निकुञ्जभित्रका होटल: नवीकरणको प्रपञ्च

रामजी दाहाल

विश्व सम्पदा सूचीमा रहेको चितवन राष्ट्रिय निकुञ्जभित्र विना प्रतिस्पर्धा पहुँचको भरमा ४५ वर्षदेखि सञ्चालित सातवटा होटल–लजलाई घुमाउरो बाटोबाट पुनः संचालन अनुमति दिन ९ भदौमा सरकारले वन तथा भू–संरक्षण मन्त्री यदुवंश झाको संयोजकत्वमा अर्थ, पर्यटन र वातावरण मन्त्री सदस्य रहेको कार्यदल गठन गरेको छ। यो कार्यदल एमाओवादी नेतृ हिसिला यमीको दबाब र प्रधानमन्त्री डा. बाबुराम भट्टराईको पहलमा गठन भएको हो।

प्राकृतिक स्रोतमा स्थानीयवासीको अधिकार र पहुँच हुनुपर्ने बहस चलिरहेका बेला पहुँचवाला व्यवसायीको दबाबमा ती होटलको नवीकरण हुँदैछ। संरक्षणविद् डा. तीर्थबहादुर श्रेष्ठ निकुञ्जभित्रका होटललाई के गर्ने भन्ने निर्णय सिंहदरबारबाट होइन, स्थानीय तहबाट हुनुपर्ने बताउँछन्। निकुञ्ज प्रभावित चितवन र नवलपरासीका स्थानीय राजनीतिक दल, मध्यवर्ती क्षेत्र व्यवस्थापन समिति, उद्योग वाणिज्य संघलगायतले होटल राख्न दिएर वन्यजन्तुको बासस्थान खलबल्याएको भनी तत्काल हटाउनुपर्ने माग गरेका छन्।

२५ साउन २०६६ मा संसद्को सार्वजनिक लेखा समितिद्वारा गठित उपसमिति र प्राकृतिक स्रोतसाधन समितिले पनि म्याद थपे दुर्लभ वन्यजन्तु मासिने र नेपालको अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय ख्याति मेटिनेमा सचेत गराउँदै निकुञ्जभित्रका होटलको अनुमति असार २०६९ पछि नवीकरण गर्नु नहुने सुझावसहितको प्रतिवेदन दिएका थिए। ती प्रतिवेदनलाई दराजमा थन्क्याएर नवीकरण सम्बन्धी कार्यदल गठन भएपछि स्थानीय सरोकारवालाहरू सशंकित भएका छन्।

Taking nature back to people

BHRIKUTI RAI

The Ghunsa helicopter crash on 23 September 2006 devastated Nepal's nature conservation movement by taking the lives of 24 people, among them six of Nepal's pioneer conservationists. Six years on, the void is slowly being filled by community-based environmental groups who are protecting the legacy of putting local people at the centre of conservation activities.

Conservation and Sustainable Use of Wetlands in Nepal (CSUWN) is one such project, which since 2008, has integrated wetland management with improved local livelihoods. Protecting Nepal's endangered water bodies is important not just to conserve groundwater for human use, but also to save wildlife and migratory birds.

"Unless people at the grassroots understand the importance of conserving the wetlands that they are dependent on, it is difficult to conserve them at all," explains Top Khatri of CSUWN.

Water resources in Nepal are often seen in terms of their hydropower potential only, so marshes, swamps, floodplains and lakes, which form a vital part of Nepal's aquatic ecosystem, often get left out of the conservation discourse. Although wetlands account for only five per cent of Nepal's total surface area, they are integral for recharging acquifers and providing a habitat for wildlife, especially migratory birds.

In ‘good sign’ for the winter, Kulekhani water level rises

Heavy rains in the last few days have led to water level in the Kulekhani reservoir rising by around four meters and this is likely to ease power cuts to some extent this winter.

However, officials attribute the present respite in load-shedding hours to the fall in temperature, which has led to people using less hours of fans and air conditioners.

The 92-MW Kulekhani Hydro Electricity Project is the only reservoir-type power project in Nepal. Though the rise in the water level is not contributing to the temporary respite in load-shedding, it will positively contribute in minimizing the daily projected power outage of 21 hours this winter, officials said.

Electricity consumers in the Kathmandu valley have been experiencing an ‘unofficial’ decrease in the daily power-cuts, ranging between one and one-and-a-half hours.

Lashing rains contributed to the decrease in around 20 to 25 megawatt of power consumption. The present demand for power is 980 megawatt, while the supply stands at a mere 600 MW and that includes electricity imported from India.

Conservation of interests

Bhrikuti Rai

Nepal's Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) survived a war, upheavals in Kathmandu and the tragic death of its founding members in a helicopter crash six years ago. But it may not survive the interference of short-sighted politicians during the country's present fluid transition.

The future of Nepal's largest protected area is in jeopardy after the Cabinet's surprising decision in July to terminate the management of the internationally acclaimed eco-tourism project by the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC) which had been running it for the last 25 years.

The NTNC had asked the government for an extension of its management for another 10 years to facilitate the handover of resource administration to local councils. But the Cabinet ignored the endorsement of the NTNC mandate by the Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation (MoFSC), and instead directed it to find an alternative arrangement.

ACAP was pioneered by late conservationist Chandra Gurung and it is internationally recognised as a role model for sustainable tourism development that injects tourism income directly into the village economy. Gurung and five of Nepal's top conservationists were among 25 killed when their helicopter crashed in November 2006 during a visit to the Kanchenjunga area to replicate ACAP's accomplishment in eastern Nepal.