A Short History of Nepal and Its Environment - Dick

Prior to 55 million years ago Nepal and India resided along the east coast of South Africa and around 40 million years ago they arrived at their present location. When the Indian subcontinent hit Asia the collision resulted in what we know now as the Himalayan mountains, the Himalayan range runs for 2,400 km, 800 km of which resides in Nepal. Among the mountains in this stretch are Everest and the Annapurna range. The Annapurna range was the focus of our visit to Nepal.

In recent history there have been 3 major catastrophic events that have created havoc for Nepal. In 2008 the King of Nepal, Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, was murdered. Since that point no leadership has been in place for more than 2 years and all of these administrations have been noted for their incompetence. A rapid population increase in Kathmandu, the capital, necessitated the implementation of the Kathmandu Valley Water Supply Improvement Project. This project was put into effect in 2011. The first step taken was to tear up all of the roads in Kathmandu and the surrounding area. Six years later at the time of our visit none of the streets were put back in service and very little work in progress was evident. The result is that an area with a population of 5 million people is being serviced with dirt roads. In April of 2015 a Magnitude: 7.8 earthquake and several after shocks hit Nepal and brought much of the country to its knees. It struck a major blow to the country’s largest industry, tourism.

Irrespective of the cause, Nepal is one of the poorest countries on earth. The annual per capita gross domestic product of Nepal in 2015 was $689 vs $51,638 for the United States that same year. Or to say it another way, the average person in Nepal lives on 1.3 % of what the average American does. India, which is considered to be a very poor country has twice the annual per capita GDP as Nepal

When we arrived in Kathmandu from Bangkok the view from the plane was of a dusty urban landscape, largely populated by two and three story brick structures. The airport terminal was old, rundown and you have to walk 2 or 3 blocks to get to it. Once inside you are greeted by a disorderly system to get your visa. Pollution in Kathmandu is rated the 3rd worst in the world. In a response to the need for brick for rebuilding after the earthquake the government removed all restrictions on the wood and coal fired brick kilns in the Kathmandu Valley. The smoke from these kilns, gas pollution from poorly maintained trucks and autos as well as the extremely high level of road dust in this very busy city all combine to create a very uncomfortable environment.

Read about our Nepalese adventure.