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Nepal tops South Asia region
- ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION
KATHMANDU, JAN 29 -
Nepal leads South Asian nations in environment protection, which includes pollution control and natural resources management challenges, according to the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) released on Jan. 28 in Davos, Switzerland.
Iceland tops the EPI report with its high scores in environmental public health, greenhouse gas emission control and reforestation.
The biannual index compiled by a team of environmental experts from Yale University and Columbia University ranks countries on the basis of detailed progress made by them in addressing pollution control and natural resources management challenges.
The EPI report, which was released at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting on Thursday, ranks Nepal 38th among 163 countries across the world on their performance across 25 basic indicators tracked across 10 policy categories covering both environmental public health and eco-system vitality.
Among the 10 policy categories are environmental health, air quality, water resource management, biodiversity and habitat, forestry, fisheries, agriculture and climate change.
According to the report, Nepal ranks after two countries namely Japan (ranked 20th) and Singapore (ranked 28th) in Asia that have performed better to attain environmental policy goals. Meanwhile, India and China, have been ranked 123 and 121 respectively in the survey. Nepal's high score arises from limited development and lower environmental stresses on the land, air and water, the report further states.
Bhusan Tuladhar, executive director at Environment and Public Health Organisation, says, "The report provides a positive mark on the country's effort towards sustainable environment and natural resources management. However, this is not sufficient as we have a long way to go to ensure clean and green environment for every citizen living inside the country,".
According to him, the country has pioneered in protecting forests through community forestry programmes that involve locals and in managing protected areas.
Tuladhar said Nepal is facing serious challenges in the areas of climate change, pollution control and biodiversity conservation.
Though indoor air pollution is controlled in rural areas by promoting biogas plants and other renewable energy sources, the pollution level in urban areas, particularly in Kathmandu is still high, added Tuladhar.
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