Environmental protection or management!

 Environmental protection or management!

Of course, environmental degradation is on the rise in the world. It has also raised concerns that crisis is looming over human existence.

There are many signs of the severity of environmental degradation. Protecting the natural environment is a burning concern of today's world. Today, on the occasion of World Environment Day, let's talk about Nepal.

Currently, about 45 percent of the land in Nepal, including national parks, wildlife reserves and other protected forests, is covered by protected forest areas. There are additional conservation areas. Boundary areas are protected. The National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act protects the natural habitat of wildlife. Some other acts have provisions for protection of natural environment. Nepal is a party to international treaties and agreements on natural environment protection.

Nepal is in a very good position in terms of protected forest area. It is not a trivial matter to have forest area above 40 percent of the total land area. How many countries are prosperous without zero forest? Despite having so many forest areas, Nepal has not been able to reap the expected benefits from forests. The forest has not been properly managed and utilized.

There are national parks, wildlife reserves and other protected areas for wildlife. Wildlife sometimes invades human settlements. Rhinoceros sometimes walks in the central city towards Chitwan. Animals such as tigers, elephants, and rhinos have been known to kill humans. Conflicts continue between humans and wildlife. When a protected animal in a state-protected area kills or causes other harm, it becomes a matter of high concern. This problem is frequent due to lack of proper management of protected areas.

Rivers / streams flowing through urban areas are extremely polluted. Rivers in the Capital Valley are dead; Not rivers, they have become sewers. If there is no aquatic life in the river and it is not connected with human culture, then that river will not remain. All the rivers flowing through the urban area from East Mechi to West Mahakali are in dire straits.

Whether it is Kesaliya of Biratnagar, Bagmati and Bishnumati of Kathmandu or Punyamata of Kavre, all have turned into dhals. The lakes of Janakpur associated with Mithila culture are in crisis due to pollution and encroachment. The situation is similar in urban areas across the country. Nature has given us many gifts but we have not been able to manage. We have not been able to preserve our precious natural resources.

There are more than one lakh hilly hills in Nepal. Of these, a smart city can be built by solving a thousand, two thousand thumkas. Such modern settlements can be connected to big cities by fast lanes.

Urban areas are prone to flooding. Dense settlements in Kathmandu Valley have started flooding unexpectedly due to good monsoon. We built cities, built big houses, but we didn't manage the drainage properly. Most cities along the east-west highway have been inundated for several days during the mid-monsoon. There has been loss of life and property.

As concrete cities grew, so did the absorption of rainwater by land in urban areas. In a short time, the sky water shows great potential. When the soil does not absorb water, the problem of well-being increases and it causes unexpected damage. The natural flow of water in the urban areas was disturbed but the urban planning could not provide proper drainage. Now, every year, it is the destiny of the people to be submerged in the good, to see its beauty and to bear the loss.

Due to the inability of the land to absorb enough water, the ground water level is decreasing. In addition, the use of groundwater for irrigation is on the rise.

The fire is becoming another great disaster for us. Our traditional belief in forest fires has not changed. We don't even have a technical mechanism to control the fire. Air pollution is our next major concern. Kathmandu is at the top of the list of highly polluted cities in the world. Though Kathmandu is more talked about, the big cities of the Terai region are no less polluted. Adopting air pollution control measures has not been our priority.

Waste management is very weak. Big cities are becoming polluted with all kinds of organic and inorganic garbage. With the rapid development of modern technology, the amount of inorganic waste is increasing. We have not been able to introduce any other technology of landfill management except landfill. Landfill is also not scientific.

Appropriate landfill sites could not be identified and placed under state control. As a result, sometimes the city's garbage does not rise even for a week. This problem is not only seen in Kathmandu but also in other cities.

The budget of the Fiscal Year 2078/79 has said that stone, ballast and sand will be exported to reduce the trade deficit. Even today, the management of stone, gravel and sand is similar to that of the chiefs of the Rana period. There is no management like the previous District Development Committee (DDC). Nowadays, IE is done to contract, not to check whether it should be done, not for environmental protection.

The main environmental issue of today's Nepal is not environmental protection, but environmental management. The environmental catastrophe that Nepal is facing is not due to lack of conservation of nature, but due to lack of proper management of protected areas.

It is not that Nepal cannot extract stones, pebbles and sand, but it is not by digging the walls of the Chure hills and extracting sand from the river. Engineering, geological and other necessary scientific research should be done and excavated only according to its suggestions. When extracting sand from a river, there should be a scientific study of river surface and water flow.

Man is to do development work in nature, to use natural resources. In this process, damage is done to the natural environment but development is not stopped. Development work should be done with the least damage to nature and human community. This requires in-depth scientific research. We need smart development and smart cities. What is the condition of our very old city Rajbiraj today? Where is the new city Surkhet going! It is time to think seriously and learn.

We have to think of high-tech highways with 100 kilometers per hour. Homes in our cities should be well-ventilated and well-ventilated, but is our government thinking seriously today? Smart development that can work or do business in Kathmandu, even if it is two to three hundred kilometers away from Kathmandu! Making such a plan! And, in the case of other cities like Kathmandu too!

There are more than one lakh hilly hills in Nepal. Of these, a smart city can be built by solving a thousand, two thousand thumkas. Such modern settlements can be connected to big cities by fast lanes. By doing this, one can come to Kathmandu from a distance of two to three hundred kilometers to work and do business. Many countries have done this. Why can't we make such a plan?

The issue of tunnels and railways should also be linked to this.

Our Chure region is very sensitive. Many scientific studies are needed to use it. If we use Chure for short-term gain without caring about the future, we will have to face great misfortune. In order to protect the natural environment and settlements of the land below the Chure, we have to protect the Chure.

We need suitable formulas, mantras and mechanisms for sustainable development including management of protected areas and nature conservation.

The main environmental issue of today's Nepal is not environmental protection, but environmental management. The environmental catastrophe that Nepal is facing is not due to lack of conservation of nature, but due to lack of proper management of protected areas. We have created parks and reservations for tigers, rhinos, elephants and other animals and protected them. How many tigers, rhinos and elephants can be found in the habitats of Chitwan, Bardia, Shuklaphanta and Parsa available with us! What is the carrying capacity of the habitat we have protected? It requires in-depth study, planning and implementation accordingly. Only in this way can we revive the ecosystem.

Another big need is to formulate and implement a comprehensive, scientific and far-sighted plan on how to build a big city, how to protect agricultural land, and how much agricultural land to be preserved. If this does not happen, the fertile agricultural land of Kathmandu will be eroded and so will the erosion and the concrete forest will be expanding. Such an order is moving fast in different places.

Environmental protection cannot be achieved in a systematic manner without in-depth scientific study of such diverse dimensions. We need suitable formulas, mantras and mechanisms for sustainable development including management of protected areas and nature conservation.