Environment Assessment of Nepal Launched
NEPAL’S FOREST cover has increased from 6.2 million ha in 1996 to 6.8 million ha in year 2000, according to a joint report released today. Although more land is being used for agriculture, the most fertile lands are, however, being converted to non-agricultural uses for urban areas, for industries, or are giving way to roads, or serving as buffer zone for conservation. The findings are contained in a country environmental analysis conducted by ADB with assistance from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and the Government of Nepal in 2004. The Environment Assessment of Nepal – Emerging Issues and Challenges, jointly published by ADB and ICIMOD, was launched today at the Birendra International Convention Centre (BICC) by the Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, to coincide with World Environment Day. Large cities like Kathmandu are encroaching upon Nepal’s prime agricultural land, the report says. Also, about 1.8 million ha of Nepal’s mountainous regions are severely degraded by landslides. For a country with an abundance of water source, Nepal’s cities are also experiencing water shortages, and about 500,000 people in the Terai are living at risk of arsenic poisoning from contaminated drinking water sources. The book covers a broad range of environmental concerns, from rural environment, poverty and livelihood, to degradation, forestry and biodiversity and water resources, as well as emerging issues such as Environment and conflict, Environment and trade, and the importance of environmental information. The book also documents policy, legal and institutional frameworks for environmental management environmental policy. And it contains an extensive list of sources to provide a starting point for anyone attempting to locate relevant environmental data. “Considering how environmental data and information can be difficult to find in Nepal, and are often buried in data sets held in ministry files, reports unused, the book is timely and provides policymakers, academia, and all those interested with fresh environmental data from Nepal and highlights the gaps in existing data,” says Gabriel Campbell, ICIMOD Director General. The report identifies emerging strategic priority areas in Nepal with a focus on issues of sustainable use of resource endowments and ecological niches, participatory and collaborative approaches, from where development organizations can develop programs of intervention. “The book is a demonstration of the strong commitment of the ADB and ICIMOD to developing South Asia’s environment knowledge base further,” says Sultan Rahman, ADB Country Director, in Nepal. “It provides much needed environment assessment information for the development of economically and environmentally sound ecosystems while improving the living standards of mountain populations.”
For further information, contact:
Asian Development Bank
Nepal Resident Mission, Post Box 5017, Kathmandu, Nepal,
+977 1 422 7779, Fax: +977 1 422 5063
adbnrm@adb.org
www.adb.org/nrm Ms Bidya Banmali Pradhan, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development
+977-1-5525313
bbanmali@icimod.org
www.icimod.org/index.htm About ADB |  |
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