Kexplore: June 2018

World Environment Day (WED) is the biggest, most globally celebrated day for positive environmental action on June 5. It is the people’s day for caring our planet, Earth which motivates everyone to realize not only the responsibility to care for the Earth, but also reminds one and all of their individual power to become agents of change. Every action counts, and when multiplied by a global chorus, becomes exponential in its impact. It has been a campaign for raising awareness on environmental issues for years now. Today we can reflect on what is important: Creating a stable world for the generations to come and it is not possible without the active participation of all of us globally. A believe, humanity should not just limit to humans is a must realized one. Being a part of this world, it is our duty to protect it, preserve it. And every minute we act on it will be a year added for the next generation. It’s a bright future out there if we decide to put in a small effort from our hands today, tomorrow and for days to come.

The theme for the World Environment Day 018 “Beat Plastic Pollution’’ is a call to action for all of us to come together in the same platform in a same day to combat one of the great environmental challenges of our time. This doesn’t necessarily mean advocating and demonstrating environmental concern for a single day, rather it’s a vibrant to awake all the concern bodies and parties around the world to make sure that legacy is passing by and good work is continued. It boosts up the people with that level of energy to tackle various fields of environmental concerns that are dynamic with the time every year. The slogan for this year “If you can’t reuse it, refuse it’’ is a small pledge to reduce the use of plastic or simply a mission to refuse disposable plastic and single- serving packaging in creating a plastic free pristine environment.

Although plastic has many valuable uses making our everyday life easy and simpler, we have become over-reliant on single-use or disposable plastic. This has direct severe consequences in the Environment, a consequence from anthropogenic activities which unfortunately other living creatures without any involvement are forced to endure. This is literally so unfair and injustice, despite a fact those creatures can’t claim and protest against so called most civilized social animal, as a matter of fact this is why we are not then rethinking about the plastic waste. Much of the plastic waste thrown globally ends up in ocean, becoming an epidemic. This waste in ocean now is responsible for killing a million of seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals annually. Coming to a conclusion, it is already proclaimed that there would be more plastic than fish in the ocean by weight by 2050. This is an intensely serious issue to think and rethink over, before you throw your plastic waste.

- Plastic can survive in the environment for up to 500 years.

- Every year the world uses 500 billion of plastic bags.

- In the last decade, we produced more plastic than in the whole last century.

- We buy 1 million plastic bottles every minute.

- Every year, we use 17 million barrels of oil to produce plastic bottles for our water.

- Plastics make up 10% of all of the waste we generate.

This is a high time we think about the management of this 10% of global waste we generate, right from this Environment day, in making this global village a better place to live in.

- Recycling plastic takes 88% less energy than making new plastic.

- We can save 1,000 – 2,000 gallons of gasoline by recycling one ton of plastic.

Have you ever wondered the very first morning you wake up and think about this mesmerizingly amazing and perfect mother Earth? Have you ever stopped to realize how uncredentialled super we are to live in this beautiful planet? We are overjoyed to live in this planet and only indulged with the materialistic part every day, never ever a concern in the carrying capacity of the Earth and the sustainability. Having done all this misbehaves to our planet, it is never a too late to begin something even a small change for this planet Earth, our mother.

- Refuse disposable or single serving packages.

- Bring your own coffee mug.

- Choose reusable lunch bags.

- Find innovative ways to replace single –use plastic.

Just go for the 3R Principles, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. So, if you can’t reuse, simply refuse it. Happy World Environment Day 018- Beat Plastic Pollution. (Facts and data: WED.goglobal)

- Kexplore

Wanderlust; a strong impulse or longing to travel, however when strikes to my ears, I automatically happen to think myself of wondering in nature and getting lost amidst the forest wilderness. For my thought on the important part of ones’ hobbies, there foremost lies the travel, trek and hike. That is why people utter, “And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul” because we aren’t born to just pay bills and die. At the end of the day it’s not only money that what matters and accounts into your happiness. The ultimate happiness in life is creating moments like memories that you would ever cherish and love go back to.

It was already 6:30 am after a minute of buzz on my cell; I tried ignoring during asleep and longing for same sound sleep. Next a minute later I picked up my cell, “How long are we waiting for?” yelling at me, Priya questioned. I was in such a rush for 6:31 in the morning, finally met the hikers at Chabahill waiting me desperetaely. The hike finally began at 7:00 am from the base of the Chisapani after some instructions and accommodations made to reach the final destination, Dhaap- a wetland in Chisapani, Shivapuri Nagarjung National Park.

It was indeed a green hike to mark the 3rd Day of the Tenth Nepal National Water and Weather Week 2018 (17-23 March) dated March 19. A group of enthusiastic people attended a one day hike to Dhaap. The group comprised of staff members, interns, volunteers and the environmental enthusiast who believe on raising awareness on water conservation and sustainable life. In the modern world of many scientists, propagating the doctrine of the origin of life, the Environmentalist often given prior to environmental concerns, we formulate theories and principles from the base to assist people cope with problems. This is just with regards to the concern of first World Water DAY commemorated in 1993 by United Nations.

Walk for a change-walk for water, was highlighting theme of the green hike. Walking along the magical whispers of cold trees and observing the sources of water at Chisapani, we were sidewise making the best of best awareness to the local people and hikers about the sanitation and cleanliness, waste management during a hike. This can pretty be correlated with a day carbon footprint during hike, collecting of all the personal waste on your own and making an analysis once back from hike. With such thrilling sorts of analysis and individual kind of research at ease, everyone was overwhelmed to somehow go eco-friendly with nature. We had great stories about the landscapes; serene beauty amidst the forest wilderness, rich floral diversity and bird species, the fresh and pure meanderings of streams and rich bio-diversity in the region. With many flux of confusion on way findings, up and down the wrong turns and slides over grass and dry leaves to the ecstasy in finding good way with quench of thirst from the cold fresh water sources, finally we conquered our destination to Dhaap at around 2:00 pm after series of long adventurous walk. No matter, how significantly, the wetland had been degraded to the past upon the demolition of landscape and vegetation for dam construction, with the memories encrypted in the serene beauty and rich bio-diversity, we already thrived on the adventurous way making. Upon arrival at destination, a brief discussion was carried out in relevance to the theme “Nature for Water” facilitated by Mr. Kabiraj Khatiwada and Mr.Nammy Hang Kirat.

Opposed to J.R.R Tolkien, “Not all those who wander are lost”, we were so enigmatically lost in the forest wilderness. This simultaneously turns out to be the most adventurous part of entire hike, despite fact of pitty situation of wetland; one could easily notice in contrast to the past scenario. Located in the headwater of Nagmati River near Chisapani at an altitude of 2,089 m above main sea level, Dhaap once used to be a fascination sight with huge water volume and various floral and bird species. But then, the wetland now is all left with shallow level of muddy water and less floral species with rarely some bird chirming to the distant. A grand project of dam construction in the area is letting this all happening with the clearance of large mass of trees and rapid constructions of dam with excesive minerals and soil extractions. The image possibly to the best of serene beauty now, most probably would have been faded away in comparison to one few years back. We could do nothing in the alarming symphony of destruction, besides hoping for the best once the project is done. We hope very optimistically that the wetland would be restored back with intense volume of water and aquatic species within along the various floral species in the area after the construction is accomplished. May the large bird species find their way back to the place, which with green vegetation, large water volume and floral bloom obviously attracts many people in making their way to this wetland once again? Hereby, we would like to drag everyone’s attention over with regards to the water conservation and sustainability.