Environment

ENVIRONMENT ENVIRONMENT

The nationwide lockdown imposed to control the spread of COVID-19 pandemic has led to an improvement in the air quality of major cities. While a plan on improving the air quality of the capital has been approved that intends to replace old vehicles with electric vehicles, the budget of FY 2020/21 paints a different picture. With an increase in duties on electric vehicles by 80%, their demand is expected to be curtailed. From June to mid-August, the country witnessed a loss of NPR 77 million (USD 0.64 million) as a result of floods and landslides, however, this is less than the losses experienced in the same period for 2019 that accounted for NPR 1.42 billion (USD 11 million). In addition, after decades, Nepal also witnessed the swarm of locusts invading various parts of the country destroying crops in around 1100 hectares of land.

Lockdown brings with it cleaner

air: With development activities and transportation coming to a halt in light of COVID-19 lockdown, the quality of air improved drastically in major cities of Nepal. The average concentration of pollutants with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers (PM 2.5) decreased by 34.9 μg/ m³ in Kathmandu from January 1 to April 24. 98 The World Health Organization’s air quality guideline stipulates that 24-hour mean PM 2. 5 should not exceed 25 μg/m³ and that for PM10 should not exceed 50 μg/ m³. 99

Legal provisions being introduced

to improve air quality: Earlier in February, Kathmandu Valley Air Quality Management Action Plan2020 was approved by the Council of Ministers whereby the government will implement Euro-IV standard, develop and enforce In-use Vehicle Emission Standard, introduce euro standard for heavy equipment and vehicles, enforce the use of diesel particulate filters in diesel-powered vehicles and make provision of certification for auto workshops within two years 100 . Similarly, the private sector will also be authorized to develop charging stations for electric vehicles. The government will also make legal provisions to replace old vehicles with electric vehicles within two years.

Locust invasion destroys crops:

Nepal experienced the first swarm of locusts entering the country after decades. Around 8 million locusts were reported to have entered Nepal in June 101 which destroyed around 1100 hectares of crops. The crops that were mostly impacted were maize, vegetables and fruits. While this destruction does not have a pronounced effect on the overall economy, it certainly affects the livelihoods of the farmers who depend on these crops as their source of income. While the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MoALD) has formed a task force to prevent possible impact of locusts on the agriculture sector of the country 102 , local and provincial governments are providing NPR 20 to 300 per kg of locusts as an effort to control the invasion. 103

Government increases taxes on

electric vehicles: In the budget for FY 2020/21, the government has increased both the customs and excise taxes on electric vehicles up to 80 percent, depending upon the capacity of e-vehicles. 104 Earlier, the government had been charging only 10 percent customs duty, 13 percent VAT, and 5 percent road tax on EVs. 105 The lower rates of duties previously placed however, were not much effective in enticing buyers over conventional vehicles, hence the uptake of EVs was at a slower rate. With the additional duties, the motivation to invest in EVs has further declined thus creating barrier towards the achievement of clean and green economy,

Flooding and landslides lead to losses worth NPR 77 million: With the onset of monsoon, various parts of the country are witnessing events of floods and landslides. Between 1 June and 15 August 2020, floods

across the country led to an estimated loss of NPR 46.9 million (USD 0.39 million), 6 deaths, and 262 affected families. Similarly, in the same period, landslides across the country led to an estimated loss of NPR 36 million (USD 0.30 million), 226 deaths, and 582 affected families. The nationwide estimated losses for the same period in the previous year stood at NPR 1.04 billion (USD 8.67 million) and NPR 0.38 billion (USD 3.16 million) for floods and landslides respectively. 106

“OUTLOOK

Though the priority of majority of the governments of various countries has revolved around winning the fight against the ensuing pandemic, the winner albeit indirectly has also been the environment to a certain extent. At least in Nepal’s major cities, it is safe to say that the environment has changed for the better due to the pandemic and the relief measures such as lockdowns adopted. Although the city dwellers may enjoy a breadth of fresh air and relief to the ears due to reduced vehicular movements, the question remains, for how long? The stagnant economy will soon pickup, roads will be jammed with vehicles, machines will start chugging in factories, and sounds of birds would be replaced by airplanes. After all, the economy has hit the pause button and not the stop. Once, the play button is pressed after the current crisis eases, the environment and its ensuing degradation may not only reach the same status quo prior to the pandemic, but could be worse off. This is because to recover from the economic loss due to the pandemic, the economy would be consuming more resources aggressively to increase the output causing unprecedented strain on the environment.

Imminent environmental problems such as floods and landslides could worsen in Nepal. As global temperatures at higher altitudes rise at a faster rate than the lower plains due to climate change, floods and landslides could also increase at a faster rate. Faster melting glaciers, atypical pattern of rainfall, permafrost degradation could make matters worse.

Unless concrete structural changes in terms of our consumption and production pattern, utilization of natural resources and conservation of environment endeavours are not made and economic and environmental policies remain skewed, the current pandemic which is rather perceived as a blessing in disguise could actually turn out to be a curse disguised as a blessing, particularly for the environment.

53 NEFPORT ISSUE 42 – SEPTEMBER 2020 4 MARKET

REVIEW