<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121140/636a40e69c7e80680e04a649jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1050"/><figcaption>Photo: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption></figure>It is easy to be <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/lumbini-is-not-a-buddhist-disneyland/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">disappointed by Lumbini</a>. Scruffy, dusty and unbearably hot this time of year, it looks from the outside like a desolate construction site.More than 1.5 million pilgrims from all over the world will visit Buddha’s nativity site this year, honouring his teachings of compassion and impermanence. This figure is likely to grow as the new <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-buddha-was-born-in-lumbini/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gautam Buddha International Airport</a> nearby brings direct flights from Asian cities from next year.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=26685&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">U Thant, Kenzō Tange and Lumbini</a>, Kunda Dixit<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/birthday-party/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Buddha Jayanti</a>, on Saturday 18 May, is an annual reminder of the decades of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/lumbinis-unholy-mess/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">political neglect and corruption</a> that have prevented Nepal from taking full advantage of its most important pilgrimage site. There are few signs showing the way, visitors have to take long, hot walks, there are few facilities, and  lots of ugly construction along the new highway.But crass <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/proposed-change-to-lumbini-masterplan-threat-to-Sarus,4090" target="_blank" rel="noopener">commercialisation, greed and abandonment of nature</a> are all reminders of why Buddhist philosophy is still relevant today, and why it is necessary to practice and strive for.Despite everything, the plan of the 23-hectare park designed by <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=9848#.XN1ATxQzaUk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Japanese architect Kenzō Tange</a> in 1972 is more or less being followed, the open spaces have sal and simal forests, the wetlands in between teem with birdlife. The World Heritage Site has a strong spiritual presence and provides corners of solitude, along with dozens of temples in the monastic zone built by Asian Buddhist countries.Lumbini has been a place of pilgrimage for more than 2,000 years, ever since Emperor Ashoka visited and erected his famous nativity pillar. With Visit Nepal Year 2020 and the airport, Lumbini is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/boom-time-in-central-terai/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">poised to be an international destination</a> like never before.To prepare for it, roads are being upgraded and new hotels are coming up outside the sacred garden area. The Lumbini Museum is being re-imagined, transforming Tange’s vaulted brick cylinders into a world-class example of heritage preservation and display.As in life, in Lumbini you see what you look for. A flower only sees flowers and a thorn sees thorns, as the song goes. There are plenty of signs of neglect and ugliness, but looking deeper we remember what the Buddha himself said: “You only lose what you cling to.”

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The right path

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBmGxGmpg8E&amp;feature=youtu.beWhen the Burmese Buddhist Secretary-General of the United Nations, U Thant, visited Nepal in 1967 he flew to Lumbini for a pilgrimage and said: “This is the most important day of my life.” Then, he wept. Many years later, he said he was touched by the visit to the sacred site, and even his grandson Thant Myint-U tells us in an interview (below) that his grandfather was ‘incredibly moved’ in Lumbini. U Thant might have been spiritually stirred to be at the birthplace of the Buddha, but he was also distressed by the condition of the desolate and featureless spot near the Nepal-India border.Read also: <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=26672&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The right path</a> <figure><img width="1000" height="1278" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121140/636a40fe9c7e80680e04a651jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: MIKU DIXIT</figcaption></figure>Back in Kathmandu, he met King Mahendra and discussed restoring Lumbini’s sanctity. And on return to New York, U Thant set up a UN committee to turn the nativity site into an international centre for peace. Both UNDP and UNESCO got involved and the Japanese architect famous for designing the <a href="http://hpmmuseum.jp/?lang=eng" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum</a>, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=9848#.XN1GBxQzaUk">Kenzō Tange,</a> was hired to draw up a master plan. Tange visited Lumbini, and his firm submitted the design in 1978.The project to preserve Lumbini and landscape the sacred garden and surrounding park was to have been finished by 1985, but <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=9848#.XNkefOUza70" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tange died in 2005</a> without seeing the completion of his master plan. The choice of Kenzō Tange for the design was influenced by his stature in post-war Japan. While he was part of the ‘Metabolist’ movement of Japanese architects, his work did not incorporate any obviously traditional Japanese, or even Asian, elements. Neither was he a devout Buddhist. Metabolists sought to experiment with structures that were inspired by biological processes of growth and aggregation. <figure><img width="1400" height="502" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a41009c7e80680e04a652jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>In fact, Tange joined architecture school after seeing the work of the Swiss-French architect and urban planner Le Corbusier, and he admired the functionality of Soviet architecture of the 1930s. This penchant for raw, concrete mega-structures that shunned decorative elements earned Kenzō Tange a place in the ‘brutalist’ school of mid-20th century architectural modernism. Tange’s monumental master plan for Lumbini governed by its north-south axis (above) of a canal that bisects the site, and is straddled by a series of amphitheatres and vast spaces for public meetings. The museum anchors the north, while the concentric circles of the sanctum sanctorum: the sacred garden surrounding the Mayadevi Temple is situated at the south end. The plan includes a monastic zone, a library and Lumbini Village for visitors. The eastern monastic zone was set aside for Theravada Buddhism, while the western zone is for Mahayana Buddhism. The master plan is still being broadly followed, but the masonry structures are falling apart due to poor maintenance, and not all the temples in the monastic zone conform to the overall harmony and scale the architect had in mind.  <figure><img width="1400" height="1398" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a41039c7e80680e04a653jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Lumbini did not develop into a major Buddhist pilgrimage destination like Bodh Gaya, Sarnath or Kushinagar, mainly because it was discovered to be the Buddha’s birthplace relatively late — in the early 20th century. It suffered <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-buddha-was-born-in-lumbini/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">neglect</a> due to its remoteness and because Nepal was closed to foreigners till the 1950s. Even after U Thant’s visit, the Buddha’s birthplace was never accorded the priority it deserved by rulers in Kathmandu who wanted to have it both ways: push Nepal’s identity as the world’s only Hindu kingdom while simultaneously using Lumbini as a symbol of nationalism. The fact that Lumbini is today surrounded mainly by Muslim villages has also diminished local interest. <figure><img width="1400" height="1045" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a41079c7e80680e04a654jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>After U Thant’s death in 1974, the UN’s focus and fund-raising for the project also waned. Although Nepal’s royal family attended numerous meetings of the International Committee for the Development of Lumbini, and gave patronage to the Lumbini Development Trust, the master plan languished. After 1990, corruption, poor governance and conflict took their toll.The government’s <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/lumbinis-unholy-mess/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">weak commitment</a> to Lumbini and lack of transparency meant that over the years, vested interest groups tried to cash in on Lumbini’s fame. Those with resources and geopolitical clout got away with unregulated construction in the monastic zone.One murky affair was an initiative in 2012 by the Asia-Pacific Exchange Cooperation Foundation (APECF), which claimed it would invest $3 billion in Lumbini. The foundation got the backing of Pushpa Kamal Dahal, but soon became <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2012/03/12/wrong-visit-at-the-wrong-time/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">embroiled in controversy</a> because it planned to scrap Tange’s master plan. APECF’s scheme is now on hold.  On Saturday, 18 May President Bidya Devi Bhandari, Prime Minister K P Oli, other government ministers and ambassadors of Buddhist countries in the region will be in Lumbini to give new impetus to developing the Buddhist circuit in Nepal as an <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/Nepal-attracting-spiritual-visitors-by-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">international pilgrimage and tourism</a> destination.The time is ripe, as the new <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/lumbini-international-airport-keys-development,1427" target="_blank" rel="noopener">international airport</a> nearby (called Gautam Buddha International Airport) will be in operation by next year, allowing direct flights from Asian cities, the road linking Lumbini to the Indian border and the East-West Highway is being upgraded, new hotels are coming up and Kenzō Tange’s modular barrel vaulted structures are being revamped into a world-class museum of Buddhism (see below).Despite <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/lumbini-is-not-a-buddhist-disneyland/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">all the setbacks</a> over the decades, Tange’s vast park is now visible on Google Earth and from planes flying at 35,000ft westbound from Kathmandu. The vegetation has grown back, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/proposed-change-to-lumbini-masterplan-threat-to-Sarus,4090" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the cranes</a> are nesting again in the Sacred Garden, and despite noisy picnickers taking selfies on weekends, the site has retained its <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=1500#.XNkeMuUza70" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spiritual significance</a>.The Lumbini Development Trust is now led by the energetic 33-year-old monk, Venerable Metteyya Sakyaputta, who is committed to following Kenzō Tange’s master plan. He told Nepali Times recently: “We have an obligation to preserve Lumbini’s environment and its tranquility for future generations, and this is only possible if everyone joins the effort.”  <h2>Lumbini could be a magnet”: Thant Myint-U</h2> <figure><img width="1000" height="1258" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a410a9c7e80680e04a655jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“ Thant Myint-U is the grandson of former United Nations Secretary-General U Thant, was an adviser to the president of Burma, and is the author of The River of Lost Footsteps: A Personal History of Burma. He is in Nepal this week for the Buddha Jayanti celebration in Lumbini, and spoke to Nepali Times about his recollections of his grandfather, and the future development of Lumbini.Nepali Times: What are some of your earliest memories of your grandfather? Thant Myint-U: I was eight years old when he died in 1974.  We lived together in New York, and so I remember him well: coming home from work in his black Cadillac in a dark overcoat and fedora, puffing on Burmese cigars in his study, his desk piled with books and papers, a photo of Mahatma Gandhi at his spinning wheel behind him, swimming with me in our pool at home, relaxing in a Burmese longyi, enjoying my grandmother’s curries or reading the latest news in the New York Times.NT: What was the reason behind his determination to get the UN involved in preserving Lumbini? In those days, the biggest conflict was of course the Cold War and the ideological conflict between communism and capitalist democracy.  My grandfather believed that religion could be an ally in the cause of peace. In 1965, Pope Paul came to New York at his invitation, the first Pontiff ever to set foot in the new world, and spoke to a special meeting of the UN General Assembly, calling for an end to war. It was not long after that he came to Nepal and visited Lumbini. He was incredibly moved, saying it was one of “the most important days in my life”. I think it was only then that he had this particular vision, as a Buddhist but also as the UN Secretary-General, not only to preserve Lumbini but to connect the development of Lumbini as a global centre, representing values of tolerance and non-violence, with the broader cause of world peace.   NT: You yourself have spent some time in Nepal. What would be some suggestions about how to preserve the sanctity of Lumbini. Yes, I have very fond memories of my year in Kathmandu in 2008. I was not however able to travel to Lumbini, and so have no particular insights on what should be done. I would however say that, as is the case for any of the world’s greatest places, any development should weigh carefully the interests of local people, to ensure they benefit too.  NT: Many people from Burma travel to Buddhist sites in India on pilgrimage. What should be done to attract more of them to the Buddhist circuit in Nepal? I think the most important thing at this point is simply transport. There are no direct flights from Yangon to Kathmandu, which is really a shame. Our two countries, with so much in the way of shared culture, history and even political experience, can benefit immensely from greater contact. I am sure Lumbini could become a magnet, but I hope the Burmese would then take the opportunity to explore Nepal more generally. <figure><img width="640" height="531" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a410c9c7e80680e04a656jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><h2>Reimagining and renovating The Lumbini Museum</h2> <figure><img width="1000" height="1333" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a41109c7e80680e04a657jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Near the sal tree under which Queen Maya, the consort of King Suddhodana, gave birth to Gautam Buddha, a well-conceived museum dedicated to inspiring people the world over with the Buddha’s life and teachings is being restored.The state-of-the-art museum will set a new standard for how heritage and art are preserved and promoted in Nepal, transforming Lumbini into a major spiritual and cultural centre to share with the world the Buddha’s teachings of compassion, openness and truth.Located inside the Sacred Garden Area, <a href="http://www.lumbinimuseum.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Lumbini Museum</a> is an integral part of the architectural landscape and cultural experience of the Buddha’s birthplace.For decades, the cylindrical modules of the museum building designed by Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese architect Kenzō Tange as part of his ambitious master plan languished in neglect.Now, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/lumbinimuseum" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Lumbini Museum</a> has brought together a pool of talent from within Nepal and beyond to re-imagine, renovate and expand the centre as a true cultural and spiritual oasis within Lumbini. The museum has a rich history rooted in the vision of the Buddha’s nativity site as a universal centre for peace, and the new phase of development will further the original vision of the master plan and the museum. Besides the spiritual value of the Buddha’s birthplace, the modernist heritage of Tange’s refurbished structures will be an additional attraction for international visitors. <img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a41129c7e80680e04a658jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1211"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a41159c7e80680e04a659jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="783" height="850">“When we travel to Lumbini we hope to find peace, solace and serenity as part of the Buddha’s teachings, so the re-imagination of the Lumbini Museum is going to be a very special milestone,” says Vice Chair Ven Metteyya Sakyaputta of the Lumbini Development Trust (LDT).In addition to being the birthplace of the Buddha, the Greater Lumbini Area has more than 200 historical sites including Kapilvastu (the ancient capital of the Sakya Kingdom where Prince Siddhārtha lived until age 29), Devdaha (his maternal hometown) and Ramagrama (the only stupa still containing corporal relics of the Buddha).“Lumbini is a very special place where you see all the vehicles come together — Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana — in a big Buddhist spiritual junction ... and at long last a dedicated Buddhist Museum is happening,” says Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche of Bhutan.The structure is currently being restored and refurbished by Asia’s leading architect, <a href="https://www.krisyaoartech.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kris Yao</a>, and the redesigned museum will re-open in late 2020. Conservation and evaluation of display possibilities for priceless archaeological artefacts from the Greater Lumbini Area dating back 2,500 years are underway, with Thai interpretive planner <a href="https://www.thailandtatler.com/people/paravi-wongchirachai" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Albert Paravi Wongchirachai</a> curating, designing and fabricating a world-class gallery space.Says monk and writer <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/business/Altrusim-to-solve-global-challenges,1039" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Matthieu Ricard,</a> “In our troubled world facing human and environmental challenges, the wisdom of Buddha Shakyamuni’s compassionate heritage is more relevant than ever. The Lumbini Museum will offer a unique and inspiring insight on the Buddha’s teachings, a most precious legacy that Nepal can be proud of.”Contemporary fine art, audio-visual shows, dioramas and interactive exhibits will enhance storytelling for a truly modern and powerful experience of the Buddha’s life and message.The Lumbini Museum team is busy fundraising, curating art and mobilising national and international donors, partners, experts and visionaries.Says The Lumbini Museum Director Sumnima Udas: “It is not often that one is given an opportunity to participate in such a momentous undertaking that can have a transformative impact on the identity of Nepal and its people. The Lumbini Museum is not a project, this is our common mission.” <a href="http://www.lumbinimuseum.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">www.lumbinimuseum.org</a>Lumbini over Time2,645 years agoThe birth of Siddhartha Gautama in a sal grove in Lumbini while his mother is enroute to Devdaha2,575 years agoThe Buddha dies at the age of 803rd Century BCE Emperor Ashoka visits Lumbini to commemorate the nativity site with a stone pillar 5th Century BCE Chinese monks Faxian and Xuanzang visit Lumbini and find it in ruins1312 King of Jumla, Ripu Malla, carves graffiti with his name on Ashoka’s pillar   1896 Ashoka’s pillar is rediscovered by General Khadga Shamshere, Governor of Tansen, and German archaeologist Anton Fuhrer1899Indian archaeologist Purna Chandra Mukherji finds the eroded nativity sculpture1932-39Archaeological excavations by General Keshar Shamsher reveal ancient monasteries and temples1956King Mahendra visits Lumbini1959UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld visits Lumbini during trip to Nepal 1967UN Secretary-General U Thant visits Lumbini, and pledges to develop it as an international peace centre 1972 Kenzō Tange is commissioned to create a master plan, which is completed in 19781995Department of Archaeology excavates the marker stone at exact spot where the Buddha was born 1997  UNESCO declares Lumbini a World Heritage Site2003Mayadevi Temple opens to the public for the first time on Buddha Jayanti

Kunda Dixit

U Thant, Kenzō Tange and the Buddha's birthplace

Earlier this month, Nepal received Rs1.6 billion from the World Bank as part of its <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/will-nepal-ever-be-paid-for-saving-trees">Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF)</a>, rewarding the country for increasing its carbon sink capacity. Nepal is the first in South Asia to benefit from this facility, and it is specifically to recompense the country for increasing forest cover in 13 Tarai districts between 2018-2024. “We are also trying to get another Rs13 billion from the facility while also preparing for free market-based carbon trading in the international market,” says Nabaraj Pudasaini of the REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries) Implementation Centre. Big emitters of greenhouse gases are under pressure to reduce their carbon emissions, and many have signed agreements to do so by investing in decarbonisation projects in developing countries. Countries that emit more than a specified amount of carbon would be able to buy emission rights from countries that emit less. Nepal is internationally known for its community forestry program which has been largely credited for <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/tree-mendous">increasing tree cover to over 45%</a> in less than three decades. But this achievement had not been adequately recognised or rewarded internationally before. Forests, especially in the tropics, absorb and store large amounts of carbon while releasing oxygen in a process known as photosynthesis. <a href="https://www.fao.org/forest-resources-assessment/en/">Preventing deforestation</a> and increasing canopy cover is considered a much more achievable goal than reducing emission in the scale necessary to limit global average temperature to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. COP11 in Montreal in 2005 first proposed reducing carbon emissions by improving forest quality by halting degradation. By 2015, a new mechanism of financial assistance was created to help less developed countries with sustainable management of forests <a href="https://www.un-redd.org/">(called REDD+)</a>. Under this new mechanism, countries receive aid based on their efforts to prevent forest degradation and increase carbon sink, and in 2021 the World Bank was entrusted with implementing it. Nepal’s FCPF receipt this month was calculated on the basis of 2.4 million tons of carbon stored at a rate of $5 per ton. In the second phase, Nepal will receive more than Rs4 billion within the next year for storing an additional 7 million tons of carbon. Eighty per cent of this amount obtained from carbon trading needs to be spent on local beneficiaries and indigenous communities.&nbsp; But carbon trading is not easy, Nepal needs to prove that protected forests will not be destroyed in future.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241121091132_c8a381c9a95aa86fec558951650d97bb87914741f01766982ba2b086af001f16.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20241121091132_c8a381c9a95aa86fec558951650d97bb87914741f01766982ba2b086af001f16" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="999" loading="lazy" alt="Greenbacks for greenery NT "> <figcaption>Photo: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption> </figure>  Explains carbon trading expert Yugan Manandhar. “Forests should be handed over to the community and shown that they are managed sustainably. Proving this will be particularly challenging; forest encroachment and degradation is rife in the Tarai.” <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/nepal-is-going-up-in-smoke">Deliberate forest fires</a> have also added to the challenge because they increase carbon emissions and reduce the sink capacity of forests. The basis for the amount that Nepal received was set five years ago by calculating the carbon reserves of forests in the 13 Tarai districts. In the meantime, sustainable forest management, tree plantation, forest destruction and erosion control were prioritised to increase carbon reserves in those forests. Nepal is signing another carbon trading agreement during the ongoing Baku climate conference. The <a href="https://www.leafcoalition.org/">Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest finance (LEAF Coalition) </a>proposes to sell the carbon stored in the forests of Bagmati, Gandaki and Lumbini provinces. For this, Nepal signed the letter of intent three years ago at COP26 in Glasgow. The target is to store 70 million tons of carbon in 32 million hectares of forest in the three provinces per which Nepal will receive Rs13 billion in four years at $10 per ton with provisions to increase the rate if various conditions are met. However, the agreement in itself doesn’t guarantee the amount. According to the targets set by Nepal, forest degradation should be stopped and carbon reserves increased by protecting tree cover. Preparations are also underway for clean air carbon trade because it has offset fossil fuel use by introducing 30,000 electric vehicles. Nepal has been selected for the first round to receive $40 million within one and a half years through the Clean Air System of the World Bank. Given that most of Nepal’s energy mix is from biomass, replacing them with electric stoves can significantly improve health by reducing indoor pollution as well as strengthen the country’s capacity for carbon trade. “Nepal's goal now is to sell carbon in the free market where carbon credits are bought and sold based on supply and demand in an open and transparent manner,” adds Pudasaini of the REDD Implementation Centre. “Nepal can now set its own price and bargain with interested buyer countries and organisations.” Lately, India has been discussing setting up a carbon market. Nepal has exported Rs12.72 billion worth of electricity to India so far this fiscal year, which can be traded under Nepal’s carbon market. “Carbon trading can create significant economic benefits for Nepal, which will help reinvest in development and environmental protection projects,” says Manandhar. “But we must prioritise sustainable management of forests, cutting older trees and allowing regrowth as well as promoting electric stoves and electric vehicles.”

Greenbacks for greenery

Khukri Rum is <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=3719#.WurBk6SFPIU">one of Nepal’s most iconic brands</a>, and is now launching a new Cask Series premium product to sell in Nepal and abroad. The Cask Series Smoked Finish Khukri Rum is a limited edition with only about 7,000 bottles, most of it for export and rest to be sold to rum connoisseurs in Nepal itself. Each bottle is numbered and will mention the cask from which it is derived. “We are working on taking a classic Nepali rum to a new luxury premium brand category, the Cask Series will only be produced this year with new product ranges in future,” explains Subash Lamichhane, managing director of Nepal Distilleries that first started making Khukri rum in 1959 in Balaju and has never stopped. Fermented from molasses in Bara district in the Tarai after the annual sugarcane harvest, the rum is matured for at least eight months during distillation. The distillery bottles the classic Khukri XXX, Coronation Khukri XXX, Khukri White Rum and Khukri Spiced Rum.&nbsp; The distillery is now adding this limited edition of its ‘Cask Series’. While the original rum is stored in huge wooden vats, the rum used for this more exclusive line is in smaller casks made either from oak or sal, with charred insides to give the rum a smoky flavour. The Cask Series rum is indeed smokier than the classic, while the spiced rum tastes toasty and mostly of cardamom. The company has a tasting suite with a master blender and tasters who have to approve the palate test.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241122131124_10b8ddca93b37b0348bf964b4f09e7fac6ef4e754cca6231368850539cd558e2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241122131124_10b8ddca93b37b0348bf964b4f09e7fac6ef4e754cca6231368850539cd558e2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1498" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Khukri Rum"> </figure>  The packaging for the Cask Series is as special as the process. A sturdy patterned box that opens up to a black glass bottle with gold lettering, and an indication of which cask the rum is from. These are then shipped to premium customers around the world One of the reasons this is the more expensive premium line is because the casks are smaller than the vats and the blenders reject more than half of the rum in the casks when the aging period is complete. The trick for the blender is also to decide when to take the run out of the cask.&nbsp; Says Lamichhane: “If we have 25 casks, we expect to throw away about fifteen.”Over the decades, Nepal Distilleries have created and maintained a brand that feels quintessentially Nepali, and has served as Nepal’s ‘ambassador’ with exports to Germany, Korea, Belgium, Finland, the Czech Republic, besides the existing markets among Nepalis in the US, UK, Hong Kong and Australia. &nbsp;Its unique <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/khukri-rum-sharpens-its-act">khukri shaped bottle</a> first introduced for King Birendra’s coronation in 1975 has been a collector’s item. The bottle and rum have been a staple for Nepalis and visitors to take as gifts when they leave the country, and is used as decoration on bar tables around the world. Now, nearly 40 years later, even that bottle will soon be getting a makeover with a sharper design and sleeker handle. “Our bottle design has always been instantly recognisable, and it is,” says Lamichhane. The Himalayan restaurant at The Hague, for example, has a Khukri Coronation bottle adorning its bar (page 6-7). In Washington DC Himalayan Heritage Restaurant &amp; Bar offers ‘Nepalese Khukri Rum’ mojito in its drinks menu with fresh mint, soda water, lime juice and sugar syrup, for $12.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241122131124_b9474db3fc83c85845348dddc30c49652ee1f17229531867fa241de50849cedc.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241122131124_b9474db3fc83c85845348dddc30c49652ee1f17229531867fa241de50849cedc" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Khukri Rum NT"> <figcaption>Christopher Armes, master blender of the Cask Series.</figcaption> </figure>  A distinct element of the award-winning <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/business/khukri-rum-gets-award">classic Khukri rum</a> is its burgundy colour from caramel sourced from cooking sugar and blended with the raw rum. The spirits are then stored in a warehouse with floor-to-ceiling vats. The vats are not just for storage, the wood in the vats imparts flavour into the rum, and removes a lot of the harshness. &nbsp; On a visit this week, the bottling room was just about to begin for the day and the production line was churning out different shapes and sizes of Khukri Rum bottles. Most of the process is automated, including screwing bottle caps, sticking labels, placing the government seal, and packaging. The only manual intervention is the quality control where bottles are held against the light to check for sediment and colour. A mural on the wall of the distillery in Balaju depicts the rum-making process. A lady slings sugarcane on her shoulder, the molasses is churned in a pot, water is channelled into the distillation process, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom are added to a container, and finally there is a bottle of the classic Khukri Rum against a Kathmandu backdrop.

Khukri goes premium with new rum

Turkish Airlines has introduced a new amenity kit collection designed in collaboration with French fashion house Lanvin for international business class passengers on flights more than five hours. It consists of five pieces designed for sustainability and elegance. Bags are reusable and will consist of Lanvin cosmetic products like hand and body lotions and lip balm. Eye masks and socks are made from recycled materials, earplugs are packaged in paper and the toothbrush is bamboo.

Turkish amenity kit

Nepal now generates a surplus of electricity and it is all from renewable hydropower. Nearly half the country is under forest cover. Despite meeting these decarbonisation goals, Nepal’s hydropower plants are threatened by increased risk due to climate impact.&nbsp; Till <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/when-it-rains-it-pours-ksqprbu3">28 September</a>, Nepal was <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/india-nepal-sign-power-exchange-deal">exporting just over 1,000MW</a> of electricity to power-hungry India, when flash floods and landslides unleashed by historically heavy rains damaged over 30 hydropower plants across the country, temporarily <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/power-to-the-people">slashing nearly half the power generation.</a> The 456MW Upper Tamakosi in Dolakha was the hardest hit and it will take six months and Rs2 billion to repair. This has significantly reduced exports as well as domestic generation. Two months later, Nepal has still not been unable to fully keep its export commitment, and is actually paying Rs100 million in fines to India. Thirty-seven existing and under construction projects under the Independent Power Producers' Association Nepal (IPPAN) suffered Rs2.5 billion in damage. One of them is the 22MW Bagmati project in Makwanpur which was almost completely buried in flood debris. Even before <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/60-dead-64-missing-in-nepal-floods">record-breaking rain in September</a>, 15 other hydropower projects had been damaged by floods. Last year, floods caused by heavy localised rain damaged 28 hydropower plants. World governments met in Baku for COP29 to discuss the Loss &amp; Damage Fund and the Adaptation Fund, but for countries like Nepal the commas and brackets are meaningless until they are turned into $ and €. And likelihood of adequate compensation for climate-related damage is a long way off, if ever. Nepal’s national strategy is to use its vast hydropower resource as clean energy to spur economic growth, job creation, and boost export revenue. But the plants are located in narrow Himalayan valleys prone to landslides and floods even at the best of times. Now, those <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/changing-climate-for-investment-in-nepal">risks have been heightened by weather extremes</a> due to climate breakdown. At present, Nepal generates over 3,300MW of clean hydropower, and the target is to reach 12,700MW in the next five years. Projects equivalent to 6,000MW are under construction or ready to start. The Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation has an Energy Development Roadmap and Action Plan with the target of producing 28,500MW by 2035 by when more than half of it will be exported.&nbsp; “The climate crisis will further change the rainfall patterns making hydropower generation a big question mark in the future,” Manjeet Dhakal in Baku, who is also the Nepali adviser to the LDC Chair at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). “We are building hydropower projects on rivers without evaluating risk. This whole process needs to be reviewed and reconsidered.” The report of the National Adaptation Plan published by the Ministry of Forest and Environment last year mentions that hydropower production, transmission and distribution will be at risk from flash floods, debris flows, glacial lake outbursts and rising temperatures.&nbsp; This risk is not confined to Nepal. Average global temperatures have increased by 1.3°C compared to the pre-industrial era. Worse, the Himalayan mountains are warming faster than the global average by 0.7°C because of elevation-dependent warming. A study conducted by our own Department of Hydrology and Meteorology in 2017 showed that the average temperature in Nepal has increased in the last four decades. Scientists say this is leading to extreme weather unleashing floods and landslides on slopes already destabilized by seismicity.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241124071128_d22901a360e8958f606d80ffa21defba05a671f65afec65539dc21a6885d8345.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20241124071128_d22901a360e8958f606d80ffa21defba05a671f65afec65539dc21a6885d8345" data-rendition-name="original" width="1333" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Right climate for Nepal’s energy transition NT"> <figcaption>BIBLICAL RAIN: Photo taken during catastrophic rain on 27-28 September at the Upper Tamakosi project site that destroyed the control room, killing four staff and burying the sedimentation tanks. Photo: RSS</figcaption> </figure>  Increased atmospheric temperatures has made the monsoon rains more erratic. It does not rain when it is supposed to, and it comes down in torrents when it is not supposed to. The September floods happened two weeks after the monsoon was supposed to retreat from central Nepal. Kathmandu Valley received half its annual precipitation in just over a day. &nbsp; Winter precipitation has also failed, especially in the high mountains and trans-Himalayan valleys. Thirteen of the past 19 years experienced winter drought. This impacts on dry season flows of the rivers, reducing hydropower generation. Nepal’s power capacity normally goes down by one-fourth during winter, but the gap is widening. The Kabeli corridor could only generate 20MW November-March even though plants there have an installed capacity of 200MW. Similarly, Upper Tamakosi only produced 65MW at most against its 456MW capacity last winter. The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) pays producers double the price for winter electricity, Rs8.40 per unit. Even though winter operation is highly profitable the rivers run low and NEA has to import from India to meet the winter demand. “This is not just a weather problem but a serious challenge also for the country's energy future, good climate-friendly design should be combined with policy and effective implementation,” says Subarna Das Shrestha, a hydropower investor and CEO of Sanima Mai Hydropower. “Insurance premiums have gone up as well, and settlement for damage is not timely.” <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/climate-risk-to-hydropower-investment">Hydropower investment</a> at one time was regarded as having a high rate of return. Now, some investors have become <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/climate-smarter-himalayan-infrastructure">wary of the risks involved</a>. Says IPPAN’s Uttam Blon Lama: “Hydropower projects expected to give stable returns are now looking risky. Not only is climate adaptation design and planning expensive, but future repair and maintenance costs will also skyrocket.” Nepal has only one storage type dam <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/rivers-be-dammed">in Kulekhani</a> and another one is being built in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/missing-pieces-of-the-hydropower-jigsaw">Tanahu</a>, but they are also at risk. In September, the sluice gates of Kulekhani Dam had to be opened causing loss of life and destruction downstream. Nepal has to learn lessons from the deadly collapse of the $1 billion <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/sikkim-flood-is-warning-to-nepal">Chungthang Dam in Sikkim</a> in October 2023 cause by a glacial lake burst. Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) in Nepal pose potentially catastrophic risk to infrastructure. The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/lives-on-the-line-in-the-himalaya">Thame flood in August</a> was a relatively minor debris flow that damaged half of this village in the Everest region when <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/climate-breakdown-linked-to-thame-flood">two glacial lakes at 4,760m burst</a>. Luckily there was no loss of life. Of the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/lives-on-the-line-in-the-himalaya">47 high-risk glacial lakes</a> in the eastern Nepal Himalaya, 21 are in Nepal and the rest are in rivers in China that are tributaries of the Arun and Bhote Kosi where Nepal has major hydropower plants under construction, or planned.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241123021128_b596cd8520c57a6c5476031e7a3ea6510f26b464c4d5351d2bc10f6f7d6b70d8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="20241123021128_b596cd8520c57a6c5476031e7a3ea6510f26b464c4d5351d2bc10f6f7d6b70d8" data-rendition-name="original" width="871" height="648" loading="lazy" alt="Page 10-11 map #1236 NT"> </figure>  Global temperature rise is accelerating the melting of Himalayan snow and ice, increasing the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/living-below-nepal-s-melting-mountains">number and size of glacial lakes</a> so that we do not even have names for them. Imja Tso did not even exist in the old trekking maps until 25 years ago, but is now a 2km long lake. “Natural moraine dams in the mountains are weak, and the projects downstream can face major destruction if they burst, and the risk will only increase in future,” warns climatologist Arun Bhakta Shrestha at the <a href="https://www.icimod.org/">International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)</a>. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/terrifying-assessment-of-a-himalayan-melting">An ICIMOD assessment in 2019</a> projected that if present heating trends continue, as they probably will, the Himalaya will lose two-thirds of our glaciers by the end of this century. “Generally speaking, hydropower developers hand over the project to the government after 30 years but by that time given the climate risks, they may not be an asset anymore,” says Manjeet Dhakal. Indeed, the cascade of expensive projects India is building on the Arun River are supposed to be handed back to Nepal in 25 years, but there is a big ‘if’ about whether they will survive that long. &nbsp;&nbsp; Planning of hydropower projects is still based on historical hydrological data, and does not take into account future temperature rise and its consequences. Investors, on the other hand, say that planning hydropower projects with climate components would make them even more expensive.&nbsp; “It’s not that we aren’t preparing for climate risk, we design keeping in mind the once-in-100-year flood,” says Blon of IPPAN. “But if we start designing based on once in 1,000 years flood, the cost would be so high that we won’t be able to build them at all.” Nonetheless, Subarna Das Shrestha of Sanima Mai Hydropower says that there is no option but to go for climate smart infrastructure despite the higher cost. Sanima Mai's powerhouse, for example, is completely underground. The strategy could also be to spread the risk by building less expensive plants located on rivers all over the country. Nepal is also diversifying away from its sole reliance on hydroelectricity, which at present supplies 92% of the power in the grid. Most of the rest comes from solar plants, where the total potential has not even been scratched. &nbsp; 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_21" data-image-id="20240630110640_30c3782f9c09219bf1c249b51483a3cfb7a53a06d117d2aebd23ca7080d12758" data-rendition-name="original" width="680" height="103" loading="lazy" alt="SDG logo"> </figure>  &nbsp;

kenzo-tange

The right path

U Thant, Kenzō Tange and the Buddha's birthplace

Greenbacks for greenery

Khukri goes premium with new rum

Turkish amenity kit

Right climate for Nepal’s energy transition