<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131112/637230969c7e80680e0c2574jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>The Kulekhani Dam opened in 1982, and is still the only large reservoir project in Nepal. Photos: NT ARCHIVE</figcaption></figure>A rapidly warming atmosphere is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-mountains-are-melting/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">melting Himalayan glaciers</a>, changing the seasonal flow of water in Nepal’s rivers, and increasing the interest of downstream India to regulate water and generate electricity.For Nepal, this is an opportunity to finally tap the potential of the country’s ‘white gold' to meet growing demand for electricity domestically, as well as redress its trade deficit with India by selling <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-precious-electricity-going-waste/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">surplus power</a>.New Delhi’s priority has been not so much electricity but to try to regulate the flow of the Ganges by storing monsoon runoff in its Himalayan tributaries in Nepal, which is why it has lately started showing an interest in building large <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/reservoirs-of-suspicion/hydropower-geopolitics%20,3991" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reservoir projects in Nepal</a>.“There is no doubt that India's real interest is in Nepal’s water resources rather than hydroelectricity,” says Sheetal Babu Regmi, formerly head of the Water and Energy Commission. “And water is going to be an even more critical commodity with the climate crisis.”Almost two-thirds of the water in the Ganges that flows through some of the most densely-populated regions in the world comes from the rivers of Nepal. And most of that flows down in the four monsoon months between June-September.In the rainy season, there are destructive floods in the plains, and for nine months in a year, the rivers have low flow. <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/Comment/storing-water-reservoir-Nepal,1042" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Storage dams in Nepal</a> would even this out, reducing flood damage during the monsoon, and make adequate water available the rest of the year.Climate change means that there will be even less water flowing in the Ganges and its tributaries in the dry season in the coming decades.A recent report by India's NITI Ayog showed that nearly 600 million Indians are facing a shortage of water for irrigation and household use, and singled out 21 cities, including New Delhi, as potentially facing groundwater depletion by 2030.Another report by ICIMOD (the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development) warned that failure to reduce carbon emissions would lead to the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-terrifying-assessment-of-himalayan-melting/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Himalaya losing up to two-thirds of its remaining glaciers</a> during this century.It is therefore strategically important for India to ensure regulated year-round water on the Ganges, and for this it needs a government in Kathmandu that is amenable to allowing it to build large reservoirs on Nepal’s rivers.However, given the historical asymmetry of past Indian projects on <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-kosis-sorrow-and-scope/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the Kosi</a> and Gandaki, river projects are political hot potatoes in Nepal. Governments in the past have fallen because incumbents signed off on river treaties with India that were deemed to disproportionately benefit India.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131112/637230999c7e80680e0c2575jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1185" height="774"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Which is what makes the timing of announcements of a slew of new Indian investment in river projects in Nepal after Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba-led coalition came to power last year so significant.On 14 June, Nepal’s cabinet gave permission to India’s state-owned NHPC Limited (formerly the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation) to build the 750MW West Seti hydropower project. The China Three Gorges International Corp (CTG) had in 2018 been edged out of the reservoir project with a 194m high dam in western Nepal.The NHPC had made a proposal to Nepal’s Investment Board in May for the construction of the project following promises made by Prime Minister Deuba during his visit to India in March. And while on the campaign trail in Dadeldhura in May, Deuba had revealed that construction of the West Seti would have to be given to India because otherwise New Delhi would not buy electricity off projects with Chinese investment.But experts have raised serious issues with the way such a large project has been handed over to Indian companies without the requisite competitive bidding process, and using a legal loophole to circumvent Nepal’s Public Private Partnership and Investment Act.An agreement to hand over a 51% stake in the construction of the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/business/arun-4/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Arun-4 hydropower project</a> to another Indian state-owned company, Sutlej Hydropower Corporation, was also made in June during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Lumbini.Arun-4 follows Sutlej’s joint venture on the upstream <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/oli-modi-launch-arun-iii/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Arun-3 project</a> in eastern Nepal, and the government was so secretive about the deal that Nepalis came to know about it only after Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) executive director Kulman Ghising signed the agreement in Lumbini with Sutlej Hydropower chair Nand Lal Sharma.Sutlej Hydropower earlier acquired the 679MW Lower Arun project construction rights under former prime minister K P Sharma Oli. The cascade of Indian projects on the Arun River will generate 2,000MW of electricity in eastern Nepal.And with West Seti and Upper Karnali projects, Indian companies will be generating another 2,000MW of electricity from western Nepal for export to India.Additionally, the government is also planning to award the 450MW Seti River-6 project to NHPC. Sources at the Investment Board Nepal say that the Indian company is taking most of the electricity, and offering only 3% of free electricity to Nepal. The NHPC has also submitted a proposal for the 480MW Phukot Karnali and the 1,902MW Mugu Karnali projects in north-western Nepal.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131112/6372309c9c7e80680e0c2576jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="471"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The fact that all these projects have been announced only after Deuba replaced K P Oli as prime minister last year indicates that his coalition partners have been friendlier to Indian proposals on river projects than previous governments.Indeed, the 900MW Upper Karnali hydroelectric project which was awarded in 2014 to the Indian private company GMR was given a two-year extension despite its failure to finalise investment.“Nepal is playing a geopolitical game with hydropower, flouting the Constitution and prevailing laws,” says former water resource minister Dipak Gyawali.Nepal’s Constitution stipulates that treaties or agreements related to the distribution of natural resources and their use must be approved by a two-third majority in the Federal Parliament.Other experts however, say that Nepal cannot just sit on its rivers, it must harness them for economic progress, and for this it has to cooperate with India on an equal footing for mutual benefit.“Indian investment in the hydropower sector will benefit Nepal, it will mean the electricity we generate will find a ready market in India and reduce our trade deficit,” says NEA director Kulman Ghising.However, it is the fear that India will derive disproportionate benefit from these joint projects that worries Nepali experts, especially since there is historical precedent for that.India has also put pressure on Nepal by refusing to buy electricity from projects built with investment or contractors from China. India refused to buy surplus power from Nepal this monsoon, wasting 500MW of electricity. Chinese investors are presently involved in building hydropower plants with a total capacity of 1,000MW.Deuba reached an energy-sharing agreement during his India visit in March, under which the Central Electricity Authority of India approved 364MW of electricity imports from six hydropower projects in Nepal -- but only those not built by the Chinese.Foreign policy experts have seen a clear departure on the part of Prime Minister Deuba towards India on river basin projects, with Indian companies being favoured over Chinese ones.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131112/6372309e9c7e80680e0c2577jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1920" height="1080"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>In March, the Deuba-led government decided to revoke the license issued to the China Gezhouba Group Company (CGGC) to develop the mammoth <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-mega-dam-is-a-mirage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">$2.5 billion Budi Gandaki hydropower project</a> west of Kathmandu, and to build its 263m high dam to generate 1,200MW on its own.The Budi Gandaki has been a victim of geopolitical pingpong for the past five years. In 2017, Maoist Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s government awarded the project to CGGC, but the subsequent Deuba government reversed the decision, angering the Chinese. In 2018, K P Oli’s administration restored the contract, only to have Deuba cancel it again this year.Chinese Ambassador Hou Yanqi stated in May that it was “wrong to change policy (on Budi Gandaki) with every change of government … such actions kill the investment climate”.“It is not diplomatically mature to repeatedly undo decisions of preceding governments every time power changes hands,” cautions foreign affairs expert Dinesh Bhattarai.Experts say that India’s policy on it energy imports from Nepal will not only just discourage future Chinese investments in Nepal which is its goal, but also other investors. It will also throw Nepal’s policy of equidistance between China and India off balance.All this is not new. Before Three Gorges, Australia’s Snowy Mountain Engineering Company (SMEC) also pulled out of the West Seti project in 2010 after India showed no interest in buying its electricity. Then the Norwegian company SN Power abandoned the export-oriented 650MW Tamakosi 3 after not getting the green light from New Delhi to buy its power.Most of Nepal’s hydropower projects so far are run-of-river schemes in which generation capacity falls during the dry season. This means Nepal has a power deficit in winter when it needs to import from India, and has a surplus in the monsoon which it has started exporting to India.Having reservoir projects would change that, and give Nepal a more year-round generation capacity, while also regulating water on rivers as a bonus. But even with the present hydropower projects, Nepal earned Rs1.72 billion just in June from selling its excess electricity to India.“India considers water a strategic resource, and is cleverly trying to keep Nepal's energy system under its influence,” explains Dipak Gyawali, the former minister.Clearly, Nepal needs to prioritise domestic consumption of electricity over its export and channel it into electrification of transport, industries and homes. All of this will automatically cut down on petroleum imports, reducing its increasing trade deficit.Selling raw electricity to India is not as beneficial, experts point out, because Nepal is selling its power at a much cheaper rate to India than to domestic consumers. Switching to electric vehicles to reduce Nepal’s petroleum import bill by just 10% would save the country over Rs30 billion a year.The combined capacity of Nepal’s hydropower projects has now exceeded 2,100MW even as average domestic demand stands at just 1,550 MW. Another 2,500MW of electricity will be added to the grid in the next two years, while 3,000MW of new projects are in the pipeline.In a few short years, Nepal will have surplus year-round electricity, and experts say it will be better for the economy to use the power within Nepal to manufacture value-added products than to rely so heavily on selling power to India.They say Nepal needs to rework its energy needs so as to increase domestic consumption, and cut its widening trade deficit with India by reducing petroleum imports rather than just exporting power.

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The geopolitics of Nepal’s water and electricity

<figure><img width="1500" height="1000" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161132/636d19ae9c7e80680e0ac832jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: SONAM CHOEKYI LAMA</figcaption></figure>The climate crisis is a water crisis – either too much of it, or too little. Droughts have dried up springs, and when it does rain, it comes down to unleash deadly <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/kathmandus-flash-floods-are-4-decades-in-the-making/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">flash floods</a>.
If there was an effective farm irrigation network, reliable and safe drinking water in every village, Nepalis would find it much easier to cope with the impact of the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/un-climate-report-declares-planetary-emergency/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">climate emergency</a>.  Historical state failure has provided neither, and blaming climate change now is just a convenient excuse to cover up for past neglect.
There have always been <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/first-drought-then-downpour/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">droughts in Nepal</a>.  For millennia, Himalayan rivers have unleashed catastrophic floods. The climate crisis has just made them worse, as poorly designed infrastructure and settlements lead to more destructive disasters.  
Melting icecaps get all the media attention as the world deals with climate change, but it is the<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/tracing-past-glacial-floods-in-kangchenjunga/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> state of our streams, rivers, and ground water</a> that affect more people immediately. 
With outmigration of men from rural areas, it is mostly women who are left to farm, raise livestock, fetch water, and care for the household. Even before the climate crisis hit, the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/educating-girls-for-climate-action/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">work of Nepali women</a> was demanding and undervalued. Global warming has just made their drudgery much worse.   
<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/climate-change-is-a-disaster-in-the-nepal-himalaya/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Climate change is a disaster in the Nepal Himalaya</a>, Sonam Choekyi Lama
In Kavre district, women who had to walk a few minutes to fetch water now have to make one hour roundtrips because <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepals-silent-emergency-springs-going-dry/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">springs have dried up</a>. With the men-folk gone, women like Namdak Sangmo in our special report from Dolpo struggle to survive after their farms were swept away by a glacial flood. 
You do not need to be a gender activist to see how <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepali-women-doubly-burdened-by-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">women bear a disproportionate burden from the climate crisis</a>. Across the Himalayan foothills, farm terraces lie dry and fallow. Women are not just heading households now, they also have to make decisions about planting, irrigation, harvesting, grazing, foraging, cooking, and taking care of children. 
While remittance money has helped raise the standard of living, extreme events like the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/monsoon-hits-nepal-with-a-bang/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">deadly floods and landslides this monsoon</a> season add to the misery. Three-fourths of Nepal’s farmers are dependent on rain-fed agriculture, and the combined impact of weather extremes and the pandemic have added to food insecurity. 
Increased work for women in the household means many daughters drop out of school to help with household chores. Most of these problems predate climate change, but <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/women-in-climate-hot-spots-face-challenges-adapting/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">global warming has added to the challenges women face every day</a>. 
The most low-hanging fruit for climate adaptation in Nepal is to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-waste-land/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">provide women with enough water</a>,  or protect their families from too much of it. And that is exactly where most of Nepal’s success stories are happening. 
<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/himalayan-floods-a-sign-of-worse-to-come/">Himalayan floods a sign of worse to come</a>, Mukesh Pokharel
Faced with dry springs, Mother’s Groups and Forestry User Groups in Kavre have joined forces to harvest monsoon water for household use in the dry season. They have revived traditional network of ponds for groundwater recharge, and nurtured indigenous plant species in community forests.  
In Kailali district in the western plains, farmers who used to suffer from chronic floods are using botanical buffers. Bamboo and napier grass on embankments and sugarcane on riverbanks block floods, while providing cash income. In Kanchanpur district, villagers also grow banana, watermelon, pumpkin, squash and gourd after the floods recede, taking advantage of nutrient-rich soil deposit.
While developmental partners, aid agencies and non-governmental organisations have played a crucial role in introducing climate-specific interventions, theirs is a piecemeal approach. In fact, it often lets the government off the hook. We need to scale up these successful pilot projects nationwide.
With or without the climate crisis, it is the state’s responsibility to ensure access to water for households and irrigation. After all, droughts and floods are nothing new here. 
Nepal’s delegation to the <a href="https://ukcop26.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">COP26 Climate Summit</a> next week will be led by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. But instead of going to Glasgow, Deuba should head out to his home constituency of Dadeldhura-1 to see for himself how the most marginalised women have coped with this year’s triple whammy – drought, wildfires and floods.  
In Glasgow, the focus is on emissions reduction and compensating countries like Nepal for loss and damage. Nepal’s delegation has little right to hold out the begging bowl when it is doing so little for its own people back home. Climate justice and historical emissions sound good in speeches, but it does not deliver food security today. 
Women and their added vulnerability to the climate emergency should not be limited to sound bites at international fora, but goad real action that prioritise them.
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/think-globally-in-glasgow-and-act-locally/">Think globally in Glasgow, and act locally</a>, Raju Pandit Chhetri
Sonia Awale

Sonia Awale

Women and water

Tom Robertson

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Kathmandu's ‘flash floods’ are 4 decades in the making

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151116/636d088b9c7e80680e0a6022jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="600"/><figcaption>Photo: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151116/636d088e9c7e80680e0a6023jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="451" height="400">Climate change, pollution, and lack of infrastructure restrict water access in Nepal. Madhav Belbase, retired Secretary of the Ministry of Water Supply, who pioneered inter-basin water transfer and was involved with <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/melamchi-coming-to-kathmandu" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the Melamchi Project</a>, speaks about water resource management in Nepal.Excerpts from interview:Nepali Times: Drawing on your vast experience in the water management sector, how do you think water is seen in Nepal?Madhav Belbase: There is a popular misconception among many Nepali people that Nepal is the second most water-rich country in the world. This is added to a narrative that if you have a resource in abundance, you do not need to manage it. But it’s not true.Discourses on water management in Nepal are dominated by hydropower production and often neglect the other uses of water. Water management lacks integration. Rivers in Nepal are often diverted at multiple points along their stretches, affecting the other existing and potential uses of water.Because of the hyper-focus on water for energy production, irrigation, water supply, the environment, and the cultural and social aspects of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/too-little-too-much-or-too-polluted/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">water resources management</a> have been neglected. This wasn’t always the case. Nepal has a rich history of traditional water management techniques that took advantage of the country’s natural resources and topography. If energy is the focus of today’s water infrastructure, food production was the focus of these traditional systems, ensuring food security for decades. Unfortunately, such traditional knowledge has given way to a more technocratic approach that views water as a commodity.What is the long-term viability of the Melamchi Water Supply Project  considering the growing stress on freshwater supplies?<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-water-emergency/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Climate change</a> is already impacting rainfall patterns in Nepal. We used to have downpours in January and February, but now winter rainfall is becoming increasingly precarious. Even in the monsoon, rainfall patterns have completely changed. The intensity of precipitation is rising, which creates larger runoffs and landslides, and lower infiltration. At the same time, heavy downpours in the winter months seem to be disappearing, impacting on the distribution of water. Although the total amount of rain has not changed a lot, when we need water, we don’t have it. When the rain does come, we seem to be getting too much of it.The Melamchi Water Supply Project is meant to be a long-term solution to address water shortage in the Kathmandu Valley. However, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/drones-to-the-rescue-in-melamchi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the Melamchi river</a> itself is snow-fed and may get less water due to climate change. But we can safeguard ourselves from the worst-case scenario through the development of water storage projects within or just outside the valley. Water storage projects and inter-basin water transfer projects can balance water availability. This can be done by transferring water from surfeit to deficit basins. Water storage can either be done through constructing large-scale reservoirs and dams, or small-scale ponds and household level reservoirs and even rainwater harvesting. Dams are critical for the long-term sustainability of water management and irrigation in Nepal.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151116/636d088f9c7e80680e0a6024jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1920" height="1080"><figcaption>Photo: SAGLO SAMAJ</figcaption></figure>Was <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/after-the-deluge-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the flood on the Melamchi in June</a> anticipated as a once-in-100 years type event?Yes, the headworks of the Melamchi project were designed with 100-year floods in mind. To ensure adequate protection, the project includes energy dissipation devices and safety mechanisms. The structures have been constructed to minimise abrasion due to flowing debris and bed loads. They are designed to withstand the worst possible events with a 100 year return period. However, an event can occur which is even more intense.What are Nepal’s opportunities and challenges for transboundary water cooperation with other riparian countries?About 40% of the annual flow and 70% of dry season flows of the Ganges in India originate from Nepal’s rivers. The Ganges basin is home to about 500 million people, which can in itself explain the importance of Nepal’s rivers for people living in northern India. Floods during the monsoon and a lack of adequate water for agriculture in the dry season are the two major issues there. Obviously, the construction of storage projects in Nepal’s territory to regulate river flow could solve both problems in India to a great extent. However, bilateral cooperation between the two countries has been a bit bumpy in the past. In the 1950s both countries signed two treaties on <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-kosis-sorrow-and-scope/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the Kosi</a> and Gandaki which was greeted with huge dissatisfaction among Nepalis. The perception among Nepalis is that both the treaties yield fewer benefits in comparison to the problems they create for the residents of areas where infrastructure is constructed.Having said that, there are many opportunities for cooperation with India, but we must also safeguard Nepal’s interests. If reservoirs are to be built in Nepal to resolve the problems related to flood and water scarcity in the dry season, the pricing of the impounded water must be judicially determined for win-win cooperation between the two countries.China upstream also shares our rivers. Nepal’s main concern with Chinese water relations is the sharing of flood and rainfall data. Because precipitation and weather events in China affect Nepal’s rivers downstream, better cooperation is needed to properly manage transboundary water risks. This type of data sharing is already happening with India, which has a greater interest in being Nepal’s downstream neighbour.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110151120/636d08929c7e80680e0a6025jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1920" height="1080"><figcaption>Photo: SAGLO SAMAJ</figcaption></figure>Last month, China sent a warning that the Tama Kosi river was dammed due to a large landslide, upstream from the 465MW Upper Tama Kosi project. What are your thoughts on a single hydropower project having such a large proportion of the national hydropower generation?Firstly, given the geology and steep slopes of the mountain as well as intense rainfall that occurs in Nepal, the structures we build on the rivers <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/manpower-and-hydropower/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">are always vulnerable</a>. It is often difficult to predict the worst-case scenario flood. There are computer models to estimate near to actual situations, however, how accurately we provide the input data largely determines how closely we can predict the flows. Due to climate change, this type of prediction has become more and more difficult. The Tama Kosi headworks are designed to weather a flood with a 1,000 year return period, including a glacial lake outburst flood, meaning the headworks are designed to withstand a flood so intense it is only predicted to occur once every 1,000 years. This level of risk planning is common practice, and would normally be safe for the typical worst-case conditions.Secondly, Nepal’s per capita electricity consumption is very low, about 300 kWh. As the country progresses, the per capita consumption grows, and you need to produce more electricity. In such a situation, a 456 MW project like Tamakoshi is not actually that big, and we will have similar projects distributed all over the country. However, for the present condition of the country, when a single project generates about one-third of electricity, there is always the risk of electricity shortages due to an unprecedented natural disaster in the Tama Kosi basin.What do you see as the most important issue that needs to be tackled when it comes to water management in Nepal?Water is a finite resource, and there is increasing stress on water resources. Our attitudes of abundance and overuse are risky, and we must uphold a sustainable limit to water uses to protect this precious resource for future generations. Nepal also needs to explore the possibilities of reusing and recycling water. Young people need to realise the need to limit water use as well as population growth to achieve an optimum sustainable level of consumption. Pollution of our available freshwater resources is another major issue that must be understood and addressed at the individual level.Experts from longer interview with the <a href="https://www.himalayanwaterproject.org/post/a-policy-perspective-on-water-management-in-nepal-interview-with-madhav-belbase" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.himalayanwaterproject.org/post/a-policy-perspective-on-water-management-in-nepal-interview-with-madhav-belbase&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1627356167931000&amp;usg=AFQjCNE-g4qtOraO59PQP3LQ5lp0VsP43g">Geopolitics and Ecology of Himalayan Water</a>.

Nepal needs to plan for plenty and scarcity of water

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111015118/636d06359c7e80680e0a5f4ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1920" height="1080"/><figcaption>The Kosi Barrage on the Indian border where the river funnels out into the inland delta in Bihar.</figcaption></figure><ul><li>Three decades after it was first proposed, a 26.5km tunnel starts supplying water from Melamchi to Kathmandu.</li> <li>A <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/drones-to-the-rescue-in-melamchi/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/drones-to-the-rescue-in-melamchi/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1625725666191000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEISH8LehEm5nAihrdyEOSDxSXsUg">deadly flood</a> on the Melamchi-Indrawati in Sindhupalchok on 16 June kills at least 27 people, and destroys infrastructure.</li> <li>The much-delayed 465MW Upper Tama Kosi hydropower plant starts feeding electricity to the national grid.</li> <li>SJVN says it has completed half the work on the 900MW Arun III project and the Investment Board awarded it another contract to develop the 679MW Lower Arun as well.</li> <li>Work has begun on the Sunkosi-Marin Diversion, to channel water to the Bagmati Basin and irrigate much of Province 2.</li></ul>All five events have one thing in common: they are all on the trans-boundary Kosi Basin that drains 75,000 sq km of territory in China, Nepal and India.Last week, I was standing on the Pati Bhanjyang ridgeline at the northeastern rim of Kathmandu Valley. Pour a glass of water on one side, and it flows westwards into the Gandaki River Basin. On the other side the streams drain into the Melamchi, which meets the Indrawati, then the Bhote Kosi to become the Sun Kosi that flows 200km eastward until it merges with the Arun and Tamor to form the Sapta Kosi.At that point, the river makes a tight turn south to tumble into the Kosi megafan in the Tarai and Bihar to finally to join the Ganga at Kursela. The Kosi, in fact, is the largest tributary of the Ganges, bigger than the Gandaki, Karnali, Jamuna, and even bigger than the Ganga itself as it debouches into the plains at Haridwar.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111015118/636d06389c7e80680e0a5f4fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1920" height="1080"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The Kosi’s origin in Nepal is near Kathmandu. But it largest tributary, the Arun, originates in Tibet where it is called the Phung Chu, makes a mighty arc in Tibet and cuts through the Himalaya between Mt Makalu and Mt Kangchenjunga to meet its siblings Sun Kosi and Tamor at Tribeni.Geologists say rivers like the Arun that slice through the Himalaya are older than the mountains, and cut their way through as the terrain rose over millions of years with the collision of the India and Eurasian tectonic plates.The Kosi watershed therefore drains an enormous vertical landscape stretching from Mt Xixapangma which lies just 80km on the other side of the Himalaya in China, both sides of Mt Gauri Shankar (Chomo Tseringma), Mt Everest and Mt Makalu, as well as the western slopes of Kangchenjunga. Six of the world’s 13 peaks above 8,000m are therefore a part of the Kosi catchment.These mountains block the monsoons, and in eastern Nepal their southern slopes get more than 3,000mm of rain a year, weathering them down relentlessly, making the sedimentation load of the Kosi the heaviest for any river in the world.The topography of this mighty river has shaped Nepal’s history and culture, and can determine the country’s future prosperity as well. But only if we respect its geology, hydrology and the climate of its basin.Watershed expert Madhukar Upadhyay says, “We have not even begun to understand the hydrological and geological specificities of our mountains and rivers and yet are rushing headlong into ever-larger infrastructure development. Nepalis will still be here 500 years from now, what kind of country and landscape are we leaving behind for them?”Last month, landslides blocked the Melamchi-Indrawati, unleashing a deadly debris flow that destroyed infrastructure, homes and livelihoods. It imperilled <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/light-at-the-end-of-the-melamchi-tunnel/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/light-at-the-end-of-the-melamchi-tunnel/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1625725666191000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEaXQ5HnjB92xgkbHBEnnbl5xiwow">the Melamchi project</a>, and its tunnel supplying water to Kathmandu was saved only because the gates were closed for maintenance just hours before the onrush.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111015118/636d063c9c7e80680e0a5f50jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1920" height="1080"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>This week, the Upper Tama Kosi project started generating electricity, that will provide one-third of Nepal’s total power demand. But there was a scare just days before the inauguration: China informed Nepal that a massive landslide had blocked the river upstream, threatening the Rs55 billion project. Fortunately, the river found its way around the blockage. The near escapes of the Melamchi and Upper Tama Kosi sites make us take Upadhyay’s warnings seriously.Other <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/monsoon-hits-nepal-with-a-bang/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/monsoon-hits-nepal-with-a-bang/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1625725666191000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHkbbDluGypXbbgC1BQxVAVndFTvA">flash floods this year </a>in Manang, Kaski and Lamjung also showed that while our rivers hold great promise, we ignore the risk to settlements and major infrastructure along their banks. Our engineering methods have been inherited from the West, and do not account for cloudbursts and extreme Himalayan weather events. All these risks have been exacerbated by climate change.In Melamchi, the power of the flood last month is evident in the steel hulk of the Indrawati Bridge that lies crumpled in the muddy river 100m downstream amidst room-sized boulders. The new sand bank is 25m thick, indicating the flood’s maximum height.It is not clear what happened, for a bishyari or two (bursting of a landslide-damming of the river) would not be enough to generate such a massive debris flow. Some speculate there may have been centuries-old glacial deposits which suddenly got released through a combination of earthquake weakening and heavy rain.We also saw that <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/after-the-deluge-in-nepal/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/after-the-deluge-in-nepal/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1625725666191000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFAaYeK5lUf9eY4-j8mOHnFIUOT5A">Melamchi Bazar </a>had expanded into the river’s flood plain, with buildings in place of rice paddies, which added to the loss of life and property. Less than a month after the disaster excavators and tipper trucks are already on the Indrawati river bed, scooping up sand and boulders to feed Kathmandu Valley’s voracious appetite for construction material.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111015118/636d06409c7e80680e0a5f51jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1920" height="1080"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>It is the Kosi’s Melamchi tributary that augments Kathmandu’s water supply, while the sand and boulders from the Indrawati, Sun Kosi, Bhote Kosi and Rosi fulfil the Valley’s demand for sand and aggregates.While earthquakes, floods and landslides are seen as ‘natural disasters’, and indeed they are to some extent, they become ‘man-made’ calamities with unregulated sand-mining of rivers, quarrying on steep slopes, and haphazard road-building.The highway along the Indrawati is crowded with sand-laden tipper trucks bound for Kathmandu. Downstream towards the Kosi Barrage along the BP Highway, the road follows the river past the site where a part of the Sun Kosi is to be channeled through a 13km tunnel to irrigate farmlands in the Tarai of Province 2. A similar inter-basin diversion scheme on the Kali Gandaki is now pitting Gandaki vs Lumbini Province, and the central government.We finally get to the new bridge across the Sapta Kosi at Chhatara, connecting Udayapur and Sunsari districts. This is exactly the point where, after its epic journey from the Tibetan Plateau and between the highest mountains in the world, this great river fans out into the plains.https://youtu.be/34lmOgPv-zkNorth of the bridge is the site of the proposed mammoth <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=2413#.YOQRoi8RoWo" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D2413%23.YOQRoi8RoWo&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1625725666191000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF86VG9E0i8u5OqfG5NvKJKILpBEA">Kosi High Dam</a>. The 300m high dam will create a reservoir submerging huge tracts of the Sun Kosi, Arun and Tamor Valleys in a kind of ‘trishul’. India needs the dam for flood control, and to facilitate inland navigation by storing monsoon water and discharging it in the dry season. But there are many questions regarding the proposed mega project.To begin with, the high silt load means that a future Kosi Reservoir would soon fill up with sediment. There are alternatives to dams: people in the Kosi plains have learnt to live with annual floods which deposit valuable soil nutrients, and diverting water through earlier river channels would ease flood impact.The village of Hanuman Nagar had to be relocated because of the barrage, and 60 years later some of its families and those further upstream have still not got compensated. The barrage also destroyed an important wetland, and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-great-trans-himalayan-bird-migration/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-great-trans-himalayan-bird-migration/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1625725666191000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFOCjdWAUhLv8LM1mLEnBNbFZeVHQ">migratory birds </a>now alight in <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=15974#.YOQSqy8RoWo" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D15974%23.YOQSqy8RoWo&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1625725666191000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH9ndET9JXr1SU0_SRmfnAXaLeZ5A">Kosi Tappu Wildlife Reserve</a> instead.Extending the reserve further north and south could increase the habitat of endangered arna, wild elephants and freshwater dolphins, encourage ecotourism, and provide income to villagers whose grandparents had to move.The 60-year-old embankments that jacket the Kosi upstream and downstream from the Barrage have created the potential for a massive future disaster, an inland tsunami. Because of the river’s heavy silt content, the Kosi now flows on a deck 3-4m above the surrounding land. <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=15163#.YOQR6y8RoWo" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D15163%23.YOQR6y8RoWo&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1625725666191000&amp;usg=AFQjCNELQRpfAALk_H4uMYlUohTJDiWrQg">In 2008, the Kosi breached the eastern embankment </a>at Kusaha, causing <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=15193#.YOQTGy8RoWo" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D15193%23.YOQTGy8RoWo&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1625725666191000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGQbFvez-8I6Bv7_rYVwfQpczaNAg">destruction </a>downstream in Sunsari and Bihar. And that was when the river was not even in spate.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111015118/636d06439c7e80680e0a5f52jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1920" height="1080"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>With extreme weather caused by climate change, or a confluence of cloud-bursts in the mountain catchment, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=3526#.YOQSOy8RoWo" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D3526%23.YOQSOy8RoWo&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1625725666191000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEvH8AZlBKUPb68a4OulBhpsm0Q2w">a record-breaking flood in future</a> could cause an engorged Kosi to bypass the barrage altogether and unleash a catastrophic flood downstream.The Kosi Barrage was meant to be a temporary solution, and the Kosi High Dam was always in the minds of the Indian authorities. There is a need for transparent and independent study by water experts, social scientists and technocrats to study the pros and cons of the Kosi High Dam.Siltation, seismicity, adaptation and mitigation, all need to be factored in with projected future climate impact. Meanwhile, across the world, ecologists are warning that the price to pay for large dams is too great because of the destruction of river ecosystems.A massive rockfill dam on a seismically active zone, the geopolitical implications as well as the social and environmental costs may outweigh the planned benefits. To make up for the mistake of the Kosi Barrage, we may be making an even greater blunder with the Kosi High Dam.

The Kosi’s sorrow, and scope

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121144/636b92f49c7e80680e06f17bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2550" height="1429"/><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Nepal has had one emergency heaped on top of another for more than a year now. The Covid-19 emergency, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-is-going-up-in-smoke/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">wildfires</a>, and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/monsoon-hits-nepal-with-a-bang/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">now floods</a>.Political flux in Kathmandu continues to undermine the state’s ability to respond adequately. But this is nothing new. The most glaring governance failure of Nepal’s rulers for the past decades has been their incompetence in being able to ensure nutrition for its youngest citizens.Be it during the absolute and constitutional monarchy days, the post-democracy period or now, in the new federal system, the state has failed abjectly in its primary responsibility to fulfil the most basic of all human rights – access to adequate food.Nepal did reduce childhood stunting from 57% to 36% in the two decades after 1990. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nearly-half-of-nepali-children-still-malnourished/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">But progress stalled</a> because of the conflict and political upheavals. Nearly a third of Nepali children are still stunted due to lack of adequate food, 12% are wasted, and 24% low weight.The statistics are shocking. Nepal’s hunger hotspots are Far Western Province where 41% of children are stunted, and in Province 2 where 34% of children have low height due to lack of food. A survey in May by Sharecast Initiative and UNICEF shows that one in five families across Nepal <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepalis-eating-less-due-to-lockdown-hardships/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reduced the quantity of meals</a> their children ate during the lockdown.Children have so far been largely spared by the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its variants, but they have become <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/children-are-collateral-damage-in-nepal-lockdown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">collateral damage in the pandemic</a>. Schools have been closed for most of the past year, and half the students had no access to distance learning. Immunisation drives against pre-existing killer diseases have been disrupted.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/half-of-nepalis-lost-jobs-in-past-month/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">More than half of Nepalis lost their jobs</a> in the past month amidst the second wave, and loss of household income has led directly to insufficient food for children.Hunger is Nepal’s real national epidemic and rampant malnutrition pre-dated the Covid-19 outbreak. The pandemic has undermined the country’s past gains in battling childhood malnutrition.To meet its UN sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets, Nepal has to reduce stunting well below 15% and wasting and low weight to less than 5% in the next nine years. At the present rate, we will not meet those goals.Horrific as the statistics are, zooming down to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-epidemic-of-hunger/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ground level in Dhanusha and Mahottari districts</a> of Province 2, our Saglo Samajtv magazine report this week shows how much worse things have got during the lockdowns.Despite Nepal being declared open-defecation free amidst much fanfare, Dalit and other marginalised communities in Dhanusha and Mahottari do not have toilets. If they do have one, there is no running water or soap. They use the same village pond for both humans and cattle, for cleaning and drinking. Things are not much better in pockets in the western mountains. Gastric infections compound malnutrition.The least the government could do is equitably distribute the ‘nutrition allowance’ allocated for the Dalit families and educate the communities on the basics of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/toilet-trained/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">sanitation and hygiene</a>.Nutrition Rehabilitation Centres for severely malnourished children must be set up closer to the communities so that the neediest can access the service. The annual budget on nutrition should be increased so that local health posts have sufficient supplements and micronutrients for new mothers and their children.The government’s Multi-Sector Nutrition Plan has not delivered as expected, tangled up over jurisdiction under the new federal structure. But it could just as easily deploy Female Community Health Volunteers, and local representatives to discourage <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/child-marriage-in-nepal-eloped-at-13-mother-by-17/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">child marriage</a> that feeds the vicious cycle of malnutrition and high maternal and child deaths.Malnutrition is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/junk-food-is-making-nepali-children-shorter/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">more than the availability of food</a> and access to clean water, it is also confronting patriarchy, casteism and gender discrimination. It is a result of poor governance, lack of accountability and corruption.But nothing is stopping newly-empowered local governments with technical and financial backing from the centre to now achieve results that Kathmandu’s past centralised governments could not. Training of farmers on climate-smart agriculture, and leasing land to the landless is a good place to start.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/the-face-of-hunger-debt-malnutrition,3604" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Children are hungry</a> because of poverty. Their families are poor because of state neglect. We must draw that causal link between lack of food and failure to deliver it by elected representatives. That is the real scandal the evening news bulletins should be highlighting.

Hunger for governance

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121144/636b92c29c7e80680e06f168jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="638"/><figcaption>All photos: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121144/636b92c59c7e80680e06f169jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121144/636b92c79c7e80680e06f16ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="639">Through the centuries, Kathmandu Valley residents have set aside a day just before <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-braces-for-monsoon-pandemic-double-hit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the monsoon</a> when the groundwater table is at its lowest to clean their community wells, ponds, public water spouts, fountains and irrigation canals.The <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/keeping-the-valley-wells-clean,1392?fbclid=IwAR2fdO6PRRTZh7EWXJm4Gr_R5BabGLYjV-_EOj7d2OfNdnum0Hhn6b5xzZg" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sithi Nakha festival</a> of the Valley’s Newa people was marked on Wednesday, even as the city has been in Covid-19 lockdown for the past six weeks. The festival has pre-Hindu and pre-Buddhist animist antecedents but has relevance right to the present day.Water is not just as essential utility but also considered a divide element and Sithi Nakhaon 16 June this year, is a celebration of the baby rain god Kumar on his sixth day of birth.This corresponds with an ancient custom where birthday celebrations normally take place after the sixth day when a newly born child overcomes the risk of neonatal death, which is how the celebration gets its name ‘Sithi Nakha’, or the festival of the sixth day.Early on Wednesday, residents of Bhaktapur entered their communal wells and ponds and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/day-to-worship-water-in-kathmandu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">cleaned their water sources</a> as well as nearby heritage sites.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121144/636b92ca9c7e80680e06f16bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121144/636b92cd9c7e80680e06f16cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="720" height="480"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121144/636b92cf9c7e80680e06f16djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121144/636b92d29c7e80680e06f16ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121144/636b92d59c7e80680e06f16fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121144/636b92d89c7e80680e06f170jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>This was followed by a special feast with delicacies like Woand Chatamari, pancakes made of lentils and rice, particularly for the farmers gearing up for the four-month long planting season.This collective practice of worshipping and cleaning water sources is, however, dying with urbanisation. As water sources dry up and the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/water-table-of-kathmandu-valley-falling-fast-recharge-to-replenish,4100" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">groundwater table recedes</a>, the revival of this traditional custom holds significance for the preservation of Kathmandu’s water system.The Nepal government in the past has directed the public to mark SithiNakha nationwide to clean water source everywhere to help prevent contamination and water-borne diseases. The festival holds more relevance with the emergence of new infectious diseases like Covid-19, and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/build-back-greener-2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">increased awareness about nature conservation and ecosystem balance</a>.

Kathmandu's Water Day

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111156/636cd90c9c7e80680e092e78jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>All photos: KARUN DEWAN</figcaption></figure>When NASA explores other planets, the test of whether there is life, is to detect the presence of water. Here on Earth, however, this critical natural resource is often undervalued.Even though 71% of the planet’s area is covered in water, only 1.2% of this is available for human use.An average person requires 50 litres of water per day for basic use. However, two-thirds of the world’s population is currently experiencing <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/h20-shortage,3456" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">severe water scarcity</a> for at least one month of the year-- many more people will be at risk by 2050.Some of the most serious challenges facing the world – floods, droughts, famine, health and sanitation, and pollution, all involve water. Nine of ten natural disasters are <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/flood-of-recrimination/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">water-related</a>.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111156/636cd90f9c7e80680e092e79jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="360">By 2050, the number of people at risk from floods is expected to rise to 1.6 billion from the current 1.2 billion, whereas half the global population is projected to be living in areas of severe water stress. Alterations to the natural water cycle therefore poses major risks for global food security, energy production, human health, economic development, and more. The consequences of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-water-emergency/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">water stress</a> will be disproportionately felt by the poorest and most vulnerable people.Nepal may be landlocked, but it lies astride the Himalaya, the water towers of Asia that irrigate vast areas downstream. The annual monsoon water cycle recharges thousands of lakes, ponds, and other wetlands. These water bodies are vital for life, bio-diversity, agriculture, medicines.Nepal’s rivers drain 225 billion cubic meters of water annually, providing irrigation to 1.43 out of the country’s 2.6 million hectares of agricultural land. The water cycle also recharges 12 billion m3 <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/water-table-of-kathmandu-valley-falling-fast-recharge-to-replenish,4100" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">groundwater</a> in the Chure-Bhabar zone of Nepal, habited by 60% of the population.While the journey of water from the Himalaya to the Tarai is life-giving, it also takes lives away every year in floods. Landslides triggered by deforestation, cultivation in steep slopes, haphazard road construction and earthquakes add to disruptions in water supply. With the climate crisis melting glaciers, lake outburst floods have added to the risk.A recent World Bank report ‘South Asia’s Hotspots’ warns that climate change could sharply worsen living conditions for <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/06/28/climate/india-pakistan-warming-hotspots.html?module=inline" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/06/28/climate/india-pakistan-warming-hotspots.html?module%3Dinline&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1616465347450000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGdFJ0LiJ2mHiRP2Mcz3OHmf4vcGA">up to 800 million people in the Subcontinent. </a>The World Resources Institute ranks Nepal 40thamong most water stressed countries, and with increasing demographic pressure the crisis is set to get worse.Even the water that is available is now polluted, and Nepal has yet to effectively address domestic, urban, industrial and agricultural sources. Riverbanks are used as landfill sites, or the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/crushing-tale-of-Chure" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">river beds dredged for sand and boulders</a>.The water availability per capita per year in Nepal is 8,000 m3 which suggests that the country need not face a water scarcity. Rather, it is poor management of water resources that has led to the curse of too little or too much water.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111156/636cd9119c7e80680e092e7ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1125"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>Inadequate physical infrastructure, rapid population growth and climate change impact access. Rise in demand for electricity, pressure on surface and ground water for irrigation, industrial development, rapid urbanisation with <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18976#.YFgBci2B0b0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">encroachment of wetlands</a> and increased use of water for sanitation during Covid-19 are factors driving demand. Meanwhile, new water schemes are mostly based on ground water aquifers which are being depleted because of inadequate recharge.Beyond natural and socio-economic value, Nepal’s freshwater resources also hold cultural importance. For instance, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/chitwans-bote-people-in-a-changing-world/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">indigenous communities like the Bote</a>, Musahar, Kumal, Chepang, Danuwar, Darai, and Tharu settle along rivers and have a rich cultural attachment to water bodies.Investment in water can have a catalytic effect on other areas such as health, education, agriculture and job creation. Poor water quality halts economic progress, limits human potential and reduces food production.Much of the supply-demand issue around water can be solved by giving economic value to water, and making it affordable. As the manager of a water supply scheme in Nawalpur once said: “In the beginning people readily paid as much as Rs300 per month for cable tv, but a minimum payment of Rs100 for drinking water was a big issue.” Pricing water at its full marginal cost can reduce demand, just as payments and incentives for water conservation can increase water availability.Payment for ecosystem services to forest users, farmers or landowners in exchange for managing their land must be developed since <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=4663#.YFgCFi2B0b0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">freshwater wetlands</a> have five times the economic value of tropical forests.To change the future of water, we must rethink how we understand, value, and manage water as a precious resource, making every drop count. If the water cycle is not managed prudently from source to tap, and back to source, the present crisis will grow worse.Organization like the World Wildlife Fund, Nepal we are working to manage and restore critical freshwater habitats, maintain, and protect the freshwater ecosystem health and increase community access to and right over water through good water governance.Conserving water is not the responsibility of only the government, but needs a broader coalition of new partners to find holistic solutions so water is socially and culturally equitable, environmentally sustainable, and economically beneficial.Karun Dewan is a Program Associate, Freshwater at the World Wildlife Fund, Nepal (<a href="https://www.wwfnepal.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.wwfnepal.org/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1616465347451000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFxBOTd3YD-xNe5JEcM7zkdBtQQhw">WWF Nepal.)</a><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110111156/636cd9149c7e80680e092e7bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="150" height="153">

Too little, too much, or too polluted

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181116/636be0df9c7e80680e083e18jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="750" height="1083"/><figcaption>The south face of Mt Gauri Shankar (7,134m) on the border between Nepal and China is bare rock, and shows how dramatically the snowline has receded, and the glaciers have shrunk. Photo: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption></figure>With just 4% of the world’s population, the United States is responsible for over 15% of annual global carbon emissions. What America does or does not do will affect how fast the Himalayan ice cap will melt during this century.Which is why Joe Biden’s win in the US election is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/ununited-states-of-america/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">such a big deal for the global environment</a>, including the Himalaya. Biden has announced he will reverse Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, which ironically came into effect on 4 November, the day after the US vote.The Himalayan arc from Burma to Afghanistan is the bigg<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-third-pole-is-warming-faster-than-expected/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">est storehouse of fresh water</a> after the two polar regions, and it is warming between 0.3-0.7°C faster than the global average. The loss of Himalayan ice would have <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-terrifying-assessment-of-himalayan-melting/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">devastating consequences for 1.6 billion people</a> living in the mountains, and in downstream countries.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/in-just-2-years-a-nepal-peak-becomes-snowless/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">In just 2 years, a Nepal peak becomes snowless</a>, Basanta Pratap Singh“Reversing these warming trends will begin with Biden’s commitment to re-joining the Paris agreement, as the US is not only one of the world’s greatest climate offenders but also one of its best potential leaders and sources of needed funding,” said Alton C Byers of the University of Colorado, who has <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/tracing-past-glacial-floods-in-kangchenjunga/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">studied Himalayan glaciers</a> for the past 30 years.The Paris Agreement aims to cap the global temperature rise in this century ‘well below’ 2°C by reducing carbon emissions through renewable energy technologies, and protecting forests and biodiversity.But rejoining the Paris accord will be the easy part. Much harder for the Biden presidency will be overcoming domestic opposition to cutting emissions at home, push rapid transition to clean energy, and funding global carbon reduction initiatives.The Biden administration may be more supportive of projects like USAID efforts in the past that have helped Nepal become a global leader in <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepals-glacial-lakes-in-danger-of-bursting/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">glacial lake risk reduction</a>, adaptation, and climate mitigation measures.“These projects are in need of resurrection, along with the development of renewable energy technologies, sustainable tourism, and other opportunities as part of Nepal’s post-coronavirus recovery plans,” Byers added in an email interview with Nepali Times.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181116/636be0e19c7e80680e083e19jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1503" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Joe Biden ran on a bold climate action platform, unveiling a $2 trillion investment plan with a promise to clean up the energy sector by 2035, boost renewables and create high paying green jobs.The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/a-good-man-won/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Biden-Harris win</a> has raised hopes among environmentalists around the world, but the world has a lot of catching up to do to reverse Trump’s systematic effort over the past four years to undermine <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-climate-threat-multiplier/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">climate mitigation measures</a>. The new administration in January will also likely face a serious opposition from a possible Republican-led Senate as it seeks to transition America off fossil fuels."To regain credibility on climate, the US now has to show the world that it is on a path to net zero emissions by 2050, only then can America press other high-emitting countries to act with the urgency required by the climate crisis," added <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/more-trekkers-more-trees/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/more-trekkers-more-trees/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1605077751622000&amp;usg=AFQjCNE5ey5t5tQc3eeXYvXO5z5rMSahSQ">Adam Stern</a>, a California-based climate leader, formerly with the Environmental Defense Fund."If Biden can restore the role of science in determining US climate policy, he may also be able to focus world attention on regions like the Himalaya that are already experiencing extreme climate changes,” said Stern, who has written about energy use in Nepal’s Khumbu region.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181116/636be0e59c7e80680e083e1ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="568"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>International climate policies will have a lasting impact on the Himalaya where measurements of ice mass, temperature rise, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/forests-replace-glaciers-in-the-himalaya/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">glacial shrinking</a> and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/climate-for-change/the-great-himalayan-thaw/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">receding snowlines</a> have been more serious than previous estimates.However, experts say that Nepal also has to do its bit to accelerate its <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/an-energy-windfall-for-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">shift to solar</a> and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/decentralising-hydropower/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">hydropower in generating electricity</a> for transport and household use. And since nearly a quarter of melting of Himalayan glaciers is attributed to the <a style="font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/black-carbon-easier-to-control-than-carbon-dioxide-to-reduce-global-warming%20,2079" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">deposition of soot and dust on the snow</a>, transboundary collaboration in pollution control is a must.Since October, for example, northern India has been blanketed by thick smoke from crop residue burning, and this black carbon is being blown up to the snows by prevailing westerlies. And as winter sets in, industrial and vehicular pollution will be trapped by inversion across the Indo-Ganetic plains and ultimately reduce the reflectivity of Himalayan ice cover.Air pollution was already decreasing the average lifespan of tens of millions of people in north India by 3.7 years. It killed <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/double-whammy-air-pollution-and-covid-19/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">42,100 people in Nepal last year</a> alone, studies show, and this winter that risk for patients with respiratory issues is combined with Covid-19 complications.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181116/636be0e79c7e80680e083e1bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="675"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The causes and solutions of air pollution and climate change <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/one-atmosphere/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">are intricately interconnected</a>, both largely affected by human activities over time and space. In fact, short-lived pollutants like black carbon, ozone and other gases exacerbate global warming.“Dark coloured pollutants such as soot particles from diesel and forest fires absorb sunlight and warm up the air at the altitude at which they are located,” explained atmospheric scientist Arnico Panday. “If they warm the air near snow or ice surfaces they can contribute to melting. And when dark particles, including windblown desert dust, settle on snowfields or glaciers they can darken the surfaces and melt the snow and ice. <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/reducing-black-carbon-in-the-himalayas,2031" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Certain air pollutants</a> therefore accelerate glacier melt in the Himalaya.”Even though a Biden presidency has given some hope for climate activists in the Himalaya, they point out that China has overtaken the United States, responsible for 28% of total carbon emissions in 2018. Carbon emissions in China and India are growing at a faster rate than in North America, and the two countries already contribute 37% of global greenhouse gases annually.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109181116/636be0ea9c7e80680e083e1cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1884" height="1250"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>So, while a greener America will help, the real action to slow Himalayan melting <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=19368" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">will have to come from the immediate region</a>. The good news is there are already proven <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/brick-factories-still-using-old-polluting-technology,2078" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">clean technologies for brick kilns</a>, cement industries, solar and hydro here in Nepal and in South Asia. Governments need to incentivise these, provide subsidies, and investors need to back them up.“Air pollution has never made it to the priority of our politicians, their mentality of focusing on short-terms gains like tax revenue over long-term gains can’t be changed,” says <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/ipcc-report-and-nepals-food-security/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/ipcc-report-and-nepals-food-security/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1605077751622000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGQzD9EPDBRXFun8S0H0x_qaZ-bbg">Manjeet Dhakal</a>, adviser to the Least Developed Countries support group at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).He adds: “We must deploy our own young population to lobby and take part in climate action. What happens in the United States, whether international funds will be available will only help temporarily. We must cut emissions at source, educate our own people about the cost of the climate crisis, and provide alternatives.”

A Biden presidency, climate and the Himalaya

[caption id="attachment_54080" align="alignnone" width="900"]<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb2b09c7e80680e07baf9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="501"/> Panoramic view of Manang Village and the Gangapurna and Annapurna III Glaciers that have retreated dramatically since 1980. Photo: SolundirWhen Swiss geologist Toni Hagen arrived in Nepal, the Ranas were still ruling the country. Throughout the 1950s, Hagen traversed the country on foot from east to west, from north to south, examining rock strata to probe the orogenesis of the Himalaya.Along the way, he took thousands of photographs and film clips that remain a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/time-capsule-of-kathmandu/">valuable visual archive of a time</a> when Nepal was emerging from historical isolation. Today, the photographs are a treasure trove for climate researchers to measure the extent of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/human-face-of-a-himalayan-climate-crisis/">glacial retreat in the Himalaya</a>.[caption id="attachment_54105" align="alignleft" width="250"]<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb2b39c7e80680e07bafajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="250" height="248"> Shalik Ram Sigdel, the Nepali scientist who conducted the study of melting glaciers and new forest cover in Manang.Repeat photography has allowed Nepali climate scientists like <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Shalik_Sigdel" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Shalik_Sigdel&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599194307732000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGLU7cCjeTpgUDbnMntpnJqDDySKg">Shalik Ram Sigdel</a> of the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research at the Chinese Academy of Sciences to plot the rapidity of Himalayan melting due to global warming in the past century.When Toni Hagen trekked through Manang in 1957, he climbed a slope above the village to take photographs of the northern flank of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-abcs-of-a-winter-trek-in-nepal/">the Annapurnas</a>. Even at that time, the Gangapurna Glacier was already debris-covered, meaning that it had lost most of its surface ice.But when Sigdel visited the area and compared it to more recent photographs, he found the glacier snout had receded 900m up the mountain, leaving a lake at its terminus bracketed by sharply defined lateral moraines. The Marsyangdi River has found a way around this feature.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb2b49c7e80680e07bafbjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1196" height="778"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb2b79c7e80680e07bafcjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="786">Toni Hagen’s photograph in 1957 of the debris-covered Gangapurna Glacier termius with a few supraglacial ponds, and the same view in 2010 by Nabin Baral showing the growing glacial lake and vegetation on the terminal moraine. Photos: Toni Hagen and Nabin Baral/<a href="http://thethirdpole.net/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://thethirdpole.net&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599194307733000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH20EkAK7tiS1QEO-2v8kjshrdqFw">thethirdpole.net</a><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb2ba9c7e80680e07bafdjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1199" height="768"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb2bc9c7e80680e07bafejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1199" height="797">Before-and-after photographs by Nabin Baral from Manang village of the Gangapurna Glacier and the glacial lake in 2007 and 2018 showing the dramatic retreat of the glacier and increased forest cover on the slopes. Photos: Nabin Baral/<a href="http://thethirdpole.net/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://thethirdpole.net&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599194307733000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH20EkAK7tiS1QEO-2v8kjshrdqFw">thethirdpole.net</a>In a paper titled Retreating Glacier and Advancing Forest Over the Past 200 Years in Central Himalayas published on last week in the <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2020JG005751" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2020JG005751&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599194307732000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH_R19ErZEJGj-6qI6IxagxD87Z8w">Journal of Geophysical Research - Biogeosciences</a>, Sigdel with co-authors <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/doSearch?ContribAuthorStored=Muhammad%2C+Sher" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/doSearch?ContribAuthorStored%3DMuhammad%252C%2BSher&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599194307732000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFez6UmtBUzucmh0dOKYcsDUeIvWA">Sher Muhammad</a> of ICIMOD, <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/doSearch?ContribAuthorStored=Zhang%2C+Hui" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/doSearch?ContribAuthorStored%3DZhang%252C%2BHui&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599194307732000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFRmO-B5dlg03-1zEr0mvuMYO6YYA">Hui Zhang</a>, <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/doSearch?ContribAuthorStored=Zhu%2C+Haifeng" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/doSearch?ContribAuthorStored%3DZhu%252C%2BHaifeng&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599194307733000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH8qC5kAyRJfSST0IRACWK8reH1mw">Haifeng Zhu</a> and <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/doSearch?ContribAuthorStored=Liang%2C+Eryuan" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/doSearch?ContribAuthorStored%3DLiang%252C%2BEryuan&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1599194307733000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEHCDgbGGXh_niT1k2YRRv-DKelwA">Eryuan Liang</a> present data on the analysis of glacial debris deposits and tree-rings on the Gangapurna and Annapurna III glaciers in Manang.[caption id="attachment_54081" align="alignright" width="600"]<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb2bf9c7e80680e07baffjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="600" height="375"> Google Earth images (south is up) of the Annapurna III Glacier (left) and the Gangapurna Glacier (right).The paper presents the first detailed evidence of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-third-pole-is-warming-faster-than-expected/">fluctuations in Himalayan glaciers</a> over the past 200 years, and concludes that snowlines have been rising and forests advancing higher, and they did so in spurts since 1790s with the process intensifying since 1980.While <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/tracing-past-glacial-floods-in-kangchenjunga/">glaciers have been shrinking and snowlines have been naturally receding</a> ever since the Last Glacial Period 12,000 years ago and the Little Ice Age 700 years ago, this process has amplified with fossil fuel burning after the Industrial Revolution.The researchers used remote sensing satellite imagery and field research to find that as the Gangapurna and Annapurna III glaciers shrank and receded, birch, pine and juniper have been moving up the mountain since 1808.For instance, in 1988 the Gangapurna Glacier was 9km long and 17.74km2 in area, and by October 2019 its length had receded to 8.05km and area was down to 17.5km2. They also found that the thickness of the ice in the glaciers had also shrunk considerably.“Just in the past 60 years, the Gangapurna glacier has receded by more than 900m,” Sigdel said in an interview. “And the speed at which they are receding has accelerated.”[caption id="attachment_54098" align="alignleft" width="500"]<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb2c29c7e80680e07bb00jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="515"> Satellite imagery of the Gangapurna Glacier (top) and the Annapurna III Glacier in 1988, 2008 and 2019 showing that the rate of glacial retreat is accelerating.Indeed, the paper says that while the length of the Gangapurna Glacier reduced by 386m at 17.5m per year between 1957 to 1979, the speed picked up to 24m per year from 1979 to 2016 – receding by a full 903m in that time. The Annnapurna III Glacier receded at a slower pace and was smaller by 500m in the past 65 years due to the different gradient and size of the catchment.As the ice melted, vegetation started creeping up the mountains. Sigdel, who specialises in understanding treeline response to a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-terrifying-assessment-of-himalayan-melting/">changing climate in the Himalaya</a>, examined tree-rings and the vegetation that have colonised the moraines in the past decades.As shown in the before-and-after photographs of Toni Hagen’s images as well as through remote-sensing data, older moraines and those that were deposited after the Little Ice Age are already covered by dense forest, presenting evidence of forests replacing glaciers in the Himalaya.[caption id="attachment_54082" align="alignnone" width="1000"]<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110915110/636bb2c59c7e80680e07bb01jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="882">Repeat photography of the Gangapurna Glacier terminus in 1957 by Swiss geologist Toni Hagen, in 1979 by Czech photographer Zdeněk Thoma. And a view of the glacier from Manang village taken by Zdeněk Thoma in 1979 and the same view in 2016. Contour map of Upper Manang showing the location of the glacier terminus in those years.Being darker, the forests also absorb more sunlight than snowfields that earlier reflected light, and together with transpiration, this feedback loop in turn could amplify <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/climate-for-change/the-great-himalayan-thaw/">the warming trend in the Himalaya</a>, the paper concludes.While the warming may favour timber and agriculture production in Nepal, Sigdel says they threaten the dry season water flow in Himalayan rivers that will have consequences downstream.He adds: “Our research confirms that the climate crisis has been seriously impacting water resources in the Himalaya. The Gangapurna and Annpurna III glaciers feed the Marsyangdi River, and their melting will affect the entire basin, endangering water supply and affecting hydropower generation and irrigation downstream.”

Forests replace glaciers in the Himalaya

Nepal’s only international aviation gateway, at Kathmandu airport, will cut night-time operation hours to allow construction of taxiways, and airlines have been told to curtail flights. This is expected to lead to more than normal chaos during the height of peak autumn and spring tourist seasons at an airport that is congested even at the best of times. The airport will close from 10PM to 8AM from 8 November-31 March 2025. The taxiways will now connect to the thresholds at both ends of the runway, making the airport more efficient in handling higher frequencies of landings and takeoffs. The parallel taxiway extension will allow international flights to land every 4 minutes instead of the current every 7 minutes. At present planes have to wait to land until a plane taking off backtracks along the runway.&nbsp; Kathmandu is Nepal’s only airport with international operations, and it has only one runway that is only one way in from the south over the mountains. With the taxiway improvement, the airport will be able to handle 42 aircraft landings and takeoffs per hour — double the current capacity.&nbsp; The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has been trying to entice international airlines to also start flying to and from the other two international airports at Pokhara and Bhairawa (Lumbini) by slashing landing and handling charges. But so far only Nepal Airlines operates a weekly flight to Bhairawa from Kuala Lumpur.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241018161016_046569e53d1d66cd445cc66c697c0ef724810aec9f54bdf827481e3cd6b80c32.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20241018161016_046569e53d1d66cd445cc66c697c0ef724810aec9f54bdf827481e3cd6b80c32" data-rendition-name="original" width="2356" height="1134" loading="lazy" alt="Kathmandu airport expansion"> <figcaption>Kathmandu Airport Expansion plan with extension of taxiways to the thresholds of runways 02 and 20 that will limit airport operations from 8 November 2024 - 31 March 2025. Areas in blue are existing structures, including the international terminal which in future will be the domestic airport, and the new international terminal near the north end of the runway,</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241018121028_6e17cc2ee87c1b02d78cb54905825b7aa15299b7a00f5eddb01a59579ab85c1a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241018121028_6e17cc2ee87c1b02d78cb54905825b7aa15299b7a00f5eddb01a59579ab85c1a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1353" height="1328" loading="lazy" alt="Kathmandu airport NT"> </figure>  CAAN has reportedly told international airlines to cut their flight frequency to Kathmandu citing the shorter operation hours and has told budget airlines to shift some of their flights to Pokhara or Bhairawa, or face cuts. Many airlines currently operate regular flights to and from Kathmandu between 10PM and 8AM: Air Arabia to Sharjah, Fly Dubai to Dubai, Jazeera Airways to Kuwait, Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong, Singapore Airlines, several Nepal Airlines flights, and one of four daily flights by Qatar Airways to Doha. Jazeera Airways, FlyDubai, and Thai AirAsia have applied and got permission from CAAN to begin regular flights to Bhairawa’s Gautam Buddha International Airport. Starting 9 November, FlyDubai will start making a stopover in Bhairawa before flying on to Kathmandu. Immigration, customs and security are all fully functional in Bhairawa. In Kathmandu, the next phase of the airport upgrade includes converting the current international terminal for domestic operations, the construction of a new international terminal where the domestic departure area is now, as well as moving the hangars and the Nepal Army Air Wing to the eastern side of the runway. The apron area will also double its parking space for widebody jets. This is part of a Airport Capacity Enhancement Project that was initially funded through a $80 million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the entire masterplan is expected to cost $800 million. This project is the latest upgrade to Nepal’s only international airport since it saw its first flight in 1949. The current international and domestic terminals are too small to handle the current annual traffic volume of 8.5 million passengers a year that is growing at 20% a year.

Kathmandu airport to cut flight hours

As Kathmandu becomes more congested and polluted, and with remote online work becoming the norm, many professional Nepalis are planning to retire in Pokhara, or move there.&nbsp; With its stunning mountain panorama, balmy winters and proximity to a profusion of wilderness areas, builders are responding to this demand with new townhouses, housing development and apartments. One such block of flats is the 10-storey <a href="https://sungavaapartment.com/">Sungava Apartment</a> located at Phulbari above the Seti River, near the point where it flows into and under Pokhara. The imposing structure near Manipal Hospital is almost complete, and on a recent visit the site was strewn with huge boulders unearthed while digging the foundation.&nbsp; The Seti brought down these boulders during a gigantic flood that geologists estimate happened 800 years ago when a chunk of Annapurna IV broke off and ploughed into the glacier below. Today, Sungava (means ‘orchid’) sits safely on a high terrace, 100m above the blue-green Seti and commands a view of Dhaulagiri, Annapurna South, Machapuchre, Annapurna III and IV.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024102411104_5f8fc736c86ea3c08d7bef43bb727081d3cc1a2caa55ae2b441717e6044de7e9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2024102411104_5f8fc736c86ea3c08d7bef43bb727081d3cc1a2caa55ae2b441717e6044de7e9" data-rendition-name="original" width="2016" height="1512" loading="lazy" alt="High living below the Himalaya NT"> </figure>  The soil here is conglomerate that has solidified like concrete, and the boulders were extracted by heavy earthmovers. It is intriguing to think that these metamorphic rocks as big as cars, rounded by glacial grinding, were once a part of a much higher Annapurna IV. Even for those with little interest in geology, Sungava is an ideal place to contemplate the tectonic forces that pushed these peaks into the sky to be sculpted into delicate shapes by wind, snow, earthquake and avalanche over millions of years. The view of the Himalayan panorama from Sungava’s many balconies are breathtaking when not obscured by clouds, or the haze that drifts in from across the southern border. On most days, just watching the towering pyramid of Machapuchre (Tamu name: कतासुँ क्लिको) play hide and seek with the clouds is mesmerising. There are rocks aplenty at Phulbari, and it is probably the flowers that grew along the flat terraces e that gave the place its flowery name. The boulders will hopefully be turned into a rock garden while landscaping. An nearby restaurant complex is making the best use of the stones in its design, using flat rocks as outdoor benches and tables. Sungava was designed by the husband-wife architect team of Deepak Sherchan and Jyoti Joshi of <a href="https://thedarkmermaidamarbshrestha.blogspot.com/2013/12/creative-builders-collaborative-cbc.html">Creative Builders Collaborative (CBC)</a>, which also built Heritage Plaza, Indreni Apartment and numerous other projects in Nepal. Sadbhavana retains CBC’s trademark Newari-style masonry and here it borrows from the orange brickwork of the old town of Pokhara, integrating it with modern design elements. A few of those heritage houses are still standing in Ganesh Tole and Ram Krishna Tole in Pokhara’s old quarter.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024102411108_5eb64a4885961b6d30781cefeb1e8a313da313ac5227c7a66b60f0c7d48d6fab.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2024102411108_5eb64a4885961b6d30781cefeb1e8a313da313ac5227c7a66b60f0c7d48d6fab" data-rendition-name="original" width="1362" height="595" loading="lazy" alt="High living below the Himalaya NT"> </figure>  About 400m from the apartment past a bend on the river, and down below three tiers of terraces in the canyon is a suspension bridge. Below it, the Seti is still swollen with post-monsoon flow as it tumbles away in a hurry to head down south.&nbsp; Back at the apartment, it is quiet, far away from the hubbub of Lakeside a 15 minute drive away, and in the lap of greenery. There are 52 units at Sungava and it already has a close-knit prospective community of professionals, including doctors, publishers, engineers, and businesspeople from the renewable energy and IT sectors.&nbsp; Some residents say they opted for a second home in Pokhara to make it a ‘base camp’ to explore the Annapurnas with its many hiking trails made newly accessible with new roads. With the NRN citizenship law, overseas Nepalis can now also buy the flats. &nbsp; The floor plans include options for north and south-facing 3-bedroom apartments with verandas, and the facility has underground parking has EV charging, heated pool, sauna and gym. There are still some unsold apartments with panoramic views of the mountains and one can imagine oneself at the kitchen with its huge window, humming a ditty while preparing breakfast: “खाना पकाउँ हिमाल हेरेर...”

High living below the Himalaya

When the United Nations held its Summit of the Future at its headquarters in New York in September, many world leaders, including Nepal’s Prime Minister K P Oli, highlighted the effect of climate breakdown in increasing the frequency and intensity of natural disasters. What did not get as much attention was the long term impact of the climate crisis on food production. In fact, heat stress, weather extremes and the consequences on rain-fed agriculture is already being felt worldwide, undermining the chances of the <a href="https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/">UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)</a> being met by 2030.&nbsp; The SDG’s 17 targets commit countries like Nepal to reduce poverty and inequality, end malnutrition, protect the natural environment, and ensure that citizens all enjoy health, justice and prosperity without leaving anyone behind.&nbsp; However, besides the impact of climate breakdown on agricultural production, in Nepal the area under cultivation is impacted by urban expansion, falling productivity and the need for expensive inputs like fertiliser and pesticides.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_626413c5baf4dae407ac9579231b41daeb51510aa636b75aeb7489d94cca6a62.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241019041052_626413c5baf4dae407ac9579231b41daeb51510aa636b75aeb7489d94cca6a62" data-rendition-name="original" width="999" height="1500" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>Kathmandu's urban sprawl is eating into its fertile cultivable lands. Photo: TAYLOR MASON</figcaption> </figure>  Now, a new study led by Nepali researcher Prajal Pradhan at the University of Groningen in The Netherlands looks at how urban agriculture may offer a solution to falling food production and meeting SDG targets. The researchers evaluated 1,450 publications exploring the contributions of urban agriculture with both positive and negative effects, and published their findings in the journal Cells Report Sustainability. Urban agriculture can help achieve 17 SDGs, positively influencing 81 targets. However, it could also undermine 51 goals.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-vanishing-land">The vanishing land</a>, Taylor Mason “Urban agriculture offers immense potential for sustainable development, but realising this potential depends crucially on adopting practices that minimise its adverse effects while maximising its benefits,” Pradhan explains. Urban agriculture can substantially enhance urban food security, provide employment to the urban poor, serve as ground water recharge in built-up areas, and preserve open spaces that can serve as safe havens during disasters like earthquakes. However, it also presents problems like the potential health risks from contamination and the need for expensive inputs. &nbsp; “Urban agriculture plays a definitive role in advancing the SDGs, but achieving this requires tailored, context-specific solutions that address the unique challenges of different regions,” says Yuanchao Hu of Wuhan University in China and who is a researcher at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. “But it needs equitable access and rigorous management of environmental risks.”&nbsp; Rapid urbanisation is eating into Nepal’s most fertile agricultural land, which means farming in remaining open spaces inside cities can be a viable alternative, especially as food prices rise.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_7b7c9413086226fbdc630d45acf772cfa1ced77a8970b9056ec5ec7e5226fdf8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241019041052_7b7c9413086226fbdc630d45acf772cfa1ced77a8970b9056ec5ec7e5226fdf8" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="999" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>A vegetable patch in between new houses in Thimi. Photo: TAYLOR MASON</figcaption> </figure>  “The conversion of Nepal’s most fertile land into cities is a severe problem,” Pradhan told Nepali Times. “Crop cultivation, horticulture, agroforestry, beekeeping, livestock rearing, or aquaculture can all be farming activities within and around cities.”&nbsp; The study makes recommendations for sustainable practices that build on the positive aspects of urban agriculture while mitigating the downsides, thereby promoting more resilient cities in future. Research shows that urban agriculture has been helping many countries attain SDG targets by enhancing food security and biodiversity while helping education and preservation of open spaces.&nbsp; Indeed, many farmers from the hinterland who have settled in Kathmandu Valley or other urban areas of the country have been practicing urban agriculture, leasing neighbourhood patches or cultivating roof gardens both out of necessity because of inflation and falling income to grow their own food, and also as a fulfilling hobby. Saurav Dhakal, a sustainability advocate with Story Cycle and now research fellow at the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand, says there are socio-economic and environmental benefits of urban agriculture. “It provides benefits to all urban dwellers, regardless of their income status,” says Dhakal, “families get fresh food, and there are many other benefits like water retention, heat regulation and biodiversity. These are all public goods, so special government incentives may be needed.” It is not unusual to see vegetable patches and even paddy fields within inner city Kathmandu where an older generation of farmers are using available fertile land and <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/rooftop-gardens-kathmandu,1415">roof gardens to produce fresh, nutritious food </a>to reduce their dependence on food items that have to be bought after being trucked in from large distances.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024101905100_1291ce98dbbb8caed8702ac4b1d469b3e13016d7ecaaf3bfd5f91c974d3c0c77.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2024101905100_1291ce98dbbb8caed8702ac4b1d469b3e13016d7ecaaf3bfd5f91c974d3c0c77" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="999" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>An older generation of farmers are using any available fertile land to continue farming but it is getting more and more difficult. Photo: TAYLOR MASON </figcaption> </figure>  Nepal’s urban population grew rapidly from only 3.6% in 1991 to 25% today. There is large outmigration from the mountains to peri-urban areas of the Tarai, to Kathmandu Valley and Pokhara, with many young men then moving abroad for work. Kathmandu Valley’s population has swelled to nearly 3 million, and is growing at 6.5% a year. Dilip Shrestha, 71, used to work for Nepal Food Corporation, so he knew firsthand about inflation, shortages and vegetables with pesticide residue. So, when he designed his new house in Kathmandu, he built a spacious roof where he grows cucumber, ginger, garlic, coriander, onions, tomatoes, chili, beans, okra, pumpkin and lettuce. His family eats healthier, and he has reduced dependence on the market.&nbsp; The co-author of the Cell Reports Sustainability journal article, Daya Raj Subedi who is a PhD candidate at Beijing Forestry University, says urban agriculture also promotes inclusion and psycho-social wellbeing.&nbsp; He says, “A crucial finding of the study is the identification of opportunities and challenges associated with urban agriculture, it can promote sustainable transformation of society.” In Banepa, 55-year-old Bijaya Manandhar in her lifetime has watched the fertile farms of her neighbourhood that used to supply vegetables to Kathmandu, now completely built up with no open space left. The pandemic lockdown prompted her to turn to the family’s <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/rooftop-agriculture-on-the-roof-of-the-world">ancestral livelihood by growing food</a> not on terrace farms, but on the roof terrace. Manandhar is now a part of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/rooftop-agriculture-on-the-roof-of-the-world%5C%5C">कौसी खेती र करेसाबारी क्रान्ती</a> (Rooftop Farming and Garden Revolution) which has an online membership of 52,000, and awards annual prizes to women who excel in urban agriculture.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_7257f5def8f823f35a799fa6f6825e153f2ffa406ac11325d4fe74049b79e96d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20241019041052_7257f5def8f823f35a799fa6f6825e153f2ffa406ac11325d4fe74049b79e96d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="736" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>Rooftop farming is gaining popularity as a form of urban agriculture. </figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_beff1a4494ce896dd8fd383ee1f518e5448bcf7ea8bb138255391c7bcb9769ed.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20241019041052_beff1a4494ce896dd8fd383ee1f518e5448bcf7ea8bb138255391c7bcb9769ed" data-rendition-name="original" width="4000" height="3000" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> </figure>  Pradhan says the challenge now is to upscale such examples of successful urban agricultural practices so they support Neal’s efforts to meet SDG targets. He adds, “Crop cultivation around cities can be protected by land use plans and regulations. Promoting community-based agriculture, including rooftop gardens, requires community engagement and public-private partnerships across the food value chain.”&nbsp; Such support would accelerate the popularity of existing rooftop farming and community gardens in Kathmandu Valley, or kitchen garden initiatives in Pokhara, and building on traditional farming practices that are preserved and integrated into urban settings like in Bhaktapur and Banepa. In Lalitpur, the Women Entrepreneurship Facilitation Center promotes urban farming enhancing both sustainability and empowerment.&nbsp; Another co-author of the report, Yuanchao Hu from China says followup research of the team will aim to identify good practices in local urban agriculture practices. He adds, “There are examples of urban agriculture that optimise sustainability, ensuring that it remains a viable solution for cities globally while countries try to meet SDG targets.” Prajal Pradhan, Daya Raj Subedi, Kshitij Dahal, Yuanchao Hu, Prakriti Gurung, Sijal Pokharel, Sagar Kafle, Biplav Khatri, Sudeeksha Basyal, Monika Gurung, and Aruna Joshi. Urban Agriculture matters for sustainable development. Cell Reports Sustainability, 1:100217, 2024. [DOI: 10.1016/j.crsus.2024.100217] Prajal Pradhan (<a href="mailto:p.pradhan@rug.nl">p.pradhan@rug.nl</a>) This article is brought to you by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/" target="_blank">Nepali Times</a>, in collaboration with <a href="https://inpsjapan.com/en/" target="_blank">INPS Japan</a> and <a href="https://sgi-peace.org/" target="_blank">Soka Gakkai International</a>, in consultative status with UN ECOSOC.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240630110640_30c3782f9c09219bf1c249b51483a3cfb7a53a06d117d2aebd23ca7080d12758.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="20240630110640_30c3782f9c09219bf1c249b51483a3cfb7a53a06d117d2aebd23ca7080d12758" data-rendition-name="original" width="680" height="103" loading="lazy" alt="SDG logo"> </figure>

Back to the land in the cities

The 700-year-old Lakshmi Narasingha temple in Bhaktapur houses a rare half-lion and half-human incarnation of Lord Vishnu carrying the Goddess Lakshmi. The temple was destroyed in the 1934 mega earthquake that killed 10,000 people and destroyed many monuments in Kathmandu Valley. It was rebuilt by a German project in the 1980s, but as a single-storey structure instead of its original two-tier pagoda design.&nbsp; With new findings from in-depth research, Bhaktapur municipality began re-restoring the temple in 2021, preserving its original architecture.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_2fae38cce543ad7b1f6de632feb3e212e08ed1acedd747830e949d7b8e878f18.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20241017131016_2fae38cce543ad7b1f6de632feb3e212e08ed1acedd747830e949d7b8e878f18" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  “Our temples and heritage sites hold deep meaning. It is disheartening to witness how often they lose their original elements, whether by design or accident,” explains Kumar Chawal of the Consumer Committee of Bhaktapur. “There is a need to preserve our architecture and protect its historical value for future generations. Otherwise, we risk losing a vital part of our identity.” The Laksmi Narsingha restoration is similar to the Bhai Dega temple in Patan Darbar Square which also collapsed in 1934, but was rebuilt with a Moghul-style dome by the Rana government at the time. Only two months before the 2015 earthquake, heritage conservationists had started to rebuild Bhai Dega as the original three-tier based on early photographs. But priorities shifted when four other temples in the square were brought down by the 7.8M earthquake on 25 April 2015.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_697ea707d9ad163be5de5f2efbf5b70d3cab771adcc22f0fae6bf937c6cb0130.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241017131016_697ea707d9ad163be5de5f2efbf5b70d3cab771adcc22f0fae6bf937c6cb0130" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  This showed how damage to monuments in Kathmandu Valley spanned from one earthquake to the next. Bhai Dega restoration remains half-complete to this day because money for its restoration ran out.&nbsp; Whereas Bhai Dega restoration was done by the Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust with grants from western embassies and international foundations, in Bhaktapur it is the municipality itself that allocated the Rs30.7 million needed to restore the Lakshmi Narasingha temple. The expected date of completion is early 2025. The municipality and local communities are focusing on two main aspects: preserving the past and promoting localisation. The restoration team has designed a blueprint for the temple by using historical photographs and insights from older generations.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_182882fdc393c99e70d1d0490319e415229563666c4934e3a582426ebf00ca30.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241017131016_182882fdc393c99e70d1d0490319e415229563666c4934e3a582426ebf00ca30" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="560" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  “At first, the Lakshmi Narasingha temple had only one entrance, but during the demolition process, we uncovered the foundations of four doors. Now, we are restoring all of them. This is an example of how our ancient structures have changed over time, often without our knowledge,” says Chawal. “Constructing temples is not like building houses. They carry historical and spiritual values, which is why they hold a special place in our hearts,” he adds. By replicating ancient design elements and rebuilding the temple as accurately as possible to its original form, the team has stayed true to Bhaktapur’s soul. But the restoration also revived ancient techniques that were in danger of being forgotten, generating employment for woodcarvers, masons, and contractors. The community of Bhaktapur’s Gahiti neighbourhood near the famous Nyatapola Temple has also set aside specific days for locals to volunteer in the reconstruction work. This has encouraged young people to take pride in ownership of their heritage. Families have also supported the effort by donating funds for bells, the temple pinnacle, and other structural features to the temple.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_db850ec0c084cdbe54f65bee92dad2ad8122d20fd60ec87ec086fbb9d2f72bd6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241017131016_db850ec0c084cdbe54f65bee92dad2ad8122d20fd60ec87ec086fbb9d2f72bd6" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  “I feel at peace knowing I have contributed my sweat to restoring this temple,” said one volunteer. “It is our duty to preserve our temples and heritage. The Nyatapola area will look magical once this temple is completed.” Community mobilisation is a long-standing tradition in Bhaktapur. In the past, locals have actively participated in the restoration of other temples in the city, such as Bhairav and Nyatapola fostering a strong sense of ownership. This collective engagement has not only been crucial in preserving the city's historical monuments but also in strengthening the bond between local communities and their heritage, says officials at the municipality. While securing funding is essential, and the municipality showed it values heritage conservation, the Lakshmi Narasingha restoration is proof that active involvement and sense of responsibility of the local community is as important, if not more. Local involvement also means that the monuments will be cared for into the future, When locals take ownership of these efforts, the restored monuments are not only protected in the present but are also cared for in the future.