Today environmental degradation is the key issue all over the world. This is so because the interaction of human beings with nature is a class different from all other living beings. The human pressure particularly the developmental pressure, unmindful of consequences, is simply too much for the environment to be naturally sustainable. The offshoot of this pressure is the continuing shift in the natural equilibrium position which is becoming counter-productive as shown by the alarming rate at which wild life species are becoming extinct as well as the continuing degradation in the human qualities of life.
Environmental Management is resource intensive operation
The signs of degradation are hallmarks of environmentally mismanaged densely populated regions of the world. Nepal provides a glaring example.
The key to tech solution of the problem lies in understanding and elucidating the environmental impacts in all its ramification and then to set the course of human activities in the right direction. To achieve this requires a high degree of scientific knowledge and technological expertise as well as vast resources and above all, a good human conscience.
Nepal environment is beset both with natural and man-made problems. Natural in the sense that it is a mountainous country which is also geologically unstable and thus, prone to landslides, soil erosion etc.
Degradation in Rural Areas
The problem is again aggravated by the expanding population of under employed and poor people. Thus, the rural areas comprising of 95% of the total land mass is on the decline ecologically, agriculturally and forest wise.
Uncontrolled forest fire in the Sal (Shorea robusta) Forest, Terai belt of Nawalparasi
The ill-planned and ill-managed growth centers around the sprawling urban areas have stretched the natural resources to their limits. For instance, the river systems of Kathmandu Valley have already been damaged. The ground-water is fast depleting. Air, water and noise pollution levels at city centers are reaching debilitating limits. No serious attempt to correct the situation seems to be on the way. It is true that environmental cleaning is a resource intensive operation. But trying to patch-up a damaged portion without the full knowledge of the real problem is like filling water in a leaky bucket. At present, Nepal’s environmental management status seems to be limited just to that.
Realization of the Gravity of the problems
Realizing the gravity of the situation there have been burst of activities all over the country at all levels. But they seem to contribute more to the environmental noise level than easing the real situation.
The Need of Reliable and correct based data on the environmental status
What is needed on the first place is countrywide data on fundamentals on environmental problems for instance, the quality of water we drink, the quality of air we breathe and the quality of soils from which we produce crops of daily use. There is again the problem of mounting trash and wastes which are polluting everything on their way especially in city centers for which a sound action programmes are urgently needed.
The proper management of waste products is crucial points
Proper management of wastes, both human and industrial is a crucial point. The more we advance the more we utilize natural resources and consequently produce more waste products of various kinds.
Some waste products have strange pathway whose long-term synergistic impact is simply unknown to mankind. Thus, the ozone holes, the green house affect, the apparent rise in the mean global temperature and anti-life properties of toxic wastes are strong indicators of how the developmental activities have changed the natural equilibrium in tech global scale. They are not the only concerns for the lives of human beings but they are concern for the health of the planet itself.
Random discharge of the waste in the principal cause for concern in Nepal
Apart from global issues, Nepal’s principal cause for concern today, is the uncontrolled discharge of the wastes, both human and occupational in the nearby localities without any hesitation whatsoever.
Emphasis should be given to developing technologies to Recycle the Wastes
For Nepal, there is scarcity of resources in every front, managing the wastes with recycling wherever possible can be the only alternative to reduce the level of pollution and at the same time extract reusable substances from the wastes.