Lt. Colonel Dinesh Baniya won the Turkish Airlines World Golf Cup held at Gokarna Golf Club in Kathmandu this week. Played under Stableford 3/4 handicap format with a maximum allowance of 24, Baniya accumulated 40 points to finish first while the runners-up were Pradip KC and Chandra Kumar Limbu. The tournament had 82 golfers participating.&nbsp; “We warmly thank all of our guests who made the Turkish Airlines World Golf Cup here in Kathmandu a huge success. Once again, it was a thrilling tournament in the TAWGC series, congratulations to our winner, Lt. Col. Dinesh Baniya. We wish him the best of luck in Türkiye,” said Turkish Airlines General Manager in Nepal Serkan Başar.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230502100528_66cfe7a7a9873f5666ec742c3833f1ffb6add203fd3e20819b0008cfc56ac9bd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20230502100528_66cfe7a7a9873f5666ec742c3833f1ffb6add203fd3e20819b0008cfc56ac9bd" data-rendition-name="original" width="1024" height="683" loading="lazy" alt="Turkish Airlines golf cup"> </figure>  Baniya now qualifies for the 2023 Turkish Airlines World Golf Cup grand finals in Antalya, Türkiye, in December where he will compete with 88 other participants from 57 countries.&nbsp; Since its inception in 2013, the Turkish Airlines World Golf Cup now brings together over 8,000 players who compete against one another in more than 85 tournaments worldwide. The corporate golf tournament in its 8th edition is supported by Gloria Hotels &amp; Resorts and Ruck &amp; Maul.

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Turkish World Golf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9yfNuqIlZEMore interested in football, the last thing Sukra Rai thought he would become was a professional golfer.But when a friend asked the 12-year-old Rai in 2010 to caddie at the golf course in the former British Army base in Dharan during a professional tournament, he had no idea he would be launching a career.“I earned Rs800 in just two days,” Rai recalls 12 years later. “I was attracted by the money at first. Even my friends who were into football later came along to caddie.”<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410118/637205c99c7e80680e0b28d6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1320" height="1625"/>An 18-hole golf course was built in Dharan in 1960 by the British and when the base was closed in 1985, locals started taking interest in golf and the course was revived.It was not a love at first shot for Rai. But as he continued as a caddie boy, his interest in golf awakened. He would play with his fellow caddies on ‘Caddie Day’ which would take place every Wednesday.He would also participate in the ‘Golf Clinic’ the senior golfers held for school children under the tutelage of professional golfers like Sabin Sapkota, Devraj Pakhrin and Munni Kumar Rai.Gradually, the seniors noticed Rai’s strokes and focus. They set him up with clubs and amenities, and Rai’s golf life took off.He participated in the first caddie match organised in Dharan and won. “The club members had raised money to organise the game”, says Rai. “I played 18 handicaps in the first match and crossed the level with 18 overs.”Then in 2012, Rai participated in the Junior Golf Tournament organised by the Nepal Golf Association. He won second place in the junior category a year later. After that it was one win after another.“Not being able to practice during lockdown was frustrating,” says Rai who practices ten hours each day, till 6 in the evening.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410118/637205cc9c7e80680e0b28d7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="584">Rai started playing in the Surya Nepal tours in 2014 and won his first Surya Nepal Eastern Open in the amateur category that same year. In 2015 he came second but was the amateur champion in the 2016 and 2017.Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Nepal%C3%A2%E2%82%AC%E2%84%A2s-own-tennis-sisters-and-they-are-twins,2412#:~:text=Those%20in%20Nepal%20watching%20Serena,when%20they%20were%20barely%20six.">Tennis Twins</a>, Sonia AwaleIn 2018 he overtook even the professional players Shiva Ram Shrestha, Ravi Khadka and Bhuwan Nagarkoti to win the tournament trophy. Rai went on to win two major titles in the Surya Nepal Golf Tour 2019 season, becoming the first amateur golfer to win two trophies in the same season.In 2017, he was the group winner and third seed in the Bhutan Open Golf Championship and went on to be first seed in the same competition in 2019. That year Rai also won the Amateur Open Championship in Bangladesh.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410118/637205cf9c7e80680e0b28d8jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1267" height="830">In the 7th National Golf Championship in 2016, he bagged gold in both group and individual competitions. The following year, he won the championship. In the 13th South Asian Games held in Nepal in 2019, he won gold in team and bronze in individual competitions.“I was the happiest when I won in the South Asian Games”, says Rai. “If young people like me enter golf, then the sport has a great future in Nepal.”Rai missed out on his studies as his sports career took flight, but he is not disheartened. Now a professional golfer, Rai won the Dharan Open and the Surya Nepal Western Open in 2021. He has also already won the 2022 Eastern Open and Central Open.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410118/637205d39c7e80680e0b28d9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="647">“More golf tournaments are taking place in Nepal and the prize money is also increasing” Rai says: “It is now possible to make a career in golf if one is willing to work hard.”In the household previously run by his father and older brother, Rai has begun to contribute financially with his tour prize money. Even then, it is difficult to bear his golf and family expenses. A set of golf equipment costs up to Rs300,000, but a good second-hand set can be bought for under NRs40,000 and used for up to three years. In addition, professionals pay 12,000 rupees yearly to play in the Dharan course.“So far, I have been supported by my seniors,” says Rai. “But it is tough without a sponsor.”<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111410118/637205d59c7e80680e0b28dajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640">Rai’s immediate goal was the Indian tour, and to play, he needed to be selected in the pre-qualifying school. He had already entered for the selection, but the tour has now been stalled due to the pandemic.“I will try again”, he says: “After the Indian tour, I want to play in the Asian tour. I have been working hard for it.”“Rai is a mature player”, says golf professional Sabin Sapkota. “He works hard, asks questions, he has more to achieve in the future.”Jitendra Rai, vice president of the golf club, considers Sukra Rai a pride of Dharan. “It is inspiring.  A labourer’s son is number one.”Translated from the Himalkhabar Nepali <a href="https://www.himalkhabar.com/news/128025">original</a>, published online on 28 January 2022.

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Nepal caddie turns into a golfing champ

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111016118/636d14119c7e80680e0a995bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1125"/>P urna Bahadur Rai has won the second edition title of the Surya Nepal Gokarna Monthly Medal, a golf tournament, at the Gokarna Golf Club. Played under stroke play full handicap format, Rai finished first on countback after being tied on four-under 68 with Babu Sherpa, the runner-up, in the Nett category. 51 golfers took part in the event, sponsored by Surya Nepal. Golfer Rekha Ghimire, the wife of Gokarna Golf Club President Suhrid Ghimire, handed over the prizes to the winners.

Surya Nepal Gokarna Monthly Medal winner awarded

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXxxTSU5ubgTo Pratima Sherpa, the golf course is home, literally. She was born and raised in a small storage shed on the <a href="https://www.golfadvisor.com/courses/21820-royal-nepal-golf-club" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Royal Nepal Golf Course</a> in Kathmandu.Growing up, Sherpa watched men dressed smartly in polo shirts and white pants swing shiny golf clubs on the vast grassy course below the airport. She wanted to do the same and so her father, a security guard at the course, crafted a makeshift club for her out of wood and Sherpa spent hours practicing her swing. There has been no looking back.Sherpa was just finding her footing in Nepal’s golf scene when the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/on-course-to-be-champion-golf,3390" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepali Times first profiled her</a> four years ago. She went on to win national golf competitions and attract the attention of international media like the Los Angeles Times, Golf Digest, and ESPN.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=41633&amp;preview_nonce=1a5fef970e&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trail-running trail blazer</a>, Sanghamitra Subba<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=41606&amp;preview_nonce=6d2bb56d9f&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Coming Soon: Ani Choying, the movie</a>,  Alisha SijapatiSherpa moved to California a year and a half ago and her life there is a world apart from the golf shed behind the third hole in Sinamangal, where her parents still live. In her second year at Santa Barbara City College, Sherpa  attends public speaking, business and math classes, practices golf for three hours, goes to the gym for two hours and does homework before bed. On weekends, she frequents a nearby beach with her friends and host family.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101148/636b77c69c7e80680e064657jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="1323"/><figcaption>Photo: MICHAEL MONTANO</figcaption></figure>Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/golfing-in-nepals-monsoon/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Golfing in Nepal's monsoon</a>“Sometimes I have a tournament and a midterm exam on the same day and those days can be very hectic,” she laughed during a recent phone interview with Nepali Times.When she met him, Sherpa’s idol Tiger Woods advised her to work on her course management. “I still remember him saying ‘Hi Pratima!’ when we first met,” recalls Sherpa. “I don’t think I’ll ever forget that or the fact that he said that my swing was perfect.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101148/636b77c99c7e80680e064658jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="744" height="800"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>During her meeting with Woods, Sherpa was filming for an ESPN documentary, A Mountain to Climb, which chronicled her journey from the 2017 Qualifying School tournament in Kathmandu to her stay in California, where she is hosted by a couple eager to support her golfing career.Tanya and Michael Montano had read Oliver Horowitz’s article about Sherpa in Golf Digest in late 2016 and had soon after travelled to Nepal to visit their daughter Sophia, who was in the country for a semester abroad. While in Kathmandu they decided to reach out to the young golfer.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=41677&amp;preview_nonce=28a6e8e67c&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A goddess among people</a>, Shristi Karki<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=41700&amp;preview_nonce=6d0139bd58&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">From kamlari to MP</a>, Alisha SijapatiSherpa stayed with the Montanos in Santa Barbara, California for two months in 2017 and trained there in preparation for the Q School tournament that would take place back in Kathmandu that September. “They are my family,” Sherpa says of her hosts. “They’ve supported me, loved me and cared for me as much as my own parents have.”With the help of her host family, Sherpa became the first Nepali to compete in the The Symetra Tour in 2019, a tournament organised by the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA). After she finishes college in 2022, Sherpa will be eligible again to compete in the Q School tournament and thereby try for professional status in Nepal. No matter what changes in her life, Sherpa has her eyes set on one goal: to be Nepal’s first female professional golfer.Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=1364#.W1GkTtUzbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Women play too</a>, Deepak Acharya

Pratima Sherpa swings for pro

https://youtu.be/IBCLqSG_HMMThe Everest Base Camp trek is arduous enough for fit people, but it can be even more difficult for someone over 70. And it is no mean feat if that person also wants to tee off at 5,100m in winter.Harry Tan, a 71-year-old Singaporean possibly became the first person to tee off from three points below Mt Everest above 5,000m earlier this month.A part-time physical education teacher at Nanyang Technical University and an avid golfer at the Seletar Golf Club in Singapore, Tan had come to Nepal in 2016 after the earthquake. His trekking partner, Raj Tamang, was himself raised in Singapore and is also a golfer.“We got really excited about teeing off from high points during the trek, but did not realise how difficult it would be,” Tan recalls. This was a winter trek with the Khumbu Galcier so windy that the wind chill factor made conditions difficult. The high thin air also meant that the golf balls behaved differently.After flying to Lukla and acclimatising in Namche and Ama Dablam Base Camp, the group proceeded up to Dingboche, where Tan decided to buy warmer feather mittens for the adventures ahead. “The gloves I brought from Singapore were not adequate for the job at hand,” he noted.They waited out a blizzard on 13 December and then walked on to Pheriche and Lobuje.The next day, they climbed to a ridge on the way to Gorakshep at 5,180m found a patch of flat ground and brought out a 3 Wood driver, rubber tee, and an ecobioball manufactured by Elbusgolf.It was a complete whiteout when Harry did the first-ever 5000-meter tee off by a foreigner in Nepal. (The previous record was by Tamang himself.) They continued on the lateral moraine towards Gorakshep, had a quick lunch and left for Everest Base Camp. Trekkers there who were talking about a Singaporean with a golf club and were wondering what he was going to do with it got to see the swings for themselves.

Teeing off below Everest

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151116/636a652e9c7e80680e059917jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3156" height="2104"/>After breaking its own record of the number of gold medals at SAG, Nepal continue to scale new heights with further medals on 6 December. With five new gold medals on Friday, its total tally of gold medals is 41. It is second among the seven SAARC nations, as India leads the ranks with 81 medals.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151116/636a65319c7e80680e059918jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151116/636a65349c7e80680e059919jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427">Gopi Chandra Parki bagged a gold medal in athletics in 5,000 metre race. Besides the golds, Nepal has won 27 silver and 46 bronze medals till date.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151116/636a65379c7e80680e05991ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3600" height="3000">Meanwhile, the swimming sensation Gaurika Singh won her second gold medal, this time in 200 metre backstroke. She had won her first gold in the first day of swimming competition. Singh completed the swim in 2 minutes 17 seconds, breaking her own previous record.Vikas Thapa won a gold medal in the 89 kilogram category in weightlifting. This is the second time Nepal has won a gold in weightlifting.17 year old golf prodigy Suvash Tamang has secured two golds for Nepal in golf: one as a solo player and one as a team player. The match was held at Gokarna gold grounds. It is only the second time that golf was included in SAG.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151116/636a653b9c7e80680e05991bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3600" height="3000">Nepal also defeated Maldives at a T20 cricket match held at Kirtipur, making 163 runs to Maldives' 79. Nepal's win had raised the hopes that it will reach the finals.Nepal has won a total of 116 medals, and Sri Lanka trails it with 23 gold medals among 134 medals.

South Asian Games Recap 6 December

<img width="1400" height="877" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101148/636a26789c7e80680e043a19jpeg.jpg" alt=""/>When asked why on earth he would want to hit a golf ball at various high passes above 5,000m in the Himalaya, trekking entrepreneur Raj Tamang has a Mallory-esque answer: “Because I can.”So far, the prolific hiker has teed off from Thorung La and five passes above 5,000m in Upper Dolpo, six ridges on Cho La, above Gokyo, as well as Kala Patar below <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/re-measuring-mt-everest/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Everest</a>. Tamang is not a golfer, although he has occasionally played 18- or 9-hole golf in Kathmandu and in courses abroad.“I just wanted to do something no one else has done,” replies Tamang, who with his lanky frame and white hair tied in a pony tail is seldom mistaken for a Nepali on the trails. And when yak herders come across him teeing off at Mojo La, they think he is not just a foreigner but a weird foreigner.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/golfing-in-nepals-monsoon/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Golfing in Nepal's monsoon</a>, Thomas Heaton <img width="640" height="291" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101148/636a267b9c7e80680e043a1ajpeg.jpg" alt="">Because of the thin air, he says the golf ball travels faster and farther at high altitude. He uses only biodegradable balls specially imported from Spain, and surprisingly has retrieved every one of the golf balls he has hit so far. He says: “Even if we don’t find the ball afterwards, it is ok because they biodegrade pretty fast even up there in the cold.” <img width="640" height="360" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101148/636a267e9c7e80680e043a1bjpeg.jpg" alt="">Tamang wanted to tee off from Larke La (5,400m) on the Manaslu Circuit two years ago, but the wind was gusting at 70km/h and he decided against it. One thing is for sure, Raj Tamang is not going to run out of high passes, since he has not even golfed in the Rolwaling and <a style="background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=190#.XGVAsVUzbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kanchenjunga</a> yet -- but they are in his sights. He just needs to make sure that Responsible Adventures has a steady stream of clients interested in booking Himalayan treks. Indeed, the avid trekker who leads most of his clients’ groups himself on treks across Nepal has always wanted to be ahead of the pack, and do things differently from the rest of the herd. So, unlike other trek guides, Tamang never forgets to pack his golf club and balls along with his walking stick.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2k_2F1N9d0IHe started <a href="https://www.responsibleadventures.com/nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Responsible Adventures</a> to provide clients high-value trekking and make Nepal an adventure destination with most creature comforts. He thinks Nepal has sold itself too cheap, and the undercutting is killing an industry that employs at least 500,000 Nepalis. Trekking in Nepal has flourished despite the authorities making it as difficult as possible with fees, permits and bureaucracy. Tamang believes Nepal can easily command better prices if clients are assured of high quality service, safety and proper facilities.  <img width="640" height="341" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101148/636a26819c7e80680e043a1cjpeg.jpg" alt="">“Nepal’s premium scenery should be a high-end destination that commands top value,” he says. “<a style="background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.15px;" href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/trekking-in-Nepal-turns-50,2658" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trekking</a> in Nepal is already adventurous, but it needs a gimmick or two to make it even more exciting.” Like golf.

Teeing off on a trek? Why not?

Gebru Jember Endalew has been involved in UN negotiations on climate change since 2008 as a core member of the Ethiopian negotiating team. Last year, he stepped down as Chair of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) Group on Climate Change, of which Nepal is a member and Bhutan is the new Chair.Currently, Endalew is an adviser at the Korea-based <a href="http://gggi.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Global Green Growth Institute</a>. Endalew was in Kathmandu this week for consultations on resilience and adaptation for Asia-Pacific members of the LDC group. He spoke to Nepali Times on how least-developed countries like Nepal can cope with <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/climate-climax/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">climate change</a>.Read also:'<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=21122&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Climate damage</a>', Editorial<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-terrifying-assessment-of-himalayan-melting/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Terrifying assessment of a Himalayan Melting</a>, Kunda Dixit'<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=21132&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Turning on the heat</a>', Ajaya DixitSimilarities between Nepal and EthiopiNepal and Ethiopia have a lot in common. We are LDCs, we are land-locked, face severe impacts of global climate change despite not being major greenhouse gas emitters. And we are both mountainous countries. Mountain ecosystems are <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/guest-editorial/mountainous-change,887" target="_blank" rel="noopener">highly fragile in terms of climate change impacts</a>, as proven by the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-terrifying-assessment-of-himalayan-melting/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study released this week</a> by ICIMOD Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment and the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/decarbonise-now/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IPCC 1.5 Degree World report</a>.We know that a 1.5 degree world is achievable, but even an increase of one degree in global average temperature has major consequences ranging from forest fires, extreme weather events to changing monsoon patterns. Yet some of the countries were still in denial at the Climate Summit in Poland. But we LDCs have been consistent in terms of our reflections about the 1.5 degree report and we believe it will be taken up at the UN Secretary General’s meeting in September in New York.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101144/636a25cb9c7e80680e0439e0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="1067"/><figcaption>Photo: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption></figure>Climate justiceWhile we need to continue to push big emitters for more pledges for adaptation, we cannot completely depend on compensation to address the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/on-thin-ice-in-the-khumbu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">impact of climate change</a> on our people. Trillions were promised in Poland but it will take years to materialise. And now that the number of big emitters have increased, and include many of our own countries, reimbursement alone will not take us anywhere in terms of investments required.If we stick to <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=9980#.XFvcbVUzaUl" target="_blank" rel="noopener">historical responsibility for carbon emissions</a>, we will not arrive at a solution. If we wait for developed countries to pledge resources, we will not be able to adapt to the urgent impacts that are already being felt. So government in countries like Nepal and Ethiopia need to look for domestic financial resources and engage the private sector in solutions to generate revenue. We need to move out of the victim narrative to proactive leadership to deal with it.In fact, Nepal can be a leader in terms of developing innovative mitigation actions, even if it may have a much <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/from-a-fossil-past-to-an-electric-future/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">smaller carbon footprint</a> compared to other countries. Better ecosystem and resource management here can reduce the risks of flooding in lower catchment areas of India and Bangladesh.And to be honest, past actions cannot be blamed when people were just trying to improve their lives. Post-industrial emissions were not deliberate. The biggest blunder of all would be for our leaders to repeat the same mistakes with the knowledge they have today about the impact of greenhouse gases.Turning the clock backCountries like the US and Brazil are <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/bypassing-trump-on-climate-action/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">regressing on prior commitments</a> when it comes to climate change action. But I’m a bit of an optimist myself. Despite a somewhat bleak scenario at the leadership level, what is happening on the ground is encouraging. We see consecutive peaks in investment on renewable energy around the world including in the US, and these newer cleaner technologies are cheaper and more easily accessible to the people.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/bypassing-trump-on-climate-action/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bypassing Trump on climate change</a>, Kunda DixitMitigation or adaptation?Mitigation, adaptation and development have to go together. There is no point in making distinction. Mitigation measures to reduce fossil fuel dependence eventually contributes to development and resilience. For example: electricity generated from hydropower improves the living standard of the people while also reducing greenhouse gases.Initially there was a misconception that mitigation was not for the developing countries. We know now that everyone has to be involved in the global mitigation process, not just to save the planet but also to save our economies.All of this requires good leadership. Unless there is a political guidance, whatever resources we have might be either least used or abused. Good governance is a key to better planning and implementation to cope with climate impact.

From playing victim to proactive leadership on climate

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101144/636a25cd9c7e80680e0439e1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1050"/><figcaption>Photo: GEORGE MALLORY</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101148/636a25d09c7e80680e0439e2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="900"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Unprecedented in recorded history, there was a 100 degree C difference in temperature between the northern and southern hemispheres last week. While parts of Australia baked in record 50oC heat, in North America hell froze over with the mercury plunging to -50oC.Somewhere in between in Nepal, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/snowbound-rara/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">heavy winter snow blanketed the mountains</a> last week after a break of almost 12 years. The fact that such snowfall was seen as ‘abnormal’, indicated just how far from the ‘normal’ we have deviated.The return of winter snow in Nepal and the simultaneous extreme hot and cold in the antipodes actually proves the impact on weather patterns brought by <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/climate-climax/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">climate change</a>. Most climate models agree that the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/decarbonise-now/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rise in global average temperature</a> due to the continued emission of carbon dioxide will result in higher rates of temperature rise over land, and particularly in the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-terrifying-assessment-of-himalayan-melting/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">higher Himalayan regions</a>. The snowline has been migrating upward with rainfall replacing snow, and lowered seasonal snow and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/climate-for-change/the-great-himalayan-thaw/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ice storage</a> have started limiting melt flow in rivers.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-terrifying-assessment-of-himalayan-melting/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Terrifying assessment of a Himalayan melting</a>, Kunda Dixit'<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=21122&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Climate damage</a>', Editorial As rivers originating in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepals-silent-emergency-springs-going-dry/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Himalaya start going dry in the summer season</a>, there is serious concern about rising heat. In a few weeks, temperatures across northern South Asia <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2017/07/19/asia-heating-up/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">will start going up</a>. Day-time summer temperature will reach 40oC+ in many places. Nights will not cool down enough, and humidity will also increase. At higher humidity, the human body cannot release heat through sweat evaporation fast enough to cool itself. Most people cannot remain unprotected in the open for more than 6 hours at temperatures above  370C.A 2014 study of interactions of temperature and humidity in the Indus and Ganga plains by the US-based National Center of Atmospheric Research, and ISET-International found that by 2050, most of June, July and August days and nights will hover above the 370C threshold. A later study by MIT researchers warned of deadly heat waves in the Indo-Gangetic plains, meaning the numbers dying across India, Pakistan and Nepal Tarai in summer will shoot up.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/climate-climax/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Climate climax</a>, Editorial<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/decarbonise-now/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Decarbonise now</a>, Ajaya Dixit<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/on-thin-ice-in-the-khumbu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">On thin ice in the Khumbu</a>, Kunda DixitThe <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/naturally-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rapid degradation of natural ecosystems</a> within and around many of our cities have removed heat sinks. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/poisoning-the-air-we-breathe/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vehicular emissions</a>, air conditioners, concrete and asphalt pavements, and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/open-air/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">air pollution</a> trapping heat between buildings continue to raise the temperature in core cities. These urban heat islands will amplify the impact of global warming, with significant impacts on low-income families and the poor living in substandard housing, lacking safe drinking water, basic energy, and without direct access to air conditioning.Even if air conditioning was affordable for poor and low-income families, running them will require additional energy from over-burdened electricity grids. In Australia’s heat wave last week, the authorities advised residents to delay using washing machines and dishwashers, and requested healthy people to consider keeping their air conditioners at 24oC to save energy. Older model air conditioners also leak HFCs – chemical coolants which are about 7,000 times more potent greenhouse gases than carbon dioxide.Read also:'<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=21128&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">From playing victim to proactive leadership on climate</a>'<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/climate-for-change/the-great-himalayan-thaw/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The great Himalayan thaw</a>, Ajaya DixitIn Nepal, as <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/climate-climax,3651" target="_blank" rel="noopener">global temperature rises</a>, the lower river valleys of the Siwalik and the Mahabharat as well as Tarai plains will see more days when the safe temperature/humidity threshold will exceed 37OC. Even in Kathmandu, June-July-August will have hotter days as global warming combines with the urban heat bubble to make it uncomfortably humid and unsafe.Nepal’s policies, plans and actions have not yet taken the threat of heat risk seriously. Nor have we begun to  systematically assess changes in local temperatures and humidity regimes.Reducing the threat of increasing heat requires us to carefully rewire the way we design houses, build infrastructure, deliver and manage energy, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/who-now-owns-nepals-forests/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">forests</a>, grow food, and maintain productivity of small land holders and field workers. Shifting to cleaner forms of energy for cooking and <a href="w.nepalitimes.com/here-now/cleaner-air-with-greener-buses/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">public transportation</a> would give us the flexibility required to minimise growing threat of heat, and adapt.Urban and rural municipalities can begin working on solutions without waiting for national policies. Local governments have the authority and their programs must emphasise restoration and conservation of natural ecosystems, water sources, and provide incentive for climate-friendly house design and materials. Public health systems need to be better prepared to respond immediately to the elderly, children and pregnant women with heat stress.Increasing heat and low dry season flow of rivers is going to affect millions living downstream from the Himalaya in Nepal and beyond. In the mid term, developed and giant middle-income countries need to significantly curb emission of greenhouse gases. There is no other way.And while they mitigate carbon use, we in Nepal need to be prepared for low river flows in the dry season, and find ways to minimise the impact of prolonged heat waves. The more we delay taking action, the higher will be the future cost of measures we will have to take to adapt to the heat.Ajaya Dixit is Executive Director of Kathmandu based ISET-Nepal. His monthly column Climate for Change deals with the impact of global warming in Nepal.

Turning on the heat

<figure><img width="1400" height="1045" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101144/636a25b59c7e80680e0439d9jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Illustration: DIWAKAR CHETTRI</figcaption></figure>Climate change is global, it does not respect national boundaries. Neither should its solution. The only way we can save the biosphere from anthropogenic carbon build-up is to reduce our use of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/from-a-fossil-past-to-an-electric-future/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fossil fuels</a>. There is no other way.The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/decarbonise-now/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">latest report</a> from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the findings presented at the Climate Summit in Katowice late last year show that warming trends are <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/climate-climax/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">much worse than we thought</a>. The effect is already seen in the last few years which have been the hottest since records started being kept.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-terrifying-assessment-of-himalayan-melting/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Terrifying assessment of a Himalayan melting</a>, Kunda Dixit'<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=21132&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Turning on the heat</a>', Ajaya DixitAs Ajaya Dixit writes in his Nepali Times column this week, last week we saw a 100oC difference between the temperatures in parts of Minnesota and Australia. Then unprecedented floods hit Townsville in Queensland. The polar vortex has frozen North America, while above the Arctic Circle it is unseasonably warm.Here in Kathmandu this week, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) released its long-awaited <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-terrifying-assessment-of-himalayan-melting/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">assessment</a> which shows that the Himalayan mountains are melting faster than anyone expected, Altitude Dependent Warming and deposition of pollution particles are <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/climate-for-change/the-great-himalayan-thaw/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">amplifying the thaw</a>.An analysis of the assessment and interview with ICIMOD’s <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/guest-editorial/mountainous-change,887" target="_blank" rel="noopener">David Molden</a> indicate that even a 36% ice loss during the rest of this century will have serious consequences for 1.6 billion people living downstream from the Himalaya. And that is just the best-case scenario, in all probability carbon reduction targets to keep warming within 1.5oC will not be met, meaning that two-thirds of the glaciers will be gone by 2100. Another recent report is even more apocalyptic: 90% of the glaciers below Mt Everest will vanish during this century.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/climate-climax/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Climate climax</a>, Editorial<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/decarbonise-now/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Decarbonise now</a>, Ajaya DixitNow that we know things are much worse than we thought, what are we going to do about it in? Nepali Times also talked this week with Gebru Jember Endalew, who has just stepped down as chair of the Least Developed Countries Group in the UN climate change negotiation process who is in Kathmandu for a consultative workshop of the Asia-Pacific region.Endalew argues that least-developed, landlocked mountainous countries like Nepal should move on from seeking funds for climate change adaptation, and launch national strategies to build up <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/going-green-environment-day,3064" target="_blank" rel="noopener">carbon stock</a> and <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/a-fossil-economy,1411" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reduce dependence on fossil fuels</a>.Read also:'<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=21128&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">From playing victim to proactive leadership on climate</a>'<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/climate-for-change/the-great-himalayan-thaw/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The great Himalayan thaw</a>, Ajaya DixitIndeed, what Nepal does or does not do is not going to save the planet. With an annual carbon footprint of 0.12 tons per capita (Qatar’s footprint is 40 tons) Nepal’s contribution is minimal compared to the gas guzzlers. However, Nepal’s petroleum demand is the fastest growing in the region, and has more than <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-cost-of-light/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">doubled in the last two years</a>, increasing our trade imbalance with India. Nepal spent Rs90 billion last year in importing petrol, diesel and gas, widening the country’s already yawning trade deficit.The argument that since we did not create the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/climate-climax,3651" target="_blank" rel="noopener">climate crisis</a>, we should just try to adapt does not hold anymore. Another recent report, State of Climate Action in Nepal says that Nepal also needs to take mitigation action, not only because it will help save our mountains from melting but, much more importantly, to save the country’s fossil-based economy from collapse.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/on-thin-ice-in-the-khumbu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">On thin ice in the Khumbu</a>, Kunda Dixit Nepal’s long-suffering people have lived through <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/performance-legitimacy,3505" target="_blank" rel="noopener">poor governance</a>, instability, under-development, poverty and inequality for generations. We have survived droughts, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/deep-water,3883" target="_blank" rel="noopener">floods</a> and landslides. Adaptation is not a new word for us. And climate change is just the latest crisis to hit Nepal, making all our existing problems worse. It crowds out the other crises we face because it is treated as a stand-alone problem.As Endelew eloquently argues, we need to move beyond the victim narrative in international negotiations and stop blaming historical emissions. As resurgent landlocked countries like Ethiopia and Rwanda have proven, in the final analysis it all boils down to national leadership, and the political will to clean up our own act first.10 years ago this weekThe Editorial in issue #437 of 6-12 February 2009 is so prescient in the context of next month’s Nepal Investment Summit we present the following extract from it:In his address to the nation last week, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal bemoaned that frequent strikes were scaring away investors. He said the tendency of Nepalis to hit the streets at the slightest pretext needed to be stopped once and for all. But what is Prime Minister Dahal going to do about it? He must know it is goons from his own party who are undermining his efforts to woo investors. The head of the Maoist student wing publicly threatened last week to "break the backbones" of anyone daring to oppose his union. Since they have done it before, nobody doubts their ability to carry out the threat.Union militancy has now become the single biggest worry of the private sector. Many entrepreneurs have bought peace at prices that nobody knows about. It is of no concern to the union mafia that these institutions already pay much higher wages than the minimum fixed by the government. But then it is not really about wages, is it? It is about control and extortion.

Climate damage

Nepal’s only international aviation gateway, at Kathmandu airport, will cut night-time operation hours to allow construction of taxiways, and airlines have been told to curtail flights. This is expected to lead to more than normal chaos during the height of peak autumn and spring tourist seasons at an airport that is congested even at the best of times. The airport will close from 10PM to 8AM from 8 November-31 March 2025. The taxiways will now connect to the thresholds at both ends of the runway, making the airport more efficient in handling higher frequencies of landings and takeoffs. The parallel taxiway extension will allow international flights to land every 4 minutes instead of the current every 7 minutes. At present planes have to wait to land until a plane taking off backtracks along the runway.&nbsp; Kathmandu is Nepal’s only airport with international operations, and it has only one runway that is only one way in from the south over the mountains. With the taxiway improvement, the airport will be able to handle 42 aircraft landings and takeoffs per hour — double the current capacity.&nbsp; The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has been trying to entice international airlines to also start flying to and from the other two international airports at Pokhara and Bhairawa (Lumbini) by slashing landing and handling charges. But so far only Nepal Airlines operates a weekly flight to Bhairawa from Kuala Lumpur.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241018161016_046569e53d1d66cd445cc66c697c0ef724810aec9f54bdf827481e3cd6b80c32.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20241018161016_046569e53d1d66cd445cc66c697c0ef724810aec9f54bdf827481e3cd6b80c32" data-rendition-name="original" width="2356" height="1134" loading="lazy" alt="Kathmandu airport expansion"> <figcaption>Kathmandu Airport Expansion plan with extension of taxiways to the thresholds of runways 02 and 20 that will limit airport operations from 8 November 2024 - 31 March 2025. Areas in blue are existing structures, including the international terminal which in future will be the domestic airport, and the new international terminal near the north end of the runway,</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241018121028_6e17cc2ee87c1b02d78cb54905825b7aa15299b7a00f5eddb01a59579ab85c1a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241018121028_6e17cc2ee87c1b02d78cb54905825b7aa15299b7a00f5eddb01a59579ab85c1a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1353" height="1328" loading="lazy" alt="Kathmandu airport NT"> </figure>  CAAN has reportedly told international airlines to cut their flight frequency to Kathmandu citing the shorter operation hours and has told budget airlines to shift some of their flights to Pokhara or Bhairawa, or face cuts. Many airlines currently operate regular flights to and from Kathmandu between 10PM and 8AM: Air Arabia to Sharjah, Fly Dubai to Dubai, Jazeera Airways to Kuwait, Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong, Singapore Airlines, several Nepal Airlines flights, and one of four daily flights by Qatar Airways to Doha. Jazeera Airways, FlyDubai, and Thai AirAsia have applied and got permission from CAAN to begin regular flights to Bhairawa’s Gautam Buddha International Airport. Starting 9 November, FlyDubai will start making a stopover in Bhairawa before flying on to Kathmandu. Immigration, customs and security are all fully functional in Bhairawa. In Kathmandu, the next phase of the airport upgrade includes converting the current international terminal for domestic operations, the construction of a new international terminal where the domestic departure area is now, as well as moving the hangars and the Nepal Army Air Wing to the eastern side of the runway. The apron area will also double its parking space for widebody jets. This is part of a Airport Capacity Enhancement Project that was initially funded through a $80 million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the entire masterplan is expected to cost $800 million. This project is the latest upgrade to Nepal’s only international airport since it saw its first flight in 1949. The current international and domestic terminals are too small to handle the current annual traffic volume of 8.5 million passengers a year that is growing at 20% a year.

Kathmandu airport to cut flight hours

As Kathmandu becomes more congested and polluted, and with remote online work becoming the norm, many professional Nepalis are planning to retire in Pokhara, or move there.&nbsp; With its stunning mountain panorama, balmy winters and proximity to a profusion of wilderness areas, builders are responding to this demand with new townhouses, housing development and apartments. One such block of flats is the 10-storey <a href="https://sungavaapartment.com/">Sungava Apartment</a> located at Phulbari above the Seti River, near the point where it flows into and under Pokhara. The imposing structure near Manipal Hospital is almost complete, and on a recent visit the site was strewn with huge boulders unearthed while digging the foundation.&nbsp; The Seti brought down these boulders during a gigantic flood that geologists estimate happened 800 years ago when a chunk of Annapurna IV broke off and ploughed into the glacier below. Today, Sungava (means ‘orchid’) sits safely on a high terrace, 100m above the blue-green Seti and commands a view of Dhaulagiri, Annapurna South, Machapuchre, Annapurna III and IV.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024102411104_5f8fc736c86ea3c08d7bef43bb727081d3cc1a2caa55ae2b441717e6044de7e9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2024102411104_5f8fc736c86ea3c08d7bef43bb727081d3cc1a2caa55ae2b441717e6044de7e9" data-rendition-name="original" width="2016" height="1512" loading="lazy" alt="High living below the Himalaya NT"> </figure>  The soil here is conglomerate that has solidified like concrete, and the boulders were extracted by heavy earthmovers. It is intriguing to think that these metamorphic rocks as big as cars, rounded by glacial grinding, were once a part of a much higher Annapurna IV. Even for those with little interest in geology, Sungava is an ideal place to contemplate the tectonic forces that pushed these peaks into the sky to be sculpted into delicate shapes by wind, snow, earthquake and avalanche over millions of years. The view of the Himalayan panorama from Sungava’s many balconies are breathtaking when not obscured by clouds, or the haze that drifts in from across the southern border. On most days, just watching the towering pyramid of Machapuchre (Tamu name: कतासुँ क्लिको) play hide and seek with the clouds is mesmerising. There are rocks aplenty at Phulbari, and it is probably the flowers that grew along the flat terraces e that gave the place its flowery name. The boulders will hopefully be turned into a rock garden while landscaping. An nearby restaurant complex is making the best use of the stones in its design, using flat rocks as outdoor benches and tables. Sungava was designed by the husband-wife architect team of Deepak Sherchan and Jyoti Joshi of <a href="https://thedarkmermaidamarbshrestha.blogspot.com/2013/12/creative-builders-collaborative-cbc.html">Creative Builders Collaborative (CBC)</a>, which also built Heritage Plaza, Indreni Apartment and numerous other projects in Nepal. Sadbhavana retains CBC’s trademark Newari-style masonry and here it borrows from the orange brickwork of the old town of Pokhara, integrating it with modern design elements. A few of those heritage houses are still standing in Ganesh Tole and Ram Krishna Tole in Pokhara’s old quarter.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024102411108_5eb64a4885961b6d30781cefeb1e8a313da313ac5227c7a66b60f0c7d48d6fab.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2024102411108_5eb64a4885961b6d30781cefeb1e8a313da313ac5227c7a66b60f0c7d48d6fab" data-rendition-name="original" width="1362" height="595" loading="lazy" alt="High living below the Himalaya NT"> </figure>  About 400m from the apartment past a bend on the river, and down below three tiers of terraces in the canyon is a suspension bridge. Below it, the Seti is still swollen with post-monsoon flow as it tumbles away in a hurry to head down south.&nbsp; Back at the apartment, it is quiet, far away from the hubbub of Lakeside a 15 minute drive away, and in the lap of greenery. There are 52 units at Sungava and it already has a close-knit prospective community of professionals, including doctors, publishers, engineers, and businesspeople from the renewable energy and IT sectors.&nbsp; Some residents say they opted for a second home in Pokhara to make it a ‘base camp’ to explore the Annapurnas with its many hiking trails made newly accessible with new roads. With the NRN citizenship law, overseas Nepalis can now also buy the flats. &nbsp; The floor plans include options for north and south-facing 3-bedroom apartments with verandas, and the facility has underground parking has EV charging, heated pool, sauna and gym. There are still some unsold apartments with panoramic views of the mountains and one can imagine oneself at the kitchen with its huge window, humming a ditty while preparing breakfast: “खाना पकाउँ हिमाल हेरेर...”

High living below the Himalaya

When the United Nations held its Summit of the Future at its headquarters in New York in September, many world leaders, including Nepal’s Prime Minister K P Oli, highlighted the effect of climate breakdown in increasing the frequency and intensity of natural disasters. What did not get as much attention was the long term impact of the climate crisis on food production. In fact, heat stress, weather extremes and the consequences on rain-fed agriculture is already being felt worldwide, undermining the chances of the <a href="https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/">UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)</a> being met by 2030.&nbsp; The SDG’s 17 targets commit countries like Nepal to reduce poverty and inequality, end malnutrition, protect the natural environment, and ensure that citizens all enjoy health, justice and prosperity without leaving anyone behind.&nbsp; However, besides the impact of climate breakdown on agricultural production, in Nepal the area under cultivation is impacted by urban expansion, falling productivity and the need for expensive inputs like fertiliser and pesticides.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_626413c5baf4dae407ac9579231b41daeb51510aa636b75aeb7489d94cca6a62.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241019041052_626413c5baf4dae407ac9579231b41daeb51510aa636b75aeb7489d94cca6a62" data-rendition-name="original" width="999" height="1500" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>Kathmandu's urban sprawl is eating into its fertile cultivable lands. Photo: TAYLOR MASON</figcaption> </figure>  Now, a new study led by Nepali researcher Prajal Pradhan at the University of Groningen in The Netherlands looks at how urban agriculture may offer a solution to falling food production and meeting SDG targets. The researchers evaluated 1,450 publications exploring the contributions of urban agriculture with both positive and negative effects, and published their findings in the journal Cells Report Sustainability. Urban agriculture can help achieve 17 SDGs, positively influencing 81 targets. However, it could also undermine 51 goals.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-vanishing-land">The vanishing land</a>, Taylor Mason “Urban agriculture offers immense potential for sustainable development, but realising this potential depends crucially on adopting practices that minimise its adverse effects while maximising its benefits,” Pradhan explains. Urban agriculture can substantially enhance urban food security, provide employment to the urban poor, serve as ground water recharge in built-up areas, and preserve open spaces that can serve as safe havens during disasters like earthquakes. However, it also presents problems like the potential health risks from contamination and the need for expensive inputs. &nbsp; “Urban agriculture plays a definitive role in advancing the SDGs, but achieving this requires tailored, context-specific solutions that address the unique challenges of different regions,” says Yuanchao Hu of Wuhan University in China and who is a researcher at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. “But it needs equitable access and rigorous management of environmental risks.”&nbsp; Rapid urbanisation is eating into Nepal’s most fertile agricultural land, which means farming in remaining open spaces inside cities can be a viable alternative, especially as food prices rise.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_7b7c9413086226fbdc630d45acf772cfa1ced77a8970b9056ec5ec7e5226fdf8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241019041052_7b7c9413086226fbdc630d45acf772cfa1ced77a8970b9056ec5ec7e5226fdf8" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="999" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>A vegetable patch in between new houses in Thimi. Photo: TAYLOR MASON</figcaption> </figure>  “The conversion of Nepal’s most fertile land into cities is a severe problem,” Pradhan told Nepali Times. “Crop cultivation, horticulture, agroforestry, beekeeping, livestock rearing, or aquaculture can all be farming activities within and around cities.”&nbsp; The study makes recommendations for sustainable practices that build on the positive aspects of urban agriculture while mitigating the downsides, thereby promoting more resilient cities in future. Research shows that urban agriculture has been helping many countries attain SDG targets by enhancing food security and biodiversity while helping education and preservation of open spaces.&nbsp; Indeed, many farmers from the hinterland who have settled in Kathmandu Valley or other urban areas of the country have been practicing urban agriculture, leasing neighbourhood patches or cultivating roof gardens both out of necessity because of inflation and falling income to grow their own food, and also as a fulfilling hobby. Saurav Dhakal, a sustainability advocate with Story Cycle and now research fellow at the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand, says there are socio-economic and environmental benefits of urban agriculture. “It provides benefits to all urban dwellers, regardless of their income status,” says Dhakal, “families get fresh food, and there are many other benefits like water retention, heat regulation and biodiversity. These are all public goods, so special government incentives may be needed.” It is not unusual to see vegetable patches and even paddy fields within inner city Kathmandu where an older generation of farmers are using available fertile land and <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/rooftop-gardens-kathmandu,1415">roof gardens to produce fresh, nutritious food </a>to reduce their dependence on food items that have to be bought after being trucked in from large distances.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024101905100_1291ce98dbbb8caed8702ac4b1d469b3e13016d7ecaaf3bfd5f91c974d3c0c77.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2024101905100_1291ce98dbbb8caed8702ac4b1d469b3e13016d7ecaaf3bfd5f91c974d3c0c77" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="999" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>An older generation of farmers are using any available fertile land to continue farming but it is getting more and more difficult. Photo: TAYLOR MASON </figcaption> </figure>  Nepal’s urban population grew rapidly from only 3.6% in 1991 to 25% today. There is large outmigration from the mountains to peri-urban areas of the Tarai, to Kathmandu Valley and Pokhara, with many young men then moving abroad for work. Kathmandu Valley’s population has swelled to nearly 3 million, and is growing at 6.5% a year. Dilip Shrestha, 71, used to work for Nepal Food Corporation, so he knew firsthand about inflation, shortages and vegetables with pesticide residue. So, when he designed his new house in Kathmandu, he built a spacious roof where he grows cucumber, ginger, garlic, coriander, onions, tomatoes, chili, beans, okra, pumpkin and lettuce. His family eats healthier, and he has reduced dependence on the market.&nbsp; The co-author of the Cell Reports Sustainability journal article, Daya Raj Subedi who is a PhD candidate at Beijing Forestry University, says urban agriculture also promotes inclusion and psycho-social wellbeing.&nbsp; He says, “A crucial finding of the study is the identification of opportunities and challenges associated with urban agriculture, it can promote sustainable transformation of society.” In Banepa, 55-year-old Bijaya Manandhar in her lifetime has watched the fertile farms of her neighbourhood that used to supply vegetables to Kathmandu, now completely built up with no open space left. The pandemic lockdown prompted her to turn to the family’s <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/rooftop-agriculture-on-the-roof-of-the-world">ancestral livelihood by growing food</a> not on terrace farms, but on the roof terrace. Manandhar is now a part of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/rooftop-agriculture-on-the-roof-of-the-world%5C%5C">कौसी खेती र करेसाबारी क्रान्ती</a> (Rooftop Farming and Garden Revolution) which has an online membership of 52,000, and awards annual prizes to women who excel in urban agriculture.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_7257f5def8f823f35a799fa6f6825e153f2ffa406ac11325d4fe74049b79e96d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20241019041052_7257f5def8f823f35a799fa6f6825e153f2ffa406ac11325d4fe74049b79e96d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="736" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>Rooftop farming is gaining popularity as a form of urban agriculture. </figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_beff1a4494ce896dd8fd383ee1f518e5448bcf7ea8bb138255391c7bcb9769ed.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20241019041052_beff1a4494ce896dd8fd383ee1f518e5448bcf7ea8bb138255391c7bcb9769ed" data-rendition-name="original" width="4000" height="3000" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> </figure>  Pradhan says the challenge now is to upscale such examples of successful urban agricultural practices so they support Neal’s efforts to meet SDG targets. He adds, “Crop cultivation around cities can be protected by land use plans and regulations. Promoting community-based agriculture, including rooftop gardens, requires community engagement and public-private partnerships across the food value chain.”&nbsp; Such support would accelerate the popularity of existing rooftop farming and community gardens in Kathmandu Valley, or kitchen garden initiatives in Pokhara, and building on traditional farming practices that are preserved and integrated into urban settings like in Bhaktapur and Banepa. In Lalitpur, the Women Entrepreneurship Facilitation Center promotes urban farming enhancing both sustainability and empowerment.&nbsp; Another co-author of the report, Yuanchao Hu from China says followup research of the team will aim to identify good practices in local urban agriculture practices. He adds, “There are examples of urban agriculture that optimise sustainability, ensuring that it remains a viable solution for cities globally while countries try to meet SDG targets.” Prajal Pradhan, Daya Raj Subedi, Kshitij Dahal, Yuanchao Hu, Prakriti Gurung, Sijal Pokharel, Sagar Kafle, Biplav Khatri, Sudeeksha Basyal, Monika Gurung, and Aruna Joshi. Urban Agriculture matters for sustainable development. Cell Reports Sustainability, 1:100217, 2024. [DOI: 10.1016/j.crsus.2024.100217] Prajal Pradhan (<a href="mailto:p.pradhan@rug.nl">p.pradhan@rug.nl</a>) 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_14" data-image-id="20240630110640_30c3782f9c09219bf1c249b51483a3cfb7a53a06d117d2aebd23ca7080d12758" data-rendition-name="original" width="680" height="103" loading="lazy" alt="SDG logo"> </figure>

Back to the land in the cities

The 700-year-old Lakshmi Narasingha temple in Bhaktapur houses a rare half-lion and half-human incarnation of Lord Vishnu carrying the Goddess Lakshmi. The temple was destroyed in the 1934 mega earthquake that killed 10,000 people and destroyed many monuments in Kathmandu Valley. It was rebuilt by a German project in the 1980s, but as a single-storey structure instead of its original two-tier pagoda design.&nbsp; With new findings from in-depth research, Bhaktapur municipality began re-restoring the temple in 2021, preserving its original architecture.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_2fae38cce543ad7b1f6de632feb3e212e08ed1acedd747830e949d7b8e878f18.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20241017131016_2fae38cce543ad7b1f6de632feb3e212e08ed1acedd747830e949d7b8e878f18" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  “Our temples and heritage sites hold deep meaning. It is disheartening to witness how often they lose their original elements, whether by design or accident,” explains Kumar Chawal of the Consumer Committee of Bhaktapur. “There is a need to preserve our architecture and protect its historical value for future generations. Otherwise, we risk losing a vital part of our identity.” The Laksmi Narsingha restoration is similar to the Bhai Dega temple in Patan Darbar Square which also collapsed in 1934, but was rebuilt with a Moghul-style dome by the Rana government at the time. Only two months before the 2015 earthquake, heritage conservationists had started to rebuild Bhai Dega as the original three-tier based on early photographs. But priorities shifted when four other temples in the square were brought down by the 7.8M earthquake on 25 April 2015.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_697ea707d9ad163be5de5f2efbf5b70d3cab771adcc22f0fae6bf937c6cb0130.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241017131016_697ea707d9ad163be5de5f2efbf5b70d3cab771adcc22f0fae6bf937c6cb0130" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  This showed how damage to monuments in Kathmandu Valley spanned from one earthquake to the next. Bhai Dega restoration remains half-complete to this day because money for its restoration ran out.&nbsp; Whereas Bhai Dega restoration was done by the Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust with grants from western embassies and international foundations, in Bhaktapur it is the municipality itself that allocated the Rs30.7 million needed to restore the Lakshmi Narasingha temple. The expected date of completion is early 2025. The municipality and local communities are focusing on two main aspects: preserving the past and promoting localisation. The restoration team has designed a blueprint for the temple by using historical photographs and insights from older generations.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_182882fdc393c99e70d1d0490319e415229563666c4934e3a582426ebf00ca30.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241017131016_182882fdc393c99e70d1d0490319e415229563666c4934e3a582426ebf00ca30" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="560" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  “At first, the Lakshmi Narasingha temple had only one entrance, but during the demolition process, we uncovered the foundations of four doors. Now, we are restoring all of them. This is an example of how our ancient structures have changed over time, often without our knowledge,” says Chawal. “Constructing temples is not like building houses. They carry historical and spiritual values, which is why they hold a special place in our hearts,” he adds. By replicating ancient design elements and rebuilding the temple as accurately as possible to its original form, the team has stayed true to Bhaktapur’s soul. But the restoration also revived ancient techniques that were in danger of being forgotten, generating employment for woodcarvers, masons, and contractors. The community of Bhaktapur’s Gahiti neighbourhood near the famous Nyatapola Temple has also set aside specific days for locals to volunteer in the reconstruction work. This has encouraged young people to take pride in ownership of their heritage. Families have also supported the effort by donating funds for bells, the temple pinnacle, and other structural features to the temple.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_db850ec0c084cdbe54f65bee92dad2ad8122d20fd60ec87ec086fbb9d2f72bd6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241017131016_db850ec0c084cdbe54f65bee92dad2ad8122d20fd60ec87ec086fbb9d2f72bd6" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  “I feel at peace knowing I have contributed my sweat to restoring this temple,” said one volunteer. “It is our duty to preserve our temples and heritage. The Nyatapola area will look magical once this temple is completed.” Community mobilisation is a long-standing tradition in Bhaktapur. In the past, locals have actively participated in the restoration of other temples in the city, such as Bhairav and Nyatapola fostering a strong sense of ownership. This collective engagement has not only been crucial in preserving the city's historical monuments but also in strengthening the bond between local communities and their heritage, says officials at the municipality. While securing funding is essential, and the municipality showed it values heritage conservation, the Lakshmi Narasingha restoration is proof that active involvement and sense of responsibility of the local community is as important, if not more. Local involvement also means that the monuments will be cared for into the future, When locals take ownership of these efforts, the restored monuments are not only protected in the present but are also cared for in the future.