In July, less than a month after it was first introduced in parliament, Nepal President Ramchandra Paudel authenticated a Bill to amend some laws to spur investment. Among the bill’s provisions is the amendment of the <a href="https://www.forestaction.org/app/webroot/js/tinymce/editor/plugins/filemanager/files/National_Park_Act_1973_Nepal%20(1).pdf">1973 National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act</a>.&nbsp; Section 5A of the Act, which has provisions related to prohibited activities within national parks and reserves, now includes an added clause: ‘The Government of Nepal may designate highly-sensitive areas within protected areas including National Parks, Reserves or Conservation Areas through a notice in the Nepal Gazette if it deems it necessary.’ This could mean that the government is now trying to disingenuously classify areas within <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/does-nepal-need-the-army-to-guard-parks">protected wildlife habitats</a> also as ‘non-sensitive’ to allow private sector investment in resorts, cable cars and other infrastructure. Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/More-trouble-in-Chitwan-National-Park,2956">Restoring resorts</a>, Smriti Basnet The 1973 Act lays out definitions of National Park, Strict Nature Reserve, Wildlife Reserve, and Hunting Reserve, and stipulates that those areas are set aside for conservation and management of the natural environment in areas of ecological importance. By designating some parts of these reserves as ‘sensitive’, activists say, the government is trying to defuse criticism of investment by the private sector. &nbsp; The 1973 Act has been critical in Nepal’s conservation success story, ensuring that nearly a quarter of the country’s area is protected, the tripling of Nepal’s tiger population and protection of its habitat, and the doubling of forest cover to 46% in the past 25 years. &nbsp; “Conservation areas are created for biodiversity-sensitive regions, and as such, only a minimal part of such areas can be categorised as not being highly sensitive,” says Rajesh Rai, professor at Tribhuvan University's Institute of Forestry. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/economic-benefits-of-saving-the-ecology">Economic benefits of saving the ecology</a> The amendment also states: ‘Apart from the areas specified under section 5A, the Government of Nepal can approve specified projects of national priority, projects approved by the Investment Board or national pride projects in any intermediate zone within national parks, wildlife reserves, conservation areas while maintaining the co-existence of nature and human beings.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240910080928_8f1ae1e1c7acd2f0ebd5ca946a173c492f040844a79dfdb4af75081b0e2d169a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20240910080928_8f1ae1e1c7acd2f0ebd5ca946a173c492f040844a79dfdb4af75081b0e2d169a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1250" height="600" loading="lazy" alt="Tiger conservation in Nepal NT"> <figcaption>Photo: WWF</figcaption> </figure>  This conservationists say, would mean disturbance of protected wilderness areas, and open them up to construction and disturbance by all three levels of government which are not known for transparency and rule of law. In fact, there is such an unhealthy alliance between politicians and their business cronies that it is becoming difficult to tell them apart. Projects under consideration that directly impact protected areas include the Kori cable car proposal in Sikles of Kaski, the 80km Pokhara-Jomsom gondola cable car, new resorts inside Rara, Chitwan and Bardia National Parks.&nbsp; Constitutional experts assert that the Act goes against Nepal’s Constitution, the <a href="https://dnpwc.gov.np/media/publication/convention-on-biological-diversity-e.pdf">1992 United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity,</a> the<a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/convention/"> 1972 World Heritage Convention</a> and the <a href="https://dnpwc.gov.np/media/publication/Convention_ramsar.pdf">1971 Convention on Wetlands</a>. “This Act will destroy wildlife habitats, undermining gains in Nepal’s biodiversity protection,” adds Rai, explaining that ensuing habitat fragmentation will lead to wildlife relocating beyond protected areas, thereby increasing human-wildlife conflict. Even though laws and governance related to conservation areas and wildlife protection fall under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Forests and Environment, it is significant that the bill was tabled by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/business/gambling-on-the-future">Gambling on the future</a>, Sikuma Rai And while it typically takes years for Parliament to pass any law, this bill was passed by both the lower and upper Houses within 26 days, and verified by the President’s office on the same day that it was passed by the National Assembly. All this has given credence to critics who smell a rat.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240910080928_17b880e02db74bbea29bc27e215a80c17aa379d29aa5a63ef0de0e1e29ae27ec.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20240910080928_17b880e02db74bbea29bc27e215a80c17aa379d29aa5a63ef0de0e1e29ae27ec" data-rendition-name="original" width="1400" height="933" loading="lazy" alt="elephant conservation NT "> <figcaption>Photo: WWF</figcaption> </figure>  This is not the first time that corporate groups have eyed development inside nature conservation areas, and have lobbied repeatedly for ordinances, procedures and regulations. This amendment comes at a time when major corruption scandals and have rocked the highest echelons of government. In fact, the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-government-changes-again">coalition reshuffle in June</a> after which the NC-UML government came to power has been attributed to the two parties protecting their top leaders from investigations by the previous RSP home minister into scandals. &nbsp; But even the previous coalition led by Maoist chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal amended the National Parks Act in April by issuing the Ordinance Amending Some Nepal Acts Related to Investment Facilitation 2024. Before that, the government published the Construction of Physical Infrastructure Inside Protected Areas in January, which allows hydropower and other infrastructure within protected areas. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/rivers-be-dammed">Rivers be dammed</a>, Pinki Sris Rana In 2018, businesses bypassed laws to prepare for infrastructure construction including ropeways, hotels, resorts and campsites in conservation areas and buffer zones after the Ministry of Forests published a draft outlining procedures to operate and regulate tourist services within protected areas. Conservationists and analysts have called for the immediate repeal of this Act that puts commercial interests over the protection of Nepal’s wildlife and biodiversity. They say the law is unjust and hypocritical because it punishes villagers for foraging fodder inside protected areas, while giving politically-connected businesses the freedom to build whatever they want inside wilderness areas.&nbsp; “Businesses must not be allowed to operate anywhere in our protected areas, not just biodiversity-sensitive regions,” says Rai. “In the event that such commercial activities are allowed, priority must be given to the indigenous communities and locals who have been historically displaced in the process of creating these conservation areas.”

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Not out of the woods yet in Nepal

Gregor Samsa wakes up from his bed one day and realises he has changed into an insect. This is the opening act of Franz Kafka’s novella ‘The Metamorphosis’. Gregor now has to navigate his life as an insect and he sees a change in how the world including his family views him and alternatively, him the world and himself. One of the opening paintings of Hannah Grace’s solo exhibition has amoeba-like patterns in vibrant colours. Upon closer look, viewers find a grasshopper in the right corner. The grasshopper is a misfit and yet seems to belong there. Grace tells us she sees herself as the grasshopper navigating a symmetric world. Kafka’s Gregor metamorphosing into a bug symbolises his alienation from society resulting from the exploitation he faced all his life. Grace’s paintings, on the other hand explore <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-struggles-to-balance-nature-and-industry">human exploitation of the natural </a>world, to a point where both are in irreversible decline.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/a-nation-built-on-sand">A nation built on sand</a>, Ramesh Kumar In her ‘Where My Home and Allegiance Lie’ exhibition at Takpa Gallery, Grace brings California’s Napa Valley to Kathmandu through depictions of living organisms in vivid detail. The artworks are precise, albeit repetitive, and create a “sense of buzz” like she experienced as a dyslexic child.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024081412088_70087676d9e0d3a2c938653662aaeb5a1f8c874b46a6bb33a01d37408893fbc1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2024081412088_70087676d9e0d3a2c938653662aaeb5a1f8c874b46a6bb33a01d37408893fbc1" data-rendition-name="original" width="3106" height="2337" loading="lazy" alt="Where My Home and Allegiance Lies NT "> </figure>  Growing up in the Grace Family Vineyards founded by her grandparent Dick Grace, she learned early on about <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/families-that-farm-together-stay-together">sustainable agriculture</a> and practiced “compassionate animal husbandry” from her parents. This upbringing later turned into passion as she pursued environmental science in college. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-vanishing-land">The vanishing land</a>, Taylor Mason Even then, something was missing, and Grace decided to take on studio art. “Science helps me understand where I fit in the world and art helps me explore and showcase the interaction I have with nature,” the 25-year-old artist told us. Interestingly, in a painting titled ‘A Place Called Home’, Grace puts together a diagram of an ecosystem which has an uncanny resemblance to a mandala, like the ones in<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/remembering-nepals-lost-and-the-found"> Buddhist artworks</a>.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240814110824_044b06bc590dcd8b2abf406ea2711b8a267a29c3bd9683f48fe34d6577e1cdd6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20240814110824_044b06bc590dcd8b2abf406ea2711b8a267a29c3bd9683f48fe34d6577e1cdd6" data-rendition-name="original" width="2872" height="2831" loading="lazy" alt="Where My Home and Allegiance Lies NT 3"> </figure>  “Buddhist paintings were part of my childhood. It felt natural to do that,” says Grace as she talks about how her grandparents who frequent Nepal to support <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/changing-disability-to-this-ability">disabled children</a>, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepali-women-flee-abuse-for-overseas-work">abuse survivours</a>, and children with cancer had Mandala paintings on their walls.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-mandal-in-manhattan">Nepal Mandal in Manhattan</a>, Kanak Mani Dixit “For me, the circular expression of the mandala represents the cyclic life of the ecosystem,” she adds. In 2016, Grace came to Nepal herself and volunteered in a monastery, teaching English, mathematics and art to the young monks. Eight years later, Nepal is also where she chose to exhibit her art for the first time as a professional.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240814120816_5f3ac03dd3dbf33b0aecc2837ea24fe7eb02a0585d9519d8b8d2343aeb6f3196.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20240814120816_5f3ac03dd3dbf33b0aecc2837ea24fe7eb02a0585d9519d8b8d2343aeb6f3196" data-rendition-name="original" width="5689" height="4271" loading="lazy" alt="Where My Home and Allegiance Lies NT 4"> </figure>  Most of the paintings here are acrylic, but Grace has experimented with different techniques for unique texture and feel. In ‘Fantom Flowers’, she used her fingers to paint the background, while for ‘Rainbow Trout and the Rainbow’ and ‘Salmonberry Thorn’, she used beads. “I have always liked mixing and matching colours, and trying out different tools which give me different sensory inputs. It is exciting and calming at the same time,” says Grace of her methods.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240814120816_babb538f7136ded1ccf44b09e99910ca6743d2aa07513c5422f66f5720cfd94b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20240814120816_babb538f7136ded1ccf44b09e99910ca6743d2aa07513c5422f66f5720cfd94b" data-rendition-name="original" width="2627" height="3318" loading="lazy" alt="Where My Home and Allegiance Lies NT 5"> </figure>  All 15 artworks at the exhibit are bright, colourful and vibrant even as the artist is trying to portray a grim future brought on by anthropogenic ‘development’ and ‘progress’. Grace says it is a strategic move. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/vibrant-mithila-art-thrives-in-nepal">Vibrant Mithila art thrives in Nepal</a>, Anita Bhetwal  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240814120828_4f1d75cc31b5117a397bfee3cc975345a08a1ceef398f335caa68a2de8a40c95.jpg" data-media-id="editor_13" data-image-id="20240814120828_4f1d75cc31b5117a397bfee3cc975345a08a1ceef398f335caa68a2de8a40c95" data-rendition-name="original" width="451" height="638" loading="lazy" alt="Where My Home and Allegiance Lies NT 6"> </figure>  She adds, “This is a prayer for the future. I want to remind people of all the beautiful things that exist simultaneously with us in nature and do our part in preserving them.” Where My Home and Allegiance Lies 11AM-7PM (Fridays to Sundays) 11AM-6PM &nbsp;(Tuesdays to Thursdays) Till 25 August&nbsp; Takpa Gallery&nbsp;

Pinki Sris Rana

Artistic prayer for our common future

I was born and raised near Sanguri Danda in eastern Nepal, and it was only later that I found out that the hills were called the Chure. And it was still later that I learnt that the Chure is also known as the Siwalik Range, the southernmost and lowest fold in the Himalaya bordering the Tarai plains — the geologically and ecologically fragile hills made up of uplifted sediments with only a thin layer of topsoil.&nbsp; I have walked in the Siwalik in eastern Nepal, and have often wondered where the name comes from. And no one else seemed to know either, so I did my own research. The term Siwalik appears to have been first used in a paper published in 1836 in the 19th Volume of Asiatic Researches, Calcutta with its Latin title, Sivatherium giganteum. The authors asked a holy man in Haridwar the native name for the hills directly to the north, and he replied that it was Shivalaya, Shiva’s abode. The researchers rendered that as Sewalik, and a component of the sub-Himalaya. Later, the spelling changed to Shivalik, and Siwalik today. The Siwalik ridge forms the Nepal-India border wherever there are Inner Tarai valleys like Chitwan and Dang, but elsewhere is the watershed for cities like Janakpur, Birganj, Biratnagar, Bhairawa, Nepalganj and Dhangadi.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024072704078_c960c809d218d58600b35803f5fbe4fd58a42165d8373aa55e01454404fd98c8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2024072704078_c960c809d218d58600b35803f5fbe4fd58a42165d8373aa55e01454404fd98c8" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="868" loading="lazy" alt="Siwalik"> <figcaption>White lines show the width of the Siwalik range.</figcaption> </figure>  The orogenesis of the Siwalik range is closely tied with the collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates that began more than 50 million years ago. Rivers flowed down to the Tethys Sea separating the two converging landmasses, and as the Himalayan mountains were uplifted, these rivers which later became the Ganga, Brahmaputra and Indus cut passages through them.&nbsp; There was a lot of volcanic activity due to the subduction of the Indian plate, and remnants of these can be seen in Mt Kailash and other mountains. At different periods after that, the greater Himalaya was uplifted, and the Mahabharat foothills after that.&nbsp; About 15 million years ago, some Himalayan rivers were blocked by upliftment and the sediments deposited there turned into sandstone, claystone, conglomerate or shale. Then the most recent tectonic activity in the Himalaya uplifted these sediments to form the Chure-Siwalik range. The Siwalik is only about 120m elevation in the east, but rises to 1,970m in the west, extending parallel to the main Himalayan chain. The Siwalik ecosystem's services to the plains downstream is vital to the Tarai’s rivers and water supply. But the degradation of the Siwalik due to unregulated mining, deforestation, and road construction increases risk of disastrous floods in the Tarai as well as districts downstream in India.&nbsp; There have been government programs including the Presidential Chure Tarai-Madhes Conservation and Development Board, but these have been inadequate or ineffective in slowing the destruction.&nbsp; Most of the government’s efforts at restoring the Chure ecosystem concerns forestry and not holistic watershed management. There are some 48 rivers that originate in the Siwalik, but most are dry for 9 months in a year and flow only during the monsoon. The 2021 census records show that 53% of Nepal’s population now lives in the Tarai, and the populations of the 21 districts bordering the Siwalik are also rising. This translates into increased deforestation to make way for agriculture or new settlements, and unmanaged road construction.&nbsp; Women from Saptari district in Madhes Province marched 25 days to Kathmandu, and have been demonstrating at Mandala in Kathmandu against the degradation of the Siwalik. They held a rally last week, with slogans like “Give us water", "Stop wildfires". Bijaya Singh Danuwar, who did a PhD on the Chure watershed, Members of Parliament Pradip Paudel who is now Health Minister in the new government and Amresh Kumar Singh, former minister Julie Mahato, as well as former minister Prabhu Sah have all raised the destruction of the Siwalik and its impact on the Tarai in Parliament.&nbsp; There has been scant attention in the media about the rallies, and the federal, provincial and municipal governments are not showing much concern about the wanton destruction.&nbsp; The provinces and municipalities directly downstream from the Siwalik are the ones which should be most concerned because they will be the ones more directly affected. Or is there just too much vested interest with contractors? &nbsp; Kamal Maden is a botanist and biodiversity researcher.

To save the Tarai, save the Siwalik

Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. When the other pillars of democracy fail to act as check and balance, the press has to step in to hold power to account. 
Which is why authoritarian and elected autocrats around the world who have co-opted the judiciary, legislature and executive are now targeting the media. Journalists are <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/in-a-surveillance-state">surveilled</a>, threatened and even murdered for doing their job. 
The ill-gotten wealth of demagogues is mostly derived from licensing the exploitation of natural resources. Often, it is only <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/investing-in-investigative-journalism">investigative journalists</a> who stand in the way of greed and ambition.
UNESCO’s theme for World Press Freedom Day this year is ‘Press for the Planet’. Climate breakdown, mining, or illegal logging are no longer just ‘environmental’ features — they are stories of political crime.
Nepal is one of the most <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-should-be-open-for-south-asia">open societies in Asia</a> at present. But it was not always like this. Nepal has had its dark periods: 1960-90, 2005, 2016. Even at present, it is not smooth sailing for the mass media here. 
Successive governments in the eight years since the new Constitution have tried to squeeze the press. People posting on Facebook have been arrested, YouTubers taken to court, and last year the government banned TikTok.
<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/rattled-by-criticism-nepal-bans-tiktok">Censorship in instalments</a> is a way to test the waters to see if the backlash from freedom activists can be handled before imposing stricter restrictions. 
Local reporters, who do not have the protection enjoyed by more high-profile journalists in the capital, are threatened and gagged from reporting on activities that harm nature and livelihoods. 
Rabi Lamichhane has been under a cloud ever since he was Home Minister last year. A former tv anchor, Lamichhane is open about his contempt for the mainstream press, which he calls the ‘Dirty Dozen’.
Soon after becoming minister this time, he directed local officials to monitor news and social media posts in all 77 districts to keep track of content critical of the government.
He was forced to withdraw this daft idea after a backlash, but is now employing other channels to hit at Big Media mainly through portals, police and the investigation bureau he commands. The man obviously has much to hide, and is blaming the messenger.
Mayors Balen Shah in Kathmandu and Harka Sampang in Dharan who were propelled to office by social media propagation of their populist personas have shown thin skins, and a disdain for journalists critical of their methods. 
The draft Media Council Bill will allow a government secretary to select its chair and members. The Council is supposed to ‘advise’ the government in formulating media policies and code of conduct, much like a fox guarding the chicken coop.
Journalism in Nepal is already in crisis because of the collapse of the business model of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-new-news-age">legacy media</a>. Just when we need an independent press to safeguard freedoms, it is more exposed to corporate and political pressure. There is a steady erosion of democracy in South Asia with varying degrees of censorship. Nepal has flourished as a place for the meeting of the minds, where nationals of neighbouring countries come for free and open discussion. But that space could close if journalists here do not fully defend our constitutionally-guaranteed freedom of expression.
Some of our neighbours have decided that democracy and a free press keep them economically backward, and have adopted the East Asian authoritarian model. We in Nepal have tried strongman rule before, and it failed quite spectacularly. 
Media has an agenda-setting role in a democracy. It amplifies the public voice so people are empowered to demand action from elected officials against wrongdoing. Lack of accountability lies at the root of everyday problems like underdevelopment, lack of jobs, air pollution, or environmental degradation.
The current wildfire emergency in this country is a result of decades of official neglect, political apathy and fatalism. 
Journalists reporting on the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/climate-crisis-drought-food-deficit-migration">climate crisis</a>, natural resource exploitation or biodiversity loss have shown great courage and sacrifice to get the truth out. Many have been killed. Others have been threatened and silenced. Climate deniers troll science journalists. 
Here in Nepal,<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/a-nation-built-on-sand"> illegal sand mining</a>, quarrying and logging have destroyed ecosystems. The climate emergency is now magnifying the impact of such wanton destruction on Nepal’s economy. 
Disasters like <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-valley-suffers-quadruple-disaster">Melamchi</a> and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/sikkim-flood-is-warning-to-nepal">Sikkim</a> could hit cascade projects along the Marsyangdi, Sun Kosi and Arun rivers. Journalists cannot just wait for disasters to strike any more, they must warn of them.
This week, even as smoke from wildfires blanketed the country, the Tarai is reeling under a heat wave. Jhapa was 43°C with 40% humidity, that is very near the lethal wet bulb temperature. 
What media chooses not to report, what to report on and how much prominence is given to it determines whether action is taken in time to mitigate danger. 
These ‘environmental’ stories are political stories: 
<ul><li>The government banned plastic bags three times but had to lift it because of lobbying by powerful pellet importers.</li><li>Air pollution can be reduced by incentivising electric transport, but there are vested interests in the fossil lobby.</li><li>Nijgad is not an airport project, it is a logging concession controlled by political cronies. </li></ul>
The job of a free press is not just to name and shame crooks, but also to restore the people’s faith in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/populism-vs-pluralism">democracy and pluralism</a>. It is the democratic system with freedom of speech and fair elections to reward performance that makes this system work. 
We may have no expectations from our tried, tested and failed politicians, but let us not blame the system that they have abused.

Sonia Awale

Press under Pressure

Few ‘development’ projects have been as controversial in recent years as the proposed <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/does-nepal-need-a-4th-international-airport">Nijgad International Airport (NIA)</a>, set to be built by logging thousands of hectares of forest.
Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli as Prime Minister revived the project in 2017 as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to catapult Nepal’s economic development. Experts, researchers and activists who questioned the destruction of a valuable transboundary ecology were trolled on social media as being ‘anti-development’.&nbsp;
In the years since, Nepal has been rocked by a never-ending series of corruption scandals involving top politicians and corporate houses. Two much-hyped new international airports in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/does-nepal-need-a-4th-international-airport">Bhairawa </a>and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/pokhara-nepal-s-new-aviation-gateway">Pokhara</a> built at great cost were inaugurated amidst much fanfare, and have turned out to be <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/15-points-for-and-against-nijgad-airport">white elephants</a>.
At a time when Nepal’s economy is in crisis, the NIA project has been exposed as being a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/does-nepal-need-a-4th-international-airport">multi-billion dollar heist</a> by a cross-party alliance. Despite <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/building-nijgad-come-what-may">increasingly vocal public opposition</a> to the project, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said ‘site clearance’, which means logging the forest, will be completed this fiscal year. Tourism Minister Sudan Kirati is following through.
Nepal was never supposed to build the NIA on its own. It was designed as a BOOT (Build, Own, Operate, and Transfer) model, in which an international group would manage it for 25 years before transferring it to Nepal.&nbsp;
<div class="embed-block"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/E0kV65lvbYs" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
Earlier government efforts at site clearance had been <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/building-nijgad-come-what-may">halted by the Supreme Court</a> until an agreement with a developer was secured. In 2020, the tourism minister under the UML, Yogesh Bhattarai, announced that such a developer had been secured.
However, this was a boldfaced lie that was <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/zurich-airport-international-opts-out-of-nepal-project">exposed in an exclusive report</a> in this paper. The minister was confronted about who was to build the airport, but there was no answer. Nepal’s political establishment then declared that the government would build it on its own, and committed $3.5 billion to a ghost airport.
A litigation around the project’s <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/megalomania-kleptomania">Environment Impact Assessment (EIA)</a>, which turned out to be a copy and paste job from a hydro power project, lingered.
Nijgad is not an airport project, it is a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/megalomania-kleptomania">scam to log thousands of hectares of hardwood forests</a>. Even as an airport, it presents risks to the economy, ecology, food and water security.
Nepal’s bickering politicians are all united in this delusional project, and the basis for them to do so rests on a May 2022 Supreme Court decision on a public interest litigation on the EIA. The Court voided all previous plans and instructed the government to start the process anew, re-examine where the airport should be built, and conduct a new EIA.&nbsp;
Prime Minister Deuba’s government immediately hosted a high profile event in Nijgad to reaffirm commitment to NIA and commissioned a panel to study where the airport should be built. The panel immediately concluded it should be built as originally planned in Nijgad Forest.&nbsp;
How did the committee come to that conclusion so fast? Not surprisingly, the panel was led by Birendra Bahadur Deoja, author of a 2019 paper ‘Need for Nijgadh International Airport for Accelerated Development of Nepal’.&nbsp;
The panel’s development planning expert was Surya Raj Acharya, a longtime vigorous advocate for NIA. Rameshore Khanal, the influential former finance secretary, had tweeted after the initial Court ruling: ‘No matter how much we argue, building of Nijgad Airport is the only (satisfactory) ending’.
The panel did not have any expert on wildlife biology, Tarai and sal forest ecology, food and water security. Yet it quickly concluded Nijgad should be logged out with consequences for the ecology of the entire floodplain farm and forest region, and the last remaining native forest of the eastern Tarai be destroyed for an airport with no developer, financier or planned user.
The Deuba government used the Supreme Court decision to create a pro-Nijgad panel and give the impression it was following due process.
What next?
<ol>
 <li>&nbsp;Based on explicit bias and lack of expertise, the panel and its findings must be voided. Nepal’s development partners must challenge the government in meetings, by public interest litigation in court, and civil society in media and on other public platforms. The new EIA must be made public.</li>
 <li>Two brand new international airports are barely functioning. The government must provide the public and Parliament a cost benefit analysis of NIA that meets the highest levels of international scrutiny. It must list the committed developers, financiers and users, and prove Nepal’s right to use neighbouring airspace. Site clearance cannot begin until this process is complete.&nbsp;</li>
 <li>In 2021, a statement demanding accountability on NIA was drafted and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/importance-of-ecosystems-for-people-and-the-planet">signed by 11 of Nepal’s development partners</a>: Asian Development Bank, the United Nations, the World Bank and the Australian, British, Finnish, French and German Embassies. These organisations must now revisit their statement and find pressure points to compel the government to rethink its effort to bulldoze the project through. After all, they have committed $3.2 billion to Nepal’s Green, Resilient and Inclusive Development (GRID) initiative. Now, the Americans must join the call since it is in line with the Biden White House’s position and the work of its Climate Envoy John Kerry. The US Embassy and USAID have invested in Nepal’s conservation, accountability, and food security. Considering this is a transboundary ecological issue, it is also time for ICIMOD to engage.</li>
 <li>Nepal has signed many international commitments on conservation, climate and sustainable development. These must be examined to assess the ecological implications of logging Nijgad Forest. Nepal has already disregarded NIA’s impact on the Tarai Arc Landscape under the World Bank’s REDD Emission Reductions Program. Violations to these agreements must inform public policy and the international funding discourse.&nbsp;</li>
 <li>The proposal to make Nijgad a conservation area <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nijgad-s-green-runway">that I proposed in this paper last year</a> must become a part of the public and policy discourse. Hemanta Mishra, Nepal’s pioneer conservationist said of that proposal: ‘The implementation of this concept would create a solid and continuous belt of a very high ecological and environment significance ecological site and a continuous belt of indigenous forest (and a carbon sink) all the way from Bara to Parsa and Chitwan to the Northern Banks and the Islands of Narayani in Nawalpur.’ It would also help Nepal’s economy while offering construction contracts for research facilities and wildlife crossings. Resettling the Tangiya Basti community, promised for a long time by state, should happen regardless of NIA.</li>
</ol>
For 7 years, Nepal’s political establishment has ignored activists, experts, media and the Supreme Court in a single-minded pursuit to log a pristine jungle for a project of dubious economic viability.&nbsp;
It has ignored an unprecedented statement signed by a large and important bloc of the international community. This defiance is a direct result of Nepal’s culture of impunity in which top politicians face no personal or political consequences for abuse of authority.&nbsp;
Nepal is on the verge of witnessing its greatest organised eco-crime led by the highest political powers in the land. The implications will reverberate beyond Nepal’s borders. Pushing this <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/economy-ecology-of-nijgad-airport">economically and ecologically suicidal plan</a> during a climate emergency and economic crisis will push Nepal towards a failed state.
Sadly, Nepal’s rulers are not on Nepal’s side.&nbsp;

Kashish Das Shrestha

Fight or Flight

<img width="1394" height="958" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111413114/63722ebe9c7e80680e0c24dcjpeg.jpg" alt=""/>Three days after the Supreme Court released the full text of its verdict ordering the government to halt all plans to build a new <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/building-nijgad-come-what-may/">international airport at Nijgad Forest</a>, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba flew down to the site in an Army helicopter. His Communist coalition partners Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Madhav Kumar Nepal went along for the ride.In defiance of the Supreme Court, Deuba vowed to challenge the ruling. Sitting in a semicircle of sofas with other Cabinet ministers, he declared: “The government is committed to completing the construction of both the Nijgad airport and the Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway linking it to the capital.”Deuba interpreted the 3-2 ruling by the justices to mean that the high court had not actually rejected building the airport, just to ensure adherence to environmental safeguards. Why such a show of force and thumbing of noses on the part of the executive against the judiciary? Tagging along with Deuba on the Nijgad flyby were the entire cabinet and coalition partners. Not only is the unity of the coalition hanging by a thread as individual members weigh their chances in November's federal and provincial elections, but member parties are also <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/deubas-mixed-report-card/">rife with internal tension.</a>The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/aborted-landing-in-nijgad/">real estate mafia</a> with close ties to the leadership of all political parties has reportedly invested heavily in land surrounding the proposed $3.6 billion airport. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/aborted-landing-in-nijgad/">Contractors will also benefit</a> from political patronage and are rubbing their palms at <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/15-points-for-and-against-nijgad-airport/">felling an entire forest</a> of hardwood timber.But the more immediate reason for government partners and the entire cabinet to airlift itself to Nijgad on Saturday was <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/planting-seeds-of-democracy/">to show that the coalition is strong </a>and united. <img width="1738" height="832" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111413114/63722ec29c7e80680e0c24ddjpeg.jpg" alt="">The trip also came the day after the dissident Nepali Congress leader Shekhar Koirala accused Deuba of no longer being the president of his own party, but president of the coalition. Koirala’s faction includes deputy president Dhanaraj Gurung and general secretary Gagan Thapa, and threatened to launch a “constructive opposition” against its own party leadership. It also accused Deuba of tolerating lack of transparency in the Finance Ministry, and of his inability to take action to protect the economy from further shock.Bagmati Province Chief Minister Rajendra Pandey was also in the group. Nijgad falls within Madhes Province, and its Chief Minister Lal Babu Raut also wants the airport project to go ahead to spur economic growth.Rajendra Pandey’s inclusion in the trip taken win added significance because he has refused to step down as chief minister of Bagmati Province as agreed earlier with the coalition partners. In fact, Nepali Congress leaders in Hetauda had started a signature campaign against Pandey and a decision was to be taken at a parliamentary party meeting of the Unified Socialists on Saturday itself.The other reason for the trip was for Deuba to send an indirect message of defiance to the Supreme Court that it had no business interfering with decisions of the government.  It was a signal that the executive does not feel compelled to follow word for word any decision of the judiciary. <img width="1500" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111413114/63722ec59c7e80680e0c24dejpeg.jpg" alt="">In fact, the Supreme Court’s decision has taken the proposal to build an international report in Nijgad to its pre-1995 date. From now on, we should no longer refer to Nijgad as <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/does-nepal-need-a-4th-international-airport/">a proposed international airport</a>, but as the last remaining native tropical forest in the eastern Tarai that it is. The Court's final text says: ‘We do not see any logical argument to prove that there is no other alternative to building an airport at Nijgad.’An exhaustive and lengthy sentence in the verdict goes on to state: ‘In addition to the economic and technical feasibility of the airport, there needs to be an objective, neutral and competent assessment by economists, social scientists, administration experts, of the impact on the environment, forest ecosystem, wildlife of the region, and an investigation into alternative sites where actual and realistic ways to minimise the environment impact are examined so that a legally acceptable environmental risk assessment report can be made that takes into account expert advice, to conclude what capacity airport should be built, where, and in what area, and the court orders that these factors are then taken into account to decide on the location of an airport that has the smallest ecological footprint.’Translated, these 119 pages of legalese means that the Supreme Court has decided that destroying the Nijgad Forest to build an airport <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/zurich-airport-international-opts-out-of-nepal-project/">is not worth the damage</a>. The issue now is: will the government dare to go against this verdict?Read more: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nijgads-green-runway/">Nijgad’s green runway</a>, Kashish Das Shrestha

Flight of fancy

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a41189c7e80680e04a65ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1051"/><figcaption>THE 6TH EXTINCTION: This orchid with medicinal properties, Dactylorhiza hatagirea, (Panchaule) is an endangered species.</figcaption></figure>Nepal is situated at the crossroads of four eco-biological domains to the north, south, east and west. The country’s great altitudinal range endows it with biodiversity that is the richest in the world in such a small area.Nepal is also the most densely inhabited mountain country in the world, and is squeezed between two of the planet’s most populous nations. Now, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/on-thin-ice-in-the-khumbu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">climate change</a> has been added to the threats to the endangered life forms that inhabit Nepal’s fragile ecosystems.The United Nations released an apocalyptic report in Paris last week warning that one million animal and plant species across the planet are on the verge of extinction. The <a href="https://www.ipbes.net/news/Media-Release-Global-Assessment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Global Assessment</a> concluded that besides charismatic mammals, insects, fish and microorganisms, 75% of crops will vanish.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a411b9c7e80680e04a65bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="840"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Here in Nepal, despite successes in nature conservation, species are <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/in-conservation-nepal-is-not-out-of-the-woods-yet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">threatened by new infrastructure projects</a> like the proposed <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/economy-ecology-of-nijgad-airport/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nijgad Airport</a> and the East-West Railway, which are expected to wipe out 200,000ha of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/who-now-owns-nepals-forests/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">forests</a>. Human encroachment of natural habitats, rampant pesticide use, poisoning of rivers and wildlife trafficking were bad enough, but <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-terrifying-assessment-of-himalayan-melting/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">climate change</a> now adds a whole new dimension to the threat.“In Nepal, we have usually focussed on big mammals. Those are important but the attention should shift to other species that are vital to maintain the ecological balance,” explains naturalist Tirtha Bahadur Shrestha. Indeed, the country may be losing insects and reptile species that have not even been discovered yet.For example, there has been little study of the impact of wetland destruction and the pollution of water bodies on insects and amphibians. A <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/project-dragonfly/">new dragonfly species</a> that was discovered above Pokhara’s Phewa Lake last year may become extinct since its habitat is so degraded. <a style="background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-uds-cse&amp;cx=011870630917993763279:opm7uqsat-4&amp;q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/what-is-the-buzz&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiCmp6Y_J_iAhUX7HMBHQ8GC4cQFjAAegQIAxAB&amp;usg=AOvVaw2E2ZhyyvROj1LguNUAI8MO" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bee populations have been declining</a> at an alarming rate due to the spread of pesticides, leading to a loss of farm productivity. The disappearance of insects and aquatic fauna has had a cascade effect on indigenous and migratory birds wintering in Nepal.“There is a crucial need of public awareness about <a style="background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.15px;" href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/protecting-the-pangolin,3597" target="_blank" rel="noopener">less well-known species</a> — they may have important roles for the ecosystem that we don’t even know about yet,” says Sagar Dahal of the Small Mammal Conservation and Research Foundation.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a411e9c7e80680e04a65cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="558" height="658">Extreme weather caused by global warming has also led to a serious water shortage across Nepal, which in turn is profoundly affecting wildlife, medicinal plants, rare orchids and the insects that depend on them.The last major mass extinction on Earth 65 million years ago wiped out not only dinosaurs, but 75% of all species. It took the planet 10 million years to recover. But unlike previous extinctions that were caused by natural catastrophes, this time human activity is the cause.The loss of biodiversity and destruction of nature and its impact cited in the IBPES report are felt more acutely in Nepal due to the vulnerability of the Himalaya to climate change, deforestation, pollution and poaching.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a41209c7e80680e04a65djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="933"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“Global environmental degradation will affect countries like Nepal more because of our sensitive topography,” writes IBPES researcher from Nepal, Uttam Babu Shrestha in a Kantipur op-ed this week. “Proposed large infrastructure projects will have lasting negative impacts on the environment.”Nepal has been <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/its-a-jungle-out-there/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">successful in curbing domestic poaching</a>, but it is a major transit point for wildlife contraband en route to China. The presence of smugglers means the country needs to be vigilant about a revival in poaching. It is a conduit for tiger and leopard pelts, rhino horns and other endangered species. Earlier this year, 200kg of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/protecting-pangolins-from-being-eaten-to-extinction/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pangolin</a> scales bound for China were found at Kathmandu airport.“Nepal may be landlocked in every other aspect but it is land-linked when it comes to smuggling,” Tirtha Bahadur Shrestha told Nepali Times.The good news is that Nepal’s conservationists, planners and the government know what the problems are, as well as the solutions. The country also has vast experience in balancing nature conservation with meeting human needs. It just needs a long-term strategy and all stakeholders to work towards protecting our abundant biodiversity.

Between existence and extinction in Nepal

<img width="640" height="374" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110714114/636903259c7e80680e037ca5jpeg.jpg" alt=""/>Himalkhabar.comHelicopter companies now flying to Annapurna and Machhapuchre Base Camps will be limited to rescue operations, after locals complained of environmental degradation and noise pollution caused by frequent tourist sightseeing flights."Constant noise and vibrations from flights is disturbing bird and wildlife species in protected areas and affecting our biodiversity, which is why we have decided to restrict helicopters," said the Chairperson of Annapurna Village Yuvaraj Kunwar.The regulation will come into effect from mid-August and violators will reportedly be punished. The Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP), which manages ecotourism in the region, had earlier  tried to restrict helicopers without permits but helicopter companies openly flouted the rules. The National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act also prohibits unregulated helicopter operations.Lately, Prabhu Helicopters had started taking sightseers on day trips to Annapurna Base Camp (ABC), and there were dozens of flights a day.The Village Assembly has also decided to operate new trekking routes in the area for the autumn season.

Choppers to ABC banned

The newly-formed Himalayan Art Council is set to launch Nepal’s National Art Protection Platform that seeks to preserve <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-history-of-heritage">Nepal’s unique cultural heritage </a>using<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/artificial-censorship"> AI-powered tools</a>. The Council seeks to safeguard <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepali-art-going-places">Nepali art works</a> from neglect, theft and counterfeiting as well as preserve existing artwork and celebrate living masters by giving them a cultural space to continue the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/sacred-survival">sacred art traditions</a>. "We are introducing a new digital platform designed to preserve, verify and elevate <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-new-generation-of-alternative-artists">Nepal’s art for generations to come,</a>” says a statement from the Council, adding that the digital platform will use AI told for authentication and blockchain to keep track of works of art. Artists can now be protected by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/ayo-ai?fbclid=IwAR1uwmTVq4gUB70ljfRezjzukD9ArWXPuMnUikopeQ8PoiZMjicToPSwhKE&amp;=1">AI tools</a> that detect forgeries, identify their work even when unsigned, and ensure they receive proper recognition and credit. The archives will be searchable with translated inscription and interactive guides. Says curator Meena Lama: “AI and blockchains are tools that give us the power to detect fakes and identify unsigned paintings and track every piece. With these tools we can restore trust, secure authorship and give artists the dignity they deserve.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53" data-rendition-name="original" width="1300" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum."> <figcaption>Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum.</figcaption> </figure>  The Council is also holding an exhibition of Nepali cultural masterpieces with 50 historical <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Buzz-the-art,671">thangka and paubha </a>by past masters and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/between-the-sacred-and-everyday">contemporary works by current artists</a>. This curated collection is a living tribute to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-yaks-go-so-does-culture">Himalayan culture</a> with economic depictions of deities, mandala and sacred narratives. The exhibition at <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/a-portal-into-patan-s-past-and-present">Patan Museum</a> also provides an opportunity to meet painters and custodians of art and culture. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/golden-deities">Golden deities</a>, Sewa Bhattarai ‘The exhibition is only the first step in a long journey to ensure that Nepali art is no just seen but fully understood, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Narratives-of-Faith-and-Memory-Remembering-the-Lost-Sculptures-of-Kathmandu-exhibition,987">protected and remembered</a>,’ the Council says. Artist Kailash K Shrestha of Artudio has spent decades promoting thankha and paubha traditions because of their beauty and devotional meaning. But he also says artists are underpaid, exploited and ignored. He adds, “AI and blockchain are not just buzzwords, they are powerful tools that can protect Nepal’s artists from fraud, verify authenticity and build a permanent record of provenance.” Traditional Art Exhibition Till 17 May Patan Museum

Digital protection for Nepal’s art

India and Pakistan are twins separated at birth. Tensions between them have been at a hair trigger ever since independence and has erupted into full scale conflict at least four times in the past 80 years.
The 22 April terrorist attack in Kashmir that killed 25 Indian tourists and a Nepali citizen, threatens to escalate tension between the two nuclear-armed nations. India has squarely blamed Pakistan for the attacks, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given his military “operational freedom” to respond. Pakistan has said it has credible intelligence of an Indian military strike and its officials have promised a “full spectrum” response — a code for a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/thinking-the-thinkable">nuclear retaliation</a>.
For Nepal, the killing of its national in the Pahalgam attack comes as another stark reminder that in conflicts from Afghanistan to Iraq, from <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/how-to-agree-an-armistice-in-ukraine">Ukraine</a> to Israel, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/10-nepalis-from-one-town-fighting-in-ukraine">Nepalis are getting caught in the crossfire</a>. The last time full-scale fighting broke out between <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/peacemongers-at-india-pakistan-border">India and Pakistan</a> on Kargil in 1999, at least 22<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/india-s-trial-by-fire-for-soldiers-from-nepal?%27%5C%22="> Nepalis fighting for the Indian Army</a> were killed in action.
Three of Nepal’s immediate neighbours (China, India, Pakistan) have nuclear weapons, and they do not have good relations. With China supplying weapons, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/war-and-warming">missile technology</a> and other support to Pakistan, this triangular friction could set off a regional conflagration.&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-022-00573-0" target="_blank">Research at Rutgers University</a> has calculated that even a week-long tactical nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan would throw up so much smoke and debris into the atmosphere that it would block out the sun for years, and lead to a collapse of the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/grow-nourish-sustain-together-world-food-day">global food system</a>. This does not take into account the radioactive fallout that prevailing winds would blow up to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/lives-on-the-line-in-the-himalaya">the Himalaya</a>, contaminating glaciers that are the sources of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/saving-what-is-left-of-himalayan-rivers">Asia’s main rivers</a>.
The impact of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/climate-breakdown-linked-to-thame-flood">climate breakdown </a>on High Asia was already ringing alarm bells about its <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/himalayan-icecap-melting-faster-than-thought">shrinking ice cap</a> reducing the dry season flow of water downstream. Water was going to be the next strategic commodity, geopolitical experts warned, and the next wars in Asia would be over water.
That water war is already happening. India retaliated to the Kashmir attack by suspending the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/24/world/asia/india-pakistan-indus-waters-treaty.html" target="_blank">Indus Waters Treaty</a> of 1960 mediated by the World Bank that has withstood at least three wars between India and Pakistan. The treaty gives India control over the three eastern tributaries of the Indus (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beas_River" target="_blank">Beas</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravi_River" target="_blank">Ravi</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutlej" target="_blank">Sutlej</a>), while Pakistan got water from the Indus and two of its western tributaries (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_River" target="_blank">Indus</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chenab_River" target="_blank">Chenab</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jhelum_River" target="_blank">Jhelum</a>.
Pakistan was assured of 70% of the annual flow, and India could use a reasonable amount of water for<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=15231"> irrigation and hydropower</a>. &nbsp;Within days of its threat, India stopped water flowing down to Pakistan from the Chenab river and is reportedly preparing to do the same on the Jhelum.
The sabre-rattling has reached a crescendo. Besides threats and counter-threats there are also symbolic drills, with the Indian Air Force practicing landing on an expressway in Uttar Pradesh by its Rafale, Su-30 and Jaguar fighter jets to demonstrate ‘operational readiness’. In response Pakistan test-fired its Abdali ballistic missile that can carry a nuclear warhead and has a range of 450km.&nbsp;
The danger is that with ultra-nationalist rhetoric and the beating the war drums by both sides, India’s government and Pakistan’s military may have to ‘do something’ to appease domestic public opinion. But any tactical strike, an artillery exchange, or territorial incursion could quickly escalate out of control.
Expecting an Indian retaliation for the Pahalgam killings, Pakistan is using<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/interfaith-collaboration-for-nuclear-disarmament"> nuclear deterrence </a>and warning of “catastrophic consequences”. The two neighbours came close to a nuclear exchange in 2019 after an attack on the Indian military in Kashmir, and prompt international intervention led by the United States cooled tensions.&nbsp;
This time, the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/trump-shock-wave-hits-nepal">Trump administration</a> is too distracted and not as engaged. Pakistan has denied it was responsible for the terrorist attack and called on Washington to stop a possible Indian retaliation. India and Pakistan have stopped overflights by each other’s airlines, and some international carriers have even stopped flying over Pakistan fearing an air war.
Washington, Beijing, the UN and the EU have all urged restraint. Iran, which has good relations with both India and Pakistan has sent its foreign minister to urge both countries not to go into a tit-for-tat war. Iran has its own nuclear flashpoint to worry about with tensions in Israel, &nbsp;Yemen and Syria.
India and Pakistan both share similar problems of joblessness, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/why-nepal-s-poverty-rate-is-stuck">poverty </a>and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/climate-change-new-threat-to-nepal-s-rhinos">environmental threats</a>. Neither side needs the threat of a senseless war, and we in the neighbourhood do not need it either.&nbsp;
Kunda Dixit
This Editorial 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.

Nukes in the neighbourhood

Most Nepalis thought they had seen the last of it after <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/11-56-25-april-2015-wkc9q2an">the 25 April 7.8 magnitude </a>earthquake ten years ago. But the Himalaya had more surprises in store. On 12 May, another 7.3 magnitude tremor that some said was an aftershock, but was strong enough to itself be a major earthquake, struck Dolakha.&nbsp; Not many people had heard of Singati till then — a cluster of houses by the Tama Kosi River along a narrow gorge that is the roadhead to Rolwaling Valley.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110520_57b6e316656851f71eca56ca6f98d9bbcc820c1a00d62af3c990725b4361244d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250508110520_57b6e316656851f71eca56ca6f98d9bbcc820c1a00d62af3c990725b4361244d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1500" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110520_016534fb2b6a79957402281cda768efb83a146786377e39e11df3e251d37159e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20250508110520_016534fb2b6a79957402281cda768efb83a146786377e39e11df3e251d37159e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> </figure>  It was here that dozens were killed on 25 April in the first earthquake. Hundreds of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Singati-rising-from-rubble-rebuilding,3703">Singati survivors</a> had lined up for food and relief supplies in the morning of 12 May when the second earthquake triggered a rock slide that buried a nearby camp. At least 50 people were killed. &nbsp; Three hours later, a US Marine Corps UH-1Y Venom helicopter landed in a nearby cornfield to pick up the wounded, and flew off. The aircraft lost contact with air traffic control in Kathmandu and its wreckage was located high on Kalinchok four days later. Six American servicemen, two Nepal Army soldiers, and five wounded civilians from Singati were killed. Today, Singati bears little physical scar of the multiple tragedies that struck the town ten years ago. Most <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/bungamati-builds-back">houses have been rebuilt</a> as urban-style concrete structures, and Singati has become an economic hub on the road leading up to several hydropower plants and a<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/off-the-beaten-trek-in-nepal"> popular trekking destination</a>.&nbsp; The town looks less like a village and more like a suburb of the Dolakha district headquarter of Charikot, 47km away.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110520_196f341d1df1403ba133e5dfeb837eec20d7cbcb4c8c56b17cc5598810de5df2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250508110520_196f341d1df1403ba133e5dfeb837eec20d7cbcb4c8c56b17cc5598810de5df2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110524_ae66c4a92430f67db51b5e11e017059eedfbac4cb18c8e073f2a50cca1fe904e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20250508110524_ae66c4a92430f67db51b5e11e017059eedfbac4cb18c8e073f2a50cca1fe904e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> </figure>  “The demand for construction material, cement, iron rods and bricks peaked after the earthquakes,” says Suresh Khadka, who owns a hardware business here and now supplies material to the 456MW Upper Tama Kosi hydropower project that is undergoing repairs after it was damaged by a landslide last year. The demand for cement boomed since most residents believe, not necessarily correctly, that <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/in-a-disastrous-state">cement houses are safer</a>. Although Khadka did well selling construction material after the earthquake, he worries that most new structures do not follow seismic-resistant building codes.&nbsp; The construction boom financed by bank loans has in turn forced many from Singati to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/making-overseas-migration-better">migrate overseas for work</a> so they can service their debt.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110524_50caa4530bd5ff9120cf7ab70a62173846d337ef448ff8bac339f3faa375a9e2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20250508110524_50caa4530bd5ff9120cf7ab70a62173846d337ef448ff8bac339f3faa375a9e2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> <figcaption>Suresh Khadka</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110520_ef8b7d3993fc3b5df852bbf952feb3fbabc96d6883b0d5eb74ee5c60f4123b83.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20250508110520_ef8b7d3993fc3b5df852bbf952feb3fbabc96d6883b0d5eb74ee5c60f4123b83" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> <figcaption>Phu Doma Sherpa (right)</figcaption> </figure>  “My family had no choice but to borrow money to rebuild our home since the government compensation was not enough, and ten years later we are still paying off the loan,” says Phu Doma Sherpa, 60. Because of the shortage of qualified masons and proper seismic engineering, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/structural-problems">many of the buildings are of questionable building standards </a>and the traditional architecture has been abandoned, admits Kul Bahadur Budathoki, deputy chair of the municipality. “But these buildings were more expensive than what the government grants could cover, many people here are heavily in debt and the men have <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/every-day-is-closer-to-pay-day">migrated to the Gulf to pay their loans</a>,” Budathoki says.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110520_32f89e97b7e757fc9286c0bbb671f48ea8d4468e9634fa646d7247c650ad8480.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="20250508110520_32f89e97b7e757fc9286c0bbb671f48ea8d4468e9634fa646d7247c650ad8480" data-rendition-name="original" width="1501" height="1079" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> <figcaption>Kul Bahadur Budathoki</figcaption> </figure>  Singati is in a multi-hazard zone. The <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Singati,3091">12 May 2015 earthquake </a>could have led to the collapse of Nepal’s largest glacial lake, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/stairway-to-heaven">Tso Rolpa</a>, upstream. Due to global warming, the glacier has turned into an expanding lake 3.5km long, and its collapse would have unleashed a catastrophic Himalayan tsunami down the Tama Kosi Valley, with Singati directly in its path. Singati has literally risen from the ashes of 2015, with its residents beginning to recover from the trauma and financial toll. But it is not out of danger as <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/climate-breakdown-linked-to-thame-flood">climate breakdown </a>magnifies the risk from future earthquakes.

Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village

<a href="https://www.instagram.com/prabalgurung/" target="_blank">Prabal Gurung</a> left Nepal for New York in 1999 to escape years of bullying, sexism and homophobia, and to pursue his dream of becoming a fashion designer. He <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqN0VaoAI5w" target="_blank">realised his dream</a>, but did not escape discrimination and racism in the new world. Propelled by passion for fashion, Gurung overcame everything America threw at him. He has attained <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/style/story/prabal-gurung-recalls-his-first-met-gala-when-zoe-saldana-was-at-his-side?srsltid=AfmBOooy-H0oGgxMit864FnW_Pmw8mUnV8rYrh-co-f6OyYK6m2ip5hP" target="_blank">fame and recognition</a> for his haute couture dress designs while remaining true to his Nepali roots, and is even more resolute in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSmNauyzACk" target="_blank">fighting prejudice</a> in all its forms. Prabal Gurung’s newly-released memoir <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Audible-Walk-Like-Girl-Memoir/dp/B0DG11HCDQ?fbclid=IwY2xjawKZfpxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHuZcIJO2OXyXcRm1oq1iG6wzeoF7VJFrQ7GXOFI0YxuZZ4id_CNvSZSZZIna_aem_pG_mOKG73RTnYvN8JaC4fA">Walk Like a Girl</a> is a saga of harrowing abuse in boarding schools in Nepal and India, only finding himself facing a different kind of bullying in the US. He prevails over it all to be where he is today: an award-winning American fashion designer with his own label. Walk Like a Girl was launched last week in New York at a time when everything Gurung fought for — tolerance, inclusion and diversity — are in retreat in his adopted country because of a president who has espoused a culture of bullying. The book is a searing, raw exposé of how cruel and abusive people can be even at a young age in school. On the other hand, it also shows that there are generous, compassionate and open-minded souls out there. In his book, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4le_uWX7YE">Prabal Gurung</a> calls out those who tormented and tried to hold him back (some of their names have been altered). The moral of his story is: resist, never stop believing in yourself, do not let others define you, never lose sight of your dream, and help those who have been kept out. “Walk like a girl” was a slur used by bullies back in school in Nepal and India for Gurung’s effeminate ways. He fought back then, and he is still resisting by turning those words into something to be proud of.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519170544_4ffc9c3f565dd2cfa754d10b224816897b82bb31ebaee91b6d79d469fc96f14e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250519170544_4ffc9c3f565dd2cfa754d10b224816897b82bb31ebaee91b6d79d469fc96f14e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1253" loading="lazy" alt="Prabal Gurung NT"> <figcaption>Prabal Gurung at home in Kathmandu in the 1990s.</figcaption> </figure>  “Living through it all was one thing, but writing about it is one of the hardest things I have done in my life,” admitted Gurung during the launch. “I broke down constantly during the six-year writing process.” He continues: “I did not want this to be a victim’s book. I did not want to burden my readers with my emotions. I wanted my struggle to be an inspiration for others facing what I faced. I am grateful to those who bullied me in school, they made me a stronger person ready to face the world.” Indeed, this book is a departure from his earlier one titled simply, Prabal Gurung (Abrams, 2019), which was a lush pictorial autobiography of his career in fashion. Walk Like a Girl is not a typical fashion book, it is an intimate tale of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16997">Gurung’s travails and triumphs</a>, and how he willed himself to succeed. Prabal pays a lavish tribute to his mother Durga Rana. We find out she is a descendant of the first wife of the eldest son of Jang Bahadur Rana who was banished to Palpa in the late 19th century. Prabal’s father served in the Singapore Police and that is where he was born before the family returned to Nepal when he was four. Gurung relates with brutal honesty about the violence his mother endured from his father. Durga raises three children as a single mother in Nepal, and Prabal credits her for his fierce determination to resist patriarchy and injustice, which in time manifests itself in his hyper-feminine and subversive dress designs. Writing the book has been a cathartic experience for Gurung, who says he is now relieved of the burdens of his past. It no longer haunts him, and he does not have to prove anything to anyone anymore. Walk Like a Girl has life lessons not just for the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DJmOcSgxdWz/" target="_blank">fashion industry</a>, but for every other profession. How can my job serve a greater cause? Gurung tells us his work is <a href="https://asiasociety.org/blog/asia/why-designer-prabal-gurung-doesnt-want-just-stick-fashion" target="_blank">bigger than just making clothes</a>, it is about making the world a better place because it could do with a lot of improvement.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519170544_d75296ad8bfdc00d88935f40d23543c6fea3d4d6a10e61a99d6cfc6127f2ee5b.png" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20250519170544_d75296ad8bfdc00d88935f40d23543c6fea3d4d6a10e61a99d6cfc6127f2ee5b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1516" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Prabal Gurung"> </figure>  This story of chasing the American dream may sound familiar to many immigrants: knocking on doors for jobs, rejections, trying to survive from day to day on expensive rent, and dealing with subtle racism in white America. Gurung finds racism is rife, and he is often mockingly called ‘gaysian’. He writes: ‘There was a strong hypocrisy — this idea of independence felt like a marketting ruse … and for all the talk of feminism in America, these high society women were trapped by the patriarchy just like in Nepal and India.’ After a trek to the Khumbu region in 2013, Gurung is inspired to use the colours, palette and textures of Nepal for his collection exhibited on Manhattan’s 8th Avenue. A major buyer tells him bluntly: “Stick to making pretty dresses … if I need to see a collection like this, I could buy a copy of National Geographic.” The New York Times was equally dismissive: ‘The designer tries to draw connections between blistered techo-fabric used to construct it and the topography of his homeland, Nepal. But, at the moment, he has lost his map.’ One potential investor tells Gurung he cannot design for Americana because “you do not look American”. Gurung wants to use expletives, but restrains himself. After a fundraiser in New York for the Nepal earthquake in 2015, some belittled his effort, saying: “Here comes the saviour."&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/prabal-gurung-by-prabal-gurung">Prabal Gurung by Prabal Gurung</a>, Kunda Dixit The Gurkha DNA must be dominant in Prabal Gurung’s genes because he does not take such mistreatment lying down. When asked by a fashion publicist why he was designing clothes for fat people, he snaps back: “Because of people like you.” He joins the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements, launches the Shikshya Foundation charity in Nepal, and has powerful allies among celebrities who wear clothes he designed: Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Sara Jessica Parker, Kamala Harris, Deepika Padukone … it is a long list.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519150556_48a5f4211991a23fa85b64bbd5377575ca7081d97309d7542035591dda5180fe.png" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20250519150556_48a5f4211991a23fa85b64bbd5377575ca7081d97309d7542035591dda5180fe" data-rendition-name="original" width="1114" height="1534" loading="lazy" alt="Being Prabal Gurung by design"> <figcaption>Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie wearing Atelier Prabal Gurung’s design for Met Gala 2025 in which the theme was ‘Superfine: Tailoring Black Style’. </figcaption> </figure>  “I don’t dress women to look beautiful, they already are,” Gurung says. “I try to bring out their innate strength and grace.” <a href="https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17908766880140171/" target="_blank">Admirers</a> tell Gurung he makes it all look so easy, but he used to put up a strong facade to not show his own vulnerabilities in public. “I was closed because of my childhood experiences,” he says. “I was always on guard to defend myself because I never knew where the next punch would come from.” But in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPVepzPA210" target="_blank">Walk Like a Girl,</a> Gurung comes to terms with his vulnerability, and bares his soul. It has not been easy, it took sustained will power and support from his mother, sister Kumudini and a circle of close friends. “I made unbelonging my power,” he says. “Nepal is where I still have my heart and soul. Nepal grounds you. It is where people go to find themselves. But I escaped.” Recently appointed vice-chair of the <a href="https://cfda.com/about-cfda" target="_blank">Council of American Fashion Designers</a>, Gurung says: “I can’t believe I am here, it feels like it is happening to someone else. Writing this book, the healing has finally begun.” <h2>‘Everything is better in color’</h2> The Met Gala was two weeks later, and my table was an example of everything I’d been fighting for all these years as my guests represented everything I believed in: dynamic, powerful, influential women who were unapologetically original and unabashedly graceful. I was grateful to Anna for inviting me to host and dress a table that reflected my ethos—and for her guidance in doing so. I was also aware of the privilege as one of the first-­ever Asian fashion designers—not just from Nepal, but from the entire continent— to get the opportunity to do so. That fact was not lost on me. I reached out beyond the expected Hollywood celebrities and well-­known socialites to curate a table of exceptional women who inspired me. I invited Deepika Padukone and Alia Bhatt for their first-­ever Met Galas, as well as Michelle Yeoh, Mindy Kaling, Camila Cabello, Ashley Park, Denée Benton, KiKi Layne, Quannah Chasinghorse, and Grace Elizabeth. Together we checked many boxes: Asian, Black, Latinx, and Indigenous, each woman undeniably chic and powerful, a dazzling array of skin tones and experiences that proved my decades‑in‑the-­making hypothesis: everything is better in color. Excerpt from Walk Like a Girl Viking © 2025 by Prabal Gurung  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519170520_6b91d560e9f072c37d16876901058c073a51ffa05e7ad1b9461d19e1c9c28215.jpg" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="20250519170520_6b91d560e9f072c37d16876901058c073a51ffa05e7ad1b9461d19e1c9c28215" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Prabal Gurung book details NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519170520_345240c21be400e2ce2ec629b52bd82bb53890e5bd86fe95b48340d84b5f1748.jpg" data-media-id="editor_17" data-image-id="20250519170520_345240c21be400e2ce2ec629b52bd82bb53890e5bd86fe95b48340d84b5f1748" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Prabal Gurung book details NT"> </figure>  &nbsp;

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