Ground-level research

BRITTANY SEARLE

Kathmandu, Nepal

In a unique project Australian and Nepali students study how global warming is affecting wildlife. Since 2007, Jean Marc Hero has been bringing students from Griffith University in Australia to Nepal to take part in expeditions that focus on learning about environmental research and teaching methods.

The Program for Planned Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research (PPBio) aims to establish an international monitoring system that measures biodiversity and the long term effects of climate change. Collaborative efforts between Griffith University and a number of environmental institutions within Nepal have resulted in the formation of PPBio Nepal.

With help from Bird Conservation Nepal, WWF Nepal, the National Trust for Nature Conservation and the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Australian and Nepali students from Tribhuvan University and Kathmandu University work together to research the minute differences in the habitat due to global warming.

"It's a fantastic collaboration. It's really nice for Australian students to see how many people can come together to get things done," says Hero. Over the four-week course the students witness the ways in which PPBio is aiming to measure the effects of climate change as well as taking part in the various conservation research methods used by researchers in Chitwan National Park. The project is doing more than exposing Australian students to Nepal's environmental challenges, it also allows students to learn ways to deal with conservation and climate change issues.

मध्यमर्स्याङ्दी माघभरि बन्द हुने, लोडसेडिङ १४ घन्टा पुग्ने!

रामचन्द्र भट्ट, काठमाडौं

दिनहुँ ११ घन्टा लोडसेडिङ भइरहेका बेला विद्युत प्राधिकरणले दुई सातापछि मध्यमर्स्याङ्दी जलविद्युत गृह बन्द गर्ने निर्णय गरेको छ। आगामी माघ ८ देखि प्राधिकरणले पूरै महिना मध्यमर्स्याङ्दी बन्द गर्ने लागेको हो। ६९ मेगावाट क्षमताको यो आयोजना बन्द हुँदा कम्तिमा दिनको दुई घन्टा लोडसेडिङ थप हुनेछ। आयोजना बन्द हुँदा लोडसेडिङ दैनिक १४ घन्टा पुग्ने प्राधिकरणका अधिकारीहरूले अनुमान गरेका छन्।

'यसपालि जसरी पनि मर्मत गर्नुपर्ने भएकाले बन्द गर्न लागेका हौं,' प्राधिकरणका निर्देशक मोहनकृष्ण उप्रेतीले भने, 'गत वर्ष नै मर्मत गर्नुपर्ने तालिका थियो।' मध्यमर्स्याङ्दीको परामर्शदाता जर्मन कम्पनी केएफडब्ल्युले गत वर्ष हिउँदमै इलेक्ट्रोमेकानिकलतर्फको मर्मत गर्न प्राधिकरणलाई जानकारी गराएको थियो।

इलेक्ट्रोमेकानिकलअन्तर्गत टर्बाइन, जेनेरेटर, ट्रान्सफर्मरको काम पर्छ। गत वर्ष हिउँदमा दैनिक १४ घन्टा लोडसेडिङ भएकाले त्यसमा बढ्न नदिन मर्मत रोकिएको थियो। यसपालि मर्मत रोके विद्युत गृह दुर्घटनामा पर्ने चेतावनी विदेशी परामर्शदाता कम्पनीले दिएपछि पूरै तीनसाता बन्द गर्न लागिएको हो।

परामर्शदाताले मर्मत गर्न डेढ महिना लाग्ने बताएको छ। प्राधिकरण सञ्चालक समितिले तीन सातामै मर्मत सकेर विद्युत गृह चलाउन निर्देशन दिएको छ। 'त्यतिखेर लोडसेडिङ बढ्ने भएकाले मर्मत गरिएन, यसपालि वर्षाअघि जसरी पनि गर्नुपर्छ,' उप्रेतीले भने।

Rainwater Harvesting

Water is our most precious natural resource and something that most of us take for granted. We are now increasingly becoming aware of the importance of water to our survival and its limited supply, especially in dry season.

The harvesting of rainwater simply involves the collection of water from surfaces on which rain falls, and subsequently storing this water for later use. Normally water is collected from the roofs of buildings and stored in rainwater tanks. The water collected can be considered to be precious.

The collection of rainwater from the roofs of buildings can easily take place. All that is necessary to capture this water is to direct the flow of rainwater from roof gutters to a rainwater storage tank. By doing this, water can be and used for various purposes. It is possible to replace all or at least a substantial portion of your collected fresh water requirements by the capture and storage of rainwater from your roof. Being largely self sufficient in water supply is possible for a vast majority of households and buildings.

Bir Hospital: A model hospital

BHRIKUTI RAI

Kathmandu, Nepal

As hospitals go, Nepal's oldest hospital makes the news for all the wrong reasons: corruption, mismanagement and filth. However, Bir Hospital is becoming a model for recycling hospital waste not only for other hospitals in Nepal but around the world

                                        Pic: Bikram Rai

Each year hospitals in Nepal generate more than 365 tons of medical waste with most of it thrown into municipal garbage dumps: syringes, plastic, bandages and even some human body parts.

In the absence of proper storage, disposal facilities and sterilisation instruments like autoclave and incinerators, Bir Hospital was dumping 323 kg of infectious waste into the public garbage system every day. Not surprisingly, waste had become a major source of infection among patients and staff exposed to the polluted environment.

Last year, the Health Care Waste Management Program was launched with Healthcare Foundation-Nepal (HECAF). Today, Bir is quickly becoming a pioneer in the field of hospital waste management as the hospital now segregates waste at the source significantly reducing the toxicity. The waste is then thoroughly disinfected and passed along for recycling and reuse. "We have been following non-incineration techniques to manage medical waste because of the risks associated with burning them," says Mahesh Nakarmi, director of the Health Waste Management Program.

जलविद्युत् कि पर्यटन?

डम्बरकृष्ण श्रेष्ठ

भोटेकोशी, सिन्धुपाल्चोकमा

अँध्यारोमा बस्नुपरेको जलस्रोतको धनी देश नेपालको लागि विद्युत् जति आवश्यक छ, देशको अर्थतन्त्रमा पर्यटन क्षेत्रको संरक्षण र विकास त्यत्तिकै जरुरी। चिलिमे जलविद्युत् कम्पनी र नेपाल विद्युत् प्राधिकरणले रु.१२ अर्ब २८ करोडको लगानीमा सिन्धुपाल्चोकमा १०२ मेगावाट क्षमताको मध्य भोटेकोशी जलविद्युत् आयोजना निर्माण गर्दैछन्। यसबाट र्‍याफ्टिङ र कायकिङका लागि विश्व प्रसिद्ध भोटेकोशीको आकर्षण गुम्ने भएकाले आयोजनालाई ७५ मेगावाटमा सीमित गरी गातीमा प्रस्तावित विद्युत्गृहलाई सखुवामा सारेर नदी संरक्षण गर्नुपर्ने माग पर्यटन व्यवसायीहरूको छ। तर आयोजना निर्माता र राजनीतिक दलहरू अहिलेलाई पर्यटन भन्दा जलविद्युत् महत्वपूर्ण भएकाले हाल डिजाइन गरिएअनुरुप बनाउनुपर्ने अडानमा छन्।

१० मङ्सिरमा मध्य भोटेकोशी जलविद्युत् कम्पनीले सखुवामा आयोजना गरेको अन्तरक्रियामा नेकपा एमालेका पूर्व सांसद् सुभाष कर्माचार्यको भनाइ थियो, “नदी जोगाउने र पर्यटक ल्याउने कुरा आफ्नो ठाउँमा छ, तर सबैभन्दा पहिले हामीलाई उज्यालो चाहिएको छ।” जलविद्युत्लाई प्राथमिकता दिने र पर्यटनलाई पनि सक्दो जोगाउने कुरा गर्दै एनेकपा मा'वादीका सभासद् राजकुमार श्रेष्ठले तर मध्य भोटेकोशीमा स्थानीय बासिन्दाको जीवनस्तर उकास्न र गाउँ विकास गर्न विद्युत् नै महत्वपूर्ण भएको बताए।

कार्यक्रममा आयोजना प्रबन्धक कुलमानसिंह तामाङले सार्वजनिक-निजी साझ्ेदारीमा बन्न लागेको मध्य भोटेकोशीले तल्लो तहका जनताको आयस्तर बढाउने आकर्षण देखाए। आयोजनाले पर्यटनलाई असर पार्ने कुरा उठिरहेका बेला उनले इको हाइड्रो-टुरिजमको अवधारणा अनुसार चीनमा जस्तै हाइड्रोपावर हेर्ने पर्यटक भित्र्याउन सकिने र र्‍याफ्टिङका लागि आयोजना भन्दा दक्षिणको क्षेत्रमा नयाँ संरचना थपिने बताए।