Khadka Ram B, Khanal Anil B
School of Environmental Management and Sustainable Development, Pokhara University, Pokhara, Nepal.
Environ Monit Assess. 2008 Nov;146(1-3):225-34. doi: 10.1007/s10661-007-0074-8. Epub 2007 Dec 22.
More than 1.5 million people live in the Kathmandu valley. The valley is facing an extreme shortage of water supply. At the same time the demand is escalating rapidly. To address this issue of scarcity of water, the government of Nepal has proposed a project of inter-basin transfer of water from Melamchi River located 40 km north-east of the Kathmandu valley. The project will cover two districts and three municipalities and will potentially have significant impacts on the environment. In accordance with the Environmental Protection Regulation of Nepal (1997), the Melamchi Water Supply Project (MWSP) has undergone an EIA during the feasibility study stage of the proposed project. The recommendations contained in the EIA were integrated into the project design for implementation in 2006. This paper summarizes the background of MWSP, the environmental concerns described in the EIA and the status of Environmental Management Plan (EMP) developed to address environmental compliance and other issues involving participation and support of the local people. This paper also provides some lessons to learn on the modalities of addressing the demands and grievances of the local people concerning environmental management.
加德满都谷地有超过150万人居住。该谷地正面临着严重的供水短缺问题。与此同时，用水需求正在迅速攀升。为解决水资源短缺问题，尼泊尔政府提议实施一个从加德满都谷地东北40公里处的梅拉姆奇河进行跨流域调水的项目。该项目将覆盖两个县和三个市，并可能对环境产生重大影响。根据尼泊尔《环境保护条例》（1997年），梅拉姆奇供水项目（MWSP）在拟议项目的可行性研究阶段进行了环境影响评估。环境影响评估中提出的建议已纳入项目设计，以便于2006年实施。本文概述了梅拉姆奇供水项目的背景、环境影响评估中描述的环境问题，以及为确保环境合规及处理涉及当地民众参与和支持的其他问题而制定的环境管理计划（EMP）的现状。本文还提供了一些经验教训，以了解如何应对当地民众在环境管理方面的需求和诉求。
