ABSTRACT AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS IN THE KATHMANDU VALLEY OF NEPAL by Himamshu Ghimire This practicum is about the environmental situation in the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal. In particular, it describes the deteriorating environmental conditions caused by air pollution, solid waste, and inadequate water supply. It also describes the impact of these deteriorating environmental conditions on the health of the local residents of the valley. In addition to an assessment of the environmental problems and its affects, this report attempts to analyze the issue of environmental sustainability in the Kathmandu valley regarding the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals of 2015. As such, this report is slated to be a reference for the people interested to know the environmental situation of the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal. AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS IN THE KATHMANDU VALLEY OF NEPAL A Practicum Report Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Miami University in Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of Master in Environmental Sciences Institute of Environmental Sciences by Himamshu Ghimire Miami University Oxford, Ohio 2008 Advisor _____________________________ Dr. Adolph M. Greenberg Reader _____________________________ Dr. Sandra Woy Hazleton Reader _____________________________ Dr. Mark Stephan Walsh Table of Contents List of Tables iii List of Figures iv Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Chapter 2: Goal and Objectives 10 Chapter 3: Air 12 Background 12 Causes and Sources of Air Pollution 13 Pollutant Types 16 Impacts 17 Discussion 19 Measures 21 Chapter 4: Solid Waste 24 Background 24 Cause 25 Volume and Types of Waste 25 Collection and Disposal 26 Impacts 31 Areas to Improve 33 Measures 33 Chapter 5: Water 36 Background 36 Water Sources 36 Water Production 38 Water Distribution System 40 Water Demand and Production Capacity 41 Water Quality 41 Impacts 42 Future Water Need 44 Discussion 48 Chapter 6: Conclusion 51 References 55 ii List of Tables Table 3.1 Pollution in the ambient air of the Kathmandu Valley Table 5.1 Water Production Capacity and Demand in the Kathmandu Valley, 1999-2004 Table 5.2 Persons affected by Waterborne Diseases in the Kathmandu Valley in 2002 Table 5.3 Projected Population in the Kathmandu Valley by 2015 Table 5.4 Water Demand and Production Capacity 1999-2004 iii List of Figures Fig. 1.1. Country Map, Nepal Fig. 1.2. Kathmandu Valley Fig. 1.3. Satellite Map of the Kathmandu Valley Fig. 1.4. Kathmandu Valley World Heritage Sites Fig. 1.5. Krishna Mandir (Temple) is one of the World Heritage Sites in the valley Fig. 1.6. A glimpse of Kathmandu Durbar Square- another World Heritage Site Fig. 1.7. Population Growth in the Kathmandu Valley, 1952-2001 Fig. 1.8. Satellite Images for 1967 (Left) and 2001 (Right) Source Fig. 1.9. Typical view of a residential area in the Kathmandu Valley Fig. 1.10. Traffic congestion in the valley Fig. 1.11. Solid waste is collected from the street due to limited collection facility. Fig. 1.12. River, a source for drinking water, is highly polluted. Fig. 1.13. Water shortage has caused use of untreated groundwater from wells. Fig. 3.1. Services such as sewers requires road digging, a major source of dusts in the ambient air of the Kathmandu Valley. Fig. 3.2. Growth in the motor-vehicle numbers in the valley Fig. 3.3. Projection in Motor vehicles’ number Fig. 3.4. Traffic Congestion Fig. 3.5. Transportation vehicular includes large number of two-wheelers. Fig. 3.6. Diesel Trucks account for high emission of toxins Fig. 3.7. Emissions from brick kilns are a significant source of air pollution in the Kathmandu Valley Fig. 4.1. Collection of household waste Fig. 4.2. Waste collected from households usually end up on the roadside. Fig. 4.3. There is also a waste collection centre at Teku Fig. 4.4. Containers have been provided at few places iv Fig. 4.5. Waste leftover on the roadside. Fig. 4.6. The landfill site at Sisdol Fig. 4.7. Waste thus accumulated is a source of pollution for dust too Fig. 4.8. Waste are also dumped on the riversides near to Maitidevi, Kathmandu Fig. 5.1. The Bagmati River nearby of its origin Fig. 5.2. A view of the Bagmati River Fig. 5.3. Desilting Basin- one of the components of water treatment plant at Sundarijal Fig. 5.4. Tankers are used when to supply water wherever supply is acute. Fig. 5.5. Water distribution main line Fig. 5.6. Rivers are highly polluted due to flow of untreated industrial effluents and domestic sewerages Fig. 5.7. Population Projection based on CBS 2003b v 1 Introduction Kathmandu Valley is the capital region of Nepal, a small country in Southern Asia. The northern side of the country is bounded by the Himalayan Mountains, which separate the country from China, and the remaining three sides are bordered by India (Central Intelligence Agency 2007). Covering an area of 650 sq. km, the valley has bowl shaped topography and is located at 1300 Average Mean Sea Level (amsl). It comes under the jurisdiction of three governmental districts - Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur (International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development 2007). Fig. 1.1. Country Map, Nepal (Source: CIA 2007)) The Kathmandu Valley is endowed with fertile soil and rich forests. The weather is moderate (25-30 oC) even during the months of summer. In winter, the mercury regularly 1 registers below freezing, but snowfall is rare, falling for the first time in six decades during the winter of 2006 (British Broadcasting Corporation 2007). The valley gets reasonably high rainfall during the summer months, June to September, due to monsoonal effect and is one of few areas in the country with a high annual precipitation rate (Ichiyanagi et al. 2007). Fig. 1.2. Kathmandu Valley map published by International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) (Source: ICIMOD 2007) Fig. 1.3. Satellite Map of the Kathmandu Valley (Source: Google 2008) 2 The Kathmandu Valley is famous all over the world for its traditional art, and architecture. It is one of the well-known pilgrimage centers for both the Hindu and Buddhist cultures. It was an area of early settlement and boasts many ancient temples and stupas. The first groups to reign in the valley were the Kirats who ruled from 625 BC to 100 AD. However, chronicles suggest that human activities in the valley date back to 2000 years prior to the Kirats (Thapa 2008, 46). After the Kirats, the Lichhavis ruled in the valley from100 AD to 1000 AD and then the Mallas took over and reigned until the Shahs, the Monarchs of modern Nepal, defeated them in 1768 (Thapa 2008, 46). Prior to the Mallas, settlement took place in and around the Pashupatinath Temple- one of the most famous Hindu shrines. Later, settlement flourished in other parts of the valley. During the Mallas’ reign, from 1200- 1768, the valley saw the construction of a number of architectural marvels that included temples, stupas (monasteries), and squares (Spodek 2002). The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has recognized several of them (Fig. 1.4.) as World Heritage Sites (UNESCO 2007). Fig. 1.4. World Heritages Sites, Kathmandu Valley (Source: KMC 2008) 3 Fig. 1.5. Krishna Mandir (Temple) is one of the World Heritage Sites in the valley (Photo By: H. Ghimire) Fig. 1.6. A glimpses of Kathmandu Durbar Square- another World Heritage Site (Photo By: H. Ghimire) 4 Although it was always a population center, the landscape of the Kathmandu Valley completely changed in the 20th century. From the 1980s on, the size and nature of the valley’s urban area expanded exponentially. In 1985, according to then Ministry of Population and Environment (MoPE), there were 17 squatter settlements with a total population of 3,000 (MoPE 1999). By 1998, approximately 6,300 hectares of fertile and productive agricultural land had been lost due to urbanization and industrialization. At that time it was estimated by MoPE that half of the valley’s agricultural land would be lost to urban sprawl by 2010 (MoPE 1999). In the last half of the 20 th century, the urban population in the Kathmandu Valley had grown by almost five times between 1952 and 2001 (Fig. 1.7) (CBS 2003b; Pradhan 2004). The surge in the population is attributed largely to the migration of people from rural areas of the country into the valley. The fundamental reason is that the capital of the country is located in the valley. Thus with most of the decision-making government functionaries located there, people found it more convenient to settle down in the valley itself and conduct activities and business. Pupulation Growth in the Kathmandu Valley, 1952-2001 1,200,000 1,000,000 800,000 600,000 400,000 Population, no. Population, 200,000 0 1952 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 Years Fig. 1.7. Population Growth in the Kathmandu Valley, 1952-2001 (Source: CBS 2003b) In addition, Kathmandu Valley offered amenities such as educational and health care facilities, which the people from rural Nepal did not find in their local villages. Along with educational and health care facilities, the valley also offered work opportunities in sectors such as manufacturing, trade or business, tourism, transport, and other services. Therefore, the attraction of employment opportunities and centralized government functionaries caused large- scale migration to the valley in the 1980s (Pradhan 2004). 5 Fig. 1.8. Satellite Images for 1967 (Left) and 2001 (Right) (Source: Haack and Rafter 2006) Migration of people to the Kathmandu Valley continued in the 1990s. In addition to the employment opportunities and government services, the influx of people to the valley was increasing due to the armed conflict started by the Maoists in mid 1990 (Upreti 2006).