HIMALAYAN CIRCULAR ECONOMY FORUM Round Table Discussion 29 August, 2019
Proceeding Report
PARTICIPANTS
• Suman Shakya, Co-Founder, SmartPaani
• Anouk Tamrakar Versteeg, Co-Founder, Timro Concept Store
• Sunil Chitrakar, CEO, Mahaguthi- CraT with Conscience
• Bhushan Tuladhar, Chief Technical Advisor, South Asia, UN-HABITAT
• Umesh Chandra Rai, CEO, YeP Airlines
• Jagdish Khadka, Vice President, Movers and Shakers
• Arnico Panday, Advisory Board Member, Nepal Economic Forum
• Joshua Shumshere Leslie, Founder, DataMoon • Kushal Gurung, Founder, WindPower Nepal • Maarten Nijhof, Managing Director, Biocomp Nepal • Nabin Bikash Maharjan, CEO and Co-Founder, Blue Waste to Value • Narendra PrajapaP, Hotel Entrepreneur • Nirajan Ghimire, Co-Founder, Green Road Waste Management Pvt. Ltd. • Nitesh Sharma, Founder, Dhaasoo • Raghavendra Mahto, Co-Founder, Doko Recyclers • Ramesh Bhushal, Nepal Editor, www.thirdpole.net
MODERATOR:
INTRODUCTION As South Asia undergoes a signiďŹ cant and swiT wave of change in terms of climate change and the economy, major challenges have been anPcipated for its sustainable growth. The transiPon from a linear to a circular economy oers a soluPon to this through t h e i n t e g ra P o n o f e c o n o m i c a c P v i t y a n d environmental well-being. In this context, as part of its new iniPaPve Himalayan Circular Economy Forum (HiCEF), Nepal Economic Forum (NEF) organized a round table discussion on 29 August 2019 with various stakeholders to gain insights on this fostering economic system and its translaPon in Nepal. The discussion commenced with opening remarks from Sujeev Shakya, Chairperson, Nepal Economic Forum. It was followed by a three-round discussion which was moderated by Arnico Panday, Advisory Board Member, Nepal Economic Forum. The key themes of the discussion were: IntroducPon to Circular Economy, Circular Economy in Nepal and HiCEF in the coming days.
Likewise, Umesh Chandra Rai menPoned that the circular approach can only be achieved if we act locally, wherein we
KEY THEMES IntroducIon to Circular Economy The circular concept of take-makereuPlise is a must for the sustainability of business and human civilizaPon. Without this, the systemaPc transiPon from a linear economy to a circular one seems almost impossible. In this background, Sujeev Shakya cited that the Himalayan region should look at its economy from a circular perspecPve where there is recycling, reusing and u p s c a l i n g a t va r i o u s l e v e l s o f
import less and support naPve entrepreneurs. DomesPc producPon of goods and services ensures that the various people “Transition from a linear to a involved in the circular system extract circular economy can only be maximum use from such goods Pll
achieved when there is recycling, reusing and upscaling at various levels of production. Furthermore, efforts should also be applied in prolonging or pushing the life of a product instead of discarding it after its use.”
producPon. Any increase in our per capita income adversely increases our material consumpPon and its subsequent waste producPon. Hence, he stressed upon the need to establish a new paradigm where the end products of used materials and resources do not always land up being treated as unusable scraps.
the point where further uPlizaPon is not abainable. Nitesh Sharma claimed that there is a fine line between wants and needs and that right now, the issues in the linear
economy are arising due to excess wants and demands. This is where the importance of prolonging the life of a product through processes of upcycling and refurbishing comes in, thereby pushing the economy towards the lines of sustainability. For Marteen Nijhof, a circular economy is a posiPve concept where with the usage of right design and materials, viable products could be produced without harming the environment.
Sunil Chitrakar said that circular economy is essenPally about idenPfying resources which are sustainable and adding value to the end products that consumers use. He also added that, in the internal chain, the stakeholders are obliged to take
anything can be recycled or reused. Many materials have no alternaPve use at the recycling factory. Hence, some incenPves to supplement the process of recycling should come from the manufacturing or distribuPng units as they are
responsibility along with sharing of the beneďŹ ts. Without this, there would always be an unsebled disparity between the ones who create the mess and the ones who bear the cost of it.
the major enPPes that are generaPng these products which have no alternate use.
Ramesh Bhushal menPoned that awareness without alternaPve is not the soluPon that Nepal currently needs, as without a solid alternaPve to replace the current system, any transiPon or push towards sustainability would end up in fuPle results. He also insisted on creaPng an amenable
Nepal has the potenPal required to reach a circular economy. However, a lot of problems exist for its perfect implementaPon. On a local level, Nepal lacks required policies
environment where the manufacturing bodies are compelled to coordinate amongst themselves regarding the extended producer responsibility, as doing so would ensure the proper recovery of the valuables and reusable resources. In the ďŹ eld of recycling, Raghavendra Mahto said that recyclers face new and dierent challenges everyday as not everything and
Circular Economy in Nepal
that can help us strive towards a circular economy. Given the context, the discussion revolved around the challenges and opportuniPes along with the current pracPces of the circular economy in Nepal. Joshua Shumshere Leslie started the discussion menPoning the biggest challenge for Nepal is that Nepal does not have the required resources, technical experPse and the ability to
adopt such a complex economy. In addiPon, when the implementaPon of policies is not as efficient, trying to make a transiPon towards a circular economy could be a big challenge for the private sector. On the other hand, Sunil Chitrakar also
Sujeev Shakya acknowledged that keeping consumpPon and problems at the center can also create the required opportuniPes for a circular economy.
menPoned that Nepal required government intervenPons as the proper implementaPon of a circular economy requires collaboraPon between different actors and stakeholders involved in this process. Along the same line, Maarten Nijhof also emphasized the need to further empower the private
“Lack of resources, technical experIse, ability and the moIvaIon to adopt circular pracIces stand as the biggest challenges in the move towards a circular economy in Nepal. However, understanding the different components of the circle; addressing excess consumpIon through processes like reducing, reusing and recycling; and developing circular pracIces in alignment with consumer needs can be some of the crucial steps in creaIng required opportuniIes for a circular economy in Nepal.”
sector to adopt global pracPces with regard to the circular economy. As for the opportuniPes of the circular economy in Nepal, the discussion highlighted some of the key areas where further work could be done. Joshua Shumshere Leslie and Jagdish Khadka echoed for the need for a beber mechanism to strengthen reusing and recycling since these are two of the most important components of a circular economy. Through proper segregaPon of wastes, opportuniPes can be created in order to truly move towards a circular economy. Similarly,
CiPng examples of the current pracPces of circular economy, Suman Shakya voiced that water is at the center of the circle, and added that amongst many pracPces, rainwater
harvesPng has been one of our most important age-old circular pracPce. Bhushan Tuladhar further added that the circular economy has always been ingrained in the tradiPonal Nepali culture. However, he emphasized upon the need to exemplify modern circular pracPces, such as electric vehicle usage through leaders in order to drive the consumers towards circular pracPces. However, exemplifying alone will not be able to bring the intended results. This is why Sunil Chitrakar menPoned that the current pracPces have to be aligned with consumer needs so that waste can be reduced and sustainability can be promoted. The implementaPon of a circular economy, thus, requires a joint effort from all the stakeholders viewing the issue from different lenses.
HiCEF in the coming days HiCEF, the first of its kind, aimed to bring about key discussions surrounding the circular economy in the country. Given the context where Nepal is moving towards a circular economy, organizing and carrying forward forums like these are essenPal. In this background, the speakers discussed and
voiced the role of HiCEF and its involvement in the coming days. Raghavendra Mahto iniPated the discussion by menPoning that HiCEF stands as an exemplary pladorm in bringing stakeholders from different streams working for the same moPve i.e. circular economy and starPng discussions on issues related to the subject. In the same manner, Umesh Chandra Rai and Suman Shakya also supported the knowledge-sharing role played by HiCEF in bringing together different actors involved in the sector. However, Kushal Gurung opined that in a federal Nepal, where each Per of the government (including Mayors, Ward Presidents, etc) can be quesPoned if the works are not completed, the real challenge is regarding enforcement. This is where HiCEF can act as a bridge by increasing parPcipaPon of local representaPves and awarding ciPzens at all levels of the government. More simply, HiCEF can aid in starPng the momentum for all the efforts being put in for the circular economy. Further, in the words of Nitesh Sharma, HiCEF would pin-point the
respecPve roles of each entrepreneur and specify the services to be provided within a circular economy in the forthcoming days. This would help in idenPfying the overlaps and creaPng further opportuniPes.
“HiCEF stands as an exemplary plaXorm in corralling different stakeholders working for the same moIve i.e. circular economy and starIng discussions on issues related to the subject, so that policy development around the viability and implementaIon of circular pracIces in Nepal can ensue.”
Meanwhile, for Bhushan Tuladhar, the gradual adopPon of electric vehicles by customers is an indicaPon of the movement towards a circular economy. That is why ensuring that economic systems are designed to maximize this process where resources travel in a circular path and bringing in
sustainable modes of mobility is essenPal. Along the lines of sustainability, Sunil Chitrakar also pointed out the importance of pladorms like HiCEF to encourage changed lifestyle and behavior that provide soluPons to the material economy and the wastes generated in such an economy. Moreover, from a consumer’s perspecPve, Ramesh Bhushal proposed that HiCEF could push discussions between the developing and under-developed ciPes where the circular economy has been adopted and use the stark contrasts to drive comparisons between the two. This could help make an impact and also gather focus on policy development around the same. In the coming days, learning and moving deeper into the sector through HiCEF can help boost Nepal’s shiT towards a circular economy.
CONCLUDING REMARKS BY ARNICO PANDAY Nepal, today, has a number of companies and entrepreneurs who are working in the field of circular economy. In addiPon to this, there are growing masses of audience interested in learning and parPcipaPng in the discussions related to the circular economy. Thus, this transiPon and transformaPon is a catalyPc source for creaPng a more inclusive and more circular market. In terms of the core of a circular economy, a larger debate is around what exactly are the components incorporated in it. Arnico Panday encapsulated these queries and ended the panel by emphasizing that a circular economy is much more than a circle and entails a lot of complexiPes as well as components within it. The ulPmate key is to bring in discourses around the different components such as energy, water, and others, and also to idenPfy and get a hold of the government actors who can take it forward responsibly. Likewise, the importance of extending the circle of people and stakeholders involved in the circular economy was also stressed.
Key takeaways from the discussion: • A circular economy is essenPally about developing the circle of an economy while examining the most relatable meaning it holds for Nepal’s context and the challenges it brings forth. • Delving upon the queries and concepts regarding the funcPonality of the circular economy in Nepal has to be prioriPzed in order to push the economy towards a circular growth. • AcPvaPng the actors in the circular economy space through these forums is imperaPve so that new layers of business leaders and enterprises based on the circular economy can be prompted to come forward.