be forwarded for the implementation,” Rijal added.

This news article was published in THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, dated May 20, 2009.

Read More

No scientific survey on wildlife yet

Bishnu Prasad Aryal
Kathmandu, March 31

A bulk of wildlife, the valuable national resources, is on verge of extinction without a scientific survey in the country.

“No scientific survey on wildlife has been conducted to the biodiversity point of view yet,” said zoologist and researcher Prof Karan B Shah. “Many parts of the country are yet to be explored,” he said. “There is a high chance of wildlife disappearance before carrying out a research and inventory on it.”

Prof Shah, who has been rewarded with the Nature Conservation Award 2008 by the National Academy of Science and Technology, said the country rich for the natural biodiversity boasts of wide range of flora and fauna including rare species. “However, it is sorry to say that we don’t have any specific data on the available and existing wildlife.”

According to him, there are about 208 species of mammals, 53 amphibians, 58 lizards, 79 snakes, 862 birds, 185 fish and 665 butterflies in the country. “Numbers of insects, bacteria and other living beings under the earth may be disclosed only after the thorough research,” Shah said.

However, Dr Udaya Raj Sharma, secretary at the Ministry of Forestry and Land Conservation, said it was impossible to conduct survey for finding out every detail. “We adopt flagship-species method for the indicative density,” Sharma said, adding that tigers, rhinos and wild buffalos were recorded but failed to provide the data.

“Conservation doesn’t mean only to increase number of charismatic animals but also cares of all and healthy population,” Shah said. “In 2001, I visited Damodar Kunda area, where two mammals: wild ass (Kiang) and Tibetan Gazzel (Ghoaa), and a bird: Tibetan sand grouse (Bhotmaru parewa) were discovered new for Nepal.” Shah discovered Karan hareu snake in Nepal new for science sector.

The policy for conservation lacks the basics to encourage the researchers, he said. “The concerned authorities and policy makers haven’t realised the graveness of the issue,” Shah said. “Foreigners used to come to Nepal for the research and be partners with us but no one has come here since half-a-decade. We’re unable to invest in the researches.”

Sharma said that they should abide by the rules and conditions here. “No one is allowed to take biological samples away from here but the government will allow them to carry out study free of charge,” he added, indicating the smuggling of contrabands.

Shah revealed the smuggling has increased in a large scale despite ban on it. “Unless we will involve and promote communities with compensation schemes, the decline in wildlife population will continue till its extinction,” he added. “If we manage to save umbrella species, it will help preserve all.”


This news article was published in THE HIMALAYAN TIMES on April 1, 2009.

Read More