Give Priority To Environment Protection

The environment is of concern to virtually all the countries of the world and Nepal cannot also stay aloof from the negative impact of environmental change that we are seeing in recent times. The most alarming part is global warming which is affecting different parts throughout the world. As reported in this daily, Nepal saw the hottest year in 2023 after several decades. The snows are also melting in a disturbing manner in the Himalayas and many mountains are bereft of snow during the hotter season. Nepal may not have played a major role in bringing in global warming or climate change like the more developed nations have done, but we must remain alert to this challenge to nature, so that the country does not have to suffer from different sorts of natural calamities.

Here, we cannot blame only the developed countries for destroying the worldwide natural environment, though there is no doubt that due to their technically developed status they have done more damage. In Nepal, destruction of the environment has been done more out of individual greed and lack of vision of decision makers in the government and also in the private sectors. Building houses and roads in an unplanned manner, haphazardly cutting down trees in the forests, plotting agricultural land for commercial purposes, encroaching rivers and not allowing the flow of water in its traditional mode among others are the reasons why we are seeing much damages through natural calamities in recent years.

Damage 

Not only the present lot of leaders and planners of the country are to be blamed for much damages done to the country's environment. This trend started way before when a then high level decision maker in the government decided to cut down trees in a heavily forested area in the Terai region just to accumulate money for political reasons and personal interests as well. The things did not improve in later years as the value of real estate increased all around the country and many people felt it as a right to encroach on any open land and they did this with impunity. There are many people who have lost their land due to such encroachment and also due to the cunning nexus between those dealing in the land business and some government officials in the different departments which look after these matters.

The sad thing is not only has private land been taken by individuals with vested interests, but also forest areas and river banks have been encroached upon while the government silently watches such developments in public areas. According to media reports, billions have already been spent in the 'clean Bagmati' campaign, but all such funds have gone in waste, as Bagmati, on whose banks Kathmandu is situated, has not become any cleaner than what it was before. It is not that other nations have not had similar problems with their rivers as cities grew and industrial waste were thrown in the rivers. We also know that virtually all civilization has grown besides river banks, the seas and also some lakes. But as the cities started to grow, the rivers became polluted like even the seas and oceans are being polluted now.

Perhaps there are few leaders in Nepal who have not visited London, the capital of the United Kingdom. That country is famous for many things and it has played a major role in shaping up the history of many countries of the world, including two of the most powerful nations of South Asia. London is also situated on the banks of River Thames. This river was heavily polluted as industrialisation took place in that country, but things changed as time went by and now River Thames is a 'must go' place if one visits London and the river has been made clean and clear. This is a far cry from the story of our own river Bagmati, which is still dirty though much money and efforts have been spent in cleaning it. The Brits are known all over the world for their system and strict laws, whereas, Nepal is known for its lax laws and unsystematic ways.

However to come back to the issue of climate change, this is something which is worrying many countries and we can also read and hear about the devastating effects of global warming in many places. Nepal cannot also escape from this man-made menace and we ourselves are feeling the heat of many wrongs done by the more developed countries in the past. This is where the question of 'double standards' comes out. While we all had to bear the consequences when many countries were scaling the path of industrialisation, now we have to face many restrictions while trying to do the same.

Conscious effort

There is no doubt that global warming and the severe climate change we are seeing these days are not good for any country in any part of the world. Such natural changes will only bring more misery to the world and specially, to the developing nations. Like people in all parts of the world, Nepalis too want to see a developed Nepal where the majority of the people are prosperous. While there are other indicators which say that some people are getting poorer, there are some indicators, like in seeing many vehicles in the roads of the country, which says that people are also getting more mobility for their work and more prosperity is within their reach. 

But this does not mean we have to destroy the pristine nature for individual benefits like many other countries did in the past. We all must be aware of the negative impacts even small things can do to the environment. So hand in hand we must also go for development, no matter who preaches us what we should do or not, but at the same time we must make a conscious effort to take care of our environment too, not for ourselves alone but also for the sake of the future generations who will still live in this country.

(The author is former chief editor of this daily.)