Pollution and protest

Faced with a growing fuel crisis in Nepal the Government has allowed the State-owned Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) to increase the price of petroleum products - petrol, diesel and kerosene - as of yesterday. The price hikes have been substantial, with increases of up to 28%. However so heavily have the prices been capped by the Government in the past (well below the import price) these increases are still not going to be enough to allow the debt-ridden NOC to even come close to breaking even. The problem is that in the past when prices have been raised street protests have erupted compelling the Government has had to back down and reverse the decision. I think this time around the Government is hoping to increase the cost by stages and hope that no one will notice.

There were protests in Kathmandu yesterday but fairly minor ones and I suspect these will soon blow over as everyone knows that prices can't be held so artificially low. The problem of course is that there is a huge knock-on effect in terms of general price rises which will be felt acutely in a country that is already so poor. The only consolation I can see is that in the UK where there have also been huge price rises at the pumps and long queues apparently petrol sales have dropped by 20% as people make less use of their cars. That has to have a huge benefit for the environment and polluted Kathmandu would certainly benefit from fewer vehicles on the road.

The Maoists as the leading party in the country have always said that they will turn Nepal into a prosperous nation. They have to be given the benefit of the doubt over this pledge, as this is their first time in power and every other party in the past has failed the nation. However these soaring costs of fuel won't help them to achieve their goals. That's but one of the challenges. The major one is to somehow engineer a sea change in people's attitudes to reform society along a healthy socialist agenda. To show concern for others many in the Nepali public have to escape from a "compound wall" mentality where so commonly people keep the confines of the compound wall that surrounds their house neat and tidy, while happily throwing rubbish over the other side. A reflection of this is the pollution of the "sacred" Bagmati river that runs through Kathmandu. Crossing the Bagmati bridge yesterday (I had to abandon my vehicle which had been caught in a traffic jam because of street protests) I took the picture on the right of the rubbish that is blatantly tipped into the stinking river. The Maoist leader, Prachanda, has said that he will clean up the Bagmati but this is a Herculean task which reflects in microcosm the difficulties his party will experience throughout Nepal purely as a result of people's inconsiderate attitudes.

It's not just the Nepalis who need to get real about our obligations to save the planet. Recently I saw a grant application form from a UK Trust that invites applicant charities to state what they are doing to reduce their carbon footprint. Immediately I could think of how The Esther Benjamins Trust has established a biogas facility at the school for deaf children in Bhairahawa and how we are embracing Skype technology (webcam-based internet communication) that may allow us to hold Trustee meetings without travelling from home or my having to return from Nepal. Not all organisations within the sector are giving a due amount of thought to such issues. I was impressed to read that the Absolute Return for Kids (ARK) charity held a fundraising gala dinner in London at the weekend that raised £25 million. Then upon further reading I noted that one of the auction prizes was a private jet flight to a vineyard in France to pick up some cases of wine. There's something worthy of protest.

Polluted cities

This visit to the UK has been very revealing. I realise how, although this "developed" nation is a great one, in so many respects (that could so readily be sorted out) it is very similar to the "undeveloped" Nepal.

If there is one thing that could drive me out of Nepal (a country that I love so much in spite of my frequent rants on this Blog), it wouldn't be the corruption, the endemic ineptitude, the lack of basic amenities (the nation is now experiencing 48 hours of power cuts per week), the growing violence or a feeling of general ennui; it would be the pollution. It is bad enough that Kathmandu is rendered disgusting through traffic fumes, brick kiln smoke and uncontrolled effluent into the "holy" Bagmati river; worst of all is the apparent indifference to the problem in a land where people superficially claim to love their nation so much. The ease with which the silence of those who should be regulating such problems is bought through bribes condemns them, us and, worst still, the next generation to residing in a planet that seems to be fast spiralling into a polluted oblivion.

Then I read today (to my surprise) that one and a half million Londoners are living with air quality that is below acceptable levels for pollutants and the prevalence of asthma is on the increase. In response most of the city has today been declared a "Low Emission Zone". This means that vehicles that pollute will be charged £200 to enter the zone or face a £1,000 fine. Some small companies are up in arms saying that they can't afford this and that it will drive them into liquidation. As far as I am concerned, with the future of our children at stake, these arguments - which are entirely money-driven - are just not valid. Sad to say, these businesses will have to be able to afford to move with the times, or go under.

Tomorrow Bev, Alisha and I go off to the Suffolk coast to enjoy three nights in a National Trust cottage. That will give Alisha her first sight of the sea. Never mind her, how exciting that will be for me! I will send this Blog a picture from what will no doubt be a very windswept beach. But at least the air will be clean.