Nepal 2030: A Vision for Peaceful and Prosperous Nation 1 [Nepal 2030: A Vision for Peaceful and Prosperous Nation] Edited by Sagar Raj Sharma Bishnu Raj Upreti Kailash Pyakuryal Published by South Asia Regional Coordination Office of the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR North-South) and Department of Development Studies, Kathmandu University Citation: Sharma SR, Upreti BR and Pyakuryal K (eds.). 2012. Nepal 2030: A Vision for Peaceful and Prosperous Nation. Kathmandu: South Asia Regional Coordination Office of the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR North-South) and Department of Development Studies, Kathmandu University. Copyright © 2012 SAS RCO-NCCR North-South, Kathmandu and Department of Development Studies, Kathmandu University All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-9937-8174-6-2 Subsidised price: NRs. 400/- Layout/cover design: Jyoti Khatiwada Printed by: Heidel Press Pvt. Ltd. Dillibazar, Kathmandu Cover sketch: Prakash Budha Magar Disclaimer: The content and materials presented in this book are of the respective authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR North-South) or the Department of Development Studies, Kathmandu University. The editors of the book Nepal 2030: A Vision for Peaceful and Prosperous Nation acknowledge support from the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) North-South, co-funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the participating institutions. 6 Acknowledgements This book is the third in the series of the publications that have come out as a result of the collaborative research between the Human and Natural Resources Studies Centre at the Department of Development Studies of Kathmandu University and the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) North-South. The prior two publications were “Nepal: Transition to Transformation” and “The Remake of a State: Post-conflict Challenges and State Building in Nepal”, published in 2008 and 2010, respectively. After those two publications, the editors of this book had several rounds of prolonged discussions, albeit occasional and informal, regarding the nature of the third publication. Although there was a strong temptation to publish research-papers, we felt that as academicians and researchers we also had the responsibility to look forward – that is, look into the future and envision a better and prosperous nation. We thought it would be exciting to have a platform for experts of various fields where they could, based on their respective research and experiences look twenty years ahead and envision what could be waiting for us then. It was thus decided that we would first organize a national seminar titled “Envisioning Nepal in 2030” and ask various experts to share their vision- based perspective. That seminar was held in Kathmandu in June 2010, from which many of the chapters in this book were developed, but there are also a few other chapters written specifically for this book. We would, thus, like to start by expressing our most sincere appreciation to the individual authors of the chapters of this book, all renowned experts in their respective fields, for not only going through several rounds of revisions of their respective chapters but also, more importantly, sharing with us and the public their vision for Nepal in 2030. As in any other such work, we have received much help and assistance from many of our friends and colleagues in preparing this book. Our special gratitude goes to the students of the Department of Development Studies at Kathmandu University and the staff of NCCR North- South i Regional Coordination Office in Kathmandu for helping us voluntarily in not only organizing the seminar but also in rapporteuring and compiling various documents. Special appreciation goes to Ms. Lalita Pandey and Mr. Siddhi Manandhar for skilfully overseeing the proceedings of the overall seminar. Ms. Surakshya Dhakal provided us with valuable comments and suggestions during the initial stage of preparing the chapters for this book, for which we are thankful to her. We express our most sincere appreciation to Professor Dr. Jaya Raj Awasti for going through the whole book are editing the language of the entire volume. Finally, we are grateful to all the reviewers for providing their valuable inputs and suggestions during the compilation of this volume. We look forward to receiving constructive comments from all our readers. The Editors June 2012, Kathmandu ii About the book The empires of the future are empires of the mind. — Winston Churchill Determine that the thing can and shall be done and then we shall find the way. — Abraham Lincoln The above two quotes from two of the most prominent leaders this world has seen have put it quite succinctly. Their messages are loud and clear – that only those who dare to dream can have the dream realized. That is exactly what we have attempted to do in this volume – to dream about a peaceful and prosperous nation. Nepal has been experimenting with planned development for more than six decades now, but the results have not been entirely positive. During the same period, this country has gone through tremendous and very visible political, social and economic changes. But there still remain various socio-economic problems and political uncertainties. Poverty, social inequities, and insecurities are still the most challenging issues the people as well as the policy makers face today. What can be done about this situation? What roles can politicians, civil society members, academicians, entrepreneurs, private sector actors, educationists, practitioners, and indeed people from every background play to improve this situation? A lot. There are many things to be done and be accomplished in Nepal. And everybody can contribute from her or his respective social as well as professional position. And how does one begin in this mission? One begins with discussing ideas, having a vision, and looking to the future. That is exactly what we have attempted to do in this volume. The articles in this volume are written by practitioners and experts of respective fields who have dared to vision a prosperous and stable Nepal by the year 2030. Despite the ongoing social uncertainties and political instabilities Nepal is facing amidst the post-conflict transition that is taking place, these authors believe that a brighter future is very much attainable if we act wisely, swiftly and boldly. At this juncture in Nepal’s history, when the policy makers of this country are discussing and debating how to build iii a ‘New Nepal’, we thought it would be very timely to bring into public debate some of the visions of the people who are outside the political sphere but are actively contributing from their respective positions to build a prosperous Nepal. While we collectively work towards building this fragile country into a strong and secure nation, we hope that the articles in this book will at least make the readers dream about some possibilities and aspire towards translating these dreams into realities. The book contains altogether ten chapters in different fields. The themes covered in this volume are very important for any nation’s development, but we definitely do not claim that this is an exhaustive list of sectors that are needed for a country’s prosperous future. There are many other equally crucial fields one could think of while envisioning a prosperous Nepal by 2030, such as energy, health, governance and administration, natural resources management in the context of federal structure, biodiversity and medicinal herbs, and so on, but we were not able to include them in this volume for several reasons. Nevertheless, we believe that the chapters in this volume cover issues, which, if given proper attention, can definitely show us the path towards a much brighter future. The volume opens up with a very broad chapter by Sagar Raj Sharma, who has articulated in a very positive tone about the various possibilities Nepal has in order to become an economically prosperous nation. Among so many possibilities, he singles out land, tourism, hydropower, and financial sectors that have the potentialities of taking this country towards a much stronger future, both socially and economically, by 2030. Sharma argues that once these sectors are developed, Nepal will develop the capacity to take advantage of the growth of both India and China, thereby being in a good position to integrate itself into the world economy. The book then goes onto addressing specific themes from Chapter Two, in which Sanjay Khanal opines that as Nepal is highly blessed by nature, there is a huge possibility to advance and progress by effective utilization of science and technology and determining the areas of national priorities that contribute to economic growth and education, as done by many other countries. What matters most is our commitment to do so. Bhola Thapa, Bhupesh Adhikary and Binod Aryal give a vivid picture of the current state of transportation in Nepal in Chapter Three and show us how the current planning and implementation of rules are at the same time iv giving rise to new sets of problems for building a more secure and reliable transportation system in the country. But they also show us, equally aptly and with a strong analysis, that it is indeed possible to develop a much more secure, reliable and efficient transportation system in the country by 2030, if proper planning and strict implementation of rules are taken place. In Chapter Four, Santa Bahadur Pun discusses rather comprehensibly, through his rich experience of having worked in the sector, issues surrounding water resources and hydropower development from the perspective of institutional arrangements, governance structure and bilateral treaties between Nepal and India. Pun argues that although Nepal has a sound Water Resources Strategy and National Water Plan, in order to cater to the needs of changing times, the institutions and plans may require some tinkering.