NATIONAL10 (Spotlight Weelky)]

The Green Battle

Environmental NGOs knock the court’s door against a government decision

By A CORRESPONDENT

Members of three pro-environment NGOs — Pro-public, Clean Energy Nepal and Martin Chautari — filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court last week seeking the cancellation of the Ministry of Environment's decision to allow the import of vehicles produced in Japan, China, Korea based on self-certification of the manufacturers.

When the Nepal Vehicle Mass Emission Standard 2056 was implemented, vehicle importers raised concern over the provision of Conformity of Production (CoP) and Type Approval (TA). The government later constituted a task force to reconsider the decision. When then-Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, in his visit to India, agreed to provide concession to India manufactured vehicles, the same NGOs challenged his decision in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court issued an interim order not to implement the agreement until the court gave its verdict. The petition is now referred for a full-bench hearing.

During court hearing, the defendants produced a letter that showed that the Ministry of Environment has already allowed imports of vehicles manufactured in Japan, Korea, and China on the basis of self-certification from manufacturers. But the environment regulation is clear: no vehicle should be imported from abroad on the basis of self-certified documents. The NGOs believe that since the law doesn't discriminate among the countries, the rules should equally be applicable to all. The petitioners have sought directives from the Supreme Court to stop the provision of allowing the import of vehicles based on self certified documents, irrespective of the country of manufacturing.

Mountains And More

Scores of books on mounta ins, environment, ecology, bio-diversity, natural resources, agriculture and tourism were showcased at a fair organized last week by the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).

The three-day open book fair was participated in by such organizations as World Conservation Union (IUCN), World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Park-People Program at the Department for National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Himal Association and Mountain Study Institute.

The fair provided a special opportunity for scholars and students interested in mountains. Apart from books, the fair also had CDs, videocassettes and posters.

Mayor of the Lalitpur Sub Metropolis Buddhiraj Bajracharya opened the fair on August 16 at the ICIMOD office.

ICIMOD has gained international repute in its endeavor for mountain development. The regional office of the organization is based in Kathmandu and it oversees the development efforts in the mountain region ranging from Myanmar to Afghanistan.

Established in 1983, ICIMOD lays great emphasis on documentation and information exchange. The organization was set up out of widespread recognition of the environmental degradation of mountain habitats and the increasing poverty of mountain populations. Although international in its concern, ICIMOD focuses on the specific, complex and practical problems of the Hindu Kush Himalayan region of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan.

The center aims to promote the development of an economically and environmentally sound mountain ecosystem and to improve the standard of living of mountain populations of the HKH.

New Executive Committee At JYC

Jawalakhel Youth Club (JYC), one of the oldest clubs in the country, has a new executive committee following an election held on August 18, 2001 after a long gap. Many interim committees headed the club amid a chaotic situation for more than a year before the election could finally take place. More than 490 voters had cast their vote to choose the new leadership.

Kishore KC, a veteran football player who is now working as football instructor at the ANFA Academy, has been elected as the new president. His association with the club dates back to more than one and a half decades. He defeated Philip KC, a long time volleyball player of the club. Sunil Shrestha, Sabin Khadka and Sudarshan Karki were elected vice presidents. Dilip Rajak is the new general secretary.

Seven members, including one woman, were also elected. They are Kuber Thapa Magar, Ghanashyam Shrestha, Laxmi Karki, Ujjwal Sherchan, Binod KC, Bijaya Bhakta Shrestha and Keshav Thapa. Khadga Prasad Thapa and Meghraj KC were elected unopposed as treasurer and secretary respectively. The election of the new executive committee, with three yearsí term, is expected to end the long confusion at the club. The club has been organizing different sports and cultural programs like quiz contests, football, volleyball, table-tennis and other tournaments regularly. However, due to the ensuing confusion, it had not held such programs of late. The new executive committee is expected to continue that tradition. The JYC football team has always been able to find a berth in the "A" division club at the national level. Last year, the club even succeeded to find a place in the super six bracket after a successful league play-off.