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 …
The Nepalese ministry of population and environment is formulating national standards for air, water and noise pollution. It will serve as a mandatory regulatory system for the entire country. The norms were recommended by a team of experts from the Institute of Engineering at Tribhuwan University, who carried out a …
At a workshop on groundwater management in Nepal, water experts were unanimous that the lack of policy and control mechanism to limit groundwater extraction could lead the country to an uncertain future.The project manager of Groundwater Project, Suresh Raj Uprety, said that a practical regulatory mechanism must be established in …
A recent Nepal Red Cross Society and Environment and Public Health Organisation survey have revealed that the underground water of Rautahat district was contaminated with arsenic. Consequently, the district officials are now interacting with Drinking Water Corporation and health posts to find measures to check further pollution. As more cases …
the land of the mighty Chomolungma (Mt Everest) and the mother of many 8,000-metre-high snow-capped peaks, Nepal has no less than 6,000 odd fast-flowing rivers and a total annual outflow of 150 billion cubic metre (bcm). This "so-called colossal water potential of Nepal' is just a "socio-economic myth', according to …
Hospital waste in Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, is posing to be a health hazard for the people. Over 60 health institutions in Kathmandu produce 1,300 kg of hazardous waste every day. This hospital waste also mixes the 350 tonnes of solid waste, thereby aggravating the whole problem."This unmanaged waste can trigger …
stockpiles of obsolete pesticides, including dieldrin, chlorinated organomercury compounds and ddt, stored in a warehouse at the National Agricultural Research Council, Kathmandu, are posing a danger to the health of the residents, workers and livestock in the area. The pesticides were exported to the country by multinationals such as Bayer, …
Pharmacists and government officials in Nepal have expressed their concern about spurious and poor quality medicines that are doing the rounds in the country. According to officials of the Pharmaceutical Marketing Executive Association of Nepal (PEAN), the situation is particularly worse in the Terai region. "In some areas of Terai, …
The Nepalese government has decided to regulate private medical centres all across the country to make health care system more transparent. "Through such measures the government wants to cut down the exorbitant fees charged by these private hospitals and make the health care system more affordable to the general public,' …
The Supreme Court of Nepal has issued a mandamus to the government for controlling the quality of the water resources and setting standards for curbing pollution. The court's decision comes a year after a writ petition was filed by Bhoj Raj Ayer of Pro-Public, a grassroots organisation, alleging that the …
Sherpas in Nepal have collected 4.3 tonnes of garbage from Mount Everest. The garbage was dumped by climbers over the years and many have described the mountain as the world's highest dump site. "We have paid up to US $7 to the sherpas for bringing down each kilogramme of garbage …
Tucked away between the Indian state of Sikkim on the east and the high mountains of the Makalu Barun range in the west, the Kanchenjunga area shares its northern boundary with that of Tibet. Hinduism and Buddhism, tropical and alpine, all meet and merge giving rise to a rich biodiversity …
Making Water Everybody's Business: Practice and Policy of Water Harvesting , a book, was released in Kathmandu, Nepal, on May 15, 2001, by the vice chancellor of Tribhuvan University, Navin Prakash Jung Shah. Centre for Science and Environment, a Delhi-based non-governmental organisation has published the book. Speaking at the public …
The Nepalese government has recently signed the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, which is an international framework that has been set up to regulate the trade in genetically modified (GM) products. The protocol among other provisions stipulates that all GM food products must provide adequate information regarding its ingredients (see: Down …
The boundary of Kanchenjunga Conservation Area in Nepal is being expanded. This will make the whole belt of northeastern Nepal a protected area for flora and fauna. At present the area covers 1,650 square kilometres. To expand the area Milke Hill will be included. "After 30 years, the local people …
The Japanese capital Tokyo receives 1,400 mm of rain in a year. But concrete prevents it from percolating into the ground. Urban flooding and acute water scarcity affected the people almost every second year. The solution to both problems lay in rainwater harvesting. Sumida City was the first ward of …
When I was speaker of the Lok Sabha, I called a special session to discuss serious issues confronting the country. I don't think water was discussed in this special session. We never thought of it. We talked about corruption and criminalisation. Experts and politicians will have to come together at …
Three countries in Southeast Asia -- Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines-- have made efforts to provide drinking water by capturing rain. In Thailand, the absence of foreign assistance for large-scale water projects forced the government to look at smaller options, with great success. The Population and Community Development Association, an …
nepal's forest bureaucracy is set to follow the footsteps of its Indian counterpart. What was hailed as a radical community forest management (cfm) programme is on the brink of a complete, disastrous makeover. The Forest (Second Amendments) Bill, 2001, to be soon placed in parliament for approval, will strip the …
Forest bureaucracy arms itself to halt the spread of CFM • In the guise of a finance bill, the Nepalese government has given district forest officers powers to punish forest users' groups (FUGs) members l In the terai , the government is interested to give the forest to foreign companies …
