Nepal's Supreme Court has struck down disputed laws that permit waterpower centers , visitor housing such as hotels , and other business development in protected natural areas . Environmental defenders say the January 15 ruling is a victory for efforts to protect the country’s natural areas .
Nepal has recognized one fifth of its territory as protected natural areas . The country has 12 national parks and six conservation areas . They include lowland areas such as Chitwan National Park . The park is home to many wild animals such as tigers and rhinos . Other protected areas include Sagarmatha National Park , home to Mount Everest .
Waterpower , or hydropower , and tourism represent major economic sources for Nepal . Last year , its government passed laws to permit development of large projects in some parts of national parks , forests and other protected areas .
Padam Bahadur Shrestha is a Nepalese environmental activist who took legal action against the laws . He told Agence France Press that the laws ’ passage showed that the government lacked insight and was only seeking to please business investors .
Shrestha praised the Supreme Court’s ruling , saying it "preserves ecology and biodiversity .”
Nepal is recognized worldwide for its actions to protect its wild animal and plant life .
Nepal's environmental protection laws have helped the local tiger population increase from 121 animals in 2010 to 355 in 2023 . And while only about 100 one -horned rhinos were living in Nepal in the 1960s , their number increased to 752 in 2021 .
Nepal also increased its tree cover by almost 100 percent between 1992 and 2016 . Wood industry activities , or logging , had deforested many areas of the country for tens of years earlier .
Rampreet Yadav is a former conservation officer of Chitwan National Park , Nepal's largest protected area . He said the recent laws “should never have been passed ."
"If development projects are allowed in protected areas , they will destroy our nature and animal habitats ," he added .
The Nepalese government wants to develop its hydropower industry , especially along rivers in the Himalayan mountains . Last October , it signed agreements with India and Bangladesh to export thousands of megawatts of hydropower .
Nepal also earns much money from tourism . Last year , around one million foreign visitors came to Nepal , and the government has been spending money on the development of its airports .
I’m Andrew Smith .
Andrew Smith adapted this story based on reporting from Agence France Press .
tourism – n. the practice of traveling for recreation
insight – n. the power or act of seeing into or understanding a situation
preserve – v. to keep safe from injury, harm, or destruction
biodiversity – n. biological variety in an environment as indicated by numbers of different species of plants and animals conservation – n. planned management of a natural resource to prevent exploitation, destruction, or neglect
allow – v. to permit; to let
megawatt – n. one million watts
◆ ◆ ◆
Word highlighting is estimated until aligned timings are added.