PM Oli launches 'One Nepali One Fruit Plant' campaign

Kathmandu, June 5: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli launched the ‘One Nepali, one fruit plant’ campaign on the occasion of World Environment Day by planting saplings of litchi and avocado on the Singha Durbar premises on Tuesday.

“Today more than 100,000 fruit plants will be planted across the country. Every Nepali should initiate a campaign to plant fruit saplings,” he said.

He said that planting a fruit tree means increasing the greenery and having fruits at the same time. Fruit gardens will also balance the ecosystem and improve environmental condition, he added.

Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Ishwor Pokharel and other ministers and secretaries also planted different fruit saplings at the Singha Durbar Plaza.

Meanwhile, Mayor of Lalitpur Metropolitan City (LMC) Chiri Babu Maharjan said that he would ban polythene bags from the next fiscal year, July 17.

“I am going to present the agenda to the City Council meeting very soon, and I hope that the council will endorse it. Polythene bags are the major pollutants,” he said while speaking at a Knowledge Forum, organised by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in collaboration with the Norwegian Embassy in Lalitpur.

According to him, environmental concerns have become the prime issue for the denizens, and half of the complaints that the LMC office received were about the environment.

Saying that a recent study carried by the Department of Environment had concluded that there were about nine deaths per day in the country due to air pollution, Maharjan vowed to improve the environmental conditions in the city by promoting electric vehicles and planting trees.

The LMC has forged collaboration with the Sajha Yatayat and is launching at least four electric buses in the city for public transport.

“I have allocated Rs. 7.5 million for tree plantation in the city, which includes planting camphor trees along the road from Saat Dobato to Godavari. Other locations are being selected for the plantation,” he said.

The mayor also inaugurated the camphor plantation on Tuesday, on the occasion of World Environment Day.

Dr. David Molden, Director General of ICIMOD, said that the urban waste posed a great challenge to the local governments.

He said that action should start from every individual. “Say no to single use plastic, and use reusable bags,” he said.

Norwegian Ambassador to Nepal Lasse Bjorn Johannessen said that waste should be segregated at the source and should be recycled and reused.

He said that Norway had been imposing additional charges on food and beverages, including water, that are packaged in plastic, and consumers can get additional money by surrendering the bottles to the machines installed at the malls and other locations.

Shivani Saira, Relationship Manager at Doko Recyclers, said that the littering of plastics, specially the packages of food and other materials, was the result of unconscious behaviour of the people, lack of infrastructure and insufficient penalty system.

She urged the government and other stakeholders to address those three areas in order to improve the littering situation.

“Provide feasible alternatives to the producers and consumers, launch a local government-led awareness campaign and create a mandate for bulk generators to manage their own waste,” she offered as solutions.

She also said that the 17,000 metric tons of e-waste produced in the Kathmandu Valley was another emerging problem.

Ayushi KC, founder Chief Executive Office of Khali Shishi, said that waste should be considered as a resource and urged all the stakeholders to come together to bring about the change.

On the occasion, ICIMOD awarded Global Himalayan Expedition with the ICIMOD Mountain Prize 2018. Dr. Molden handed over the prize to Paras Loomba, founder of GHE.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 6 May 2018.