The policy that is centered towards empowerment of local units or Federal Nepal has climate change on top of its priority list, informed Ishwari Prasad Poudel, Spokesperson for the Department of Forests (DoF).

“Previous policies were not as clear on climate change. They had not covered broader areas related to climate change. The upcoming policy aims to address the issue of climate change by including all international treaties on climate change,” says Poudel.

Poudel went on to say that the new policy, coming as a replacement to the extant National Forest Policy 2015, will guide all levels of government and also local levels in designing action plans and policies to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Besides climate change, the draft policy also covers various sectors related to environment and forest conservation.

The policy includes a provision that requires inclusion of measures on climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience in all forestry-related development programs.

As a special feature, the policy also calls for conducting of technology programmes and arrange needed resources and technology for the convenience of vulnerable communities.

“Based on larger themes, local levels can draft their own programmes and actions for preparing themselves against climate change,” adds Poudel.

The policy also focuses on controlling carbon emissions, discouraging deforestation and addressing the community-level concerns through indigenous methods.

Nepal is one country that is most vulnerable to climate change over the sensitive environment and has been pitching its concerns at various global climate change meetings such as Paris Conference and the Conference of Parties (COP23) among others.

The new policy comes as a hope to Nepal to address the country’s long-standing climate change concerns.

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The Environment and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) report said this in its draft report on the construction of the Nijgadh international airport, planned at a site that is 175 kilometres south of Kathmandu.

The airport, being considered as an alternative to the existing Tribhuvan International Airport, is planned for construction in around 8,000 hectares amid dense forest area. The first phase of construction, which includes a run-way, will cover around 1,000-2,000 hectares, which will be expanded gradually depending on the need.

To Mitigate Environmental Damage

To mitigate the environmental damage, the ESIA report came up with an alternative plan that suggested the shift of construction site to southern side of the planned site, which has only fewer number of trees to be cut-down for construction, said Hari Adhikari, chief of the project.

According to the officials, revenue from the sale of trees in the area will make up half of the construction cost. Shorea robusta trees, also known as Sal or Sakhua, cover 90 percent of the project area.

Meanwhile, the Forest Ministry has asked the Tourism Ministry to prepare an economic valuation on the impact of the construction project on biodiversity and an action plan on the types of samplings to be planted at the site.

The project has also identified 1,476 squatters in Tangia Basti who need to be relocated.

Adhikari informed that a public hearing will be held after ESIA, and the final project report with public comments and grievances addressed, will be released by April 2018.

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