Climate finance conversations are usually dominated by ways to fund switching to renewable energy, clean transportation and waste management. However, in the past few years there have been urgent calls to also finance adaptation, resilience, as well as loss and damage.&nbsp;
This is a much-needed shift as the impact of the climate crisis is being increasingly being felt worldwide, and the IPCC reports have been presenting more and more alarming scenarios year after year, so much so that reality has outpaced projections.
Public financing is often placed at the heart of finding funding to adapt and build resilience. The most notable example is the <a href="https://www.adaptation-fund.org/about/" target="_blank">Adaptation Fund</a> which has allocated over $850 million for projects and programs that help vulnerable communities in developing countries adjust to climate-induced impact.
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/nepali-cities-must-champion-climate-action" target="_blank">Nepali cities must champion climate action</a>, Rastraraj Bhandari and Simone Weichenrieder
However, public financing alone is simply not enough to meet the increasing demand for adaptation and resilience finance. Presently, only <a href="https://www.wri.org/insights/private-sector-climate-adaptation-finance" target="_blank">around 10% of overall climate finance</a> flows are allocated to climate adaptation even as the figure for developing countries needs to increase by 5 to 10 times. Within this, only <a href="https://www.wri.org/insights/private-sector-climate-adaptation-finance" target="_blank">around 2% of adaptation finance</a> comes from the private sector such as corporations and institutional investors whereas 98% were from public sources.
Private sector engagement and financing in climate adaptation and resilience is imperative if the world is to stand any chance in tackling the climate crisis. This is particularly relevant in the Himalaya as the conversations around the Third Pole Process, spearheaded by the U.A.E government as the COP28 presidency, continue.
The <a href="https://www.arcticcircle.org/third-pole-process" target="_blank">Third Pole Process</a> has been labelled as a comprehensive effort to introduce the Arctic model of collaboration to the Third Pole region. The process is expected to be a sustained effort to define the challenge, to initiate research collaboration, and to help identify effective dissemination of information to enable political deliberations and policy-making. Although engaging the political establishments across the region will indeed be crucial, leaving out the private sector will be a missed opportunity for the Third Pole Process.
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/green-is-the-colour-of-money-and-nature" target="_blank">Green is the colour of money and nature</a>, Angel Li
This is easier said than done. There are fundamental barriers to attracting private sector engagement in adaptation and resilience financing, given the challenges with private financial returns. However, this discourse is picking up globally and efforts are underway to mobilise private sector investments.
Innovating financing mechanisms such as through the use of guarantees, co-financing, de-risking and blended finance can definitely help <a href="https://www.wri.org/insights/private-sector-climate-adaptation-finance" target="_blank">leverage the scarce public finance resources</a> to catalyse private sector finance.
Insurance companies can also play a key role as risk managers, risk carriers and investors. Traditionally, private insurers avoided insuring for disasters, in part because those who are insured are less likely to flood-proof their assets and only those at high risk of flooding will purchase insurance.
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/turning-green-policies-into-greenbacks" target="_blank">Turning green policies into greenbacks</a>, Rastraraj Bhandari
Yet, with a growing insurance market, <a href="https://content.naic.org/cipr-topics/parametric-disaster-insurance#:~:text=The%20term%20parametric%20insurance%20describes,in%20a%20traditional%20indemnity%20policy." target="_blank">parametric insurance</a> and risk pooling may overcome these challenges. In addition, exposing the risk vulnerability of the private sector such as through mandatory climate risk assessment and disclosure requirements as regulatory measures may also increase private sector investments for their own long-term stability.
In addition to financing, the private sector also has access to innovative technologies, both digital and physical technologies, which is often a forgotten yet crucial detail. The Himalaya are home to global tech giants such as Baidu, Tencent, Infosys and Alibaba, who have <a href="https://www.himalayanwaterproject.org/post/tackling-climate-and-water-challenges-in-the-himalayas-using-ai" target="_blank">immense potential to contribute to the battle against climate change</a> not just by reducing their own operational footprint but also by developing, deploying and diffusing climate technologies, including with regards to adaptation and resilience.
The Third Pole Process can foster private sector engagement for adaptation and resilience in the Himalaya. Initiating a dialogue as well as research collaboration can be a key first step but it is imperative to ensure that such research is translated into evidence and impact-based action.
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepal-can-lead-in-zero-carbon/" target="_blank">Nepal can lead in zero-carbon, </a>Nicola Pollitt
Outside of such multilateral processes, both national and sub-national governments also have a role in fostering private-sector engagement. Many of the countries in the Himalaya are making progress with greening their financial systems and creating guidelines for banks and financial institutions. Such efforts should also look into how adaptation and resilience can be incorporated in an otherwise climate mitigation-dominated space.
It is high time to scale both public and private finance for adaptation and resilience in the Himalaya, and only such coordinated efforts can ensure that the financing needs of the region are met in an inclusive manner.
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepals-chance-to-green-its-budget/" target="_blank">Nepal’s chance to green its budget</a>, Kaustubh Dhital
Rastraraj Bhandari works on climate finance and carbon markets, and contributes regularly to Nepali Times on issues related to climate change.

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Finding money to save the Third Pole

<figure><img width="640" height="427" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121140/636b91e29c7e80680e06f117jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>Nepal’s oxygen emergency <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/why-is-there-still-an-oxygen-shortage/">has eased somewhat as the Covid-19 second wave crests,</a> but the crisis exposed serious gaps in the supply and distribution of medical oxygen with major implications for the future.At the peak of the second wave, many Covid-19 patients died as hospitals ran out of oxygen, but with an<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/leading-public-figures-call-on-uk-government-for-oxygen-for-nepal/"> overwhelming international response </a>to rush cylinders, concentrators and generators, there is now the risk of over-capacity of medical oxygen post-pandemic. Nepal’s demand for oxygen cylinders shot up to 50,000 per day during the peak of the second wave in May, with the country’s oxygen factories and hospitals <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/its-an-emergency/">only able to fill 19,000 cylinders every day</a>. In contrast, pre-wave calculations had suggested that peak daily demand would only be about 6,000 cylinders.  <img width="640" height="338" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121140/636b91e49c7e80680e06f118jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="640" height="319" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121140/636b91e79c7e80680e06f119jpeg.jpg" alt="">Most of the 29 oxygen factories in Nepal were working at only half capacity pre-pandemic because of low demand. In fact, three of them had closed down. As the second wave hit, the plants went into full-scale production, but a shortage of cylinders meant that the excess production could not be sent to hospitals.Meanwhile, factories relying on liquid oxygen tankers were affected by an Indian ban on export. Empty cylinders from China, Oman and other countries alleviated the shortage somewhat, while oxygen plants grappled with increasing generation capacity. <figure><img width="640" height="361" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121140/636b91ea9c7e80680e06f11ajpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Too little too lateWhen the inter-ministerial Covid-19 Crisis Management Center (CCMC) finally reacted, it was too late. Its arbitrary quota system for every hospital proved disastrous.“The quota resulted in hard-hit hospitals being undersupplied and safer hospitals being unnecessarily saturated with cylinders,” explains Roop Jyoti, former chairman of Grande City Hospital, suggesting the problems lay in supply chain management rather than oxygen production. Faced with mounting criticism for bungling the oxygen quotas, the Health Ministry resorted to micromanaging, and ordered suppliers to only send filled cylinders to hospitals that had its recommendation letter. The result was catastrophic, many<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/helping-nepalis-breathe-again/"> hospitals were either forced to refuse service</a> or they asked families of patients to bring their own full cylinders.In a notice posted in mid-May, Kathmandu’s Om Hospital said: ‘Under the capping made by the government on oxygen supply, we are unable to take admissions despite our willingness to provide service. We have enough manpower such as doctors and nurses to take care of patients but not enough oxygen supply.’ Families with Covid-19 patients hoarded full cylinders at home, and desperate ones rushed to the gates of oxygen factories to buy the life-saving gas. Municipalities, especially in areas with spare capacity, prevented the transport of oxygen beyond district borders.Most of Nepal’s oxygen plants are in central and eastern Nepal. The Morang-Sunsari industrial corridor alone had five large oxygen factories with surplus capacity, but these were prevented from sending supplies to hospitals in Kathmandu and other areas with shortages. Lack of training in oxygen flow management and ventilator use did not help matters. Makeshift local isolation centres with non-medical staff were using full flow to treat patients with mild symptoms. Hoarding and black marketing was rampant, and while large hospitals ran out of oxygen supply, local isolation centres had one cylinder per patient.In Grande International Hospital, there was a 30% drop in oxygen demand when doctors were more judicious in oxygen use. Still, the shortage was serious enough for some doctors to ration oxygen even for their most serious patients. Others had to make the difficult choice between continuing to put patients who had little chance of survival on oxygen, or to give it to those who would immediately recover with oxygen. Even before the pandemic, government oversight on cylinders was non-existent with no standardisation or regulation in place regarding colour coding, pressure, price rates and deposits on oxygen cylinders.  “I used to get desperate calls at 3am from families of patients desperate for oxygen. We were able to call up spare capacity during the second wave, especially in the east of the country, but the shortage of cylinders for refilling did create a temporary shortage,” says Gaurav Sharda of the Nepal Oxygen Industries Association (NOIA). <figure><img width="640" height="427" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121140/636b91ed9c7e80680e06f11bjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>After the peak With the first week of June, Nepal’s Covid-19 curve started flattening with hospitals in Kathmandu and major cities seeing fewer patients who needed to be on oxygen or in ICU. “Compared to the devastating shortages in April and May, oxygen availability is relatively stable,” says Anup Bastola, a physician at Teku Hospital. The Ministry of Health also seems to have learnt from its mistakes, and is ensuring a more equitable supply of cylinders. Donated oxygen concentrators are now being flown to district hospitals where they are needed. However, even as demand for oxygen goes down, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepals-diaspora-comes-to-the-rescue/">overseas Nepalis and international donors</a> are still rushing empty cylinders, concentrators, generators and liquid oxygen tanks on relief flights to Kathmandu. There are more oxygen generator plants arriving from France, the US and China this week. Ventilators from <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/international-help-for-nepal-picks-up/">international donors</a> are sitting idle at some district hospitals in western Nepal because no one knows how to operate them. Domestic oxygen production itself is now reaching 100% capacity. Even though there is a challenge of logistics, equitable distribution, and cost, Nepal will soon have more oxygen than it needs. What the government needs to focus on is getting much-needed <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/life-hangs-by-an-oxygen-tube-in-nepal/">oxygen to rural areas</a> where the virus is spreading house-to-house.  The flood of donated oxygen generators now means that there will be domestic over-capacity just as there was before the second wave. Nepal’s oxygen sector therefore needs to balance supply to meet demand surges and periods of low consumption.Explains Jyoti: “Ironically, many new donated oxygen plants are being set up in hospitals in response to the second wave, so when this passes, there will be tremendous over-capacity. Regular factories would probably have to function at less than 25% capacity and will be destroyed financially.”At Teku Hospital, Bastola says <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/two-nepals-in-the-death-zone/">repurposing oxygen equipment</a> could help Nepal prepare for future spikes. If there is a third wave this autumn, for example, demand would go up again. Besides Covid-19, there is also the pre-existing need for oxygen to treat the rise in respiratory ailments such as COPD and heart disease caused by worsening air pollution. Says Sharda at NOIA: “One of two scenarios can now play out. The government could either continue its reliance on donated oxygen generation equipment, thereby driving Nepali producers out of existence, or it could encourage sustained domestic production to meet a spike in demand during future outbreaks.” Last month, reports of Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) oxygen plants failing in hospitals, and a CCMC finding of 70% oxygen leakage in many hospitals were overlooked. These issues are structural and if resolved can help alleviate future shortages.“The government’s approach to oxygen distribution was myopic,” says Sharda. “Oxygen is a basic product and can easily be bottled here. But they failed to consult with us producers, and now all this oversupply from abroad will jeopardise our ability to respond to future outbreaks. Plant staff should also be <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-life-or-death-o2-quest/">treated as frontline workers</a> and have vaccinations.” The government and CCMC failed to acknowledge that assistance was needed in the oxygen supply chain rather than production, and by allowing import of production equipment but bungling on supply management, they failed to take into account domestic generation capacity, thus increasing vulnerability in the future.  The only solution to prevent another oxygen crisis is to stop the problem at the source, by <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/aid-pours-into-nepal-but-where-be-vaccines/">stemming the spread of Covid-19.</a> But the lesson from the second wave is that Nepal’s government, hospitals and oxygen plants need to have standby capacity at hand for future waves.

Pandemic and the political-economy of oxygen supply

The monsoon has got bad press because Nepal’s tourism operators actively told visitors to avoid <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/managing-the-monsoon?%2F">the rainy season</a>. It is time to change that. The reason can be found right here in the vast alpine meadows of Central Nepal where this time of year you can walk on velvet grass of pastures abloom with delicate pink, red and yellow flowers as the mist rolls up the valley. There is no sound except the hum of bumble bees. &nbsp;&nbsp; There are dozens of places across high Nepal called Chaurikharka, which means yak pasture. But this particular Chaurikharka in Rukum East located at an altitude of 4,000m stands out for its serene beauty, rustic charm and bucolic setting. There is just the occasional chime of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-yaks-go-so-does-culture">yak bells</a> in the distance, and the sharp whistle of herders corralling sheep. &nbsp;&nbsp; The grass shoots are so fragile that one hesitates to step on them, the rounded ridges appear and quickly vanish in waves of mist. With the<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/before-the-next-monsoon"> arrival of monsoon</a>, these meadows are a soothing shade of green dotted with millions of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/the-anatomy-of-a-flower?%2F=">multi-coloured flowers</a>. Until very recently, it took a week or so to hike up to places like Chaurikharka, but with the expansion of the road network even to these far-flung mountains in the lap of Dhaulagiri, they are much more accessible. It is just a three-hour uphill from the Mid-Hill Highway on the border between Baglung and Rukum East.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250802130828_a0b06b494d751b2144ffbbf10894ea64b29e8aed844bc8c66171783abfaf4e16.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20250802130828_a0b06b494d751b2144ffbbf10894ea64b29e8aed844bc8c66171783abfaf4e16" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="Visit Nepal in the monsoon"> </figure>  Purists would say that such easy access devalues the sanctity of these remote high meadows, but it also means more people will be moved to treasure the experience, appreciate <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/natures-fragile-gift-to-nepal">the value of nature </a>so they can take steps to protect it.&nbsp; To be sure, the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/deadly-monsoon-in-nepal-turns-deadlier">monsoon season can be challenging for road travel</a>. The roads are rough even at the best of times, and in the monsoon they become muddy and treacherous, often blocked by<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/monsoon-deluge-in-nepal"> landslides</a>. But that could be precisely the kind of adventure that the more intrepid visitors crave. Improved road connectivity has already made Chaurikharka and places like Badimallika &nbsp;and other sacred lakes in the mountains of western Nepal popular with domestic tourists. What is driving this traffic is the urge to go to exotic new places and share videos and selfies on social media. Several of Nepal’s travel vloggers have visited Chaurikharka and popularised the place, enticing followers on TikTok or YouTube to retrace their footsteps. But even as they become more popular, these fragile and once-remote places should be protected from over-tourism.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250731110736_f97110b7cdc3e7f80d5877690948fc9f4c95a09c583deb23b07355491e6c5446.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20250731110736_f97110b7cdc3e7f80d5877690948fc9f4c95a09c583deb23b07355491e6c5446" data-rendition-name="original" width="1083" height="699" loading="lazy" alt="Visit Nepal in the monsoon NT"> </figure>  <h2>INCREASING FOOTFALL</h2> Chaurikharka is located in Bhume Rural Municipality of East Rukum, near the scenic valley of Dhorpatan in Baglung district. Even in the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/monsoon-culture">middle of the monsoon</a>, there is a steady stream of Nepali hikers trooping to these high pastures – especially during festival days like Saune Sankranti which this year was on 17 July and actually marks the auspicious beginning of the monsoon here. “This year the rains have not been as heavy and there have been some clear mornings when we could see everything from Dhaulagiri to Machapuchre,” says Khageswar Bhandari, who trekked up here from the road. “The flowers, the greenery and the snowy mountain views make this an incredibly unique place.”&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250802130824_1b9e26f2e9853fdfe69154bb42a7c9ea6da4bf4940efc1da99b304dcfbd7d3d9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20250802130824_1b9e26f2e9853fdfe69154bb42a7c9ea6da4bf4940efc1da99b304dcfbd7d3d9" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1152" loading="lazy" alt="Visit Nepal in the monsoon"> </figure>  Chaurikharka is worthwhile to get to in any season, but it has a different charm during the monsoon. Word has spread and because it is now easy to get to from Baglung or even Pokhara, people have been flocking here.&nbsp; “Holidays and Saturdays see the largest crowds, with up to 500 visitors every day,” says ward chair Mankaji Pun of Bhume.&nbsp; There was a time not too long ago when local herders brought sheep, goats, cows, buffaloes, horses, and mules to graze here during the monsoon. Although there are still livestock around, animals have been replaced by visitors taking selfies. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-monsoon-and-nature-s-arithmetic">The monsoon, and nature’s arithmetic</a>, Tom Robertson Ward Chair Pun says infrastructure development is his main priority. A foot trail to Chaurikharka was built last year by the Tourism Division Office in Kohalpur, but access via the Raniwas-Koipa road section still remains challenging.&nbsp; “If we get more budget, we can improve the road and facilities to make Chaurikharka the main tourist attraction of this region,” says Bhume Municipality Chair Hom Prakash Shrestha. “After that, we hope to promote Chaurikharka as a top tourist spot.”&nbsp; Economic activity is also picking up with the arrival of visitors, but there seems to be a need to manage the makeshift sheds made of corrugated sheets that spoil the beauty of the place. Tea shops and lodges are also available but facilities are basic. Kuldeep Neupane took a three-day trip from Ghorahi in Dang to visit Chaurikharka recently, and says: “This is an ideal trip to make a quick getaway and let nature recharge your mind and body. And it is much more fun with a tent, to watch the sunrise over the Himalaya or the mist blowing in.”

Visit Nepal in the monsoon

Two weeks ago, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli announced jubilantly on social media that Nepal had achieved a historic annual growth of 81.8% in exports. He was right. Nepal’s trade did take a great leap forward compared to last year. But the dramatic rise was mainly due to processed soya bean oil.&nbsp; However, Nepal does not produce the edible oil it exports. In fact, the soya and palm oil that make up 44% of total exports are imported from Southeast Asia and South America, and simply re-exported, mostly to India.&nbsp; Under the SAFTA (South Asian Free Trade Area) Agreement, Nepal can export products to India duty-free if it has at least 30% value-added. Nepal’s traders have taken advantage of SAFTA even though the edible oils they export do not reach that value addition threshold. “The 30% value addition requirement is often only on paper,” says former commerce secretary Purushottam Ojha. “It is clear that simply packaging edible oils in Nepal does not fulfil the terms of the trade agreement.” Prime Minister Oli is aware of this, and even called Nepal’s export figures “fake” at an earlier event. The government is relying on other iffy figures to suggest that Nepal’s economy is strong and getting stronger. For example, the value of imports rose by 13.25% in 2024-25 compared to the previous fiscal year.&nbsp; Some of it was due to a jump in electric vehicle imports worth Rs 31.76 billion, but mostly it was because more wholesale soya oil was imported to be re-packaged and sold in India. The very fact that the government boasts about increased imports is an indication of how much it relies on taxing them for revenue. Touting such trade figures cannot be the basis to claim an economic rebound.&nbsp; “A jump in the value of imports can be interpreted as an increase in purchasing power, but it is not evidence of a stronger economy,” says economist Keshav Acharya. “Even though imports have increased, Nepal's domestic production and productive capacity have not improved.” Nepal Rastra Bank's semi-annual economic activity study report shows that industrial production was down in the first six months of the last fiscal year. This despite an increase in the number of new industries registered and investment commitments. Out of the Rs70.2 billion proposed foreign investment, Nepal received only Rs17.9 billion last year.&nbsp; Meanwhile, the rate of capital formation was limited to 24% last year, which is lower than the year before, suggesting that new investment, job creation and economic expansion all declined. If domestic production does not improve in relation to this year’s inflated trade figures, the outflow will put pressure on foreign exchange reserves like it did three years ago. At that time, Nepal borrowed from the IMF under its Extended Credit Facility Program to kickstart the economy.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025080710084_2cdaaa5795828c4a7de93a0604ba884ef0a8b8f24cccd939f6c24e279ab6058f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2025080710084_2cdaaa5795828c4a7de93a0604ba884ef0a8b8f24cccd939f6c24e279ab6058f" data-rendition-name="original" width="1633" height="723" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal's bubble economy NT"> <figcaption>Source: NEPAL RASTRA BANK</figcaption> </figure>  The macroeconomy is on firm footing with foreign exchange reserves at a comfortable Rs2,520 billion in May, up 23% from last year. This was largely due to remittances, and partly due to a falling NPR exchange rate. Real estate transactions and the stock market index have also been climbing as a result of government policies to revive the sector.&nbsp; However, former executive director of Nepal Rastra Bank Nar Bahadur Thapa cautions: “This is not organic growth, it is the result of deliberate policy decisions to relax rules on real estate and stock markets transactions.” In reality, the sharp rise in land prices have increased the cost of production, and excessive monetisation of the real estate has become the main source of Nepal’s economic woes. The central bank has announced a slew of new policies, shifting the terms of loan repayment for industrialists and entrepreneurs, reducing interest rates, and injecting more working capital — all designed to inject adrenaline into the real estate and stock market sectors.&nbsp; When he was governor, Mahaprasad Adhikari made several financial reforms during the latter half of his tenure to stimulate the economy, including tightening credit flow.&nbsp; By the last fiscal year, additional financial reforms had resulted in a credit expansion rate of around 8%. As the pace of credit expansion slows, real estate prices have started to fall. This is actually beneficial to the economy, because it lays the foundation for improvements in land-related entrepreneurship, production, and the construction sector. Just because real estate and the stock market transactions increase, it does not indicate an economic turnaround — especially when manufacturing and productive sector continues to languish.&nbsp; “It is foolish to believe that real estate and the stock market have magically revived our economy. Agriculture employs more than half of the population, but it is in decline. Investment in the productive sector has not increased, and job creation has not increased.” Two years ago, Nepal’s industrialists, business leaders, and political leadership predicted a recession amidst a sluggish business, declining market demand, large-scale job loss, and a shrinking real estate and share market.&nbsp; Still, the economy grew by 3.36% in fiscal year 2023/24. In fact, Nepal’s economy has grown nominally over the last two decades even when all sectors of the economy are in decline.&nbsp; Says Keshav Acharya: “The growth in trade, real estate, and the stock market are bubbles. The real economy remains stagnant.”

Nepal’s bubble economy

The final investigation report on the crash of a Saurya Airlines jet on 24 July 2024 at Kathmandu airport has revealed flaws in the carrier’s technical operation procedures, poor monitoring by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) and gaps in the airport’s emergency response. Eighteen people including a child were killed, and only the captain survived as the plane plunged seconds after takeoff, crashing within the airport perimeter. This was the latest in a series of aircraft accidents in previous years, and further tarnished Nepal’s already poor aviation safety record and contributed to the country being retained in the EU’s air safety list. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The circumstances in the Saurya crash were different from the Yeti Airlines crash in Pokhara in January 2022 that killed all 72 on board, and two Tara Air crashes in February 2016 and May 2022 on approach to Jomsom that together claimed 45 lives. However, all four tragedies were a result of negligence of carriers and crew, failure to follow procedures, regulatory slackness, and overconfidence. The Saurya crash, especially, was a glaring example of how an ailing airline broke its own rules to allow passengers, including non-employees, a joy ride to Pokhara on a maintenance ferry flight. CRASH REPORT The Final Investigation Report prepared by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Commission and released on the first anniversary of the crash last week carried a long list of rules that were ignored or broken, and of regulatory failure. The first mistake was to cram spares, tools and inflammable chemicals needed for the aircraft’s C-Check in Pokhara into the cargo hold flouting its own ground handling procedures.&nbsp; There was no check-in of passengers, some of whom were not even employees – even though regulations say only flight and maintenance crew should be on board a maintenance positioning flight. Many brought their own luggage into the plane and stored it unsecured in the cabin. There was no flight attendant to give a safety briefing to passengers. The load and trim charts given to the flight crew were rough estimates, and the total takeoff weight of the plane was 18,300kg plus or minus 200 kg. That would still have been all right, but there was a glaring mistake in the speedchart Saurya pilots were using to calculate the minimum takeoff speed (known as VR), and it had been wrong ever since the 21-year-old aircraft entered service with the airline in 2017. FAULTY DATA&nbsp; The Commission probed Flight Data Recorder inputs from previous takeoffs of the Canadian-built CRJ200-LR in 2023-2024 and found that the undetected error in the speedchart had caused the plane to pitch up at an abnormal rotation rate at least 18 times on previous takeoffs.&nbsp; Any rotation rate more than 3°/sec is regarded as unusual. But on at least two occasions, this aircraft with tail number 9N-AME had rotation rates of 5.8°/sec and 5.5°/sec, the second one was when the pilot who survived was flying in March 2024.&nbsp; On this particular day, the plane’s rotation rate was 6.5°/sec, causing it to go into a deep stall soon after takeoff, the Commission report said. Essentially, the plane was not flying fast enough down the runway to take off safely.&nbsp; It is not yet clear whether excess weight, unsecured luggage, wrong centre of gravity were also factors, but relying on a faulty speedchart for the given takeoff weight, the captain flying pulled back on the yoke before the plane had reached takeoff speed and at a pitch angle that was too steep. The investigation report says the plane then went into a deep stall and started banking right with the stick shaking. At this point, the flight officer on the right hand seat is heard on the cockpit voice recorder saying: “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Sir, Sir, Sir…” It then banked left before the pilot flying turned the plane sharply to the right again in an evasive action to avoid the parking aprons of the international and domestic terminals. Had he not done so, there would have been a disaster of a much greater magnitude at Kathmandu airport that day. The plane scraped the runway with its right wingtip, collided with a container having helicopter spare parts, and plunged into a gully east of the runway, exploding in a fireball. The investigation also noted that the impact forces seemed to be survivable for some occupants. The fire trucks took unnecessarily long to reach the site even though it was inside the airport perimeter. The absence of an ICAO-standard runway strip, inadequate rescue drills, lack of training, and a blocked emergency service gate leading to the crash site were cited as other factors. &nbsp;&nbsp; <h2>Timestamp of a Disaster</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250731110724_39cdd04693994ce6e55a5b302905c0fa4884fe85bed21ff0779bb1439f3a5725.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20250731110724_39cdd04693994ce6e55a5b302905c0fa4884fe85bed21ff0779bb1439f3a5725" data-rendition-name="original" width="778" height="826" loading="lazy" alt="Flouting rules caused Saurya tragedy NT"> </figure>  11:10:34 - The Saurya Airlines CRJ200 on the takeoff roll from runway 02. It had a takeoff weight of about 18,300kg, but the pilot’s speedcard had a previously undetected mistake about the minimum takeoff speed. 11:10:55 -The plane with tail number 9N-AME goes into deep stall soon after takeoff because it does not have enough speed to lift its weight. The plane also has an abnormally steep nose-up attitude.&nbsp; 11:11:03 - Without enough speed to generate lift, the plane banks right, then left and right again in CCTV photos taken from the domestic apron (below). If it had not banked right, it could have hit the aprons and terminal buildings. Seen parked is Saurya’s other CRJ200 with tail number 9N-ANM.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250731110732_608132f7225c649125cca2691dd6a6bf930984c5b359e888d7ad9e5eacce3afd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250731110732_608132f7225c649125cca2691dd6a6bf930984c5b359e888d7ad9e5eacce3afd" data-rendition-name="original" width="770" height="555" loading="lazy" alt="Flouting rules caused Saurya tragedy NT"> </figure>  11:11:08 - The plane scrapes the runway with its right wingtip, and falls into the gully. The captain is thrown off the left side of the cockpit and survives. 11:11:15: Plane explodes in a fireball inside the airport perimeter. Firefighters take time to reach the site because of lack of access road and a blocked gate. Read the full investigation report <a href="https://www.tourism.gov.np/files/9N-AME%20AIC%20Final%20Report.pdf">here</a>.

Flouting rules caused Saurya tragedy

American artist Peter Makela was in Nepal in 2022 on a Fulbright scholarship when he experienced the Matya festival in Patan in which devotees made the rounds of the city’s shrines.&nbsp;
He joined the procession, walking through 2,600 stupa and 140 bahal of the town. That immersion left a lasting impression.
As part of Gallery Mcube’s international residency program in Patan, he put his inspiration to canvas in the exhibition Yala Yatra: Walking, Working, Worshipping. The exhibition also coincides with this month’s Matya festival.&nbsp;
Makela has visited Nepal often in the past 11 years but he mostly stayed in and spent his time around Boudha. “This time I stayed in Patan, put the sites I wanted to visit on my map, and off I went,” he tells us. “Each of my artwork is inspired by the stupas and shrines in Patan that I visited.”
The stupa and Ganesh are recurring motifs in his watercolours, and the elephant gods are located in chaityas — reflecting the interplay and blending of the Hindu and Buddhist faiths in Kathmandu Valley.&nbsp;
The stupas and Ganesh are painted in vivid red, yellow, blue and green against abstract backgrounds meant to represent the sky.
“I use the sky as a backdrop because the sky has no border,” says Makela. “The four colours represent the four elements, the different Buddha families and also lights bouncing off of a rainbow.”
The use of just four colours for all the artwork stands out, and combined with the absence of heavy canvases, frames or stands render Makela’s art striking in its simplicity.&nbsp;
The Ganesh is always holding something and the art also portrays the elephant god’s sacred vehicle, the mouse.
While his vibrant stupas and Ganesh reflect the tangibility of Patan’s tradition and heritage, it is as if the backdrops with their shades of grey and red and yellow capture the soul of the city’s shrines.
“If you look closely, there is a sense of form and formlessness at the same time,” he says.&nbsp;
Makela walked 108 kora around the shrines during his exploration of the town, and in the process developed a spiritual connection with Patan’s heritage and traditions.&nbsp;
The exhibition connects with visitors on a deeper, more spiritual, level as well. And with it, they feel a sense of pride as well as the need to urgently preserve Patan’s heritage for future generations.
“Peter’s inclination and approach towards Nepali art and culture is fascinating, and it reflects in his work,” says Mcube curator Manish Lal Shrestha, whose international artist residency program promotes Nepal’s cultural heritage. &nbsp;&nbsp;
Yala Yatra: Walking, Working, Worshipping
1-5 August&nbsp;
10AM-7PM
Gallery Mcube, Patan

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