Sustainable Green Infrastructure: State and prospect for Environment Friendly Development

Infrastructure is the fundamental facilities and systems serving an area, collectively contributing towards means of commute to employment opportunities at a national scale. Every physical structure at our periphery is basically an infrastructure which eases our daily lives and contributes towards economic value. From residential to commercial buildings, schools to institutions, hospitals to airports, roads, railways, hydropower plants to waterways and canals are infrastructures. The construction and operation of infrastructures exert positive impact to the economy and wellbeing of people, in the meantime, it leaves its footprint to the environment. The impact of such footprint is accelerated with climate change impacts contribute towards disruption of ecological flow which induce human made disasters.  WWF Nepal advocates for greener infrastructure which serves the purpose for sustained time period having no or very minimal impacts on natural wellbeing including that to the users.

We are living in the most explosive era of infrastructure expansion in human history. In the next three years, paved roads are projected to double in length and Asia's developing nations; in the next three decades, the total length of additional paved roads could approach 25 million kilometers worldwide - enough to encircle the planet more than 600 times. (William F. Laurance, James Cook University, 2013)

The living planet report, WWF 2018 states that only a quarter of land on Earth is substantively free of the impacts of human activities. This is projected to decline to just one-tenth by 2050.

Infrastructure development to ease human lives will continue to grow to meet the ever-growing demands. For this, countries will continue to exploit natural resources to construct various infrastructure development required be it spatial of linear. Infrastructure development however comes at the cost of exploitation of natural resources blended by modern technologies.

Trend of Infrastructure development in Nepal

The demand for infrastructure development in Nepal is at peak. As Nepal commissions its rapid pace of development to meet its commitment to upgrade its status to middle income country by 2030, it is expected that more of linear as well as spatial infrastructure development activities will be expedited over time.

Backed by political stability, Nepal advances towards upgrade its status of Least developed country to developing by 2022 and middle-income country status by 2030. To meet this visionary dream, there is an urge for intense infrastructure development in Nepal. However, intense prioritization for infrastructure development overlooks their impacts on natural wellbeing. Despite having standard procedures and protocols of Environmental assessment during project planning, swift need for infrastructures often hustles with project execution ahead of environmental assessments. This trend will be detrimental for conservation activities in a long term.

Government of Nepal has allocated NRs 408.69 Billion for Capital expenditure, this contributes to 30.16% of total budget for Fiscal year 2076/77. This is significant allocation of budget for infrastructure development which is evenly distributed in all 7 States. Despite well distribution of budget for infrastructure development, the challenges like spending capacity, quality spending, sustainable investment and follow up on investment remains.

Table: Indicative representation of GoN's achievement until 14^th plan and target for 15^th plan for infrastructure development.

SN	Description	14th plan Achievement (FY 2073/74- 2075/76)	15th plan Target (FY 2076/77- 2080/81)
1	Road Development (km) National Highway blacktopping	6,979.00	15,000.00
2	Railway line (km)	42.00	112.00
3	Hydropower production (MW)	1020.00	5,000.00
4	Literacy Rate above 15 years (Percentage)	58	90
5	Industries (Percentage)	14.2	19.1

National priority for infrastructure development is currently focused in widening existing highways as well as introducing new ones along the East-West and North-South territories; alongside initiation of the Mechi-Mahakali electrified railways, and exploration of potential hydropower projects and transmission lines across the Nepalese territory; and irrigation canals, along the conservation hotspots of Terai Arc Landscape. Needless to say, all these large infrastructures impose inevitable pressure on wildlife bionomics throughout Nepal as planned infrastructure cut through national forests, corridors and core protected areas. With more developmental activities on board, the environmental impacts associated within will certainly be on rise. With federalism, state and local governments have been empowered with resources which have been exploited to maximum limit increasing the accessibility of infrastructure development in local level.

Nepal envisions to create a network of basic infrastructure required to ease lives and generate employment opportunities. Hydropower being one of very high potential green source of energy, Nepal's priority for clean and green energy of 5000 MW by 2023 is a generous target, yet the impacts it imposes on river basins should be closely monitored and impacts reduced.

Statistics of Local Road Network (SLRN) published by DoLIDAR, 2016 shows that among 57,632 km local roads in Nepal, almost 74.3% of the roads is earthen and can not serve during all weather conditions. These roads have enormous environmental hazards and could trigger dry and wet landslides, and can not withstand climate change impacts, thus results in detrimental impacts on natural wellbeing. The focus now should not be to increase the length of the roads but to increase the quality and standards of existing roads to benefit societies.  

Infrastructure, such as roads, alter ecological conditions, cut through natural habitats, and consequently reduce populations of many wildlife species. The ecological impacts of infrastructure extend into the adjacent landscape. As a result, local species abundance declines in the proximity of infrastructure and increase with distance from the infrastructure until levelling off at a certain threshold distance.

Besides strategic roads, the trend of development of local roads is extensively on rise which have more impacts on changing the regimes of water flow in the downstream by inducing debris flow and landslides. New cities/smart cities have been planned at various locations of mid hills and Terai which needs wise planning for the management of natural resources. With availability of required resources and other development parameters, the exploitation of natural resources will on rise.

Conservation and Development

The conservation successes in Nepal is the indication that conservation is of high priority and multi-stakeholders including government, communities and conservation partners are effectively engaged into conservation activities. The forest cover in Nepal has increased to 44.74% of total land area and 23.39% of total land area is under protected area system. However, the lower 20 kms width of Nepal which has enormous conservation successes is now under great threat because of increasing pressure on biodiversity due to increasing trend of infrastructure development.

The astonishing decline in wildlife population shown by the latest Living Planet Index - a 60% fall in just over 40 years - is a grim reminder and perhaps the ultimate indicator of the pressure we exert on the planet.

The total population estimates of Tigers in 2018 of 235 and rhinos' number of 645 (census 2015) is notification of successful conservation interventions in Nepal. The quality of forest, grassland, wetland and management of natural ecosystems is of high priority by Government of Nepal. Despite the world's wildlife population is at a declining rate at almost all countries, Nepal is doing exceptionally well in wildlife conservation. However, because of increasing developmental activities, the conservation hotspot is on increasing pressure which could have sustained impacts on wildlife conservation.

Habitat fragmentation and shrinkage, pollution, human wildlife conflict, vehicle wildlife collision are some direct impacts of infrastructure on wildlife. Because of irrigation canals through protected areas and transmission lines crossing through forest areas, drowning and electrocution of wildlife are as well on rise.

Existing policy and institutional measures
Government of Nepal is dedicated in delivering environment friendly measures to standardize infrastructure development. Environment protection is a minimal mandatory requisite for infrastructure development, yet the environment assessments which is a mandatory provision needs to be standardized and a duly follow up mechanism of such endorsed assessments should be put into practice to achieve sustainable development practices.

The constitution of Nepal signifies for the formulation of acts, bylaws, policy, standards and guidelines which favors environment protection whereas, being a signatory of Multilateral Environment Agreements (MEAs) and international processes like SDGs, Paris Agreement etc. GoN commits for promotion of environment protection at federal, state and local levels. Other stakeholders like private sectors, bilateral aids, special Government to Government agreements like Belt and Road Initiatives (BRI) and Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), and multilateral agencies like World Bank, Asian Development Bank among others contribute towards development of infrastructure in Nepal who are equally concerned about environmental priorities.

Local governments have been empowered with substantial budget for infrastructure development where a mandatory biodiversity conservation act was required. This has been recently formulated and is being endorsed at local levels. Similar strategies will be followed for state levels.

'Wildlife friendly linear infrastructure' guideline prepared in coordination by Department of Roads involving various stakeholders' ministries and departments is now under endorsement process which shall further lay pathways for linear infrastructure development in Nepal. Conservation has emerged as a must agenda even within development fraternity which obviously is a positive aspect because of which new guidelines, protocols and laws shall emerge according to the need in future.

Cautionary actions

The impacts on natural well being and wildlife due to growing infrastructure is on high attention recently. Development and Conservation stakeholders have now begun communicating on ways to reduce these impacts to promote sustainable green infrastructure which would benefit both human and wildlife. As a result of this, a "Wildlife Friendly Linear Infrastructure" guideline has been prepared and forwarded for endorsement which shall have a longer-term positive direction to infrastructure developers in the country to account for wildlife conservation in Nepal.

Strict Environmental scrutiny should be the basic requirement for any infrastructure development. By duly following the recommendations of environment assessments, implementation of mitigative actions is a must. Besides, hierarchical module of Sustainable green infrastructure i.e. Avoidance of critical biological hotspots at first, introducing mitigation/minimization measures and compensation should be duly followed.

Picture: Overpass in Sikta Irrigation Project's main canal

Picture: Underpass built at Barandabhar forest corridor at Narayanghat-Muglin Road 

Mitigation measures constructed for the safe movement of wildlife across linear infrastructures, be it Nepal's first wildlife underpasses in Narayanghat-Muglin road of wildlife overpasses at Sikta Irrigation Project's main canal have resulted in better safe passage of wildlife. Various actions on field are vigilant including Time cards system, reflective sign boards to awareness activities. These measures have been proven successful in reducing wildlife casualties due to vehicle wildlife collision. However, there is even more need of replication of successful interventions and research-based promotion of new technologies to empower development practices in Nepal.

Ways forward

Nepal has high potentials on tourism which could have sustainable ripple effect in strengthening national economy. Natural heritages and wildlife conservation are the major contributing pillar of tourism whose sustained use could lead to generous solutions to upgrading national economy. All the actors of development should thus align their strategies to support conservation incentive which will bring out sustainable solutions to natural wellbeing yet fulfilling the upgrowing demand of infrastructure development in Nepal.

This can be achieved only by raising awareness through capacity enhancement to concerned stakeholders and general public. The need for devising standards, protocols at all tiers of government including local, state and federal levels. For this, the research and development prospect of development should be strengthened. Only by researches, prototypes of best mitigation measures to reduce the ill impacts of infrastructure development could be developed which shall later be replicated. Commitment for sustainable use of natural resources and promotion of green infrastructure should be a basic mandate from all related stakeholders including the implementors, developers, local people and all tiers of government.