KATHMANDU — Nepal’s leading civil engineering and forestry institutions are collaborating to bridge the divide between the two disciplines in an effort to mitigate the impact of roads, railways and other infrastructure on forests and natural resources. Educators from Tribhuvan University’s Institute of Engineering (IoE) and Institute of Forestry (IoF) are for the first time developing a joint curriculum on linear infrastructure for undergraduate civil engineering students and postgraduate forestry students. “Previously, our graduates focused solely on core engineering skills,” Sushil Bahadur Bajracharya, a professor at the IoE, told Mongabay. “The new course will enable them to add the new perspective of biodiversity conservation to their work.” Following the end of Nepal’s decade-long Maoist insurgency in 2006 and the introduction of a new constitution in 2015, there’s been a surge in infrastructure development throughout the country. These range from roads and irrigation canals, to railways, cable cars and power lines. While proponents of these projects hail them as markers of progress, observers say they also threaten Nepal’s forests, which cover nearly 45% of the country. The building spree has increased the likelihood of infrastructure projects impacting these areas, which are critical habitats for such iconic animals such as Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris) and greater one-horned rhinos (Rhinoceros unicornis). Recent changes to conservation laws introduced by the government go even further by opening up protected areas to infrastructure such as power lines and cable cars. Officials at the Ministry of Forest and Environment, primarily staffed by IoF graduates, often clash ideologically…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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