NEWS OF THE WEEK: 12- 18 January ************************************************** KATHMANDU UNPREPARED FOR A BIG QUAKE With no open space, earthquake proof structure, earthquake awareness and failure to learn from previous disaster, Kathmandu is still under-prepared for earthquakes. According to the National Society for Earthquake Technology (NSET), there hasn’t been much progress to protect people and the existing infrastructure from the disaster. Various studies have shown that if a tremor like that of 1934 strikes Kathmandu Valley, then over 90,000 people would die and 80 per cent of the building structures would collapse. January 13 ekantipur/2015/01/13/development/kathmandu-under-prepared-for-earthquake/400274.html WILDLIFE WOES Rabid Jackals have created havoc among the locals in Maidi VDC, Dhading district in central Nepal by attacking human as well as the livestock. As many as 14 human and scores of livestock have been injured from the attack of jackals and among them nine are at serious condition. In another case, onset of snowfall in the upper belt of Bajura district, far western Nepal has increased illegal hunting and smuggling of rare wild animals massively as the animals migrate down due to the extreme environmental condition. January 13, 14 ekantipur/2015/01/12/national/rabid-jackals-terrorise-dhading-locals/400234.html thehimalayantimes/fullNews.php?headline=Poaching%E2%80%9A+smuggling+of+rare+animals+up+in+Bajura+district+of+late&NewsID=441041 DIFFICULTIES IN SNOW LEOPARD STUDY Study of snow leopard has become increasingly difficult for researchers in Taplejung, northeastern Nepal as only one snow leopard has been attached with radio collar in the past one and half year. Due to the failure of various efforts to fit collar on this endangered animal, researchers have been compelled to rely on past data. The population of snow leopards is estimated to be 300 to 500 in Nepal. January 14 ekantipur/2015/01/14/national/snow leopard study becoming difficult experts/400329.html TOURISM GROWTH IN CHITWAN Tourism in the Chitwan National Park region, western Nepal is seeing an unprecedented growth with the growth of wildlife nearby buffer zone and community forests. To make this happen, locals and the park administration have worked days and nights to protect the animals and their habitat and monitoring the sensitive zones 24 hours a day. However, in lack of adequate weaponry and other equipment, the staffs guarding the park are at serious risk. January 14 myrepublica/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=90360#sthash.eZbF3wg5.dpuf WATER SHORTAGE IN RAMECHHAP Water shortage in Pakarbas VDC of Ramechhap district in central Nepal has hit life of about 29 households of the area. Also, 19 other VDCs of the district are at a high risk of water crisis due to which they are compelled to spend the whole night near a tap waiting to fill a can of drinking water. To combat this crisis, people from more than a dozen VDCs of the district have shifted to areas near the river. January 15 thehimalayantimes/fullNews.php?headline=Acute+water+shortage+hits+locals+hard+&NewsID=441165 FOOD SHORTAGE IN JAJARKOT People in remote part of Jajarkot, mid western Nepal are suffering from shortage of food as Nepal Food Corporation (NFC) has not been able to transport subsidized rice to those areas for the past eight months. The transportation of rice in the depots had been delayed as NFC could not entertain the tender applications filed by transport entrepreneurs. According to NFC, they had supplied 550 quintals of rice in September but nothing has reached the depots since then. January 15 ekantipur/2015/01/15/national/famine-looms-large-in-jajarkot/400374.html DECLINE IN MIGRATORY BIRDS A team of ornithologists and conservationists, who have been studying the pattern of birds for the past one week in Kaski district western Nepal, reported that the human activities such as deforestation and encroachment, has reduced the numbers of migratory birds in the district. As per the research, migratory birds have decreased by 15 per cent due to the encroachment of wetlands, fishing, human movement and adventure sports activities like paragliding. January 15 ekantipur/2015/01/15/national/number of water birds declining/400370.html Note: These news are taken from Headline Himalaya, a weekly environmental newsletter by Environmental Graduates of Himalaya (EGH)
Posted on: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 02:26:45 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015