This week I invite you to take a ride along the Ring Road and enjoy the sight of the flowering Jacarandas. Notice how people enjoy spending time under the trees. Countless community parks and eateries have been created around them, offering small ‘islands’ of peace and relaxation. Observe how many stray animals consider these places their home. And try to notice the countless nests that birds have built in the Ring Road’s famous ‘green belt’.
The ride comes with a warning: all the natural beauty that you will see on your trip will disappear in just a few weeks’ time if no one speaks or acts.
When I first heard that the government planned to cut over 1,200 trees along the Ring Road, I could not believe my ears. Do authorities really intend to fell the beautiful Jacaranda, Mimosa and other varieties of trees that make up the green belt along Kathmandu’s most prominent road? Do they want to destroy the habitat of no less than 100 urban bird species, including the cuckoos, black kites, owls, crows, small cranes and creepers?
I guess I should not have been surprised: our planners and contractors so far have shown little or no respect for protecting urban trees. ‘The more dead wood, the better,’ seems to be the thought on every official’s mind. With the exception of one stretch of Arniko Highway at Bhaktapur, there have hardly been signs of replantation. The stretches that have been expanded have no provision for trees; even if citizens took the initiative to plant trees, they would have to break open the pavements to be able to do so. [break]
Citizens for Trees/Facebook
I don’t think anyone objects to the expansion of the Ring Road. But for that, a plan designed with the inputs of various stakeholders and the preferences of all road users, including pedestrians and cyclists, and the provision of a green belt, is a basic requirement. It is relatively easy to build a road using a top down approach, throwing in foreign technology and funds, but how sustainable is such a project? Are transparency, good governance and participatory practices not important to make sure the road benefits society as a whole?
Trees are crucial, they are our lifeline. They decrease potentially fatal pollution. They also absorb water and rainfall and decrease average temperatures. Without trees, Kathmandu suffers. Leaves filter out particulate pollution. Large trees also intercept rain water that would otherwise clog our malfunctioning drainage system. Tree shade stops asphalt from reflecting the sun’s heat and creating so-called heat islands. Last but not least, they are homes to countless birds and insects.
Random and haphazard building practices have turned this beautiful valley into a concrete jungle. We are forced to question the authorities who are letting this happen. The essence of democracy is accountability, and that is all we are asking for.
The Department of Roads needs to follow its own guidelines and come up with professional designs that include sidewalks for pedestrians and bike lanes to encourage green transportation and to reduce the number of cars, as well as maintain green belts. Various stakeholders need to be consulted, not in the least communities who live along the Ring Road.
When are we, the people, going to wake up to the fact that we can actually DO something about the devastating environmental degradation of Kathmandu Valley? There’s not a person I know who doesn’t complain about the quality of air, the stench from the Bagmati and Bishnumati rivers, haphazard construction, the dust, the pollution, and so forth. But unless we stop complaining and start acting, the situation will further deteriorate.
Many believe the trees must be cut, as they are a ‘danger’ and pose ‘obstacles’. Few understand the real value of trees; they actually provide us with safety in many ways. Sidewalks and bikes lanes can be built in such a way that they incorporate trees—a common practice in the West and countries such as India and Singapore.
There is still hope. A growing number of concerned citizens from all walks of life have come together to promote the greenery of Kathmandu and put a stop to tree felling in the name of road widening. The group demands transparency in road projects, including intelligent, participatory road design which includes greenery and an immediate stop to random tree felling.
Monsoon is a season to plant, not cut. I encourage every citizen, organization and company to make good use of this season and start planting. Raise your voice and urge the authorities to protect the trees that are still standing, and to increase our green cover. It is not too late to reverse the destruction and create a city which makes us and our children proud.
The author is a campaigner with the Tree Liberation Army which is working to save trees in Kathmandu
Related story
Gagan Thapa invites UML, NCP and RSP to joint platform for five...
-1200x560-1776240217.webp)
