Kathmandu School of Law Review

P-ISSN : 2091-2110, E-ISSN : 2773-8159, DOI : 10.46985, Publisher : Kathmandu School of Law, Nepal
Annual flagship journal of Kathmandu School of Law, Nepal

Volume 4, Issue 1, 2014
Articles

The Nation Still in Daze, the Need to Race Out of the Incompetent Maze: Sustainable Development (SD) Laws and Nepal

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  • Antara Singh
Antara Singh
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Bio

Published 2014-04-30

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How to Cite

Singh, A. . (2014). The Nation Still in Daze, the Need to Race Out of the Incompetent Maze: Sustainable Development (SD) Laws and Nepal. Kathmandu School of Law Review, 4(1), 58–78. Retrieved from https://kslreview.org/index.php/kslr/article/view/186

Abstract

All societies alike have made efforts on socio, economic, political transformations in order to suit their particularized historical, cultural conditions. In this process, that, the development needs a holistic approach over just the 'economic growth' approach, ineludibly, became the pragmatic recourse to agree upon by the human kind. In other words, this norm creation of 'sustainable development' has been expanding in its scope to encompass the determinations of what needs to be done, and what needs to be checked. In the backdrop of a liberal economic system that Nepal attempts to reap benefits from, the backfiring of myopic policies has hit us, as the society fails to create self sustaining legal system in the present scene, where the country is required to juggle with three goals simultaneously, economic development, environmental soundness and human rights for the social uplift. The paper deals with these areas of concern, in order to outline the need for sustainability in Nepal through a more prudent set of laws, and their implementation which can work efficiently in rapidly changed social conditions of this nation, to address and provide better working outcomes to start with, for the future generations.

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References

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  17. Cotula (n 13), pp.21-26.
  18. Ibid.
  19. Before 2000 AD the enactment of: National Park and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1973, Nepal; National Park and Wildlife Conservation Rules, 1974, Nepal; The National Forestry Policy(herein after NFP), 1976, Nepal; Leased Forest Rules, 1978, Watershed Conservation Act, 1982, Nepal; King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation Act, 1982, Nepal; Soil and Watershed Conservation Regulation, 1985, Nepal; National Conservation Strategy, 1987, Nepal; Nepal Environmental Policy and Action Plan(hereinafter NEPAP), 1993, Nepal; Forestry Policy, 1992, Nepal; Hydropower Development Policy, 1992, Nepal; Industrial Policy, 1992, Nepal; National Shelter Policy, 1996, Nepal; Buffer Zone Management Regulation, 1996, Nepal; National Solid Waste Management Policy,1996, Nepal; Environment Protection Act, 1996, Nepal; Environmental Protection Rules,1997, Nepal; Buffer Zone Management Guidelines, 1999, Nepal; After 2000 AD, the formulation of : Sustainable Development Agenda for Nepal(hereinafter SDAN), 2002, Nepal; Nepal Biodiversity Strategy, 2002, Nepal; Nepal Biodiversity Strategy Implementation Plan, 2006-2010, Nepal; National Wetland Policy, 2002, Nepal; Water Resources strategy, 2002, Nepal; Leasehold Forestry Policy Guidelines, 2003, Nepal; National Action Program on Land Degradation and Desertification, 2004, Nepal; National Agricultural Policy, 2004, Nepal; Community Forestry Guidelines, 1996 (revised in 2002 and 2005), Nepal; Agro-biodiversity Policy, 2007, Nepal; National Adaptation Programme of Action(hereinafter NAPA), 2010, Nepal; Climate Change Policy, 2011, Nepal.
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  21. Interim Constitution of Nepal, 2007, preamble, arts.21, 33-35.
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  23. Ibid.
  24. Cotula(n 14).
  25. First sentence of the preamble to the Marrakech Agreement, the founding agreement of the WTO, 1994 mentions of the objective of SD; Emily Lydgate, ‘Sustainable Development in the WTO: From Mutual Supportiveness to Balancing’, vol. 11, World Trade Review 621, 2012, pp.621-629.
  26. Article XX of the GATT lays out a permission of unilateral trade restrictions under particular circumstances, for example, where it is ‘necessary to protect human, animal or plant life or health’ and those ‘relating to the conservation of exhaustible natural resources if such measures are made effective in conjunction with restrictions on domestic production or consumption’; A Report by the World Growth discusses how the regulation of sustainability of traded goods have directly brought forth the issue of developed nations pursuing 'protectionism' at the costof impacts on developing nations. See World Growth, Abuse of Sustainability Standards, An Attack on Free Trade, Competition and Economic Growth, 2011.
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  31. Pragati Shahi, ‘Hybrid Maize Controversy: Nepali Officials deny Monsanto Deal’, The Kathmandu Post, Kathmandu, 9 November 2011.
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  33. Hari Nath Yogi, ‘Eco tourism and sustainability opportunities and challenges in the case of Nepal’, Department of Sustainable Development, University of Uppsala, 2010, p. 50.
  34. Ibid.36Interim Constitution of Nepal, 2007, arts 138-140, 13, 20 and 33-36.
  35. Interim Constitution of Nepal, 2007, art 20.
  36. Nepal Status Paper (n 23), pp. 24-25.
  37. For detail, see Government of Nepal, Nepal Human Development Report, Nepal Millennium Development Goals Progress Report, Nepal Living Standard Survey, 2011 available at http://www.npc.gov.np/new/uploadedFiles/allFiles/mdg-report-2013.pdf accessed on 30 July 2014.
  38. Nepal Status Paper (n 23), p 25.
  39. Ibid, p.28.
  40. Ibid,p.28.
  41. ‘In the seven districts, where the DFID-funded LFP is being implemented, average annual household incomes hadincreased by 61 percent in 2008. The highest increase has occurred for Dalits (93%), indicating that forestry has a high potential to contribute towards reducing poverty and inequality’. Nepal Status Paper (n 23), p. 28; ‘Despite having some successes, many studies on community forestry in Nepal have indicated that poor people are still not benefiting equitably. In some cases, their livelihoods have even been adversely. Studies have shown that local elites are benefiting most because they hold the powerful positions in the executive committees and can manipulate decisions in their own favour, ignoring the agendas of the poor and marginalized. The big challenge in community forestry, then, is how to overcome elite capture and make the whole process more equitable. Ganga Ram Dahal & Apsara Chapagain, ‘Community Forestry in Nepal: Decentralized Forest Governance’ in C.J.P. Colfer, G.R. Dahal & D. Capistrano (eds), Lessons from Forest Decentralization: Money, Justice and the Questfor Good Governance in Asia-Pacific, Earthscan Publications, London, 2008, p. 77.
  42. Dahal & Chapagain (n 43), p. 76.2.
  43. Ibid, p. 77.
  44. Foreign Employment Act (Baideshik Rojgaari Ain), 2007 (2064), Nepal and the Foreign Employment Rules (Baideshik Rojgaari Niyam), 2008 (2064) are the major laws in existence, that largely regulate the issues of Nepali migrant workers with a few provisions for protection against discrimination and child labour.
  45. Sarah Polettiet et al., Migrant Workers'Access To Justice at Home, Open Society Foundations, Center for the Study of Labour and Mobility, Nepal, pp. 77-92.
  46. Various coverage by the media and investigative report. For example, see Pete Pattisson, ‘Revealed: Qatar's World Cup Slaves’, The Guardian, September 2013 available at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/25/revealed-qatars-world-cup-slaves, accessed on 12 August 2014; See also National Human Rights Commission, Human Rights Situation of Nepalese Migrant Workers, Observation and Monitoring Report, South Korea and Malaysia, Nepal, 2013 available athttp://nhrcnepal.org/nhrc_new/doc/newsletter/HR%20situation%20of%20Nepalese%20Migrant%20Worker%20Report%20Aug30-Sept7-2013.pdfaccessed on 12August 2014.
  47. National Human Rights Commission Report (n 46), p.45.
  48. Nepal Status Paper (n 23), p. 32.
  49. (UN) Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation in developing countries (REDD) was launched in 2008 and works with Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
  50. Interim Constitution of Nepal, 2007, arts. 16 and 35 (5).
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  52. Ramesh Prasad Bhusal, ‘Who is at Fault? Government or Environmental Inspectors’, The Himalayan Times, 25 August 2009.
  53. Ibid.
  54. Nepal Status Paper (n 23), p 39.
  55. Ibid.
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