Annual Report of Martin Chautari, 2001-2002
I. INTRODUCTION
II. CORE ACTIVITIES: OPEN DISCUSSIONS
III. ENHANCING MEDIA'S CAPACITY TO DEMAND GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY IN NEPAL
IV. PROMOTING BOOK CULTURE IN NEPAL
V. ELECTRIC VEHICLE ADVOCACY
VI. ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
VII. OTHER WORKS
VIII. INSTITUTION BUILDING
IX. FINANCIAL REPORT
X. ANNEX
The year 2001/2002 proved to be critical in the effort to further institutionalize Martin Chautari (hereafter Chautari)/Centre for Social Research and Development (hereafter CSRD).
In addition to continuing with its core activity of promoting open discussions in its premises and beyond, Chautari/CSRD continued and undertook new research and advocacy work in a variety of sectors: the media, books, electric vehicles and environmental_justice. The Board that used to govern Chautari amicably dissolved itself in April 2002, after members of the Board and the then-Management Committee decided to register Chautari as a non-government organization independent of CSRD. The reorganizing and strengthening of Chautari's institutional capacity has followed, alongside the process of legally registering Chautari.
As it begins a new phase in its history, Chautari looks forward to continuing with its original goal to encourage open and high-level dialogue on matters pertaining to the public interest of Nepali citizens. By encouraging public debate and disseminating ideas in ways that are able to influence public opinion and policy, Chautari hopes to continue creating democratic spaces which can house an engaged and vibrant civil society.
Detailed accounts of the work done by Chautari/CSRD in the fiscal year 2001/2002 are included in this report, along with pertinent addenda and supporting material, as well as the year's financial report. The contents of this report are:
II. CORE ACTIVITIES: OPEN DISCUSSIONS
II.1. Mangalbaarey
Chautari's weekly discussions on Tuesday, Mangalbaarey, are part of its core activities, conducted with a view to encouraging open debate on matters of public interest in Nepal. Having taken place on a weekly basis since 1997, Mangalbaarey has become longest-running open forum for high level public debate and discussion in Kathmandu. Mangalbaarey is organized on a fully voluntary basis by Chautari staff, mobilizing public participation.
51 Mangalbaarey discussions took place in the past fiscal year, focusing on a wide variety of subjects. A comprehensive list of these discussions is attached on annex A.
II.2 Media Discussion Series>
As part of its core activities, Chautari also started a separate twice-a-month series of discussions related to media in Nepal. The first discussion in this series took place on 16 August 2001 and by the end of this fiscal year MC had held total of 22 discussions. The media series is only of its kind in Nepal. The title of the presentations and the names of the people who led the discussions are listed in annex B.
Beside this MC has provided its venue to discussions organized by the Youth Initiative every alternative Saturday on topics related to the youth.
III. ENHANCING MEDIA'S CAPACITY TO DEMAND GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY IN NEPAL
Project Coordinator: Pratyoush Onta
Funding: From The Asia Foundation (TAF) Nepal office under grant no. 20-11901 as per the letter of agreement dated 23 August 2001. Grant included a cash amount of Rs 1,907,400 and a TV, VCR, computer and laser printer.
Project Duration: 25 August 2001 to 25 February 2002 with an extension approved up to 25 April 2002.
Project Description/Objectives: According to the letter of agreement signed between Chautari/CSRD and TAF it was understood that Chautari/CSRD would execute the following activities under the TAF grant: 1) organize one national and four regional symposia on structural constraints that inhibit the national and regional media's ability to conduct investigative reporting; (2) conduct a series of fortnightly discussions on media and government accountability; (3) conduct regional and thematic research on media; (4) produce and present two books, on regional media and on media and accountability; and (5) build organizational capacity to sustain activities beyond the TAF funded project period.
ACTIVITY REPORT
III.1. National Symposium
A two-day symposium on structural constraints that inhibit the Nepali national (read Kathmandu-based) media's ability to do investigative journalism in Nepal was held on 28-29 September 2001 (12-13 Asoj 2058) at Chautari premises in Kathmandu. The symposium consisted of six sessions: an overview, print, radio, photojournalism, television/internet and a concluding discussion. 38 fresh journalists (most of whom been on the job for less than two years) were invited to participate. Eight of them came from outside of the Kathmandu Valley. All the participants were given a set of relevant reading materials upon arrival.
The resource persons and the topics they covered included:
a) Pratyoush Onta, Chautari: An overview of the status of investigative journalism in Nepal
b) Mohan Mainali, Centre for Investigative Journalism, Himal Association: What inhibits investigative journalism in print media in Nepal?
c) Madhu Acharya, freelance radio program producer: Doing investigative journalism for radio in Nepal
d) Usha Tiwari, freelance photojournalist, Chautari: Print photojournalism and investigative journalism in Nepal
e) Kedar Sharma, freelance videojournalist: Television and investigative journalism in Nepal
Additional commentators:
f) Rama Parajuli, Senior reporter, Kantipur: Additional commentary on the presentation by Mohan Mainali
g) Sudhira Shah, photojournalist, Kantipur: Additional commentary on the presentation by Usha Tiwari
h) Gaurab Raj Upadhaya, freelance Internet consultant: Commentary on investigative journalism and the Internet
The presentations and subsequent discussions were held in an informal manner and were very lively in nature. The organizers were told by the participants that the symposium was useful for them to reflect upon the work they had been doing as journalists and on the state of investigative journalism in Nepal.
III.2. Regional Symposia (four in total)
Four symposia on the constraints faced by local/regional print and electronic media regarding investigative reporting were held. The last one was initially proposed to be held in Dhangadhi but security concerns forced us to hold it in Nepalgunj. These symposia were structured in such a way to allow us to launch our book Ksatriya Media: Bigat ra Bartaman (Regional Media: Its Past and the Present) and invite commentaries on the relevant sections of it from knowledgeable local/regional media practitioners.
Biratnagar
Date: Friday, 19 April 2002 (6 Baisakh 2059). The function was jointly organized with the Regional Media Resource Centre of the Nepal Press Institute (NPI) in Biratnagar at its premises in Tin Toliya. It was attended by Bhaskar Gautam and Sekhar Parajulee on behalf of Chautari. The program included:
a) A welcome address and the launching of the book: Toya Gautam, Coordinator, Regional Media Resource Centre, NPI, Biratnagar
b) On the book and its findings: Bhaskar Gautam, Chautari
c) Comments on the fours chapters included in the eastern section of the book: Mohan Bhandari, freelance journalist based in Biratnagar
Open discussion included participation by Suresh Acharya, President of the Central Committee of the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) and local senior journalists. Other participants among the 35 present included two of the three contributors of the media history in eastern Nepal chapters (Pramod Pradhan and Mohan Kaji Neupane), five journalists from Dharan and three from Jhapa.
Butwal
Date: Wednesday, 17 April 2002 (4 Baisakh 2059). The function was jointly organized with the FNJ, Rupendehi district committee at the premises of Hotel Sayapatri in Butwal. Sekhar Parajulee and Devraj Humagain attended the program on behalf of Chautari. The program included:
a) A welcome address: Suman Adhikari, Vice-President, FNJ, Rupendehi district committee
b) The launching of the book: Surya Lal, senior journalist
c) On the book and the research it contains: Sekhar Parajulee, Chautari
d) On the findings in the chapters related to the central region: Devraj Humagain, Chautari
e) Comments on the chapters related to the central region: Rishiram Bhusal, lecturer and journalist
f) Additional comments were made by the chief guest Surya Lal and Hari Lamsal, President, FNJ, Rupendehi district committee
A general discussion followed among the 50 participants, three of whom had come from Tansen, Palpa and one from Chitwan.
Pokhara
Date: Monday, 22 April 2002 (9 Baiskah 2059). The function was jointly organized with Pokhareli Yuba Sanskritic Parivar (Poyusapa) at the conference hall of Pokhara Udhyog Banijya Sangh, Gairapatan, Pokhara. Pratyoush Onta, Sekhar Parajulee, Krishna Adhikari and Ramesh Parajuli attended it on behalf of Chautari. The program included:
a) A welcome address: Sekhar Parajulee, Chautari
b) The launching of the book: Bhupanidhi Pant, former editor and columnist
c) About the book and the research it contains: Pratyoush Onta, Chautari
d) Commentary on the Pokhara section of the book: Tirtha Shrestha, poet, former columnist and ex-president of Poyusapa
e) Additional commentaries were made by Basanta Udas, chairman of the Pokhara Udhyog Banijya Sangh; Punya Poudel, President of the FNJ, Kaski district committee; Srinath Baral, vice-chairman, Kaski District Development Committee; Bhupanidhi Pant, the chief guest and Som Bajracharya, chair of Poyusapa
More than 60 participants were present on the occasion. Commentator Tirtha Shrestha gave a thorough assessment of the two chapters in the books related to the past and present of media in Pokhara. Other commentators added some points in passing. Subsequently the book and the research it contains were the subject of three programs in local FM radio stations in Pokhara. First was a 20-minute live discussion held over Radio Annapurna on 23 April 2002 amongst Pratyoush Onta, Punya Poudel and the program host Dipendra Shrestha. Similarly an hour-long live discussion between Pratyoush Onta, Sekhar Parajulee and program host Basudev Mishra was broadcast over Pokhara FM on 24 April 2002. On 25 April, Sekhar Parajulee was interviewed by host Mahesh Bhandari in Radio Annapurna. In addition, contributor Keshav Raj Parajuli's article on the history of print media in Pokhara was serialized in Pokhara's newspaper Dainik Janmat. Sekhar Parajulee's article on the current status of media in Pokhara was similarly serialized in Pokhara Hotline.
Nepalgunj
Date: Thursday, 18 April 2002 (5 Baisakh 2059). The function was jointly organized with the Regional Media Resource Centre, NPI in Nepalgung at its premises in Char Bahini Road. The program was attended by Krishna Adhikari and Ramesh Parajuli on behalf of Chautari. The program included:
a) A welcome address: Pitamber Katel, Program Officer, Regional Media Resource Centre, NPI, Nepalgung
b) About the book and the research it contains: Krishna Adhikari, Chautari
c) The launching of the book: Panna Lal Gupta, senior journalist and editor of Kiran Weekly
d) Commentary on the Mid- and Far-Western Section of the book: Shyamal, poet and former journalist
e) Additional commentaries made by Niraj Gautam, President of the FNJ, Banke District and by the chief guest Panna Lal Gupta
A total of 35 participants took part in the discussions. These included the two contributors of the chapters on regional media history in mid- and far-western Nepal, Purnalal Chuke and Dr Deviprasad Ojha (who came from Mahendranagar). Two of the participants had come from Dang. In the general discussions held, several participants commented about the contents of the book.
The findings in the book discussed below were largely corroborated by the participants in these four discussions. However they did point out omissions in the history chapters of our regional media book and disagreed with minor points made in the other chapters concerning the present status of regional media in Nepal. These discussions were reported in the local press.
III.3. Regional Research
As is generally known, almost all of the nationally influential print and electronic media in Nepal is produced in Kathmandu. This kind of spatial concentration means that the Nepali media represents the Kathmandu establishment's point of view on almost all issues. Despite slight differences in political orientation and analytic capacity, there is a consensus on how the Kathmandu media reports its subjects. It does so by playing it safe between the various political, financial and intellectual/cultural elite camps. This state of affairs should be a cause of alarm to anyone who is interested in generating the conditions in which a diversity of orientations and points of view (both intellectual and spatial) can be served by a truly pluralistic and democratic media in Nepal, one that competently serves its "watchdog" function.
In order to break Kathmandu's hold in nationally significant media production, we made the following surmises: 1) that print and electronic (especially radio) media institutions located outside of Kathmandu must consolidate themselves by innovating new models of ownership and management; 2) media managers and editors need to think carefully of ways to improve the skills of their reporters and other relevant staff members so that their coverage of regional issues would become much better. If this were to happen in the case of print media, we hoped that the circulation numbers of regional newspapers would go up; 3) With this increased visibility, revenue from advertisements would also go up, enhancing the financial health of print institutions. This was similarly true for non-state sector radio stations that were coming up in different parts of the country. These conditions were deemed necessary for regional media to achieve competence to demand accountability from local governments.
The research project and the resulting book: To facilitate the production of social knowledge on the history of regional media, we asked several former or practicing journalists to pen down a short history of media in the parts of the country where they had worked. Eight such people responded to our request with significant articles that form the first set of contributions in the book. These contributors were told to provide as much information as possible within the length of an article on the history of media in the specific regions they were most familiar with. They were not given a specific format to work with and this explains the variety found in the length, structure and the content of these essays.
The second set of contributions came from researchers associated with Chautari/CSRD. Bhaskar Gautam did research in the Eastern Development Region, Devraj Humagain in the Central, Sekhar Parajulee in the Western and Krishna Adhikari in the Mid- and Far-Western Regions. Here is what their research suggests.
With respect to investment in regional media, the volume has gone up, both for the case of print and radio. There have been attempts to consolidate investments in various existing newspapers by forging an alliance between several publishers who have chosen to back up only one of the erstwhile publications. Investment in non-state sector radio is of course all new. In addition new investors with no or very little background in media production have entered the field. Apart from the private sector, investment in media has also been forthcoming from local governments who run radio stations. Such investments have also come from non-governmental organizations and cooperatives that run radio stations and publish newspapers. In this way, one could argue that the democratic logic of wider participation in media is happening in Nepal. However our researchers have also noted that there is a big gap between the rhetoric of what media producers and managers say they want to achieve (serve the larger public good through good journalism) and their institutional capacities. This gap became apparent when the researchers paid attention to some other variables that are important determinants of the quality and influence of media products.
The average circulation of regional newspapers was found to be less than 1000 copies with the their geographical spread mostly limited to the cities in which they were published. Even for the case of the better newspapers in Butwal or Pokhara, the circulation figures increased to 7000 or above but their space of circulation was rather limited. Hence regional print media product's visibility is not so attractive to a potential advertisement patron who would rather place his ad in a Kathmandu newspaper. This leads to severe undercutting of ad rates amongst regional newspapers, resulting in poor revenue returns that do not sustain the long-term health of the concerned newspapers. This in turn forces editors and managers to engage in ad gimmicks during particular seasons of the year (say, for instance, during Dasain or New Year's). Income from such gimmicks counterbalance the losses sustained during the rest of the year. In Eastern Nepal, the beginning of the production of regional editions of two Kathmandu dailies has made the ad market more difficult for local newspapers. The entry of radio stations has similarly made life more challenging for print products in cities like Pokhara and Hetaunda. To further complicate matters, the government's ad policies and the Press Council's bases for the classification of newspapers are also not too conducive toward the financial health of regional newspapers.
Our researchers found out that new people were being attracted to media but most who are joining the profession have only the equivalent of a 10+2 pass formal education.
Members from the variously marginalized groups were still not present in media institutions in any promising numbers. While there are frequent opportunities to participate in short-term trainings in places like Biratnagar or Nepalgunj, longer-term opportunities for formal or informal trainings do not exist for journalists located in most parts of Nepal. Even a city of the size and wealth of Pokhara does not host a single long-term program in journalism training. Organizations in Kathmandu that provide fellowships for investigative or other kinds of reporting have rarely awarded them to journalists based outside of Kathmandu. Journalist organizations do not have any goal-oriented programming to address what seems to be a sorry state of affairs, and some journalists themselves have often participated in shady deals.
Regional media is caught in a vicious cycle of low visibility, low revenue, poorly trained reporters, and poor quality content. What this means is that regional media institutions and products are rarely able to execute effective investigative journalism. Hence in general they are not able to perform their function (assigned to them in liberal theory of media) as regional watchdog institutions. While there is a sign or two of hope, most of what our researchers found do not point toward an optimistic future for regional print media in Nepal. This is not to say that there are not things that could be done to improve the status quo. We have made a list of recommendations regarding what various stakeholders can do in the short and the long run and included it in the concluding chapter of the book. Also an eight-page bibliography of relevant writings has been included as a useful reference for other researchers.
The publication details of the book are as follows:
Ksatriya Media: Bigat ra Bartaman (Regional Media: Its Past and the Present)
Edited by Pratyoush Onta
Published by Martin Chautari, CSRD
2002; pp 226; Price Rs. 200.
III.4. Thematic Research
We proposed to undertake research on media contents on five themes: visual reportage on television (carried out by Anup Subedi); reporting of activism against air pollution (Ramesh Parajuli); reporting of water-induced disasters (Ngamindra Dahal); reporting on environmental social justice (Sarad Ghimire) and reporting on politics. Assessment of political reporting was methodologically limited to the Maoist movement and the Royal massacre. On the former, we asked journalist Prashant Aryal to do the research and a complementary piece was asked from journalist Gunaraj Luitel who gave us a substantially revised version of one of his previously published articles on the subject. On the latter we asked journalist Rama Parajuli to do the research. Due to their relevance to our assessment of political reporting, we also decided to reprint two articles (the ones by Rajendra Dahal and Prakash Adhikari) in the book discussed below. Due to prolonged illness, Sarad Ghimire could not revise his draft for publication in the book and his chapter will be included in a subsequent book on Nepali media being put together by the media research group of Chautari/CSRD
The output of the thematic research was a book in Nepali publkished in June 2002. It contains two additional chapters (the ones by Komal Bhatta and Lazima Onta-Bhatta) and a six-page bibliography of relevant writings. The capacity of the Nepali print and television media has come for both praise and severe criticism in these chapters. Political journalism in Nepal is said to overly rely upon official and formal sources. Often enough such reporting is superficial and there is a severe lack of follow-up reporting. There is also a near-complete absence of team-work in reporting even at times such as the Royal Massacre. With respect to reporting on the environment, the activism against air pollution has received widespread coverage in the print media but occasional misunderstanding of both the scientific and policy related issues have also been reflected in the media coverage. Water-induced disasters are covered in the print media in Nepal but once again, the media does not highlight divergent perspectives regarding how to avoid and mitigate such disasters. TV reporting suffers from a lack of quality resulting from gaps in technological and creative competence on the part of the individuals and institutions producing content for TV. The production of TV content by the NGO sector suffers from too much reliance for funds from INGOs/bilateral donor agencies, resulting in the compromise of journalistic freedom. All in all, research on thematic content indicates that there is much that the Nepali media needs to do for its contents to be able to demand and produce accountability from the government (and related) sectors in Nepal.
Its publication details are as follows:
Mediako Antarbastu: Vividh Vislesan (Media Contents: Various Analyses)
Edited by Pratyoush Onta, Ramesh Parajuli and Rama Parajuli
Published by Martin Chautari, CSRD
2002; pp 253; Price Rs. 150.
III.5. Building Organizational Capacity
In terms of building organizational capacity of Chautari/CSRD, this project has contributed in a number of ways:
a) The computer and laser printer has enhanced the organization's capacity to editorially process written texts.
b) The TV and VCR has now made it possible for visually-informed discussions to take place at our organization's premises. This is a major asset for an institution whose flagship activity is the organizing of public discussions.
c) The organization has acquired a set of good books related to media theory and research. They will be of great help in our future work on the subject.
d) The research on regional media as well as thematic media concerns included a component of mentoring. In particular, the project coordinator Pratyoush Onta used the opportunity to further train in-house researchers Sekhar Parajulee, Bhaskar Gautam, Krishna Adhikari and Dev Raj Humagain on the modalities of research design, execution, report production, revision, and editing. Similarly in the thematic media content research, the coordinator trained in-house researchers Ramesh Parajuli, Sarad Ghimire and Komal Bhatta and facilitated the work of outside journalists, analysts and professionals such as Prashant Aryal, Gunaraj Luitel, Rama Parajuli, Ngamindra Dahal, and Anup Subedi. All of the in-house researchers were also involved in the production/press activities of the two books. Hence they have learnt skills that will be of life-long use to them.
e) During the course of the execution of the project, our researchers have built contacts with former/practicing journalists, media trainers, personnel from media resource institutions, and professionals from other walks of life in different parts of Nepal. These contacts are valuable for our future work on media and related subjects.
- Dr Devi Prasad Ojha and Pramod Pradhan - have expressed their desire to work with us in writing book-length histories of media in the far-western and the eastern regions of Nepal respectively.The team of Chautari/CSRD that executed this project is happy with how the activities were planned and conducted. The project coordinator was additionally pleased with the successful trial and completion of the research-mentoring element worked into the project execution plan and method. However some members of the project team felt that since this was, in the main, a research project, longer project duration would have been helpful. One could have also hoped for a better political and security environment in the country. For instance, Maoist violence in Dang prevented one of our researchers from completing his assignment there.
IV. PROMOTING BOOK CULTURE IN NEPAL
Project Coordinators: Manjushree Thapa and Bhaskar Gautam
Funding: Partially funded by The Japan Foundation Asia Centre (JFAC) cash grant of Rs. 15,19,000. Partially funded by The Kathmandu Post payment for Review of Books.
Project Duration: JFAC component: from April 1, 2001 to March 31, 2002 with an extension up to the end of 2002. Others: ongoing.
Project Description/Objectives: Promoting Book Culture in Nepal (hereon PBC/N) is a consolidation of various book-related activities of Chautari. All of PBC/N's activities are aimed at intervening in the pre-publication, publication, and post-publication process of book publishing in Nepal, with the aim of improving the quality of books published in Nepal, of improving the quality of public debate on books found in the book market, and of promoting a vibrant book culture in Nepal.
In the first year of its consolidation as a project, PBC/N worked in a variety of ways to address the following problems: a) the lack of a general 'book culture' in Nepal's social and cultural life, including the lack of good library facilities, book clubs, reading groups, book reviews and critiques, and public debates on books; b) the irregularities of the book publishing system, including the lack of editors and editing services at publishing houses, the prevalence of editorial practices that discourage readers, financial practices that discourage good writing, and business practices that keep book publishers divorced from the market; and c) constraints on writers, including the financial expenses of writing.
PBC/N's activities this year have included the following work:
1. Coordinating book reviews in both the English and Nepali print media;
2. holding a seminar with members of the publishing industry;
3. organizing a residential retreat for writers;
4. organizing an editing workshop;
5. editing manuscripts and publishing books;
6. translating important works into Nepali;
7. running a radio program on books; and
8. organizing monthly discussions on literature.
ACTIVITY REPORT
There were two aspects to PBC/N's work in fiscal year 2001/2002. The first of these falls in the category of 'Production Works' aimed at encouraging the creative process in book production. Progress in such works is as below:
IV.1. Writing Retreat
In August and September 2001, Chautari published notices in English and Nepali in Kantipur, Nepali Times, Himal, Deshantar, and Rooprekha publications, soliciting applications from authors with manuscripts-in-progress for four to six week long writing retreats in a secluded rural spot. This was the first ever long writing retreat to be held in Nepal. Application forms were made for distribution, and these forms were widely requested during the application period, indicating a high level of interest in the project. More than fifty application forms were sent out. Due to the novelty of the program, however, not all these requests for forms resulted in submissions: some potential applicants expressed reservations about the fairness of selection processes in any such merit-based competition in Nepal, while others were unfamiliar with such residential programs.
In order to ensure a fair and transparent selection process, Chautari formed a selection committee in October 2001, consisting of publisher Basanta Thapa, journalist Kedar Sharma, editor Bela Malik, historian Pratyoush Onta, writer Manjushree Thapa, and Chautari/CSRD staff Ramesh Parajuli, Bhaskar Gautam and Ajit Baral. Of twenty-one applications received, seven candidates were immediately approved of by this committee, and four candidates were held on a stand-by basis, with their acceptance subject to further assurance of the quality of their manuscripts. Though Chautari had originally planned to select ten candidates for the retreat, the Chautari selection committee decided that if there were not enough qualified candidates in the final run, it was better to select fewer candidates, or to invite established writers, than to accept candidates of questionable quality.
The candidates accepted on the strength of their applications were:
1. Ramesh Prasad Bhattarai (working on a Nepali-language book on western literary criticism);
2. Krishna Raj Chaudhari (working on the first Tharu novel of Nepal, based on bonded laborers);
3. Sangeeta Lama (working on a Nepali-language non-fiction book on an all-Nepali-women's ascent of Mt. Everest);
4. Jovan George Ilic (working on an English-language novel on identity in Nepal and Yugoslavia);
5. Amrit Yonjon-Tamang (working on a compilation of Tamang-language writings);
6. Yogesh Raj (working on a Nepali-language literary non-fiction book on death); and
7. Bhoopadhwaj Thomros Rai (working on a Kulung/Rai-language dictionary).
After rejecting the remaining candidates, the committee also invited two literary writers to participate in the retreat so that their expertise could be available to the group. These writers were:
1. Khagendra Sangraula (working on a Nepali-language novel on politics); and
2. Bhuvan Dhungana (working on a Nepali-language short story collection).
The retreat began on January 2, 2002 at the High View Resort in Dhulikhel, just east of Kathmandu. Each writer was free to choose the length of his or her stay, between four and six weeks. Each writer was accommodated in a separate room; and there was a common dining room, where writers met four times a day, if they chose to: for breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner. The writers decided by themselves to maintain a strict restriction on their socializing, so as to preserve the maximum amount of time to write. Their discussions during mealtimes were centered on the progress in their manuscripts, and on questions they were facing individually in their work. In addition to paying for the cost of their accommodation, meals and transport, Chautari granted each writer a small cash stipend, at the rate of Rs. 1,600 per week. Members of Chautari's selection committee supervised the retreat on a rotational basis.
Due to the novelty of the retreat, the program received a great amount of media attention: it was held up as an example of how funds might be mobilized, more effectively than in current practice, to enrich the process of literary production. Articles about the retreat appeared in all the major dailies, clips of which are attached to this report. Thanks to this coverage, Chautari was successful in stimulating public discussion on the importance of such retreats, and on the importance of creating an atmosphere conducive to high-caliber writing. Chautari is satisfied with the inroads it has made with this program in proposing retreats as an alternative to relatively unproductive practices prevalent in Nepal today, such as the distribution of cash grants or literary prizes.
Chautari was also satisfied at the progress made by the participants of the retreat, and encouraged by their feedback. Though not all the writers completed the final drafts of their manuscripts during the retreat, they all made substantial progress in their work. Ramesh Prasad Bhattarai's book on western literary criticism is near completion, and has already found a publisher. Krishna Raj Chaudhari finished his novel on bonded laborers, titled Gantabya. Sangeeta Lama completed the first draft of her non-fiction book on an all-Nepali-women's ascent of Mt. Everest. Jovan George Ilic also completed a first draft of his novel on identity in Nepal and Yugoslavia. Amrit Yonjon-Tamang completed his compilation of Tamang-language writings. Yogesh Raj completed a first draft of his literary non-fiction book on death. Bhoopadhwaj Thomros Rai finished the first draft of his Kulung/Rai-language dictionary, and began another book, transcribing interviews with members of the Kuling/Rai community. Khagendra Sangraula finished his novel on politics, and this novel is due to be published in late 2002. Bhuvan Dhungana made substantial progress on a collection of short stories.
Without a doubt, all the writers were able to write more, and more qualitatively, at the retreat site than at their usual stations. The participants appreciated the rigor that the residential program put them through, though some, unaccustomed to writing day after day for long stretches, writers found their stay too long. Bhuvan Dhungana left several days before her one-month period. Khagendra Sangraula requested the liberty to continue his work at home, due to a family emergency, but this request was not granted, and he ended his residency after a four-week period. All of the writers who were selected on the merit of their applications fulfilled their residency period, and some even requested extra time, which could not, however, be granted. Some of the writers requested that the retreat site have computers, which could be a consideration for future retreats.
Chautari also undertook several other programs in relation to the residential retreat, as outlined below:
Documentary Given the novelty of such residential retreats in Nepal, Chautari felt that it would be beneficial to create a video documentary of program for wider viewing. Based on this decision, during his stay at Dhulikhel supervising the retreat, Chautari selection committee member Kedar Sharma made a 15-minute documentary on the program, using interviews with the participants and footage of their stay. This documentary highlights the importance of creating an atmosphere conducive to writing, and Chautari believes that it will contribute to raising awareness about alternate forms of mobilizing resources for literary production in Nepal.
Discussion Program: In order to involve a larger community in the discussion about literary production, Chautari organized a one-day discussion program at the retreat site in Dhulikhel, on January 19, 2002. The topic of the discussion, moderated by Dr. Pratyoush Onta, was 'The Life-Cycle of a Book.' Various speakers talked about the many activities involved in books, including inspiration, writing, editing, publishing, marketing, dissemination, reviews, and the reading of books. The speakers highlighted the importance of editing in particular, a practice that is rare in Nepal, and one that--if taken up by writers and publishers--could significantly improve the quality of books in Nepal.
Editing Workshop: Following up on a popular demand voiced by the participants of the residential retreat, as well as those who participated in the discussion program held in January, Chautari organized a two-day editing workshop. This workshop was originally slated to be held immediately after the residential retreat, but due to the troubled political situation of the country, it could only be held on April 20 and 21, 2002. The coordinator of the editing workshop was Ajit Baral. The instructors were Bela Malik, editor for Hurst, in Britain, and former editor at Oxford University Press in Delhi; Anil Panicker, Senior Sub-Editor of the Himalayan Times; Deepak Thapa, editor at Himal Books; Basanta Thapa, publisher of Himal Books; Thomas Matthew, Associate Editor of Himal South Asian; and Mohan Mainali, head of the Center for Investigative Journalism. Over eighty applications were received for this workshop, indicating the high level of interest in acquiring editing skills.
Held in both English and Nepali languages, the workshop introduced twenty-five participants to the various types of editing involved in book, magazine and newspaper publishing. The workshop focused largely on copy-editing skills, using exercises designed by the instructors. The feedback from the participants was highly encouraging; and Chautari is planning to follow up on the great demand for such workshops by holding other writing and composition and editing workshops in the future.
IV.2. Chautari Translation Series
In her capacity as the coordinator of the translation series, Dr. Mary Des Chene headed a project to translate a collection of classic essays (originally written in English, European languages and Hindi) into Nepali, as well as to translate a few Nepali essays into English. A total of twenty-one articles were translated as part of this series, all with the intention of introducing important international writings into public discourse in Nepal, or disseminating important Nepali writings beyond the boundaries of the Nepali language. Due to the length of some of these pieces, translators had to be paid more than the original estimate; in terms of payments, therefore, Chautari has supported the translation of the equivalent of twenty-four articles in this program.
The articles translated for this program are as follows, along with their publication information:
Translated by Khagendra Sangraula (English to Nepali)
a. Bertoldt Brecht: 'Writing the Truth, Five Difficulties'
b. William Hinton: 'Remolding Intellectuals'
c. William Hinton: 'Revolutionizing Education'
d. Albert Einstein: 'Why Socialism?'
e. Eduardo Galeano: 'In Defense of the World'
f. Eduardo Galeano: 'Refuting Lies and Mistakes Lies and Mistakes about Latin
American Literature and Art'
g. Eduardo Galeano: 'We Refuse'
h. Howard Zinn: 'The Uses of Scholarship'
i. Edward Said: 'Speaking Truth to Power'
j. William Morris: 'How We Live and How We Might Live' ( all of these writings are forthcoming in a volume on intellectual integrity and public activism, edited by Mary Des Chene)
Translated by Mary Des Chene (Nepali to English)
a. Khagendra Sangraula: 'God, Horse and My Pa'
b. Khagendra Sangraula: 'Mountainclimber at the Foot of Sagarmatha' (published in Studies in Nepali History and Society)
c. Sulochana Manandhar: 'Remembering Underground Days...' (published in Studies in Nepali History and Society)
Translated by Ninu Chapagain (English to Nepali)
a. Maxim Gorki: 'How I Learned to Write' (forthcoming in a volume on intellectual integrity and public activism, edited by Mary Des Chene)
Translated by Ahuti (Hindi to Nepali)
a. Bhagat Singh: One article and two Dalit memoirs
Translated by Mahesh Maskey (English to Nepali)
a. Dr. Norman Bethune: 'Wounds'
b. Che Guevera: 'On Revolutionary Medicine' (both of these writings are forthcoming in a volume on intellectual integrity and public activism, edited by Mary Des Chene)
Translated by Manjushree Thapa (Nepali to English)
a. Khagendra Sangraula: 'The Search for Dalit Self-Possession' (published in the journal of the Literary Association of Nepal)
There is no doubt that the translation of such articles will enhance the level of public discourse in Nepal, as well as debates about Nepal in the international forum. Chautari is keen to continue such work in the future.
IV.3. Chautari Books
As part of its work to introduce the practice of book editing in Nepal, Chautari sought several manuscripts that showed promise for publication, and had these edited by various editors, working closely with authors. Though the original plan was to select four manuscripts, Chautari edited six manuscripts altogether, given the availability of funds and deserving manuscripts.
The work in this program was considerably delayed, however, and the main reason for this was the general inexperience, in Nepal, with book editing. Generally, commercial book publishers do not invest in editing manuscripts in Nepal, and this failure is responsible for the poor quality of books on the market. Because of this, authors, too, are not willing to work on their manuscripts under the supervision of editors. In some cases, Chautari had to work hard to convince authors to submit to the rigors of editing, a process that authors found very challenging.
When beginning the project, Chautari also found it exceedingly difficult to find manuscripts that were worthy of editing. Chautari also had to work very hard to identify qualified editors for each of the manuscripts accepted, editors who could work effectively with the authors to enhance the quality of their manuscripts. The dearth of qualified editors is another major reason for the delay in Chautari's work in this project.
Because of these difficulties, Chautari had to abandon several manuscripts, and to find new manuscripts to replace them. One of the manuscripts originally slated to be edited only was published by Chautari under the 'Model Publishing' program after the cancellation of one of the books originally chosen under that program. Yet the end result is that Chautari has edited two more manuscripts than originally planned for under this program, testifying to the great need to invest in the editing of manuscripts in Nepal.
The six manuscripts edited under the 'Chautari Books' program are as follows:
EveryPlace:EveryPerson By Peter J. Karthak
EveryPlace: EveryPerson is an English translation of the prize-winning novel Pratyek Thaun, Pratyek Manchhe by Nepali writer Peter J. Karthak. The editor for this manuscript was Manjushree Thapa, author of The Tutor of History.
The original manuscript required heavy editing, requiring several back-and-forth exchanges of drafts between the author and the editor, and several long discussions on the style, structure and content of the book.
The editing, completed in August 2002, has resulted in a more refined, and appealing version of the original manuscript, which is fully to the satisfaction of the author.
Currently, both the editor and the author are jointly sending the manuscript out to publishers in Nepal and India, seeking publication.
Ghoda, Iswar ra Mera Ba By Khagendra Sangraula
Ghoda, Iswar ra Mera Ba is a collection of memoirs and essays by noted Nepali litterateur Khagendra Sangraula, among the best of his writing, offering insight into and a critique of the social and economic inequalities of rural and urban Nepal.
The collection was edited by Dr. Pratyoush Onta, in a process that took several back-and-forth exchanges of drafts between him and the author. The editor's input focused largely on the selection of articles for inclusion in the collection. The author was willing to work very closely in the copyediting of the manuscript, in a process that was fully to the satisfaction of Chautari and the manuscript's editor.
The final manuscript has been completed, and is currently being published by a private publisher in Kathmandu, to be distributed by Bhudipuran Prakashan distributors throughout Nepal.
Chintanaa: CK Lalka Bichar By CK Lal
Chintanaa: CK Lalka Bichar is a collection of the writings and commentaries of the noted columnist CK Lal, one of Nepal's most outspoken political commentators writing today. Chautari faced particular difficulty in convincing the author of the need to edit his manuscript, a process that few authors are willing to submit to in Nepal. It was the author's view that the manuscript should contain his columns as they originally appeared in the print media, including factual errors and grammatical inconsistencies.
To break this impasse. Chautari had the manuscript reviewed internally by its staff member Ajit Baral, as well as by an external assessor, publisher Basanta Thapa of Himal Books. The author consented to having his manuscript edited only after both reviewers met with him and jointly made the strong recommendation that the manuscript would greatly benefit from close editing for content and language.
It was also difficult to identify an appropriate editor to work with the author, given his stature. Kedar Sharma, an established editor and journalist, consented to edit the manuscript, but because of the high demand on his time, he has been very slow with the process. This has been the main reason for the delay in editing this manuscript.
The manuscript as it stands now has been mostly edited, but its final draft is due to be produced only after final discussions between the editor and the author, in late 2002. Due to the high stature of the author, Chautari anticipates no problems in his finding a publisher for this manuscript; Ekta Books, one of Nepal's leading publishing houses, has already shown interest in it.
Water Poems By Purna Bahadur Vaidya, Translated by Wayne Amtzis
This is a collection of the translated poems of Nepal-bhasa poet Purna Bahadur Vaidya, one of the foremost Nepal-bhasa poets of Nepal. The English translator of the book is Wayne Amtzis, an American translator, editor and poet based in Nepal.
The plan to help edit this manuscript were abandoned by Chautari after the original editor, academician Dr. Kamal Prakash Malla, backed out of his commitment to edit the manuscript, citing his hesitation to intervene in the manuscript as actively as Chautari had hoped for. This, again, was an instance of Chautari's difficulty in finding editors with the appropriate experience and willingness to undertake the in-depth editing of manuscripts, a practice that is rare in Nepal.
After Dr. Malla's assessment of the manuscript was passed along to translator Wayne Amtzis and poet Purna Bahadur Vaidya, the translator and poet located another equally qualified editor for the manuscript, academician and Nepal-bhasa poet Madhav Lal Karmacharya. Given the high qualifications and willingness of Madhav Lal Karmacharya to edit this manuscript, Chautari then decided to continue its help to editing the manuscript.
The editor was able to check the Nepal-bhasa-to-English translation for its accuracy, and to suggest changes based on his intimate knowledge of the Nepal-bhasa language, and of the poems of Purna Bahadur Vaidya.
The editing work was completed in August 2002. The author and translator are currently seeking a publisher for the manuscript.
Sahityik Patrikako Itihas By Shiva Regmi
Sahityik Patrikako Itihas is a history of literary media in Nepal, including a history of literary magazines and other literary publications. It was selected for editing after the first editor of Purna Bahadur Vaidya's manuscript backed out of his commitment. This is the main reason for the delay in the editing of this manuscript.
The manuscript's editor is Bhaskar Gautam, who has extensive experience in Chautari's book-related works. The editor faced initial difficulty in convincing the author of the importance of intensive editing on his manuscript. This led to further delays in editing the manuscript.
The editor has suggested extensive changes to the manuscript, focusing on changes to the structure and content of the original manuscript. The author is currently working on the manuscript, incorporating these changes in close consultation with the editor.
The final editing of the manuscript is due to be completed by the end of 2002.
Sudur Paschhimko Patrakaritako Itihas by Dr. Devi Ojha
Sudur Paschhimko Patrakaritako Itihas is a history of print journalism in far western Nepal. The author of the book is among the best known social historians and media practitioners based in the far west region of Nepal.
This manuscript was originally an 'alternative' manuscript in Chautari's list, slated to be edited only if other manuscripts were dropped. However, given the availability of JFAC funds due to the lower-than-anticipated cost of editing manuscripts in Nepal, Chautari saw fit to include it in its list of manuscripts to edit.
The editor of the manuscript was Bhaskar Gautam. The original manuscript required several back-and-forth exchanges and long discussions between the editor and the author on the style, structure and content of the book. Due to geographical distance between the writer and the editor, the work on the book is proceeding slightly slowly. As of now, the author is almost through incorporating the editorial comments on the manuscript. The final draft of the manuscript is to be produced by the end of 2002.
Despite the difficulties faced in carrying out this program, Chautari remains convinced of its importance, and of the need to continue such work in the future. In the first year of this program, Chautari has been able to raise awareness among writers, editors, and publishers of the importance of investing in professional editing. There is no doubt that if continued, this work will help pressure publishing houses to invest in editing, and to become more professional in its approach to publishing high-quality manuscripts.
IV.4. Model Publishing
As part of Chautari's efforts to examine, by practice, the possibility for economically viable and fair publishing practices in Nepal, two manuscripts were selected for publication by Chautari.
One of the manuscripts selected, a reader on the Nepali-language media coverage of the Maoist insurgency in Nepal, had to be abandoned due to the political turbulence experienced by the country after the declaration of the state of emergency in 2001.
This book was replaced with another manuscript, an anthology of English-language literature from Nepal, which had originally been chosen as part of the Chautari Books series.
As with the work in editing manuscripts, the work in publishing books has been delayed by the problem of finding good manuscripts and appropriate editors, both very serious constraints in Nepal. Obstacles faced in the layout and printing process also contributed to the delay in this work.
The two books published by Chautari under this program are as follows.
An Other Voice: English Literature from Nepal. Edited by Deepak Thapa and Kesang Tseten
The publication of An Other Voice: English Literature from Nepal announces the coming-of-age of English language literature in Nepal. In publishing this book, Chautari's primary concern was to observe 'fair practice' in its financial dealings with authors, editors and distributors while ensuring that the profits from such 'fair publishing' are economically viable.
The editors for the book were Deepak Thapa (the books editor at Himal Books, Nepal's foremost English-language publisher) and Kesang Tseten (an English fiction writer based in Nepal). The editorial assistant for the book was Ajit Baral.
The editorial team solicited submissions from a wide number of Nepali poets and writers, as well as from expatriate poets and writers residing in Nepal, and made their final selections based solely on the literary merit of the works under consideration. The help of volunteer 'readers' was enlisted to make the selections.
The final selections included stories by writers Samrat Upadhyay (author of Arresting God in Kathmandu), Kesang Tseten, Peter J. Karthak, Manjushree Thapa (author of The Tutor of History), Mani Dixit (author of several novels), Sushma Joshi, Sunil Nepali and Joel Isaacson; and poems by Padma P. Devkota, Tsering Wangmo Dhompa (author of several poetry chapbooks), Wayne Amtzis (translator, editor and author of several poetry chapbooks), Manju Kanchuli (author of several books of poems), E. Ann Hunkins, Abhi Subedi (author of several books of essays and poems), Greta Rana (author of several books of fiction), Tek B. Karki, Kesar Lall (author of several books of literature), DB Gurung (author of several books of poems and a novel), Hannah Chi, and Yuyutsu RD Sharma (translator and poet). These selections showcase the best of English literature being written in Nepal today.
Photographs from Mani Lama, Usha Titikchhu, Wayne Amtzis and Basanta Thapa were also included in the book, which was designed and laid out in an attractive design so as to merit higher pricing.
As per Chautari's objective of undertaking ethical financial practice in 'Promoting Book Culture in Nepal,' a professional contract was prepared and signed with each of the contributors. (Such contracts are rarely used in Nepal). Bela Malik, editor at Hurst (Britain) was consulted in the process of preparing the contract. Under this contract, all of the contributors were compensated to their satisfaction for their contribution.
Due to delays in the editing, layout and printing process, the manuscript went to press only in August 2002, and the book was published on 29 October 2002. The distribution of the book will pose major challenges, due to the lack of good book distributors in Nepal; in the second phase of its work in 'Book Publishing in Nepal,' CSRD is planning to distribute the book through Himal Books's distribution network, in order to identify the strengths of this network, and to identify problems in the book distribution system in Nepal.
'People's Warriors' : Understanding the Maoist Insurgency in Nepal. Edited by Deepak Thapa
'People's Warriors': Understanding the Maoist Insurgency in Nepal is a collection of English writings on the Maoist insurgency in Nepal, consolidating scattered articles on the subject, and a few original pieces commissioned specifically for the book, in order to offers English language readers a complete overview of the Maoist insurgency, and on the public debate in Nepal over the insurgency and counter-insurgency efforts.
The editor of the book is Deepak Thapa, the books editor at Himal Books and a commentator on the Maoist insurgency. Dr. Pratyoush Onta, Bela Malik and Ramesh Parajuli have assisted the editor in compiling and commissioning the articles for the book.
The writings selected include longer analyses by academics and shorter pieces written by journalists and commentators. Contributors include Hari Roka (political analyst); Stephen Mikesel (political analyst); Saubhagya Shah (anthropologist); Shyam Shrestha (editor); Puskar Bhusal (political commentator); Deepak Thapa (editor and commentator on Maoist insurgency); Dipak Gyawali (political commentator); Kanak Dixit (editor); Rishikesh Shah (historian and academic); Andrew Nickson (political commentator); Anil Bhatarai (political analyst); Mahendra Lawoti (political scientist); Rita Manchanda (journalist), Shova Gautam (human_rights activist), Amrita Banskota (journalist); Mohan Mainali (journalist); CK Lal (columnist and political commentator); and Sudheer Sharma (journalist).
In addition, the book includes an Amnesty International report on human_rights violations in the Maoist movement; two interviews with Prachanda; a profile of Prachanda; an interview with Baburam Bhattarai; a profile of Baburam Bhattarai; the 40 point demand of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist); a Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) press communiqué of its 2nd National Conference; dispatches from A World to Win; and an anonymous letter to editor.
Work on this manuscript was delayed by new considerations forced by the declaration of the state of emergency in 2001; there was uncertainty as to whether increasing censorship would affect the publication of the book. Finally, however, the editors felt that work could progress unhindered, as the book did not include any material that would be considered illegal under the state of emergency.
All the selections for inclusion in this collection have been made, permission has been procured from authors, and the selections have been edited for content. The manuscript has been edited, and is due to go to press upon the completion of the editor's introduction.
In undertaking this work, Chautari solicited the help of Bela Malik (editor at Hurst, in Britain) in planning all editing and publishing activities. In addition to helping Chautari conduct a market survey on books, Ms. Malik has advised Chautari as to the format of author-publisher contracts, and manuscript selection and editing practices.
Chautari has also investigated distribution networks by which to disseminate the two books it is publishing as part of the Model Publishing program. The book distribution system in Nepal is largely dysfunctional; though a few initiatives are being taken, currently, to overcome the problems of reaching books throughout the country. Chautari will be working to support these initiatives in the distribution of its two books.
In order to identify all the present glitches in the book publishing industry, Chautari also held a one-day seminar:
Seminar on Book Publishing: Before beginning its work editing manuscripts, Chautari organized a one-day seminar on book publishing on 19 August 2001, with separate sessions on commercial and non-commercial publishing in Nepal. This seminar was attended by most of the major publishing houses and NGOs involved in publishing, including Himal Books, Ratna Pustak Bhandar, Mandala Book Point, Pairavi Books and Distributors, IUCN, ICIMOD, and SAP-Nepal. During the seminar, publishers shared their experience about the problems they face in finding good manuscripts, finding and affording editors, finding good paper and printing technologies, and distributing their books. The seminar significantly contributed to public dialogue on a variety of problems in editing, printing, marketing, distributing, and fiscal practices in the book publishing industry. Insight gleaned from this seminar has helped PBC/N direct its own course in its work for the current year, and in the future.
The second aspect of PBC/N's work entails 'Post Production Works' including the activities outlined below:
IV.5. Review of Books (English)
Since 1996, Chautari has been coordinating Review of Books for The Kathmandu Post, the only regular book review page in the English language media of Nepal. This work continued uninterrupted in the past year, with a group of coordinators taking turns to solicit reviews and essays for the page, published twice a month. Each issue of Review of Books includes three/four reviews, an essay, and a list of recent publications. At the advice of Lucia Devires (journalist) and Bela Malik (editor), Chautari overhauled the format and design of the Review of Books in order to make it more approachable and reader-friendly. Extensive discussions were held on whether to move Review of Books to another newspaper, but no decision was made on this.
IV.6. Review of Books (Nepali) From September 2001 to February 2002, Chautari organized a monthly book review page, 'Pustak Chautari,' in the Rajdhani daily newspaper. This was the only such book review page in the country's Nepal-language dailies. Each issue included four reviews and one essay, and a list of recent publications. After a six-month trial run, the review page was handed back to Rajdhani, which expressed an interest in coordinating it with its internal staff. Chautari is keen to work with other daily newspapers on such a collaboration in the future, and to organize book review workshops in order to improve the level of reviews currently being written in the Nepali media.
IV.7. Literature Reading Group
A monthly discussion on literature was initiated at the Chautari premises from December 2000. Ashutosh Tiwari and Sangeeta Pandey coordinated the discussions for the first six months, after which coordination has taken place on a rotating basis. Participants are asked to read an assigned text beforehand in order to deepen the level of the discussion. Critics and writers are invited to speak on the chosen text. So far, fourteen discussions have taken place on Parijat's Sirishko Phool, Indra Bahadur Rai's Aaja Ramita Chha, Sarubhakta's Pagal Basti, Shankar Lamichhane's Abstract Chintan: Pyaj, Ramesh Vikal's Naya Sadakko Geet, Gopal Prasad Rimal's Aamako Sapana, BP Koirala's Narendra Dai and Sumnima, Laxmi Prasad Devkota's Shakuntal, Ishwor Ballav's Sochko Mayamath, Mangalman by Siddhicharan, The Tutor of History by Manjushree Thapa, Atyahin Antya by Shova Bhattarai, and Upadro by Harikala Uprety. A special discussion was also arranged with Darjeeling (India) based writer Indra Bahadur Rai upon his visit to Kathmandu on October 13, 2001; he spoke of the 'Leela Lekhan' literary movement, and his story 'Jhyal.' Other writers who came to speak include Asesh Malla, Sarubhakta, Banira Giri, Khagendra Sangruala, Bishnu Sapkota, Govinda Bartaman, Chatyang Master, etc.
Chautari was considering starting a monthly literary reading in order to stimulate other kinds of literary interactions; but could not do this due to lack of public interest. In July 2002, the literary discussion group was also discontinued due to lack of public interest.
IV.8. Radio Discussion on Books
At the end of July 2001, Chautari launched a weekly 20-minute radio program on books, called 'Radioma Pustak' (Books on the Radio). The program was originally scheduled to begin in April, but was stalled due to problems finding collaborating institutions. The current practice in FM radios in Kathmandu is for program producers to pay to have their programs aired; and Chautari did not want to do this. Instead, it chose to record the programs at Communication Corner, and to distribute it through their channels to its collaborating radio stations in other parts of the country. Altogether, thirty-six programs were recorded and aired this year.
The program was hosted by Ajit Baral. Pratyoush Onta provided initial guidance to the host. Dev Raj Humagain and Harsha Maharjan were responsible for preparing the 'Book Introduction' section of the program. Sangeeta Pandey joined as a co-host from December 2001. Books were approached in a variety of ways in the program. Authors, critic, journalists, researchers, and general readers were invited to talk on books and topics related to books. New books were also introduced to listeners and summarized.
Since July 2001, the program has been aired in are Manakama FM Station, Hetauda (Thursdays at 8:00 pm); and Machhapuchhre FM Station, Pokhara (Mondays at 8:00 am). Another FM station, Saptakoshi FM Station, has aired the program from the second week of November, 2001. Though Chautari is pleased to disseminate its program to areas outside of Kathmandu, where lowered literacy rates make such programs even more important, it also hopes to broadcast the program in Kathmandu in the next year. Presently, talks are being held with Kantipur FM, which has the largest number of listeners and the widest reach of all the FM stations in Nepal.
Details of the date of recording and guests are on annex C.
IV.9. Chautari on the Net
As originally envisioned, this program was to make Chautari's discussions and activities available for a wider public through the internet. After discussions with internet service providers and information technology experts, however, Chautari came to the decision that it lacked the internal management capacity to maintain any meaningful presence on the net. For now, the original plan has been put aside. A website for Chautari was created separately, with leftover funding from the Media Project supported by The Asia Foundation.
IV.10. Chautari Library
A reference library for scholars, researchers and journalists has been in the plans of Chautari for some time. However, apart from its own small collection of books and periodicals to which modest additions have been made annually since 1997, Chautari has thus far failed to acquire financial support for this activity. A fresh attempt was made this year to consider building such a library that would also provide internet access. However, due to Chautari's own limited capacity to manage such a project at present, these plans are currently on hold. Nevertheless books was donated to the library by the New York - based Social Science Research Councile under an agreement it reached with Dr Mary Des Chene.
Assessment of the Project
Chautari's consolidated work in PBC/N in the year 2001/2002 has addressed many serious problems in the production and post-production aspects of book publishing in Nepal. Not only have Chautari's activities brought books into greater light in public discourse, they have succeeded in raising greater awareness about the importance of professionalism in publishing. The work done by Chautari in the past year has provided the basis to pressure Nepal's book publishing industry to adopt editing practices, and to become more systematic in their operation. PBC/N has also helped Chautari identify areas for further work, which will be followed through with in upcoming years: Chautari will continue to focus, in the future, on means of creating conditions conducive to writing; on demanding greater professionalism in publishing practices; on disseminating discussions on books using the radio, print and electronic media, public discussions and open forums; and on making the book culture in Nepal more vibrant by supporting the efforts of other collaborating institutions. In the long term, this work will significantly help raise the level of public discourse in Nepal, which is Chautari's guiding principle in its work.
Project Coordinator: Bimal Aryal
Funding: Winrock International amounting to Rs 563,340.00.
Project Duration: 16 July 2001 to 15 July 2002 with an extension up to May 2002.
Project Description/Objectives: The number of EVs on the streets increased dramatically after the expulsion of diesel Vikram tempos from Kathmandu valley in September 1999. This growth was mainly due to a demand for vehicles to replace the diesel tempos. It was also due partly because of Chautari's EV Advocacy Program.
Nepal now is home to the world's largest fleet of electric three wheelers in the public transportation sector. Since its establishment in 1993, Electric Vehicles (EVs) have been operating along different routes of the Kathmandu valley, becoming one of the major means of public transportation. The emission and lack of noise of EVs has impressed commuters as well as the government. Presently, about six hundred EVs are ferrying 120 thousands commuters every day in Kathmandu valley. EVs in small numbers are plying other parts of the country as well.
Today, EVs have become an industry worth about Rs 40 crores (1 crore = 10 million) in Nepal. One major aspect of EVs, particular to Nepal, is that they use clean energy, i.e., hydropower generated energy, thus avoiding dependency on imported fossil fuels. Since EVs use electricity mostly in off-peak hours, they provide an additional source of income for the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) for otherwise wasted energy. The EV industry has provided employment to about 1000 people in Safa Tempo manufacturing, charging stations, Safa Tempo operation, and accessory equipment manufacturing for such items as chargers, pot-box, and fork-lifts. EV operation has also spawned ancillary industries like charger manufacturing, electrical components manufacturing, and workshops. EV operation has therefore had multiplier effects on the economy.
There have also been social and environmental benefits of EVs. The help that EVs provide in combating air pollution is widely known throughout the world, as EVs are zero emission vehicles. EVs reduce air pollutants such as CO, NOx, and Sox, improving the local air quality and also mitigating global climate change through the reduction of CO2 emissions. Promoting clean vehicles like EVs can enhance the country's image as a clean energy user. This 'clean energy' image is particularly important for the tourism sector.
Despite all the advantages to EVs, the EV industry is not as strong as desired. Since the Fall of 2000, there had been virtually no new demand for EVs in Kathmandu valley. The EV industry has suffered especially after more than 600 microbuses (the official substitution of displaced Vikram Tempos) and about 600 LPG Three Wheeler came into operation in Kathmandu valley in 2000. The increase in the number of passenger transport service vehicles has led to great competition, drastically reducing the income of EVs. In addition, there are many technical, legislative and management problems in the EV industry, which are hampering the industry's expansion. The biggest challenge is that of prolonging battery life, as the economic profitability of EVs hinges critically on this factor. Not all those on operation side of EVs (i.e. drivers and owners) are technically competent to take care of batteries. Drivers are not sufficiently trained to a driving pattern that has no adverse effect on battery performance. There are additional problems at charging stations, such as the lack of good charging practices and supervision and monitoring of batteries. As a result, in the majority of cases, batteries fail to perform for the period required for reasonable profits.
If the EV industry in Nepal is to survive in the long-term, EVs will have to start operating in other cities of Nepal and perhaps avenues to export EVs to other countries must also be explored. Residents of Biratnagar have already seen the operation of these clean vehicles. Now, the industry is ready to launch electric vehicles--owned and driven by women--in Bharatpur Municipality. Likewise, Dharan, Pokhara, Birgunj and Bidhur municipalities have the potential to start operating EVs.
Since 1998, the objective of the Electric Vehicle Advocacy Project (EVAP) has been to expand the scope of EV operation in Nepal while addressing the clean air and sustainable transportation system. The eighth phase of EV Advocacy Project started in September 2001 with the main objectives to promote clean energy vehicles in and out of the Kathmandu Valley and to assist in improving the air quality of the cities of the country. It is also to inform the general public about developments in the clean transport industry through electronic lists, public meeting and other media.
The following key tasks were identified for the EV advocacy program as its main objectives.
i) Facilitate the operation of EVs in cities outside Kathmandu.
• Chautari will help operate a demonstration fleet of electric vehicles in Bharatpur Municipality, owned and driven by women. Part of this work had been completed in an earlier phase.
• Support an NGO - SPARS to establish a charging station in Bharatpur for the effective operation of such electric vehicles. Closely monitor/ supervise its operation.
• Facilitate few other municipalities namely, Biratnagar, Dharan, Birgunj, Bidur and Pokhara to operate a fleet of electric vehicles owned and driven by women.
ii) Facilitate the existing EVs to compete/ sustain in the market of Kathmandu by helping them in different fronts as follows.
• Support NEVCA in conducting a study "collection and review of Nepal EV sector database"
• Closely monitor the activities of EV stakeholders and help sort out the problems/misunderstandings within the stakeholders.
iii) Monitor the government policies/decisions pertaining to air quality and transportation sector.
• Support the government to enforce its decision to banish two stroke engine vehicles from Kathmandu valley and diesel operated three-wheelers from all municipal areas of other cities of Nepal.
• Lobby/ campaign against the current use of cooking gas cylinder in the vehicles and substitute them by the cylinders designed for transportation purpose.
• Lobby/ campaign to cut off the subsidy being enjoyed by the LPG operated vehicles.
iv) Dissemination of information amongst the Alternative Fuel Vehicles (AFVs) list members on clean transportation and air will be continued through an email server in collaboration with CEN.
ACTIVITY REPORT
V.1. EV Promotion Outside Kathmandu: Feasibility Study Tour / Follow-Up
Since the demand for electric vehicles EVs in Kathmandu was declining, it was necessary to seek avenues to promote EVs in other urban centers in order to sustain the EV industry. It is particularly the concern for their perennial sustainability in order to conserve environment that Chautari endeavored to explore the cities that would be suitable for their successful operation. Meanwhile, realizing that demand was to further wane in the valley, the manufacturers were themselves prepared to take initiatives to introduce EVs beyond the valley. Chautari members went on to the feasibility study tour to several cities. Chautari identified Biratnagar, Birgunj, Bharatpur, Bidur, Pokhara and Lumbini as potential market for EVs.
EVs began operating in Biratnagar, Birgunj and Lumbini in 2000. Biratnagar has a fleet of 19 EVs owned and operated by the Electric Vehicle Company. The operation of EVs in Lumbini and Birgunj ceased abruptly because of the technical problem raised in the syndicate system in case of Birgunj while in case of Lumbini the major draw back was that as expected the basic infrastructures were not established to attract our target passengers (the tourists) in Lumbini premises. Thus the EVs were not seen to be economically sustained in such a situation. No efforts were made by EV manufacturers to resume operation of EVs in those places.
Chautari also conducted a follow-up tour to the selected cities, and sent letters describing the present condition of vehicles, and the impact of fossil fuel vehicles on the environment and the national economy, to municipalities across the country. Chautari urged municipal authorities to deliberate over air quality in their respective areas and to resolve to replace polluting vehicles with cleaner vehicles. The Bharatpur Municipality displayed keen interest to introduce EVs.
In this phase, Safa tempos were brought to Bharatpur municipality. Chautari members also visited to Bidhur Municipality for feasibility study and found it feasible for EV operation.
This work took place in the form of a feasibility study, and intensive meetings and follow up:
Feasibility Study
Bharatpur is a rapidly growing commercial center in mid Nepal, located along the Mahendra Highway linking the east and west parts of the country. There are no modern markets around the area. The number of migrants from neighboring districts has swelled considerably in the recent past and growth is still going on.
Rickshaws, buses and tempos are the chief means of local public transport here. A total of 132 diesel Vikram Tempos have been registered by Nepal Tempo Entrepreneurs Committee in Chitwan District. There are no new entrants after 2056 BS as registration of new ones has been disallowed since then. There are 1338 rickshaws in Bharatpur and 82 buses connecting the city with nearby locales. Recently the municipality has laid imposition on the registration on new rickshaws and buses too. There have been cases of conflicts between rickshaws and tempos. They have not been provided with parking or loading space.
Bus and tempo fares are similar in terms of distance traveled. Tempo owners earn about Rs. 300 per day while drivers can earn somewhere between Rs. 100-150 daily. The maintenance cost is Rs. 3,000-3,500 per month. The market price of Vikram tempo fluctuates between Rs. 150,000 to Rs. 280,000. Kathmandu's experience has already shown that EVs are no less feasible for operation than Vikram Tempos, in the same routes. Several Vikram Tempo routes in Bharatpur and nearby localities were observed.
Table 1: Characteristics of rotes served by Vikram tempos
Route_Distance [Km]_ Fare [Rs]_ Road Condition_ Potential__
Narayanghat-Rampur 10_12_ Semi-blacktop___
Narayanghat-Chanauli_ 15_15_ Semi-blacktop___
Narayanghat-Sharadanagar_ 12_12_ Semi-blacktop___
Narayanghat-Gitanagar_ 14_12_ Semi-blacktop_ Good__
Narayanghat-Bijaynagar_ 11_12_ Blacktop_ Good__
Narayanghat- Kholesimal_ 15_12_ Semi-blacktop___
Narayanghat-Gaurigunj_ 10_12_ Semi-blacktop___
Narayanghat-JaishreeGaindakot_ 7_5_ Blacktop_ Good__
Inside Bharatpur Municipality_ 4_5_ Blacktop_ Good__
Of these routes, Narayanghat-Bijayanagar, Narayanghat-Jaishree Gaindakot, Narayanghat-Gitanagar and within Bharatpur Municipality look feasible for the operation of electric three-wheelers, considering road conditions, distance to be traveled and reasonable fares with respect to Vikram Tempos. The prospect of introducing EVs was augmented as Bharatpur Municipality had already decided to expel diesel tempos form july 2001. This decision is yet to be acted on, however.
Advocacy
After several visits and letters from Chautari, Bharatpur Municipality responded, showing signs of introducing Safa Tempos into the city. After this positive response, Chautari decided to operate a demonstration fleet of five electric vehicles along Shahid Chowk - the BPK Cancer Hospital route in Bharatpur Municipality, and to involve women in owning and driving these vehicles. The total distance from Shahid Chowk to BPK Cancer Hospital is 9.3 kms, which is a relatively short route, in view of the experience from Kathmandu. The terrain is relatively flat except for one short climb from Shahid chowk to Bharatpur crossing. The success of electric vehicles at Bharatpur could set a stage for the large-scale entry of EVs in the plains of Nepal. From the experience of Kathmandu, it has been shown that women prove more reliable than men in operating EVs.
Chautari then made follow-up tours and urged the local bodies to introduce Safa tempos in their respective cities to conserve the air quality and to provide a better means of public transportation as well.
Follow-up Activities
A series of meetings was held with different people and local organizations to create a favorable environment for the operation of EVs in Bharatpur. These meetings included:
Meeting with Devi Prasad Gyawali, Deputy Mayor of Bharatpur Municipality. This meeting proved very fruitful. Chautari urged the municipality to expel polluting vehicles such as diesel and petrol tempos from the core area of the city and to promote EVs instead. Mr. Gyawali welcomed the idea, and said that the municipality too held the same interest. The municipality then decided to phase out the gasoline tempos and bring Safa tempos into operation as soon as possible. It was agreed that Chautari should participate in a meeting of Vikram tempo owners and consumer groups to persuade them to adopt alternatives to diesel tempos.
Meeting with Bazaar Management Committee. The utmost importance of alternative fuel vehicles for curbing pollution was highlighted at this meeting. Members of the Bazaar Management Committee were also shown how diesel tempos can be displaced with minimum impact to the owners and drivers. The Committee was persuaded to let EVs enter the city in order to improve air quality and make public transportation efficient.
Meeting with Vikram Diesel Tempo Owners. This meeting was held in the presence of the Mayor and municipality board members. The advantages of EVs and their role in maintaining air quality were explained by Chautari members. A conflict arose between the municipality and tempo owners on the subject of expelling diesel tempos from the city. The municipality remained resolute in deciding to drive out polluting three-wheelers.
Meeting with the Director of BPK Cancer Hospital. The director was informed of Chautari's plan to begin operating EVs in Bharatpur. The director welcomed the idea and gave word to cooperate. Chautari sought the hospital's help in providing space for a charging station within the hospital area, as well as financial aid to set up the charging station. The director committed to this support, and an agreement to set up a charging station was reached between Chautari and the hospital.
Project Design
Once the Bharatpur Municipality agreed to launch a fleet of eight Safa tempos, Chautari consulted different organizations for financial help or other material support, before sketching the plot. Chautari then designed a project involving several parties, i.e., Bharatpur Municipality, BPK Cancer Hospital, Winrock International, EVMAN, E & Co, Chautari and SPARS, with the aim to promote the use of electric vehicles with ownership of the vehicles by women entrepreneurs, which would be owner-driven. Each party was allocated its share of duties. Chautari chose to play the role of a facilitator between the involved parties. The cost of the whole project was to be largely borne by Winrock Intl, EVAN, BPK Cancer Hospital and E & Co, a commercial bank. Loans were provided at an interest rate of 13.5% per annum to purchase the EVs. Women drivers were to pay Rs. 25,000 each. They would own the tempos after defraying the whole sum of the loans provided to purchase electric tempos by EVMAN. SPARS, an NGO, was responsible to set up a charging station at BPK Cancer Hospital with the financial aid of E & Co. SPARS was also given the responsibility to take charge of the management of charging station and the operation of electric tempos.
Project Implementation
Advertisement for Drivers. The first line of work was to seek 12 women to drive the vehicles. Bharatpur Municipality took responsibility for inviting applications from local women. Anil Wagle from the municipality designed the advertisement and published it in local newspapers. But the advertisement failed to attract women, as the prospect of women drivers looked unconventional by local standards. After a month it was re-advertised. This time 24 women showed interest. They were in fact not enthusiastic at the thought of launching an unconventional profession, but were compelled to do so to earn their livelihood. They were called for interviews.
Interview of Candidates. 17 out of the 24 applicants presented themselves for interview. They were interviewed by Bimal Aryal from Chautari, a representative from Cancer Hospital, the secretary of the municipality board and the deputy mayor of the municipality. It had been decided that priority would be given to the poor, and those who could carry on their business for a long period. 14 women were selected.
Driving Training. The selected candidates were brought to Kathmandu to be trained in driving EVs in the last week of May. The training had hardly gone on for 10 days when the massacre at the royal palace took place on June 1, 2001. Due to weeklong nationwide mourning, the women had to be sent home, with the training incomplete. They were called to continue the training afterwards. Only 12 participants attended the training session this time. Samuhik Sewa, a cooperative which owns a driving training school, trained the participants. After the completion of training they were sent back to Bharatpur.
Pre-licensing Training. The process of applying for driving license was delayed due to the Dashain and Tihar festivals. Since there was a three months hiatus after the training, it could have been hard for the women to handle vehicle smoothly. Hence, they were trained again for another 10 days at Bharatpur. An electric vehicle was brought to Bharatpur for this, accompanied by a trainer. During the training, the women were taught about traffic signals and driving rules.
Licensing Trained Women. on October 2001, the women were brought to Birgunj to test their driving skills. The EV was also brought there for the test. Only 9 of the 12 women passed the test. Subsequently, the three who failed at the first attempt also obtained the driving test.
Establishing a Charging Station. The BPK Cancer Hospital provided a space for a charging station inside its boundary. The hospital also contributed Rs. 100,000 cash to construct the charging station. Construction was delayed some months due to the departure of a financial company, E & Co., which was supposed to share more than 40% of the project cost. The abrupt departure of that company left the project uncertain. Other financial companies were approached, but these efforts failed. Winrock Intl finally invested the necessary funds. Ultimately, a charging station was constructed, with the capacity to accommodate 10 EVs. The required manpower to operate the station was also trained. Chautari members made several visits to observe the progress at this stage.
Challenges Facing EV Operation in Bharatpur
Despite the completion of the charging station, the operation of EVs in Bharatpur could not be started on time. The delay was chiefly caused by the indifference of EVMAN and the uncooperative attitude of EVCO, the EV manufacturing company. EVMAN did not show interest in the project, and EVCO did not live up to its promise. To meet this unexpected challenge, Chautari held several meetings with the involved parties, lobbying to begin work as soon as possible.
Eventually, five vehicles were brought to Bharatpur. Other three EVs are expected to reach Bharatpur shortly. Meanwhile, all the vehicles have been insured with National Life & General Insurance Company Ltd. Operation is due to start informally on May 2002.
V.2. Monitoring the Activities of EV Stakeholders
To fight concertedly for the upliftment of the EV industry requires better coordination among its stakeholders. It is weak coordination, and misunderstandings among stakeholders of EVs that is leading to the deterioration of the EV industry. In this phase, Chautari closely monitored the activities of EV stakeholders and helped sort out misunderstandings between them. Chautari conducted various meetings with EV stakeholders to define the role of stakeholders for proper implementation of ESPS/DANIDA financial support in EV sector promotion. ESPS/ DANIDA has come up with various programs to combat air pollution in its fifth component. Since EVs are emission-free vehicles, ESPS has provided financial support to promote EV industry. But it is not yet clear where and how to channel the provided funds.
In this phase focused on identifying stakeholders’ roles and respective areas to utilize these funds. Stakeholders also demanded a requirement that an external agency monitor stakeholders’ activities for proper implementation of ESPS's financial support. Chautari was asked to play as mediator and define roles of stakeholders for proper distribution and utilization of ESPS financial support towards promotion of EV industry.
As EVCO is working to promote EV industries out side of Kathmandu valley, emphasis was made to involve the women in the EV sector as to ensure the easy operation of EVs, during the various rounds of meetings. EVCO has already started operating 19 EVs with its own charging station at Biratnagar. But it was difficult to increase the number of EVs due to strong unity of polluting three-wheelers. The possibility of loan for women-drivers was also discussed during the meetings. EVCO personnel have agreed to provide new vehicles to women on a daily payment basis if they used EVCO's charging station in Biratnagar. In addition, commitments are also coming up to visit Dharan Municipality for a pre-feasibility study for operating EVs there.
After the visit to Dharan EVCO personnel have come to the recommendation that two routes of 2 to 3 kms in Dharan are suited for EV operation. The possibility of running EVs with women drivers seems to be high in Dharan. Options to promote EVS in Bidur Municipality are also being explored during the days.
All the entrepreneurs of EVs and charging stations have been complaining unanimously against the poor performance of existing batteries, i.e. Trojan 105 and Trojan 125, imported by LOTUS Energy Company. People have claimed that the life of batteries had not been as long as it should have been. There was also a scarcity of batteries in the market. In order to solve this problem, NEVCA and NEVI jointly have agreed to import the batteries of better quality.
Discussions were made on how the EVs could be advertised attractively and effectively on the occasion of the SAARC summit meeting. MC suggested that they make a few EVs available to ferry journalists of various countries during the summit. MC urged them to put the brochures and reports of EVs on demonstration in the business seminar of the SAARC summit.
The Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police introduced a new policy during the SAARC summit in the pretext of managing the traffic of Kathmandu valley: vehicles with uneven number plates could run on uneven days, while those with even number plates could run on even days. But that system was enforced on only public transportation. Chautari members met NEVCA's president at the NEVCA office to discuss how this odd/even system should be responded to. They decided to express disapproval of the system and to ask the traffic authority to reverse it.
In addition, a meeting with EV drivers was held to discover their reactions to the odd/even number plate system that was introduced by VTPO at the eve of the SAARC summit. The participants vehemently opposed the system. According to them, since EV batteries should receive regular charging, the odd/even provision directly affected the life of batteries. They demanded that Chautari do something to persuade the VTPO either to revoke the decision or to loosen it for EVs.
The Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police's decision dealt a severe blow to the idea of making a grand display of EVs on the occasion of the SAARC summit.
V.3. Support to NEVCA to conduct a study 'Collection and Review of Nepal EV Sector Database'
At present, the major challenge to the technical aspects of EV operation is the uncertain lifetime of batteries. Some batteries were found to last for only 8 months, whereas some for 24 months or more. The profitability of EVs hinges critically on battery life. Not all those operating EVs (i.e. drivers and owners) are technically competent to take care of batteries. Drivers are not sufficiently trained to adopting a driving pattern that has no adverse effect on battery performance. Good practice and supervision and monitoring of batteries are lacking at charging stations. As a result, in the majority of cases, batteries have failed to perform for the period required for reasonable profits. Therefore Chautari, in association of NEVCA and REPSO/Nepal, is conducting a study to prepare a database of the EV sector, and guidelines for EV drivers.
The study, entitled, 'Study to prepare database of charging profile and prepare guideline for monitoring EV drivers and charging centers,' possesses two parts. The first part proposes systematic collection, compilation and statistical analysis of pre-recorded secondary data of charging centers, and proposes to use the statistically analyzed database to discover any co-relation between battery life and the variables of charging stations. The second part of the study proposes that technical data related to its drivers' driving skills and the effects of this on battery life cycles of EVs presently plying the major routes be collected. This part of the study also proposes to prepare a guideline to monitor drivers' and charging centers' performances.
Data collection from charging stations has been completed and its analysis is ongoing in the context of the first study. Regarding the second study, 14 common EV routes were selected to measure EV batteries' discharge voltage. The studied routes are as follows:
1. Lagankhel - RNAC
2. Mangalbazar - RNAC
3. Mangalbazar - Baluwatar
4. Gwarkho - RNAC
5. Lagankhel- Baneshowr- Koteshowr- Lagankhel
6. Bhanimandal - Sahidgate
7. Sitapaila - RNAC
8. Syambu - RNAC
9. Jorpati - RNAC
10. Tinchule- RNAC
11. Galfutar - RNAC
12. Galfutar - Jamal
13. Banasthali - RNAC
14. Sinamangal - RNAC
Data collection took place in two phases. In first phase, first 8 routes' data were collected. Data from the rest of the routes was collected in the second phase. Data collection was completed with the employment of 34 data collectors and 5 supervisors in 18 days (18 Jan to 4 Feb, 2001).
In the first two days, data collectors were instructed and shown the method of data collection at the premise of Chautari. After 7 days, a review meeting with data collectors and supervisors was called to discuss problems and difficulties faced during the data collection. The entry and analysis of data is being conducted.
In the both studies, the role and responsibilities of all the stakeholders were highlighted. As this first study was supposed to highlight the performance of charging station and in turn as that could lead to the public notice, the cooperation between MC and all members of NEVCA was sought necessary. In addition, as MC was not stakeholder of the EV industry, it was necessary to work closely with the industry. As the proposed study required various technical interventions it was felt necessary to hold various rounds of meetings with WINROCK/REPSO and other technical persons from EV industry either in a group or individually.
In reference to the second study, as this study was supposed to deal with the driving performance analysis and suggesting the drivers' guidelines related to battery, it was necessary to work with the drivers thorough the network of drivers' association. In addition, one of the reasons of the prevalent conflict between the owner of the EV and the driver is the performance of the batteries that is directly linked to the driver's skill of operation as well. So, to fulfill this purpose, MC conducted various meetings with drivers' association and also with the individual drivers' unit of EV. Above all, the meeting among the CLEAN, NEVCA, and drivers were found to be more fruitful.
V.4. Research/ Study Related to EVs and the Transportation Sector
The Chautari team carried out a study to assess the financial performance of Safa Tempos operating within the Kathmandu valley. The study also made a comparative analysis of the operating costs of EVs and close competitors in the market. Chautari's in-house researchers counted vehicles serving as public transportation at several terminals, and concluded that a tentative figure of 3,500 EVs are plying the roads of Kathmandu valley. Chautari also studied public response to advertisements flashed on Safa Tempos, and pay parking system in Kathmandu. The reports of these studies have been put in annex 2,3,4 and 5.
V.5. Partnership building with different NGOs
A meeting between Chautari, Pro-Public and Clean Energy Nepal was held at the Pro-Public to analyze a recent decision by the Supreme Court. According to the full bench of the Supreme Court verdict made on 27 September 2001, vehicles could be imported only under Nepal Emission Standard and with TA (Type Approval) and COP (Conformity of Production) certificates. MoPE's technicians have already enforced on requirement of TA and COP certificates to import vehicles. Since HMG/Nepal does not have instruments to prove the COP of imported vehicles, the Supreme Court ordered HMG/Nepal to install required instruments, i.e., chassis dynamometers and engine dynamometers to check emissions including combustion chamber, piston description with mapping, vapor control system, combustion system, and pollution control devices' monitoring.
Bhoj Raj Ayer of Pro-Public briefed everyone on the Supreme Court decision. Prakash Mani Sharma revealed the advantages and disadvantages of the decision in controlling air pollution. The participants felt a need for strong networking among NGOs to fight such decisions, and decided to form a coalition of NGOs as soon as possible.
The meeting explored the possibility of strengthening partnership among NGOs, private sectors and government in the establishment of the Emission Monitoring Instrument. It was decided to take legal actions against discrepancies in transportation policies, air pollution and traffic system, through strong advocacy.
Thus, realizing the need for close networking among organizations and NGOs working to protect the environment, Chautari, CEN and PRO-PUBLIC together decided to form a coalition among environmentally proactive organizations and to call it the 'Coalition for Clean Environment'. This coalition now has 12 members. Chautari participated in meetings and activities undertaken jointly by the coalition's member organizations and NGOs on air pollution control and alternative fuel vehicles promotion. The main functions of CCE are as follows:
Meet regularly to discuss matters related to environment and share information among partners
Coordinate activities among the group members
Share expertise among the group members and take advantage of each others' comparative strength
Review documents, and prepare and issue joint statements
Jointly lobby on issues of concern to the group and conduct campaigns to initiate actions for a clean Kathmandu
Initially, CCE focused on the air pollution of Kathmandu valley. But later on it expanded its scope to cover other issues related to Kathmandu as well as the nation's environment. In the first year, CEN has been functioning as the secretariat for CCE and is responsible for coordinating activities in the initial phase.
EV related activities conducted by CCE so far
CCE organized a meeting and invited The Himalayan Light Foundation (NGO) working to develop and test a four-wheel EV on 30 th November, 2001. HLF team gave an introduction to the four-wheeler EV. With the consensus of the meeting, various advocacy plans were developed to make the government and other concerned parties aware about the benefits of the zero pollution mass transport system. In the meeting it was also briefed by HLF representatives that they were struggling with the Department of Transport Management to obtain registration for it. At that time, the government was seen to be reluctant to allow it to ply the roads. The Himalayan Light Foundation therefore requested CCE to pressure the DOTM to change its stance. The meeting endorsed a campaign to support four-wheeler EVs and to demand for its registration. In order to sustain four-wheelers, they should be facilitated with VAT and duty exemptions, as in the case of three-wheeler EVs. The meeting's participants decided to urge the Ministry of Finance not to impose VAT and custom duties on four-wheeler EVs. The meeting also decided to organize a public hearing on four-wheeler on 11 December. The interaction organized on 11 December was found to be fruitful in the sense that it was successful to disseminate the information regarding the 4 wheels EV and its benefits among the public and the government representatives as well.
In addition, CCE has been conducting various formal and informal interactions/discussions/meetings to get ahead in the EV industry and to deal with the public transport system in Kathmandu.
Additionally, CCE took lead to celebrate Earth day (22 April) this year in Nepal. MC used to take initiatives to celebrate such days in the previous years. The Earth Day celebration program was scheduled. An eco-rally, environmental exhibition at Basantapur, and other media campaign activities were decided. Chautari procured the job of 'CAR FREE DAY' celebration and media campaign on 22nd April. But, a BANDH call from Maoist created some technical problems in highlighting and observing the CAR FREE DAY.
V.6. Media Mobilization
Media mobilization is one of the best means to create pressure and public awareness about environmental issues. Both electronic and print media were mobilized to help promotion of clean energy technology and transportation management combating air pollution in the Kathmandu valley. Issues related to air pollution and public transportation were brought into public knowledge via articles in Kantipur, the largest-selling daily newspaper. Published articles by Chautari members are given in annex 6. Correspondents of the same newspaper were provided with new and important information so that they could cover breaking news, and so that this news would get appropriate placement in newspapers. Later, the same information was provided to other newspapers as well. The electronic media and FM radio was also mobilized for this purpose. Chautari supplied news and information to Radio Sagarmatha and took part in several talk programs aired by Radio Sagarmatha. Some programs were also done on Metro FM.
V.7. Meetings with Government Agencies
The role of government is un-doubtly important in promoting EV sector in Nepal. Regarding the international forum related to environment, thus it is a hot cake issue else where. HMG Nepal has shown clear support to the EV sector by reducing the custom duty (99 %) while importing the essential major components. As a result today, EV sector is seen likely to sustain. However, regarding the full phase development of the EV sector, there are so many things that the government has to understand and take seriously. For example, promotion of public transportation should be the priority of the government. With this reference, while dealing with government bodies, MC has been emphasizing the need of analyzing and perceiving the health costs, pollution tax and other issues related to traffic management and environment as well. Following are the key issues dealt with government during the phase;
Removal of LPG cylinder from the public vehicles
Analysis of the cost involved in the health of people caused due to the vehicular emission
Analysis of the study conducted by DEVTEC on behalf of HMG/ESPS
The role and importance of the traffic police in managing better public transportation system
Involving local authorities in managing and decision making of better public transportation system,
Enforcing of the decision of removal of 20 years old vehicles from valley,
V.8. Meeting with persons related to EV and transportation sector
Rounds of meetings and interaction were held with following personnel and organizations as to explore the possibilities of promoting and strengthening EV sector;
Welcome Energy Development Company (WEDC),
Sushila Maharjan, Researcher, MIT, USA
Mieta Lal Gurung, EV expert
Sunil Paudel, Coordinator of Traffic Department, DoR
Dr. Dibash Amatya and Basanta Ranjeetkar
Markus Eisgerning, EV specialist
Yoshinobu Kondo, Chief Engineer of AEMSS
Dr. Moinul Islam Sharif and Mozaharul Alam
The meetings basically focused on the issues such as encouraging women's participation in the energy and development sectors, use of single brand battery, road capacity, transport management and safety management, the failure of Sajha Yatayat, media campaign regarding EVs, technical improvement of EVs, R and D, launching of 4 wheeler EVs, technical improvements, socio economic aspects related to EV sector, CDM. Initially, all the meeting participants were briefed on the history and current status of EV sector in Nepal. Most of the meeting participants were found to be interested to work within the EV industry and work in close collaboration with MC.
V.9. Clean Energy News dissemination
The dissemination of news on alternative fuel vehicles through email list members remained one of the major activities in the earlier periods of the project's eight phases. CEN disseminated weekly E-news bulletin, Climatic Change and Sustainable Energy Weekly since October 2000. From 25th September 2001 onwards, Weekly E-news bulletin of Clean Energy Nepal and AFVs News of Chautari merged to form 'Clean Energy News (CE News)'. This weekly CE news bulletin is dispatched to more than 900 listserv members of both organizations on every Tuesday. CEN covers issues of energy, environment, climate change, air pollution, transportation and alternative fueled vehicles. CEN is also working as a secretariat to look after news generation, preparation, draft and circulation on these issues. Chautari helps CEN by feeding news relating to environment and transportation. Both CEN and Chautari share information regarding energy, environment, air pollution, transportation and other related issues. Similarly, both organizations have joined in hands for campaigns on issues of common interest.
Assessment of the Project
One of the reasons of undertaking such advocacy projects is to help promote cleaner public transportation system in the country and thus combating the air pollution problem. More than that the socio-economic dimension linked with transport system is another very important issue that has to be dealt with sufficient attention in the coming days. Unless and until the country can be self-dependent on the energy (may be hydro), it has to bear a great deal of financial burdens forever.
Thus, to address the issues, MC has been moving ahead basically focusing on advocacy and awareness campaigns. Almost all the stakeholders are of the opinion that the EV promotion master plan should be put in place. Now, we have been working on advocacy for clean transportation (ACT) with the support of WINROCK/REPSO with better objectives of cleaner transportation. Especially, we hoped to revive trolley bus in this first phase. This phase started at June 2002 and ended in November 2002
Regarding the further steps, still we feel the need of advocacy as to make shift in the policy, decisions, and preference. As a advocacy tool, public meeting and media will play a vital role, thus media mobilization should be the major focus in the coming days. But all these efforts must emphasize on the public clean transportation system. Likewise, attention has to be paid to come up of with the concerted efforts from all the stakeholders; in this line too we have to develop coordination strategy. However, the role of MC is sought to be the facilitator / supporter to all the stakeholders, work jointly to get the clean public transport system in Nepal.
VI. environmental_justice PROJECT
Project Coordinator: Dr. Jagannath Adhikari
Funding: Ford Foundation grant of Rs 33,59,250.00.
Project Duration: July 16, 2001 to July 15, 2002, with an extension up to October 31, 2002.
Project Description/Objectives: The goal of Chautari's environmental_justice Project (hereafter EJP) was to improve public understanding of environmental_justice with respect to grassroots problems in accessing natural resources. By broadening the public discussion on environmental_justice, Chautari aimed to bridge gaps between national, district-level, civil and grassroots actors who are actually and potentially involved in disseminating the idea of environmental_justice. Chautari also aimed at sensitizing these various actors about existing injustices in fair access to natural resources.
To identify these environmental injustices at the grassroots level and to use them to illustrate the cases of environmental injustices, their occurrence and evolution and disproportionate impact on the society, Chautari conducted research in both urban and rural areas. Pokhara was selected for study as an urban site and three villages (Hyanjya, Dhital and Lahachok) nearby Pokhara were selected as rural sites for study. The findings of these studies were used in formulating the concept of 'environmental_justice' and in undertaking advocacy programs on behalf of environmental_justice. Chautari based a variety of publications on these studies, including a bibliography for illustrating cases of environmental_justice and injustice, as well as visual and audio tools.
The specific objectives and the activities of EJP were indicated in the original proposal submitted to Ford Foundation. The project's achievements in the first year must be examined in relation to these objectives and activities.
ACTIVITY REPORT
Chautari began its work in EJP by constituting a team to undertake the activities specified in the proposal submitted to the Ford Foundation. The EJP team consisted of Jagannath Adhikari (Coordinator) and Sharad Ghimire (Botanist). To conduct field studies and help in advocacy work, Min Bahadur Giri, a researcher in anthropology/sociology, was included in the team, and he was based in Pokhara. The organizational and advocacy-related expertise existing in Chautari was also used in advancing EJP's objectives.
In the last twelve months, the EJP team carried out the following activities.
VI.1. Annotated Bibliography on environmental_justice in Nepal
As proposed, the EJP team began by preparing an annotated bibliography of publications on environmental_justice in Nepal. This bibliography covers a wide range of studies, reports, seminar proceedings, research papers and books and investigative (journalistic) reports that expose the situation of environmental_justice in the country. After the first draft of the bibliography was prepared on 7th October, 2001, it was given to three experts for comments: Narayan Kaji Shrestha, an expert in community forestry, natural resources management and conservation education; Rajendra Pradhan, an anthropologist with extensive experience in water rights and related issues; and Krishna Paudyal, an expert on community forestry and livelihood security. On 16th October 2001, the EJP team also organized a discussion program at the Chautari premises in Kathmandu to discuss a variety of environmental_justice issues raised in the bibliography. Altogether, 34 journalists, researchers, students, and people involved in conservation related projects attended this discussion. The final bibliography was published as A Bibliography on environmental_justice in Nepal by Jagannath Adhikari and Sharad Ghimire with the comments of the participants of this discussion and the experts consulted. The EJP team organized discussions based on this bibliography at Chautari, Tri-Chandra Campus, and at Pokhara Campus. The discussion at Pokhara Campus was aimed at sensitizing students. The other discussions were for journalists.
VI.2. Field Research
After the initial discussion at the Chautari premises, the EJP team started to conduct field research in Pokhara (the project's urban site) and Dhital, Hyanjya and Lahachok villages (the project's rural sites). The EJP team first surveyed the environmental problems of Pokhara affecting the public, focusing in particular on the poorer sections of society. The team communicated its findings to agencies working in relevant sectors, requesting that they address the problems identified by their research. The team stressed the protection of municipality workers involved in waste handling, who were found handling waste under dangerous conditions, with their naked hands and feet. These municipal workers handle potentially toxic and harmful hospital waste. Other environmental_justice problems in Pokhara include dust pollution along the road, the disposal of solid waste in the Seti river, the poor access and quality of drinking water, and the dumping of waste water and sewerage into natural water bodies, particularly the Phewa lake. The most severe environmental problem facing Pokhara, which has the potential to threaten the future of the town, is the loss of public property such as public land, chautaras, trees, maths and patis (religious shelters) and ponds. This loss of public property has occurred primarily due to the growth of (both legitimate and false) squatter settlements, and the encroachment of public land by powerful individuals. Given the seriousness of this problem, the EJP team studied it in detail. See the research report for further details.
Based on the research conducted in Pokhara, the EJP team published articles in local newspapers in Pokhara so as to attract the attention of public decision makers. The team also organized a discussion session at the Chautari premises to disseminate the findings of the research conducted in Pokhara. This discussion was organized on 22nd January, 2002 and it was attended by 35 persons.
The field research conducted in the project's rural sites identified the access to common resources, mainly forests, to low caste people, and the harassment of women going to the forest as major environmental_justice problems. Other injustices concerned the limited voice of low caste communities and women in the decision-making