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 …
Three years ago, when Chija Maya, a resident of Piughar, spoke about a run-of-the-river microhydel power station in her village, many people thought that she was whistling in the dark. Though hydro-electricity first came to Nepal in 1911 to light the King’s palaces, it still remains a dream for 85 …
Sahashradhara, Dehradun, India. A soft drink shop greets thousands of tourists at this confluence of a thousand streams. So what's the big deal? Well, its just that the shop is located right inside a microhydel powerhouse that supplied electricity to three nearby villages for over four years. Two year ago, …
There are at least 26 "potentially dangerous' glacial lakes in the Nepalese side of Himalayas, according to the Inventory of Glaciers. The risk of Glacial Lake Outburst Flood ( glof ) still poses a great threat for Nepal and the draining of excess water from the Tsho Rolpa glacial lake …
The Phewa lake of Pokhra, Nepal, is on the verge of becoming extinct, according to environmentalists. The lake is one of the main tourist attractions of the country. Washing clothes on the banks of the lake at different places, besides direct discharge of sewerage from houses, hotels and restaurants has …
Encouraged by the success of rehabilitation programme of one-horned rhinos wildlife officials of Nepal are planning a similar project for arnas (water buffaloes). The project is expected to be implemented next year, after the completion of a detail study. Wildlife activists had recently raised concerns over the dramatic rise in …
" before 1996, European tourists would often complain about the poor visibility of the snow-capped mountains from Kathmandu,' says Ishwar Chettri, who runs a travel agency in the Nepalese capital. But the ban on the sale of new diesel vehicles in 1996 and the subsequent blanket ban on diesel-run three-wheelers …
the floods have once again ravaged Bihar. Claims made by the government that all precautionary measures were taken, embankment and anti-erosion work completed in time and that the floods would not be allowed to occur
The Narayani river of Nepal is being polluted by factories located near its banks. This has endangered dolphins, fish, crocodiles and other flora and fauna of the river. According to the fisherfolk, the most polluting factories in this region are Bhrikuti Paper and Pulp Industries, Gorkha Brewery Limited and Sumi …
To curb growing air, sound and water pollution, the Supreme Court of Nepal has ordered the Ministry of Population and Environment (MOPE), to set new pollution standards within the next six months. The new standards will be more stringent than the Nepal Emission Standard 1999 and the Nepalese version of …
It came as a shock to everybody. Even as countries all over the world are turning to clean more fuel-efficient and less polluting vehicles the government of Nepal suddenly decided to ban the registration of the battery-operated, three-wheeler Vikrams. A week later they reversed their decision under national and international …
From April, drivers in Bhutan will not have to travel to India for vehicle emission tests. The Road Safety and Transport Authority (RSTA) of Bhutan will provide the services in Thimphu, Phuentsholing, Gelephu and Samdrup Jongkhar. RSTA's senior mechanical engineer Thinley Namgyel said it was decided in recent border talks …
A recent study has revealed that Nepal has emerged as a major transit point for trade in wildlife parts for traffickers from the Tibetan region of China, as well as India. The report claims that parts from endangered animals like the Royal Bengal tiger, elephants, one-horned rhinoceros, Tibetan antelopes, musk …
Forest-Users' Group (FUG): It comprises households using or dependent on forest resources. They are identified by the district forest officer (DFO) after a house-to-house survey to check their dependence on the forest. Once the users' group is identified, it charts its own constitution (a five-year plan) for the management and …
Man Bahadur Chettri of Sarang Kot is aware of the gradual plunder of the forests and the evolution of cfm in his country. "For the rulers of Nepal, forests were an infinite source of revenue,' he says. The strategy varied from ruler to ruler. But there was only one agenda: …
"Notwithstanding anything contained elsewhere in this Act, no part of any national forest, which is suitable for being handed over to a users' group in the form of a community forest shall be given away in the form on a leasehold forest,' reads Nepal's Forest Act, 1993. It defines a …
The Samudaik Ban Upabhokta Mahasangh or the Federation of Community Forestry Users (FECOFUN) in Nepal is an association founded by and for community forest users. The federation has been established to increase awareness, expand and strengthen the role of forest users in Nepal. After the enforcement of the 1993 Forest …
On November 2, 1999, the department of forests ( dof ) and the Community Forestry Development Programme ( cfdp ), both under the ministry of forests and soil conservation, issued a circular to forest officials across the country to ask fug s to immediately stop commercialisation of timber. "However, all …
Perhaps the Nepalese forest department had never expected communities to regenerate the forests to the point that they would become cash-rich. But now that the communities have done the
Community forestry has been identified as the only viable forest management strategy in many developing countries. To this effect, both India and Nepal have launched programmes. But while in Nepal forests are on the road to recovery, severe limitations come in the way of managing forests successfully in India. Some …
