Forest and Environmental Status

Although there are no forest areas within the total land area of the sub-metropolitan city, 2.61 percent of the land area is covered by bush and shrubland. Goal No. 15 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) highlights the importance of sustainable management of forests, combating desertification, halting and reversing land degradation, and halting biodiversity loss. Therefore, to maintain the balance of the environmental system, cleanliness of the atmosphere, and habitats for flora and fauna, the conservation of forests must be prioritized. Moreover, by extensively involving the public in plantation programs on fallow lands and riverbanks outside forest areas, the sub-metropolitan city can be developed as a 'green garden,' linking forests to income generation even in limited amounts. Similarly, it seems necessary to conduct plantation, dam construction, wire fencing, embankment, and traditional flood/inundation control and soil conservation programs in highly sensitive areas. Since plantation is an effective measure for soil conservation, prioritizing this task is essential.

The banks of rivers and streams like the Duduwa River, playgrounds, community forest areas, etc., within this sub-metropolitan city are available as empty spaces for plantation.

The streams and rivulets, including the Duduwa stream, located in this sub-metropolitan city, are the main sources of local watersheds. More than 18 natural ponds and lakes, including the Duduwa stream, Rapti river, and Waterpark pond, Phulteka pond, Rani Pond, Futaha pond, Kanti pond, Pakaniya pond, Bhatarawanwa pond, and Suiya pond, are the main sources of water in this sub-metropolitan city.

As the forest area in the sub-metropolitan city is very negligible, there is a lack of vegetation typically found in forest areas. Therefore, in addition to bushes and shrubs, there is availability of fruit trees and plants.

The sub-metropolitan city faces recurring disasters like flooding, pandemics, hailstorms, strong winds, cold waves, and wild animal attacks. Recently, post-COVID-19, dengue has emerged as a major disaster. Additionally, road accidents, cold waves, and heatwaves are subsidiary disasters. The risk of earthquakes can never be ruled out. Floods and erosion from rivers and seasonal streams flowing south from the northern Chure hills cause significant loss of life and property in this sub-metropolitan city. It also severely impacts seasonal crops, off-season vegetable farming, and riverbed (bagar) farming.

Management and repair of unpaved roads, streams, culverts, and irrigation canals within the sub-metropolitan city can reduce the impact of uncontrolled floods caused by the Duduwa and Rapti rivers. For disaster risk reduction, the sub-metropolitan city has prioritized policy arrangements, awareness, and capacity-building programs, as well as prevention and emergency preparedness activities for vulnerable communities and all residents.

Basically, human activities concentrated around the streams of the sub-metropolitan city have negatively impacted flood-prone areas. Embankments and proper drainage systems are needed to stop this trend. Similarly, frost, hailstorms, and strong winds destroy food and fruit crops. Addressing flood risks requires short-term measures like building embankments, medium-term measures like plantation in affected areas, and long-term protection of all river-affected areas and reducing human-wildlife conflict. It has also been identified that intensive watershed conservation programs should be operated while making these areas unaffected by human activities.

In this sub-metropolitan city, floods (inundation and erosion) during the monsoon cause human and physical damage. This leads to physical damage for many households every year. Problems include land erosion, damage to fish ponds, livestock loss, damage to crops and infrastructure, and disease outbreaks due to the lack of clean water and sanitation.