Migrant workers in the Gulf lack health and safety protection from the region’s extreme summertime heat and humidity now made worse by the climate crisis.
<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/labour-pains">Extreme heat exposure</a> can cause rash, cramps, heat exhaustion, or heat stroke, which can be fatal or have lifelong consequences.
Heat stress is also suspected to be one of the reasons behind what is now termed as ‘<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/disproportionate-number-of-deaths-of-Nepali-workers-in-Malaysia,2812">sudden death syndrome</a>’. Outdoor migrant workers mostly from South Asia engaged in construction and agriculture are disproportionately affected.
“Despite substantial scientific evidence on the devastating health impact of exposure to extreme heat, Gulf states’ protection failures are causing millions of migrant workers to face grave risks, including death,” says Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch (HRW).
He adds: “Gulf states should prioritise creating a comprehensive strategy to address occupational heat stress, and international organizations that claim to champion international labour rights should speak out about the issue.”
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/labour-pains">Labour pains</a>
Between 2021 and 2023, Human Rights Watch interviewed 90 migrant workers from Bangladesh, India, Kenya, and Nepal about heat and health safety issues in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Researchers found that workers were unable to sufficiently recuperate from the heat, in part due to a lack of sufficient rest areas, air-conditioned accommodations and water.
Workers were not always allowed to set a safe pace either. These conditions cumulatively often lead to serious consequences, including heat-related deaths.
The average daytime temperatures in the Gulf during summer months often exceeds 40°C with temperatures sometimes climbing to 55°C at over 80% humidity. All Gulf states apply a summer midday work ban that prohibits employers from continuing outdoor work during pre-defined times and months.
Qatar's 2021 legislation goes further, at least on paper, as it prohibits any outdoor work when the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) rises beyond 32.1°C.
<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/north-indian-heat-wave-hits-nepal">Wet bulb temperature</a>, the threshold temperature for what a healthy person can endure for several hours is estimated to be around 30°C and 31°C in warm humid environments.
While enforcement gaps remain, the 2021 Qatari legislation is a positive foundation because the wet-bulb temperature is a more accurate tool for monitoring heat stress risks, states HRW.
Other Gulf countries should adopt similar legislation because midday work bans have failed to protect workers.
“At work [in Qatar], we had to pour out sweat from our shoes,” says one former construction worker. “Our socks and t-shirts would become so soaked that we had to wring them out multiple times a day.”
Multiple studies focusing on heat exposure risks in Gulf states found a strong correlation between heat stress and deaths due to cardiovascular problems and indicated that extremely hot days are associated with higher mortality risk, with migrant workers disproportionately exposed.
<a href="https://oem.bmj.com/content/80/6/347">A study in Kuwait</a> has found a substantial increase in the risk of occupational injuries associated with extremely hot temperatures despite the midday work ban.
<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333293731_Assessment_of_Heat_Stress_Exposure_among_Construction_Workers_in_the_Hot_Desert_Climate_of_Saudi_Arabia">Another study</a> found that the highest heat intensity for workers in Saudi Arabia was from 9AM to noon, while the ban is in effect between noon and 3PM.
Says a UAE returnee: “While the company never tried to make us work during the summer afternoons, people would still fall ill or faint earlier in the mornings, between 10AM and 12 noon.”
Adds another: “[Even] excluding these three hours… the air is as hot as fire.”
<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/turning-on-the-heat">Climate change</a> has further exacerbated the problem. According to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the Gulf’s ‘extreme wet-bulb temperatures are expected to approach, and possibly exceed, the physiological threshold for human adaptability (35°C).’
Governments have also failed to enforce the inadequate heat protections they have in place. Many workers said their companies violated the rules partially or fully.
“Sometimes the employer made us continue the work [during summer ban hours] secretly. In such cases, we used to deploy some workers to guard if someone from the government or inspection department came,” says another UAE returnee.
Ironically, Gulf countries where migrant workers are exposed to heat stress are the world’s biggest exporters of fossil fuels and are <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/oil-rich-gulf-turns-to-renewable-energy">major contributors to climate change</a>. The hotter it gets the more air conditioners are used, and these are powered by fossil-fueled thermal power plants.&nbsp;
“One day I fainted at work,” a worker in Saudi Arabia said. “Colleagues took me to the resting room … and poured water on my head. Within minutes I was conscious. I rested for a while and started working again because my colleagues told me this is very common.”
And yet, workers continue working because the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/migration-not-a-wish-but-necessity-for-nepalis">alternative is no income</a>. Self-pacing and maintaining work-rest schedules are useful heat mitigation strategies but it is nearly impossible under abusive supervisors or in time-bound employment projects.
Meanwhile, deaths not attributed to work-related causes, which exclude adverse health outcomes attributed to heat exposure, are not eligible for compensation under labour laws in the Gulf, and life insurance seldom covers deaths described as ‘acute heart failure due to natural death.’
Says Michael Page: “To knowingly put migrant workers in harm's way without substantial protections from heat is inhumane, and Gulf states need to act with urgency ahead of the scorching summer to address these problems.”

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Gulf workers need protection from heat

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111152/63721e2f9c7e80680e0bd52fmp4.mp4" title="" alt=""/><figcaption>Source: TROPICAL TIDBITS.COM</figcaption></figure><figure><img width="1469" height="800" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111152/63721e2f9c7e80680e0bd530jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Source: SCOTT DUNCAN</figcaption></figure>This spring, northern India saw the hottest March since records started being kept 120 years ago, and this week people in the Indo-Gangetic plains are bracing themselves for maximum temperature to hit 50°C. All this hot air is also affecting next-door Nepal.After sweltering through record March heat, Kathmandu’s average temperature this week was at a 53-year record. Dharan registered 35.7°C in mid-March, another record. People in Nepal’s Tarai are used to heat waves, but not in March and April. All this makes Kim Stanley Robinson’s 2020 climate fiction <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ministry-Future-Kim-Stanley-Robinson/dp/0316300136" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Ministry for the Future</a> prophetic. It starts with a town in northern India as it faces a deadly heat wave that kills most of its 200,000 inhabitants in a week. The facts of climate change induced heat stress are imitating fiction, and a dystopian narrative is becoming our new reality. “Heat, temperature and moisture combined will be the killers in South Asia, and if there is anything that will genuinely force people to respond to the climate crisis it is frequent heat waves, because unlike other episodic extreme events it is widespread and will impact everybody,” Ajaya Dixit of the Institute for Social and Environmental Transition (ISET) Nepal told us from New Delhi where the maximum temperature was 44°C on Tuesday. <figure><img width="1500" height="636" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111152/63721e329c7e80680e0bd531jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Graphs: BINOD POKHAREL, Data: DHM</figcaption></figure>A recent study from 2000-2019 found that over 5 million people around the world died each year in that time due to extreme temperatures, with some 2.6 million in Asia – with most of the fatalities in South Asia. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/turning-on-the-heat/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Heatwaves</a> in 2010 killed more than 1,300 people from dehydration and stroke in Ahmedabad alone. Another severe heatwave in June 2015 during which the mercury hit 49.4°C caused the deaths of 2,500 people in northern India and 2,000 people across the border in Pakistan.Another heatwave in India and Pakistan in 2019 was the hottest and longest since the British started keeping temperature records, with the maximum at 50.8°C in Rajasthan. A similar but slightly less intensive heatwave in Europe in 2003 killed between 35,000-70,000 people.The World Health Organisation (WHO) Climate and Health country profile for Nepal predicts that under a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-doubles-its-carbon-footprint/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">high carbon emission</a> scenario, heat-related deaths in people above 65 years are projected to increase to about 53 deaths per 100,000 by 2080 compared to the estimated baseline of approximately 4 deaths per 100,000 annually. <figure><img width="1222" height="735" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111152/63721e359c7e80680e0bd532jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>While dry heat is still bearable because the body cools with perspiration, it is humid heat that is more lethal. And climate change is not just making the world hotter, but also wetter. For every 1°C rise in temperature, there is 7% more moisture in the atmosphere.This is called ‘<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-heat-is-killing-us/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">wet-bulb temperature</a>’ that measures both ambient air temperature and humidity level to determine how hot it actually feels. For example, if it is 30°C with high humidity, it will feel much warmer. A wet-bulb temperature of 35°C is considered the maximum limit of heat and humidity that humans can handle. Beyond that, the body can no longer effectively cool itself via perspiration. A couple of hours of exposure to this without artificial cooling will mean that people will start dying of heatstroke and dehydration, with children and the elderly being the most at risk.“The climate crisis in the Himalaya is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/women-and-water/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the water crisis</a>. Heat stress is manageable as long as there is access to water, but that is not the case for the poorest in the Tarai,” says climate scientist Binod Pokharel. “Luckily, this week’s heat wave is mostly dry heat with lower humidity.”The rain that is forecast for Nepal from Thursday will cool things down, but it will also increase the humidity.  <figure><img width="1500" height="527" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111152/63721e389c7e80680e0bd533jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>The other factor making heatwaves more intense are densely populated cities of vehicle exhaust, concrete and asphalt which form what are called ‘<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/preparing-for-kathmandus-heat-waves/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">urban heat islands</a>’.  Ironically, the air conditioners city dwellers use to cool themselves indoors, is making it hotter still outside. There is a significant temperature gradient between the outskirts and Kathmandu’s city centre even in winter, which means the Valley does not have its characteristic winter fog anymore. On any given day, there is a temperature difference of 1.5°C  between Chobhar and Teku, even though the two places are only 3km apart.As more and more <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/kathmandu-loses-its-open-spaces/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">open spaces</a> are built over and the greenery disappears, Kathmandu’s ‘heat bubble’ is going to get bigger. Warns Dixit: “The fast pace of urbanisation in South Asia is a serious threat and we are a witness to an unfolding disaster. Business as usual means higher cost of response, both financially and institutionally.”  <figure><img width="1500" height="568" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111152/63721e3a9c7e80680e0bd534jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Photographic evidence of ice loss in Mt Everest, taken in 1921 and 2007 by George Mallory and David Breashers respectively.</figcaption></figure>He says the only solution is to start designing climate smart cities that restore open spaces and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/building-back-better-and-stronger-with-bamboo/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">building houses with insulating material</a> and use or block sunlight, reducing the need for energy-intensive heating or cooling.The impact of increased heat in the Tarai, city centres and now even in the high Himalayan valleys is not limited to public health but will have consequences for agriculture, energy generation, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-must-prepare-for-climate-migration/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">migration</a> and the glaciers.The hot and dry conditions this week have already fanned wildfires across the Indian Himalaya and in western Nepal. Although not as <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/wildfires-ravage-nepal-mountains/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">bad as last year</a>, Kathmandu has been shrouded in smoke haze for more than a month.  <figure><img width="1118" height="531" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111152/63721e3d9c7e80680e0bd535jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Open spaces have been replaced with concrete jungle in Kathandu. Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>Having a good <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-needs-weather-stations-in-the-himalaya/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">forecasting system</a> in place will help with preparedness, and save lives. But Nepal does not yet have its own standards to determine heat or cold waves, and relying only on the World Meteorological Organisation has limitations when it comes to localised projections.“Nepal needs to study its historical heat and cold waves and come up with its own standards and adjust it for the changing climate for better forecasting and preparedness at local levels,” says Pokharel. The Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM) in Kathmandu is monitoring the heat wave this week, and despite projections of higher solar intensity <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/how-weather-elevates-air-pollution-in-kathmandu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the smoke haze</a> has also been filtering the sunlight, lowering the maximum temperature slightly. “The heat wave conditions in the Indian plains this week is affecting us, and we expect more and more extreme heat events and anomalies made worse by the climate crisis,” says Archana Shrestha at the DHM.She adds, “Average temperatures will continue to rise and we have no other recourse than to be prepared. This means we have to rethink our <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/cars-vs-people-in-kathmandu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">development pathways</a>, I’m genuinely worried about how concrete structures are coming, this is turning our cities into hot spots. We must prepare this and future generations for even hotter summers. This means the the health, finance, agriculture ministries should all be prepared, not just the environment ministry.”

North Indian heat wave hits Nepal

<figure><img width="3600" height="2400" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101156/636b7a0f9c7e80680e06473bjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: RSS</figcaption></figure>Nepal’s <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-goes-into-lockdown-for-a-week/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-goes-into-lockdown-for-a-week/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1585288027108000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGBOO6fdVYDFD5e3Wnptm9tyX6YWA">one week lockdown</a> is supposed to go on till 31 March, but that appears to be an attempt by the government to convey the bad news to the public in small doses. It is likely to be extended at least till the Nepali New Year on 13 April, to match the duration of the Indian curfew.Such a prolonged shutdown forces us to look beyond the present need for containment to plan for the crises that are sure to manifest themselves in the near future — food shortages, economic hardship, social unrest and political instability. The virus and its response have exposed and exacerbated existing socio-economic inequities in Nepali society, exclusion and injustice. A post this week by an Indian doctor about the class dimension of physical distancing is as applicable to Nepal: ‘Social distancing is a privilege. It means you live in a house large enough to practise it. Hand washing is a privilege too. It means you have access to running water. Hand sanitisers are a privilege. It means you have money to buy them. Lockdowns are a privilege. It means you can afford to be at home. A disease spread by the rich as they flew around the globe will now kill millions of the poor.’ As has been underlined by Nepal’s civil society, a caring government will not just lock down the whole country to defeat the virus, but also lay down a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepal-locked-down-now-what/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">social safety net for those most affected by the economic standstill</a>  Businesses and factories may need a stimulus package so jobs are not lost, but it is those who depend on day-to-day earnings who need urgent assistance. Developing countries are not known for efficient service delivery and good governance at the best of times. But this crisis demands that they step up to the challenge of quickly finding a mechanism to rescue the most vulnerable with cash grants if necessary.Even Europe and North America have been caught unprepared to deal with the scope and spread of this pandemic. It is now the urban poor in the Global South where new COVID-19 infection clusters will hit hardest, exposing pre-existing disparities in access to medical care and food.The global nature of this pandemic has hit Nepal’s economy hard because of our overwhelming reliance on foreign worker remittances and tourism. Many <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepalis-quarantined-in-qatar/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepalis-quarantined-in-qatar/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1585288027108000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF2C1eR8lFlajr8lavY2n7GELTl2A">Nepali workers are stranded</a> in Malaysia, the Gulf, or in Indian cities, and need to be rescued, Citizens cannot be prevented from entering their own country. With the curfew likely to be extended by two more weeks at least, the High-level Task Force must now turn its attention to ensuring adequate supply of food and other essentials. Kathmandu cannot micromanage all ground level problems, local governments must be given the authority and the resources to act. Medical care workers need <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/protecting-those-who-protect-us-from-the-epidemic/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/protecting-those-who-protect-us-from-the-epidemic/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1585288027108000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFWbAJJAHz83hStB-54Mp8vYHLKCg">personal protective equipment (PPE),</a> we need more ventilators and isolation wards so that they do not have to risk their lives while saving the lives of the sick.It is just four days into the curfew, and for a lot of people it is finally sinking in that the world as we knew it has been turned upside down. One-third of the world’s population is in lockdown, the global economy is shattered, and even though the virus afflicts rich and poor alike, it is the poorest in the poor countries who are most vulnerable to the economic aftershocks of the pandemic.It feels like a nightmare, and it is hard to remember the pre-Corona days when all we had to worry about was <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-climate-connection-to-covid-19/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-climate-connection-to-covid-19/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1585288027108000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHViUDV7mR5rozFrP3sY7BaScggMw">climate change</a>. Maybe one day when this virus is vanquished, there will be a new way of thinking and living. Let us hope that we mitigate the cause of the climate emergency with the same global resolve as we did this crisis. The projected number of deaths just from heat stress due to global heating in the next decades is going to run into tens of millions. The COVID-19 lockdowns confine people to their homes, but as sea levels rise many will not have homes. And the climate crisis itself will unleash new kinds of pestilence.   And just like with the climate, there are countries which are still in denial about the pandemic, or leaders who have acted too late and let their citizens pay the price with their lives. A teleconference of G-7 foreign ministers was deadlocked on Wednesday over the United States passing all the blame of the pandemic on China. Yet, we have also seen unprecedented international resolve. The World Health Organisation has coordinated national responses so that most countries are in shutdown at least till mid-April. It now needs to pay special attention to poorer countries, and the poorest who live in them.		
			<h2>10 years ago this week</h2>		
		10 years ago this week <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue/495" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue/495&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1585288027108000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGV3NKmG6nDjGkiiV6bNiEWgJDYqQ">Nepali Times #495 of 26 March-1 April 2010</a> examined the fallout of the death of Nepali Congress leader and Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala who was responsible for bringing a dramatic political shift in Nepal was often termed as a ‘National Guardian’. An excerpt: Throughout the last week, the media has been abuzz with the passing of former prime minister and president of the Nepali Congress. The weight of commentary has now shifted from the late Koirala’s achievements and failings to the political vacuum that has been created at this critical juncture in Nepali politics.               But it is not just about who is going to succeed to the NC presidency: Sher Bahadur Deuba, Ram Chandra Paudel or Sushil Koirala.

Lockdown Fallout

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814110/636a52e69c7e80680e05231fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1826" height="507"/><figcaption>Lhotse glacier, Chukung village to the far left. Photo: ALTON C BYERS</figcaption></figure>Most of the recent talk within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process and elsewhere has focused on <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/decarbonise-now/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cutting greenhouse gas emissions</a> to reduce the impact of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/weather-warning-for-climate-meeting/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">climate change</a>.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/from-playing-victim-to-proactive-leadership-on-climate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mitigation</a> was the buzzword, and any mention of adaptation was avoided because for some it meant accepting defeat. But today, driven largely by the concerns of developing countries, which bear the brunt of the climate emergency, adaptation is the key issue. But since adapting to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/climate-damage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">climate change is so closely linked with issues of power, governance and politics</a>, it is not well understood. Successfully adapting to climate change is often based on how individuals, households and communities switch and improve livelihoods.Given Nepal’s geographical, climate and ecosystem diversity from plains to mountains, the question is: what do people actually adapt to? Is it <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/turning-on-the-heat/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rising temperatures and heat</a>, erratic rains, droughts, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/flood-of-recrimination/">floods</a>, forest fires or increased rates of diseases?Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/living-below-nepals-melting-mountains/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Living below Nepal's melting mountains</a>, Alton C Byers <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/look-whats-cooking-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Look what's cooking in Nepal</a>, Anil ChitrakarFamilies in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-terrifying-assessment-of-himalayan-melting/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">high mountain valleys</a> may not have to worry about floods, but are affected when roads are blocked, severing access to markets. Those in the mid-mountains may be badly impacted by landslides, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepals-silent-emergency-springs-going-dry/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">drying springs</a>, or declining agriculture production due to droughts.An adaptation strategy that works in an isolated mountain settlement will not work in Kathmandu. Though <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/climate-climax/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">climate change</a> is a global problem, its impacts are very local and different. National-level attempts to adapt will thus be unsuccessful, yet global conversations and the resultant aid flows continue to ignore sub-national differences.In 2001, the UNFCCC established a program for least developed countries that included financial and technical support to prepare National Adaptation Plans of Action (NAPA) to meet ‘immediate and urgent’ adaptation needs. Today the conversation has moved to National Adaptation Plans (NAP) that focus on integrating climate risks into development planning and implementation.Nepal was late in preparing its NAPA, which turned out to be a temporary blessing in disguise. Using additional donor funding, the Ministry of Science Technology and Environment prepared a NAPA 'Plus' in 2009, which included a more consultative process to capture local nuances. In 2011, Nepal formulated a LAPA framework and also promulgated a climate policy stipulating that 80% of resources earmarked for the climate crisis would be allocated to local levels.Donor support was available and the country implemented LAPA programs in a few selected regions. But we still don’t know if the resources were really spent in rural areas, or if they made any difference.There are three major challenges for successful adaptation to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/on-thin-ice-in-the-khumbu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">climate impacts</a>. First is attribution: a localised weather event cannot be directly linked to climate change. Second relates to how people and institutions respond to new climate shocks, usually by <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/living-below-nepals-melting-mountains/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">local people meeting local needs</a>.Finally, individual adaptation strategies are most successful and enduring when people have access to drinking water, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/look-whats-cooking-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">clean energy</a>, information, finances and alternative sources of income, as well as the right to organise, express their voices and access political outlets.Given the rapid spread of the climate emergency, it is clear that existing project-based efforts cannot add up at scale. Our current understanding of adaptation offers very little by way of solutions for the scale of transformative shifts necessary now and into the future for Nepal and elsewhere. Based on the polluter pays principle, the developed world should indeed bear the cost of adaptation in developing countries to make up for historical emissions. But when our springs dry up, having more money may not be of much help.Even without climate change, Nepal faced challenges managing disasters and development. The climate emergency is a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/life-in-the-time-of-tornadoes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">threat multiplier</a> that will seriously strain our socio-economic, political and ecological futures.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.

The climate threat multiplier

https://youtu.be/rWChxjpei0AAn increasing number of Nepali workers in the Persian Gulf and Malaysia are dying of heat stress, and experts warn that the fatality rate could go up as the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/act-globally-think-locally/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">global average temperature</a> rises in coming decades.<a href="https://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/500853" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A recent study</a> published in the journal <a href="https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/500853" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cardiology</a> presents a strong correlation between average monthly afternoon heat levels and mortality among Nepali workers in Qatar. Of the total fatalities due to cardiovascular disease (CVD) among Nepalis, 58% occurred during the summer months and 22% in winter, mostly caused by heat stress. This is much higher than the global average of 15% of total deaths in the 25-35 age group being due to CVD.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=30850&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">His last journey home to Nepal</a>, Shankar Dahal‘There was a strong correlation between average monthly afternoon heat levels and cardiovascular disease mortality. It is likely that a large proportion of these CVD deaths during hot months were due to serious heat stroke,’ the report states.Nepali climate expert Ngamindra Dahal agrees: “<a href="https://nepalitimes.atavist.com/nepalis-killed-in-the-line-of-duty" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Deaths of Nepali migrant workers</a> in the Gulf due to excessive heat is not new, but the climate crisis has made working conditions outdoors hotter and more humid.”Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=30810&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LABOUR PAINS</a>, Editorial<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131156/636a52419c7e80680e0522e4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="778"/><figcaption>HEAT AND STRESS: Bishnu KC’s brother-in-law Keshar Khatri in his home village of Okharkot in Piuthan district preparing the cremation by the Jhimruk recently. KC died of heat stroke while working in Qatar. Pic: SHANKAR DAHAL</figcaption></figure>A <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nclimate2833" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study of high-resolution climate models</a> published in the journal Nature Climate Change projected that much of the Gulf region will be uninhabitable before the end of the century. The Persian Gulf is the fastest warming sea on the planet due to its shallowness, a process that is increasing humidity, making the mugginess worse.Ironically, the part of the world that is exporting most fossil-fuel energy will now feel the brunt of the greenhouse warming caused by carbon emissions.Climate simulations show that by 2090 average ‘wet bulb temperature’ – a combination of temperature and humidity – in cities like Dubai and Doha will exceed the threshold of human adaptability of 35°C, the temperature beyond which the human body is unable to survive more six hours at 70% humidity.A recent <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/23072019/military-heat-death-illness-climate-change-risk-security-global-warming-benning-bragg-chaffee" target="_blank" rel="noopener">investigative report</a> by Inside Climate News and NBC News showed that at least 17 US soldiers have died of heat exposure during exercises at US military bases since 2008.Many Nepali migrant workers in the Gulf are exposed to similar conditions since they work in construction, which requires them to be outdoors all day. Many of them are not properly briefed about the dangers of dehydration, and at the end of the work day return to chilly air-conditioned rooms.Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/disproportionate-number-of-deaths-of-Nepali-workers-in-Malaysia,2812" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dying to work in Malaysia,</a> Sonia AwaleBishnu KC from Okharkot village in Piuthan went to work in the Gulf 10 months ago. He often told his sister back home how difficult it was to work on the high scaffolding in the heat. KC came home in a coffin recently, just another of the 7,000 Nepalis who have died working overseas in the past 10 years. Others return with kidney problems, and need dialysis or transplants.Says Dahal: “This problem is going to get worse. Pre-departure orientation for workers should emphasise how to cope with heat stress, and the importance of keeping hydrated.”<h2>Dignity in life and death</h2><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131156/636a52459c7e80680e0522e5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="990"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Appalled by the sloppy <a href="https://nepalitimes.atavist.com/home-they-bring-the-workers-dead" target="_blank" rel="noopener">treatment of dead overseas workers</a>, Nepali activists petitioned the Supreme Court two years ago to demand autopsies to determine cause of death, and to provide a more dignified return home at Kathmandu airport.The NGOs, <a href="https://pourakhi.org.np/home/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pourakhi Nepal</a> and Law and Policy Forum for Social Justice, filed the public interest litigation writ demanding the right of migrant workers to a post-mortem and more respectful handover of bodies in a separate section at the airport. They won the case, but implementing agencies have been slow to act.“We are heavily <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/remit-for-remittances/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dependent on remittance</a> from <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/paying-an-arm-and-a-leg/">migrant workers</a> but where is our respect for the individuals who make it happen?” asks Manju Gurung of Pourakhi Nepal. “We do not care for their working conditions, we mistreat them and we do not even respect them after they have died. The cause of death goes uninvestigated and their bodies are unmanaged.”Activists claim that doctors in the destination countries are aware of the actual causes of the majority of these fatalities, but are often bribed by employers to pass them off as ‘natural deaths’.In addition, many workplaces do not meet even the most basic standards of safety and minimum working conditions, they say, which often leads to occupational hazards that can result in death. If the real cause of death is revealed, employers are liable to pay hefty compensation and hence to try and cover up the true causes. Most deaths are described as ‘heart failure’, ‘natural’, or ‘cardio-vascular disease’.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131156/636a52489c7e80680e0522e6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1250" height="417"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Rising average temperatures in the Gulf region due to climate change have also increased the incidence of heat stress among those who have to work outdoors. Experts say many of the deaths of Nepali workers are due to heart failure cause by heat and overwork.Apart from the daily average 2-3 migrant workers who arrive at Kathmandu airport in coffins, many others remain in morgues in the Gulf and Malaysia. Some are workers who ran away from their first employers after being dissatisfied with their pay and working conditions. Under the kafala system, they lacked passports and became undocumented workers. Without legal documents to verify their identity, the bodies have not made it back home. No one has an exact figure of such cases.Lately, the Foreign Employment Board has updated its mandatory pre-departure orientation for migrant workers, making them more country-specific and relevant. They now include information on legal issues, working conditions and pay, cultural sensitivities and heat stress and the need to keep hydrated.Gurung blames a lack of political will for the continued apathy, because it is ordinary citizens who are affected.  She adds: “It is the poorest who suffer, so it is not a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/bargaining-power/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">priority for the government</a> and our embassies in destination countries. Workers should be cared for, even after death.”

Sonia Awale

The heat is killing us

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.

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