Climate Change and vulnerable Yaks in Nepal Himalayas- Humla Study

Climate Change and vulnerable Yaks in Nepal Himalayas- Humla Study

It was very nice to attain presentation by Ms. Renu Shakya and Mr. Sidhi Bahadur Bajracharya at ECCA hall about the impacts of CC to the Yak population and to the livelihood of the Himalayan people. According to their study, one of the main reason behind declination of number of Yak is Tibau; an unidentified disease that kills Yak very sudden. The symptoms of this disease are-

1.          Yak stops eating grasses
2.       Rise in body temperature of the Yak
3.         Increase in rate of the Heart beat 

Finally, the Yak gets killed by the disease.

According them, local people believe that the disease used to attack the Yaks in lower altitude in past but now spread in their place also and the disease cannot attack the Hybrid Yak.  Researchers think that, the reason behind the spreading of Tibau at that altitude may be temperature rise in the Himalayan region. 

They integrated the data obtained from questionnaire survey, FGD with climate data and census data and used different accepted tests to draw the conclusion. They have been collecting the tissue samples of the dead yak by Tibau which may give further information about spreading of the disease and the relation of the disease with the climate and temperature.

The Bhotae people in that region who used to rely on Yak for their livelihood but now started to cut down the tree and export log to Tibet.  This is causing immense pressure on ecosystem.

There is no army check post in the border with china. There is regular flight of Nepal Airlines (NA) and Nepal Army post in the Simikot. The study region lies at three days walking distance from simikot and there is rare helicopter flight to the region.

 It’s very nice initiative and really appreciable job done by them. I will be pleased to read their full report soon. It needs further intensive research in the region by using the more scientific tools/method.

School/College Recycling Hub

Reusing keeps new resources from being used for a while longer, and old resources from entering the waste stream. It's as important as it is unglamorous. It’s time to think about how we can do it more.

Before recycling or disposing anything, it’s time to consider whether it has life left in it. A jam jar can store leftovers. Food scraps can become compost. An old shirt can become a pajama top. An opened envelope can become a shopping list. A magazine can be shared. DVDs can be traded. A dishwasher can be repaired. A computer can be upgraded. A car can be resold. A cell phone can be donated. Returnable bottles can be, well... returned.

According to the findings of the Environment Statistics of Nepal 2013 published by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) alone generated 457 metric tons of solid waste per day in the fiscal year 2012-2013 which is 70 percent of the total waste generated in country and of the total solid waste generated on a daily basis inside KMC, 63.2 percent is organic while plastic, paper, and glass constitute 10.8, 9 and 5.4 percent of the solid waste respectively. The significant rise in solid wastes inside KMC has not only contributed to environmental and social challenges such as river pollution, lack of landfill site and deplorable local environment, but has also caused huge economic loss to the government authorities due to their inability to properly manage solid wastes. In the case of Kathmandu, the majority of public seem ignorant about proper management of solid waste that could have helped the city to mitigate the challenging solid waste problem.

Youths are the agents of the change. The role of youths has been strengthening in current scenario. The role of schools/Colleges has broadened over the years as awareness of the importance of Reuse and recycling has deepened. Many programs have been established to teach youths to be responsible for their carbon footprint.

Youth Alliance for Environment (YAE) conducted ‘Training on school/college recycling hub' in five different schools/colleges namely ‘Durga Bhawani Academy, Dhumbarahei’, ‘Ankur Padawi Sikhya Sadan, Gongabu’, ‘Kadambari Memorial College, Baneshwor’, ‘Tri-Chandra Multiple Campus, Ghantaghar’ and ‘Thames international College, Old-Baneshwor’. There were 40 participants in each college/school on the training on college/School recycling hub.

I started the training by explaining the current scenario of the waste, percentage of degradable waste in Kathmandu and the contribution of paper utilization for current environment problems. I discussed about 3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) principle.  I pointed that the utilization of paper waste in different useful products also represents the storage of carbon for that period.

The students made two different products ‘paper mat’ and ‘paper pen holder’ in each group with the direct instruction of the trainer at their school. Meanwhile, they knew to make other paper products like paper bags, paper carpet, Paper chess board, large paper holders etc.  

The trainer also explained about the national and international scenario of the paper products, awards etc. It was great chance to learn with fun.

Ride for Climate; David Kroodsma and Lindsey in Kathmandu, Nepal

Ride for Climate; David Kroodsma and Lindsey Fransen in Kathmandu, Nepal

David Kroodsma and Lindsey Fransen were here at City Museum at Kathmandu, Nepal on 6th December, 2014. They had nice and short presentation about their journey among the participants; most were youths. 

It was very nice to attend the program.

Here are some clips by me at the program. 

मध्यपहाडी क्षेत्रमा पोखरीको महत्व

                       

              मध्यपहाडी क्षेत्रमा पोखरीको महत्व

तल्लो तटिय क्षेत्रमा बर्षभरी पानिको बहाब नियन्त्रण गर्ने भएकाले  मध्यपहाडी क्षेत्रका पोखरीहरुले कृृषि,वनजङगल,पानि आदिमा प्रत्यक्ष प्रभाब पारिरहेका हन्छन ।

 Gosaikunda

Fishing

Rukmini Taal/ Kamal Daha by Panorami