Buddha and Nature

Entering the gates of boudhanath takes people to an entirely different place of peaceful hymns, prayer flags, and trinkets shops, the central point of which is the famous Boudhanath stupa. Lopsang Lama, a Buddhist monk from the Kopen Gumba, shared with me the history of this stupa. Long ago there lived Chhajima, which literally translates to bird herder. She had three sons, and she wanted to make this stupa, so she went and asked the then reigning king for land. The king asked how much land she wanted, and she replied, not much, just as much as a single’s cow skin. After the king’s assent, she made a long thread out of the cow’s skin, and the area of boudhanath that we now see, is the area that she covered with the skin thread! The king was this way tricked. She lived to see the completion of the dome, but the remaining was completed by her sons and a buffalo. After completion, the elder son asked a wish to be able to be a king and spread Buddhism in Tibet, the next in line son asked to be able to teach Buddhism practices in his elder brother’s land, and the youngest s

Bouddhanath stupa picture taken from himalayansocialtravel.com

on asked to be able to dispel of any obstacles that might come in the way. The buffalo was mad that he wasn’t mentioned in any wishes by any brothers despite his efforts in building the stupa! So he asked to be able to completely annihilate the religion that the brothers establish. His secret musings were heard by a crow perched nearby, which then went on and asked to be able to kill this buffalo with evil musings!

 

So a few generations went by, and then King Trisong Dhetsen established Buddhism in Tibet, Kamala Shila went teaching about the religion to the Tibetan people, and Padma Sambhava was there to dispel off the evil spirits that destroyed the attempts to build a Gumba. These three were infact the three brothers. Then Langtharma came along who destroyed the Buddhism establishment, but then he was also killed by the reincarnation of the crow.

So, the belief is that, whether the wishes made in Bouddhanath be good or evil, they come true! The boudhanath stupa is considered one of the most important landmarks for the Buddhist people.

The Buddhism religion is regarded as very peaceful religion, whose core is Lord Buddha, who attained enlightenment through meditation. The preaching are always about goodwill, service to all mankind,  and peace in the world and within oneself. I went along and asked Monk Lopsang about the belief Buddhism holds for nature and its conservation.

Lord Buddha himself was born under a peeple tree, and gained enlightenment under the tree. This already connects the birth of the lord with nature. Nature is peaceful and calm, and so is the teaching of Buddha. Buddhism is about finding one’s true nature, and meditating within oneself, and this is most of the time done in secluded natural areas.

Also, Buddhist respect nature as the habitat of all living creatures. They don’t really take nature as some sentient being with heart and soul, but as a home to all the sentient beings there are. Their believe in non harm to any living creatures automatically coincides with nature conservation, as cutting down a single tree means affecting all the birds that nest there, all the squirrels that burrow, and all the other smaller organism, that call tree their home. Deforestation therefore means disregard of the living creatures, and is not supported by Buddhism.

Monk Lopsang also introduced me to their vows. After you decide to accept the teachings of Buddhism, you take certain vows, and they increase as  you climb up the rank. These vows prevent them from doing any actions that are restricted, and many of these vows are also about refraining from causing harm to the nature. His vow prevents him from cutting trees, or even plucking a blooming flower or leaf! These rules are not as strictly imposed upon laymen, as they have to exploit nature for their livelihood, but sustainability is always encouraged, as Buddhism does not support extravagance. It is always about taking as much as we need.

Before Buddhism took over in Tibet the people practiced Bon religion. This religion had lots of Shaman and spirits. They revered different Gods and spirits, and most of them lived in the forests and mountains, therefore, the nature was also respected. Even after Buddhism was established, these practices remained. So although the Buddhism do not have Gods as a direct impersonication of nature, they have Gods who live in nature, and all the resources from that place is also not harmed. So, because of a forest spirit that is worshipped, the forest is also conserved, and because of a mountain God, the mountain is conserved.

Buddhism also strongly believes in Karma, what goes around comes around and you get what you deserve. There are many kinds of Karma, including individual and Collective Karma. So, the nature of any place is regarded as a collective Karma of all the people who live there. Good communities are rewarded with pleasant climate. Monk Lopsang points out the logic behind this, as conservation definitely helps the people with pleasant climate and sustainable resources, while destroying it definitely brings havoc in the form of natural disasters, arid land, and all other environmental problems.

Renewable Energy as a Solution to the Climate Crisis

Our sea level is rising, our mighty Himalayas and ice caps are melting, glaciers are retreating, water level is reducing, biodiversity is being lost, we are facing erratic rainfall, drought is some places and flood in other, there are food insecurity and political instability, we are facing problems of coral bleaching and salinization, every year people lose lives and property because of weather extremes, and our livelihoods are changing. This is climate crisis. And all of these are only some of the issues that we are facing. Climate change not only causes new problems, it worsens and exacerbates the already existing ones too. According to Kevin Trenberth from U.S National Center for Atmospheric Research, “Global warming is contributing to an increased incidence of extreme weather because the environment in which all storms form   has changed from human activities.”

The anthropogenic climate change that we are facing now is due to the fossil fuel emission. The carbon in the atmosphere directly causes the increased global temperature, which is affecting our hydrological cycle, global air mass flow and subsequently the climate change. That is why it is absolutely important to keep in check our global emission, and go for renewable sources, which is not only feasible, but absolutely crucial to keep in check the health of our earth, our home. The emission of fossil fuel not only causes global warming and climate change, but causes serious problem of health hazards resulting due to air pollution.  In the 15 countries with the highest greenhouse gas emissions, the damage to health from poor air quality, largely associated with the burning of fossil fuels, is valued at an average of 4.4% of GDP, as said in the Better Climate, Better Growth: The New Climate Economy Report on September 2014. Switching from fossil fuel to alternative energy source is beneficial to the health of both people and the planet, and is always a win win situation.

“Continued emission of greenhouse gases will cause further warming and long-lasting changes in all components of the climate system, increasing the likelihood of severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts for people and ecosystems.” (IPCC). According to J. Eric Smith, CEO, Swiss Re, “What keeps us up at night is climate change. We see the long-term effect of climate change on society, and it really frightens us.” Switching to alternative energy is a very sustainable solution we have, to fulfill the needs and demand of people while ensuring minimum possible harm to the environment as well. By opting for renewable, we pose least possible pressure on our planet.

The fact that renewable are a feasible source of energy is also proven by the difference between the green energy projection and reality. In year 2000, the projection was that worldwide wind capacity will reach 30 GW by 2010, by 2013 that goal was exceeded by a factor of 10X. The world’s largest offshore wind farm, the London Array, can power 470,000 homes. Mexico has invested heavily in wind, including building one of the world’s largest windfarms. On May 11, 2014,  Germany generated 74% of its electricity from solar and wind energy. In September 2014, South Australia powered an entire workday with solar and wind energy. According to reports, enough solar energy reaches Earth every hour to meet the power needs of the entire world for a full year.

The places that did not have electricity before can directly get these new solar or wind energy. Even in case of Nepal, the rural mountain villages that did not have any electricity, are now getting it from solar panel, which is also debunking the myth that trapping solar energy might be difficult in mountains.

We are at the stage when we know climate change is happening and we need to stop emission. This is also what the Paris Agreement pointed towards. Transitioning to clean energy will reduce our reliance on coal and fossil fuel, and therefore, help in reducing emissions. This is absolutely important as according to climate reports, even if we were to completely halt our emissions right now, it would take many years for the carbon in the atmosphere to reduce and the impacts to wear off.

ECOTOURISM TALK

Ecotourism is defined as “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people, and involves interpretation and education” according to The International Ecotourism Society, (www.ecotourism.org). Following this definition, Nepal definitely falls under the most fitting for ecotourism category; with most of the tourist attractions being natural, formed by natural processes without human interferences. Nepal occupies a very small global area, but in this small area we have the climate ranging from tropical in the south to the tundra and alpine in the north. So, we have a very unique place having such a diverse climatic condition in a very small space. Thousands of plants and animals are found that are completely endemic to Nepal. While many countries build various kinds of reservoirs and pools, to bring in visitors and beautify their country, we naturally have them. According to the tourism statistics of 2014 too, the highest number of visitors were to national parks, then to Pashupati, lumbini, Manaslu trekking, Mustang trekking, Humla trekking, Lower Dolpa, Upper Dolpa, Kanchanjunga trekking. We can see that the most popular destinations are to natural places, and through least carbon footprint.

I got a chance to talk to Mr. Dinesh Raj Joshi, the CEO of the Nepal Tourism Board about the ecotourism scenario in Nepal. The ecotourism is linked with sustainable tourism most of the time, and deals with how the nature conservation, recreation, learning, and development of the place go hand in hand. Mr. Joshi claims Nepal to be a pure ecotourism destination, the fact that all the touristic places are a pure natural set up. The forests in Nepal covers about 29% of the area, and consists of thousands of different species of plants and animals, and even thousands that are endemic only to Nepal. Even since thousands of years ago, since the time of Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and Hillary Edmund, people have been practicing eco tourism, going on natural hikes, treks, and learning about the natural places and the local people. It was practiced since before the term was coined at around 80s. Then there was also another time when there were many hippies coming and visiting Nepal. No matter the kind of revolutions that happened, or the season wise attraction changes that occurred, the tourism sector has always been busy in Nepal, and almost all of the tourism destinations are natural, may it be the wildlife safari, or natural trails. The protected areas have also been very effective in promoting nature tourism. Our jungles are full of life, full of flora and fauna, and many different kinds of birds. Mr. Joshi gave the example of Annapurna trekking area, the Annapurna Conservation Area Project, which is regarded and studied as a very successful case study of eco tourism.

Much effort is being put now to promote ecotourism. The eco tourism does not include just travel to natural process, but also requires the development of the local peoples. Most of the places in Nepal have their own specialty, for eg. Apples in mustang, cheese from the Himalayas, etc. and all these products are also being promoted to uplift the local life. Some laws relating to eco-tourism has also been formulated. But how well it is implemented is still a question.

While studying about ecotourism, I also met Mr. Sunil Sharma from NTB, who emphasizes that eco tourism should be very interactive. He started our session with a very simple question, if you go to any natural place as a trekker, and I go to the same place as an eco-tourist, what would be the difference between you and me? So, turns out, while I as a trekker would just trek, look around and come back, he, as an eco tourist would spend a lot more time knowing about the place, the kinds of flora and fauna present there, the locals that live there, their livelihood, and in fact everything about the place. If he met any locals on his way, he would chat with them and get to know as many things about the culture and the nature there as possible. His explanation made ecotourism easier to understand. It is a lot more interactive, it is more immersive, and it should benefit the locals too.

Ecotourism is sustainable tourism that focuses on preserving and protecting the natural system. The high number of tourist visiting our nature always exerts pressure on the place. Evidences can be the excessive amount of solid wastes in the mountain trails and foothills, diminishing culture in some places, disappearances of indigenous communities, etc. As such, it is very important to have a close relation between the local people, policy makers, tourism board of directors and travel agencies. Nowadays, many travel agencies are also trying to be more environmental friendly and are going green. Some by banning plastics, bringing back the wastes, making their packages more environmentally friendly and reducing their carbon footprint.

One of such examples is the Himalayan Friends Trekking, whose founder Mr. Phuri Kitar Sherpa, also talked to me about the strategies that he is adopting to make his packages more nature friendly. Most of the trekking done by his agency is to the Himalayan regions, and these are the regions facing the pressure, in the form of increased wastes, deforestation, etc. The agency has therefore completely banned the use of plastic, and also brings back the waste generated, leaving no trace behind. Also, he takes all the trekkers to interact with the locals as well and give them descriptions about the nature and peoples livelihoods too. Even the food provided are the local delicacy of the place. Mustang is also among the regions facing the impacts of climate change and Mr. Sherpa is completely aware of the fact, and includes talks about these impacts too.

And Himalayan Friends Trekking is only an example among many other agencies who have adopted similar procedures. This only makes the experiences more enriching for the tourist, as not only they will be having the time of their lives and learning about the environment and culture of the place, but they will also be improving the local’s revenue in the process, and all this while posing the least possible threat to the environment.

 

Fossil Fuel Industries Should be Made Accountable for their Damage

Climate change is increasing the instances of extreme events and disasters, which is causing millions of lives and millions of dollars every year. Add to it the amount required for adaptation of the vulnerable communities. The anthropogenic climate change has been increasing since the industrial revolution according to the reports by IPCC, and the most responsible element is said to be the carbon. The rise in carbon concentration in the atmosphere subsequently led to increase in the global temperature, which resulted in changing climate. The main source of this carbon is the burning of fossil fuel, whose main source is the fossil fuel industry. So, these industries are hugely responsible for all these loss and damages that we facing today because of climate change.

There are several instances when many industries came out in the public eyes as being responsible for hiding about the climate change, or even spending billions of dollars to promote climate denial. One of the most noted one was also the Exxon industry, which is claimed to have hidden the facts relating to climate change even if they knew about it decades before it came into public knowledge. Similarly, according to an article in greenpeace website, the Koch Brothers have sent at least $88810770 directly to 80 groups denying climate change science since 1997. All this because knowing about climate change means knowing about the solution, which is renewable energy source. And switching to these renewable source means cutting down on fossil fuels, which means millions of dollars of loss to these fossil fuel industries.

But while continuing with Business as Usual is beneficial to these industries, it is downright disastrous to the world and the people living here because climate change is affecting all possible sectors. According to Kevin Trenberth from U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research, “Global warming is contributing to an increased incidence of extreme weather because the environment in which all storms form has changed from human activities.” To give an example, Typhoon Haiyan  killed more than 6,000 people in the Philippines, left four million people without houses, and caused $2 billion (1.48 billion euros) worth of damage. Similarly other coastal storms and disasters like floods have also caused damage all over the world. Kiribati has already become the first nation to buy land in another country for their climate refugees. 20,000,000 people were affected by flooding in the September 2010 flooding in Pakistan. Over a million were forced to flee their homes in the flooding in Assam, India. Up to three million people were affected by flooding in China in June 2014.

The cost lies directly in property damage because of disasters and also in agricultural failures. The agricultural failure is affecting the small farmers as well as big agricultural industries. Asia’s Multi-Billion Dollar Cassava Industry is at risk. Tony Bellotti from International Center for Tropical Agriculture Property says  “One outbreak of an invasive species is bad enough, but our results show that climate change could trigger multiple, combined outbreaks across  Southeast Asia, Southern China and the cassava-growing areas of Southern India.” In china, Henan and four other provinces experienced their worst drought in over 60 years.  The 2006 – 2010 drought turned 60% of Syria’s fertile land into desert By 2010, the drought had killed 80% of the country’s cattle. The Syrian minister of agriculture
stated publicly that economic and social fallout from the drought was beyond our capacity as a country to deal with.’

The U.S. Department of Defense in their 2014 Climate Change Roadmap stated “Rising global temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, climbing sea levels, and more extreme weather events will intensify the challenges of global instability, hunger, poverty,and conflict.” $129 Billion Worth of New York City Real Estate now lies in flood zones. An article in the guardian points out that the economic impact of global warming is costing the world more than $1.2 trillion a year, wiping 1.6% annually from global GDP.According to Financial Times, Warming ocean make part of world uninsurable. In the 15 countries with the highest greenhouse gas emissions, the damage to health from poor air quality, largely associated with the burning of fossil fuels, is valued at an average of 4.4% of GDP according to Better Climate, Better Growth: The New Climate Economy Report September 2014.

We can see that the cost of changing climate is huge. Someone should be responsible for paying this cost, the best option being the cause of these havoc themselves, the polluters, these industries. Many times people talk about too big themes like snow melting, glacier outburst and so on but often forget to talk about issues that affect our everyday lives too, like drying up of local springs, which is more serious matter of concerns for those people who depend on these spring to fetch water on daily basis. The increased consumerism in the developed world can send such climatic effects to other more vulnerable countries like Nepal and the adoption of green measures in developed nations could reduce the trend largely. And, the schemes like ‘polluters pay’ can raise money from big carbon emitting industries and businesses, a part of which can be used to help people affected in the faraway countries to adapt these impacts.

Fossil Fuel Industries in Climate Negotiations

The anthropogenic cause of climate change is the carbon and other greenhouse gases. These are emitted by the fossil fuels. The fossil fuel industries profit from the fuel. Now why would they want to cut down their own resource from which they profit? So why should they be included in the negotiations that look forward to alternative energy sources? According to the IPCC, the GHGs in the atmosphere have increased considerably since the 1750, i.e. after the industrial revolution. It we look at different graphs and charts from NASA, UNFCCC, IPCC reports, we can clearly see the comparable rising pattern between fossil fuel use, rising of carbon in the atmosphere and subsequent global warming.

The COP21 marked the successful negotiation to keep the rising temperature well below 2 degree Celsius. This is possible only when the countries take actions to cut down on their carbon emissions, and also increase afforestation. The global temperature has already risen by over 0.8 degree Celsius than the previous pre industrial time and is still projected to rise by 0.2 degree Celsius per decade. In order to keep our temperature from rising more and creating havoc, we need to curb our emissions and promote green energy.

The controversy during COP21 was also the inclusion of various major polluters as sponsors, out of which the most notable and discussed were Air France, and the European bank BNP Paribas, to name a few. Corporate inclusion infiltrates the policy making process. They have also been criticized of green washing themselves by attempting to establish themselves as solution through payment, while they are the problem themselves.

According to Maxime Combes of ATTAC France, “The government is offering a cheap and easy opportunity for multinational climate criminals to green-wash their image. The public interest demands that these talks not be polluted by the private interests represented by these companies. Would we entrust the fight against tobacco to cigarette manufacturers? Why do it for climate policy”

As the global economy shifts from fossil fuel based to alternative energy, the fossil fuel industry face the most loss. According to a Barclays Plc energy analyst., the fossil fuel industry risks losing $33 trillion in revenue over the next 25 years as global warming may drive companies to leave oil, natural gas and coal in the ground. No wonder they have been trying to tell us that global warming and climate change is not real, that it is not as serious as everyone else points it out to be. It is very risky to have someone of exactly opposing interest joining the major decision makers. The influence of the fossil fuel industry does not restrict itself only to the conferences. They have more serious influence on the government of any particular country, especially if the country’s major economy source lies on the fossil fuels. This can be a major hindrance when the country is trying to make a more environmentally friendly policy.

While the world is trying to shift to solar and wind energy, the fossil fuel enthusiasts are already hurt and reluctant about having to leave so much of possible energy source on the ground. Because it is not only energy source for them, it is money. But while they continue to dig up the ground for the oil, millions of other pay the price. According to the scientists, we need to let the remaining fuels remain underground for cleaner air and a lesser risky future. When we pay the fossil fuel industry, it is not just money. The cost of carbon is drought, famine, sea level rise, water scarcity, climate refugees, extreme events, dying corals, wildfire, retreating glaciers, species extinction, infrastructure loss, ecosystem and most of all, our way of life. As we are in the tipping point, and as we have already come a long way by trying to promote renewable energy, it is time to have a strict say about inclusion of fossil fuel industry in our decision making processes, as their point of view does not match ours, but rather, it is completely contrary.

Pashupati Nath

Maybe Lord Shiva got caught by his fellow God friends when hiding out in Mrigasthali, hundreds of years ago, or maybe he was later found out by some farmer and his cow during the Lichhavi period. But no matter the reason, we have this beautiful temple, Pashupatinath Temple,  dedicated to him in the heart of the bustling Kathmandu City, where millions of tourist flock each year, drawn in by the thick envelop of culture and mystic surrounding the temple all the time. The gold plated temple, with its beautiful silver doors, is surrounded by other smaller temples dedicated to different Gods and has devoted worshippers year round. White powdered, specifically ash powdered Sadhus, with bright colored turbans, accessories, and their dreadlocked hair are one of the major attraction for tourist. Posing for the camera has become their new side job. Lord Shiva, universe, is said to reside in this small embodiment along the bank of Bagmati with lush Mrigasthali forest, surrounded by the sounds of bells from his beloved devotees, smell of incense, monkeys with their mischief, cremation, and people contemplating on life and death, or just chilling.

Lord Shiva is regarded as the destroyer in Hinduism, but it is also believed that creation follows destruction. So, Lord Shiva is regarded as the all that there is. The ashes on the Lord’s body is cemetery ash, which points to the philosophy of the life and death and shows that death is the ultimate reality of the life. The flow of his matted hair represents Shiva as the Lord of Wind or Vayu, who is the subtle form of breath present in all living beings. It shows that Shiva is Pashupatinath, Lord of All Living Beings. Legend has it that the Lord allowed an outlet to the great river to traverse the earth and bring purifying water to human being. (Giri) The third eye of lord shiva indicates spirituality and is believed to eradicate all evil.

Nature is a very huge part of Hinduism, as mentioned in the various Vedas and Puranas, nature being the creation of God himself, and with many Gods and Goddesses being an impersonification of the different aspects of nature. Take for example, Lord Indra, who is the God of Rain, Lord Narsimha, a lion, Sesh Nag, the Lord of the snakes, and many more. Similarly, many animals are associated with different Gods and Goddesses, like Durga with tiger and lion, Saraswoti with swan, etc. In fact many natural aspects are considered re-incarnation of Lord Vishnu, like fish, Peepal tree, lion, turtle, etc. Now them being a re-incarnation automatically means their conservation. Like you will probably never see a hindu eat beef, you will never see a hindu chopping down a peepal tree. As Lord Shiva had taken the form of a deer in the jungle of Pashupatinath area, the area has a park dedicated to the conservation of deer and the forest.

The reverence of hindu towards the nature has been a very integral part of the development of Hindu culture. Many culture thrives with a water source, which they worship and conserve. Most of the worshipping that we do, have link to the practices observed by our ancestors. Since a very long time ago, people worshipped the land, bhumi, for providing base for our life, and to ask permission for use. We still do this puja when building new homes. Similarly, the earth, fire, water and air, basically the nature, has always been worshipped. Most of the settlements were done on river banks because they were the symbol of purity, which helped in replenishing freshness. Even now, the cremation is done in river banks, believing in the purification of soul after being washed. The Pashupatinath temple is considered one of the most holy temple, and people even wish to die in its premises, to get Moksh. The temple has many cremation sites along the river. The river has been in its purest state a couple of years back, to change into a dreadful mess, to now again get back to a better form, due to more conservation efforts.

The general management of the temple has also changed from the past. The temple would previously be full of different flowers, tikas, water, ghees being stepped on by all the devotees, but now, such haphazard use is not allowed. Certain spots are allocated in the premises where such offerings are offered. This has resulted in considerable improvement in the place with no littering here and there. Similarly, the outside premises have also gone considerable improvement, with better gardens and pavements. The tourists are required to pay a thousand rupee to be allowed on to the outer premises while the inside access is strictly prohibited. Previously, only traditional cremation was observed, but now the trust has also built an electric one, which discards the use of wood and burning.

Millions of people come to Pashupatinath every year, especially during the Shiva Ratri, festival dedicated to Lord Shiva, and the temple always has its charm. The area surrounding the temple has also considerably improved after the building of gardens around it. The management aspects has definitely improved. However, the holy river Bagmati is still in a very sorry state. The main reason behind the pollution of the river is the mixing of sewers in different areas as the water flows from the upland to the lower areas. The Bagmati’s origin is very clean and pure, but it becomes polluted as it travels across the city. In the temple premises, the offerings to the river are better controlled than before and are considerably cleaner. It looks lot better in the rainy season when the water volume increases. The locals, usually the elders of the community recall the time not many years back, when the Bagmati was really clean. They even swam in the river. But as time goes, the pollution creates more pressure, thereby resulting in many environmental problems. The river, the garden, the forest around the temple is what adds to the beauty and should be kept that way

Also published in Image Nepal Travel Magazine

http://www.imagenepal.com.np/connecting-nature-hinduism/

 

Knowing Dubar Up Close

 

The beautiful village of Dubar can be reached after a very enthralling and wonderful hike full of jungles, twisting and turning rivers, and occasional meet and greets with the local coming down or going up the paths. About half an hour walk from Dalal brings you to chiti V.d.c in lumjung, and a couple more hours hike from there gets you to Dubar. You can also get a glimpse of tea plantation that has recently started in Dubar. The reason for my visit to Dubar is study on climatic changes and livelihood of the people. It turned out to be an amazing learning experience and a practical lesson to my otherwise theoretical understanding.

Dubar is quite well known among people as a place with beautiful scenery, and also come here en route besi sahar. It is also like an intermediate place through which people get to barah pokhari. All in all, it is a beautiful place with very hospitable and friendly locals. After our long hike from Tilar to Purano Dubar, we were met with a local, and he offered to provide us assistance in finding lodging and fooding for our stay. The house that we stayed in is also known as the most hospitable household in the area, and we were lucky that way. The “Aama” of the household was always calling us her own daughters and taking really good care of us, with timely food and a cosy room. They also took us to all the households personally and were a constant guide, translating the locals when we did not understand, and telling us all about the place and lifestyle.

Most of the people here are tamangs, and have always practiced subsistence farming, that consists of maize and millet. There were instances when potato farming was also done, but a potato infestation disease resulted in potato failure since last few years. The locals also say that they have not tried experimenting with other crops, and it has always been maize and millet.

The disaster that most effects the people here is lighting and hailstorm. There has been a few instances of entire crop failure because of being hit by a hailstorm. When there are crop failures, the farmers opt for alternative income sources, like rental farming. Farming is also difficult because of difficult access to water. There is no irrigation system as a backup during drought. So, when there are erratic rainfall, the farmers do not have much option but to sit back and look at the devastation.  The frequency of the hailstorm has increased since the past couple of years, and the lightning has also struck one home resulting in the injury of a mother and child.

It is also quite difficult for the locals to have access to basic services like drinking water and market. They had a community well that collected water from the natural spring. The water collected was sufficient enough for the locals to use for drinking as well as irrigation purposes. But since the last few years, the natural spring has dried up, drying out the community well too. The local believe that the reason is deforestation, that is causing the lack of water. Now, their source of water is a natural spring that is a couple of hours walk away. They bring the necessary water through pipes. Certain problems in the pipes like leaking, damage occurs sometimes, resulting in barrier to water. If it happens, the locals need to walk all the way to find and fix the problem in the pipe, and then go to the main natural spring to arrange it again. This makes their day quite hectic, as they also need to walk a few hours to get to the forest to collect firewoods. It is also  an hour walk to get to the nearest market and health post. There is a local school in the community, but most of the locals dropout to assist family in farming.

 

Invasive species are proving to be another nuisance for the people here. Since the last few years, the invasive species are increasing in number, and the more the species increase, the more difficult it becomes to eradicate it. The only successful eradication happens when we prevent it and stop it in earlier stages. Now, the invasive species are everywhere. The locals have tried burning, and burying them, but say that none of their methods have worked yet. They also had goats, but say they had to give up on them because of lack of fodder, which in turn, was because of the invasive species occupying the niche. The forest are also getting quite full of them, slowly eradicating the originally found species. Important herbs are also lacking now.

A new path that the people are taking now is Elaichi farming. The household that we stayed in, first initiated the elaichi plantation, which proved to be quite successful. Now, many other household have also planted them as an experiment. The elaichi needs to be planted with a tree to give it shade too, so it is more like agro forestry. The locals are very hopeful of this endeavor, as  even a kilo of elaichii fetches in about a thousand rupees and are currently looking out for market potential too. Along with this farming, they also go out to the Himalayan regions to collect rare herbs to sell in the market, which especially the younger generation take part in.

It was also very enriching to talk to so many senior locals of the place who each shared their own stories and talked about their childhood and lives. Many of them lamented about getting old now, and how they were very handsome and beautiful in their times, especially after looking at the pictures I took of them. They all seemed to wonder how fast time actually flies. Some of them also had been labor workers in foreign countries, but most of them spent their whole life in Dubar, from generations. They always had this twinkle in their eye when talking about the older days. The trip was therefore, very enriching, knowing about the livelihood of the people, their stories and their agricultural styles.

Trekking to Dubar, Lumjung

Had an amazing experience while trekking to Dubar, lumjung, a remote village in Nepal, for study on changing climate and livelihood. The place, the people, everything was absolutely amazing! The simplicity in their way of living and the pristine environment led way to an amazing week.

Back from grazing her goats

“The orange trees have been damaged by pest infestation, that is shifting higher up, and therefore we are having a lot of losses”

“i have raised her like my own daughter, now she is going to see her mother”

“Back in my days, I went abroad to work. I was a handsome fella, there were lots of girls after me, now I’m so old!”

“I’m feeling shy nani!!”

Article on Eco-tourism

Fresh, crisp air blowing with the sound of temples, river flowing along beautiful hills and forests, prayer flags blowing in the wild winds in the Himalayas, jungles alive with the sound of the wild birds and animals, Nepal has it all! With abundance of natural beauty and a whole range of adventure options, tourism is the major sector of Nepal with millions of tourists visiting every year. Beautiful place drawing beautiful people from around the world adds the positive vibe to our country. Ecotourism is absolutely necessary to keep all this beauty and the nature alive like it is now.

Ecotourism is now defined as “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people, and involves interpretation and education” (The International Ecotourism Society, www.ecotourism.org). Ecotourism is sustainable tourism that focuses on preserving and protecting the natural system. The high number of tourist visiting our nature always exerts pressure on the place. Evidences can be the excessive amount of solid wastes in the mountain trails and foothills, diminishing culture in some places, disappearances of indigenous communities, etc. It is magical to walk in the forest hiking trails among the wilderness with a sneak peek of the close mountains and the gurgling sound of the river. The wild flowers and the sounds of animals add to the beauty.  Meeting friendly native people at the end only adds to the amazing experience. The aim of the ecotourism is to keep this feeling intact for our future generation too. If sustainable tourism is not adopted, it does not take long for the forest trail to be a desert trail, the wilderness gone, the river polluted and the local economy collapsed. This is where the importance of ecotourism comes in.

 

Eco-tourism focuses on natural places than artificial places. It promotes tours and excursions to ecologically and culturally important places with the least possible carbon footprint. Nepal has lots of these places like natural parks, hiking trails, home stays etc. The eco tourism always focuses on sustenance. It promotes the local resources and helps in creating local job opportunities to the local people. For example, taking tourists hiking along natural places helps in promoting our natural beauty and helps in providing job opportunities to the locals who own tea shops and hotels. Other than this, eco tourism also uses the revenues generated as funding to preserve these natural places.

Lots of agencies in Nepal are adopting the eco-tourism policies. They promote local produces, job opportunities for the local people, through shops, hotels or as porters. The ways in which they are promoting eco tourism is by encouraging participants to bring eco friendly and sustainable products with them on tour such as water bottles, phosphate free soaps, re-useable bags, re-chargeable batteries, educating tour participants about the local peoples, cultures and communities, hiring local guides, etc.

There are lots of things to be taken into consideration while promoting tourism in any place and lots of focus should be given to the amount of impact we are having to the place. While Himalayan is famous tourist destination, this large number of tourists visiting there has already posed problems of solid waste management. It is important to respect this awe inspiring mountain we have and bring back all the waste that is generated.  Similarly, lots of woods are cut down to provide hot water to the tourist. Sustenance is to be taken into account while cutting down the forest to provide hot water.

While respecting tourists and visitors is a culture of our country, we should be careful about the types of people we are hosting. There have been a lot of instances of statues smuggling and bio-piracy. Proper mechanisms have to be practiced by the country and the agencies to prevent such happenings.  Respect to the local people and their culture is another aspect of eco-tourism. The place has always been a home to the local peoples so their sentiments have to be kept in mind before doing anything.

Home stays has helped in promoting eco tourism in our country. Not only are the local people getting jobs, but the local produces are being consumed this way, and the tourist also get firsthand experience on the life and culture of the people. Like our culture is paving way for tourists visit, the tourists are also paving way for our culture preservation. For e.g, the tharu dance, rodhi ghar, etc. are starting to be promoted to bring tourists into the community.

Going green has been another “cool” word for many agencies too. While claiming to have eco-friendly tourism, they might not really practice it and mask their destructive habits with the name. Taking products from the urban areas, like the packaged foods, and water, and also hiring the porters from elsewhere than the local area, might improve the comfort of some tourist, but it does not help in the development of the local area.

While promoting eco- tourism, the local people’s involvement is very crucial. Their knowledge and understanding of the place is important to know and prevent any kinds of impact tourism can bring. Many beautiful places in Nepal have not been explored yet. Locals should be made aware about the potential of their home, in drawing tourist, or in selling local produces. Before starting with business, understanding the concept of sustainability helps in preventing the overuse of resources. It is important for the locals to be made aware about the environmental issues too to prevent deforestation, or pollution, in the name of tourism. As the business grow, consumption grow and waste grow too, which increases the barren land and pollution. If the locals are aware of the long term impact of every action, then this can be prevented.

Tourism has always been a major business sector, and has contributed to the revenue of local people as well as the country. With so many beautiful places still to be discovered and brought into tourist maps, it is important to consider not going overboard and using up all the resources to be left with nothing. Sustainability is the most important issue of the present, which has to be maintained in any sector to provide for the population we have while preserving our natural system and ensuring that the future generation has the same beauty that we have. Eco-tourism is the way in which this sustainability can be maintained while promoting our tourism.

(Published in Image Nepal, Travel Magazine)

Climate Reality Training in Manila

After a final no, there comes a yes, and on that yes, the future of the world depends

The climate Reality Leadership Corps training took place this year from March 14th to March 16th, in the beautiful city of Manila, Philippines inviting over 650 delegates across the world in the Manila Bay. The program took place in the Sofitel hotel right beside the beautiful ocean. The beautiful place, gushing ocean, climate change presentations, and all the enthusiastic people led way to a very informative and inspiring 3 days, leaving everyone with a new zeal to do more to combat climate change which is threatening the survival of species on earth. There were five New Climate Leader from Nepal, with Country Manager and Mentor Mr. Phurpa Lama.

Mr. Al Gore started the training session with the emphasis on the anthropogenic climate change that is happening now, and impacting survival on earth and the urgency with which we need to turn to renewable energy sources. Mr. Gore started the slides with pictures of earth taken from space, which was a turning point in view of humans, that earth was a finite resource. Also, as he always states, “There is no planet B”. We only have earth as our home, and we are destroying our home, we are using the resources and destroying nature and wildlife without any consideration whatsoever to the future generations. Global warming, climate change, pollution, deforestation, extinctions, etc are what has happened because of the haphazard use of earth’s natural resources by human beings. The emissions from factories, and vehicles especially after the industrial revolution, released a huge amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. These carbon dioxide acts as a trap, letting the sunlight enter the earth’s atmosphere, but preventing them from radiating back into the atmosphere, and increasing temperature on earth. The increasing temperature has resulted in melting of glaciers, arctic caps, and has negative impacts on our water, wildlife, infrastructures, livelihoods of people, and in all aspects of life. As easy as it was to release all the pollutants into the atmosphere, the difficult it is to remove it. The impact the climate change is bringing about is extreme, and what it may bring about is uncertain. As he put it, we have a dauntingly short time, to act on climate change and reverse the harms it is bringing, for a greener future for our planet that is our home.

Along with Al Gore, we also had other experts and experienced speakers. Father Edwin Gariguez is the Executive Secretary of National Secretariat for Social Action, and also 2012 Goldman prize winner. He was motivated by his faith to lead a movement on Mindoro Island to protect ancestral forests of indigenous from extractive industries. He talked about ecological spirituality, which is linked with life of all creatures on earth, and also about Christian responsibility to care for the poor and vulnerable. The super typhoon Haiyan, effected so many lives in Tacloban, therefore bringing out emphasis on the fact that resilience is extremely important. The livelihood of people changed, and he focuses on forest to improve the resiliency. The marginalized are more vulnerable because of the storm surges and drought. He also quoted Pope Francis, that it is always the poor who are most vulnerable to the harms of climate change.

 

Ken Berlin the president and CEO of the Climate Reality Project talked about the COP 21, and clean energy sources. According to him, our mission now is to catalyze global solution, and switch to a clean energy, low carbon highly efficient and sustainable economy. The solution that we have to the ongoing problem is to switch to renewable energy. The amount of solar energy and wind energy we get is sufficient to provide for the livelihood of the people. The conversion is important for energy sustainability. The costs of the renewables are or soon will be cost competitive with fossil fuels. The solar price is also declining with increasing efficiency. During the Cop 21, 185 countries have agreed to reduce emissions, and hold global warming to well below 2 degree Celsius. But the current commitments are not enough to do that. The Cop 22 to be held in Marrakeh, Morocco in November will focus more on technical works.

The Typhoon Haiyan was the strongest typhoon to cause landfall creating devastation of 50000 homes with over 4000 casualties. Alfred romualdez, Mayor of Tacloban city gave a very personal and heart touching account of the devastation. The evacuation place was not enough. There have been many storm surges before as well, but their intensity and frequency has increased by many folds now. The people would rebuild their lives in may be 15 years, but now they do so in 7 or less, and they are tired.

In this way, the three day training dealt with the issue of climate change, the vulnerability and resilience options, from grassroots to global levels, and switching to alternative energy sources. The Philippines is now the country most affected by sea storms, making the training more personal to everyone involved and leaving everyone with the zeal to work for a better future, and a hope, that it will work