The World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Climate in Asia 2024 report warns that the region is warming nearly twice as fast as the global average, driving more extreme weather and posing serious threats to lives, ecosystems, and economies. In 2024, Asia experienced its warmest or second warmest year on …
high-smoking zone: The number of smokers in Himachal Pradesh (HP) is alarmingly high. This despite the state having the second highest literacy rate in the country. Forty-five per cent of HP's population consists of smokers, according to Surender Kashyap, the head of the chest and tuberculosis department at Shimla's Indira …
Why do people like eating the bamboo shoot? Is it because of the medicinal value or the flavour? "Both,' says Veena Arora, consultant chef at Spice Route, The Imperial, New Delhi. The young shoots of an edible species of bamboo, which are plucked as soon as they poke out of …
Nepal Wireless Networking Project Five isolated villages in Myagdi district of Nepal don't have phones or other means of communication. But Nangi, Paudwar, Ghara, Tikot, and Sikha are connected to the world via the Internet thanks to a wi-fi network (a technology for Internet connectivity through radio waves). "Yak farmers …
Nepal is all set to embark on its first ever joint venture hydel project. The Upper Karnali power project, a Nepal-India collaborative effort, is a 300-mega watt (mw) venture with an estimated cost of US $500 million. The Karnali river in west Nepal is the country's longest river. Nepal Electricity …
It's official. Nepal has now become the 147th member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The WTO said that the Nepalese government has formally ratified the membership agreement. This ratification lifts the barrier to access global free trade. Nepal is the first least-developed country to accede to the WTO since …
in the wake of strong protests by the civil society and media regarding fuel adulteration, the Nepal Oil Corporation (noc), Nepal's only petro-product distributing agency, has agreed to get the quality of its products examined by a foreign body. The decision came in the last week of February. According to …
Relief may be in sight for Nepal's landless people, as the government gets ready to launch its new land reform programme. Under this, the government will purchase tracts and resell them to landless people on an instalment basis. Buyers will be given 15 years to repay the amount at low …
in the wake of strong protests by community forest user groups (cfugs) and conservationists, the Nepal government has reduced the controversial forest product fee
The Bankariyas, a forest-dweller community of central Nepal, have been uprooted from their traditional habitat and are living like refugees in their own country. Several other indigenous groups have suffered the same fate. The eight-year-old war between the Royal Nepal Army (rna) and Maoist rebels that has ravaged the country's …
Flood hazard is one of the most severe problems in the Himalayan river basins. Although floods are essentially hydrological phenomenon, the uneven distribution of floods in the river basin highlights the control of geomorphological and geological factors. A proper understanding of these factors is critical for a successful flood management …
Nepal's ministry of water resources has threatened the Bhote Koshi Power Company (BKPC), the first privately funded US power project in the country, with punitive action. Responding to the findings of a probe committee investigation, the ministry has decided to penalise BKPC for exceeding the authorised limit on installed capacity. …
The Nepal government has joined hands with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and health institutions to combat the threat arising from unscientific disposal of medical waste. The recent adoption of 'The Kathmandu Declaration' would chart the future course of hospital waste management in Nepal. Most importantly, the declaration calls for assessment of …
Conservationists are up in arms at the Nepal government's new policy of handing over management of some national parks, as well as other protected areas, to non-governmental organisations and private institutions. The forestland in question comprises 79 per cent of the country's total protected area. The perception is that only …
The problem of natural contamination of groundwater with highly toxic poisons like arsenic and fluoride is here to stay. The million-dollar question is: Is there a way out for this global problem? Most of the techniques used by developed nations remove arsenic and fluoride from drinking water at the treatment …
the doors of the World Trade Organization (wto) have been thrown open for Nepal. But not before the country staved off immense pressure from the North to join the International Union for Protection of New Varieties of Plants (upov). The upov is a global agreement that essentially protects the rights …
the community forest user groups (cfugs) of Nepal will now be required to cough up a steep 40 per cent fee on their total income from sale of forest products. The Nepal government brought in the levy through an ordinance promulgated on July 18. It goes against the grain of …
nepal's multimillion-dollar project for supplying drinking water to the parched Kathmandu valley has left residents of Melamchi valley fuming. The reason: water will be diverted from the latter region to benefit the former. Activists of the Melamchi Local Concern Group (mlcg) have locked horns with the Melamchi Water Supply Project …
The March 2003 indictment by the Supreme Court of Nepal and unrelenting public pressure have finally forced the country's government to formulate a National Ambient Air Quality Standard (naaqs). The same has been sent to the law ministry for publication. In recent years, high levels of air pollution have emerged …
