27/05/2024
🎓✨ UEP Master's Thesis Sneak Peak ✨ 🎓
In 2023, UEP student Alberto Vertiz spent two months in Kathmandu, Nepal, researching the governance and ecological processes involved in restoring the city's lifeline, the Bagmati River. Alberto's research was funded by the SAMAJ scholarship, and we were thrilled to learn about his findings.
"The Bagmati River in the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal is considered holy by many who practice Hinduism and Buddhism. Sadly, the river today presents itself as a degraded, trash-filled, polluted entity that meanders through both Kathmandu and Lalitpur. In recent decades, several issues have arisen concerning the Bagmati. Sand mining, squatter settlements, religious activities, and sewage dumping have all contributed to the degradation of the river.
Previously, the Bagmati was seen as an important landmark of the Kathmandu Valley, where people engaged in activities along its banks and swam in its clean waters. However, as the urban area around this river developed, the image of Bagmati's riverbank has been reduced to a wasteland. Many of Kathmandu's citizens merely cross Bagmati's bridges without daring to venture any closer to its murky waters.
Over the past decade, there has been a growth in social awareness campaigns and environmental conservation programs through different government and non-government institutions. However, none have made a significant impact. This can be attributed to the lack of available resources and the absence of ideal ecological solutions that could be implemented within the riverscape.
This thesis firstly explores the many ways in which different institutions associated with this urban river could potentially build strong partnerships and collaborate with local communities to guide the ecological restoration of the Bagmati River. Furthermore, it explores various ecological solutions viable for the context and presents an analysis of possible spatial implementations along the Bagmati River. In doing so, the thesis provides stakeholders associated with Bagmati an in-depth understanding of the various ecological and governance solutions that can accelerate the restoration process of the river."
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