Kathmandu : Two separate research reports prepared by incorporating various aspects to formulate necessary laws for the management of corridor and conservation of Karnali River have been handed over to the federal government on Tuesday.
Nepal River Conservation Trust (NRCT) had conducted the research with the assistance of Paani Project under the US Agency for International Development (USAID). This is the first time that this kind of research was carried out by incorporating various aspects of Karnali River. The reports were handed over to Kumari Subedi, Chairman of Agriculture, Cooperative and Natural Resources Committee under the federal government, amidst a program held in Kathmandu. Both the reports were also submitted to House of Representative lawmaker Chakka Bahadur Lama and other government agencies.
Likewise, a poster named Karnali Conservation Panchasil prepared by Nepal River Conservation Trust Chairman Megha Ale was also submitted during the program. Praising the research conducted by the Nepal River Conservation Trust, Chairman Subedi expressed her commitment that the parliament and government will address the reports. “The report will certainly be sent to the federal government,” she said. Saying that there is the problem of drinking water in the Himalayan region in the recent time, she underscored the need to give more attention for the conservation of water.
The Paani Project has also conducted separate research on the issue of water resources. Saying that the people have been forced to migrate to other places, she said the people should get an opportunity to utilize the water instead of just seeing the water of Karnali River. She lamented that the projects to conserve water resources have been stuck in limbo due to lack of laws related river, energy and water resources. Saying that Nepal has not been able to utilize the energy generated in the country, she urged the government to be serious about the same.
Talking about the climate change, she said that Nepal has been suffering a lot due to the greenhouse energy produced by the developed countries. She said that there is a need of coordination among the federal, province and local government to manage, clean, utilize and conserve the Karnali River. Deputy Chief of Paani Project Jarmi Kitten said that the main objective of Paani Project is to conserve the biodiversity of three rivers. Kitten said that the research reports will also be helpful to non-governmental organizations and other concerned organizations. “Conservation and development should be taken ahead hand in hand so that it will be easier to manage the Karnali River,” Kitten further said.
Addressing the program, former Minister for Energy, Water Sources and Irrigation Deepak Gyawali stressed on the need to start a campaign to manage and develop the water resources. He was of the opinion that the conflict that has been going on between development and conservation for a long time should be ended. Though there are laws on conserving water sources in country, it has not been implemented yet, he said.
“The government should use the word utilize instead of conservation while formulating Act next time,” she said. Presenting the concept of managing the corridor of Karnali River, Executive Director of Nepal River Conservation Trust Mausam Khanal said that broader research was carried out regarding social, environmental and other aspects of Karnali River. He said that both the number of fish and species have decreased in the lower part of Karnali River. Khanal said that the hydropower projects should be seen in a strategic way.
On the occasion, working committee member of Nepal River Conservation Trust Dr Chiranjivi Bhattarai presented the report related to the strategic management of laws. He said that the concerned authority should allocate the place to conserve fish and gharial among other aquatic animals and should allocate the area for fishing and should also give attention to the good governance of water resources in the province level, among other things, while formulating the laws.
