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.

भाउसँगै लोडसेडिङ बढ्यो, दिनमा सात घण्टा अन्धकार

विद्युत प्राधिकरणले बिजुलीको भाउ बढाएको चौथो दिनबाटै लोडसेडिङ पनि बढेको छ। प्राधिकरणले सोमबारदेखि लोडसेडिङलाई हप्तामा ४६ घन्टा बनाएको छ। 'हप्तामा चार दिन दुईपटक गरेर सात घन्टा र तीन दिन ६ घन्टाका दरले बिजुली कटौती हुनेछ,' प्राधिकरण प्रणाली सञ्चालन विभागका प्रमुख भुवनकुमार क्षेत्रीले भने। अहिले हप्तामा ३५ घन्टा लोडसेडिङ छ।

प्राधिकरणले भदौ १ बाट लागु हुने गरी बिजुलीको महसुल २० प्रतिशतका दरले बढाएको छ। महसुल निर्धारण आयोगले साउनदेखि नै बढाउन स्वीकृति दिए पनि प्राधिकरणले भने वार्षिक उत्सवदेखि मात्र बढाउने निर्णय गरेको छ। प्राधिकरणले भदौ १ गते आफ्नो २७ औं वार्षिक उत्सव मनाएको छ।

प्राधिकरणले घरायसी मासिक २० युनिटसम्म बिजुली प्रयोग गर्ने उपभोक्तालाई भाउ नबढाए पनि त्यसभन्दा बढी खपत गर्नेलाई भने प्रति युनिट ७ रुपैयाँ ३० पैसादेखि ११ रुपैयाँसम्म बनाएको छ।

भारतबाट आउने बिजुली ३५ मेगावाटले कटौती भएको छ। यो वर्ष पानी कम परेको हुँदा भारतमा सिँचाइका लागि पानी तान्ने पम्पको प्रयोग बढेपछि त्यसले विद्युतको माग निकै बढाएको छ। त्यसले गर्दा भारतले नेपालमा आउने बिजुली कटौती गरेको हो।

जलविद्युतमा चीनको जोड

नेपालको जलविद्युतमा चासो राख्दै आएको चीनले नेपाललाई जलविद्युत लगानीमैत्री वातावरण बनाउन आग्रह गरेको छ। नेपाल-चीनबीच काठमाडौंमा सोमबार सुरु परराष्ट्रसचिव स्तरीय बैठकमा चिनियाँ पक्षले यस्तो आग्रह गरेको हो। 

'नेपालको जलविद्युतमा चिनियाँ लगानीकर्ता लगानी गर्न तयार छन्,' चिनियाँ उप-विदेशमन्त्री फु यिङलाई उद्धृत गर्दै बैठकमा सहभागी एक नेपाली अधिकारीले भने, 'यसका लागि नेपालले लगानीमैत्री वातावरण बनाउनुपर्छ। जलविद्युतमा अहिले पनि धेरै समस्या छन्।' 

वार्तामा माथिल्लो त्रिशुली ३ 'ए' जलविद्युत आयोजनामा सहुलियत ऋण उपलब्ध गराउन चिनियाँ पक्ष सकारात्मक भएको ती अधिकारीले बताए। यस्तै चीनले बाहिरी चक्रपथ निर्माण गर्न सकारात्मक रहेको जवाफ दिएको छ। नेपालले उपत्यकाको जनघनत्व बढ्दै गएपछि बाहिरी चक्रपथ निर्माणलाई अघि बढाउने निर्णय गरेको थियो। तर बाहिरी चक्रपथ निर्माणको प्रक्रिया भने अघि बढ्न सकेको छैन। 

नेपालमा चिनियाँ पर्यटन बढाउन सिधा हवाई सम्पर्क बढाउन पनि चीन सहमत भएको छ। 'चिनियाँ पर्यटक बढाउन हवाई सम्पर्क बढाउनेबारे सहमति भएको छ,' सहभागी ती अधिकारीले भने। चिनियाँ पर्यटक बढाउन काठमाडौं-ल्हासा बससेवा पुनः सञ्चालनमा ल्याउनेबारे छलफल भएको थियो।