Environmental condition

Environmental condition
Dr Md Rajja
South Asia has been largely preoccupied with managing moderate economic development, starting from a very low base, with an aim to provide basic necessities to the population. Poverty is still the main issue and will remain so for many years to come, given the moderately high population growth rate, limited land resources and periodic natural calamities such as flooding and cyclone damage. To put environmental concerns into perspective, the average life expectancy in South Asia is still only 51 years, and more than 60% of the adult population is illiterate. In rural areas, the environmental conditions have been impacted more by natural causes than by economic developments. Although the land is intensively cultivated, the land use patterns have existed for many generations. In the urban areas, however, industrial and residential development has more serious environmental impacts in localized areas. The major concerns are poor solid waste management, effluent treatment and related health problems. In central South Asia , air pollution is a serious problem. The level of industrial development is still limited. Though the environment may not be considered a priority concern in South Asia , some important environmental issues should be considered to include deteriorating urban environmental conditions, threat of global warming and rising sea level, protection of sensitive environmental habitat. For the poor, living conditions in urban areas are worse than in rural areas, since housing, access to safe water, food supply and nutrition are at low levels.  Urban waste dumps and effluent discharging into stagnant bodies of water already present serious health conditions for the urban poor. At present, and again with the exception of central South Asia is less concerned about acid rain and air pollution. Regarding CO2 South Asia is very worried about the implications of climatic warming and rising sea levels.
The natural habitats support an abundance of aquatic and terrestrial species, including Bengal tigers, crocodiles, turtles, monkeys and migratory birds but Forests are currently being depleted. 
As there are so many people living in the country, they have to use every bit of land available for farming, even the riverbanks. These riverbanks are prone to erosion however and people are frequently plunged into extreme poverty when they lose their land and homes due to erosion. Although floods are an annual event, mega floods seem to be becoming more frequent. Mega floods destroyed country’s crops, killed people and left million homeless or stranded. Floods caused far greater health problems such as cholera and diarrhea than has been seen for at least a decade. Temperature increases caused by climate change will mean that more snow melts in the Himalayan Mountains each summer. This water will run into the rivers increasing the flooding and river erosion. If the snow melts fully, it could lead to severe water shortages. Many of those living in coastal areas will have to move inland where the population is already high. Increased sea levels mean that salt is getting into the soil, making fields near the coast useless for farming. The salt is also killing off mangrove forests that are a vital protection against cyclones, storms and tsunamis. Climate change could also increase the number and intensity of tropical storms in the area. Predictions suggest that climate change could mean that by 2050 millions people may be made environmental refugees in South Asia. Comprehensive flood control and emergency measures, steps must be taken.
South Asia is often hit by disasters, particularly cyclones, floods, and drought. Its tropical monsoon climate is influenced by the Himalayan, the Assam, and the Burmese mountain ranges in the north and the north east, and the Bay of Bengal in the south. The strong monsoon rains make it extremely vulnerable to recurring floods. In addition, the country’s location along approximately 710 kilometers of coastline leaves huge tracts of land open to the destructive effects of cyclonic storm surges and tsunami due to earthquake. In a disaster situation, those living near the poverty line can easily slip below it. After a disaster the landless and asset less people may be forced to sell their remaining assets for survival. Those who depend upon wage labor for survival are forced to compete with those forced by disaster to enter new in the labor market which becomes further depressed by the loss of harvests and alternative sources of employment.
Though, disaster need not be with us all along and efforts must be made to minimize impacts of hazards through proper disaster management planning. At the same time in a disaster prone country like South Asia  all disaster management activities must be integrated with national development plan. This would result in avoiding duplication of measures, make both disaster management measures and development activities cost effective and create national self assurance.
Nepal is a disaster prone country, but the measures to counter disasters have opened new opportunities for introduction of advanced technology thereby accelerating development of rural infrastructure, electrification and other development activities. It has also contributed in increasing production in agriculture, fisheries, livestock, etc. Massive poverty alleviation programes should be undertaken by the Government to develop resiliency of the people against disaster through increase of income and employment. This will bring vast mass of poor people in the main stream of national development and disaster administration.
Disaster prone country like Nepal where disaster is unavoidable, disaster management planning should be integrated with development planning for ensuring sustainable development and wealth.
Nepal is well known as one of the most flood-prone country. Fifty four rivers flow into the country, which has the largest system of deltas and flat lands in the world. Floods hit virtually every year areas of the country as the melting of the snows in the Himalayas combines with monsoon rains and cyclones. Heavy monsoon rains caused major rivers to rise simultaneously in early September, eroding protective embankments and flooding vast areas of the country. These devastating impact of the floods are not simply the result of natural causes. However, but decades of neglect and the lack of adequate flood prevention. According to some scientists, deforestation and mountainside cultivation in the Himalayas has increased the amount of sediment carried by the rivers to three billion tonnes annually, raising the rivers beds and increasing the likelihood of flooding.

Critics of the Flood Action Plan pointed to the many engineering, ecological and social complexities involved in building large embankments to prevent flooding, including the constant shifting of the river courses, the dependence of farmers on the flooding, the risk to downstream populations and the impact on fisheries. In the end, little has been done and once again the masses of South Asia have suffered the consequences.
Clearly a comprehensive plan to manage the rivers systems of Nepal presents complex problems. But these are not beyond the bounds of human ingenuity. The real difficulties lie in the lack of capital to tackle works necessary to put an end to such disasters. 

Dr Md Rajja

Medical Doctor

Birgunj Nepal

Email: arnold_raza@yahoo.com