<figure><img width="800" height="534" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011114/636ccce29c7e80680e08bc47jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>For those growing up in the 1980s in Kathmandu, the 'Green Belt' became a familiar term as poplars rose up along the Ring Road. Over the years, this strip of green gave Kathmandu some breathing space as the city grew at breakneck speed.Slowly, encroachment, carelessness and road expansion decimated the trees. The poplars were the first to go, then the jacarandas that lined the streets were cut, too.From a Green Belt Kathmandu has become a Dust Bowl. But all is not lost, the tree-lined Darbar Marg to neighbourhood beautification at Narayan Chaur have shown that if communities get together it is possible to revive the Valley’s lungs. Kathmandu will benefit from developing a series of linked water bodies, open spaces, parks and patches of urban forests, by not only connecting fragmented green spaces but also increase their <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/ecosystem-services" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.britannica.com/science/ecosystem-services&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1613961396459000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHNy6efdfO2ocEdezKqw7uT7zdIvA">ecosystem services</a>, a concept that gives economic value to restoring nature. <figure><img width="900" height="600" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011114/636ccce59c7e80680e08bc48jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Lack of open, green spaces takes a daily toll on the lives of the residents who have limited space for walking or other social activities. The abject lack of greenery in Kathmandu is a contributing factor to not just physiological but also psychological stress.  Sprawling, insensitive and haphazard development over the years have over-run what remained of open spaces. More recently, Kathmandu has experienced annual flooding during monsoon and extreme temperatures, a new phenomenon for the city’s residents. According to the World Economic Forum, access to green open space and a feeling of social connection creates liveable and vibrant cities. The small open spaces that remain are not a result of planning but due to litigation (Tinkune) or neglect (Tundikhkel). But even here, they provide people a place to unwind and de-stress with friends and family. The new corridors long the Bagmati, Dhobi Khola and other rivulets have constricted the floodplains, but at least the banks are tree-lined. <figure><img width="1620" height="1326" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011114/636ccce79c7e80680e08bc49jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Tree have many obvious positive aspects like emitting oxygen, muffling noise pollution, moderating temperature. But also little-known benefits like releasing essential oils like <a href="http://forest-therapy.net/healthbenefits.html#:~:text=The%20Power%20of%20Phytoncides,from%20harmful%20insects%20and%20germs." data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://forest-therapy.net/healthbenefits.html%23:~:text%3DThe%2520Power%2520of%2520Phytoncides,from%2520harmful%2520insects%2520and%2520germs.&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1613961396459000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEBeJr9Bu62qWjZE3KlyEK_kbeYiQ">phytoncides</a>, which help physical and mental wellbeing in humans.  While Kathmandu has not yet seen a campaign that calls for the protection and preservation of nature, we have in the recent years seen some movement around keeping open spaces intact. For many Kathmandu residents, the realisation sank in after the 2015 earthquake. “It is important to tell the masses how our open spaces are being encroached upon and why they should be preserved,” says Vijaya Shrestha, who coordinated the <a href="https://kathmandupost.com/valley/2019/11/03/occupy-tundikhel-hopes-to-reclaim-the-public-spaces-that-are-being-encroached-upon" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://kathmandupost.com/valley/2019/11/03/occupy-tundikhel-hopes-to-reclaim-the-public-spaces-that-are-being-encroached-upon&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1613961396459000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHdN6c71qc2W6gJlrcRR7hbLQJmRg">Occupy Tundikhel campaign</a>. Organised by a youth group, it was an attempt to spread awareness about the importance of open spaces of which Tundikhel was a prominent symbol. The historical and cultural importance of this once-vast maidan pre-dates its function as a military parade ground. But Tundikhel has been steadily encroached upon by the Army, and it is now only a sliver of its former expanse.  <figure><img width="900" height="600" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011114/636ccceb9c7e80680e08bc4ajpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Restoring it to its original boundary would not only provide Kathmandu with lungs, but also preserve its historical significance, as well as serve as a refuge in future disasters as it did in the 1934 and 2015 earthquakes. The Kathmandu Valley Development Authority has identified <a href="http://www.kvda.gov.np/documents/Document_201603060220.pdf" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.kvda.gov.np/documents/Document_201603060220.pdf&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1613961396459000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG815pF4cE_1ijidwisGrC2XpBHOA">887 open spaces</a> within the Kathmandu Valley: 488 sites in Kathmandu, 345 in Lalitpur, and 53 in Bhaktapur. Among these, 58% of the area is usable for public activities. These open spaces vary in size, services, and function. But identifying open spaces alone cannot guarantee their protection unless the feeling of ownership can be developed among the communities.Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) has been developing a plan to carve out 36 parks of varying sizes and services in the city, in collaboration with 11 municipalities to develop other green spaces around the valley. So far, the plans have been restricts to maps and their sustainable management will be a challenge. Issues of ownership are unclear, and the lack of belongingness can lead to poor maintenance, commercialisation and encroachment. In some cases, open space development has turned into <a href="https://books.openedition.org/pressesinalco/457?lang=en#:~:text=For%20Baviskar%20(2011a)%2C%20bourgeois,conservation%20agenda%20(protected%20parks%2C%20sanctuaries" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://books.openedition.org/pressesinalco/457?lang%3Den%23:~:text%3DFor%2520Baviskar%2520(2011a)%252C%2520bourgeois,conservation%2520agenda%2520(protected%2520parks%252C%2520sanctuaries&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1613961396459000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH0o98Ms0HISZLOJy4IV1uO901PeA">bourgeois environmentalism</a>--with high boundary walls, restricted opening times, and fees that favour a few well-off people. This deprives ordinary citizens from access to greenery. The valley’s open spaces are fragmented, and unplanned urbanisation has left them disconnected with each other. They can be linked through <a href="http://www.futura-sciences.us/dico/d/sustainable-development-ecological-corridor-50000683/#:~:text=An%20ecological%20corridor%2C%20which%20is,dependent%20on%20a%20single%20environment" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.futura-sciences.us/dico/d/sustainable-development-ecological-corridor-50000683/%23:~:text%3DAn%2520ecological%2520corridor%252C%2520which%2520is,dependent%2520on%2520a%2520single%2520environment&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1613961396459000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG_gwjfaTuWzzPYurx3rDO8_4STqQ">ecological corridors</a> that help plants and animals spread, migrate, as well as rehabilitate environments. <figure><img width="900" height="600" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011114/636ccced9c7e80680e08bc4bjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Kathmandu’s river corridors have been designed purely for vehicular traffic. However, we can develop riverbanks as green corridors—which would also help reduce flooding. Last spring’s colourful blossoms along the river corridor show what is possible. Likewise, Kathmandu’s Ring Road and major road networks can create and connect green spaces. Tree-lined streetscapes will create an ecological corridor, providing a continuous shaded path to the urban population, and a movement corridor for birds, insects, and small creatures. Technically, connecting green spaces is possible if the city’s environment department stands up strong against destructive development. The bigger challenge is a social and political willingness to participate in preserving and taking ownership of nature’s aesthetics.Nilima Thapa Shrestha is an architect and urban planner. <img width="800" height="534" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011114/636cccf19c7e80680e08bc4cjpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="900" height="600" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011114/636cccf59c7e80680e08bc4djpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="900" height="593" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011114/636cccf89c7e80680e08bc4ejpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="800" height="534" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011114/636cccfa9c7e80680e08bc4fjpeg.jpg" alt="">Kathmandu’s river corridors have been designed purely for vehicular traffic. However, we can develop riverbanks as green corridors—which would also help reduce flooding. Last spring’s colourful blossoms along the river corridor show what is possible. Likewise, Kathmandu’s Ring Road and major road networks can create and connect green spaces. Tree-lined streetscapes will create an ecological corridor, providing a continuous shaded path to the urban population, and a movement corridor for birds, insects, and small creatures. Technically, connecting green spaces is possible if the city’s environment department stands up strong against destructive development. The bigger challenge is a social and political willingness to participate in preserving and taking ownership of nature’s aesthetics. Nilima Thapa Shrestha is an architect and urban planner.

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A green city is a smart city

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141124/636a58799c7e80680e054839jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1050"/><figcaption>Photos: MARTY LOGAN</figcaption></figure>When I’ve had enough of the smog, barking dogs, crowds and cacophony of Kathmandu I seek out my ‘oasis’, a small piece of green real estate that, I’m sure, slows my heartbeat and lowers my blood pressure on sight in — Dilibazar.Yes, that’s right, Dilibazar, one of the oldest suburbs of 20th-century Kathmandu, once known for its sweet shops and the derelict Charkhal Jail, but today recognisable by the educational consultancies and their billboards — ‘Study in Australia, Canada, Cyprus, England, Greece, Ireland! — that have spilled onto its streets from Putali Sadak. It’s definitely not the first place that comes to mind when you think of Kathmandu and nature.My paradise is small and tranquil, wild but constrained by the boundaries of private property. On its fringes is an old, intact Nepali brick house and surrounding it 1960s-vintage concrete homes, one of them belonging to my in-laws. It is from my sasurali, the dining room windows to be precise, that I gaze onto the neighbours’ pocket-sized ‘jungle’ with its plum, pomegranate, pecan and avocado trees, small copse of bamboo and a barely visible path, fringed by wild flowers in warmer months, which passes by a tiny temple.If I step back slowly from the dining-room window, holding my gaze, I soon reach a point where the brown frame is filled with green only. Marvelling, I approach again, push open the glass and breathe deeply, in wonder that this tiny piece of nature remains and can draw me so strongly, while all around it the concrete jungle grows.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141124/636a587d9c7e80680e05483ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="1240">Research in recent years has tried to quantify how trees affect human health. By filtering air pollution, trees averted $6.8 million yearly in health costs in the US, a 2014 study in the journal Environmental Pollution found. In Toronto, having 10 more trees than average on a street was comparable to a $10,000 increase in personal income, and moving to an area with a $10,000 higher median income or being 7 years younger.Nature has long drawn me. When I was about 10, my family spent the weekend on an island a short boat ride away from our town. While the adults talked inside, I wandered away, towards the ocean, hopping from stone to stone to avoid the mud and pools of water left behind by the retreating tide.Bending to peer into one of those tidepools an entire, tiny world emerged: orange crabs crawled out from under stones, the movement sending up miniature clouds of sand that obscured the scuttling crustaceans. Tiny fish darted, and the long-legged bugs we called ‘water skimmers’ zoomed across the surface. It was only when I heard a voice calling me that I realised I had been lost in my new world — until my brother arrived to make sure I had not passed out, or worse.Years later, an earnest student in Vancouver, I passed far too many hours peering into books under the stark lights of university rooms, but then waiting for the night bus to take me home I would fall under the spell of a row of giant poplar trees that on windy nights swayed in the street-lit shadows above, their leaves rustling like running water.Fast forward to our first move to Kathmandu, searching for an apartment. We turned the corner of a galli not far from the Charkhal Jail and a magnificent camphor tree rose at the T-junction ahead. I knew then that I wanted to live on that alley, and soon after we signed the contract.Back in Toronto seven years later, we were visiting another possible rental in the heart of Canada’s biggest city. At one end of the delightfully long apartment was a former balcony, converted into a room for four-season living. Outside its huge windows a stand of maple trees rose above the parking lot. Here’s a future office, I thought, and we were lucky enough to rent that apartment too.Today, I am again fortunate to live in a relatively green section of Kathmandu, with a backyard that hosts guava, mango, avocado, and other fruit trees. Unless the neighbourhood dogs are yapping, birdsong wakes me in the morning and frogs call insistently after a nighttime monsoon rain.I have been luckier than most people to live so often next to nature, which bestows enormous benefits often in small, simple ways. I could spend hours soaking in my Dilibazar jungle, but I get the same pleasure from hearing raindrops hit the leaves of the trees outside my open window.Postscript: The owner of the Dilibazar jewel died in mid-August, before I could go and ask how he managed to preserve a natural paradise amid the steadily shrinking ‘empty’ spaces of the neighbourhood. I dedicate this article to that man I never met, for withstanding the pressure to sell out and cash in.I am not exactly sure what motivated him to conserve his patch of land, but hearing that just before he died he had asked one of his children to bring him seedlings from overseas, I’m confident it went beyond simply keeping the valuable property in the family.

Marty Logan

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The lure of green

<img width="1100" height="1105" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141116/636a57479c7e80680e0547d2jpeg.jpg" alt=""/>T here are many types of traditional roof tiles in Kathmandu: broad tiles, slender tiles, half-cylinders, or the elegant jhingati. Before concrete buildings started sprouting up with flat roofs, the Valley’s old towns all had distinctive sloping red-tiled roofs.Even though houses with traditional roofs are now rare, tiles are being put to all kinds of creative uses, including to reduce the energy cost of cooling or heating homes and offices. One such example is a rooftop pavilion at the headquarters of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in Khumaltar (see box).Terracotta tiles are hard to beat in terms of sustainability and climate responsiveness, compared to concrete slabs or steel sheets. Concrete is all the rage today because of its supposed strength and water-resistance, but it makes buildings costly to heat or cool.  <img width="200" height="200" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141116/636a57499c7e80680e0547d3jpeg.jpg" alt="">Well-made roof tiles are common in traditional architecture, dating back to Mesopotamia. In the Middle Ages, the clay was moulded by men on the tops of their thighs, and tapered down to the knee naturally, allowing the tiles to overlap each other. Cuzco in the Peruvian Andes, historic Lijiang in China and Dubrovnik on the Adriatic coast all offer stunning roofscapes, and have World Heritage status because of their tiles.Kathmandu Valley’s roof tile grid is unique in the world. The jhingati has a distinct non-linear feel, almost like scales on a pangolin’s armour. The crafted roof, with its ingenious overlaps and slightly rotated grid, protects the interior of the historic buildings from slashing monsoon rains. The tiles come in a spectrum of carmine, scarlet-red, vermillion and tangerine orange colours. Upon close observation, one can even see palm and thumb prints of the potters who moulded each piece by hand decades, sometimes centuries, ago.Read also: <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.15px;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/starting-nepals-green-school-movement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Starting Nepal’s green school movement</a>, Sheilin Teo <figure><img width="1100" height="1238" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141116/636a574a9c7e80680e0547d4jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Wang Shui, the first Chinese to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2012, saw many historic villages had been razed in the area where the new Ningbo Museum in China was to be built. As the architect of the museum, Wang Sui worked with building materials from the houses in the villages.Wang Sui felt that bricks and tiles had memory and identity, and that there was a relationship between people and building materials. The museum was completed in 2008 and recycled bricks and roof tiles in its construction.Each tile and brick in Kathmandu today has a history, a tale to tell about the forgotten potters who moulded them from the Valley’s clay soil, fired and fitted them on roofs. They are a part of our heritage and should be preserved, re-used or upcycled.  Prof Anne Feenstra is a laureate of the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture 2012 (Paris) and set up Sustainable Mountain Architecture in Nepal in 2013. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/this-is-how-to-upgrade-nepals-rural-health/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This is how to upgrade Nepal’s rural health,</a> Sewa Bhattarai <h2>Upscaling jhingati tiles </h2> <img width="1000" height="655" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141116/636a574d9c7e80680e0547d5jpeg.jpg" alt="">At the head office of ICIMOD in Kathmandu, Sustainable Mountain Architecture (SMA) designed an experimental project to upcycle nearly 1,500 tiles salvaged from the ruins of buildings after the 2015 earthquake.The design provides improved access to an open-air meeting room and future individual work stations by carefully cutting open the existing concrete roof slab and adding a light and sturdy steel structure.For safety and orientation, filtered daylight was needed from all four directions of the pavilion and staircase. But making it from glass only would drive up temperatures in summer and make it too cold in winter. This is where the jhingati proved useful.Although it would be best if the jhingati were returned to the roofs they once protected, after the earthquake they were stacked by ruins and were deteriorating. Some had been used to make garden walls to replace bricks.Many schools that were quickly rebuilt after the 2015 earthquakes did not re-use traditional tiles. Children fainted in some cases, as the radiation heat inside became too much under galvanised steel roofs. Monsoon rain made it impossible to hear the teacher.Read also: <a href="nepalitimes.com/business/energy-saving-soaltee/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Energy saving Soaltee</a>, Nepali Times <figure><img width="1000" height="575" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141116/636a574f9c7e80680e0547d6jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Traditionally, these petite 200 x 105mm fired clay tiles stick to the roof on a fresh layer of clay, while a 8mm linear depression grips two tiles. The tiles absorb heat, are UV resistant and are effective in varying humidity levels.The tiles were collected, cleaned and they are now on all four facades of the ICIMOD pavilion as a ‘brise soleil’. They capture the diffused daylight, while keeping the harsh, direct sunlight out (pictured, above)This climate-responsive design obviates the need for air-conditioning or additional heating. The passive solar energy through the filtered light keeps the pavilion comfortable. An inserted mesh between the roof and tops of the four walls makes natural cross-ventilation possible. In the hottest months, an open door increases the natural chimney effect of hot air going up and out. In the night, four 18W LED lights provide ample illumination.The jhingati tiles are held in light metal frames with two clasps. Each tile forms an evocative mini louvre and is placed in families that make up the superior panels. The subtle diamond-shaped pattern casts soft silhouette shadows, creating a spatial elegance.Upcycling is one of the ways the Nepali non-profit team at SMA gives expression to its designs. They elicit architectural support to Nepali builders while drawing lessons from vernacular wisdom.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/building-back-cheaper-and-stronger/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Building back cheaper and stronger</a>, Sapana Shakya and Aman Raj Khatakho

Protecting Kathmandu’s historic roofscape

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd1KeYcDjcg&amp;feature=youtu.beKathmandu was described by early expats as an ‘emerald valley’. During the monsoon, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/not-so-soon-monsoon/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">terrace paddy fields</a> and forested hills carpeted the basin in verdant shades of green.Today, there is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-vanishing-land/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">barely any green spaces left</a>. But in a small way, Spanish artist Iñigo Iriarte is out to change that. ‘Indi’, as the Pamplona native likes to be called (in photo below), paints walls with a palette of living plants.His geotextile canvas is a moist fabric wall alive with leaves and roots, flowers and fruits, water, air and colonies of tiny living creatures. The vertical gardens are living art with broad strokes of a variety of green and tufts of vivid moss, daubs of purple, orange or white where flowers have bloomed.Read also:<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/rooftop-gardens-kathmandu,1415" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hanging gardens of Kathmandu</a>, Santa Gaha Magar<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-vanishing-land/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vanishing land</a>, Taylor MasonIriarte borrows heavily from expressionist tendencies when he paints on stretched canvas. Similarly, these living compositions speak of the artist's dual love for the city and nature, but also of how they struggle to coexist.Iriarte moved to Kathmandu two years ago with his wife and found reasons and an opportunity here to venture beyond his indoor paint-and-canvas studio into open space. It all started after he was invited to not just paint the inside wall of a spa at Shaligram Hotel, but also cover a blank white wall in the courtyard with a vertical garden.The result was a stunning green wall stretching across a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/water-of-the-ages/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dhara spout</a> and basin like an oasis. A sudden calming presence, perfect preparation for a spa client to experience a restful treatment to come.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814114/636a54729c7e80680e0523adjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="836" height="1400"/>Kathmandu’s latitude is subtropical, but its altitude lends a distinctive climate, rich with summer rain and cooled with dry winters. There is enough moisture and warmth for plants to thrive, so a cityscape of blank walls and hard surfaces could easily be regreened by vertical gardens.Iñigo Iriarte is inspired by French botanist Patrick Blanc, a pioneer of vertical gardens, but takes an ecosystem approach to his selection of plants. Many vertical gardens fail because they are ornamental and used for a wow effect, with little regard for how individual plants like to grow.Iriarte optimises nature’s own tendencies to create resilient ecosystems and microclimates that regulate themselves. He selects plants and places them according to natural growth patterns: those that prefer drier root biomes are higher, where there may be less water. Plants that thrive in wetter conditions are placed lower on the wall.He does not pander to those who just want a green wall — he will leave space free for moss and other unidentified free loaders to take residence on nutrient-rich walls. Sometimes, parasitic plants hitch a ride on their nursery hosts and take root alongside them, becoming part of the family. Occasionally, plants fail and need to be replaced.One of Iriarte’s sites, at the rooftop Rain Restaurant in Jawalakhel, is alive with over 25 varieties, from orchids to monstera, ferns to succulents, bromeliads to bamboo and surprisingly — on a wall of matted fibre and root substrates of crumpled fabric — fruiting citrus plants. There is also rosemary, happily sticking to its sunny spot on the south facing wall. “Plant health and happiness, and their ensuing resilience, is key,” explains Iriarte.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/something-fishy-in-new-nepal-farm/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Something fishy in new Nepal farm</a>, Hrijata Dahal<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814114/636a54759c7e80680e0523aejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1125"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The wall at Rain is based on <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/something-fishy-in-new-nepal-farm/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">aquaponics</a> and recycles water from a fish tank below the plants to the microbially dense geotextile wall. The wall acts as a biofilter to convert water rich in ammonia from fish waste into water rich with nitrates and other nutrients that the plants can absorb, thus making it clean and safe enough to be returned to the fish tank in a water cycle.Rain’s managing partner Tara Adhikari plucks sprigs of rosemary or fruits from the tiny lime tree for some of his classy cocktails, saying: “We make good cocktails because of the freshness of the ingredients we use, some of which come from Indi’s wall. A vertical garden is a new concept in Nepal, and we took a risk, but the guests like it.”Every installation is different, tailored to its context, taking into account aspect, exposure to the elements and purpose. For the three walls Iriarte has installed in Kathmandu, including a testing bed at home, all the hardware and plants are locally sourced.“It would be great to see plants of the surrounding mountains here to green the city using the least space possible and with maximum effect in cleaning the air and creating calm living environments for people and other living creatures,” says Iriarte.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/between-existence-and-extinction-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Between existence and extinction in Nepal</a>, Sonia AwaleNot many other countries can boast a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/between-existence-and-extinction-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">landscape as three-dimensional and vertical</a> as Nepal, and it is fitting that even as Kathmandu is built up, vertical walls can help it reclaim some greenery and bring back plants, birds, insects and microbes to coexist with humans.Instagram: the_vertical_ garden_architect

Garden walls

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110813118/636a47119c7e80680e04d411jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="726"/><figcaption>Bharati Pathak, Chair FECOFUN. Pic: Onlinekhabar.com</figcaption></figure>Onlinekhabar.com, 17 JuneParliament’s Agriculture Committee has started debating the government’s draft bill to amend and integrate the Forestry Law. Just as there was opposition to changes in the Guthi Bill and bills on the Media Council and National Human Rights Commission, stakeholders also have concerns about revisions in more than two dozen clauses in the forestry bill.The main critic is the Federation of Community Forest User Groups Nepal (FECOFUN), whose Chair, Bharati Pathak, says community forests would cease to exist if the proposed changes are passed.Clause 31, sub-clause 5 in the draft amendment says, ‘members of user groups shall be legally considered to be government employees’. This means that the 22,236 community forest user groups and their 100,000 members will no longer be volunteers if the law is adopted.Pathak says with a note of irony: “If they consider us government employees, then why don’t they also give us the same pay and facilities as civil servants and allow us to get into Singha Darbar?”FECOFUN says the new law would take away its independent decision-making power on the sale of forest products and hand it over to the Divisional Forest Office. The federation also opposes a clause that would make the DFO a member of the community forestry group.FECOFUN also wants restrictions on farming included in a clause that would ban settlements inside community forests, and another clause inserted stating that community forest management should be the main priority. The group argues also that the community forestry campaign should be added to the list of ‘national pride projects’, because of its contribution to ecosystem services, biodiversity protection, job creation and the role it plays in contributing to the carbon sink in Nepal.Stakeholders are worried that proposed changes to the law would allow the government’s DFO to arbitrarily dismiss a community forest, or seize its land if the user group is deemed not to have fulfilled its commitments.“We agree that a guilty individual should be punished, but to abolish an institution because of the mistake of one person is not right,” Pathak says. “It’s like you do away with the Home Ministry because one of its civil servants is corrupt.”FECOFUN is also opposed to paying taxes to all three levels of government, especially because user groups dedicate 35% of profits from the sale of forest products for the under-served and women. Additionally, it does not want community forests inside nationally protected forests to be affected if they are transferred to conservation areas.Abdullah Miya in Kantipur, 27 June Even though the Forestry Act 25 years ago granted community forestry user groups independence to decide on the price and sale of forestry products, a draft amendment to the act would revoke that right.Clause 18 of the new law would require the user groups to submit an application to the Divisional Forest Office to approve any sale of timber, charcoal, bark, grass, fodder, wild honey, herbal products, soil, boulders, rocks, sand and other products found in a forest.FECOFUN Chair Bharati Pathak said: “The country is now a federal republic, but control of forests is being handed back to the DFO... our user committees had been deciding on the price and sale of products and how to spend proceeds to uplift the poor and marginalised. This right is being taken away from us.”Former Forest Secretary Udaya Raj Sharma says it appears that the government is trying to exert more control over community forests.“Nepal’s community forest system is a model, and has now become part of the country’s identity – it should not be restricted.”Forestry activist Bhola Khatiwada says community forests helped increase the country’s woodlands from 39.36% to 44.74%, and yet the new law would take away the rights of the user groups that made this possible.

Taking away forests from communities

https://youtu.be/TjoXT_Pu2koWith its new highway to the north, Surkhet has become the gateway to the Karnali and is morphing into a boomtown. But 10 minutes out of the dusty, bustling city nestled amidst a terraced landscape, the Kopila Valley School (KVS) is a functioning model for the rest of Nepal on how schools should be built and administered.At a time when progress is marked by the rise of glass and concrete structures, the school employs rammed-earth technology with an ecofriendly philosophy that uses local materials for construction, harnesses the sun and sewage for energy, harvests rainwater and minimises waste.But even founder Maggie Doyne at first needed convincing by architect Prabal Thapa to accept a mud design for the buildings. Her vision of an environment-friendly school was one made of bamboo, like the Green School she had seen in Bali.“Look, we’re not in Bali,” Thapa told her. “We are in Nepal, and Nepal is known for mountains. With rammed earth, you’re making mountains.”Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/quake-was-a-learning-experience-for-nepals-schools/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Quake was a learning experience for Nepal’s schools</a>, Prakriti Kandel<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/lowest-common-denominator/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lowest common denominator</a>, Editorial<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a41ae9c7e80680e04a68cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1049"/><figcaption>All photos: SHEILIN TEO</figcaption></figure>Rammed earth provides excellent thermal mass to keep temperature stable indoors, it uses local material and labour, the structure is durable and easy to maintain. The walls are nearly 0.5m thick, and reinforced with steel and concrete banding for seismic resistance.“We wanted the school to feel Nepali through and through, to stay true to local architecture that is so stunningly beautiful,” explains Doyne, showing us around the campus.The two-storey school blocks are simple and rectangular, with gabled roofs, breezy stairwells, and are connected by corridors on one side, much like traditional farmhouses in Nepal. The buildings are designed as modular blocks that can be arranged in various ways to suit the landscape and functions required by the school. The simplicity and repeatability of the modules were important considerations to allow ease of building by unskilled local labourers, many of them women trained on the job.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a41b19c7e80680e04a68djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="5000" height="1784"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Standing within the grounds, it becomes clear why buildings were sited as they were: they form a protective coterie around a central sports court and create ancillary terraces where children play. The topography creates opportunities for passive surveillance from the administrative block that sits towards the top of the sloping site, and plenty of gathering and resting places along stone-lined steps that double as bleachers overlooking play areas and gardens. When children pour out of their classrooms, they tumble across the sports court and down the stairs, bobbing along ramps that slice across the school’s terrace walls brightly coloured in house colours of reds, blues, yellows and greens.Read also:<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19495#.XOah1BYzbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bhaktapur</a>, Lukas Grimm<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=12450#.XOahzhYzbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mud, glorious mud</a>, Nripal Adhikari“Construction was so difficult, and the only thing that got us through the really hard moments was knowing that one day there would be kids in these classrooms,” Doyne says, explaining that complications in scheduling, budgets and differences of opinion about expectations and work values of intercultural and international teams proved to be challenges.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a41b49c7e80680e04a68ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2500" height="2174"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The project is not just a simple school. Strengthened with steel, stabilised with cement and concrete, fitted with high performance, durable windows, the school buildings called for experience and skills beyond those required by a traditional project. More advanced, outside-the-box technology gives the campus an edge of self-sufficiency, ease of maintenance and durability.Green technology comes at a cost, with lengthy payback periods that are possibly out of reach of most other schools in Nepal, but are easily adaptable to the local context: filtration systems, biogas, rainwater harvesting by Smart Paani, and solar systems by Sun Farmer. At Kopila, all these design elements are integrated in the school’s new buildings, their functions and terrain, giving the school its green edge.“I feel that this campus has so much integrity. Every step of the way, we made decisions that were sometimes hard, or that had cost implications, or we had to forgo certain things in order to have others, but there’s nothing I would change,” says Doyne.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/learning-from-nepals-past-to-rebuild-its-future/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Learning from Nepal’s past to rebuild its future</a>, Prakriti Kandel<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/lost-in-reconstruction/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lost in reconstruction</a>, Shiva UpretyThis approach is not limited to the physical design of the school; its curriculum is also grounded in place-based learning that adapts Nepal’s national curriculum to the school’s philosophy. Principal Naim Chaudhari explains: “It is about trying to integrate what we find in the community, what we can learn from and what we can give back to it. After all, when the children graduate they go into the community and they will live there. That is where they will grow further.”<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a41b89c7e80680e04a68fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1050">The school has a farm and a vocational focus, and the students learn at least one skill each year from among cooking, washing, cleaning, driving, farming, agro-forestry, animal husbandry, horticulture, welding, woodwork, machine work and electrical skills.“When our children graduate from here, they should either go for further studies or be able to find a job,” says Chaudhari.The school includes Grades 1-10 and an Early Childhood Village that focuses on self-learning through play and exploration. The older ‘plus-two’ students are still in an old bamboo school by the highway, but there are plans to bring them into the new buildings.The school’s design allows the new classrooms to blend into the greenery, preserving the productive fruiting trees on site. Just as village life still clings to the fringes of Surkhet, the school’s program extends to the students’ families, farms and the community.“We are a full service community school,” Doyne explains. “It is not just for the kids who study here — we want to bring the community in. This buildings belong to them, and I hope it makes them think about what they ultimately build someday. Just like Bali inspired Kopila, I hope that there will be other schools like this in Nepal, because this one existed.”Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/class-struggle/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Class struggle</a>, Prakriti Kandel<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/building-back-cheaper-and-stronger/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Building back cheaper and stronger</a>, Sapana Shakya and Aman Raj KhatakhoMaggie's missionIn 2005 when she was 19, Maggie Doyne was trekking in Nepal when she met Hima, a child worker. That started Doyne's Nepal journey, and her efforts to help children go to school eventually expanded to setting up Kopila Valley School and its sister initiatives in Surkhet.Doyne was named the 2014 Unsung Hero of Compassion, awarded by the Dalai Lama, and won the 2015 CNN Hero of the Year Award. Kopila is funded by The BlinkNow Foundation, a non-profit Doyne founded in 2007 as part of a network of initiatives comprising a children’s home, housing for at-risk girls, a training centre for women and a health clinic. KVS admits primarily children from disadvantaged backgrounds, providing for their education and welfare needs. It also runs a Futures Program to teach life skills, and provides vocational and academic support for senior students.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a41bb9c7e80680e04a690jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="400"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a41bc9c7e80680e04a691jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1602"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a41c09c7e80680e04a692jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="961">Sun roofConcentrated solar panels on the roof of the canteen, by Sunworks Nepal, power cookers in the kitchen and replace Rs60,000 worth of LPG per year. Gas is still used as backup, but it is methane from a digester hidden under the artificial turf of a sports court, fed by effluent from the toilets. Irrigation for the school’s vegetable garden and landscaping comes from black and grey-water filtration beds. Rainwater from the roofs is harvested into a 300,000l water storage tank under the school canteen, designed to fill all water needs for a year. Arrays of solar photovoltaics power the school, backed up by a diesel generator. Compost from black-water waste is used to grow the KVS’s organic produce.

Starting Nepal’s green school movement

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108111156/636a369c9c7e80680e04831ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="933"/><figcaption>RENEWABLE TRANSPORT: Symbolic gestures like President Bidya Devi Bhandari using an electric limousine, and more practical tax breaks for EVs have won Nepal international praise for a proactive energy policy. However, reforms are still needed to encourage electric public transport. Pic: THE PRESIDENT’S OFFICE</figcaption></figure>Residents of Kathmandu by now know that they breathe some of the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/every-breath-you-take-air-pollution" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dirtiest air in the world</a>. But unlike elsewhere, that awareness has not created the public opinion pressure to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/open-air/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">force politicians to act</a>.Up to 35,000 Nepalis lose their lives annually due to diseases caused by air pollution. One in every 10 people in Kathmandu suffers from chronic lung diseases like COPD, bronchitis and emphysema. The average life expectancy of Nepalis <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/air-pollution-decreases-life-span,3999" target="_blank" rel="noopener">is reduced</a> by over two and one-half years because of air pollution.“We have seen that electric public transportation <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/guest-editorial/public-transport-is-equal-to-public-health,844" target="_blank" rel="noopener">can improve public health by reducing pollution</a>,” says Sajha Yatayat Executive Director Bhushan Tuladhar. “Recent advances in electric transport provide the solution. What is sorely lacking in Nepal is political will, long-term commitment and strategic planning for electric mobility.”Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=25485&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Life in the time of tornados</a>, Ajaya DixitIndeed, Nepal’s policy makers no longer have an excuse to do nothing about air pollution: they can follow the example of China and India and announce a national campaign to switch to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/cleaner-air-with-greener-buses/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">electric public transport</a>.India is rolling out 7,000 electric buses this year. The Delhi Metro is now powered by solar energy and plans to go fully solar by 2021.All 16,000 public buses in Shenzhen are electric. China has replaced all its petrol two-wheelers with electric motorcycles and scooters.Global demand for electric vehicles is rising rapidly, and manufacturers are having a hard time meeting demand, mainly because of the shortage of lithium ion batteries. The sale of electric vehicles overtook fossil-fuel cars in Norway last month.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/electri-city-cars/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Electri-City Cars</a>, Sikuma Rai<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/20-electric-by-2020/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">20% electric by 2020</a>, Om Astha RaiHere in Nepal, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/electri-city-cars/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">electric cars</a> now make up 10% all of all new sales. The first 40 Hyundai Kona EV sold out as soon as they arrived, and the next batch of 40 are already booked. In fact, Hyundai launched Kona in Nepal before it did so in Australia and the US. The Korean car-maker listed Nepal as a top priority market in the Asia- Pacific because of tax breaks for electric vehicles here.“We were able to convince the manufacturers that Nepal was ready to go electric because of our hydropower potential and the tax difference between electric and non-electric vehicles that showed a strong government commitment,” explained Nirakar Shrestha of Laxmi InterContinental, which represents Hyundai in Nepal.While the retail price of petrol and diesel reaches up to 261% above the cost price, electric vehicles carry just a 10% tax on the purchase price.  Electric cars are exempt from road tax, which can be Rs30-50,000 per year for fossil-fuel cars. Nepal is the only country in the world with such a huge relative tax difference.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/from-a-fossil-past-to-an-electric-future/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">From a fossil past to an electric future</a>, Om Astha Rai<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/cleaner-air-with-greener-buses/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cleaner air with greener buses</a>, Bhushan Tuladhar<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108111156/636a369f9c7e80680e04831bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>However, there are still challenges to overcome before electric vehicles gain greater public acceptance, including the lack of charging stations, undependable electricity supply, and inadequate parking lots. A fast-charge electric station costs a minimum of $30,000 and can charge only 25 vehicles a day. Establishing one requires a government subsidy as well as a regulator to permit the charging of different EV models.Kathmandu Valley alone has <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/poisoning-the-air-we-breathe/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">750,000 motorcycles</a>, which are a major source of toxic gases like carbon monoxide and ozone. Introducing tax incentives for bikes and scooters similar to those for private cars could be a pivotal move. Also, at the moment there is no registration policy on electric two-wheelers, discouraging buyers.In October last year, Prime Minister KP Oli unveiled an <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/20-electric-by-2020/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">electric mobility action plan</a>, proposed to transform at least 20% of the fleet of public vehicles into battery-operated ones by 2020. Amidst much fanfare he inaugurated the first five Chinese, BYD electric buses inducted by Sajha Yatayat. President Bidya Devi Bhandari herself has a BYD electric limousine.Last year, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/mayoral-airs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kathmandu Valley’s 18 mayors gathered for a workshop</a> organised by ICIMOD to discuss an air pollution reduction strategy. Since then, beyond lip service little has been done to establish electric public transport and make emission tests for fossil vehicles more effective.Local and provincial governments have shown an interest in providing financial support to develop electric public transport, but the plans are sketchy and ad hoc. A case in point is the confusing and conflicting proposals for electric bus rapid transit, monorail and light rail transit along the Ring Road. The proposals are restricted to speeches and slogans, but nothing concrete has been done.One reason is the high investment cost of electric public transport, which requires government to step in with subsidies.Over the years, revenue from the Petroleum Tax has grown to a whopping Rs5.2 billion. Some of this could be invested in a clean-energy electric transportation strategy.The Seoul-based Global Green Growth Institute (<a href="http://gggi.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GGGI</a>) has been helping the central government with just such a strategy on electric mobility, and to find potential investors. General Director Frank Rijsberman was in Kathmandu last week to sign an agreement to implement e-mobility in Nepal. GGGI is keen to help Nepal with its first purchase of 300 electric buses for cities across Nepal.  (See interview below)“Operating an electric transport fleet is more complex, requires higher initial investment and more infrastructure than traditional buses, but in the longer-term, renewable energy sources are not only ecologically but also economically viable,” said Rijsberman. “We believe that it is not only the right thing to do but also the best way of growing in the 21st century. In the coming years we hope to see a breakthrough and electric buses on the streets of Kathmandu.”Electric vehicles are now a necessity, not just an environmental statement. Neighbouring India and China have committed to manufacturing only electric automobiles by the year 2030. This means Nepal will be forced to go electric since most vehicle imports are from those two countries.Said Bhushan Tuladhar of Sajha Yatayat: “Like it or not, Nepal will have to go all electric in about a decade. So we may as well start planning for it. That way, the transition will be much smoother, efficient and advantageous.”<h2>Investing in renewables</h2><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108111156/636a36a29c7e80680e04831cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="799"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Frank Rijsberman of the Korea-based <a href="http://gggi.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Global Green Growth Institute</a> was recently in town to sign an agreement with the government and Sajha Yatayat on electric mobility. Nepali Times asked him about the future of electric public transport globally and in Nepal.Nepali Times: Why is your Global Green Growth Institute so involved in electric mobility around the world?Frank Rijsberman: We are a young intergovernmental organisation set up in 2012 with 32 member countries and 20 more in the process of becoming members, like Nepal. We help governments plan green growth, a model of economic development that is both more environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive. In Nepal, we helped the government develop a national electric mobility strategy, and we have also helped members mobilise $1 billion in climate finance.We are also working to make cities greener by managing water, sanitation and solid waste. I met with Nepal’s minister of forests and environment and he asked us if we could start working on forests as our next priority. We have done similar work in Indonesia and Myanmar, and that is likely to be our next priority here.Do you see Asian countries moving towards renewable energy?It is challenging to switch from big investments in coal and nuclear energy, because all those investments have become stranded assets. China and India are making enormous progress in renewable energy. Many other Asian countries are a bit behind — Vietnam is still planning to build 25 new coal fire power plants. We are working with governments to introduce large-scale renewable energy sources. The private sector will invest only if the government has the right policy, so we work with governments for that.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/from-playing-victim-to-proactive-leadership-on-climate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">From playing victim to proactive leadership on climate</a>How can Nepal mitigate on carbon, while adapting to climate change?Adaptation is still very much the number one priority for Nepal but it must grow to middle-income status by 2030, without increasing emissions, by investing in renewable energy. This is now the cheapest form of energy and decentralised solar energy is a much easier way to reach remote communities that were very poorly served by a centralised grid.So I would call it adaptation with mitigation co-benefits. It may well be possible to trade those emissions with countries that should reduce more but cannot on their own. You can have mitigation measures too, but the first priority for countries like Nepal that rely on agriculture is to make sure that society is no longer vulnerable and is more resilient to climate change.Also, many governments still want growth. But the quality of growth really matters; it should be environmentally sustainable. It used to be the right thing to do, but being sustainable is also commercially attractive.What progress are other Asian countries making to become low-carbon economies?China has become a real leader in electric transport. Shenzhen is the first city in the world with an all-electric fleet of buses. Beijing has also taken big steps in curbing air pollution. India has also made considerable progress in renewable energy. The next big thing will be energy efficiency in buildings.What are the prospects for electric public transport in Nepal?We have done electric bus projects in a number of countries and while it is more expensive initially, and also for infrastructure like charging stations and batteries, its operational cost is much cheaper. We are helping the Nepal Government find interested investors, and hope to see a breakthrough in coming years with electric buses on the streets of Kathmandu.