June 17, 2010
Wildlife trader arrested with leopard skin and bones
Acting on the information provided by WCN, the Metropolitan Police Crime Divison, Hanumandhoka, Kathmandu arrested Khur Bahadur Bhandari (42) of Nuwakot with a leopard skin and its bone from Kalanki on June 10, 2010.
June 5, 2010
Rare bird species found
A rare bird of Crane species has been reappeared in Chitwan on Thursday. Some 10 species of birds are scheduled as rare birds in Nepal. The Crane bird has not been appeared in this surrounding for the last ten years.Guide of Bird Education Society found three Crane birds in Doragi of Bachhauli VDC of the district in course of observing birds.
The bird of this species has not been reappeared so far after it was seen in Kammar lake of Chitwan National Park 10 years ago, according to Society Chitwan Chairperson Basu Bidari.The bird is especially found in Lumbini region of Nepal and various areas of neighbour country India, he added. It is comparatively higher than other flying birds.Of the 11,032 species of rare birds found in the world, there are 865 species in Nepal out of which 564 are in Chitwan only, according to the data.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
June 5, 2010
Imja lake outburst threat looms large
Impacts of climate change are quite visible in the higher reaches of Himalayas. The threat that looms large with the potential outburst of Imja Glacial Lake in the Mount Everest region indeed is a dramatic illustration of climate change.The Sagarmatha Tourism Area, one of the major tourist destinations, is at high risk with water level in the lake rising by the day.The lake, which is located at a height of 5,010 metres, has been identified as one of the potentially most dangerous glacial lakes that could cause large scale damage and destruction to people's lives.
According to Everest summiter Dawa Steven Sherpa, with the increasing temperature, the snow is melting rapidly and the water level has been rising by the day.It could wreak havoc in the area destroying more than 10 tourist destinations, said Dawa. Even the adjoining human settlements and wild life in the Sagarmatha National Conservation area could cease to exist.
"If the tourist destinations are destroyed, the c o u n t r y 's economy will be adversely affected," added Dawa.
"The bottom soil of the lake is getting loose. It’s a dangerous sign.” According to 2007 data provided by ICIMOD, the lake is retreating 74 metres every year. In case of outburst, it could sweep away the adjoining settlements including Chukumja, Bivre, Digboche, Osho, Tega and Chomuwa within an hour of the outburst.
Pasang Sherpa, a local, said it could also destroy the path to the base camp of Mt Everest and other trekking routes.According to experts, the only tourist trek along the Dudhkoshi River and more than 250 households, including 68 lodges in the area, will be directly affected if the lake bursts.“We are living under constant threat,” said Ang Phurpa (63), a local of Khumjung area. Phurpa, who has spent more than six decades in the area, said he had never lived under such a precarious situation before.“Looking at the rising water level, it looks like the lake could burst in very near future.” Phurpa suspects that several people from the far-flung areas may lose their lives for the chances of rescue operation are slim due to difficult geography.
Source: The Himalayan Times
June 2, 2010
Nepal's first climate refugee village in Mustang In the first recognized case of climate change refugees in Nepal, the entire village of Dhe, located in Surkhang VDC of upper Mustang, is being resettled in Thangchung in lower Mustang.A total of 150 people (23 households) of Dhe are being shifted due to the adverse impact of climate change on the livelihoods of the poor in the village.Dhe village has been facing an acute shortage of water for irrigation over the last six to seven years. The irrigated land over the period has also been reduced to less than 50 percent and animal husbandry (particularly goat keeping) has declined 40 to 45 percent. Two households from Dhe have already moved elsewhere within the last three years.“The sources of the water have completely dried up,” Amchi Tenjin Dharke, a Dhe local, told myreepublica.com over the phone.He added that people in Dhe are using yaks and horses to bring in small quantities of supplies from the lower trans-Himalayan region for their families.“It is getting extremely difficult for people to even arrange two square meals a day,” Dharke said, adding, “There is hardly any greenery to be seen around the village, which just seven years back used to be very green.” Dharke is also chairperson of Dhe´s youth club, which is striving in Kathmandu to raise funds for the resettlement. * Dhe village to be relocated in Thangchung The locals have, however, complained that the government is “not doing enough” to address their problems. A four-member team from the village including Dharke, Dondup Chhonphe, Jhayang Wanchuk and 70-year-old Wangyal met WWF-Nepal officials in April and explained the dire conditions facing people in the village.The village secretary of Surkhang, on the other hand, has taken the initiative along with VDC Chairman Chhering Gonpo Bista for resettlement in Thangchung. “A feasibility study for water supply for a possible resettlement is underway,” Ghanashyam Gurung, conservation officer at WWF-Nepal, said.He informed that an initial survey by technicians found the area feasible for resettlement.“The refugees will get water from Damodar Kunda which in turn is supplied from Himalayan glacial waters,” Gurung added.Gurung further said, “I met the people of this village during my visit to Dhe in April and they sought help from WWF then for resettlement.”Gurung claimed that the villagers will be happy with resettlement in an environment they are familiar with rather than moving to completely new and unfamiliar territory.“Such resettlement should be the highest priority of the government as it helps people adapt and build climate resilience,” Gurung said.Conforming the report, Juddha Gurung, member-secretary of the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC), said, “Yes, we have a problem and we are looking at the survey report to do the needful.” WWF-Nepal will soon submit a resettlement plan to the Ministry of Environment in consultation with NTNC.After the scientific research and survey, which will be completed this year under Phase II (2011) of the plan, plantings and land use planning with caretakers will be initiated for initial resettlement. And in Phase III (2012), the final phase, resettlement will be completed with new housing to be constructed by the villagers themselves.“The new settlement should be the first model village of climate refugees. It should be solar powered with greenery and appropriate land allocation for public uses like parks and a market center,” Ghanashyam Gurung said. Source : Republica
* Dhe facing acute water shortage, 50% reduction in irrigated land, animal husbandry down 45%
* WWF-Nepal develops relocation plan
* Locals say govt not doing enough
* 2 households left village in last 3 years
June 1, 2010
Tusker fear, folks on night vigil
Arjun Karki spends sleepless nights on the bank of Mechi River. He is neither a tramp nor is he trying to stay cool in the hot summer times, but under sheer compulsion he keeps vigil throughout nights.Karki, a resident of Bahundangi Bazaar, and his friends gather at the river bank after late night lunch till the crack of dawn to keep wild elephants at bay.They press themselves into this new found duty in the wake of terror unleashed by tuskers from neighbouring Indian villages.
“We are duty bound to stand on the river bank in nights being armed with torches to prevent wild tuskers from wreaking havoc. This has been our routine for years,” said Karki.As elephants descend on Tukre forest across the Mechi, locals make loud sounds to chase away them. In case locals skip a night vigil, the same night elephants enter their village and the next day they have to count the cost.“We don’t sleep a wink at nights from May to October. There is no alternative but to chase away tuskers to protect crops,” said Karki.
Every year, herds of elephants from India intrude into Nepali territory and run amok in Nepali villages.The giant mammalvisitors destroy crops and even trample people to death. Elephant attacks claimed 26 lives within two decades in the village alone.Villagers have complained the authorities concerned have been unsuccessful to find out an effective way to address elephant menace. The much-hyped electric fencing project that the government commenced in coordination with District Development Committee, Jhapa, has not solved the problem.District Forest Officer Sudhir Koirala admitted that the authorities have failed to get to the bottom of the problem.“The problem can not be completely rooted out, only it can be minimised,” he said. Nepali people would be less affected if the Indian side looks into the matter, he said.The forest office and police have been assisting the locals in chasing away elephants.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
