World Habitat Day slogan for the year 2011 of "Cities
and Climate Change" aims to render a visionary message for responding to
the adverse impacts due to climate change through appropriate adaptation and
mitigation measures in the towns and cities. This message is particularly
relevant for Nepal at the threshold of urbanization where more than 20% of
total national population (20 million) lives in 99 municipalities as well as in
a growing number of rural centres and market towns in the country.
The recent studies indicate, the country has been facing
consistent warming and rise in the maximum temperatures which is more
pronounced in high altitude regions compared to the Terai and Siwalik regions of
Nepal resulting into Himalayan glacial melt and retreat. An overall increase in
precipitation is also being observed during the wet season accompanied by increase
in erratic and high intensity but short duration rainfall episodes. Other observed
weather pattern changes include: changes in wind pattern both in intensity and
timing; change in fog and 'tuwalo' pattern; increased incidence of windstorm and
hailstorm.
Such increased climate changes have resulted into the
frequency of extreme events such as floods, droughts, landslides and the probabilities
of glacial lake outburst floods with more than 10 million people, and 26 out of
75 districts including Kathmandu Valley in the country being prone to such
events. The low development status of Nepal renders the population of both
urban and rural settlements very vulnerable to these current and future impacts
of climate change. Nepal has to face the brunt of this human induced climate
change without being responsible for it.
The recently approved "National Adaptation Programme of
Action (NAPA) to climate change" has identified six vulnerable areas
impacted by the climate change namely, agriculture, forestry, water and energy,
health, disaster, urban settlements and infrastructure, and proposed adoption
of strategic adaptation measures in those sectors. In the context of
settlements, the NAPA has given a high priority for climate responsive design
and construction of: residential and commercial buildings, water supply and
sanitation systems; and infrastructure like roads and drainage systems.
The Regional and Urban Planners Society of Nepal (RUPSON),
as a professional body of planners, while fully endorsing the NAPA prioritized
activities for climate change adaptation in the towns and cities of Nepal,
would like to come up with the following proposals:
1.
Revising and enforcing building codes
incorporating climate change dimensions.
2.
Incorporating of climate change adaptation and
mitigation measures in the shelter programs/ projects.
3.
Internalization of the climate change adaptation
and mitigation measures in the planning activities at regional, sub-regional,
municipal, village and ward levels.
4.
Implementation of Nepal Urban Policy 2007
focusing upon the incorporation of both adaptation and mitigation measures
related to climate change.
5.
Generating resources and seeking external
support for the above programs.
Source: RUPSON,
press release on 26th September 2011.
