KATHMANDU – Concerned stakeholders have advised Province 2 government to bring in short-term and long-term plans to address the environmental issues that are becoming serious in the province.
In an interaction on media debate: priority to environment organized by Nepal Forum of Environmental Journalists (NEFEJ) in province 2 Capital, Janakpur, the stakeholders urged the authority to immediately prepare a broader plan for environment protection by rectifying the past mistakes.
The participants stressed on the need for coordination between center and province government and called for putting the Chure protection on high priority. They opined the oversight of environmental issues while taking forward the development projects have caused destruction. They added the President Chure Conservation Program has not been effective and the officials have not been active in conservation efforts.
The stakeholders said the media should play a vital role in creating extensive public support for the environment related issues. Of the seven provinces, Province 2 has the lowest forest cover and the conservation of Chure gets the top most priority in every discussion about Chure. On the contrary, the Chure has been witnessing destruction in recent times instead of protection. Sound pollution has emerged as another major problem of Janakpur.
During the inaugural session of the program, NEFEJ Executive Director Subodh Gautam informed about the objectives of the program. “It is necessary to change the traditional mindset on road construction. Along with road construction, bicycle lane, pedestrian lane should be built and trees should be planted along the roadside,” said Gautam. He said NEFEJ won’t hold debate on political issues and will raise the issues of nature and environment conservation.
“The country has entered the stage of development but the development should not have negative impact on nature and environment. It is necessary to pay attention to the conservation of river and forest,” he added. H further said the key objective of the program is to hold discussions on the environmental issues of Province 2.
NEFEJ Chairman Arjun Dhakal presented a working paper on the broader environmental issues of Province 2. His paper was focused on local, regional and across-the-border issues. The paper talked about the deforestation, soil degradation, water resources and pollution.
Dhakal tabled the conclusion of studies done by various organizations focusing on Province 2. The participants have been presenting their concepts at the programme.
Dhakal presented the air pollution statistics of different parts of the country. He said the air pollution of Province 2 should be viewed from the perspective of across the border. He explained the impact in Nepal caused by environmental pollution in India. He also drew the attention of the participants towards the environmental impact of proposed International Airport in Nijgadh.
Journalist Chandra Kishor also made his presentation on the environmental agenda for Province 2. He elucidated on the negative impact of local people’s activities on the environment. He also presented the environmental effects in Province 2 because of the activities in bordering states of India. He also shed light on the rapid deforestation in Madhes that has been taking place in the past decade and complained about the lack of attention to control it.
“There are 84 local units in Province 2 and they don’t have any forested land. The older trees are facing threat of existence, the habitant of wildlife is being encroached. We have only been felling trees extensively but failed to plant new trees in the same proportion,” he said. He said the Chure region is being excessively exploited, and natural resources of the region are being stolen and supplied.
He drew the attention of Province 2 government towards the growing plastic pollution in the state. “Massive deforestation is taking place in Sarlahi and Parsa districts, the forest trade is taking place with political protection, and the floods and landslides are occurring due to deforestation,” he said. He further noted that the local culture is gradually disappearing as the nature and culture are closely linked in the past.
He said the growing use of luxury items have left impact on the environment and pointed out the lack of coordination between local bodies.
He said open sewerage is the major environmental problem of Province 2. He added that the failure to use traditional knowledge of environment has also aggravated the environmental problem.
Addressing the issues raised at the program, chief guest and Province 2 Internal Affairs and Law Minister Gyanendra Kumar Yadav said environment is a major issues of concern for the world. “We will be putting our existence at stake if we fail to pay our serious attention to conserve the environment,” said Minister Yadav. He called on the stakeholders to work with a long-term vision instead of earning money in the name of development.
“We are turning Tarai into a desert for our political interests,” he noted.
At the end of the program, cotton bags were distributed as part of the campaign to make the province a plastic-free zone.
