Sonia Awale

original

674x448

610x380

500x500

400x266

400x240

400x203

301x200

1084x550

thumbnail

viewImage

What’s cooking in Nepal besides politics?

While Mayor Balen Shah is finding it difficult to fulfil his election promise to solve Kathmandu’s garbage crisis once and for all, it might be prudent for him to visit Dang where a town has shown that it is possible to turn its trash into energy.&nbsp; Nearly 90% of the garbage in Dang's semi-rural Ghorahi is biomass that includes kitchen waste, farm residue and livestock dung that can be turned into flammable methane gas. The rest is plastic, metal or glass that can be recycled, and only a small portion of it is left to be disposed of at a &nbsp;landfill site. Laxmi Chaudhary's family is one of 32 households in two wards of Ghorahi that get gas piped in as a utility by the Sub-Metropolitan City with technical support from the Alternative Energy and Nepal Energy Development Company. Families used to depend on firewood, and then imported LPG cylinders for cooking. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/waste-to-value-with-biogas-in-nepal/">Waste to value with biogas in Nepal</a>, Sushmita Dulal  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230726030740_743303649034412b87e173fdf5c0f67a821e299cdaf96c60826266a8e52537fa.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20230726030740_743303649034412b87e173fdf5c0f67a821e299cdaf96c60826266a8e52537fa" data-rendition-name="original" width="1333" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Ghorahi biogas NT 3"> </figure>  “When we were younger we used to forage for firewood in the forest after a long day in the field, then we switched to gas cylinders, but now I can just use the piped gas and it works even better,” says Chaudhary. She used to be afraid of cylinders because there had been incidents where they exploded, but with piped gas there is no such fear. “It is as easy as turning on a faucet," she says. Her neighbour Sushila Chaudhary is also delighted to have a gas pipe going straight to her kitchen. “Cooking is so easy now, and the kitchen is smokeless,” she says. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/this-is-bullshit/">This is bullshit</a>, Kunda Dixit  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230726030736_eb251ee58a10e1fa7191096cd70f3a207c40b7a1d6b9b95a55b40166f34762ec.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20230726030736_eb251ee58a10e1fa7191096cd70f3a207c40b7a1d6b9b95a55b40166f34762ec" data-rendition-name="original" width="1333" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Ghorahi biogas NT 2"> </figure>  If Ghorahi can do it, there is no reason other towns and cities cannot do the same. Indeed, there are more than 350,000 household biogas plants in Nepal, and the cheap and maintenance-free underground dome digester designed here in the 1980s has been copied all over the world. In addition, there have been attempts to produce biogas on an industrial scale. Gandaki Urja, a private company, is producing Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and selling cylinders to hotels in Pokhara. &nbsp;A similar plant in Jhapa also supplies gas to parts of a town.&nbsp; If scaled up to all seven provinces, industrial scale biogas would bring down Nepal’s LPG import, which has been growing rapidly in recent years. In the last fiscal year alone, Nepal imported nearly Rs60 billion worth of LPG from India. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/toilet-cafe/">Toilet Cafe</a>, Aria Shree Parasai  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230726030740_fd1e29d67b4fdfb53a7d96be51e23a9b2a446020b05ea51cd856fe01d41fc3e0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20230726030740_fd1e29d67b4fdfb53a7d96be51e23a9b2a446020b05ea51cd856fe01d41fc3e0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1333" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Ghorahi biogas NT 4"> </figure>  Ghorahi Mayor Narulal Chaudhary has been strongly backing the biogas program, and says, “We are producing biogas from the city’s waste and piping it directly to stoves in people’s homes. We can share this knowhow with others.” The Rs22 million project aims to ultimately distribute methane gas to 1,500 households after this pilot phase is over. Once meter boxes are installed, households will be charged based on their consumption. The project will be expanded to 750 households in the second phase. “We can produce up to 2,000 cubic meters of gas daily when the gas plant operates at full capacity. For this, we need 30 tons of garbage per day,” says project coordinator Sharada Sharma. “When the waste from Ghorahi is not enough to feed the digester, we source additional farm waste from the district.” Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=1295" target="_blank">Hurrah, Nepal’s future is in the dung heap</a>, Naresh Newar  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230726030740_7c259437ec621574a845281a99bfaeded3fcee21ef635ac6ae599607758d47fe.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20230726030740_7c259437ec621574a845281a99bfaeded3fcee21ef635ac6ae599607758d47fe" data-rendition-name="original" width="1333" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Ghorahi biogas NT 5"> </figure>  Mayor Chaudhary is so encouraged by the progress so far that he thinks Ghorahi can soon be declared garbage-free. The town even imports garbage generated by the other Sub-Metropolitan City in Dang, Lamahi. And it is a win-win for the town which is now well on its way to managing its waste, generating gas for its inhabitants, and also producing fertilizer from the effluent. Organic fertiliser sells for up to Rs50 per kg and there is a perennial shortage of fertiliser in Nepal. The effluent has higher concentration of phosphates and nitrogen, essential for crops. The agreement between the Ghorahi Sub-Metropolitan City and the Company spans 20 years following which the gas production and distribution facility will be handed over to the city. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/toilet-trained-in-nepal/">Toilet-trained in Nepal</a>, Aryan Sitaula  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230726030740_5fc6a7e07bd45f064d66156b20994db19c4cf8f76880cb511576ef22fb625728.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20230726030740_5fc6a7e07bd45f064d66156b20994db19c4cf8f76880cb511576ef22fb625728" data-rendition-name="original" width="1333" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Ghorahi biogas NT 6"> </figure>  During this period, the Alternative Energy and Nepal Energy Development Company will provide the Sub-Metropolitan City with a 5% share of the profits generated from the facility. Kathmandu’s garbage all ends up in Banchare Danda in Nuwakot, and locals have stepped up their opposition citing unkept promises. But if Kathmandu sorted its waste, recycled plastic, glass and metal, and generated gas from the biodegradable portion, very little of the trash would end up at the landfill site. Perhaps the mayors of the dirtiest cities in Nepal should go on a study visit to Ghorahi to see how they do it. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/more-bullshit">More bullshit</a>, Sonia Awale Translated by Aayusha Pokharel from the <a href="https://www.himalkhabar.com/news/136874" target="_blank">Nepali original</a> published on <a href="http://himalkhabar.com/" target="_blank">himalkhabar.com</a>

1250x600

Dang turns dung into energy

<figure><img width="1500" height="1125" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111412114/637221029c7e80680e0c0296jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>All photos: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption></figure>The newly-elected Mayor of Kathmandu Balen Shah has called waste management of the city his top priority. Even before being sworn in, he visited the Sisdol landfill site to see what a challenge he has given himself. Mayor Shah wants to incinerate segregated waste at the new dumping site in Bancharedanda, and compost the biodegradable garbage into fertiliser to distribute to farmers.All good ideas, but what the structural engineer/rapper mayor may have missed is the potential to turn the waste also into biogas.Urban municipalities across Nepal generate over 2,200 metric tons of solid waste a year, 54% of which is organic, and this could generate close to 10,000 metric tons of methane gas. Gasifying just the waste from Kathmandu Valley could produce 1,700 cylinders of bio-CNG daily.“Given that more than half of Nepal’s municipal garbage is biodegradable, generating bio-CNG in digesters could be the answer to energy self-sufficiency and sustainability,” writes Sushmita Dulal of WindPower Nepal.She adds: “This is a win-win, it improves the urban environment, reduces carbon emission and slashes the trade deficit by substituting LPG and chemical fertiliser use.”Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/waste-to-value-with-biogas-in-nepal/">Waste to value with biogas in Nepal</a>, Sushmita DulalNepal has already demonstrated that it is a pioneer in household biogas, with more than 300,000 digesters in use that turn farm manure into kitchen gas.The focus has now shifted from domestic biogas to industrial-scale plants for densely populated urban centres. At present, there are 18 commercial biogas plants across Nepal, nine of them under construction.One of them is Gandaki Urja in Pokhara, the third industrial-scale biogas plant in Nepal and also the largest, with a digester volume of 3,000 cubic metres. It started operations in December 2019, and has been supplying bio-CNG cylinders to big hotels, restaurants, as well as selling fertiliser made from the effluent.But the lack of raw material (manure and waste biomass) due to minimal waste segregation at the source, Gandaki Urja is having to feed its digesters waste from agriculture and poultry farms and is only generating 1,200 tons of biogas a day.Half of the plant’s revenue comes from the effluent which is dried and sold as organic fertiliser in farms in Kaski and Tanahu. The plant can produce up to 11,000 tons of fertiliser a year, and while it is nowhere near Nepal’s total demand of 900,000 tons a year, there will be more organic fertiliser when other commercial plants are built. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/this-is-bullshit/">This is bullshit</a>, Kunda Dixit <figure><img width="1296" height="616" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111412114/637221069c7e80680e0c0297jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Says Kushal Gurung of Gandaki Urja: “Every year Nepal suffers from a chronic lack of chemical fertilisers but it could become a net exporter with a potential of generating 2.5 million tons a year provided that the government prioritises and invests in organic fertilisers.”The biggest challenge for developers is that LPG gets over Rs1,000 subsidy per cylinder, although the new budget plans to slash the tax rebate.This means the cost per kg for the bio-Compressed Natural Gas (bio-CNG) has to be the same as that of the LPG regardless of its higher manufacturing cost.“At the rate our petroleum imports are going up, there is no way we will meet our climate targets but I have not lost hope,” says Gurung. “Turning to biogas is a no-brainer. It will create jobs, convert waste into energy, reduce greenhouse gas emission, as well as generate organic fertiliser which will increase soil fertility.”Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/toilet-cafe/">Toilet Cafe</a>, Aria Shree ParasaiBut technological know-how remains a big challenge in scaling up commercial biogas in Nepal. All the machinery has to be imported and in case of repairs or damage, there is no local skill, adding to the cost of operation. Nepal government’s Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC) has been at the forefront of promoting biogas. Until recently it was also providing technical support and subsidy to industrial plants (up to 40% in machinery) before the World Bank stopped its investment in biogas.“Biogas is the answer to waste management in Nepal. Increasing job opportunities and reducing our dependence on LPG with this alternative sounds great too but it is not easy to secure funding,” explains AEPC bioenergy expert Sushim Amatya.If biogas is to substitute a bigger portion of Nepal’s LPG consumption, developers need government subsidies and investment to be directed in the most cost-efficient sectors.One strategy could be to promote different forms of alternative energies side by side: upgrading Nepal’s electricity infrastructure so that transmission lines can handle increased supply, while also subsidising biogas by slashing the rebate on LPG. Adds Amatya: “Subsidising LPG makes absolutely no sense, it benefits only India and the Gulf. It will definitely not help the climate but renewables also need to be easily available and affordable, the notion of cleaning up the environment alone will not move the general population unless cost-effectiveness is added to the mix.” Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/toilet-trained-in-nepal/">Toilet-trained in Nepal</a>, Aryan Sitaula

More bullshit

<figure><img width="1500" height="1125" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111412114/637220f89c7e80680e0c0293jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: SONIA AWALE</figcaption></figure>The last place anyone would like to locate a new café would be next to a public latrine. But this is exactly what the Independent Sanitation Workers Cooperative has done at its facility in Patan. And the reason for it to be adjacent to a toilet is that the café’s kitchen runs on <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/this-is-bullshit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">biogas</a> from an underground digester using its waste. The squeamish might still screw up their noses, but people are getting used to the idea. The architecturally modern design of the building at Patan Dhoka bus stop is one of a<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/toilet-trained-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> slew of ‘smart toilets’</a> that the municipality commissioned last year. The buildings harvest rainwater, recharge groundwater, use solar power and other eco-friendly methods.  Most  people walk by the facility, and do not notice the café because they just do not expect it to be there. The waiters are in neat uniforms, there are biscuit packets stacked on the shelf above, and the tea is boiling on top of a clean blue flame from the biogas stove.  The café serves tea, which is only Rs15 per cup, and khaja sets of momo, choila baji, and other snacks. This helps to generate income to manage restroom next door, which the visitors have to pay per use. The washroom, however, can be used for free.  Read Also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/waste-to-value-with-biogas-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Waste to value with biogas in Nepal</a>, Sushmita Dulal <figure><img width="640" height="853" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111412114/637220fb9c7e80680e0c0294jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><img width="640" height="853" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111412114/637220fe9c7e80680e0c0295jpeg.jpg" alt="">The staff are all from previously excluded ‘lower’ caste groups like Deula, Pode or Chyame. Explains Prakash Amatya of Aerosan Nepal which manages the facilities: “We are providing jobs and also keeping the dignity of the profession. Most people still regard those who clean toilets as being beneath them. We are trying to change that prejudice. We actually started by training them in our sanitation hospitality centre.”The rest rooms offer diaper changing, breastfeeding and sanitary pad dispensers, and are universally accessible. No chemicals, such as detergents or cleansing soaps, are used as it could reach the digester killing the bacteria there that naturally convert the waste into methane gas. The waste from the restrooms feeds into the digester below the building, where the bacteria decompose it releasing methane that fuels the stoves in the café. The odourless spent slurry is collected, dried and used as fertiliser. Aerosan runs a chain of similar facilities in Tripureswor, Baneswor, Mangal Bazar, and Swayambhu. Customers are usually vendors, taxi drivers, and retailers in the area, as well as pilgrims. There are plans to replicate this model in Pokhara and Biratnagar. Having an Ecofriendly café and toilet can be a longterm investment, and running costs are minimal. Besides the facilities generate their own income and are sustainable. Amatya admits that people were hesitant  in the beginning to come to the café, but adds, “With time they have got used to it.”Read Also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=1295" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Hurrah, Nepal’s future is in the dung heap</a>, Naresh Newar

Aria Shree Parasai

Toilet Café

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111412114/637220ea9c7e80680e0c028fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1126" height="1500"/><figcaption>Photos: SUSHMITA DULAL</figcaption></figure>Nepal is currently experiencing a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/how-not-to-be-a-sri-lanka/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">combined economic-ecological crisis</a>: rising petroleum imports and a deteriorating environment.Urban municipal waste management is a pressing issue, even though there is inadequate understanding of waste as a resource puts <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-load-of-rubbish/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">pressure on landfills</a> and the environment.Given that more than half of Nepal’s municipal garbage is biodegradable, generating Bio-CNG in digesters could be the answer to energy self-sufficiency and sustainability. This is a win-win-win: it improves the urban environment, reduces carbon emission and slashes the trade deficit by substituting LPG and chemical fertiliser use. <a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=1295" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Domestic scale biogas technology</a> is one of Nepal’s success stories in the past three decades. The family-level plants offer cooking solutions for more than 0.3 million rural households. However, with growing concern about organic waste management and increasing demand for clean energy, large-scale biogas technology has been gaining traction in recent years.The government with support from development partners has been exploring the possibility of scaling up the biogas technology and supporting the private sector, factories and municipalities for the installation of large-scale biogas plants.There are now 344 large-scale biogas plants in the country, but only a few of them have digesters larger than 3,000 cubic meters, considered a threshold for being commercially viable.These biogas plants primarily utilise biodegradable municipal solid waste, livestock manure and poultry litter as feedstock. After purification, the biogas can be used as an alternative to cooking and transportation fuel.A recent waste management baseline survey of Nepal indicates that urban municipalities in Nepal generate nearly 2,400 metric tons per year of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/a-load-of-rubbish-kathmandus-garbage-problem,4039" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">solid waste</a> on average, more than half of which is organic. This means that almost 10,000 metric tons of purified biogas (bio-CNG) with more than 90% methane concentration can theoretically be produced in the municipalities.An additional 1.5 million metric tons of bio-CNG per year could be generated using livestock manure across the country. Even if we could use only 10% of this waste, we could still generate nearly 145,000 metric tons of bio-CNG per year — equivalent to more than 10 million LPG cylinders — and help reduce Nepal’s LPG imports by 30%, narrow the trade gap with India and save foreign currency.Furthermore, the spent effluent from the digesters as a by-product of biogas plants could substantially reduce Nepal’s imports of chemical fertiliser, and promote organic farming.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111412114/637220ee9c7e80680e0c0290jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="998"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Using bio-CNG generated from waste as cooking fuel would save more than 2.8 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent of greenhouse gases. Large-scale biogas plants have the potential to fulfil two of the country's most pressing needs: effective organic waste management and clean energy supply.The availability of waste as raw materials as well as the urgency for a sustainable waste management model creates a huge opportunity for Nepal. But the development of large-scale biogas systems have been hampered by unfavourable government policies, techno-economic and institutional challenges.For example, the Environment protection rule (2020) stipulates that the  installation of a biogas plant larger than 1,500 cubic metres requires an environmental impact assessment. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/this-is-bullshit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gandaki Urja</a>, a Karki-based private sector biogas developer that produces bio-CNG and fertiliser from farm waste, took more than a year to obtain environmental approval.Similarly, even with government subsidies, the CAPEX for large-scale biogas technology is costly, making private sector project developers unwilling to invest. There is also a lack of skilled human resources for the operation and maintenance of large-scale biogas.Likewise, we need to import spare parts, machinery, and equipment for the establishment of a biogas plant. The process takes time and impedes the projects’ timely installation and smooth operation. Feedstock supply can also be erratic.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111412114/637220f19c7e80680e0c0291jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3729" height="2606"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>There is a need to ensure a technology supply chain (production, distribution and after sales service). Periodic training and follow-up through the Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT) could create the necessary expertise.The development of adequate skilled human resources through a tripartite collaboration among government, industry and academia for applied research in biogas systems is also key to ensure sustainability in the large-scale biogas sector.Both the government and private project developers should set aside funds to boost research into commercial biogas systems. Likewise, an awareness program to sensitise consumers about its environmental and economic benefits, knowledge transfer and training could reduce the uncertainty and encourage consumers to use bio-CNG.Government support in the biogas sector through policy measures like reducing pollution from livestock farms and agro-processing industries, a ban on the disposal of municipal solid waste dumping in landfill sites, enforcement of strict waste management rules, and encouraging waste segregation at the source can be pivotal.The way ahead for energy sufficient Nepal is setting realistic targets for biogas production with appropriate planning and strategies for large-scale biogas development.The partnership between the government and private sectors will also increase the uptake of biogas as well as increase the demand for large-scale biogas plants which can save both our ecology and economy.Sushmita Dulal is the manager at WindPower Nepal.

Waste to value with biogas in Nepal

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111016110/636d128a9c7e80680e0a98ddjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="750" height="1083"/><figcaption>The south face of Mt Gauri Shankar (7,134m) on the border between Nepal and China is bare rock, and shows how dramatically the snowline has receded, and the glaciers have shrunk. Photo: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption></figure>The COP26 climate jamboree ends in Glasgow on Friday, and already it looks like the best world governments are prepared to offer in terms of emission cuts is not enough to stave off an environmental catastrophe.There were a slew of national, international and multinational pledges for <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/net-zero-is-not-zero/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">net zero</a>, but activists fear allegations that the targets are vague and over-ambitious greenwash that they have no intention of meeting.The result could be global average temperatures soaring to up to 3oCelsius above pre-industrial levels, with catastrophic results. The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-terrifying-assessment-of-himalayan-melting/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Himalaya will warm even faster</a>, and scientists say it could lose up to two-thirds of its remaining ice during this century.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepals-greenwashing-in-glasgow/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepal's greewashing in Glasgow</a>, Rashmi Baskota<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111016110/636d128d9c7e80680e0a98dejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3000" height="671"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111016110/636d12909c7e80680e0a98dfjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="568"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>On Tuesday in Glasgow, Nepal unveiled three <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/blueprint-for-a-net-zero-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ambitious targets</a>, and without waiting for others to say it, boasted that it was the ‘highest climate ambition country’.In its three-point pledge, Nepal said it would:<ul><li>Start reducing emission from 2022 and be carbon negative after 2045</li> <li>Halt deforestation and increase forest cover to 45% by 2030</li> <li>Ensure all vulnerable people are protected from climate change by 2030</li></ul>In Kathmandu, environmental activist Bhushan Tuladhar welcomed the new targets, saying they were “ambitious but doable” but one which will require a serious review of our normal development pathway.“We can’t look at the commitments as just reduction of carbon emission, but as an investment for our economy and health. Now let’s walk the talk and get to work,” Tuladhar told Nepali Times.A good start would be for the government to order that all official vehicles purchased from now on will be <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/e-vehicles-prepare-for-post-lockdown-boom/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">battery powered</a>, and encourage public transport operators to electrify their bus fleets and by reducing taxes and setting up charging stations, he added.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111016110/636d12939c7e80680e0a98e0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111016110/636d12979c7e80680e0a98e1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1061"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111016110/636d129a9c7e80680e0a98e2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000">The pledges have been criticised as being too vague on protecting all ‘vulnerable people by 2030’ and annual reduction of emissions till net-zero by 2045 will hinge on implementation, on which Nepal has always been weak. The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-can-up-forest-cover-to-45-by-2030/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">forestry target</a>, however, is seen to be achievable.The targets are also conditional upon financial support, and Nepal will require $46 billion to implement them from 2022-2030, which is 24% of national GDP, and the government can fund only about 2% of this sum.Amrit Nakarmi, an adviser at the Energy Development Council who prepared the long-term strategy report, says that Nepal is unlikely to meet the targets without climate funds.“We contribute only 0.5% of total global carbon emissions and even within that  only 30% is anthropogenic, 20% is natural and the remaining 50% is transboundary, so us reducing <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-doubles-its-carbon-footprint/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">our carbon footprint</a> will not make much of a difference to the global climate,” explains Nakarmi.“But having said that we can replace our fossil fuel imports with clean hydroelectricity and cut our import bill,” he adds. “Electrification of the economy is urgent, and government policies should be in line with our targets and the private sector should be involved.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111016110/636d129d9c7e80680e0a98e3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1800" height="1050"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Climate finance and payments for Nepal’s carbon sink from <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/who-now-owns-nepals-forests/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">expanded forest cover</a> will take time to materialise. But experts say we should not wait for the money, and start with low-cost effective mitigation measures locally.Cooking via electricity has now become much cheaper than LPG, and many urban families have transitioned to induction stoves. But 90% of households across Nepal are hooked to only 5amp current which is only enough for lighting. If the transmission can be upgraded, Nepal could save at least Rs33 billion a year by replacing its <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/look-whats-cooking-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">cooking gas imports</a> with electricity.Nepalis have paid nearly Rs10 billion in pollution tax for every litre of petrol or diesel at the gas stations in the last decade. This money could be used to buy  electric public buses. Increasing the petroleum excise tax could fund conversion to renewables.Nepal would also save Rs21 billion a year by reducing its petroleum import bill by just 10% if it <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/cleaner-air-with-greener-buses/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">converted public buses to battery-operated vehicles</a> while also increasing domestic consumption of clean electricity and improving air quality. If the transport sector is electrified, experts believe net-zero by 2045 is possible.Water scientist Madhukar Upadhya believes Nepal can also increase forest cover to 45% by 2030 (from the current 37%) by controlling forest degradation due to encroachment, deforestation and reducing wildfires.But Upadhyay is puzzled by the third target on protecting vulnerable people. “We just don’t have the infrastructure, knowledge or expertise to achieve climate resilience for vulnerable people by 2030,” he asserts.“Nepal experienced extreme weather this year,<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/himalayan-floods-a-sign-of-worse-to-come/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> droughts and floods destroyed crops</a>, lack of water is creating climate refugees, wildfires have become nationwide,” Upadhyay adds. “These are not just headlines anymore, we are experiencing them ourselves, what are we doing to address these challenges? Nepal has taken no action to reduce or control them.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111016110/636d12a09c7e80680e0a98e4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="900"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Other areas that can be cleaned up with existing technologies and local resources include industries, agriculture and waste management. The cement industry is booming in Nepal, and they are big carbon emitters. By switching to electricity, Nepal could mitigate emissions. Rice farming generates methane, which is a greenhouse gas, so converting to the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) could reduce our contribution to climate change.Kathmandu’s only <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-load-of-rubbish/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">landfill in Sisdole</a> has reached maximum capacity and an alternative site has been in talks for decades. Landfills add to methane emissions, but there has been no commitment to composting and biogas using biodegradable urban waste.After overdosing on <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/climate-change-is-a-disaster-in-the-nepal-himalaya/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">climate news</a> for two weeks just to be side-lined until the next COP, we might want to recall another one of our targets, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. Half of the 17 goals in SDGs will be directly affected by the impact of climate change, and yet these initiatives are working in isolation when in fact they should coordinate and collaborate for the same goal: sustainable and just future.Says environmentalist Tuladhar: “There are two things to do right after Glasgow: explain the nitty-gritty of the commitments we made and immediately implement short-, mid- and long-term strategies to achieve them. Start with the low hanging fruit, what we can immediately do, and there are plenty of them.”

COPOUT at COP26

<figure><img width="1465" height="986" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101116/636b70999c7e80680e060087jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>HONORED: Bipana Bastola, a Grade 10 student receives the Zayed Sustainability Award on behalf of her Bloom Nepal School from UAE Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. The school was among six from around the world that proposed sustainable energy solutions. Photo: Zayed Sustainability Prize</figcaption></figure>Schoolmates who studied at Budanilkantha boarding school in Kathmandu went on for higher studies abroad, some to MIT and Harvard, others to New York University, and another to an Indian college. They kept in touch, and often talked about what they could do to give back to Nepal. They decided that since it was the opportunity they got from scholarships at a top quality education in a premier government-run school, they would help set up a chain of similar schools that would inspire youngsters. The first <a href="https://bloomn.edu.np/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bloom Nepal School</a> was set up in Kathmandu with 17 students, but the earthquake struck and brought down its building, killing a security guard. It had to be restarted from scratch, and the school rose from the rubble to establish two campuses in Kathmandu and Itahari that today have 600 students, and aspires to be the largest network of schools in Nepal. <figure><img width="1000" height="1500" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101116/636b709b9c7e80680e060088jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“People in the rural areas of Nepal are as capable as everyone else even if they are poor, they just need the opportunity to get a quality education like I did,” says Ram Rijal who graduated in 2012 from MIT, taught mathematics in his school in Kathmandu, and is now working on a PhD. “We want this school to provide a similar opportunity to other underprivileged Nepali children.”Indeed, what the former schoolmates have started is a project that will try to upscale the Budanilkantha model into a network of affordable schools providing world class education to Nepalis would never be able to afford it, so that they can go to the best universities in the world and ultimately return to Nepal like its founders did.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3zxuaIjTq0Bloom School’s first new facility is located in Lubhu, has grades 1-10 with 30 students in each class. Some one-third of the students are on scholarship paid for by sponsors and the school’s own budget. The plan is to have a Bloom residential school in each of the seven provinces, so that students can rotate between the schools every semester, seeing and learning from different parts of the country.“I was inspired by the teachers at New York University’s Abu Dhabi campus where I did my undergraduate engineering degree,” says Chandan Mishra, one of the trio. “It was a campus that gave students maximum exposure, broadened their horizons and made them capable of facing any challenge.” <figure><img width="1500" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101116/636b709e9c7e80680e060089jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Bloom School received a $100,000 <a href="https://gulfnews.com/uae/environment/six-global-schools-among-10-winners-of-zayed-sustainability-prize-1.68980516" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Zayed Sustainability Award</a> this week in Abu Dhabi for a project to make energy self-sufficient campuses. In its citation, the Emirate award recognised the school’s proposal to ‘use a food-energy-waste nexus framework through the installation of biogas units that convert up to one tonne of organic waste into biogas and organic manure every day’. The biogas can then be used for cooking in the school’s canteen, generate electricity using a gas engine, while the organic manure produced can be used in sustainable agriculture. “I have been with the school from the beginning, and really enjoy it. It is very diverse, very friendly, everyone is like family. It is like a home for learning,” says Bipana Bastola, 14, who received the award on Behalf of her school. Bloom Nepal was among six winners this year for schools with sustainable energy projects who received the prizes from UAE Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed. <figure><img width="1500" height="1125" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101116/636b70a19c7e80680e06008ajpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The school further plans on forming a partnership with local municipalities to recycle municipal solid waste and convert it into clean energy, thereby promoting effective waste management, recycling, and clean energy generation, with the effective participation of students and the wider community. Mishra, who graduated with an engineering degree from NYU and turned out lucrative job offers in Dubai to return to Nepal to run the school says: “The award is a huge honour, and we will plough the prize money into our biogas energy program.”Bloom Schools have a strong environmental component, and students learn about reducing use of plastics, recycling garbage, and the biogas plant will be a part of the learning experience about climate friendly energy source that will cut Nepal’s import bill as well. <figure><img width="1500" height="806" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101116/636b70a49c7e80680e06008bjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Rijal and Mishra say they saw the benefits of residential education while at Budanilkantha, where students spent time after class learning to do activities together, and growing up to be “independent and interdependent". As an engineer, Mishra has tried to design the schools from lightweight earthquake resistant material, and wants to use rammed earth technology for future buildings. He adds: “Bloom Nepal will serve as a model for affordable high quality schools in Nepal so it can retain talent in the country and build a human resource base for the country’s future.”

Kunda Dixit

Giving back to Nepal what Nepal gave to them

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E61i3SgIt4o&amp;feature=youtu.beNepal’s future may not be in hydropower, as most assume, but actually in the dung heap. A new industrial-scale biogas plant near Pokhara has proved that livestock and farm waste producing flammable methane gas can replace imported LPG and chemical fertiliser.Over the past 30 years, Nepal has become a world leader in spreading locally-designed household biogas digesters. There are now 300,000 of them, helping reduce deforestation, improving people’s health and lifting women out of drudgery and poverty.Now, a company in Pokhara has enlarged household digesters into an industrial scale plant that uses climate-friendly technology that could ultimately be scaled  nationwide to reduce Nepal’s balance of trade gap.Read also:<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=13968#.Xg2OjVUzbIU">Father of Nepal’s gobar gas industry</a>, David McConkey<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/muster-energy-face-future,3061">Mustering up energy to face the future</a>, Om Astha RaiKushal Gurung’s grandfather was in the British Army, and he also applied for recruitment but failed the eyesight test. So, he set up Gandaki Urja in Pokhara that works with wind, solar and hydropower, but he believes Nepal’s best option for sustainable growth lies in energy from waste.“Nepal must abandon fossil fuels, but even among renewable energy sources biogas has a three-fold advantage. It reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and is therefore climate friendly. It allows us to manage raw waste. And it can slash our import bill for LPG and chemical fertiliser,” says Gurung. “It is a win-win-win.”<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101116/636b6ff39c7e80680e060050jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1125"/>A tipper truck has just arrived from Gorkha at Gandaki Urja’s biogas plant at Kotre near Pokhara, which with its dome digester looks like a nuclear reactor. The truck tilts its container to empty 5 tons of smelly poultry waste into a pit where rotting vegetables and cow dung from a farm in Syangja are all being mixed before being fed into the 4,000 cubic meter digester that is kept inflated.In the absence of oxygen, bacteria already in the cow dung go to work to break down the waste into methane, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide. The impurities are removed by filters to produce 200 cylinders of bio-CNG a day which are sold to big hotels and restaurants in Pokhara.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/no-smoke-without-fire/">No smoke without fire</a>, Ajaya Dixit<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/No-alternative,266">No alternative to alternative energy</a>, Bhrikuti RaiCustomers pay a deposit for the cylinders and pressure regulators, and usually use up about two cylinders a day. The cost per kg for the bio-Compressed Natural Gas (bio-CNG) is the same as the state subsidised Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG). However, customers prefer the biogas because it saves them up to 30% cost because it has higher calorific value than LPG, and there is no residue that goes waste.“So far, the customers are satisfied, and we see demand growing in the future as word spreads,” says Ashim Kayastha, Director of Gandaki Urja.Half the plant’s revenue comes from bio-CNG and the other half from the effluent which is dried and sold as organic fertiliser. The plant can produce up to 11,000 tons of fertiliser a year and is sold to surrounding farms.The future of bio-CNG depends on scaling up the technology since any municipality generating more than 40 tons of biodegradable waste per day could have its own biogas plant. Nepal imports 500,000 tons of chemical fertiliser a year, and if each of 100 municipalities produced 5,000 tons of organic fertiliser Nepal could slash its import bill.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/an-energy-windfall-for-nepal/">An energy windfall for Nepal?</a>, Kushal Gurung<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-turns-to-solar-and-batteries-to-meet-peak-demand/">Nepal turns to solar and batteries to meet peak demand,</a> Kunda Dixit<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101116/636b6ff69c7e80680e060051jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1124">This could also significantly reduce the country’s annual import of Rs33 billion worth of LPG from India which grew four-fold in the past 10 years, making up 2.5% of Nepal’s total import bill. But to scale up, industrial biogas needs the same government incentives as hydro, solar and wind power.At the moment hydropower investors enjoy a 100% corporate tax holiday for 10 years, and 50% for the next five years. There is only 1% tax on imports of equipment for solar, wind and hydropower, there is no such provision for the equipment for industrial scale biogas. Instead, there is a tax on interest, and also VAT on bio-CNG.“The government should look at this not only as an energy project, but at its multifaceted benefits,” says Kushal Gurung of Gandaki Urja. “There is a waste-to-energy and fertiliser angle, too. If we want to make Nepal fully organic in the next ten years, projects like these need to be prioritised.”Gandaki Urja got a boost from an unlikely source, Business Oxygen (BO2) in Kathmandu which helps entrepreneurs running Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to scale up by injecting equity and providing technical assistance.Read also:<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/wind-energy-for-electricity-in-nepal,1997">Putting wind in the map,</a> Kushal Gurung<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/climate-risk-to-hydropower-investment/">Climate risk to hydropower investment</a>, Ajaya DixitSays Siddhant Pandey of BO2: “We are always on the lookout for climate investments, and we realised that bio-CNG would be an incredible adaptive resilience investment. It would displace imports of LPG and fertiliser. It was going to be clean, no carbon footprint, and it made business sense because it met our internal return on investment expectation.”The challenges are ensuring reliable sources of raw material and building knowhow for the technology within Nepal.Says Pandey: “The Pokhara plant is a drop in the ocean, it can abe replicated in all 7 provinces. We know it is scalable, and it depends how proactive provincial governments will be.”

This is bullshit

Earlier this month, Nepal received Rs1.6 billion from the World Bank as part of its <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/will-nepal-ever-be-paid-for-saving-trees">Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF)</a>, rewarding the country for increasing its carbon sink capacity. Nepal is the first in South Asia to benefit from this facility, and it is specifically to recompense the country for increasing forest cover in 13 Tarai districts between 2018-2024. “We are also trying to get another Rs13 billion from the facility while also preparing for free market-based carbon trading in the international market,” says Nabaraj Pudasaini of the REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries) Implementation Centre. Big emitters of greenhouse gases are under pressure to reduce their carbon emissions, and many have signed agreements to do so by investing in decarbonisation projects in developing countries. Countries that emit more than a specified amount of carbon would be able to buy emission rights from countries that emit less. Nepal is internationally known for its community forestry program which has been largely credited for <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/tree-mendous">increasing tree cover to over 45%</a> in less than three decades. But this achievement had not been adequately recognised or rewarded internationally before. Forests, especially in the tropics, absorb and store large amounts of carbon while releasing oxygen in a process known as photosynthesis. <a href="https://www.fao.org/forest-resources-assessment/en/">Preventing deforestation</a> and increasing canopy cover is considered a much more achievable goal than reducing emission in the scale necessary to limit global average temperature to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. COP11 in Montreal in 2005 first proposed reducing carbon emissions by improving forest quality by halting degradation. By 2015, a new mechanism of financial assistance was created to help less developed countries with sustainable management of forests <a href="https://www.un-redd.org/">(called REDD+)</a>. Under this new mechanism, countries receive aid based on their efforts to prevent forest degradation and increase carbon sink, and in 2021 the World Bank was entrusted with implementing it. Nepal’s FCPF receipt this month was calculated on the basis of 2.4 million tons of carbon stored at a rate of $5 per ton. In the second phase, Nepal will receive more than Rs4 billion within the next year for storing an additional 7 million tons of carbon. Eighty per cent of this amount obtained from carbon trading needs to be spent on local beneficiaries and indigenous communities.&nbsp; But carbon trading is not easy, Nepal needs to prove that protected forests will not be destroyed in future.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241121091132_c8a381c9a95aa86fec558951650d97bb87914741f01766982ba2b086af001f16.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20241121091132_c8a381c9a95aa86fec558951650d97bb87914741f01766982ba2b086af001f16" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="999" loading="lazy" alt="Greenbacks for greenery NT "> <figcaption>Photo: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption> </figure>  Explains carbon trading expert Yugan Manandhar. “Forests should be handed over to the community and shown that they are managed sustainably. Proving this will be particularly challenging; forest encroachment and degradation is rife in the Tarai.” <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/nepal-is-going-up-in-smoke">Deliberate forest fires</a> have also added to the challenge because they increase carbon emissions and reduce the sink capacity of forests. The basis for the amount that Nepal received was set five years ago by calculating the carbon reserves of forests in the 13 Tarai districts. In the meantime, sustainable forest management, tree plantation, forest destruction and erosion control were prioritised to increase carbon reserves in those forests. Nepal is signing another carbon trading agreement during the ongoing Baku climate conference. The <a href="https://www.leafcoalition.org/">Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest finance (LEAF Coalition) </a>proposes to sell the carbon stored in the forests of Bagmati, Gandaki and Lumbini provinces. For this, Nepal signed the letter of intent three years ago at COP26 in Glasgow. The target is to store 70 million tons of carbon in 32 million hectares of forest in the three provinces per which Nepal will receive Rs13 billion in four years at $10 per ton with provisions to increase the rate if various conditions are met. However, the agreement in itself doesn’t guarantee the amount. According to the targets set by Nepal, forest degradation should be stopped and carbon reserves increased by protecting tree cover. Preparations are also underway for clean air carbon trade because it has offset fossil fuel use by introducing 30,000 electric vehicles. Nepal has been selected for the first round to receive $40 million within one and a half years through the Clean Air System of the World Bank. Given that most of Nepal’s energy mix is from biomass, replacing them with electric stoves can significantly improve health by reducing indoor pollution as well as strengthen the country’s capacity for carbon trade. “Nepal's goal now is to sell carbon in the free market where carbon credits are bought and sold based on supply and demand in an open and transparent manner,” adds Pudasaini of the REDD Implementation Centre. “Nepal can now set its own price and bargain with interested buyer countries and organisations.” Lately, India has been discussing setting up a carbon market. Nepal has exported Rs12.72 billion worth of electricity to India so far this fiscal year, which can be traded under Nepal’s carbon market. “Carbon trading can create significant economic benefits for Nepal, which will help reinvest in development and environmental protection projects,” says Manandhar. “But we must prioritise sustainable management of forests, cutting older trees and allowing regrowth as well as promoting electric stoves and electric vehicles.”

Greenbacks for greenery

Khukri Rum is <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=3719#.WurBk6SFPIU">one of Nepal’s most iconic brands</a>, and is now launching a new Cask Series premium product to sell in Nepal and abroad. The Cask Series Smoked Finish Khukri Rum is a limited edition sipping rum with only about 5,200 bottles made for export and rum connoisseurs in Nepal. Each bottle is numbered and will mention the cask from which it is derived. “We are taking a classic Nepali liquor to a premium, luxury rum category. Each Cask Series flavour line will only be produced once,” explains Shuvash Lamichhane, General Manager of The Nepal Distilleries that first started making Khukri rum in 1959 in Balaju and has never stopped. Fermented from molasses in the Tarai after the annual sugarcane harvest, the rum is matured for at least eight months during distillation. The distillery bottles the classic Khukri XXX, Coronation Khukri XXX, Khukri White Rum and Khukri Spiced Rum. It is now adding this limited edition of the Cask Series. While the original rum is stored in huge wooden vats, the rum used for this more exclusive line is in smaller casks made from oak or sal, with charred insides that give the rum a smoky, smoother flavour. The Cask Series rum is indeed smokier than the classic, while the spiced rum tastes toasty and mostly of cardamom. These flavours are carefully crafted by blenders and tasters who have to pass regular palate tests.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241122131124_10b8ddca93b37b0348bf964b4f09e7fac6ef4e754cca6231368850539cd558e2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241122131124_10b8ddca93b37b0348bf964b4f09e7fac6ef4e754cca6231368850539cd558e2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1498" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Khukri Rum"> </figure>  The packaging for the Cask Series is as special as the process. A sturdy patterned box that opens up to a black glass bottle with gold lettering, and an indication of which cask the rum is from. These are then shipped to premium customers around the world One of the reasons this is the more expensive premium line is because the casks are smaller than the vats and the blenders reject more than half of the rum in the casks when the aging period is complete. The trick for the blender is also to decide when to take the rum out of the cask. Says Lamichhane: “If we have 25 casks, only ten might match the flavour profile for a certain series.” Over the decades, The Nepal Distilleries has created and maintained a brand that feels quintessentially Nepali, and serves as Nepal’s ‘ambassador’ with exports to Germany, Korea, Belgium, Finland, the Czech Republic, besides the existing markets among Nepalis in the US, UK, Hong Kong and Australia. Its unique <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/khukri-rum-sharpens-its-act">khukri shaped bottle</a> first introduced for King Birendra’s coronation in 1975 has been a collector’s item. The bottle and rum have been a staple for Nepalis and visitors to take as gifts when they leave the country, and is used as decoration on bar tables around the world. Now, nearly 40 years later, even that bottle will soon be getting a makeover with a sharper design and sleeker handle. “Our bottle design has always been instantly recognisable,” says Lamichhane.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241122131124_b9474db3fc83c85845348dddc30c49652ee1f17229531867fa241de50849cedc.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241122131124_b9474db3fc83c85845348dddc30c49652ee1f17229531867fa241de50849cedc" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Khukri Rum NT"> <figcaption>Christopher Armes, master blender of the Cask Series.</figcaption> </figure>  The Himalayan restaurant at The Hague, for example, has a Khukri Coronation bottle<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/from-the-himalaya-to-holland"> adorning its bar</a>. In Washington DC, Himalayan Heritage Restaurant &amp; Bar offers a ‘Nepalese Khukri Rum’ mojito with fresh mint, soda water, lime juice and sugar syrup, for $12. A distinct element of the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/business/khukri-rum-gets-award">award-winning classic Khukri rum</a> is its 'modern auburn' colour from caramel sourced from cooking sugar and blended with the raw rum. The spirits are then stored in a warehouse with floor-to-ceiling vats which are not just for storage, as the wood imparts flavour into the rum, and removes a lot of the harshness. &nbsp; On a visit this week, the bottling room was just about to begin for the day and the production line was churning out different shapes and sizes of Khukri bottles. Most of the process is automated, including screwing bottle caps, sticking labels, placing the government seal, and packaging. The only manual intervention is quality control where bottles are held against the light to check for sediment and colour.

Khukri goes premium with new rum

Turkish Airlines has introduced a new amenity kit collection designed in collaboration with French fashion house Lanvin for international business class passengers on flights more than five hours. It consists of five pieces designed for sustainability and elegance. Bags are reusable and will consist of Lanvin cosmetic products like hand and body lotions and lip balm. Eye masks and socks are made from recycled materials, earplugs are packaged in paper and the toothbrush is bamboo.

Turkish amenity kit

Nepal now generates a surplus of electricity and it is all from renewable hydropower. Nearly half the country is under forest cover. Despite meeting these decarbonisation goals, Nepal’s hydropower plants are threatened by increased risk due to climate impact.&nbsp; Till <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/when-it-rains-it-pours-ksqprbu3">28 September</a>, Nepal was <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/india-nepal-sign-power-exchange-deal">exporting just over 1,000MW</a> of electricity to power-hungry India, when flash floods and landslides unleashed by historically heavy rains damaged over 30 hydropower plants across the country, temporarily <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/power-to-the-people">slashing nearly half the power generation.</a> The 456MW Upper Tamakosi in Dolakha was the hardest hit and it will take six months and Rs2 billion to repair. This has significantly reduced exports as well as domestic generation. Two months later, Nepal has still not been unable to fully keep its export commitment, and is actually paying Rs100 million in fines to India. Thirty-seven existing and under construction projects under the Independent Power Producers' Association Nepal (IPPAN) suffered Rs2.5 billion in damage. One of them is the 22MW Bagmati project in Makwanpur which was almost completely buried in flood debris. Even before <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/60-dead-64-missing-in-nepal-floods">record-breaking rain in September</a>, 15 other hydropower projects had been damaged by floods. Last year, floods caused by heavy localised rain damaged 28 hydropower plants. World governments met in Baku for COP29 to discuss the Loss &amp; Damage Fund and the Adaptation Fund, but for countries like Nepal the commas and brackets are meaningless until they are turned into $ and €. And likelihood of adequate compensation for climate-related damage is a long way off, if ever. Nepal’s national strategy is to use its vast hydropower resource as clean energy to spur economic growth, job creation, and boost export revenue. But the plants are located in narrow Himalayan valleys prone to landslides and floods even at the best of times. Now, those <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/changing-climate-for-investment-in-nepal">risks have been heightened by weather extremes</a> due to climate breakdown. At present, Nepal generates over 3,300MW of clean hydropower, and the target is to reach 12,700MW in the next five years. Projects equivalent to 6,000MW are under construction or ready to start. The Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation has an Energy Development Roadmap and Action Plan with the target of producing 28,500MW by 2035 by when more than half of it will be exported.&nbsp; “The climate crisis will further change the rainfall patterns making hydropower generation a big question mark in the future,” Manjeet Dhakal in Baku, who is also the Nepali adviser to the LDC Chair at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). “We are building hydropower projects on rivers without evaluating risk. This whole process needs to be reviewed and reconsidered.” The report of the National Adaptation Plan published by the Ministry of Forest and Environment last year mentions that hydropower production, transmission and distribution will be at risk from flash floods, debris flows, glacial lake outbursts and rising temperatures.&nbsp; This risk is not confined to Nepal. Average global temperatures have increased by 1.3°C compared to the pre-industrial era. Worse, the Himalayan mountains are warming faster than the global average by 0.7°C because of elevation-dependent warming. A study conducted by our own Department of Hydrology and Meteorology in 2017 showed that the average temperature in Nepal has increased in the last four decades. Scientists say this is leading to extreme weather unleashing floods and landslides on slopes already destabilized by seismicity.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241124071128_d22901a360e8958f606d80ffa21defba05a671f65afec65539dc21a6885d8345.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20241124071128_d22901a360e8958f606d80ffa21defba05a671f65afec65539dc21a6885d8345" data-rendition-name="original" width="1333" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Right climate for Nepal’s energy transition NT"> <figcaption>BIBLICAL RAIN: Photo taken during catastrophic rain on 27-28 September at the Upper Tamakosi project site that destroyed the control room, killing four staff and burying the sedimentation tanks. Photo: RSS</figcaption> </figure>  Increased atmospheric temperatures has made the monsoon rains more erratic. It does not rain when it is supposed to, and it comes down in torrents when it is not supposed to. The September floods happened two weeks after the monsoon was supposed to retreat from central Nepal. Kathmandu Valley received half its annual precipitation in just over a day. &nbsp; Winter precipitation has also failed, especially in the high mountains and trans-Himalayan valleys. Thirteen of the past 19 years experienced winter drought. This impacts on dry season flows of the rivers, reducing hydropower generation. Nepal’s power capacity normally goes down by one-fourth during winter, but the gap is widening. The Kabeli corridor could only generate 20MW November-March even though plants there have an installed capacity of 200MW. Similarly, Upper Tamakosi only produced 65MW at most against its 456MW capacity last winter. The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) pays producers double the price for winter electricity, Rs8.40 per unit. Even though winter operation is highly profitable the rivers run low and NEA has to import from India to meet the winter demand. “This is not just a weather problem but a serious challenge also for the country's energy future, good climate-friendly design should be combined with policy and effective implementation,” says Subarna Das Shrestha, a hydropower investor and CEO of Sanima Mai Hydropower. “Insurance premiums have gone up as well, and settlement for damage is not timely.” <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/climate-risk-to-hydropower-investment">Hydropower investment</a> at one time was regarded as having a high rate of return. Now, some investors have become <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/climate-smarter-himalayan-infrastructure">wary of the risks involved</a>. Says IPPAN’s Uttam Blon Lama: “Hydropower projects expected to give stable returns are now looking risky. Not only is climate adaptation design and planning expensive, but future repair and maintenance costs will also skyrocket.” Nepal has only one storage type dam <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/rivers-be-dammed">in Kulekhani</a> and another one is being built in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/missing-pieces-of-the-hydropower-jigsaw">Tanahu</a>, but they are also at risk. In September, the sluice gates of Kulekhani Dam had to be opened causing loss of life and destruction downstream. Nepal has to learn lessons from the deadly collapse of the $1 billion <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/sikkim-flood-is-warning-to-nepal">Chungthang Dam in Sikkim</a> in October 2023 cause by a glacial lake burst. Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) in Nepal pose potentially catastrophic risk to infrastructure. The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/lives-on-the-line-in-the-himalaya">Thame flood in August</a> was a relatively minor debris flow that damaged half of this village in the Everest region when <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/climate-breakdown-linked-to-thame-flood">two glacial lakes at 4,760m burst</a>. Luckily there was no loss of life. Of the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/lives-on-the-line-in-the-himalaya">47 high-risk glacial lakes</a> in the eastern Nepal Himalaya, 21 are in Nepal and the rest are in rivers in China that are tributaries of the Arun and Bhote Kosi where Nepal has major hydropower plants under construction, or planned.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241123021128_b596cd8520c57a6c5476031e7a3ea6510f26b464c4d5351d2bc10f6f7d6b70d8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="20241123021128_b596cd8520c57a6c5476031e7a3ea6510f26b464c4d5351d2bc10f6f7d6b70d8" data-rendition-name="original" width="871" height="648" loading="lazy" alt="Page 10-11 map #1236 NT"> </figure>  Global temperature rise is accelerating the melting of Himalayan snow and ice, increasing the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/living-below-nepal-s-melting-mountains">number and size of glacial lakes</a> so that we do not even have names for them. Imja Tso did not even exist in the old trekking maps until 25 years ago, but is now a 2km long lake. “Natural moraine dams in the mountains are weak, and the projects downstream can face major destruction if they burst, and the risk will only increase in future,” warns climatologist Arun Bhakta Shrestha at the <a href="https://www.icimod.org/">International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)</a>. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/terrifying-assessment-of-a-himalayan-melting">An ICIMOD assessment in 2019</a> projected that if present heating trends continue, as they probably will, the Himalaya will lose two-thirds of our glaciers by the end of this century. “Generally speaking, hydropower developers hand over the project to the government after 30 years but by that time given the climate risks, they may not be an asset anymore,” says Manjeet Dhakal. Indeed, the cascade of expensive projects India is building on the Arun River are supposed to be handed back to Nepal in 25 years, but there is a big ‘if’ about whether they will survive that long. &nbsp;&nbsp; Planning of hydropower projects is still based on historical hydrological data, and does not take into account future temperature rise and its consequences. Investors, on the other hand, say that planning hydropower projects with climate components would make them even more expensive.&nbsp; “It’s not that we aren’t preparing for climate risk, we design keeping in mind the once-in-100-year flood,” says Blon of IPPAN. “But if we start designing based on once in 1,000 years flood, the cost would be so high that we won’t be able to build them at all.” Nonetheless, Subarna Das Shrestha of Sanima Mai Hydropower says that there is no option but to go for climate smart infrastructure despite the higher cost. Sanima Mai's powerhouse, for example, is completely underground. The strategy could also be to spread the risk by building less expensive plants located on rivers all over the country. Nepal is also diversifying away from its sole reliance on hydroelectricity, which at present supplies 92% of the power in the grid. Most of the rest comes from solar plants, where the total potential has not even been scratched. &nbsp; This article is brought to you by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/" target="_blank">Nepali Times</a>, in collaboration with <a href="https://inpsjapan.com/en/" target="_blank">INPS Japan</a> and <a href="https://sgi-peace.org/" target="_blank">Soka Gakkai International</a>, in consultative status with UN ECOSOC.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240630110640_30c3782f9c09219bf1c249b51483a3cfb7a53a06d117d2aebd23ca7080d12758.jpg" data-media-id="editor_21" data-image-id="20240630110640_30c3782f9c09219bf1c249b51483a3cfb7a53a06d117d2aebd23ca7080d12758" data-rendition-name="original" width="680" height="103" loading="lazy" alt="SDG logo"> </figure>  &nbsp;