The waning faith of the public in Nepal's courtrooms and (in)justice delivered should invoke a debate in the legislature about what the fundamental philosophy of our legal system should be. When foreigners ask us what legal system Nepal follows, we lawyers stumble a little and repeat what we were all taught in law school: ‘It is mixed with influences from the common legal system, civil legal system and Hindu legal system.’ Since Nepal was never colonised we have not fully embraced either the civil legal system from continental Europe, nor common law from Britain. Until 1990, the legal process resonated more with civil law traditions, then switching abruptly to common law practices. There has not been much legislative discourse on why we had that change of heart.&nbsp; Take a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/i-speak-nothing-but-the-truth-your-honour">criminal trial</a> as example. The basic premise of the adversarial format is that judges sits as neutral umpires in trials. They use the arguments, facts and evidence produced by defense lawyers (representing the suspects) and prosecutors (representing the victim) to reach a decision and ruling. Compare this to a judge in a civil law/inquisitorial tradition. The judge is an active member of the trial process who participates in fact-finding public inquiry by questioning defence lawyers, prosecutors, and witnesses. They can even order certain pieces of evidence to be examined if they find the presentation by the defense or prosecution to be inadequate. In Nepali criminal cases, the judge is neutral so the police and prosecutors are charged with gathering evidence. The law states that the prosecutor should supervise the police as they investigate a case to ensure the police use only legal methods to obtain information. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/guest-editorial/false-equivalence-in-nepal-academia">False equivalence in Nepal academia</a>, Aastha Dahal However, in reality the police and prosecutors are too busy to coordinate with one another. They also tend to dislike each other. In most cases police investigation reports are copied in whole by the prosecutor who adds a few short paragraphs at the end. And that constitutes the charge sheet: the legal document which sets out which crimes a suspect has committed and should be punished for.&nbsp; When Nepal’s legal system was more inquisitorial before 1992, our trial procedure was governed by the 1961 Government Cases Act (Sarkari Mudda Sambandhi Ain 2017). Prosecutors who served under this law speak fondly about their partnership with the police.&nbsp; I have spoken to prosecutors who recall walking together with the police for hours and days across the rural mountains to examine crime scenes. Together they would examine bodies and draw up reports. They never forgot the smell of death. This practice was abruptly brought to a halt when the Government Cases Act 1992 (Sarkari Mudha Sambandhi Ain 2049) repealed the 1961 law. The new law was predicated on adversarial practice. The police did the investigation in the field, prosecutors now sat in their offices and gave directives to the investigation team. The shift in power dynamics did not sit well with the police. The relationship between police and prosecutors became frosty and disrespectful as they undermined each other.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/comparing-maina-sunwar-and-resham-chaudhary-cases">Comparing Maina Sunuwar and Resham Chaudhary cases</a>, Aastha Dahal What this means for a criminal case is that evidence is not verified for its thoroughness during investigation. The disintegration of the process continues into the courts. One of the primary methods of obtaining evidence in a criminal case within courtrooms is through the accounts given by witnesses of the crime. According to Nepali law witness answers must be verified by the opposing lawyers through cross-examination, and through the presiding judge.&nbsp; Alas, procedure is often completely subverted. The law expressly states that all witnesses who testify in court must be examined in front of a judge. The part that judges 'must preside' over these proceedings was written in the 2017 Muluki Criminal Procedure Code. This provision sought to rectify the longstanding practice in Nepali criminal trials whereby the judge is mostly absent from witness examinations unless the case involves the rich and powerful.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240305080344_fed47d470d051e9a554648b1b8a1dd4ed36b39ca2a2e619cb4f71137062619ec.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20240305080344_fed47d470d051e9a554648b1b8a1dd4ed36b39ca2a2e619cb4f71137062619ec" data-rendition-name="original" width="800" height="874" loading="lazy" alt="Nepali legal system"> <figcaption>Illustration: Bhanu Bhattarai/Nepali Times Archive</figcaption> </figure>  In practice, witness examinations are conducted by the administrative staff of the court. We are not taught how to conduct witness exams in law school or any legal professional training. So witness examination which tends to be critical to a criminal trial is just a formality. It feels particularly so when the court administrator snipes at us to finish questioning quickly, prevents us from introducing all witnesses we listed, and summarises what our witnesses say in their own often truncated language as opposed to verbatim. The judges have the power to question and verify statements but this is impossible when they are altogether absent from the proceedings. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/right-to-marry-in-nepal">Right to marry in Nepal</a>, Aastha Dahal In our 'mixed' legal system I've understood judges to have a varied perspective on their roles in the criminal trial. Many perceive themselves as neutral umpires envisioned in the common law adversarial system. Yet, some of their conduct says otherwise. For example, every day after 2PM in the District Courts, suspects arrested by the police are brought before a judge. The purpose of this meeting is to get permission from the judge to keep the suspect in detention as their case is being investigated.&nbsp; Nepal's Constitution mandates that these suspects should have their lawyers accompanying them. The judge has a role to ensure this. However, in most of these proceedings no lawyers are present. The judge curiously asks the suspect whether they committed the crime, how many kilos of drugs they carried. Action unpermitted by the adversarial common law philosophy of practice. &nbsp; If the leaning is towards the inquisitorial system and we argue that judges can be proactive then we do not have a system built for this either. Judges get cases they are to hear about an hour before the proceedings begin. They do not preside over evidence taking events such as witness examinations so they are realistically unable to control any part of the investigation or evidence gathering. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/not-just-16-days-against-gender-based-violence">Not just 16 days against gender-based violence</a>, Aastha Dahal In this context, the legislator's role has to start from drawing out the philosophical basis of our legal system. Lawmakers needs to seriously consider whether it suffices to leave investigations to the police alone, or we need all parties like the prosecutors and judges taking on active roles in the investigative and trial processes. The fundamental consideration should be based on a practice that will increase the likelihood of getting to the truth and contribute to restoring public faith in our judiciary.&nbsp; The legislature of course need not be confined by influences of one colonial legal system or another. Like the International Criminal Court, it can draw lessons from major legal systems across the world, combine it with local experience to formulate a legal system and trial practice uniquely suited to Nepal.&nbsp; Aristotle said ‘the whole is greater than its sub parts’. Likewise, the opportunity to bring technology, critical thought and best practice to reform trials in Nepal is urgently needed.

Aastha Dahal

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Trials and tribulations

The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/losing-our-moral-compass">Bhutanese refugee scam</a> passed the first phase of the trial in court vis-a-vis the bail hearing. All suspects pleaded not guilty to varying charges of cheating, organised crime, forgery and treason.
Sixteen suspects including former Deputy Prime Minister Top Bahadur Rayamajhi and his son Sandeep Rayamajhi, former Home Minister Balkrishna Khand, Ministry of Home Affairs Secretary Tek Narayan Pande, former security adviser to the Home Minister Indrajeet Rai and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/the-tragedy-of-tek-nath-rizal-2g4dahmr">Bhutanese refugee leader Teknath Rizal</a> took the stand at the Kathmandu District Court. They explained how they are not involved in this crime. Rizal stunned the court with his final accusation that Khand, Rayamajhi and Pande were criminals.
No one was cross-examined.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/rot-at-the-top">Rot at the top</a>, Shristi Karki
Cross-examination is a process of questioning a suspect or witness when they speak in court. The opposing lawyer cross-questions the person on the stand to test the tenacity of their account by exposing weaknesses in their statement. Lawyers might also verify certain facts through it.
Professor John H Wignmore, considered an authority on evidence law, famously wrote that cross-examination is ‘the greatest legal engine ever invented for the discovery of truth’ as it forces people to answer questions they may not wish to. At the hands of skilled trial lawyers, it can expose lies methodically. Remember how American actress Amber Heard’s story unravelled once Johnny Depp’s lawyer cross-examined her.&nbsp;
In the Nepali trial, suspects almost always testify at the court. The Constitution grants them a right to silence but there is no need for most to exercise this right as they are not subject to any cross-examination.&nbsp;
Laws on criminal procedure state that the suspect should be questioned by the court. The legislature has not stipulated whether the authority to question lies with the presiding judge or with another court staff. Principles of fair trial would dictate that as suspects give evidence it should be done in front of a judge.&nbsp;
In our practice of law, suspects are questioned by the administrative staff of the court. The judge is often absent when suspects record their testimony. Except in cases like the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/in-a-federal-kleptocratic-republic-of-nepal">fake Bhutanese refugee case</a> where the rich and powerful are on trial. For this case, Judge Prem Prasad Neupane listened to the testimony of all 16 suspects.
When suspects testify, they answer broad queries put to them by the court. Questioning resonates with how qualitative researchers investigate a participant’s story rather than grilling in a court of law.
One can speculate whether things would be different if the judges asked the questions as they do in many European countries. However, the idea of judges leading the questioning of suspects would be problematic under Nepal’s trial system.
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/comparing-maina-sunwar-and-resham-chaudhary-cases">Comparing Maina Sunuwar and Resham Chaudhary cases</a>, Astha Dahal
Last year, in a bid to mitigate corruption, cases started being allocated through the lottery to each judge. Each morning around 10:30AM judges are allocated cases they must hear for the day. The case hearings start at around 11AM. Judges have no time to study the case beforehand.
This is a contrast to trials in European countries where judges are actively involved in investigation and truth-seeking. Without serious study of the case, Nepali judges cannot realistically engage in a line of questioning that would help discern the truth from lies. Court administrators who tend to question the suspects are not trained in trial practice or interviewing.
Moreover, what makes the Nepali criminal trial further problematic is the fact that only the suspect evades cross-examination. If a victim of a crime or a witness is put on the stand they are cross-examined.
Nepali evidence law is clear. Only answers that are obtained through cross-examination can be admitted as evidence in a trial. There is no exemption for the suspect in the Evidence Act (1974). However, the Criminal Procedure Code (2017) signals an inconsistency with the Evidence Act by stipulating that the court, as opposed to lawyers, should question the suspect. Suspects’ answers untouched by cross-examination are then admitted as evidence.
There is an argument put forth by some lawyers and judges that the function of the suspect’s testimony in court is to verify what they said when interviewed by the police. As part of police investigations, suspects are interviewed by the police as soon as they are arrested. Laws of criminal procedure stipulate that suspects need to be interviewed by the police in the presence of the prosecutor. It is only after the police investigation is completed that suspects are formally charged for their crimes by prosecutors and presented to testify in court.
The idea is lofty yet far from practice. Suspects in most cases tend to confess to the police. In court they completely change their story, state that the police used coercion to force them to confess and plead innocence.
For example, in the hit-and-run case of Prithvi Bahadur Malla, in the police interview, Malla confessed that as a result of partying and sleep deprivation he briefly dosed off while driving and ended up hitting the pedestrian. At court he stated that the steering wheel of his car locked and the vehicle swung into the wrong lane hitting the pedestrian. Judge Surya Prasad Adhikari admitted his testimony to the court (as opposed to the police) as evidence. When stories change so dramatically there is nothing a suspect will verify off of their own accord.&nbsp;
Prosecutors have the burden to build the case and prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. They are busy people with an immensely high workload. Overseeing police interviewing at the arrest phase to have it thrown out by judges when the suspects change their story in court is a waste of their time.
If the idea is to refrain police from torturing people into confessing by having prosecutors present in interviewing, then we might consider videotaping police interviews. This way judges can verify any reports of torture. After all, there are accounts of prosecutors who have turned a blind eye to police torture.
Police interviews and cross-examination by lawyers require the use of different skills and techniques. Lawyers should be allowed to build cases inside courtrooms. If suspects wish to speak their truth they deserve the audience of a judge.
At the same time, the victim of a crime deserves to have the suspect’s account tested and verified by cross-questioning instead of being treated akin to an account of truth.
Aastha Dahal is a Kathmandu-based lawyer with a PhD in criminology from the University of Cambridge.

"I Speak Nothing but the Truth, Your Honour"

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="http://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 with only about 7,000 bottles, most of it for export and rest to be sold to rum connoisseurs in Nepal itself. Each bottle is numbered and will mention the cask from which it is derived. “We are working on taking a classic Nepali rum to a new luxury premium brand category, the Cask Series will only be produced this year with new product ranges in future,” explains Subash Lamichhane, managing director of Nepal Distilleries that first started making Khukri rum in 1959 in Balaju and has never stopped. Fermented from molasses in Bara district 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.&nbsp; The distillery is now adding this limited edition of its ‘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 either from oak or sal, with charred insides to give the rum a smoky flavour. The Cask Series rum is indeed smokier than the classic, while the spiced rum tastes toasty and mostly of cardamom. The company has a tasting suite with a master blender and tasters who have to approve the palate test.  <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 run out of the cask.&nbsp; Says Lamichhane: “If we have 25 casks, we expect to throw away about fifteen.”Over the decades, Nepal Distilleries have created and maintained a brand that feels quintessentially Nepali, and has served 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. &nbsp;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, and it is,” says Lamichhane. The Himalayan restaurant at The Hague, for example, has a Khukri Coronation bottle adorning its bar (page 6-7). In Washington DC Himalayan Heritage Restaurant &amp; Bar offers ‘Nepalese Khukri Rum’ mojito in its drinks menu with fresh mint, soda water, lime juice and sugar syrup, for $12.&nbsp;  <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>  A distinct element of the award-winning <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/business/khukri-rum-gets-award">classic Khukri rum</a> is its burgundy 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. The vats are not just for storage, the wood in the vats 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 Rum bottles. Most of the process is automated, including screwing bottle caps, sticking labels, placing the government seal, and packaging. The only manual intervention is the quality control where bottles are held against the light to check for sediment and colour. A mural on the wall of the distillery in Balaju depicts the rum-making process. A lady slings sugarcane on her shoulder, the molasses is churned in a pot, water is channelled into the distillation process, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom are added to a container, and finally there is a bottle of the classic Khukri Rum against a Kathmandu backdrop.

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;

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