<img width="1394" height="958" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111413114/63722ebe9c7e80680e0c24dcjpeg.jpg" alt=""/>Three days after the Supreme Court released the full text of its verdict ordering the government to halt all plans to build a new <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/building-nijgad-come-what-may/">international airport at Nijgad Forest</a>, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba flew down to the site in an Army helicopter. His Communist coalition partners Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Madhav Kumar Nepal went along for the ride.In defiance of the Supreme Court, Deuba vowed to challenge the ruling. Sitting in a semicircle of sofas with other Cabinet ministers, he declared: “The government is committed to completing the construction of both the Nijgad airport and the Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway linking it to the capital.”Deuba interpreted the 3-2 ruling by the justices to mean that the high court had not actually rejected building the airport, just to ensure adherence to environmental safeguards. Why such a show of force and thumbing of noses on the part of the executive against the judiciary? Tagging along with Deuba on the Nijgad flyby were the entire cabinet and coalition partners. Not only is the unity of the coalition hanging by a thread as individual members weigh their chances in November's federal and provincial elections, but member parties are also <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/deubas-mixed-report-card/">rife with internal tension.</a>The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/aborted-landing-in-nijgad/">real estate mafia</a> with close ties to the leadership of all political parties has reportedly invested heavily in land surrounding the proposed $3.6 billion airport. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/aborted-landing-in-nijgad/">Contractors will also benefit</a> from political patronage and are rubbing their palms at <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/15-points-for-and-against-nijgad-airport/">felling an entire forest</a> of hardwood timber.But the more immediate reason for government partners and the entire cabinet to airlift itself to Nijgad on Saturday was <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/planting-seeds-of-democracy/">to show that the coalition is strong </a>and united. <img width="1738" height="832" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111413114/63722ec29c7e80680e0c24ddjpeg.jpg" alt="">The trip also came the day after the dissident Nepali Congress leader Shekhar Koirala accused Deuba of no longer being the president of his own party, but president of the coalition. Koirala’s faction includes deputy president Dhanaraj Gurung and general secretary Gagan Thapa, and threatened to launch a “constructive opposition” against its own party leadership. It also accused Deuba of tolerating lack of transparency in the Finance Ministry, and of his inability to take action to protect the economy from further shock.Bagmati Province Chief Minister Rajendra Pandey was also in the group. Nijgad falls within Madhes Province, and its Chief Minister Lal Babu Raut also wants the airport project to go ahead to spur economic growth.Rajendra Pandey’s inclusion in the trip taken win added significance because he has refused to step down as chief minister of Bagmati Province as agreed earlier with the coalition partners. In fact, Nepali Congress leaders in Hetauda had started a signature campaign against Pandey and a decision was to be taken at a parliamentary party meeting of the Unified Socialists on Saturday itself.The other reason for the trip was for Deuba to send an indirect message of defiance to the Supreme Court that it had no business interfering with decisions of the government.  It was a signal that the executive does not feel compelled to follow word for word any decision of the judiciary. <img width="1500" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111413114/63722ec59c7e80680e0c24dejpeg.jpg" alt="">In fact, the Supreme Court’s decision has taken the proposal to build an international report in Nijgad to its pre-1995 date. From now on, we should no longer refer to Nijgad as <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/does-nepal-need-a-4th-international-airport/">a proposed international airport</a>, but as the last remaining native tropical forest in the eastern Tarai that it is. The Court's final text says: ‘We do not see any logical argument to prove that there is no other alternative to building an airport at Nijgad.’An exhaustive and lengthy sentence in the verdict goes on to state: ‘In addition to the economic and technical feasibility of the airport, there needs to be an objective, neutral and competent assessment by economists, social scientists, administration experts, of the impact on the environment, forest ecosystem, wildlife of the region, and an investigation into alternative sites where actual and realistic ways to minimise the environment impact are examined so that a legally acceptable environmental risk assessment report can be made that takes into account expert advice, to conclude what capacity airport should be built, where, and in what area, and the court orders that these factors are then taken into account to decide on the location of an airport that has the smallest ecological footprint.’Translated, these 119 pages of legalese means that the Supreme Court has decided that destroying the Nijgad Forest to build an airport <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/zurich-airport-international-opts-out-of-nepal-project/">is not worth the damage</a>. The issue now is: will the government dare to go against this verdict?Read more: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nijgads-green-runway/">Nijgad’s green runway</a>, Kashish Das Shrestha

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Flight of fancy

<figure><img width="2846" height="1594" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111124/6372181a9c7e80680e0baa25jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>The Nijgad Airport construction site. Pic: Kiran Nepal</figcaption></figure>As the date for a final Supreme Court ruling on the proposed new international airport in Nijgad approaches, uncertainty once more shrouds the $3.5 billion project. Supporters call the airport 60km south of Kathmandu as a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/15-points-for-and-against-nijgad-airport/">necessary infrastructure investment</a> for the country’s economic growth, while opponents say it is an <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/megalomania-kleptomania/">expensive and an ecologically disastrous white elephant</a>. On 26 May, the Supreme Court is slated to give a final verdict on a public interest litigation citing irreversible environmental damage, since it will mean felling 40sq km of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/tree-mendous/">primary tropical forest</a>.  A 2010 feasibility study by Korean consultants Landmark Worldwide proposed a 3-phase construction with a single 4,000m runway for 15 million passengers per year at a cost of $650 million in the first phase to be completed in 4 years. By the third phase, there would be four runways for 67 million passengers a year at a cost of $6.7 billion. It will take another ten years for the final completion.Successive governments, including those led by parties in the current coalition as well as the opposition, have all enthusiastically backed Nijgad, saying it is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/does-nepal-need-a-4th-international-airport/">important for Nepal’s future</a>.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/does-nepal-need-a-4th-international-airport/">Does Nepal need a 4th international airport?</a> Om Astha Rai“Kathmandu airport was <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Air-jam,4196">built for 9.2 million passengers</a> a year, and it has already exceeded that,” says Pradeep Adhikari, Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN). “Annual international passenger growth is 9-12% and domestic flights have grown by 33% in the past year. Tourism was growing at 10% a year pre-pandemic, and will revive,” he added.With Kathmandu projected to handle 25 million passengers per year by 2040, Pokhara and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/bhairawas-new-airport-already-too-small/">Bhairawa just do not have the capacity</a> to reduce that pressure.“We have reached the limit of air space capacity, terminal capacity and runway capacity,” Adhikari explains.However, it is not just environmentalists who question the rationale for Nijgad. They say the airport is designed for an obsolete <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/megalomania-kleptomania/">‘hub-and-spoke’ model</a>, whereas global aviation has moved to point-to-point destinations with new generation of aircraft that can circumnavigate the globe with just one stop.They also say that with the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/pandemic-impact-on-aviation-may-kill-nijgad/">impact of the pandemic</a> and spreading awareness about the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/tourism-aviation-and-carbon/">climate crisis</a>, there is already a slowdown in civil aviation growth in parts of the world, and that the age of mega-airports is over. Besides, can Nepal afford the debt financing for such a mammoth undertaking? <figure><img width="1329" height="885" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111124/6372181e9c7e80680e0baa26jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The writ petition at the Supreme Court faults a 2018 <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepals-environment-impact-non-assessments/">Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)</a> for downplaying the impact on biodiversity and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-must-save-nijgad-forest-to-receive-climate-funds/">carbon sequestration potential</a> of the Nijgad jungle – the last remnant of the once extensive Char Kose Jhari that stretched across the central Tarai.Nepali Times received a copy of the EIA report, and found that it actually <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/pandemic-impact-on-aviation-may-kill-nijgad/">copy-pasted from a hydropower project</a> in the mountains. It did not even delete technical references to ‘headwork’ and ‘powerhouse’. It cites Nijgad as being the habitat of the ghoral, an antelope-like mammal found only in the Himalaya.One of the other concerns is noise pollution from heavy jets on the nearby Parsa National Park, but the EIA misses the point. Saying instead that noise will be mitigated by using ‘less dynamite’. Again, this seems to be from an EIA of a hydropower project. The EIA was prepared by the firm GEOCE Consultants, whose area of expertise is hydropower. The EIA also overestimates passenger handling capacity of 60 million per year, lacks environmental and ecological assessment of the proposed ‘aeropolis’, quarry sites, and infrastructure in the construction and operation phases.In its final phase, the airport  would ultimately require 8,046 hectares of which nearly 95% is heavily forested at present. This has led critics to call Nijgad a “<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/15-points-for-and-against-nijgad-airport/">logging concession</a>” rather than an international airport project.Destruction of the Nijgad forest could impact on <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Recharging-the-mountains,3465">ground water recharge</a> and river flow, affecting irrigation and agriculture production downstream in the fertile Tarai plains.It would also remove the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/habitat-destrcution-of-tiger-in-Tarai,3423">last remaining wildlife corridor</a> for migration between the Tarai jungles and the Siwalik and Mahabharat ranges to the north.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-must-save-nijgad-forest-to-receive-climate-funds/">Nepal must save Nijgad Forest to receive climate funds</a>, Kashish Das ShresthaSince the project area is a part of the Parsa National Park buffer area and lies in the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-can-up-forest-cover-to-45-by-2030/">Terai Arc Landscape</a> (TAL), environmentalists say that the EIA should have analysed the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/pandemic-impact-on-aviation-may-kill-nijgad/">impact of the project on biodiversity and wildlife</a> much more carefully. A 1994 report by the <a href="https://www.iucn.org/">International Union for the Conservation of Nature</a> (IUCN) showed the Nijgad forest to be ecologically fragile, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/economy-ecology-of-nijgad-airport/">rich in biodiversity and wildlife</a> movement routes.  The forest has Khair, Sissoo, Sal and Satisal trees, some of which  cannot be logged and exported by law according to the revised forest rules of 2001.Hardwood tropical forests with their canopy cover and undergrowth are much <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-must-save-nijgad-forest-to-receive-climate-funds/">more effective at carbon sequesteration</a>, and experts have calculated that felling the Nijgad jungle would prevent 22,500 tonnes of carbon from being absorbed from the atmosphere annually.Parts of the Nijgad jungle are community forests, or locally protected, and have small seasonal streams and natural drainage systems forming a ‘paini’ network that villagers traditionally use for wells, irrigation and drinking.The EIA does not have a valuation of ‘ecosystem services’ and livelihood benefits for the 37,000 households that depend on the forest for firewood, fodder and water. If the forest is replaced by an airport, it could put further pressure on the nearby national park and other protected areas.The EIA mentions that the government will compensate local communities for loss of livelihood, and initiate a major <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/mini-forests-to-make-kathmandu-more-liveable/">reforestation drive</a> to replace the trees. But it does not mention where and how many trees will be planted. Nepal’s record for compensation and replanting in other infrastructure projects is poor. <figure><img width="1361" height="784" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114111124/637218219c7e80680e0baa27jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>CAAN’s Adhikari argues that no development project anywhere in the world comes with zero environmental cost.“The idea is to mitigate the impact and strictly follow  guidelines for replanting trees that are lost,” he says.  But such massive reforestation is an ambitious goal, and difficult with Sal saplings that nurseries find hard to grow. It takes decades to build species diversity and fully functioning forest ecosystems, and they still cannot replace native forests. Environmentalists say the EIA also does not look at <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/15-points-for-and-against-nijgad-airport/">alternative sites</a> for the airport that would be less damaging.Nepal has increased forest cover in the past years, but sub-tropical and tropical forests are declining even as the country’s carbon footprint grows. At COP26 in Glasgow last year, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba set a target for Nepal to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-can-up-forest-cover-to-45-by-2030/">increase its forest area to 45% by 2030</a>, and opponents of the project say Nijgad would be a step backward.The Nijgad EIA was submitted in March 2018, and hurriedly approved within two months by the Ministry of Forests and Environment. Critics say it is wrong for both the presenter of the EIA and the approver being government agencies. In fact, the last sentence of the EIA even says <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/zurich-airport-international-opts-out-of-nepal-project/">Prime Minister K P Oli  backed the project</a> and wanted it to be started ‘ASAP’.“We have to look at 20 years from now,” says Adhikari of CAAN. “There is going to be big tourism growth, Nepalis will be traveling more, and we will have outgrown Kathmandu, Pokhara and Bhairawa. Nepal needs a primary international airport in the coming decades.” Even before the EIA approval, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation had already contracted the Nepal Army to start clearing trees at the Nijgad site. At present 60% of land acquisition has been completed, tree felling has begun, and work has started on civil works and river training.Politically motivated environmental assessments are common in developing countries like Nepal, and opponents say the Nijgad EIA is one such.  Read more: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/megalomania-kleptomania/">Megalomania + Kleptomania</a>, Editorial

Aria Shree Parasai

Building Nijgad, come what may

<img width="1500" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121136/636b91389c7e80680e06f0d6jpeg.jpg" alt=""/>Nine of Nepal’s development partners have issued a statement on the occasion of World Environment Day 5 June that underlines their commitment to help Nepal respond to Covid-19 and the climate crisis. The statement also makes a reference to the mammoth Nijgad airport project, saying that while Nepal needs infrastructure, decisions on large projects like Nijgad need to be ‘based on sound economic, financial, climate, environmental and social impact analyses in line with Nepal’s climate and other commitments’. Full statement: On World Environment Day, we restate our commitment to helping Nepal respond to the Covid-19 pandemic and a sustainable and inclusive recovery.This commitment is demonstrated in our joint support for Nepal’s Green, Resilient and Inclusive Development (GRID) ambitions for which development partners have committed up to US$7.4 billion. With committed leadership from the Government we look forward to embarking on a green, resilient and inclusive growth path together as the Covid-19 crisis abates.  Nepal has recently delivered a new budget that features GRID principles in action. It is our sincere hope that Nepal’s commitment to GRID can be an example to the rest of the world at the Global Climate Conference, COP 26, to be held later this year. Forests are essential to achieving green, resilient and inclusive development, as they reduce both the causes and impacts of climate change. Nepal’s forests absorb dangerous climate gases, maintain water resources and decrease soil erosion, drought, and landslide risks. They are also the source of valuable natural resources and wildlife that support job creation and economic development in the forestry and tourism sectors.Nepal has an internationally recognised record of increasing forest cover and maintaining biodiversity. Established forests, particularly, make the biggest contribution to carbon capture, biodiversity and economic value.  Before taking decisions to reduce Nepal’s mature, indigenous forests, sufficient analyses of potential economic, environmental and social impacts are extremely valuable to ensure things are done right, and the right things are done.   <img width="535" height="279" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121136/636b913c9c7e80680e06f0d7jpeg.jpg" alt="">The proposed Nijgad Airport is one example, which we understand may lead to the loss of up to two million native trees in an area of very high conservation value. We recognise the important role of infrastructure, and that development cannot avoid all environmental and social impacts. However, it is important to ensure that decisions, particularly those for large projects such as Nijgad Airport, are based on sound economic, financial, climate, environmental and social impact analyses in line with Nepal’s established economic, environmental and social regulations, as well as climate and other commitments.International experience shows that transparency and public consultation are key to ensuring large projects are successful. A transparent and inclusive public dialogue on the costs and benefits of projects such as this can ensure that diverse stakeholders’ views and available evidence are used to inform decision making. As Nepal’s development partners, we are happy to support these dialogues. This is especially important as the world looks beyond Covid-19 to a more sustainable, inclusive and climate-resilient future – a future that requires all of us to acknowledge our dependence on nature.This Statement is supported by the Asian Development Bank, Australian Embassy, British Embassy, European Union, Finnish Embassy, French Embassy, German Embassy, United Nations and World Bank in Nepal.

Importance of ecosystems for people and the planet

<img width="1500" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131144/636cf2169c7e80680e09d8e5jpeg.jpg" alt=""/>Nine of Nepal’s development partners have issued a statement on the occasion of World Environment Day 5 June that underlines their commitment to help Nepal respond to Covid-19 and the climate crisis. The statement also makes a reference to the mammoth Nijgad airport project, saying that while Nepal needs infrastructure, decisions on large projects like Nijgad need to be ‘based on sound economic, financial, climate, environmental and social impact analyses in line with Nepal’s climate and other commitments’. Full statement: On World Environment Day, we restate our commitment to helping Nepal respond to the Covid-19 pandemic and a sustainable and inclusive recovery.This commitment is demonstrated in our joint support for Nepal’s Green, Resilient and Inclusive Development (GRID) ambitions for which development partners have committed up to US$7.4 billion. With committed leadership from the Government we look forward to embarking on a green, resilient and inclusive growth path together as the Covid-19 crisis abates.  Nepal has recently delivered a new budget that features GRID principles in action. It is our sincere hope that Nepal’s commitment to GRID can be an example to the rest of the world at the Global Climate Conference, COP 26, to be held later this year. Forests are essential to achieving green, resilient and inclusive development, as they reduce both the causes and impacts of climate change. Nepal’s forests absorb dangerous climate gases, maintain water resources and decrease soil erosion, drought, and landslide risks. They are also the source of valuable natural resources and wildlife that support job creation and economic development in the forestry and tourism sectors.Nepal has an internationally recognised record of increasing forest cover and maintaining biodiversity. Established forests, particularly, make the biggest contribution to carbon capture, biodiversity and economic value.  Before taking decisions to reduce Nepal’s mature, indigenous forests, sufficient analyses of potential economic, environmental and social impacts are extremely valuable to ensure things are done right, and the right things are done.   <img width="535" height="279" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131144/636cf2199c7e80680e09d8e6jpeg.jpg" alt="">The proposed Nijgad Airport is one example, which we understand may lead to the loss of up to two million native trees in an area of very high conservation value. We recognise the important role of infrastructure, and that development cannot avoid all environmental and social impacts. However, it is important to ensure that decisions, particularly those for large projects such as Nijgad Airport, are based on sound economic, financial, climate, environmental and social impact analyses in line with Nepal’s established economic, environmental and social regulations, as well as climate and other commitments.International experience shows that transparency and public consultation are key to ensuring large projects are successful. A transparent and inclusive public dialogue on the costs and benefits of projects such as this can ensure that diverse stakeholders’ views and available evidence are used to inform decision making. As Nepal’s development partners, we are happy to support these dialogues. This is especially important as the world looks beyond Covid-19 to a more sustainable, inclusive and climate-resilient future – a future that requires all of us to acknowledge our dependence on nature.This Statement is supported by the Asian Development Bank, Australian Embassy, British Embassy, European Union, Finnish Embassy, French Embassy, German Embassy, United Nations and World Bank in Nepal.

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111152/636cd83e9c7e80680e092e31jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1127"/>As the 4th most vulnerable country in the world to the impact of the climate crisis, Nepal has emerged as a bellwether at international climate and conservation events.Outside of the poles, the Himalaya is the largest storehouse of fresh water, and the mountains are one of the most biologically-diverse regions on Earth.Nepal is a compelling story for international development partners who have invested vast resources into its conservation effort for decades, and not without some success.But how accountable are these partners if their resources are awarded to the very actors perpetuating the ecological disasters that their funds are meant to prevent?Nepal entered 2021 with a winter drought that resulted in barren mountains and raging wildfires. In February it saw high profile donor-funded events, including a visit by the British MP and President of COP26, Alok Sharma, who announced a combined $7.4 billion Green Recovery Support package for Nepal.However, none of the donors seemed concerned that the  government plans to clear-cut Nijgad Forest, the last remaining tract of native hardwood jungle in Nepal’s eastern plains.The forest is a corridor for nature areas in India and Nepal and is home to tigers, rhinos, elephants and pangolins. To understand the importance of Nijgad Forest, one simply has to read the detailed documents Nepal has submitted to agencies like UKAid, USAID and World Bank to qualify for funding that goes into protecting forests and endangered species.The government and the international community already agree that destroying Nijgad Forest would be devastating for Nepal.Yet, as Nepal’s political leadership openly pushes plans to clear-cut Nijgad, the international community is set to award it with additional billions of dollars and a massive green-washing opportunity.It is to address this devastating contradiction that today I am launching the campaign SaveNijgadh.org, and demand that Nepal’s development partners condition conservation aid on the government’s commitment to protecting Nijgad Forest by the time COP26 Climate Summit takes place in Glasgow in November.The Nepal government's plan to build an international airport by logging Nijgad's trees amounts to perhaps the largest organised ecological crime in the country in recent times. It is enormous in scale, audacity and the amount of money that will change hands.For most of 2020, Nepal’s Cabinet cited an agreement with Zurich Airport International as the justification to start chopping down trees worth millions of dollars even though no such agreement existed. (See www.nepalitimes.com 18 September, 2020).In May, the former Minister of Civil Aviation and Tourism Yogesh Bhattarai invoked that imaginary agreement to defy a standing Supreme Court order that barred cutting of any trees for the project. He ordered the felling of 4,000 trees, and in September announced plans to cut down tens of thousands more by end-2020.At the same time, Prime Minister Oli was boasting about his government’s commitment to forest conservation to world leaders at the UN General Assembly. Nepal will make similar declarations at COP26.The $3.5 billion airport has never had a financier, developer or an airline that plans to use it. What the erstwhile Nepal Communist Party was steadfast on, instead, was to expedite the logging of more than two million trees estimated to be worth over $500 million, and ignoring all local protests, experts, court orders, and the government’s own regulations in doing so.The issue of accountability also touches the country offices and headquarters of Nepal’s development partners, as well as taxpayers back home whose funds are going to projects led by bad actors dishonest in their intentions.Why is Nepal being given unconditional financial assistance to conserve the Tarai Arc Landscape (TAL) and Chure regions while the country's political leadership is actively working to destroy both the TAL and Chure?How did the World Bank sign an agreement to make $45 million available to Nepal till 2025 for Emission Reduction based on TAL, when the government is planning to clear over 8,000 hectares of forest in the Tarai? Additionally, all of TAL is open indefinitely for petroleum exploration, and China is already drilling there.International funding needs to be accountable, otherwise it is not only futile but also reckless. Even without a global climate crisis, deforesting Nijgad would unleash ecological havoc in the region.Deforestation of this fragile landscape will make floods deadlier, affect water resources, increase human-wildlife conflict, harm the TAL and Chure conservation areas, disrupt trans-boundary ecosystem services, cause inter-generational climate injustice, disregard social equity, and remove a major carbon sink.In short, it would result in the exact opposite of Nepal’s commitments in writing and in proclamations at past international climate and conservation conferences for which it is receiving billions of dollars.Nepal’s political leaders know from experience they can ignore local opposition without consequences for ecological crimes. Receiving a $7.4 billion ‘green fund’ from the international community without having to prove accountability would embolden these leaders, and give them the confidence that they can also get away with it internationally.The US and UK embassies in Kathmandu, the World Bank and World Wildlife Fund must demonstrate and demand accountability, and work to save Nijgad before COP26 as proof of their shared commitment.Join SaveNijgadh.org in making this demand.Kashish Das Shrestha is heading the Save Nijgad by COP26 campaign at @SaveNijgadh. He is a 2019 National Geographic Explorer and a former adviser to Parliament’s Natural Resources and Means Committee and Water and Energy Committee.

Nepal must save Nijgad Forest to receive climate funds

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101116/636b70319c7e80680e060065jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1093" height="835"/><figcaption>Nepali Times #990</figcaption></figure>How ironic, when we destroy something created by man we term it as ‘vandalism’ but when we destroy something created by nature we call it ‘progress’ (‘15 points for and against Nijgad’, #990).Ajay LimbuThe government is set to revise the ratio of compensatory tree plantation from 25:1 to 10:1 for ‘National Pride Projects’. So, the government will be required to plant fewer trees now.Bibek ShresthaI hope the Nepal Government goes ahead with this project. Even our counterparts in South  and the Southeast Asia have moved ahead and we are still debating on building an airport or not. Just build the damn thing.Bali Hang SambahangpheDoes Nepal even need Nijgad after completion of Lumbini and Pokhara international airports?Chiran BasnetPokhara and Bhairahawa airports are built with regional standards for regional purposes. The Nijgad will be our first truly ‘international airport’. TIA is not even a regional standard airport as per modern requirements.Bibek LimbuNijgad airport to become an international hub is most likely the biggest propaganda ever created to justify the irreversible destruction of nature that will affect the entire region.Sanjaya Singh KCA somewhat madcap project that smacks of extreme hubris.Marcus CottonNijgad is a profoundly bad idea. Now that Pokhara and Bhairawa are nearly operational, Nepal needs to sort out the air traffic situation before taking any more steps.Joe NiemczuraPeople think that trees never grow once gone, and they would be right if new saplings are not planted. International airport I would say is a must but with minimal damage of the environment.Deepak RijalThe balance of social, economic and environment is essential for sustainable development. Therefore, it should be built minimising the environmental loss.Anjalee ThakaliThe human destruction of nature has crossed the tipping point. So many species are going extinct due to unwarranted development blinded by greed. The next generation will have a huge task undoing our folly. Could we not have smaller international airports at alternative sites?Prabir RanaGood news. Congratulations. Please avoid all the mistakes of Kathmandu airport at all cost (‘Pokhara: Nepal’s new aviation getaway’, Kunda Dixit, #990).Ramesh ShresthaThis is surely going to be the world’s most beautiful international airport.Sue ChamberlainIt’s absolutely great that some planes/tourists can bypass the air traffic congestion of Kathmandu airport and go directly to Pokhara. Still, bigger planes can’t land in Pokhara (and Bhairawa) and Kathmandu will continue to be the gateway for most tourists flying in to Nepal, and congestion will be worse. Nijgad airport needs to be built.Avani Mani DixitA crazy daft idea driven by greed for earnings and with no thought for the pristine environment of the Pokhara and surrounding valleys. Relax by the Fewa or Begnas lakes? Not anymore with jet aircraft blasting overhead.Marc McConnellIf Kathmandu Airport is operated 24 hours and the management is working effectively there is plenty of space for many more flights landing and departing.Stephan KocherNepal needs an international airport close to Kathmandu and Nijgad is the most suited. However, the  environmental impact is also real. If the airport is built, a forest three times larger must be created  elsewhere. This way we have airport with net gain of the forest. As we rely more and more on international air travel, which is rapidly growing, it’s imperative that we are ready for the future. Kathmandu airport doesn’t even meet today’s domestic airport adequate standard when comparing with other countries. There has to be an international airport somewhere in Nepal, which can act like Hub.Roger AdhikariYes environment is a big thing to consider here but Nepal doesn’t need a big airport as Nijgad. Kathmandu, Pokhara and Bhairawa should be expanded. The hub model has been replaced by point-to-point aviation, so Nijgad is obsolete.  The Air Asia X long haul low-cost carrier model is a perfect example of which way aviation is going in Asia.Aashik Pokhrel

For and against Nijgad airport

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151128/636a67779c7e80680e0599dcjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3000" height="1668"/><figcaption>Illustration: BHANU BHATTARAI</figcaption></figure>Legend has it that the real reason Nepal stayed an independent nation state while all around us were colonised was that our powerful neighbours took one look at the terrain and people here and concluded that the country was ungovernable.In the three decades after 1990, Nepal’s elected leaders have shown even fewer smarts than past feudal dynasties. The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/another-decade-to-get-it-right/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">biggest let-down has been in the last two years</a>, after the unified Nepal Communist Party swept the country’s first three-tier federal elections. The strongest government in Nepal’s democratic history is showing itself to be more feckless than those fragile do-nothing coalitions.Perhaps the latest example of shooting ourselves in the feet has been the wrangling within the NCP over the US Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). If there was one vivid example of how not to look a gift horse in the mouth, this is it.The awkwardly-named MCC was launched by President George W Bush in 2004 after the 9/11 attacks to reorient American aid towards the kind of infrastructure projects that USAID or the World Bank would not touch. At first, with an ongoing war Nepal was deemed ineligible for the MCC.But by 2012, with <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/how-will-nepal-develop-in-the-next-decade/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">progress in health and education and economic</a>, political and press freedom, as well as prospects for the rule of law, Nepal qualified for membership. A threshold program in Kathmandu went about shortlisting investments in infrastructure that could jumpstart development.Nepali planners, working with their American counterparts, singled out transmission lines and highways as main economic bottlenecks. But they worried that Nepal did not have a governance track record, transparency or policy continuity to guarantee that the MCC’s $500 million could be effectively spent in five years.Finally in 2017, the Nepal government committed $130 million as counterpart funds, and the Hetauda-Damauli-Butwal 400kVA transmission line, as well as rehabilitation of 305km of highways from Itahari-Kakarvitta and Pokhara-Butwal, were selected for the MCC.These were not chosen arbitrarily — serious homework was done to find catalytic projects that could transform economic growth through quick returns on investment. This was a departure from the way planning is normally done in Nepal: ad hoc, whimsical, wasteful. The MCC also made provisions to ensure transparency and minimise the kind of delays in large infrastructure projects that Nepal has become notorious for.Any other government worth its salt, and one that knows what is good for its people, would have jumped at a deal like this. But not Nepal under the NCP. Members of the party’s central committee have objected that the MCC is part of the US <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/between-two-oceans/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Indo-Pacific Strategy</a>, objecting to a clause that would require Indian go-ahead on the transmission line, and at provisions for independent outside auditing.It is true that there is rarely a free lunch in official development assistance — even a grant is somehow tied to the strategic interest of the donor. But the MCC predates both China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Indo-Pacific Strategy. Yes, there is a new cold war between Beijing and Washington, the two compete globally for political, economic and military domination, and both superpowers have <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-now-has-to-balance-not-just-india-and-china-but-also-the-west/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">strategic concerns in Nepal</a>.But it would be in Nepal’s own strategic interest to take maximum advantage and get both the BRI and the MCC to contribute to Nepal’s infrastructure development. Instead, some sections of the NCP are doing their best to wreck both initiatives so Nepal is left with neither.The reason the MCC needs to be cleared with Delhi is because Nepal’s planners decided to upgrade the transmission line to 400kVA so it can also export electricity to India through Gorakhpur. And having Parliament ratify the compact would ensure political continuity and commitment.Last week in this newspaper we projected an optimistic scenario of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-in-2030/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">what Nepal may look like by 2030</a>. Infrastructure-led development is necessary because jobs will be created during construction, and improved connectivity will have downstream benefits into the future.However, there are good, bad and ugly infrastructure projects. The ‘excavator roads’ that maul our mountains are not just ugly, they are an environmental disaster.  <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/pokhara-nepals-new-aviation-gateway/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pokhara’s new international airport</a> is too costly for its capacity, but at least it is being built and may help diversify tourism while decongesting Kathmandu.The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/does-nepal-need-a-4th-international-airport/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">proposed airport in Nijgad</a> is an example of ill-advised megalomania. In fact, it is not an airport project but a timber concession. Yes, it is a game changer but only in the sense that it will <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/economy-ecology-of-nijgad-airport/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wreck both our economy and environment</a>.Decisions on large, expensive projects must be taken by technocrats and planners who know what they are doing, not by ignorant, populist politicians with edifice complexes who want to commit <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/megalomania-kleptomania/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">colossal blunders like Nijgad</a> and sabotage a worthy initiative like the MCC.<h2>10 years ago this week</h2>Go back 10 years to read <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue/482" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepali Times #482</a>, 25-31 December 2009, and its front page news roundup titled ‘<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16624#.XgRialUzaUk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">End on a high</a>’. It shows us that the more things change in Nepal, the more they remain the same. An excerpt:‘A rollercoaster week of recriminations and reconciliations began with a three-day Maoist bandh marked by violence and intimidation across the country. It peaked with a massive Maoist assembly in New Baneswor. Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal then delivered a fiery anti-Indian tirade during which he labelled the rest of the political leadership ‘remote-controlled robots,’ who he would bypass to hold direct talks with Delhi.Amidst widespread condemnation, the Maoist supremo weakly argued the following day that his comments were meant to be a ‘satire’ on the shape of things in Nepali politics.’<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue/482"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108151128/636a677a9c7e80680e0599ddjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="506" height="807"></a>

A millennium challenge

<figure><img width="1050" height="700" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110814110/636a53a79c7e80680e052361jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: IKRISHNA PAUDEL</figcaption></figure>Yogesh Bhattarai is Nepal’s 37th Tourism Minister in 41 years. He has taken the place of Rabindra Adhikari, who was <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-last-journey/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">killed in a helicopter crash</a> in April, and wants to continue projects his predecessor was keen on, like Nijgad Airport. Bhattarai spoke withNepali Times this week about the prospects of Visit Nepal Year 2020, rescuing Nepal Airlines and speeding up construction at Pokhara and Bhairawa airports.Nepali Times: You now head a ministry infamous for frequent changes and wheeling-dealing. How will you clean up its image? Yogesh Bhattarai: As the 37th Tourism Minister my appointment is unusual, and I have a pile of extraordinary tasks to complete. I will only step down after we have accomplished them. The centres of power in this country are the government and the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/dangerous-driving/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal Communist Party</a>, so there is no room for any wheeling-dealing.How are the preparations for Visit Nepal 2020? Since there was no minister for a long time, the preparations are not satisfactory. Infrastructure has not taken off. The challenge is to speed it up, and within two weeks we will release a detailed workplan laying out the responsibilities of the government, the ministry, the department, Nepal Tourism Board, organising committees and embassies for the Visit Nepal Year.The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/crowd-funding-from-mt-everest/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">last Mt Everest climbing season</a> was controversial. What are your plans for future expeditions?Much of it was intended to give Nepal’s mountains a bad reputation. There are some weaknesses on our side, but the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/most-days-its-not-so-crowded-on-mt-everest/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">weather window of just three days led to the crowding</a>. Like every year there were casualties and we are concerned about reducing them. Some agencies are also <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/expeditions-brings-down-11-tons-of-mt-everest-trash/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cleaning up the garbage on Everest</a>. We will issue new climbing rules and from the next season, only trained liaison officers will be employed.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-airlines-has-new-planes-but-no-new-plans/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal Airlines has new planes, but no new plans</a>, Sharaj Ojha<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/keeping-nepal-airlines-airworthy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Keeping Nepal Airlines airworthy</a>, Sharad OjhaWhere has the investigation on <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/heli-rescue-fraud-tarnishes-nepals-image/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fake helicopter rescues</a> gone? The investigation committee under the general secretary has made some recommendations. Based on that document, further investigations are underway and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-trekking-industry-in-damage-control-mode/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the culprits</a> will be punished.The number of tourists has increased, but their spending has not. This year, average spending per tourist came down to $44 from $55. But transactions via informal channels have been reduced.You said you would make Nepal Airlines “wow worthy”. What did you mean?We have to make <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-airlines-has-new-planes-but-no-new-plans/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal Airlines</a> fly high again and turn it into a flag carrier we can be proud of. There are problems — we know what they are. The company should be in profit, and pay its debts. We cannot achieve that in two months, and there is no silver bullet. We need shock therapy.Mismanagement and political interference are blamed.  I don’t wish to blame anyone personally. I don’t think anyone intended for <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/keeping-nepal-airlines-airworthy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NAC</a> to collapse. But as I said, we are looking at a dramatic turnaround in management. Those who can handle the change will stay, those who can’t will have to go. If management can convince the government that the company is financially viable, then it will invest.You seem to be all for building <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/economy-ecology-of-nijgad-airport/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nijgad Airport</a>. What about the trees?  I am not here to cut trees, but we need to build the airport. Its investment modality will be decided after a discussion with Investment Board Nepal. We will talk with the Ministry of Forests, and local governments will work on resettlement. It is a national pride project, so it also requires political commitment. We aim to lay the foundation stone by November.Nepal’s aviation is still under the EU blacklist, even if ICAO has delisted us from the list of countries with safety concerns.  As per ICAO, a country should score a minimum of 60 points to pass the safety test — we have 66 points and have been delisted. But as far as the EU is concerned, a team is visiting Nepal for a safety audit. We believe that Nepal will soon be taken off the blacklist.

"Unusual appointment … extraordinary tasks"

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a41189c7e80680e04a65ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1051"/><figcaption>THE 6TH EXTINCTION: This orchid with medicinal properties, Dactylorhiza hatagirea, (Panchaule) is an endangered species.</figcaption></figure>Nepal is situated at the crossroads of four eco-biological domains to the north, south, east and west. The country’s great altitudinal range endows it with biodiversity that is the richest in the world in such a small area.Nepal is also the most densely inhabited mountain country in the world, and is squeezed between two of the planet’s most populous nations. Now, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/on-thin-ice-in-the-khumbu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">climate change</a> has been added to the threats to the endangered life forms that inhabit Nepal’s fragile ecosystems.The United Nations released an apocalyptic report in Paris last week warning that one million animal and plant species across the planet are on the verge of extinction. The <a href="https://www.ipbes.net/news/Media-Release-Global-Assessment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Global Assessment</a> concluded that besides charismatic mammals, insects, fish and microorganisms, 75% of crops will vanish.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a411b9c7e80680e04a65bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="840"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Here in Nepal, despite successes in nature conservation, species are <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/in-conservation-nepal-is-not-out-of-the-woods-yet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">threatened by new infrastructure projects</a> like the proposed <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/economy-ecology-of-nijgad-airport/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nijgad Airport</a> and the East-West Railway, which are expected to wipe out 200,000ha of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/who-now-owns-nepals-forests/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">forests</a>. Human encroachment of natural habitats, rampant pesticide use, poisoning of rivers and wildlife trafficking were bad enough, but <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-terrifying-assessment-of-himalayan-melting/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">climate change</a> now adds a whole new dimension to the threat.“In Nepal, we have usually focussed on big mammals. Those are important but the attention should shift to other species that are vital to maintain the ecological balance,” explains naturalist Tirtha Bahadur Shrestha. Indeed, the country may be losing insects and reptile species that have not even been discovered yet.For example, there has been little study of the impact of wetland destruction and the pollution of water bodies on insects and amphibians. A <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/project-dragonfly/">new dragonfly species</a> that was discovered above Pokhara’s Phewa Lake last year may become extinct since its habitat is so degraded. <a style="background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-uds-cse&amp;cx=011870630917993763279:opm7uqsat-4&amp;q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/what-is-the-buzz&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiCmp6Y_J_iAhUX7HMBHQ8GC4cQFjAAegQIAxAB&amp;usg=AOvVaw2E2ZhyyvROj1LguNUAI8MO" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bee populations have been declining</a> at an alarming rate due to the spread of pesticides, leading to a loss of farm productivity. The disappearance of insects and aquatic fauna has had a cascade effect on indigenous and migratory birds wintering in Nepal.“There is a crucial need of public awareness about <a style="background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.15px;" href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/protecting-the-pangolin,3597" target="_blank" rel="noopener">less well-known species</a> — they may have important roles for the ecosystem that we don’t even know about yet,” says Sagar Dahal of the Small Mammal Conservation and Research Foundation.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a411e9c7e80680e04a65cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="558" height="658">Extreme weather caused by global warming has also led to a serious water shortage across Nepal, which in turn is profoundly affecting wildlife, medicinal plants, rare orchids and the insects that depend on them.The last major mass extinction on Earth 65 million years ago wiped out not only dinosaurs, but 75% of all species. It took the planet 10 million years to recover. But unlike previous extinctions that were caused by natural catastrophes, this time human activity is the cause.The loss of biodiversity and destruction of nature and its impact cited in the IBPES report are felt more acutely in Nepal due to the vulnerability of the Himalaya to climate change, deforestation, pollution and poaching.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a41209c7e80680e04a65djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="933"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“Global environmental degradation will affect countries like Nepal more because of our sensitive topography,” writes IBPES researcher from Nepal, Uttam Babu Shrestha in a Kantipur op-ed this week. “Proposed large infrastructure projects will have lasting negative impacts on the environment.”Nepal has been <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/its-a-jungle-out-there/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">successful in curbing domestic poaching</a>, but it is a major transit point for wildlife contraband en route to China. The presence of smugglers means the country needs to be vigilant about a revival in poaching. It is a conduit for tiger and leopard pelts, rhino horns and other endangered species. Earlier this year, 200kg of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/protecting-pangolins-from-being-eaten-to-extinction/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pangolin</a> scales bound for China were found at Kathmandu airport.“Nepal may be landlocked in every other aspect but it is land-linked when it comes to smuggling,” Tirtha Bahadur Shrestha told Nepali Times.The good news is that Nepal’s conservationists, planners and the government know what the problems are, as well as the solutions. The country also has vast experience in balancing nature conservation with meeting human needs. It just needs a long-term strategy and all stakeholders to work towards protecting our abundant biodiversity.

Sonia Awale

Between existence and extinction in Nepal

<figure><img width="1400" height="1167" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107161120/6369228e9c7e80680e03a135jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Diwakar Chettri</figcaption></figure>Nepal needs to urgently upgrade its <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19687#.W6OCxM4zbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">aviation gateway</a>. Year after year, Kathmandu's airport has had the dubious distinction of being voted among the top ten worst in the world. Cosmetic improvements have been made lately, but the country's only international airport is plagued with mismanagement and is a known den for smugglers, traffickers and extortionists. A $100 million ADB-funded project to increase the airport’s capacity has been mired in corruption. Even the modest first phase to expand the present terminal is five years behind schedule because of a dispute between the Spanish contractor and the government. The only runway is a wreck, operations are frequently halted at peak hour to patch potholes, leading to delays and cancellations. Despite such shoddy and inadequate infrastructure, Kathmandu has the highest landing and ground handling fees in the world, and the most expensive aviation fuel.Increase in traffic has led to monstrous congestion at both the arrival and departure concourses. Matters become much worse in winter when poor visibility due to proximity to a highly polluted urban core delays flights. Planes are put on hold in the air for hours. The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/air-jam/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pressure on Kathmandu</a> was supposed to ease with the construction of two other international airports at Bhairawa and Pokhara. Bhairawa is supposed to serve as a direct gateway to Lumbini, and will have a new terminal building and longer runway to accommodate larger jets. But the $70 million ADB project is delayed because the sub-contractors were conmen. It will now be completed in 2020. The saga of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/business/pokhara-airport-takesoff,2965" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pokhara’s new international airport</a> spans four decades. It finally got a go-ahead with a loan from China Exim Bank, but the final inflated price tag of $305 million is suspicously high, and has a whiff of kickbacks in high places. All these delays have convinced many in government and business of the urgent need of a mega airport in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/economy-ecology-of-nijgad-airport/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nijgad in the plains 75km south of Kathmandu</a>. A detailed design by the Korean Landmark Worldwide company envisages two parallel runways 3,600m long, world-class terminal building, aprons, hangars and even an adjoining aeropolis. Tourism Minister Rabindra Adhikari calls it a “game changer”.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/economy-ecology-of-nijgad-airport/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Economy &amp; ecology of Nijgad airport</a>, Om Astha RaiUp to 2.4 million trees would be cut to accommodate the 80 sq km airport. London’s Heathrow is only 12.14 sq km. Most of the site is covered in dense jungle, the last remaining primary forest in the eastern Tarai and an important corridor for wildlife migration. The government has promised to plant 25 trees for every one cut, and resettle the 7,000 people who will be displaced, but few believe that.Although the ecological rationale has caught the people’s attention, the much more convincing argument against Nijgad is actually economic. As a Nepali Times investigation in June showed, there are serious questions about the viability of such a gargantuan airport. The hub-and-spoke model in international aviation is now obsolete with the rise of a new generation of ultra-long range airliners which can fly point-to-point nonstop for up to 20 hours. Instead of putting all our eggs in one basket with an expensive, over-sized airport, it makes much more economic sense to decentralise and improve Kathmandu, Pokhara and Bhairawa and upgrade Biratnagar or Dhangadi to international airports as passenger demand grows. And why should the government be in such a tearing hurry to chop down 250,000 trees right away for a project that has not even been finalised, investors have not shown any interest yet (and it is doubtful they ever will)? For a soft state with such high levels of corruption, impunity, mismanagement and poor record of implementation, Nijgad is not just a white elephant, it will be a white dinosaur. Just to put it in perspective: Nijgad is 12 times more expensive than the mammoth <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/melamchi-coming-to-kathmandu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Melamchi Project</a> that is 20 years behind schedule, and its total cost represents half of Nepal’s annual budget. Another story in this edition on the<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/heli-rescue-fraud-tarnishes-nepals-image/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> helicopter rescue scam</a> that threatens to undermine Nepal’s tourism industry is symptomatic of just how deep the rot is. Insurance fraud by powerful businesses enjoying political protection does not give us much confidence that a $6.7 million project will ever take off. In fact, Nijgad is now looking more and more like a logging concession than an airport project. Megalomania and kleptomania make a lethal combination.Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.atavist.com/fly-or-ride-" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fly or ride?</a><a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/does-nepal-need-a-4th-international-airport/?fb_comment_id=1829616777094382_1834390453283681" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Does Nepal need a 4th International Airport?</a>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdRauyhpccA&amp;t=9s <h2>10 years ago this week</h2> After he was elected in 2008, the former Maoist supremo ‘Prachanda’ Pushpa Kamal Dahal became Prime Minister and made a trip to New Delhi. He showed his pragmatic side by charming the Indians and telling them what they wanted to hear. Nepali Times columnist <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=15226#.W6SYnnszaUk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Prashant Jha wrote this in his column</a> ‘Plain Speaking’ for the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue/418" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issue #418 of 19-25 September 2008</a>:NEW DELHI -- Nepal’s prime minister was a celebrity in Delhi this week. From armchair revolutionaries to national politicians to the policy elite, everyone wanted to have a glimpse of a rebel leader who is now the head of government. In a smart suit and tie, Pushpa Kamal Dahal was at his charming best. The common theme in all his speeches was: “Trust me.” And judging from the reaction, the message hit home.He donned his free market hat, taking a business-dominated 50-member delegation and assuring representatives of Indian joint ventures in Nepal of security. He told Indian business what it needed to hear: private sector is at the heart of growth, Nepal will set up special economic zones, government is only a facilitator, we want investment. <img width="508" height="813" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107161120/636922929c7e80680e03a136jpeg.jpg" alt="">