Table Of ContentNepal 2030: A Vision for Peaceful and Prosperous Nation
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[Nepal 2030: A Vision for
Peaceful and Prosperous Nation]
Edited by
Sagar Raj Sharma
Bishnu Raj Upreti
Kailash Pyakuryal
Published by
South Asia Regional Coordination Office of the Swiss National Centre of
Competence in Research (NCCR North-South)
and
Department of Development Studies, Kathmandu University
Citation:
Sharma SR, Upreti BR and Pyakuryal K (eds.). 2012. Nepal 2030: A Vision
for Peaceful and Prosperous Nation. Kathmandu: South Asia Regional
Coordination Office of the Swiss National Centre of Competence in
Research (NCCR North-South) and Department of Development Studies,
Kathmandu University.
Copyright © 2012 SAS RCO-NCCR North-South, Kathmandu and
Department of Development Studies, Kathmandu University
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-9937-8174-6-2
Subsidised price: NRs. 400/-
Layout/cover design:
Jyoti Khatiwada
Printed by:
Heidel Press Pvt. Ltd. Dillibazar, Kathmandu
Cover sketch:
Prakash Budha Magar
Disclaimer: The content and materials presented in this book are of the
respective authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of
the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR North-South)
or the Department of Development Studies, Kathmandu University.
The editors of the book Nepal 2030: A Vision for
Peaceful and Prosperous Nation acknowledge support
from the Swiss National Centre of Competence in
Research (NCCR) North-South, co-funded by the
Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), the Swiss
Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and
the participating institutions.
Acknowledgements
This book is the third in the series of the publications that have come out
as a result of the collaborative research between the Human and Natural
Resources Studies Centre at the Department of Development Studies of
Kathmandu University and the Swiss National Centre of Competence in
Research (NCCR) North-South. The prior two publications were “Nepal:
Transition to Transformation” and “The Remake of a State: Post-conflict
Challenges and State Building in Nepal”, published in 2008 and 2010,
respectively.
After those two publications, the editors of this book had several rounds
of prolonged discussions, albeit occasional and informal, regarding the
nature of the third publication. Although there was a strong temptation
to publish research-papers, we felt that as academicians and researchers
we also had the responsibility to look forward – that is, look into the
future and envision a better and prosperous nation. We thought it would
be exciting to have a platform for experts of various fields where they
could, based on their respective research and experiences look twenty
years ahead and envision what could be waiting for us then.
It was thus decided that we would first organize a national seminar titled
“Envisioning Nepal in 2030” and ask various experts to share their vision-
based perspective. That seminar was held in Kathmandu in June 2010,
from which many of the chapters in this book were developed, but there
are also a few other chapters written specifically for this book.
We would, thus, like to start by expressing our most sincere appreciation
to the individual authors of the chapters of this book, all renowned experts
in their respective fields, for not only going through several rounds of
revisions of their respective chapters but also, more importantly, sharing
with us and the public their vision for Nepal in 2030.
As in any other such work, we have received much help and assistance
from many of our friends and colleagues in preparing this book. Our
special gratitude goes to the students of the Department of Development
Studies at Kathmandu University and the staff of NCCR North- South
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Regional Coordination Office in Kathmandu for helping us voluntarily in
not only organizing the seminar but also in rapporteuring and compiling
various documents. Special appreciation goes to Ms. Lalita Pandey and Mr.
Siddhi Manandhar for skilfully overseeing the proceedings of the overall
seminar. Ms. Surakshya Dhakal provided us with valuable comments and
suggestions during the initial stage of preparing the chapters for this
book, for which we are thankful to her. We express our most sincere
appreciation to Professor Dr. Jaya Raj Awasti for going through the whole
book are editing the language of the entire volume. Finally, we are grateful
to all the reviewers for providing their valuable inputs and suggestions
during the compilation of this volume.
We look forward to receiving constructive comments from all our readers.
The Editors
June 2012, Kathmandu
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About the book
The empires of the future are empires of the mind.
— Winston Churchill
Determine that the thing can and shall be done and then we shall find the way.
— Abraham Lincoln
The above two quotes from two of the most prominent leaders this world
has seen have put it quite succinctly. Their messages are loud and clear –
that only those who dare to dream can have the dream realized. That is
exactly what we have attempted to do in this volume – to dream about
a peaceful and prosperous nation. Nepal has been experimenting with
planned development for more than six decades now, but the results
have not been entirely positive. During the same period, this country has
gone through tremendous and very visible political, social and economic
changes. But there still remain various socio-economic problems and
political uncertainties. Poverty, social inequities, and insecurities are still
the most challenging issues the people as well as the policy makers face
today. What can be done about this situation? What roles can politicians,
civil society members, academicians, entrepreneurs, private sector actors,
educationists, practitioners, and indeed people from every background
play to improve this situation? A lot. There are many things to be done
and be accomplished in Nepal. And everybody can contribute from her or
his respective social as well as professional position. And how does one
begin in this mission? One begins with discussing ideas, having a vision,
and looking to the future. That is exactly what we have attempted to do
in this volume.
The articles in this volume are written by practitioners and experts of
respective fields who have dared to vision a prosperous and stable Nepal
by the year 2030. Despite the ongoing social uncertainties and political
instabilities Nepal is facing amidst the post-conflict transition that is taking
place, these authors believe that a brighter future is very much attainable
if we act wisely, swiftly and boldly. At this juncture in Nepal’s history, when
the policy makers of this country are discussing and debating how to build
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a ‘New Nepal’, we thought it would be very timely to bring into public
debate some of the visions of the people who are outside the political
sphere but are actively contributing from their respective positions to
build a prosperous Nepal. While we collectively work towards building this
fragile country into a strong and secure nation, we hope that the articles
in this book will at least make the readers dream about some possibilities
and aspire towards translating these dreams into realities.
The book contains altogether ten chapters in different fields. The themes
covered in this volume are very important for any nation’s development,
but we definitely do not claim that this is an exhaustive list of sectors
that are needed for a country’s prosperous future. There are many other
equally crucial fields one could think of while envisioning a prosperous
Nepal by 2030, such as energy, health, governance and administration,
natural resources management in the context of federal structure,
biodiversity and medicinal herbs, and so on, but we were not able to
include them in this volume for several reasons. Nevertheless, we believe
that the chapters in this volume cover issues, which, if given proper
attention, can definitely show us the path towards a much brighter future.
The volume opens up with a very broad chapter by Sagar Raj Sharma, who
has articulated in a very positive tone about the various possibilities Nepal
has in order to become an economically prosperous nation. Among so
many possibilities, he singles out land, tourism, hydropower, and financial
sectors that have the potentialities of taking this country towards a much
stronger future, both socially and economically, by 2030. Sharma argues
that once these sectors are developed, Nepal will develop the capacity to
take advantage of the growth of both India and China, thereby being in a
good position to integrate itself into the world economy.
The book then goes onto addressing specific themes from Chapter Two,
in which Sanjay Khanal opines that as Nepal is highly blessed by nature,
there is a huge possibility to advance and progress by effective utilization
of science and technology and determining the areas of national priorities
that contribute to economic growth and education, as done by many
other countries. What matters most is our commitment to do so.
Bhola Thapa, Bhupesh Adhikary and Binod Aryal give a vivid picture of the
current state of transportation in Nepal in Chapter Three and show us how
the current planning and implementation of rules are at the same time
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giving rise to new sets of problems for building a more secure and reliable
transportation system in the country. But they also show us, equally aptly
and with a strong analysis, that it is indeed possible to develop a much
more secure, reliable and efficient transportation system in the country
by 2030, if proper planning and strict implementation of rules are taken
place.
In Chapter Four, Santa Bahadur Pun discusses rather comprehensibly,
through his rich experience of having worked in the sector, issues
surrounding water resources and hydropower development from the
perspective of institutional arrangements, governance structure and
bilateral treaties between Nepal and India. Pun argues that although
Nepal has a sound Water Resources Strategy and National Water Plan,
in order to cater to the needs of changing times, the institutions and
plans may require some tinkering. For that, Nepal’s major political parties
need to form a consensus, at least on a minimum set of water resources
development agenda. In that case, Nepal can look forward to becoming
a genuinely prosperous nation by 2030 in terms of the effective and
efficient use of its water resources.
Another equally important sector for Nepal is tourism. A thriving tourism
can bring about cross-sectional changes in this country. Pitamber Sharma
has very succinctly summarised the potentialities in Chapter Five in three
words: nature, adventure and culture. With evidences and rich data,
Sharma argues that a tourism-led development strategy in Nepal offers
several advantages. Tourism can be the basis for the diversification of
the economy and a critical source of foreign exchange earnings. For poor
countries like Nepal whose export capacity is limited, tourism is an in situ
export where the consumer comes to the product, not the other way
round. Although capital intensive to begin with, it is also an important
generator of employment. With sound planning and determination, by
2030 this country will have more to offer to the lay traveller as well as the
intrepid adventurer than any comparable area on earth.
Chapter Six discusses another important sector for Nepal’s transformation
into a peaceful and prosperous country – security. Bishnu Raj Upreti, with
his rich experience and knowledge in the security sector, opines that
for Nepal to progress towards a strong and stable country by 2030, our
security arrangements must be able to address unconventional security
challenges such as resource scarcity, climate change effects, livelihood
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