Responses

Air Pollution in Kathmandu Valley

Introduction Paragraph

· Toxic air in Kathmandu valley will shorten the life of newly born children by two years according to the report on global exposure to air pollution and its diseases by US- based Health Effects Institute.

· Give a little background of pollution in Kathmandu valley and how it has been always a concern for people living in the Kathmandu valley.

· Thesis- To add some plans and implement the National Pollution Control Strategy and Action Plan (NPCSAP) to reduce the air pollution in Kathmandu valley.

Problem Part

First paragraph =The air pollution of Kathmandu valley is getting worse in the present context than before, and is a problem that must be taken care of.

· With the area of only 19.69 sq. miles, Kathmandu valley has been densely populated with the population of 1,376,108 in 2019

· With the population growth, haphazard urbanization and rapid increase in the number of private vehicles, the quality of air is degrading day by day.

· Environmental Performance Index is the careful measure of environmental trends and issue covering environment health and ecosystem vitality measure by the Yale Center of Environmental Law and Policy with the collaboration of Yale research university, Columbia University, and World economic Forum. According to the EPI results of 2018, Nepal ranks 176 out of 180 countries with Kathmandu being one of the most polluted city of Nepal.

· Furthermore, Kathmandu lies in the third rank of being the most polluted city of Asia according to the report by 2016 Numbeo-Numbeo is the world’s largest database of user contributed data about cities and countries worldwide. Numbeo provides current and timely information on world living conditions including cost of living, housing indicators, health care, traffic, crime and pollution. .

· Particulate Matter is a complex mixture of solid and liquid particles of organic and inorganic substances suspended in the air. The PM(10) and PM(2.5) measure of Kathmandu valley according to the report of WHO was 88 μg/m3 and 49 μg/m3 which are very high than the standard PM measure. According to the WHO Air quality guidelines values, the standard value of PM(10) and PM(2.5) is 20 and 10 μg/m3

· Data have shown that in 2000/1, number of registered vehicles was 24,003 and by 2015/16 it has increased to 7, 79,822. This shows an increment by more than 32 times in the last one and a half decade. Approximately 67 percent of Particulate matter is supplied by vehicular emission in Kathmandu valley

· There are more than 200 brick kilns operating in Kathmandu valley, which is degrading the quality of air day by day. According to the report from Health Research and Social Development Forum, there are 3 times more PM in air when the brick is operating in comparison to when brick kilns are not operating.

Second Paragraph: The air pollution is adversely affecting the health of people in Kathmandu valley and hence is a great problem.

· New finding of research and studies done by WHO reveals a strong link between air pollution exposure and cardio vascular diseases like strokes, ischemic heart disease, as well as cancer in addition to development of various respiratory diseases.

· In 2015, the Ministry of Population and Environment estimated that ambient air pollution was responsible for up to 1,600 premature deaths in the Kathmandu Valley

· Data of Department of Health (DoH) services in Nepal shows that, in 2013-2014, COPD was the most common cause of mortality among inpatients and respiratory tract diseases were the most common reason for outpatients’ consultations with both upper and lower respiratory tract infections being within the top four.

·  Data of Global Health Observatory (GHO) for mortality from ambient air pollution in Nepal in 2012 shows a threatening rate of 9,944 deaths of which Ischaemic Heart Disease (IHD) caused the highest death rate of 33.4% followed by stroke 32%, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) 17.8%, lung cancer 9.3%, and Acute Lower Respiratory Tract Infection (ALRTI) 7.4%

· Child Workers in Nepal Concerned Centre (CWIN) surveyed about 60 children who were working as staffs on three-wheelers in valley and result showed that 84% staffs were suffering from eye problem, 82% chest pains, 66% were suffering from coughs and 58% by headaches. Similarly 45% children were suffering by respiratory problem.( Also include this as the empirical data )

· Dr. Shakya S. conducted a study incorporating questionnaires to the traffic police. He observed that out of 90 traffic police, most of them were suffering from diseases related to nervous and respiratory systems. 

·  Clean Energy Nepal (CEN) also did a questionnaire survey for the people who live near to the brick industries and in control area. The study revealed that 54% out of surveyed people near to the brick kiln were suffering from respiratory problem and 41% people in the control area were affected by respiratory disorder.

Third Paragraph: Air pollution in Kathmandu Valley is affecting the tourism industry in the country Nepal

· According to the report from the World Travel and Tourism Council, the body which represents the travel and tourism sector globally and conducts research on the Economic Impact of the Travel and Tourism in 185 countries, tourism accounts for the 7.5% of Nepal’s GDP which is 820 million dollars.

· Tourists are mostly attracted to Kathmandu valley as 7 out of 10 UNESCO world Heritage sites are located in Kathmandu valley, and it is easy to travel to any other tourism sites of Nepal from Kathmandu being the capital and center of Nepal.

· However, the no. of tourists are observed to decline in recent years. The number was decreased from 803092 of annual visitors in 2012 to 538970 visitors in 2015, according to the statistics of Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation of Nepal.

· A survey done by the Clean Energy Nepal among the tourists living in the tourist spot name Thamel in 2012 reveals that 54% of tourists rated the air quality of Kathmandu as either very bad or fairly bad. The respondents also reported that the air pollution in the city has shortened their length of stay in Nepal, and changed even their decision to revisit Nepal.

· According to the Clean Air Aisa Findings of the Departing Visitors Survey conducted among 1,702 tourists between May and June 2017 by MARG Nepal indicate that the quality of air is the number one area where tourists feel improvement is needed. Similarly,

SOLUTIONS

First Solution:

· The Department of Transport under the Government of Nepal bans two strokes three wheeler vehicle from Kathmandu valley in 2004.

· The reason for the proposed ban appears to be that the three-wheelers emit unburned fuel. The Ministry of Transport had recommended the ban after a study by the Air Resource Management Centre of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources.

· Removing two stroke vehicles from the valley have reduced the air pollution as well as noise pollution.

· It has also helped to reduce the energy consumption because the two stroke vehicles use more fuel than other.

· However, the rules and regulations are no implemented because of the political instability and corruptions. The economic condition of the country has also impacted on the implementation the institutions because the government has not allocated sufficient fund for environment. In Nepal there is separate ministry dealing with environment (Ministry of Environment), however, the establishment of the local authority like environment department and its associated regional and district bodies, to effectively deal with the problems related to environment has not been materialized yet, even after more than a decade has passed with the establishment of environment ministry.

Second solution: Nepal to set apply the National Pollution Control Strategy and Action Plan finalized in 2016.

· According to the plan, there will be a guide committee for mainstreaming pollution control in all development efforts and all targeted and highly polluted cities.

· There will be an effective pollution monitoring and control system to be run by the Department of Environment.

· To work in collaboration with International Union for Conservation of Nature and ADB for the implementation of plans.

· The plan could not be implemented at all due to the political instability in the government of Nepal.

· Similarly, there has been many obligations and disobedience in the implementation of standards like environmental assessment.

Third solution= Inspection and Maintenance

· China released a national regulation for inspecting and measuring on-road high emitting diesel vehicles using remote sensors (Ministry of Environmental Protection China 2017).

· Vehicles inspection and maintenance practices have become successful in Gothenburg, Sweden too.

· The emission reduction performance was found better than Los Angeles, California and Melbourne (Zhang et al. 1995).

· DoTM( Department of Transport Management) is the sole organizations to conduct vehicle emission test in Nepal. Vehicle inspection is required once a year except commercial vehicles, which has provision to test every six months.

· To obtain a green sticker, it is crucial to pass the test and not allow the failed vehicles to operate in the Kathmandu valley. To pass the emission test, vehicle owner opt maintenance services. For road side emission check, only nominal penalty is charged for the failed vehicles.

· It was reported a decade ago that about 33-40 % of the diesel vehicles emissions can be reduced after proper maintenance (Faiz et al. 2006).

· However, there is lacks of vehicle maintenance policy in Nepal and Kathmandu, and the inspection as well as the emission test system has not been effectively implemented, which obstruct this solution to be implemented in Kathmandu valley.

Fourth Solution= The Department of Transport and Management to promote the use of electric vehicles in collaboration with the Nepal Electric Authority to reduce the air pollution caused by burning of fossil fuel.

· The power utility of Nepal Electricity Authority has called a tender to install charging stations in different places of major cities to encourage people to shift to electric vehicles.

· According to the power utility, a charging station on the premises of NEA office will be installed shortly and the authority is also mulling over making electric vehicles mandatory for its top officials.

· The government has also reduced customs tariff on the import of electric vehicles through the fiscal budget of 2016-17.

· Customs tariff of big electric vehicles (bus, minibus) normally used as public transportation had been slashed to one per cent (of the total cost) from 30 per cent earlier.

· Similarly, electric four-wheelers used for individual purpose like jeeps, cars and vans need to pay only 10 per cent customs tariff against 30 per cent in previous years.

· There is insufficient mechanics knowledgeable about electric vehicles or workshops capable of assembling them currently in Kathmandu valley. Governmental agencies regulating vehicles and public transportation routes had to be educated about the nature and benefits of electric vehicles, which will be taking a lot of time for the initiation of plan’s implementation.

· Similarly, the Department of Transport and Management also estimated that it will be 2050 AD to just replace the 50 % of vehicles of Kathmandu valley, which in fact, is a long time for the solution of critical problem like air pollution in Kathmandu.

The proposed final solution= to add to and implement the National Pollution Control Strategy and Action Plan(NPCSAP) proposed by the Department of Environment under the ministry of Population and Environment

The main aim would be to implement the plans, laws, and policies for the reduction of air pollution previously proposed by the different departments and units of government.

Methods

· Formation and Operationalization of the Steering Committee, government formed a 17-member Project Steering Committee to supervise the project’s activities. The Secretary of the Ministry of Population and Environment (MOPE) chairs the PSC and the Director General of the Department of Environment (DoEnv) is the Member Secretary of the PSC.

· Also to form a 7-member Sub-Project Working Group (SPWG) to oversee regular activities during preparation of the NPCSAP.

This would help to implement the project and initiate it without depending upon the political instability of the country.

Money and Expenses

· The plan would require an expected amount of 338 thousand dollars to initiate the plan and smooth implementation of plan for first 3 months according to the report by Department of Environment., and the total project is expected to take from 500 million dollars to1.2 billion dollars to complete the project.

· To use the tax revenue that has reached around NRs. 5 billion (nearly 45 million US dollars) at the Ministry of Finance after the Government of Nepal has imposed charge of 0.5 Nepalese Rupees (NRs) on every liter of fossil fuel since 2007 to spend that on program and activities aimed at tackling air pollution in the valley.

· To seek the help from International Union for Conservation of Nature and Asian Development Bank that already agreed to help for the project when proposed in 2016.

Time and term goals.

The short term and medium term plan would be to accomplish the following things by 2022/2023

Monitor and evaluate the state of pollution issues in the implementation of sectoral development strategies

Prepare guidelines for the mainstreaming of pollution control measures in new policies and strategies.

During periodic monitoring and evaluation of the sectoral policies and strategies, ensure that the pollution control parameters are included, and measures for pollution prevention and control measures are recommended.

Based on the results of the periodic monitoring and evaluation of the sectoral policies and strategies, revise the annual programs planning guidelines and conduct orientation from central to lower (district, and later province) levels.

Evaluate the usefulness and effectiveness of the NPCSAP to control pollution in the final year of each periodic plan.

Based on the results of evaluation, revise the NPCSAP to address contemporary issues and needs.

Assist NPC to assess the degree to which learning and suggestions received from monitoring and evaluation have been employed by the sectoral ministries and agencies

The long term plan would be to contribute to achieve pollution control goals by 2030 from pollution control perspectives. During this period, short- and medium-term programs shall be given continuity. The long term implementation plans shall be formulated again in such a way that they are consistent with the government’s periodic plans. Such consistency shall be harmonized at the time of governmental periodic planning.

Objection

· The plan need a lot of money. It might not be possible to get the complete financial support looking at the past of political instability of the country.

· People from different regions other than Kathmandu valley may protest for the use of tax revenue that was collected from the whole country from petrol and other fuels to be just utilized in Kathmandu valley.

Refute=

· Due to the political instability of the government, the project will rely on trustable international organizations like UNDP( United Nation Development Program), ADB and others to get the financial support for the plan.

· The plan coordinator can acknowledge the benefit of using this plan as a model for implementation in other areas of Nepal after changes being observed in Kathmandu valley.

Conclusion

· To restate the thesis that the air pollution in Kathmandu is causing negative impacts on the people, and the country as well.

· To restate that National Pollution Control Strategy and Action Plan (NPCSAP) is the best plan to solve this critical problem in Kathmandu valley.

· If the people of the Kathmandu valley want the city to be clean and be free from different risks, they should act together with the government to implement this plan.

· This implementation of the plan in Kathmandu valley and the outcomes make it confident to and a model for implementing similar plans in different polluted region of Nepal like Birgunj, Pokhara etc.