The Kangchenjunga region is where modern tourism first started in Nepal. &nbsp; As early as the mid-1800s, the region below the world's third-highest mountain had started seeing foreign expeditions.&nbsp; The English botanist J D Hooker traveled throughout the Tamor, Ghunsa, and Yangma river valleys in 1849. ‘Pundit’ Sarad Chandra Das, one of the indigenous spies trained by the British Raj for clandestine mapping and intelligence work in Nepal and Tibet, visited the region in 1879, following the Chabuk Glacier north to cross into Tibet. &nbsp; In 1884 Rinzing Namgyal completed the first recorded circumambulation of the Kangchenjunga massif. In 1899 the British mountaineer Sir Douglas Freshfield replicated Rinzing’s journey with him, Italian photographer Victorio Sella, Sella’s brother, and other notable mountaineers of the time.&nbsp; But it was not until 1955 that Kangchenjunga was first climbed by George Band and Joe Brown. Since then, more than 350 climbers have made it to Kangchenjunga’s various summits. &nbsp; Trekking tourism began in earnest in 1984 when the region was first opened to foreign groups and has averaged only a few hundred tourists per year since 2010. Till last year, most trekkers said they decided to come here because it was the last mountain area in Nepal without a road. That is changing.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/trekking-in-the-time-of-climate-change">Trekking in the time of climate change</a>, Achyut Tiwari  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230929090912_1456c0d0abe065672ab1ce6eafb47b1b2ced22c22034d5a577c59e4131c0dc72.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20230929090912_1456c0d0abe065672ab1ce6eafb47b1b2ced22c22034d5a577c59e4131c0dc72" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Page 6-7"> <figcaption>Steep switchbacks on a new road from Nepal over the Tiptola Pass up to Tibet.</figcaption> </figure>  The region is actively undergoing more environmental, socio-economic, and cultural changes during the past 10 years, more so than anytime previously in Nepal’s 250-year history as a unified nation.&nbsp; The alpine shrub juniper and dwarf rhododendron throughout the Kangchenjunga Conservation Area (KCA) are in surprisingly good condition, in spite of the hundreds of years of harvesting by yak herders and villagers for fuel, incense, and to increase pasture area. &nbsp; This is largely reflective of low tourism, decreasing livestock numbers, and extremely wet environments found in the KCA. Humid environments tend to be more forgiving of human and cattle disturbances while promoting the rapid re-establishment of protective ground cover such as herbs and grasses.&nbsp; Populations of yaks, dzopkio, and other livestock are rapidly decreasing, as they are throughout much of the Nepal Himalaya due partly to labour shortages because of the outmigration of young people, and also herds being sold for meat in Tibet as well as changing lifestyles. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/participating-to-save-kangchenjunga">Participating to save Kangchenjunga</a>, Ghana S Gurung  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230929090912_57ba334e068885e104dd80e2c039d9b6bbc0d7f03aa4b8f038b661a121e52d51.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20230929090912_57ba334e068885e104dd80e2c039d9b6bbc0d7f03aa4b8f038b661a121e52d51" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Page 6-7"> <figcaption>Four dzopkio carried the author's  camping equipment, food, and research gear with Mt Jannu soaring in the distance.</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230929090912_a189ed918701329be149e9005b01f532b69e8ce07428102445326390734eddf9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20230929090912_a189ed918701329be149e9005b01f532b69e8ce07428102445326390734eddf9" data-rendition-name="original" width="900" height="675" loading="lazy" alt="Page 6-7"> </figure>  Young people have been leaving the KCA for jobs in Kathmandu and overseas since the early 1990s, a process that intensified during the Maoist insurgency between 1996-2006. Most of the remaining inhabitants in villages such as Ghunsa are elderly, with the exception of a few younger lodge owners who can make their living from tourism. Climate change and warming trends are accelerating the glacier melt, processes already noted by Hooker in 1849 and Freshfield in 1899. Since then, the problem has become more acute and potentially catastrophic. Glacial floods, rockfalls and ice-debris avalanches have increased the vulnerability of local populations.&nbsp; Villages need to start thinking about mitigating and preventing the impact of floods by building gabions along river channels, moving structures away from vulnerable areas and monitoring threatening glacial lakes and other dangerous features. Himalayan fir (Abies spectabilis), an IUCN Red List species, is being overharvested, as are many other rare and medicinal alpine plants. This trend will be exacerbated by the construction of the new proposed roads and the easier accessibility to formerly remote regions which they provide. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/tracing-past-glacial-floods-in-kangchenjunga">Tracing past glacial floods in Kangchenjunga</a>, Alton C Byers  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230929090912_5d3c7af6b71ddf163b14d85b6efbbe6fba1960d0d95be0e451cd09e553edab3e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20230929090912_5d3c7af6b71ddf163b14d85b6efbbe6fba1960d0d95be0e451cd09e553edab3e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1800" height="502" loading="lazy" alt="Page 6-7"> <figcaption>Dozens of glacial lakes like Nangama have formed over the past 25 years as the glaciers melt and retreat. </figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230929090912_a729648e8faf81a3b41e26fe11e229409e84f75e330dc7ce7fa0386198d63ef3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20230929090912_a729648e8faf81a3b41e26fe11e229409e84f75e330dc7ce7fa0386198d63ef3" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Page 6-7"> <figcaption>Elizabeth Byers stands next to Rheum nobile (padamchal, or lemonade plant) which used to be common in the KCA but are now rare due to overharvesting and increased access to new roads.</figcaption> </figure>  The most striking change in the KCA, and one with social and environmental impact, has been the construction of new roads throughout the Taplejung district during the past 10 years which are now beginning to encroach into the KCA.&nbsp; The perceived benefits of roads have typically included increased access and connectivity for rural populations, employment opportunities and health benefits.&nbsp; Hastily bulldozed roads are also now encroaching into national parks and protected areas, with little concern for old growth forests, wildlife, local economy, traditional cultures, and the future of adventure tourism.&nbsp; Many of these changes are happening throughout Nepal. New highways, transmission lines, irrigation canals and even new railways are crisscrossing national parks and protected areas. Poaching is reduced, but infrastructure is the new threat to Nepal’s conservation.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/including-local-knowledge-to-study-climate-change">Including local knowledge to study climate change</a>, Kunda Dixit  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230929090924_3cd5315c71ccda3cd328954695ec0a158d1928e5ba59f29831c49573fdf4f3d5.png" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20230929090924_3cd5315c71ccda3cd328954695ec0a158d1928e5ba59f29831c49573fdf4f3d5" data-rendition-name="original" width="783" height="586" loading="lazy" alt="Page 6-7"> <figcaption>The spread of the road network (red lines) in the last 12 years has been rapid, threatening the regions rich biodiversity. Map: MOHAN CHAND</figcaption> </figure>  But it is still not too late for Kangchenjunga. The region differs from others because there is still time to assess the feasibility of new roads and their environmental and socio-economic impacts.&nbsp; KCA could choose to remain a ‘traditional' protected area only for foot and beast of burden travel, thus making it unique in Nepal’s rapidly diminishing roadless protected areas.&nbsp; Increased visitation would directly benefit local cottage industries like handicrafts, fresh vegetable production, milk and dairy products, pack animal rental, and others.&nbsp; A functioning natural history museum and interpretation centre in Ghunsa and elsewhere could educate visitors about the rich and unique flora and fauna of the region. &nbsp; Read also:<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/go-eat-to-kanchenjunga"> Go East</a>, Sudhir Limbu <h2>Land above the trees</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230929090912_ffc46c7ecd43e1d4d35b1e18ccec7d750d0828b98b3f532c720553aa0ec7bb7e.png" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20230929090912_ffc46c7ecd43e1d4d35b1e18ccec7d750d0828b98b3f532c720553aa0ec7bb7e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1051" height="457" loading="lazy" alt="Page 6-7"> </figure>  The Kangchenjunga Conservation Area (KCA), established in 1997, is spread across 2,035km² of protected area in easternmost Nepal. It was turned over to local communities in 2006 as Nepal’s first community-managed protected area. It is home to the world’s third-highest mountain, Kangchenjunga at 8,586m, once thought to be the highest in the world because of its massive summit ridge and visibility from Darjeeling. &nbsp; The region is also believed to conceal a beyul, or hidden valley of treasure and immortality containing sacred teachings that will be revealed to the devout in times of trouble.&nbsp; Elevations in the KCA range from subtropical forests below 1,000m, the fir/birch/rhododendron forests in the subalpine, dwarf vegetation of the alpine zone, to the 8,586m summit of Kangchenjunga, all within a horizontal distance of less than 30km.&nbsp; KCA is one of the last remaining refuges for the rare Red Panda, whose remnant populations live in remote conifer-bamboo forests. Himalayan Black Bear, Common Leopard, Red Dog, Palm Civet, and Yellow-throated Martin are more common, inhabiting both forest and farmland where they can often be a problem for local farmers and their livestock and crops.&nbsp; Large populations of Blue Sheep can be found in nearly every side valley encountered and are a good indicator of the presence of Snow Leopards.&nbsp; Alton C Byers, PhD is a senior research scientist at INSTAAR, University of Colorado at Boulder in the United States. In 2022, he and his botanist wife Elizabeth spent six months in the KCA documenting and quantifying contemporary threats to the KCA’s alpine zone under a Fulbright project. Byers has been involved in other initiatives that are still running in the Everest, Makalu-Barun and Peru’s Cordillera Blanca funded by the National Geographic. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/remembering-nepal-s-conservation-heroes">Remembering Nepal’s conservation heroes</a>, Ghana Gurung

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Saving Kangchenjunga

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141152/636d02d29c7e80680e0a369ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1015"/><figcaption>Comunity discussion in Ghunsa. Photo: WWF NEPAL</figcaption></figure>Tucked in the sacred Himalayan landscape of the northeastern corner of Nepal, the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.cohttps/www.nepalitimes.com/banner/tracing-past-glacial-floods-in-kangchenjunga/m/banner/tracing-past-glacial-floods-in-kangchenjunga/">Kangchenjunga Conservation Area (KCA)</a>is home to the world’s third highest mountain ecosystem. It is also Nepal’s first conservation area managed by the local community.It was declared as ‘A Gift to the Earth’ by the Nepal government in support of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Living Planet Campaign in April 1997, and has a long-standing history of perseverance, resilience, and of striking a balance between conservation gains for people and nature.The KCA’s 2,035 sq km area hosts a vast assortment of biological diversity, it is part of the Eastern Himalayan Global 200 cross-border eco-region, and millions of people downstream depend on it and its water towers.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141152/636d02d59c7e80680e0a369fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="519" height="367"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Recognising the significance of the region, there have been integrated efforts to protect its biodiversity and improve livelihoods of local communities. WWF Nepal’s engagement in the KCA dates back to 1995, when it first conducted a feasibility study followed by the inception of the Kangchenjunga Conservation Area Project (KCAP) in 1998.It was rolled out in partnership with local communities under the leadership of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation. After almost a decade, the government of Nepal undertook the historic step of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/remembering-nepals-conservation-heroes/">handing over management responsibilities of KCA to local communities</a>on 22 September 2006 -- making it the ﬁrst protected area to be managed by the local community in Nepal.Community driven conservation hinged on the notion of increased community participation in decision-making and natural resource management, which has allowed the KCA to address key challenges such as forest degradation, human snow leopard conflict, and gender inequality.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141152/636d02d79c7e80680e0a36a0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="747" height="440"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>These initiatives have been critical in promoting women’s empowerment by enhancing their role in nature conservation and decision-making, particularly in natural resource management. Since its inception, KCAP has supported 35 Mothers’ Groups and helped them secure a critical role in decision-making and management.Starting off as a small network, the Mothers’ Groups have expanded to include a wide spectrum of activities including support for non-formal education to the older generation, and education for girls. There are cleanliness and health-hygiene programs, childcare, and initiatives to promote financial independence of women through saving and credit schemes.The Mothers’ Groups are a model for translating the rights of the women over natural resource management into action, and provide scholarships to girls from low income families through an endowment fund of Rs5 million in each group. It supports income generation activities and provides scholarships for students, particularly girls from vulnerable households. So far, 206 girls have benefited from scholarships.Community-based snow leopard conservation and prey monitoring has also begun in which citizen scientists have been trained to keep track of the endangered cats and their prey. This group uses a wide gamut of technologies from conventional sign surveys to camera traps, fecal DNA surveys and GPS collaring.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141152/636d02d99c7e80680e0a36a1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1779" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141152/636d02dc9c7e80680e0a36a2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1779" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Already, the KCA’s presence is seen in increased forest cover, from 51,500ha in 1999 to 54,800ha in 2015. As a result, from zero <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-leads-in-snow-leopard-study/">snow leopards</a>in 1995, there were 293 of the animals moving between India, China and Nepal.  The return of the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/crying-wolf/">Himalayan wolf</a>is also encouraging, as is the increase in population of blue sheep from 1,167 in 2007 to 1,638 by 2015.While encouraging, there are still challenges like human wildlife conflict, especially with the return of the wolves. Even so there have been few retaliatory killings of wolves, with not a single case since the establishment in 2004 of Ghunsa Community Snow Leopard Insurance Scheme, supported by University of Zurich. There are four livestock insurance schemes with a revolving fund of Rs8.4 million, along with a Rs4.7 million crop damage relief fund.KCA has earned national and international recognition for its conservation success and takes forward the legacy of the Conservation Heroes who tragically lost their lives in a helicopter accident in Ghunsa on 23 September 2006, just a day after handing over the Kangchenjunga Conservation Area to the local community.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141152/636d02df9c7e80680e0a36a3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1779" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>KCA has come a long way in the 15 years since. There are challenges ahead: representation and leadership of women in the Management Council of the KCA needs to increase. The role of local governments in the Council also has to be redefined.There is also the possibility of developing the Kangchenjunga region as a Tri-National Peace Park as a model of transboundary and regional cooperation for biodiversity conservation.The community-based Livestock Insurance Schemes have proved to be a successful human wildlife conflict mitigation measure, but this activity needs to be scaled up and integrated with the government compensation mechanism.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141152/636d02e29c7e80680e0a36a4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="998"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Then there is the potential post-Covid boom to promote nature-based eco-tourism and green enterprises as alternative livelihood options for the communities.Environment and wildlife friendly infrastructure have to be designed to maintain ecological connectivity in the region, particularly with the new roads and hydropower projects in the region. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/11-day-trek-is-now-a-days-drive-in-nepal/">Ghana S Gurung</a> is the Country Representative of WWF in Nepal and Snow Leopard Champion for the Global WWF Network. <img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141152/636d02e59c7e80680e0a36a5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="146">

Participating to save Kangchenjunga

Twenty-third September marks the 15th anniversary of the tragic death of Dr Harka Gurung and 23 other environmentalists, diplomats, politicians and professionals in a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/remembering-nepals-conservation-heroes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">helicopter crash in Ghunsa</a> of Kangchenjunga. Among them were pioneering conservationists that day, including Chandra Gurung, Mingma Norbu Sherpa, Yeshe Lama, Tirthaman Maskey and many others.Harka Gurung was born in Lamjung in January 1939 and was the fifth of six sons. Nicknamed ‘Hanuman’ by his parents, family members remember that from a young age he showed great promise, always curious about the world, and eager to learn new ideas.He topped the Intermediate level at Tri-Chandra College in Kathmandu and in BA (Hons) at Patna College. He then dropped out of a military academy in Dehradun and went on to earn a PhD from the University of Edinburgh in 1965 -- the first person from the Gurung community to receive a doctorate. <img width="700" height="998" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141152/636d02c79c7e80680e0a369bjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=12572" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Harka Gurung</a> was a renowned scholar and wrote and published 15 books and over 700 research articles in various fields, covering geography, development, sociology, economy, anthropology, tourism and mountaineering.After teaching briefly at SOAS of the University of London and Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, Harka Gurung served as a member of the National Planning Commission in 1968, later becoming its vice-chair until he was appointed state minister for tourism.He was instrumental in promoting tourism and mountaineering in Nepal during his tenure in government, and was in the committee that gave names to many of Nepal’s unnamed Himalayan peaks. After his death, the government named a 7,871m peak in Manang after him.After leaving the government, he served as director of the Asia-Pacific Development Centre in Malaysia and returned to Nepal to continue his scholarly pursuits.Besides becoming my in-law, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18587" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Harka Gurung</a> was a role model. He was my guiding light and mentor. He advised me in my academic life, my second career after 22 years of military service, and introduced me to his array of Nepali and international contacts.Once, in Kenya he told me to go and see his old friend Ian Douglas-Hamilton who ran an elephant research centre there. But instead of me going to see him, Douglas-Hamilton came to collect me in his private plane, and took me on an aerial tour of his Samburu ranch where he owned over 900 elephants.When I was an intern at the United Nations in New York, Dr Gurung introduced me to Assistant Secretary General Kul Chandra Gautam and Navin Rai, then working at the Word Bank. In the UK in June 2005, he put me in touch with Prof Surya Subedi and Dr Ramesh Dhungel.Through him, I got to know Dudley Spain, then 88, who had spent decades with the British Embassy in Kathmandu. When news came from Nepal of the helicopter crash, Dudley wept for his friend.Back in Kathmandu Dr Gurung took me along to attend various academic events, which helped me expand my network. In fact, it was Dr Gurung who introduced me to Ganesh Gurung of the National Institute of Development Studies (NIDS) who helped with research for my masters level dissertation at Coventry University.My last meeting with Dr Gurung was in June 2005 during his visit to the UK, and I feel his absence deeply at a personal and professional level. Nepal has also lost a towering figure who spoke passionately about political inclusion, social justice and the need to protect the country's natural resources and biodiversity.Long before Nepal’s two elections to a Constituent Assembly to draft a new Constitution, Dr Gurung had openly voiced the need for such an assembly even during the restricted absolute monarchy period of the Panchayat. He was ahead of his time in many ways.As a social demographer, Dr Gurung believed that Nepal had too many administrative areas, and wanted the size of zones and districts reduced so they would be more manageable and suggested a new map. He felt true devolution was more important to decentralise decision-making and to empower the disenfranchised. <figure><img width="1125" height="1500" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110141152/636d02cb9c7e80680e0a369cjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Now, Nepal has a federal democratic system, yet it has not achieved good governance, and despite the Constitution the indigenous people’s movement that Dr Gurung espoused still does not have adequate representation in the state machinery.If he was alive today, Dr Gurung would continue to shape a new Nepal that he believed was possible to create. He would have answers to tackle internal and overseas migration, address the impact of the climate crisis, to make access to health and education more equitable.The MI-17 helicopter went missing on <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/out-of-the-ashes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Saturday 23 September 2006</a> just after taking off from Ghunsa in poor visibility. The wreckage was located two days later on a steep mountainside. The crash dealt a heavy blow to Nepal’s conservation movement, and in Harka Gurung the nation lost a visionary multi-disciplinary scholar.Jit Gurung was born in Tang Ting of Kaski district, and is currently with the UN Mission in Mali.

Remembering Harka Gurung

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111124/636cd20e9c7e80680e08f8edjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1800" height="1200"/><figcaption>The fire in Manang started on 26 November and is still raging as seen in these pictures taken on Tuesday. Photos: NABIN LAMICHHANE/RSS</figcaption></figure>A three month drought in central and eastern Nepal has sparked <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-sees-drop-in-wildfires-during-lockdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">wildfires</a> across the Himalaya which has shrouded the mountains in smoke, adding to the urban and crossborder pollution.The big forest fires <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/kangchenjunga-wildfire-visible-from-space/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">in Pathibhara in eastern Nepal</a> and below Mt Machapuchre in Kaski raged for a week, and spent themselves. But major fires are out of control in Manang, Rasuwa, Lamjung and Sindhupalchok, destroying huge tracts of high montane forest.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111124/636cd2119c7e80680e08f8eejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="720"><figcaption>An entire forest in Gatlang of Rasuwa was reduced to ashes in a wildfire on Monday-Tuesday. The fire only extinguished itself after there was no more forest left to burn. Photo: BIBI FUNYAL</figcaption></figure>The most serious and widespread are the fires in Manang Valley around Chame. The vegetation on the slopes and undergrowth in the forests are tinder dry, and the authorities say they have caught fire accidentally because of people grazing livestock, or gathering firewood.The fire in Manang started as far back as 26 November, and has since spread into the Marsyangdi and Dudh Khola valleys.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111124/636cd2139c7e80680e08f8efjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1800" height="1200"><figcaption>Under-equipped Nepal Police and Army officials have been largely unsuccessful in controlling the fire, which is whipped up by high winds.</figcaption></figure>Efforts by local volunteers, Nepal Police, Nepal Army and Nepal Armed Police have been largely unsuccessful in controlling the fire whipped up by high winds because of lack of equipment, and because the blaze is fanned by strong up-valley afternoon winds.Forest fire in Manang has been raging for over a month, after an unusually dry and warm winter.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111124/636cd2169c7e80680e08f8f0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1800" height="1200"><figcaption>Part of the rapidly spreading forest wildfire near Chame on Tuesday. In the past months it has destroyed over 700 hectares of forests rich in endangered wildlife and Hiamalayan plant species.</figcaption></figure>The fire has destroyed over 700 hectares of forest rich in endangered wildlife and Himalayan plant species.The effect of the fires is visible even in satellite images. This NASA image (pictured below) taken at noon on 12 January shows <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/kathmandu-air-pollution-hits-record-high/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">smoke shrouding</a> the river valleys of the Marsyangdi, Budi Gandaki, Bhote Kosi, Sun Kosi and the Arun.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111124/636cd2199c7e80680e08f8f1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="824"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>The above image is a composite based on <a href="https://worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov/?v=73.05432164103755,20.9895954810804,96.86111430117901,34.3528423044617&amp;l=Reference_Labels(hidden),Reference_Features(hidden),Coastlines,VIIRS_SNPP_CorrectedReflectance_TrueColor(hidden),MODIS_Aqua_CorrectedRe" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov/?v%3D73.05432164103755,20.9895954810804,96.86111430117901,34.3528423044617%26l%3DReference_Labels(hidden),Reference_Features(hidden),Coastlines,VIIRS_SNPP_CorrectedReflectance_TrueColor(hidden),MODIS_Aqua_CorrectedRe&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1610539171776000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHyjBHjdeFLoVx52Le4KkM9CE8xXw">NASA Worldwide</a> image and the <a href="https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/#d:2021-01-11..2021-01-12;l:noaa20-viirs,countries,protected_areas,protected_areas_regional;@132.8,15.7,3z" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/%23d:2021-01-11..2021-01-12;l:noaa20-viirs,countries,protected_areas,protected_areas_regional;@132.8,15.7,3z&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1610539171776000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGx9Lq-WrX2bhCV-0g0j3oTHn-5mw">Fire Information Resource Management System (FIRMS) both from 12 January.</a>The smoke is also blowing into Kathmandu Valley and it combined with the city’s own pollution and cross border smog on Tuesday afternoon to send <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/dirty-politics-dirty-air/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the Air Quality Index soaring</a> to above 200 in the ‘Very Unhealthy’ zone.The satellite images also show ground fog covering the Tarai and Chitwan on Tuesday morning.

Wildfires ravage Nepal mountains

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0d94b0ad905ca02f037jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1550" height="1000"/><figcaption>A wildfire has been raging out of control for the past five days near the summit of Pathivara in Taplejung district. Photo: RSS</figcaption></figure>The raging wildfire in the forest on the 3,800m high Pathivara mountain in Taplejung has spread into the nearby Kanchenjunga Conservation Area (KCA). The fire started five days ago, and all efforts to douse it have been unsuccessful because of strong westerly winds.A Simrik Air helicopter equipped with a special 'Bambi Bucket' water bombed the flames on Monday, and although that protected the temple at the summit of the mountain, it failed to stop the fire. The smoke plume from the fire raging near the shrine was visible in a NASA World satellite image on 26 December.After the fire entered the KCA, the Lukumpa Community Forest committee got volunteers to try to control the spread. However, the rotor wash from the helicopter appears to have fanned the fires even more, and the water was dropped from a height that made it largely ineffective, said Ganesh Tiwari of KCA.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0dc4b0ad905ca02f038jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption>Police trying to douse the fire on the slopes of Pathivara on Monday. Photo: RSS</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0df4b0ad905ca02f039jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="641" height="855"><figcaption>Simrik Air with 'Bambi bucket' trying to douse the fire even as smoke plume from Pathivara rise up in the air.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0e14b0ad905ca02f03ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2248" height="1256"><figcaption>Smoke plume from the fire raging near shrine on summit was visible in this satellite image on 26 December at noon. Photo: EOSDIS Worldview</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0e44b0ad905ca02f03bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1366" height="625"><figcaption>The Pathibhara fire captured in closeup by the Sentinel satellite on 28 December.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109191124/636bf0e74b0ad905ca02f03cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="480" height="853"><figcaption>A Simrik Air helicopter lifts water from Jor Pokhari on Monday. The chopper made five sorties to the mountain. Photo: SIMRIK AIR</figcaption></figure>The Simrik Air helicopter made five sorties from the half-frozen Jor Pokhari lake to Pathivara, and did manage to save the shrine. However, several dairy farms and cow sheds are now threatened on the eastern slopes of the mountain.A large tract of forest has already been reduced to ashes, in an area that is an important habitat for the endangered red panda and other species.Simrik Air pilot Capt Surendra Poudel told RSS news agency that this is the first time aerial firefighting has been used to put out a wildfire in Nepal. He added: "We had the equipment and the trained personnel, and we could put it to use here."

Kangchenjunga wildfire visible from space

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181156/636be9f59c7e80680e0878eejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1550" height="1000"/><figcaption>A wildfire has been raging out of control for the past five days near the summit of Pathivara in Taplejung district. Photo: RSS</figcaption></figure>The raging wildfire in the forest on the 3,800m high Pathivara mountain in Taplejung has spread into the nearby Kanchenjunga Conservation Area (KCA). The fire started five days ago, and all efforts to douse it have been unsuccessful because of strong westerly winds.A Simrik Air helicopter equipped with a special 'Bambi Bucket' water bombed the flames on Monday, and although that protected the temple at the summit of the mountain, it failed to stop the fire. The smoke plume from the fire raging near the shrine was visible in a NASA World satellite image on 26 December.After the fire entered the KCA, the Lukumpa Community Forest committee got volunteers to try to control the spread. However, the rotor wash from the helicopter appears to have fanned the fires even more, and the water was dropped from a height that made it largely ineffective, said Ganesh Tiwari of KCA.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181156/636be9f79c7e80680e0878efjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption>Police trying to douse the fire on the slopes of Pathivara on Monday. Photo: RSS</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181156/636be9fb9c7e80680e0878f0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="641" height="855"><figcaption>Simrik Air with 'Bambi bucket' trying to douse the fire even as smoke plume from Pathivara rise up in the air.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181156/636be9fd9c7e80680e0878f1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2248" height="1256"><figcaption>Smoke plume from the fire raging near shrine on summit was visible in this satellite image on 26 December at noon. Photo: EOSDIS Worldview</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181156/636bea009c7e80680e0878f2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1366" height="625"><figcaption>The Pathibhara fire captured in closeup by the Sentinel satellite on 28 December.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181156/636bea039c7e80680e0878f3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="480" height="853"><figcaption>A Simrik Air helicopter lifts water from Jor Pokhari on Monday. The chopper made five sorties to the mountain. Photo: SIMRIK AIR</figcaption></figure>The Simrik Air helicopter made five sorties from the half-frozen Jor Pokhari lake to Pathivara, and did manage to save the shrine. However, several dairy farms and cow sheds are now threatened on the eastern slopes of the mountain.A large tract of forest has already been reduced to ashes, in an area that is an important habitat for the endangered red panda and other species.Simrik Air pilot Capt Surendra Poudel told RSS news agency that this is the first time aerial firefighting has been used to put out a wildfire in Nepal. He added: "We had the equipment and the trained personnel, and we could put it to use here."

<figure><img width="1592" height="1236" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109151112/636bb5ae9c7e80680e07bc19jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Memorial painting to honour the conservation heroes, showing Kangchenjunga, Ghunsa village and the tail of the helicopter disappearing into a cloud.</figcaption></figure>That night in Taplejung, we sang and danced to the tune of Sorha Barse Umera Ma. It was my conservation guru Chandra Gurung’s favourite song, and one he sang during many occasions. That song still brings back memories of the night 15 years ago as I sing it in every staff retreat to pay tribute to my mentor. The pain of loss is still palpable.We celebrated, but it was short-lived. Little did I know that 24 hours later I would be hiking all night with Ang Phuri Sherpa and a rescue team to Ghunsa to find the crash site, after bad weather forced our search helicopter to drop us in Pholey.    <figure><img width="640" height="485" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109151112/636bb5b19c7e80680e07bc1ajpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="640" height="479" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109151112/636bb5b49c7e80680e07bc1bjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="640" height="830" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109151112/636bb5b89c7e80680e07bc1cjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>It had been rainy in Ghunsa on 23 September 2006, as the Mi-8 helicopter took off and <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=12536#.X2lxfi0w0Wp" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D12536%23.X2lxfi0w0Wp&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1600834563133000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG9uQ7yXtrsOngM5mc0o9mK47-57Q">disappeared into the clouds</a>. I was supposed to be on it, but had to make space for the dignitaries who had come for the handover ceremony of the Kangchenjunga Conservation Area (KCA) to the community.  <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=13985#.X2jR2C0w0Wo" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D13985%23.X2jR2C0w0Wo&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1600834563133000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEOO3FuIvqs0IS3N7A5tTwMbpM6wQ">Twenty-four people died</a> in that tragedy this week 15 years ago, among them Nepal’s conservation heroes: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=12572#.X2mNRxAzaUk">Harka Gurung</a>, veteran geographer and planner; <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16569#.X2mNeBAzaUk">Chandra Gurung</a> who designed the model of using tourism income to pay for conservation; <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=12581#.X2mPNhAzaUk">Mingma Norbu Sherpa</a>, who helped establish the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/municipalities-want-to-manage-annapurna/">Annapurna Conservation Area</a>; <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=10375#.X2mO9RAzaUk">Tirthman Maskey</a>, who paved the way for people and parks to coexist. Nepal also lost Forest Minister Gopal Rai, Secretary Damodar Parajuli, and Director Generals Sharad K Rai and Narayan P Paudel. Also on board was the first Chair of the KCA Management Committee, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=12574#.X2mPlxAzaUk">Dawa Tshering Sherpa.</a>The shock of the deaths posed a pressing question: were Nepal’s achievements in conservation now in jeopardy? The model of participatory conservation pioneered in Nepal was an example to the world, but could the path-breaking work of these visionaries be sustained? <figure><img width="1012" height="1092" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109151112/636bb5ba9c7e80680e07bc1djpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Fifteen years on, looking at the accomplishments since, we can proudly say that the country has honoured those leading lights of Nepal’s conservation movement by carrying on their work, and come out even stronger. We have witnessed a remarkable shift in various facets of conservation in Nepal: from the recovery of species numbers to the expansion of protected areas systems with growing participation of people from all walks of life.  <figure><img width="1444" height="964" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109151112/636bb5bd9c7e80680e07bc1ejpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Nepal’s tiger population has crossed 235, indicating a dramatic increase from 121 in 2009. The number of rhinos increased from 435 in 2008 to 645 in 2015, with zero rhino poaching for the first time since 2011. Snow leopard conservation and research has advanced, with Nepal now holding the fifth largest population among 12 snow leopard range states.  There have been similar successes among other species, including blue sheep, Himalayan tahr, gaur and gharial. The species recovery of rhinos, blackbuck, wild water buffalo in their former ranges are other important milestones of our conservation journey.  After KAC, Nepal has added three more protected area systems: Gauri-Shankar Conservation Area, Api Nampa Conservation Area, Banke National Park – covering 4,632square km across two landscapes, Kailash and Chitwan-Annapurna. These conservation initiatives have placed emphasis on ensuring equal benefits to communities promoting a harmonious existence between humans and wildlife. The community-based conservation initiatives have been critical in protecting species as well as ensuring a sustainable future for people living in and near wilderness areas.   While the sudden loss of so many professionals put a dent on Nepal’s environmental movement, their legacy has continued with a new generation of committed specialists who were trained and mentored by them. This new crop of young conservationists received scholarships established in the memory of the pioneers who died 15 years ago. They have gone on to do exemplary field work, and are now in key decision-making positions in Nepal to guide future conservation efforts.  <figure><img width="640" height="428" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109151112/636bb5c09c7e80680e07bc1fjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="640" height="428" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109151112/636bb5c39c7e80680e07bc20jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>In <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/go-eat-to-kanchenjunga">Kangchenjunga</a> itself, the KCA has led by example for 15 years, presenting a strong case for participatory conservation where the local community is entrusted with the stewardship of the natural and culture resources of the<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/tracing-past-glacial-floods-in-kangchenjunga/"> region below the world’s third-highest mountain. </a>The concept of participatory conservation has been around since mid-1980s after Mingma Sherpa and Chandra Gurung first introduced it in the Annapurna Conservation Area followed by the Manaslu Conservation Area. Now, the KCA has gained recognition across Asia as an exemplary model in championing this approach. There were a slew of underlying factors that laid the basis for KCA’s success – primary among them were concrete legal, institutional and financial mechanisms.The KCA project was launched in March 1998 by the government in partnership with WWF Nepal to address both the livelihood needs of local people and biodiversity conservation. In the lead-up to the handover of this protected area in 2006, numerous legal and policy instruments were put in place, including conservation area management regulations and plans. A community-based Kangchenjunga Conservation Area Management Council (KCAMC) was formed, and entrusted with running the KCA with full authority to take care of the region’s natural resources. A community-based women’s group was also formed and trained, and now has 33% representation in KCAMC. We can take this as an example of how integrating communities into conservation efforts can yield multipronged benefits. To date, 35 mother’s groups have provided 206 scholarships to socio-economically excluded girls, many of whom have grown up to be professionals working at KCA and elsewhere.  <figure><img width="640" height="427" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109151112/636bb5c69c7e80680e07bc21jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="640" height="427" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109151112/636bb5c99c7e80680e07bc22jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>For conservationists, the handover of KCA in 2006 was a significant milestone, it also ended up being an unimaginable tragedy and setback. Merely 12 hours after celebrating the transfer to the community in Taplejung, and soon after taking off from Ghunsa, the helicopter carrying Nepal’s top conservationists flew into a cliff hidden by cloud. Ever since, 23 September has been marked as Nepal’s National Conservation Day in memory of these Conservation Heroes.Chungla Sherpa, a former scholarship recipient and now a ranger at the Forest Research and Training Center in Pokhara says, “<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=17700" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D17700&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1600834563133000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGvuk9RrrOEW-r4HMvCVLrTdmKY0Q">The Mingma Norbu Sherpa Memorial Scholarship</a> had a profound impact on my life. It built my future, and I hope that I will be able to follow the footsteps of the conservation heroes who made this possible. I hope that I can someday give back to others.” <figure><img width="640" height="800" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109151112/636bb5cc9c7e80680e07bc23jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The leaders continue to make a positive impact on Nepal and the world long after their departure. We may have lost our heroes on that fateful day, but their work has carried on through a new generation which was given the opportunity for the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/out-of-the-ashes/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/out-of-the-ashes/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1600834563133000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEGjAKCnYGoX4DlTmPwHwtk8ixzdQ">best conservation education</a> through <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18587" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D18587&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1600834563133000&amp;usg=AFQjCNG5J15BsMLu9gHX-qebEeGjPCmELg">scholarships created in their memory</a>. I feel fortunate and grateful to have been one of them. Now, we need to <a href="https://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?174861/Conserveation-Heroes-remembered" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?174861/Conserveation-Heroes-remembered&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1600834563133000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHuF4uHclPRUQbPiD7B9PpcazTDjA">pass the torch to yet another generation</a> to help preserve our natural heritage, just like our predecessors once did. Fifteen years down the line, Nepal has taken great strides in conservation despite the tragedy, and despite facing multiple challenges since.  Let us mark this day with a renewed commitment to the goals set by our conservation pioneers, so we can overcome obstacles that lie ahead as we grapple with the pandemic and its aftermath. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/11-day-trek-is-now-a-days-drive-in-nepal/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/11-day-trek-is-now-a-days-drive-in-nepal/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1600834563133000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHnCe3SmMkuGzBulo3cotjccIyIHQ">Ghana S Gurung</a> is the Country Representative of WWF in Nepal and Snow Leopard Champion for the Global WWF Network. The views expressed here are personal.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109151112/636bb5ce9c7e80680e07bc24jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="146">

Remembering Nepal’s conservation heroes

Many of us former Nepal Peace Corps volunteers (PCVs) would agree that our time in Nepal changed in significant but very different ways our perspectives on life if not the future paths we chose to follow. Of no one was this truer than Dorothy Mierow. Dorothy was born in 1920, in Colorado Springs. Her father Charles C Mierow was a classics scholar and Latin professor, who served for ten years as president of Colorado College.&nbsp; Dorothy developed an interest in animals as a child, graduated with a BA degree in natural history from Carlton College in 1942, a Master’s in biology from the University of Pittsburgh, and another Master’s in geography from the University of Minnesota.&nbsp; As a young woman, Dorothy traveled with her father throughout Europe, including a visit to ancient Greek ruins, and took a Magellan Tour by cruise ship around the world in 1958.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025071901074_0bad133ab22aada319e74bbad95d563e191371db291c08f373839fbd15440262.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2025071901074_0bad133ab22aada319e74bbad95d563e191371db291c08f373839fbd15440262" data-rendition-name="original" width="903" height="1178" loading="lazy" alt="How the Peace Corps changed a volunteer's life"> <figcaption>HOME AWAY FROM HOME: Dorothy Mierow as a college student in her native Colorado.</figcaption> </figure>  She was a college teacher during much of the 1940s, also teaching at a girls’ school in Hawaii. Then back to her native Colorado in 1953, where she became a curator and later director of the Colorado College Natural History Museum. She taught geography classes, and in her free time, Dorothy climbed 22 of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks. Traveling in India in 1960, Dorothy decided to spend two weeks in Nepal. In late 1961, she filled out an application to join the Peace Corps and specified that she wanted to go to Nepal, ‘because I admired the people so much when my father and I were there on our trip’.&nbsp; Dorothy reached Kathmandu in September 1962 as the first group of American Peace Corps volunteers in Nepal. She stood out from the others: one of the few women in that group, surely the oldest at age 41, a world traveler, and a woman who already had established a professional career.&nbsp; One doubts if Dorothy had had a husband and children whether she would ever have gone to work and spend much of the rest of her life in Nepal.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025071901078_68e84ade1ffb0f6c83c7f8fa5c1e7315b5f6c543217f96cde012e4d86f171515.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2025071901078_68e84ade1ffb0f6c83c7f8fa5c1e7315b5f6c543217f96cde012e4d86f171515" data-rendition-name="original" width="1259" height="910" loading="lazy" alt="How th Peace Corps changed a volunteer's life NT"> <figcaption>Pokhara Bazar in 1962.</figcaption> </figure>  The Peace Corps assigned Dorothy to teach geography at Tri-Chandra College. After the school closed in the winter due to lack of heating, USAID and the College of Education asked Dorothy to help train general science teachers.&nbsp; She taught for two months and became involved in a textbook-writing project, commenting: ‘I would like the children to know something about public health, conservation (the trees are going fast and so is the soil), and learn the names of some of their common birds, trees, and flowers. They are more impressed with electricity, airplanes, and cell structure.’ When a new college opened in Pokhara in 1963, Dorothy was transferred there and lived with a Nepali family. The college boasted 30 students and no permanent buildings.&nbsp; In October 1963, Dorothy wrote: ‘Pokhara is a town of almost 5,000 people … We are in a fertile valley surrounded by foothills … There is a small Mission Hospital … a Leper Hospital and Tibetan Refugee Camp started by the Red Cross and now run by the Swiss. With winter approaching, more Tibetans are appearing in town, often with pack horses or donkeys. Some have been carrying large boxes of powdered milk,donated (by USAID) to the camp from the airport … There is no electricity, and the transportation problems make many items scarce and expensive. I am really a sort of a museum. The landlord brings all kinds of people in to see how I live and count my shoes and dresses. They express amazement at my books, pictures, tin oven, Nepali dolls from Kathmandu, screened food shelves and curtained closet.’ The standard term for Peace Corps volunteers was two years, but Dorothy extended her term and was still at Prithvi Narayan College at the end of 1965, when she wrote that she had 20 Geography students in the first-year class and 6 in the second year preparing for the IA Examination. The college enrollment was 125 students, and the foundation for a new science building was being excavated.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025071901074_c6a80e5e0db0c705b2f8733c6d30dc0386fe3abbd2238ea9d947b7d746f94a29.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2025071901074_c6a80e5e0db0c705b2f8733c6d30dc0386fe3abbd2238ea9d947b7d746f94a29" data-rendition-name="original" width="902" height="605" loading="lazy" alt="How the Peace Corps changed a volunteer's life"> <figcaption>Mierow and friends at Phewa Lake.</figcaption> </figure>  Dorothy noted that she ate one meal a day at the (Shining Mission) Hospital but otherwise lived on dal-bhat, momo, and potato curry at local shops. However, she had developed a new passion: to build what she initially called the Pokhara Museum of the Himalaya. In commendable Peace Corps fashion, Dorothy always worked with Nepalis and respected the culture. ‘The greatest joy and satisfaction I have had has been from the building of a Museum-Library in memory of my parents … It has been possible to feel like a wealthy benefactor with the money saved by father for the family’s education and now available for the education of others… (Father) would have loved to be in on the founding of a new college and be able to plan a library. Several hundred of the books to be in the museum-library came from his collection and were carefully selected to be of use for students in Nepal…’&nbsp; ‘The museum part is to satisfy my own inclinations and was thought of when I found how little diversion there was for the people of Pokhara… It is part of the University requirements for the college that it should have a geography and biology museum. The museum building is small but adequate.&nbsp; I have tried to design it in harmony with Nepalese architecture and decorate it with some of the art of the best artists or woodcarvers… Posts holding up the porch roof are carved by Cottage Industries to represent different peoples of Nepal in typical costumes. The door was carved by a local wood carver and has typical birds of Nepal around it. Inside are 10 roof-support carvings designed by the retired Director of the National Museum in Kathmandu, Mr. C.M. Maskey.&nbsp; They were carved by the best wood carvers in Patan very skilfully. The building has three rooms: the library, the exhibition room, and a smaller workroom which can be used by our newly formed Woman’s Club as well as other groups or classes.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025071901074_03d3359c65389d30a0134e9a4862778994121e7e833b7d28b18e06e36fc76ff8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2025071901074_03d3359c65389d30a0134e9a4862778994121e7e833b7d28b18e06e36fc76ff8" data-rendition-name="original" width="629" height="599" loading="lazy" alt="How the Peace Corps changed a volunteer's life"> <figcaption>Mierow with local women in Pokhara in 1969.</figcaption> </figure>  Dorothy promoted her project to influential Nepalis connected with organisations whose support she solicited: The Department of Archaeology, the Department of Agriculture, the Godavari Botanical Gardens; Tribhuvan University’s Science and Education Department, Nature Conservation Society.&nbsp; The museum was opened officially in early 1967. The Annapurna Natural History Museum, the building Dorothy designed and had constructed, is still open and features some exhibits which she created many years ago.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025071901074_54326a8a0685e980e782378076de2f5cd02d2426e9b0d94eed972d3dbe83af26.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2025071901074_54326a8a0685e980e782378076de2f5cd02d2426e9b0d94eed972d3dbe83af26" data-rendition-name="original" width="1333" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="How the Peace Corps changed a volunteer's life"> <figcaption>The Annapurna Natural History Museum.</figcaption> </figure>  Dorothy returned to America in 1967, but she longed for Nepal. In the spring of 1969, she again tried to enroll as a Peace Corps volunteer but was told that as she had spent more than four years, she would not be eligible for another assignment. Undeterred, she persuaded the college in Pokhara to invite her to return as a teacher.&nbsp; UNICEF and the Forestry Department sponsored Dorothy to prepare charts on trees, birds, animals and flowers in colour for distribution to the schools of Nepal. Dorothy, back in the Peace Corps, returned to Pokhara and the Museum in 1972. She formed a friendship with her former geography student from Sikles, Chandra Prasad Gurung, and in 1974, she brought Chandra to America, where he enrolled in Colorado College and studied cultural anthropology.&nbsp; Chandra subsequently earned his PhD in geography from the University of Hawaii and returned to Pokhara to become director of the Annapurna Conservation Area Project. Gurung actively promoted ecotourism, landscape conservation, and biodiversity conservation in Nepal. His life was cut short along with those of 23 other Nepalis and foreigners who perished in a helicopter crash near Taplejung in September 2006.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025071901074_322d3c3ac6f1b08ffa07c44a19998b937a7db9eb43527f7539cf6481e1546314.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2025071901074_322d3c3ac6f1b08ffa07c44a19998b937a7db9eb43527f7539cf6481e1546314" data-rendition-name="original" width="2500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="How the Peace Corps changed a volunteer's life"> <figcaption>Mierow's four books on Nepal and its biodiversity. </figcaption> </figure>  Dorothy worked with several well-known Nepalis to publish her paintings and photos in beautifully illustrated books. She and Hemanta Mishra of the National Parks and Wildlife Service wrote Wild Animals of Nepal (Ratna Pustak Bhandar, 1976). More than 400 photos Dorothy took on treks to the Everest region, Gosaikunda, Muktinath, Jumla and Rara Lake, as well as travels in the Tarai, appeared in Himalayan Flowers and Trees (Sahayogi Prakashan, 1978).&nbsp; The botanist Tirtha Bahadur Shrestha identified the species. Dorothy and Kesar Lall published This Beautiful Nepal (Sahayogi Press, 1981). Birds of the Central Himalayas (1988) contained Dorothy’s paintings of 250 species of birds found along the areas of the Kali Gandaki River, Pokhara, Chitwan and the central Tarai. Dorothy summed up her life and work in Nepal in Thirty Years in Pokhara (Pilgrims Book House, 1997). Dorothy returned to Pokhara and her adopted Gurung family several times during the 1980s and 1990s to celebrate festivals and meet old friends. Her final years were spent at her mountain cottage in Green Mountain Falls north of Colorado Springs. She died at the age of 79 in August, 2000. Nepal gave new meaning and purpose to Dorothy Mierow’s life. Daniel W Edwards was a Peace Corps volunteer in 1966 and is the author of several books on Nepal. The author thanks Special Collections, Tutt Library, Colorado College.

How the Peace Corps changed a volunteer’s life

· On the night of 15 May, two glacial lakes burst in Tharka in Humla and the debris flow washed away homes and bridges.&nbsp; · Last week, a slurry surge on the Kali Gandaki in Upper Mustang caused at least Rs15 million in damage, and was traced to a melting glacier. · Dozens are feared dead after <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/rasuwa-flood-likely-a-glof">an expanding glacial lake in Tibet overflowed</a>, sweeping down into Nepal and damaging four hydropower plants generating 230MW, nearly 8% of the country’s total grid supply.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250718060748_45225dc707c1e9c2968ca8dbf6e564e01e4eb6e2ff254fb8eb940cf62cdd910b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250718060748_45225dc707c1e9c2968ca8dbf6e564e01e4eb6e2ff254fb8eb940cf62cdd910b" data-rendition-name="original" width="2667" height="1500" loading="lazy" alt="Rasuwa flood"> <figcaption>Miteri friendship bridge connecting Nepal and China was swept away in the Rasuwa flood. Photo: PRAKASH CHANDRA TIMILSENA / NPL</figcaption> </figure>  And those are just in the past month. Climate scientists say Himalayan glacial lake outbursts are becoming more frequent and destructive, and a warning for Nepal not to put all its eggs in the hydropower basket.&nbsp; <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/when-it-rains-it-pours-ksqprbu3">Record precipitation last September</a> unleashed floods that killed 200 people, and temporarily slashed Nepal’s total generation capacity of 3,000MW by nearly half. The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-valley-suffers-quadruple-disaster">Melamchi flood of 2021</a> caused by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/the-not-so-permanent-frost">permafrost melting</a> on a glacier upstream nearly destroyed a $800 million water supply scheme, Nepal’s largest infrastructure project which four years later still has not resumed full operation. The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/sikkim-flood-is-warning-to-nepal">glacial lake overflow in Sikkim</a> caused by record rainfall in September 2023 that destroyed the $1.2 billion Chungthung Dam and caused catastrophic damage to infrastructure on the Teesta River. This was a warning to the cascade of hydropower plants on the Arun and Marsyangdi river basins.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250718060736_6f61797a6be308321e3bae26e55d2f64cba4b9e5eb262adacb9e92fb5f3c6152.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250718060736_6f61797a6be308321e3bae26e55d2f64cba4b9e5eb262adacb9e92fb5f3c6152" data-rendition-name="original" width="919" height="549" loading="lazy" alt="hydro disasters and hydropower plants"> </figure>  Nepal has set a target of generating an additional 28,500MW by 2035 -- out of the feasible 48,000MW -- but how viable is an energy strategy that is exposed to heightened risk due to climate breakdown? &nbsp; “As extreme weather events increase, we must design and build infrastructures respecting river flow and topography,” says former Energy Secretary Dwarika Nath Dhungel. “We must make the best use of our water resources, but not by letting excavators loose everywhere mining riverbeds and building haphazardly where we shouldn’t.”&nbsp; Although no project can be disaster-proof, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/climate-smarter-himalayan-infrastructure">climate smart design</a> can minimise damage from flash floods and landslides. Recent disasters have driven up insurance premiums for energy projects in Nepal, and smaller ones cannot even afford them. The 456MW Upper Tamakosi hydroelectric project which is still not fully functional after the September floods has claimed insurance worth Rs1.8 billion. The alternative to high risk high investment hydropower projects is <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/what-s-cooking-in-nepal-besides-politics">energy diversification</a> to other renewables such as solar, wind or biogas. Nepal gets annual sunlight of 300 days with 6-7 hours on average to total 50,000 terawatt-hours (TWh) per year.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250718060744_4acd452b4117180ca9bb5d3be839ff46dfd5464e4d507f5ad3704cef6253bc48.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20250718060744_4acd452b4117180ca9bb5d3be839ff46dfd5464e4d507f5ad3704cef6253bc48" data-rendition-name="original" width="1080" height="720" loading="lazy" alt="solar power"> <figcaption>Farmers in Tarai using solar powered water pump. Photo: GHAMPOWER</figcaption> </figure>  The Solar and Wind Energy Resource Assessment (SWERA) calculates that Nepal could source 3,000MW from wind energy alone, considering 10% of the area with more than 300W/m2 wind power density. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/people-power/decentralising-power-in-nepal">Solar energy</a> stations are cheaper and quicker to build, and would be an ideal alternative to reliance on hydropower.&nbsp; “There has been some investment in solar power, especially from the state sector,” says water expert Madhukar Upadhyay. “But there is an issue of land acquisition since the arrays need a lot of space. It is comparatively easier to get a permit to put up a hydropower plant on a river.” As for biogas, there is simply no incentive to build on past success with household level plants to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/more-bullshit">promote industrial-scale production</a>. Scaling up biogas by integrating it with urban biodegradable waste would still be a viable alternative to LPG.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250718060744_715d44afd5eb4ba8dafa209b0ad0f19400665797b5f078f5636821e600f96684.jpg" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20250718060744_715d44afd5eb4ba8dafa209b0ad0f19400665797b5f078f5636821e600f96684" data-rendition-name="original" width="1419" height="954" loading="lazy" alt="windmill"> <figcaption>A wind mill in Hapsikot in Nawalpur. Photo: WINPOWER NEPAL</figcaption> </figure>  Nepal’s public sphere is buzzing with excitement over the discovery of potentially 430 billion cubic metres of methane gas beneath Dailekh district that, if properly harnessed, would meet the country’s energy demand for the next 50 years. Even though a feasibility study is awaited, politicians from the prime minister down see this as a petro bonanza that will make Nepal rich. But drilling, storage and distribution of CNG in the country’s current kleptocratic state make that unlikely. If Nepal was to get rich solely on its hydro-energy potential, it could have done so in the past 50 years. Says Dhungel: “This is not exactly a new discovery, but it is premature to celebrate until its extraction is proven to be cost effective. And let us hope it does not get <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/balance-of-power">tangled in geopolitics</a>, since China is involved in the prospecting and drilling, which could make India uneasy.”&nbsp; The country suffers from the Dutch Disease curse even before its resource is fully exploited. And the same cronyism, corruption and rent-seeking structure cannot deliver the riches we expect from Dailekh’s methane discovery. Now, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/right-climate-for-nepal-s-energy-transition">with hydropower in jeopardy</a>, Nepal’s planners will have to evolve a new strategy for energy security into the future. But first, governance needs to be cleaned up with long-term strategic planning that takes climate risk into account. For example, do we need to mine fossil gas when there are renewable options? Will Dailekh take Nepal away from its climate commitments? Says Madhukar Upadhyay: “Nepal has always been resource rich and management poor. And the larger the resource, the bigger our management incapacity. It is a societal malaise.”&nbsp;

Nepal’s Resource Curse

चौतारा rest stops have long been an integral part of scenic touristic town of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/pokhara-six-decades-ago">Pokhara </a>but are now rarely seen as the city bursts at the seams. They say inhabitants of Pokhara saw a plane before they saw cars. Indeed, the grass airfield was built in the 1950s, while the Kathmandu highway 20 years later. Before roads, people walked to get around, pausing to rest or even nap under the shade of banyan-pipal trees. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/pokhara-s-desperation-and-hope">Pokhara airport’</a>s ‘terminal’ in those days was a shady chautara where passengers waited for their flights. The chautara bore silent witness to daily life, whether it was travellers seeking a brief respite from the summer heat or villagers gathering for a chat in the mornings and evenings. But with the roads came vehicles, and then houses started filling up spaces, even farmlands. Pokhara began transforming from a serene village to a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/pokhara-comes-alive-at-night">bustling city</a>.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250719010724_d101fa482441ce67afdf5bc4e4547b334e7662c1cf0a20e9d31a0e8dff66f04b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250719010724_d101fa482441ce67afdf5bc4e4547b334e7662c1cf0a20e9d31a0e8dff66f04b" data-rendition-name="original" width="2147" height="1581" loading="lazy" alt="Trees of life and living NT"> <figcaption>Photo: DURGA RANA MAGAR</figcaption> </figure>  The banyan-pipal trees were chopped down to make way for wider intersections and buildings. The once-iconic rest stops that carried Pokhara’s identity had all but vanished. “Building chautara was once considered a religious duty, which is why so many of them were constructed across Pokhara,” says archivist Sunil Ulak. <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=10927">Ekai Kawaguchi</a>, a Japanese Buddhist monk, who visited Nepal 120 years ago en route to Tibet, documented <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/no-visitors-in-pokhara-to-admire-view">the landscape of Pokhara</a> and its surroundings. In his book, Three Years in Tibet, he reflects on the natural beauty of the town and its shady trees. A chautara used to be surrounded by ponds, where shepherds would bring their cattle to drink from while they took a nap under the shade. The gentle rustling of leaves in the cool breeze lent a soothing melody as did the chirping of birds, while the insects took refuge in the branches and leaves. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/pokhara-800-years-ago">Pokhara 800 years ago</a>, Kunda Dixit This ‘nature’s breeze’, as botanist Kalyan Panta puts it, is now history due to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/cost-of-living-in-a-big-city">haphazard urbanisation</a>. “When the wind strikes against one leaf, it creates a domino effect and other leaves start waving as well,” he explains. There were 632 chautara in the city until 1977, and by 2000 the number had fallen to 278. But in some wards the number of trees fell from 55 in 1984 to only five now.&nbsp; The gradual loss of these resting places has meant habitat <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/between-existence-and-extinction-in-nepal">destruction of birds and insects</a>, it has also damaged the environment and natural beauty of the city.&nbsp; Researcher Jagannath Adhikari’s study showed that infrastructure projects ignored the environment, and concluded that that urbanisation in Pokhara was unsustainable.&nbsp; The destruction continues to this day. Recently, old chaurata in wards 6, 13 and 14 were cleared to make way for a sacrificial ritual. In fact, ward 6 got a permit from the local government to clear its remaining trees.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250719010724_cee1d4faf8376e7ba18b9c7012ea4215b7c3fbf7e0983b0c97005df5567d6de0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20250719010724_cee1d4faf8376e7ba18b9c7012ea4215b7c3fbf7e0983b0c97005df5567d6de0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Trees of life and living NT"> <figcaption>Photo: DURGA RANA MAGAR</figcaption> </figure>  But in wards 13 and 14, the Human Service Foundation cut down some 33 trees for which it is in a dispute with the metropolitan city as there is no unclear jurisdiction regarding who gives the permit. The Kaski Division Forest Office is currently investigating the matter. Elsewhere in ward 19, the ward office had launched ‘मेरो रूख, म काट्छु’ campaign due to an alleged chaos caused by monkeys in the area. The decision was rescinded after an all-around opposition.&nbsp; To be sure, there are policies in place to protect trees such as the Gandaki Province Forestry Act, 2080, and the Regulations, 2081. The province government also introduced an act in 2019 per which no tree, including pipal, silk cotton and other <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/suburban-tales/trees-trees?%2F">trees of natural and historical importance</a> shall be damaged, eroded or removed. But the local government, responsible for implementing the Act, is doing the opposite. “If this rapid rate of tree felling continues, neither trees nor chautara will survive for the future generation,” conservationist Ram Bahadur Poudel tells us, adding that old trees are being cleared under the pretext of pruning branches. Interestingly, Ulak notes that Pokhara-8 was called सिमलचौर in the past because there were so many majestic silk cotton trees, but there are very few left, if any, and hence altering the identity of a place. With modernisation, people have questioned the significance of chautara in this day and age. But they still have relevance. Urban centres in Pokhara and Kathmandu are much hotter than the outskirts because of the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/in-the-heat-of-the-moment-5xcycyot">urban heat island effect</a>. Says archivist Ulak: “While their original purpose was to provide rest, today they continue to play a crucial role in regulating temperature, beautifying the city, and preserving our environment.”

Trees of life and living

Nepalis are living longer than ever. By 2028, the country is set to join the ranks of other <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepals-demographic-window-is-closing">ageing societies</a> around the world, and by 2054, 1 out of every 7 people in Nepal will be over 65. Life expectancy at birth has risen dramatically from just 55 in 1990 to 71 today, &nbsp;thanks to improvements in public health and access. But as more people live longer, the country must also prepare for a parallel rise in age-related illnesses and the complex social and medical needs that come with an <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/need-to-prepare-for-ageing-society,3624">ageing population</a>. Extended families have always acted as a safety net for <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/home-sweet-home-for-older-nepalis">the elderly</a>, with children and grandchildren shouldering most caregiving duties. But with more than 1,600 <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/migration-not-a-wish-but-necessity-for-nepalis">Nepalis migrating </a>every day, older parents are left behind with no one to care for them. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/the-new-equaliser">Remittances</a> from migrating youth, which account for nearly a third of Nepal’s GDP, have kept the economy afloat. But money sent home cannot make up for the chronic departure of kin and caregivers, who are often the first to catch the signs and symptoms of disease in elders. In rural areas where over 85% of Nepal’s elderly live, the absence of this daily vigilance means early signs of illness often go unnoticed until they become debilitating. As a result, chronic conditions like hypertension, diabetes, and depression are left unmanaged.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250720130748_213f2c65f2638872e9ac0550a7ac251e4960c3726dc5c76215962a23ba71dff1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20250720130748_213f2c65f2638872e9ac0550a7ac251e4960c3726dc5c76215962a23ba71dff1" data-rendition-name="original" width="1064" height="701" loading="lazy" alt="Smart ageing is Nepal’s next frontier"> </figure>  Geriatric medicine is largely absent from medical curricula and there is no national plan in place to manage cognitive decline, memory loss and confusion. These are often mistaken for signs of normal ageing, instead of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/dementia-brings-new-problem-that-families-have-little%20knowledge-of,2151">dementia</a>, delaying care until it is too late. The same pattern plays out with strokes, osteoarthritis, and vision problems — conditions that could be managed early but are instead allowed to spiral into <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/changing-disability-to-this-ability-h68f6sq2">disability</a>. Nepal is not ready for an older future. It needs a strategy for ‘smart ageing’ where the focus is not adding years to life, but enhancing years lived through the intelligent application of policy, infrastructure, and crucially, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/tech-and-transition-in-nepal">technology</a>. Many models of smart ageing, however, are sculpted around modern societies where independent living in later life is the norm. Furthermore, eroding traditional family care and an underdeveloped formal care system means there is a large gap that can’t simply be filled by copy-pasting from foreign models. Nepal must shape its own version of smart ageing. The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/healthcare-moving-from-hospitals-to-homes?%2F">tech boom</a> has led to homegrown digital healthcare apps such as Hamro Doctor, Cura Health, Jeevee and Health Yaad Ayo which offer teleconsultations, online appointments, and at-home test bookings. As <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/nepal-s-new-digital-landscape">smartphones and internet access</a> extend to the most rural fringes of the Nepali countryside, geography is no longer a barrier to the use of these digital tools. What limits their use is the lack of digital proficiency among the older generation. Others find the idea of turning to a device instead of a familiar, reassuring face unfathomable. That is why <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/addressing-nepals-digital-divide?ref=blog.togglecorp.com">digital literacy</a> efforts must be paired with guided human support to build trust alongside technical skill. Such a model of community-led digital mediation is already gaining traction elsewhere. In the UK, ‘digital health ambassadors’—often young people or even schoolchildren—are trained to co-design and advocate for online platforms that resonate with peers who might otherwise feel excluded from automated health services. A Nepali version could engage cohorts of nursing students, tech-savvy youngsters and returnee migrants to assist elders in navigating digital health platforms and troubleshooting problems, and most of all, normalising the idea of health apps being a reliable recourse.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250720130748_fcb94ab76e76b5574189757e88d76fccad4e115e78dd9eae92a3bd4c882c3431.png" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20250720130748_fcb94ab76e76b5574189757e88d76fccad4e115e78dd9eae92a3bd4c882c3431" data-rendition-name="original" width="2246" height="1590" loading="lazy" alt="Smart ageing is Nepal’s next frontier"> </figure>  Nepal’s own network of Female Community Health Volunteers (FCHVs), whose credibility is rooted in long-standing relationships across rural communities, could be similarly upskilled, their roles in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/target-2030-for-maternal-and-newborn-health">maternal and child health </a>expanded and repurposed to also include geriatric tech support. However, there is a limit to how much older adults can adapt to new technologies. So, Nepal should simultaneously invest in passive technologies—tools that monitor and act for the elderly, instead of demanding active use. That is where wearables and in-home smart health devices collectively known as 'gerontechnology' come in. Picture an 82-year-old in far-flung Rolpa, away from the facilities of an urban hospital. Installed in her home are low-cost motion sensors that monitor prolonged inactivity or signs of a fall, instantly triggering alerts to the nearest health post when necessary. On her wrist, a wearable bracelet continuously tracks her sleep, vital signs, oxygen saturation, and glucose levels. This data is encrypted and synced to a digital dashboard accessible by health staff at the local post. If the system flags an acute risk—such as a potential stroke or hypoglycemia—a nearby health worker is dispatched immediately to her home. If her readings over time indicate a trend toward a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/why-do-so-many-nepalis-have-high-blood-pressure">chronic condition</a> like diabetes, community health volunteers step in. They help schedule a virtual consultation with an endocrinologist in Butwal. Based on the advice received, she gets a prescription and picks up her medication from the local community pharmacy, along with a smart dispenser to ensure she sticks to her treatment plan without missing doses. This is not as far-fetched as it may sound. Many of the individual devices forming this connected medical system called an Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) already exist in Nepal as imported commercial products. What is missing is a stronger framework for <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/business/public-health-partnership">public-private collaboration</a>: one where health tech companies continue developing locally adapted tools, and the government actively integrates these innovations into public health delivery. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/people-power/nepal-as-an-ai-power-bank">Nepal’s tech ecosystem</a> is maturing, but policymaking must evolve in tandem, especially when it affects an older generation largely resistant to change. The backlash against the recent mandate requiring National Identity Cards for accessing social security benefits revealed the pitfalls of imposing top-down reforms without adequate preparation or support for seniors. For Nepalis to age well, community caregivers, doctors, innovators, and above all, the state, must step in where families have stepped away. The goal is not to replicate traditional care, but to build a coordinated system of support that connects everyone through technology. The future is older for Nepal, let us be wiser too. The writers are pursuing their undergraduate studies in biomedical engineering at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

kangchenjunga-conservation-area

Saving Kangchenjunga

Participating to save Kangchenjunga

Remembering Harka Gurung

Wildfires ravage Nepal mountains

Kangchenjunga wildfire visible from space

Kangchenjunga wildfire visible from space

Remembering Nepal’s conservation heroes

How the Peace Corps changed a volunteer’s life

Nepal’s Resource Curse

Trees of life and living

Smart ageing is Nepal’s next frontier