FEATURES NEWS THE RISING NEPAL (DAILY)

Environment & Development
Need For Striking Balance

THE term environment would denote a series of climatic, edaphic and biotic and abiotic factors that synergistically influence living beings in terms of survival and sustainability. It would thus indicate the circumstances surrounding living beings that are continuously acting upon them.

Nowadays, there is a growing concern about environmental degradation, which may be regarded as a direct or indirect corollary of human activities. There is no doubt that humankind has made remarkable advances in various fields but such advances are often accompanied by negative impacts on the environment.

At present, environmental degradation has become a global problem, to which Nepal is not an exception. In the past, human activities were limited and so nature was in a position to sustain itself. Now, the trend has reversed; there is so much encroachment upon nature that it is literally falling apart at the seams.

Environmental problems may be considered a byproduct of over-exploitation of natural resources, haphazard use of various materials and adoption of various methods or amenities in the name of development.

Nepal is a land of uneven topography. Ranging from 100 meters to 8,848 meters from sea level, much of the land of the country is rugged and sloping. There is an increasing trend to till marginal land. And unscientific use of fertilisers and pesticides has resulted in agrological degeneration and hence soil erosion. It is estimated that 1.8 million metric tonnes of nutrients required for crops are washed away every year, out of which only 0.3 million tonnes can be compensated for by the use of organic and other fertilisers. This has affected productivity to a great extent.

Forest cover is getting depleted year by year in Nepal. Now, close to 4.2 million hectares of the land is covered by forest, which comes out at about 29 per cent. The contributing factors to continuing forest depletion are heavy dependence on forest for firewood, cattle grazing, timber for construction purposes and so on.

Watershed development projects, if not run taking into account environmental impacts, may generate environmental problems. The physical, chemical and biological properties of water have also degenerated. Even a few swamps have been affected by human encroachment.

Eighty-nine per cent of the fuel requirements of the Nepalese are fulfilled through traditional sources like firewood, agricultural residues and cowdung, whereas the remaining are met through commercial sources like POL productsd, electricity and coal. However, in recent times the government has shown considerable interest in developing alternative sources of energy like biogas.

Effluents and smoke spewed forth by various industrial establishments have been polluting the environment to a great extent. It is, therefore, necessary to translocate such polluting industries to sparsely populated suburban or rural areas.

Similarly, polluting vehicles are a great source of air quality degradation. The government is very serious about it. It has, therefore, taken stringent measures to curb vehicular pollution. Its latest move is to ban the operation of 20-year-old vehicles in the near future.

The world is facing a population explosion on an unprecedented scale. Nepal is also facing a similar situation. In fact, population growth would exert tremendous pressure on nature, in consequence of which man has to face several problems. Today, drinking water, sanitation, solid waste disposal, waterborne and airborne diseases and over-use of non-biodegradable materials have become a constant headache.

Considering ever-growing environmental problems, the government has formulated eco-friendly policies, besides enacting environmental laws. It may be noted that the Environmental Conservation Act, 2053 and the related regulations, 2054 are in force now. There are various legal provisions regarding the need for adopting environmental impact assessment and anti-pollution measures while running a project.

Various units have been established to implement environmental conservation projects. The establishment in 2049 of the Environmental Conservation Council to give policy guidelines to the government and of the Ministry of Population and Environment in 2052 may be considered a positive step towards conserving the environment.

The government is not alone in the efforts to save the fragile environment; some NGOs have been actively involved in this field. These entitles engaged themselves in public awareness campaigns in close coordination with the government. Such campaigns would facilitate the implementation of natural resources management and pollution control programmes.

As a matter of fact, it is indispensable to integrate such programmes into social-welfare and development programmes. This would play a catalystic role in making both development and conservation sustainable synchronously. Sustainable development is one of the main goals encapsulated in the development planning of Nepal.

It would be germane to note that the Earth Summit was organised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in June, 1992 by the UN Conference on Environment and Development. The gathering was participated in by 117 heads of state and representatives from 178 countries. At the meeting, various treaties and documents regarding reconciling global economic development with environmental protection were signed. And nations committed themselves to pursue economic development in a way to protect the environment and non-renewable resources.

Nepal has not been able to solve environmental problems caused by population growth, urban migration, deforestation. Lack of proper sanitation, vehicular pollution and other factors. To resolve such problems is really a daunting task. Therefore, it is the need of the hour to vigorously strive to conserve the environment so as to strike a balance between development activities and the environment. After all, the environment is a keepsake of the present generation that should be handed over to posterity in its form.

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