What is a Smart City?

 

Ambika P. Adhikari

Keshav Bhattarai

 Introduction

 In the past two decades, the concept of smart city has been gaining popularity globally. While several cities such as Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Barcelona, Chicago and Hong Kong have been implementing elements of smart city planning and design concepts, some city planners and civic leaders are also speaking about the benefits of adopting smart city notions for Nepal.

Smart city idea follows several recent innovations in land use and urban development. For example, in the United States, the idea of smart growth has become quite popular in the past three decades. Primarily aiming to curtail the ubiquitous urban sprawl, and making the urban development sustainable through efficient land-use decisions and higher density settlements, several jurisdictions in the country have officially adopted smart growth principles and regulations.

A smart-city approach makes use of information technology. Sensors, robotics and auto-control configurations use real time data to continually manage urban functions such as traffic, energy distribution, public amenities, and vehicular parking. Using real time data, a smart city helps to reduce pollution, promote clean energy use, and improve the overall urban physical environment. Although a smart city primarily improves service delivery and efficiency, it also helps to create a more sustainable and equitable urban development.

Smart city works by integrating information and communication technologies with urban infrastructure and service to optimize and enhance the quality and performance. This idea is based on the concept of “Internet of Things” (IoT) applications and communications networks. IoT connects physical elements of infrastructure, equipment, and physical facilities by the internet creating a larger system of virtual connectivity that provides real-time feedback mechanism allowing continuous monitoring, adjustment and manipulation of several activities related to service, infrastructure delivery, utilities and services. The IoT can make the connected system and each device smarter than it would have been separately or on its own

How Does a Smart City Work?

A smart city is designed to improve the efficiency of urban functions. One example is the traffic, transit and transportation system which are managed and directed to avoid congestion based on what is happening on site, improve traffic flow, create an appropriate balance between the various modes of traffic, and to minimize the overall travel time for the urban users.

Another example is to optimize the energy grids and stormwater systems in the city for improved efficiency and service by directing the flow of energy and storm water capacity as per the real time need in different locations. The demand management is achieved through a centrally connected system that reads the demand as captured by the sensors deployed across the city. Optimization of energy system will synchronize the supply and demand, and help reduce the carbon emissions by cutting down the waste of energy.

Public space is an essential component of any smart city to bring people together to socialize, recreate, and work. Public gatherings help to attract people to the city, builds relationships, and spurs innovation and new ideas that fuel a city's economic growth. Efficient use of open space and public parks help to optimize the investments made in streetscapes, plazas, parks, and greenways and the city as a whole.

According to a research conducted in France, a person spends almost four years in lifetime while looking for a parking space. Efficient parking system will help in minimizing search time and reduce vehicular emissions. Sensors are used in parking areas to monitor parking capacity and availability of spaces and increases fee revenue and create jobs. This information is transmitted electronically to a central platform that evaluates the data and communicates with the costumers.

Smart cities focus primarily on the increased surveillance capacity with highly networked cameras and sensors. These surveillance technologies are embedded into the urban infrastructure to watch different activities in the urban areas. They use real-time data to improve the management of pedestrian and vehicle traffic, weather preparedness and energy use.  However, more cameras and sensors can also infringe on people’s privacy rights.

A city contemplating to become smart should conduct a costs benefits analysis. The costs will include investments in digital infrastructure, high speed internet, fiber optics cables, and wireless internet systems. Further, digitizing components e.g., transportation, home energy systems, parks use, sidewalk use, traffic lights, water supply and waste water sensors will add to the costs. The benefits would include the savings gained in efficiency, reduced traffic congestion, optimal use of parks, parking areas, sidewalks, streetlights, water supply, sewerage and other services. While loss of personal privacy can be a social cost, enhanced sustainability could be a social benefit.

Creating Smart Cities in Nepali

Nepali cities still face may planning-related challenges. As the basic urban services and infrastructure in most Nepali towns and cities are not up-to-date and effective, the idea of creating a smart city sometimes looks like a daydream. One can frequently find social media postings mocking the talk of smart city by the municipal leaders and juxta positioning the images of muddy streets, broken sidewalks, and large potholes on the road in Kathmandu.

Most Nepali cites lack adequate infrastructure and services. In addition to highly congested roads, lack of sidewalks, and severe dearth of open spaces, many cities have limited urban services such as water supply, sanitation, drainage, and parking. In many cities, surveillance cameras are non-existent. Overall, the urban management is also generally considered needing improvement. The energy supply, broadband and other technology services are often not well-managed. Some dramatic examples can be seen in the overhead electrical and data cable lines, which appears to be completely muddled up, knotted and messy.

However, there are benefits of moving towards smart cities even if it is partial and applied only to selected services such as traffic and parking. Perhaps the first area that some large Nepali cities can adopt smart city concepts is in real-time traffic management. In place of the traffic signals that operate on pre-programmed cycle for fixed duration, smart traffic signals can sense the actual traffic movement at the intersection and adjust immediately to optimize the traffic flow. The human traffic police sometimes do that in the street of Kathmandu, but it is an unsafe and tedious task. Smart traffic control system can automatically manage the traffic and help it flow better.

Nepali urban leaders and planners can also review and identify a series of urban components which can be good candidates to create the building blocks of a smart city. These will likely include transportation, street lighting, energy use in public buildings, utilization of public amenities, parking lots, and making urban services more efficient.

Challenges and Conclusions

Many smart cities have not functioned as envisioned. For example, work on Masdar City in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) begun in 2008. Planned as a smart and sustainable city, it is only partially occupied and the initially planned goals such as reduction in carbon emission, and increase in mobility have not met the goals. Similarly, the multi-billion-dollar Sidewalk Labs funded by the Alphabet company to create a smart sidewalk project in the waterfront of Toronto in 2017 ran into several problems. However, the residents opposed the sensors and high-tech implementation that could compromise personal information, and the project was abandoned.  Several other smart city projects were also considered to be overpromised and under-delivered.

Development of a smart city is an evolutionary process. Cities will begin to adopt increasing number of smart elements as they move towards a digital, robotic and artificial intelligence configuration. It appears that some basic elements of smart city can perhaps be initially implemented in selected Nepali cities which can benefit the residents. The feasible elements for smart functions can include traffic management, parking management, and energy transmission.

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Dr. Ambika P. Adhikari is an Urban Planner based in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. Dr. Keshav Bhattarai is a Professor of Geography at the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Missouri, USA.

 

Revisiting BP’s socialism

Ambika P. Adhikari

Most Nepali Congress leaders use BP’s ideas when they speak, but they do not always practice or implement it when they are in power

B P Koirala is remembered as a charming and inspiring leader by most Nepalis. Rarely have we seen another Nepali leader who has reached BP’s political height, who has been able to articulate ambitious political programs and inspire the masses, and who has the ideological clarity, personal integrity and vision to reshape the economy of the nation. In other words, no political leader in Nepal has been able to fully match the all-round personality and popularity of BP. 

An accomplished literary figure, BP was equally adept as a writer as he was as a political leader, and his two talents were mutually reinforcing. Literature gave him penetrating insights into human psychology, personal insecurities, ambition and aspirations. Politics provided him with a mechanism to work toward the fulfillment of the societal and personal needs that creative writers often imagine.

He had the courage, personality, oratory and writing prowess and ideological and personal integrity to provide a strong leadership for people. He was among the first formidable democratic leaders to challenge the autocratic rule of the Ranas and then the authoritarian rule of the monarchs. The democracy that Nepali people have eventually gained was built on the ideas that he pioneered and on the foundation he and his team had built over a long struggle. In fact, BP also played an important role in supporting the freedom struggle of India. He also participated in shaping the Indian socialist movement and forged strong personal relationship with many of India’s post-independence leaders. This relationship later helped BP in his political pursuits to bring democracy in Nepal.

Vision of socialism

BP often stated that the capitalism was unsustainable and communism was unworkable. He advocated the vision for democratic socialism as the best political and economic system for any state. He often gave the example of how a poor farmer in a village in Nepal lived, and urged the leaders and planners to think of the poor farmers while making plans or doing politics. BP himself lived an ordinary middle-class life but had a decent house to live in, and managed to eat two good meals a day. BP often said that his aim was to enable all the Nepalis to enjoy at least his standard of living. But even after more than 50 years since he uttered those words, a large number of Nepalis have been unable to enjoy a decent living standard. Some 12 percent of Nepal’s population has migrated to foreign countries seeking a modest livelihood to feed their families. The migrants often end up working in harsh conditions. Thus Nepal is still a long way from realizing the most humble level of economic development for its people as advocated by BP.

In the 1950s, when he first adopted the democratic socialism as an ideology, he seemed keener on the welfare aspect of the democratic socialism so that the system would uplift the most downtrodden, while keeping the democratic political system intact. BP often stated that without the uplifting the villagers, there would be no development in Nepal. 

Toward the end of the 1970s, he was more influenced by the notion of appropriate technologies, decentralized governance systems, and self-sufficiency as propounded by Mahatma Gandhi, as the best means of national development and ensuring people’s welfare.  He was also a pragmatist, and was keenly observing the progress made by the Western countries through market mechanisms.

In many parts of the world, socialism is not always looked at in a positive light these days. It is often believed that a market economy may not be totally consistent with the idea of socialism, where the state plays a central role in redistributing wealth to ensure that the most vulnerable and poor have at least the decent living means. Through progressive taxation and other governmental programs in the areas of health, education and shelter, a socialist government seeks to provide for the benefit of the people who cannot do well for themselves in the free market. BP thought the resources in a country belonged to all of its citizens. Thus, for him, even in a market economy, the state would ensure that people who do well financially utilizing the resources and labor, must also support in the state’s efforts to help the working-class people and other marginalized groups.

In the current mainstream US political psyche, the idea about socialism does not resonate well. Most people seem to believe that any hint of socialism in a political system will kill the personal incentives. It is believed that the profit-seeking motives are the fundamental premise for the creation of wealth and economic dynamism in America.

However, even in the US, the ultimate bastion of capitalism, the need to cater to the basic needs of the poor and vulnerable population is now increasingly being recognized as an important element of state policies. A 2018 study by United Way ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) project found that 43 percent of the American households cannot afford the basic necessities such as housing, food transportation, medical care and communication. So some have started to question whether a pure capitalist model of economy can help all the citizens. 

The USSR and its socialist satellites practiced socialism where the means of productions were completely controlled by the state. That system failed as it killed individual incentives and promoted corruption. The modern-day China has shown that a one party-communist rule and a market-economy driven by collaboration between the state and private sector can bring accelerated progress. But the Chinese model has its own social costs and is not applicable in all societies.

Socialism in Nepal  

The Nepali Congress, founded by BP and his colleagues, still officially adopts democratic socialism as one of its core values. But the first NC government after the 1990 people’s movement, pushed for liberalization and market reforms including privatization of state controlled enterprises. It was not much different from the regular capitalist market economic model. 

Leaders such as Krishna Prasad Bhattarai believed in social democracy although Bhattarai himself did not really practice it while he was in power. This was mainly because Bhattarai was a PM only for short period on each of the two occasions. During his first premiership, his mandate was less on governance and more on election and constitution writing, which he accomplished successfully. Among the current NC leaders, most seem to believe in democratic socialism as the main motto of the NC and leaders like Ram Chandra Paudel and Pradeep Giri are its vocal advocates.

When Man Mohan Adhikari of CPN-UML was the Prime Minister, his government instituted the old age pension program and “build your village yourself” program, representing the concept of welfare and decentralization mechanism, which are cornerstones of the democratic socialism principles. In 2018, the government of Sher Bahadur Deuba decided to increase the amount of the old age pension.

Various Nepali governments have also explored or partially implemented the policies related to universal medical insurance, farming subsidies and state support for education. 

Most Nepali Congress leaders use BP’s ideas when they speak, but they do not always practice or implement it when they are in power. The idea of democratic socialism would have been more refined now if BP was still alive. The world has seen the spectacular collapse of communism in the former USSR and seen the rise of state capitalism even in China. Russia has become a fully market driven economy, and the Europeans’ practice of democratic socialism has also gone through an evolutionary development. Most nations now practice a mixed economy, consisting of capitalism and socialism. 

For a developing country like Nepal, the idea of democratic socialism is still appealing. Perhaps, universal medical system and state-funded school level education can be the cornerstones of democratic socialism in the present-day Nepal. 

It will take much thinking and deliberations to make a plan on how the elements of democratic-socialism are woven into the policies of the government. It will be a tribute to BP to research on this topic and come up with appropriate recommendations.

A market economy propelled by profit incentives is important to help the economy grow, while ensuring that the businesses pay taxes, are well regulated and that the state uses the revenues to support welfare programs that truly help the poor. We can extract this element from BP’s idea of democratic socialism and insert in the modern day governance in Nepal.

The author is an urban planner and educator living in Phoenix, Arizona

My time at Dharan Public High School

 

My time at Dharan Public High School

 

Ambika Prasad Adhikari, DDes.

Phoenix, Arizona, USA

 

 

I attended Dharan Public High School (DPHS) grade 7 to 10, and passed the SLC exam from there. The four years I spent at DPHS were my formative and enjoyable years, while I acquired basic knowledge in arts, science, history, geography, math, and humanities providing me a strong foundation to build on for my higher studies and professional career. The school also provided me an opportunity to forge deep friendships that have lasted a life time.

 

Many teachers provided me valuable lessons not only in academic subjects, but also on life skills related to personal discipline, physical well-being, social skills and civic responsibilities. I still vividly remember some of my teachers imparting lessons in respective fields. My teachers included Devi Lal Shrestha (Geography), Rewati Nanda Jha (English), Jageshwar Jha (English and Physical Training), Bhagawan Shrestha (Rural Economics), U. C. Dutta (Science and Math), Gopal Khanal (Nepali), Gangadhar Upadhyaya (Sanskrit), Sushil Sharma (Various subjects), and Hemant Aryal (Nepali). Harihar Prasad Srivastav, and active educational leader, was the Head Master of the school during my studies there.

 

My memory is full of several interesting events that took place during my time at DPHS. Here are some example episodes.

 

Our teacher Mr. Devi Lal Shrestha was a legend (and somewhat feared) in disciplining students. He made students stand on the benches in the class for some time if the student misbehaved. I also had to face his ire a few times including doing sit ups in the class. Discipline then was thought of differently than these days, and his actions should not be viewed from today’s standards. I must also add that Mr. Shrestha was a kind man, and wanted to instill a sense of discipline and responsibility to his students.

 

Mr. Rewati Nand Jha received training in teaching English in an American program, and was mesmerized by the American language education system. He helped us with many phrases and sentences from that perspective. Although he based his teaching of grammar on Nelson’s classic book The Hidden Treasure, he also updated us with the new uses of English phrases prevailing then.

 

Nepali teacher Mr. Hemant Aryal was an eloquent speaker. He had a solid mastery of the Nepali language, and was passionate about the Nepali literature. When he spoke about the beauty of the language, quoted poems, and proses from the master-writers, he inspired the students and left us awe-struck. I often would get lost in the imaginary realm when he described poems and proses with a fervent passion and interest.

 

Mr. Jageshwar Jha was a man of high energy. Later, he lived in the school’s residential quarters that were built on the back side of the school’s sports ground. During the summer months, he made us come to school early for about an hour of physical training (PT), and led us to jump up and down to exercise. He would pick up anyone slacking and take disciplinary action on that person. In classroom too, he was equally strict.

 

Mr. U. C. Dutta taught us math and science. He also ran a book shop near the school and sold books and stationaries. He mixed some Bengali words in between when he was teaching in Nepali. One word I still remember is the Bengali word “tarpore” has used to say for the word “next’. He had a knack of teaching algebra and geometry by simplifying and making the logic of math sound easy at the high school level.

 

In retrospect, I am amazed by all the teachers we had at DPHS. The teachers had limited education themselves, had minimal training and exposure and were paid very low (perhaps around Rs 100-200/month. Still, they had a passion and drive to teach and change the lives of the young kids. Many graduates of the school were later able to get high quality higher education and many excelled in their careers. Many DPHS alumni of my days became doctors, engineers, architects, professors, teachers, political leaders, social role models, sportspersons, entrepreneurs, academics, and leaders in other fields. The excellent basic education and trainings received at DPHS made all of this possible.

We also had two American teachers who came to teach us under the Peace Corpse program. It was an interesting opportunity for us to encounter two overseas foreigners first-hand and hear them. The two teachers were trying to learn Nepal themselves, and often would sound comical with their spoken Nepali that sometimes mismatched the subjects and verbs. However, they helped us expand our young minds to foreign cultures.

 

The DPHS had an impressive building for its time with great classrooms, a big common hall, relatively clean bathrooms, large playground and central location. It also provided venue for sports and civic events in town. It hosted inter town football and other sports, civic events such as public meetings for the visits of dignitaries. I remember late King Mahendra visited the school once and addressed the town residents at the DPHS grounds. DPHS also regularly presented well known writers of those days. I remember that poet Kul Mani Devkota, and well-known writer Surya Bikram Gyawali came and spoke to the students during my years there. The High School ground s also served to host town fairs and other events that came to Dharan. Town leaders often visited the school and spoke on the issues that were important during those days.

 

After passing the SLC examination from DPHS, I moved to Morang College, Biratnagar to pursue the Intermediate of Science degree. I then went to India, USA, for higher education. I had a chance to see and experience the many countries, meet people from many parts of the world and make my humble contributions towards solving some problems in Nepal and elsewhere.  Most importantly, I also became a teacher, mentor and counsellor to countless individuals living in several countries. I often go back to my memory and think of my days in DPHS, and profusely thank the selfless teachers who nurtured my young mind.

 

As I approach the end of my professional career that has spanned several countries including Nepal, Canada, USA and several other countries, I still reminisce the good days spent and fine education obtained at DPHS. I came from a humble economic background, and had extremely limited exposure to the world, but DPHS provided me with the first window to the world.

 

The nearby British Library was also a resource I personally was able to use well. I am thankful the then librarian Mr. Ishwar Thapa, who made it easy for me to use the British Library and borrow good books on science, which had nice colorful images, well bound and printed in high quality paper. In those days, that level of quality in the text books seemed extraordinary.

 

I am thankful to all the teachers and administrators of the school who served the students with all their heart and deep dedication. Thanks also to the friends I made in the young days at DPHS, who have been a source of comfort and enjoyment ever since. These include Deep Shrestha, Govind Sharma, Chandeshwar Mayur Chaudhary, Chuda Basnet, Kedar Bhattarai, Netra Bandhu Karki, Harihar Acharya, Yubraj Dhakal, and Krishna Acharya, and Subarna Shrestha.

 

All the local people who supported the high school also did an excellent public service by providing a great platform for students in Dharan and surrounding areas who could get quality education locally and practically free.

 

-end-

Some moments with Kishun jee (Published in Myrepublica 3-19-2011)

	Some Moments with Kishun jee AMBIKA P ADHIKARI “Only the actions of the just; Smell sweet and blossom in their dust.”        - James Shirley Volumes of books will be needed to capture the life history of Kishunji. He was a multi-dimensional man, often larger than life, with a long saga in public life, and with a wide list of impressive achievements in the struggle for democracy and egalitarianism for the Nepali people. My attempt here is to capture just a few episodes of memorable moments about him as a way to pay tribute to this great leader. With the demise of Kishunji an era has ended in Nepal. It was an epoch where stalwarts of democracy, such as Ganesh Man Singh (GMS), Kishunji, and G P Koirala (GPK) struggled for democracy and eventually prevailed. GMS was the epitome of courage, who often said, “I helped in transforming the Nepali people from being mere subjects to full-fledged and free citizens”. GPK gave his life-time in helping Nepalese earn democracy and then implement it, often a harder part. For all his faults, GPK was a principled individual and above all, a man of action. Kishunji brought morality into politics, and as a practicing Gandhian, exemplified to the populace that you can be the most powerful person in country without owning a piece of land or having a bank account in your name. He was a Lal Bahadur Shastri of Nepal, a dedicated visionary, who owned minimal material possessions. Nepal was fortunate to have leaders like GMS, Kishunji and GPK, not to mention the so many other great leaders of their era, such as Bal Bahadur Rai, Bhim Bahadur Tamang, Man Mohan Adhikari, Sahana Pradhan, Basu Risal, and Yog P Upadhyay, just to name a few. Nepal was rich in leadership, and its pursuit for democracy was more potent because of them. We can appreciate how important it is to have a multitude of high level and charismatic leaders, when we see so many countries in Asia and Africa feeling deprived of alternatives in democratic leadership. These nations are still in the clutches of dictators, and people often have to safeguard just a single and fragile symbol of democratic leadership, such as in Myanmar. As Kishunji is no longer with us, I wanted to share some of my impressions and memories of the saintly leader. In doing so, I wish to present a few episodes of my personal experience related to Kishun jee. THE PEOPLE’S MOVEMENT OF 1990 When Kishunji became the first Prime Minister of Nepal after the restoration of democracy in Nepal, he proved that he was the right man in the right time at the right place. Within nine months, he was able to help complete the writing of a democratic constitution, and also to organize relatively free and fair election in Nepal. Given the entrenched power residing in Kathmandu then, and the tendency of our neighboring and international powers to freely meddle in the affairs of Nepal, Kishunji’s keen and principles leadership successfully achieved the two crucial objectives of his government, which was not a small feat. The strength of Kishunji was not in the utilitarian realm of politics, but in providing a moral compass for the messy politics of Nepal. He led his life as per his beliefs that materialism was not the answer for all the problems Nepal was facing. Yet, Kishunji remained humble, and while never losing the big picture, appreciated the minute details of the transition. As students in Boston, a group of us had organized to collect a small amount of money to be sent to help the families of the martyrs of the people’s movement of 1990. We sent a check of a modest sum of US$ 250 in the hand of Dr Arun Joshi, who now works in the World Bank. Arunji later narrated that he was warmly welcomed at the PM’s office, where Kishunji personally signed his name on the back of the check endorsing it to be deposited in the funds for the martyr. This was quintessential Kishunji, wresting long-held power from the clutches of the kings and generals, but personally endorsing a check of $250 for the martyrs! ONTARIO, CANADA IN 1993 AND 1995 Kishunji visited Canada to have cataract surgery, for one eye in 1993 and for another in 1995, both at London, Ontario near Toronto. Dr. Narayan Khadka, who then lived in Ottawa, was instrumental in organizing these visits. Many diaspora members in Canada, including Dr Kunjar Sharma, Dr Kumud Sharma and our families were honored to spend some quality time with Kishunji and discuss the diaspora’s favorite topic – Nepali politics! Kishunji would relish small things, and would oblige people even in their trivial errands. A neighbor of Kishunji in Nepal had asked him to bring some Nepali dried food item to their children in Canada, and Kishunji agreed. That was the level of human instinct simplicity in the towering political figure of Nepal. Kishunji’s humorous and witty personality would keep everyone comfortable and cheerful in his company. While he was staying at a hotel in London, Ontario, Canada’s then Prime Minister Kim Campbell, a single woman was also staying at the same hotel. Kishunji would jokingly tell us that the two single PM’s were staying at the same hotel at the same time! On more serious note, Kishunji would discuss how badly he felt for the plight of the poor and downtrodden in Nepal, and how he wished to make even a small difference in their lives. SECOND TIME PRIME MINISTER When Kishunji became the PM for the second time in 1999, I was living in Nepal and working for an international organization. Just after he won the election in 1999, I visited him at his Bhaisepati residence. In front of many well wishers in the room, he smiled and said, “Do you know, I’ll become the Prime Minister again”. That childlike cheerfulness, interest and excitement represented what was most contagious about the great man. His spartan living, humorous nature, easy access to people, and straight language when he wanted to say something was characteristics of his personality. He would ask some people, who would be in a rush to leave, to have another “half cup of coffee” before leaving him. If his schedule did not allow him to meet an individual, he will personally shout from the window, “Can you come tomorrow?” I once asked him that given his solid achievements when he was the prime minister of the interim government, and his high stature in politics, why he should not become more active in resolving the major problems Nepal was facing, such as poverty and corruption. His response: “A person does one or two good deeds in his life time, and people should not count on only them to solve continuing problems. New leaders should jump in for new problems”. I think it summed up his spiritual philosophy that everyone does his/her part, and the world continues to move forward. No need for any individual to worry about all problems in the world all the time. OTHER SIDES Kishunji is now gone, and it serves no purpose to criticize him, even if he was a public figure. But just to see him as a mortal human is also helpful to gain a total picture of the late leader. In my impression, his management style was rather lax and he would often just go with the flow. His spiritual and philosophical side would often prevail over the mundane, that he would not always handle the affairs of the state as per the practices of modern management. For these types of tasks, GPK was the man, who was so well organized, punctual, business-like and result oriented. The strength of Kishunji was not in the utilitarian realm of politics, but in providing a moral compass for the messy politics of Nepal. He led his life as per his beliefs that materialism was not the answer for all the problems Nepal was facing. Further, that a genuine progress in Nepal would need spiritual enlightenment where people would focus on the quality of life, humor, simple living and appreciating small things, rather than the pursuit of material wealth alone. ambika@alum.mit.edu
Published on 2011-03-20 01:10:43 - MyRepublica

Here is the link to my presentation at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, NM, USA in 2014.

http://web.nmsu.edu/~nesa/talks2014/Ambika_P_Adhikari.pdf

Updates on NRNA’s Open University of Nepal (OUN) Initiative - Published in the Souvenir for 9th NRNA Regional Conference in NJ, Aug 2016

Updates on NRNA’s Open University of Nepal (OUN) Initiative

Dr. Ambika P. Adhikari, Dr. Pramod P. Dhakal, Dr. Drona P. Rasali, Dr. Raju Adhikari

NRNA OUN Task Force, SKI Committee

On July 14, 2016, President of Nepal signed the Open University Nepal (OUN) bill into law. This was a major milestone for the OUN project championed by NRNA in collaboration with the Government of Nepal and several other stakeholders. Other major partners who have played significant role in the mission are Canada Foundation for Nepal (CFFN), Athabasca University, Canada and several other Nepali and international organizations.

The bill establishes OUN as a public university under Government of Nepal, where NRNA as a key partner organization, will have significant representation in its highest governing body

The Nepali government and Nepali academics had envisioned such a university since the 90’s.  Under the Skill, Knowledge and Innovation (SKI) Committee of NRNA, the OUN Task force has been operating since 2010 to take this mission forward and help the Nepali government and academics realize the vision.

What is Open University?

By creating an open admission process, eliminating the need for a pre-requisite degree for admission, allowing flexible time period to complete the course, and offering on-line access to courses, an open university can drastically improve access to higher education for the disadvantaged groups. While the education in an open university will be of high quality with credits that are completely transferable to any top-tier university, it is open for anyone who can pass an entrance examination, and can get admission. Open universities have revolutionized higher education in the world by providing cheaper, easier, convenient, and on-demand higher education to all, especially providing benefits to the communities that are marginalized, poor and living in remote locations.

Creating Support Base in Nepal

NRNA carried out robust partnership with Government of Nepal and stakeholders in Nepal for the past six years to collaboratively advance the OUN initiative.  To assist in the process, NRNA established several task forces and committees and wrote many background papers, business plans, and created national and international partnerships. Also, to further the cause of OUN, in 2012, Nepal government officially formed Open University of Nepal Infrastructure Development Board (OUN-IDB - http://ouidb.edu.np/), which included a member from NRNA in the board. The Board helped further push the initiative towards garnering resources, and preparing the background for introducing the OUN bill in Nepal’s parliament.

Towards making the OUN Bill become a reality, NRNA focused on undertaking the following tasks.

·         Attracting and developing network of diaspora academics and leaders to participate in the OUN mission.

·         Persuading the leaders of the major political parties and members of the parliamentary committee to support the OUN.

·         Lobbying and creating an informal all party committee of parliamentarians in support of OUN Bill and OUN, and organizing regular meetings.

·         Forming a high level team of parliament members, academics, and civil society leaders to actively petition for OUN with active engagement of NRNA.

·         Organizing wide interactions to create awareness and support for OUN among Nepali academics, Diaspora members, Nepali government and political party leaders, Nepali bureaucrats and civil society members.

·         Supporting in the creation and functioning of OUN Infrastructure Development Board.

·         Regularly organizing all-day discussion program on OUN during the NRNA global conventions in Nepal, and during other major Diaspora events in several countries.

These interaction and promotion programs in Nepal were designed to create awareness about the OUN initiative, and to generate support for the initiative among the key stakeholders. The OUN team also organized many group and individual meetings and events with senior government officials, Nepal-based academicians, educationists, business people and potential beneficiaries of OUN.  In addition, OUN proponents in NRNA held numerous meetings with the members of the Parliamentary Committee on Women, Children, Elderly and Social Welfare and the officials of the Ministry of Education to help draft and finalize the bill to establish OUN. 

There were some unexpected delays in getting the OUN Bill approved because of rapid replacements of concerned Nepali government officials, including frequent changes in the government. With the constant push from OUN’s Nepal-based project chair, and with the persistent support from NRNA leadership, and with unyielding support from the government of Nepal, most issues were resolved in due course and the initiative continued to make great progress, and eventually succeeded in legally establishing the OUN.

Mobilizing International Support

The Canadian Nepali Diaspora began the OUN initiative in 2009, and it was formally launched in 2010 during the NRNA regional conference in Houston, USA. To define the project and to create a wide international support, NRNA organized numerous meetings in several international locations including Canada, USA, Korea, Australia and Malaysia to advance the OUN agenda which contributed to garner support, and refine the plans for OUN. As the initial idea came largely from the Canadian Nepali Diaspora, OUN held numerous meetings in many cities in Canada including in Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Calgary, Athabasca and Edmonton. Outside Canada, the meetings were held in many cities including in Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Sydney, Melbourne, Seoul, and Kuala Lumpur. In 2015, OUN Initiative (OUNI) was showcased at the Asian Open Universities Conference in Kuala Lumpur.   

Many international organizations have been consistent supporters of the OUNI. Prime among those has been Alberta-based Athabasca University (Canada’s Open University), which has solidly supported the initiative right from the beginning.  Athabasca continues to provide expert advice, and technical and logistic support. OUN team has held numerous meetings with high officials of Athabasca including its president, vice president, academic managers and the director of distance education. Athabasca University has offered a few pilot courses to students nominated by OUNI. California State (CSU) University in Long Beach, California and University of Houston, Texas have also remained steadfast supporters of the OUN initiative. CSU also helped establish an online library for OUN within its global online library platform Merlot (http://ounl.merlot.org/).

Now the OUN has become a formal and legal entity in Nepal, the NRNA OUN team will redouble its efforts to work with Government of Nepal and other stakeholders to help the Nepal Government successfully implement the project. NRNA and government will work in full swing and seek the support from the Diaspora members and international donors and organizations to help establish and operate the university, maintaining international standards and keeping its doors open for the marginalized and disadvantaged Nepali communities within Nepal and outside.

Greenhouse Gas Mitigation and Climate Change Adaptation: Some Policy Alternatives for Nepal

As published in ADR Commercial Law Journal Nepal, July 2013

Greenhouse Gas Mitigation and Climate Change Adaptation:  Some Policy Alternatives for Nepal

Ambika Prasad Adhikari, Dr. Des., AICP[1]

Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA

Introduction

Many scientists consider climate change to be the most important environmental issue of this century.  Although some controversy lingers about the extent of anthropogenic contribution to global warming, most scientists and experts agree that due to the increased greenhouse gases (GHG)[2] in the atmosphere, earth’s average temperature is gradually rising and the ensuing climate change is causing significant and mostly negative impact on the environment and human population. Various studies show that average global temperatures have already risen by 0.8 degree Celsius over the pre-industrial levels. Scientists estimate that at this rate, the average temperatures are likely to rise by at least about 2 degree Celsius by the end of the century. It is widely believed that a rise of more than 2 degree Celsius in the average global temperature can bring serious adverse impacts to the global ecosystem and human welfare [3].

The nations of the world publicly and seriously acknowledged the threat of climate change in 1992, when 165 countries signed the United Nation Convention of Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Rio de Janeiro. Subsequently, during the third Conference of the Parties (COP) of the UNFCCC in 1997 in Kyoto, Japan, the Kyoto Protocol was signed.  The Kyoto Protocol formalized greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation responsibilities for countries in concrete terms, by which most industrialized countries agreed that by 2012, their GHG emissions will be reduced by at least 5 percent below 1990 levels.

According to the UNFCCC official documents, “the Protocol entered into force on 16 February 2005 in accordance with Article 23, … after the date on which not less than 55 Parties to the UNFCCC, incorporating Parties included in Annex I which accounted in total for at least 55 % of the total carbon dioxide emissions for 1990 of the Parties included in Annex I, have deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession.”[4]

Nepal signed the UNFCCC in 1992 and the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 and has ratified both.  Nepal has taken its obligations seriously, and has been a reliable partner of the international community in finding ways to combat climate change and its impacts.

At the last Conference of Parties (COP) held in Doha, Qatar in November-December 2012, the Kyoto Protocol was not scrapped, but was given a lifeline until 2020. However, Kyoto has been weakened by the withdrawal from the agreement by some key nations including Canada, Japan and Russia, thus diluting its influence. The international community has not been able to establish a firm successor to Kyoto, as they have not been able to agree on any specific targets for reducing the GHG.

Although Nepal is an extremely insignificant emitter of global carbon – releasing less than 0.01 percent of global emissions - it is burdened by a disproportionately high degree of vulnerability to the adverse effects of climate change.  Nepal’s exposures include the possibilities of increased GLOF (Glacial Lake Outburst Floods) phenomenon, the melting of snow-peaked mountains, decrease in agricultural production, increase in vector-borne diseases, loss of important bio-diversity assets, and change in the hydrological cycles and the resulting precipitation effects.  Given her limited financial resources and weak institutional capacity, the changing climate will likely reduce Nepal’s gross domestic product (GDP), increase the society’s disease burden, create environmental problems and cause additional human deaths.

This paper summarizes some potential impacts of climate change for Nepal, and recommends public policy alternatives for adaptation measures to counter the effects of climate change.

GHG Emissions and Carbon Sequestration in Nepal

Several gases contribute to the accentuation of the greenhouse effect in the atmosphere.  Globally, these gases are mostly released from energy generation plants, and manufacturing, transportation, and other industrial activities as well as from land use changes and certain agricultural practices. The Kyoto Protocol regulates the emission of six major global warming gases which were listed earlier, and they are the major anthropogenic contributors to the greenhouse effect leading to climate change.

Most GHG emissions in Nepal result from the activities related to transportation, manufacturing, agriculture and land use change.  The massive deforestation that the country witnessed from the 60’s to the 90’s released a large amount of carbon into the atmosphere.  However, lately, Nepal has been able to reduce the rate of deforestation, and in fact, in some cases actually increase the area of forest cover, thanks largely to the successful and innovative community forestry program, and aggressive efforts by Nepal government to protect and conserve forested areas. According to a joint ADB and ICIMOD report, between 1996 and 2000, Nepal’s forest cover increased from 6.2 million hectares to 6.8 million hectares[5].  This replenished forest area has provided additional carbon sink for sequestering a significant amount of carbon which otherwise would have been emitted to the atmosphere.

  

Potential Impacts of Climate Change in Nepal

The impacts of climate change on the environment, infrastructure, agriculture and society manifest gradually, similar to the long-term impacts of population growth on the environment.  Further, the impacts of climate change on the environment can remain indiscernible for several years.  Their effects become cumulatively exacerbated over time.  Because of this subtle and often unnoticed effect, arresting climate change is a challenge for cash-strapped governments, which have difficulties in justifying it as a priority.  Consequently, the Nepali government is unable to formulate effective policies to control GHG emissions and to adapt to the effects of climate change.  In a poor country like Nepal, the gradual and long-term adverse impacts fail to grab urgent attention when immediate problems including security, health, education, water supply, and localized pollution are highly visible and demand immediate action. The not-so-obvious and gradual impacts of climate change, although severe in the long term, fail to compete with the everyday spectacular problems of underdevelopment.  This is ironic, as the poor countries, including Nepal, are more vulnerable and susceptible to the negative impacts of climate change compared to more developed economies, and importantly have weaker institutional and managerial capacity and lack adequate financial resources to organize effective adaptation programs.

Climate change will adversely affect several sectors in Nepal.  Nepal being a primarily agricultural society, its farmers will more immediately feel the adverse impacts on agriculture, such as, in land productivity and crop yields.  A potential change in the hydrological cycle, for example, an early or late rain fall season, changes in the irrigation pattern and water supply and the changes in pollination and fertilization seasons, and natural biological cycle, can adversely affect the routine agricultural practices that farmers have perfected over the centuries. 

Another area of concern where climate change is likely to negatively affect Nepal is public health through various processes.  Other negative impacts include more frequent flooding, change in weather patterns, and increase in the intensity and frequency of landslides and storms.

GHG Mitigating Strategies and Public Policies

Nepal’s total carbon dioxide emission is estimated to be around 3.2 million metric tons (2006)[6], which is about 0.01 percent of the global emissions.  Although the Kyoto Protocol does not require Nepal, as a developing country, to reduce its GHG emission, and Nepal’s share of the global emission of the GHG is extremely small, any emission reduction will be a good symbolic gesture to show that Nepal cares about global warming. 

Given the globally insignificant GHG emission in Nepal, its emission reduction programs will remain as mainly “feel good” policies. However, Nepal can effectively contribute towards sequestration of atmospheric carbon by drastically accelerating afforestation efforts, optimizing land use policies and improving agricultural practices.  The Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD), a UN supported program being undertaken by the Ministry of Forest in Nepal, in consort with multiple donors, is an encouraging example of reducing emissions. REDD programs work by providing incentives to local residents for the value they put in live forest that stores carbon, which would otherwise be released if the forest is cut, burnt or allowed to decay.

Overall, the most critical policy consideration for Nepal will be in the areas of mitigation, and adaptation to the adverse effects that are likely to occur as the global climate changes.

As a signatory of the Kyoto Protocol, Nepal can earn carbon credits through the clean development mechanism (CDM)[7] window, till the Protocol is in effect.  It can sell them as Certified Emission Reduction units (CER’s)[8] to the countries who cannot meet their own carbon reduction levels.  Nepal is in an excellent position to provide certified carbon credits to companies from Annex I countries, by promoting clean energy projects that reduce the baseline carbon emission.  The Verified Emission Reduction[9] units can also be sold in the global market to offset the incremental cost of enhancing the projects.  The resources saved and generated through these programs could be effectively utilized for adaptation programs. Even a post-Kyoto climate change regime is expected to include some programs by which carbon credits by poorer countries will be compensated financially by richer countries.

Since 2006, Nepal has successfully utilized carbon reduction credits through CDM mechanism by utilizing the credits created by the bio-gas support projects.  This is an excellent example of the potential financial gains Nepal can achieve while developing clean technology for domestic use. Nepal has participated in several other projects related to CDM mechanism.

Among the clean energy alternatives, Nepal has done well on micro- and mini-hydro projects, and has built considerable domestic capacity to design, build and operate such plants. Thanks to the many pioneers in the micro- and mini-hydro arena, Nepal is recognized as a potential provider of technology and training programs to the countries, where the micro- and mini-hydro development is still in its infancy. In addition, Nepal has significant potential in generating clean energy from solar and wind power. Due to the remoteness of the many villages in Nepal, stand-alone solar photovoltaic and off-grid mini and small wind power have a great potential of providing energy while avoiding carbon emissions.

Some Possible Adaptation Policies

The Kyoto Protocol proposes that all countries develop adaptation programs.  It requires[10]:

“Formulate, implement, publish and regularly update national and, where appropriate, regional programs containing measures to mitigate climate change and measures to facilitate adequate adaptation to climate change.”

Because the GHG’s linger in the atmosphere for hundreds of years, even if the world begins to drastically reduce its carbon emission now, the atmospheric carbon concentration will continue to increase[11].  Consequently, an amplified climate change is inevitable, and adaptation measures become imperative to safeguard societies from the many negative effects.  Many locations in Nepal are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change.  These areas include the high altitude settlements, downstream agricultural lands, villages immediately below glacial lakes and settlements near lakes and rivers.  To safeguard against drastic climate impacts, government and other national institutions must establish adaptation measures and develop a hierarchy of adaptation approaches.

The natural system is largely reactive to the environmental changes induced by climate change.  By contrast, human adaptation system can be anticipatory, where several policies can be formulated in advance, and with minimum or even nil net social costs (see figure II).  The so called “no regrets policies” can be incorporated into the menu of adaptive measures the government can formulate.  Such policies can include removal of subsidies in energy production and manufacturing[12], deregulating transportation and electricity markets and investing in research and technology innovation. If these policies are implemented, the net investment cost on climate-related technologies can become zero if the medical, social, and environmental benefits of the changes are accounted for.  Similarly, the “precautionary principle”[13] also recommends the adoption of certain policies even if the actual climatic impacts remain uncertain. As Nepal has poor and scant data related to climate change, policies based on precautionary principles are well suited.

Type of adaptation to climate change
	Anticipatory	Reactive
Natural Systems		·        Change in length of growing season ·        Change in ecosystem composition ·        Wetland mitigation
Human system-private	·        Purchase insurance ·        Construction of home in stilts ·        Redesign of oil rigs	·        Change in farm practices ·        Change in insurance premiums ·        Purchase air conditioning
Human system-public	·        Early warning system ·        New building codes, design standards ·        Incentives to relocation	·        Compensatory payments, subsidies ·        Enforcement of building codes ·        Beach nourishment

Fig II. Types of Adaptation to Climate Change

Source: IPCC, 2001, Presentation Graphics

Human health is likely to be adversely impacted by climate change primarily because of the increase in vector borne diseases. Adaptation policies must attempt to protect human health, eco-systems and the various economic systems in the country. 

Nepal’s fragile eco-system can suffer significant damage due to the added impacts of climate change in addition to the existing environmental stressors. Climate change can negatively affect the economic system due to loss in agricultural productivity, damage to physical infrastructure and cost of relocation for people. Public policies must include building public health capacities in a decentralized manner, creating a public awareness system to educate people of the possible epidemics, and establishing research and other activities to address such public health problems.

In Nepal, agriculture is the most important sector to be protected against the uncertainties due to climate change.  Government can consider several policy options to mitigate climatic impacts on agriculture.  Such policies can include crop insurance, changing of crop patterns, and providing irrigation facilities.  Public policy should also support furthering research on how crops can resist changes in hydrological cycle and increase in ambient temperature and temporal shift in growing season.

Nepal should also build on the age-old farming practices that the indigenous farmers have perfected over time.  The indigenous practices provide resilience and fall back mechanisms to cope with the changing weather cycle.  Many organizations and institutions in Nepal and in the South Asian region have been conducting serious research on indigenous farming practices and their benefit over a fully mechanized farming.  A hybrid system that selects the best and most suitable aspects of modern mechanized farming and the indigenous technology of farming will work best in Nepal.  More research and experiments are necessary in this field.

Conclusions

Although only an insignificant releaser of global GHG, Nepal must continue to play a responsible role in the global efforts to arrest the emission of such gases.  Nepal will benefit from the Kyoto Protocol and is likely to have beneficial opportunities even in a post-Kyoto climate regime.  It should actively participate in international programs that encourage carbon sequestration and gaining emission credits such as Kyoto’s CDM mechanism, UN-REDD and several multilateral carbon credit-for-cash programs, so that it can garner economic benefits while supporting the objectives of the protocol. The resources and opportunities thus generated can sustain several climate adaptation programs in Nepal.

Nepal must consider several useful policy options that provide the country with cost effective means of producing clean energy.  Expansion of the already strong mini- and micro-hydro power generation, and promotion of solar and wind energy will greatly help Nepal in its efforts to provide clean energy to the scattered population while abating carbon emissions. Further, it must build environmentally sound infrastructure projects.  Nepal must enhance its afforestation and reforestation programs to increase the carbon sink capacity so that it can earn additional certified carbon credits for potential sales to global bidders.

Research on indigenous farming system and integrating them to the modern agricultural practices will be useful for developing appropriate adaptation mechanism for Nepali agriculture. It is also imperative for Nepal to invest resources in education and information dissemination related to the GHG, climate change and related mitigation and adaptation techniques and programs.  As a highly vulnerable, largely mountainous, and primarily an agrarian society, Nepal must be proactive in enhancing its institutional and social capacity to deal with the gradual threat emanating from climate change.

References:

1. ADB,  ICIMOD and Government of Nepal (2006), Environmental Assessment of Nepal
2. Adger, W. N et al, 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in M.L. Parry, et al, Eds., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 717-743.
3. Agrawala S, and V. Rasamurthi, et al, (2003), Development and Climate Change in Nepal: Focus on Water Resources and Hydropower, OECD.
4. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC), 2001, Working Group II: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability
5. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC), 2007, Fourth Assessment Synthesis Report
6. Munasinghe, M., and R. Swart, (2005), Primer on Climate Change and Sustainable Development, Cambridge University Press.
7. Scheraga, J, and A. Grambsch, (1998), Risk, Opportunities and Adaptation to Climate Change, Climate Research, December 10, 1998
8. UNEP and WMC, (2002), Mountain Watch
9. UNFCCC (1992), United National Climate Change Framework Convention text.
10. UNFCCC (1997), Kyoto Protocol text.
11. World Bank (2010), World Development Report: Development and Climate Change.

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[1] The author is Sr. Sustainability Scientist, and Faculty Associate at Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA. Contact e-mail: Ambika.adhikari@asu.edu

[2] Greenhouse gases (GHGs): These are released because of human activity and are responsible for global warming and ultimately for climate change. The six gases listed in Annex A of the Kyoto Protocol are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N20), and, hydro fluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6).

[3] World Bank (2010), World Development Report: Development and Climate Change.

[4] UNFCCC Website, http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/status_of_ratification/items/2613.php, accessed on October 09, 2012.

[5] Environmental Assessment of Nepal, ADB, ICIMOD and Government of Nepal (2006).http://www.adb.org/media/Articles/2006/10001-Nepal-environment/

[6] Source: World Bank data on Trading Economic.  Accessed on March 25, 2011. http://www.tradingeconomics.com/nepal/co2-emissions-kt-wb-data.html

[7] Clean Development Mechanism (CDM): It is provided by Article 12 of the Kyoto Protocol, and is meant to financially help developing countries towards sustainable development. CDM permits industrialized countries to finance projects in developing countries, which can receive credits for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

[8] Certified Emission Reductions (CERs): A unit of greenhouse gas emission reductions issued pursuant to the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol, and measured in metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.

[9] Verified Emission Reductions (VERs): A unit of greenhouse gas emission reductions that has been verified by an independent auditor, but that has not yet undergone the procedures of verification, certification and issuance of CERs (in the case of the CDM) or Equivalent Reduction Units (EURs) in the case of Joint implementation) under the Kyoto Protocol.

[10] Kyoto Protocol, protocol text. Article 10 (b).

[11] The CO2 concentration in the atmosphere in November 2012 is estimated to be 392.2  parts per million by volume (ppmv) (http://co2now.org/). Many studies predict that the CO2 concentration is likely to reach 500 ppmv by as early as 2030.

[12] This is a somewhat tricky area. For several forms of clean energy, such as solar and wind, an initial governmental subsidy may be advisable, and in fact needed, to help these programs compete in the market with a view of making them self-sustaining after a short period.

[13] “The precautionary principle says that the lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as an excuse to postpone action when there is a threat of serious or irreversible damage.” UNFCC 1992