VIVEK DHAKAL
Tourism & Its Importance in Nepal

Tourism & Its Importance in Nepal

Tourism in Nepal

Tourism in Nepal

Advancement in information & communication technologies, improvement in transportation facilities, new business propagandas, etc have abridged down this huge globe into a small locus. It has been extremely easy to stay up to date with family & friends with the help of social media. It has been relatively easier to reach every nook and corner around the world in recent times. As a result, the tourism industry has fostered to today's extent. The tourism industry is one of the major sectors on which the economy of Nepal relies upon. From the plain lands in Terai to the highest peak in the world, Mount Everest, variation in land topography, climate, culture, and traditions exist that make Nepal a perfect spot to be visited at least once in a lifetime. Due to the prolific presence of various attractions for tourists in Nepal, the tourism industry has been a helping hand in the country's economic growth.

Nepal is a country that lies in the southern lap of the Himalayas. It has an area of 1,47,181 sq km which is 0.03% of the total area of earth & 0.3% of the total area of Asia. Nepal has the highest peak in the world, Mt. Everest which lies in the Solukhumbu district. Nepal is the birthplace of Gautam Buddha, the light of Asia & the founder of Buddhism. Nepal is the second richest country in the world in water resources ( after Brazil ). It is estimated that 83,000 MW of electricity can be produced from our water resources. Nepal has ten world heritage sites as declared by UNESCO. Nepal is the only country in the modern world that does not have a rectangular national flag. There are countless monuments in major cities of Nepal i.e. Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, etc. They enhance the beauty & attraction of the country. Kathmandu is also known as the "City of Temples". Pokhara is also called "Tourists Paradise" because of its natural beauty. There is great diversity in language & religion. Nepal is also a secular country. Nepal is also known as a country of brave Gorkha armies.

Thus, Nepal is a land of sheer beauty with lots of divine destinations and jaw-dropping unique experiences. The topography includes huge green jungles with diverse species of flora and faunas to the icy cold mountains thus showing the possibilities of activities that the land can offer to its tourists.

Importance of tourism in Nepal

The importance of tourism comes to light since it brings in lots of advantages with it to any host country. It promotes the country's name around the globe. It can be a great source of income for a country. Switzerland, France, Italy, Spain, and many other countries today are counted as flourished nations and the main reason behind this is the development of the tourism industry. Nepal each year gets a lot of visits and is in the path of tourism development by pre-planning events and activities to allure tourists. Below are a few points for the importance of tourism in Nepal.

  • Economic growth: For a developing country like Nepal, the tourism industry can be regarded as bliss as it is a source of foreign exchange and royalty earnings. Tourism succors other industries like hotels, restaurants, handicrafts, and many more to run in an efficient way. Nepal Rastra Bank report shows total foreign currency exchange (less return) for 2018 stood at NRs. 69,750,584 thousand, (Around 617,263 thousand US$).
  • Employment opportunities: Employment opportunities in the tourism and hospitality sectors can be created either directly or indirectly. Direct Employment opportunities are the total number of job opportunities supported directly by travel and tourism for instance guides, employment by hotels, restaurants, rural inns, and guest houses, museums, travel agencies, tourism information offices, protected areas such as national parks, palaces, religious sites, monuments, aircraft, photography, sightseeing tours, farmhouses, local transportation. Tourism and hospitality also support indirect employment in activities like restaurant suppliers, construction companies that build and maintain tourist facilities, as well as necessary infrastructure, various handicrafts producers, marketing agencies, accounting services.
  • Cultural exchange: Tourists from various countries with different cultural backgrounds visit Nepal. In addition to that, Nepal is a home of people with unlike cultural frameworks from being multilingual to multiregional. Hence people can know each other more and learn about their language, art, skill, food, etc.
  • Publicity of nation: Nepal is a small country and has not made a remarkable name in the world scenario. Tourism helps to publicize the country around the world so that more people know Nepal and its authentic beauty. It helps to publicize Nepalese art, skills, tradition, culture, and hospitality to the world.

Ecotourism in Nepal

Ecotourism is defined as “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people, and involves interpretation and education” (TIES, 2015). It is about uniting conservation, communities, and sustainable travel. In the sixth plan (1980-1985 AD), emphasis was given to the promotion of eco-tourism in Nepal by the government. Since then ecotourism has been flourishing and attracting tourists towards Nepal for wildlife viewing, wilderness camping, trekking, hiking vacations, white water rafting, and many more activities. Along with the conservation of floras and faunas, national parks, conservation areas, wildlife reserves, and hunting reserves have been serving as a prime destination for tourists to enjoy jungle safari and watching wildlife closely. This is an example of ecotourism in Nepal. Moreover, except the main areas of Nepal that are easily accessible by the tourists like Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, Chitwan, Pokhara, Lumbini, etc, rustic areas with abundant possibilities aiding to the attraction of tourists like Manang, Mustang, Dolakha, etc are being promoted for tourism.

Public Private Partnership | PPP in Nepal

Public Private Partnership | PPP in Nepal

Public Private Partnership in Nepal
Public Private Partnership (PPP, 3P, or P3) is a frequently pronounced term in the field of infrastructure development & contract management. It is a widely adopted model mainly for public service delivery. So, before diving into the concept of public private partnership, it is good to know about public service delivery & the various options available for it.
Development Issues & Challenges of Economic Development in Nepal

Development Issues & Challenges of Economic Development in Nepal

Nepal is a beautiful South Asian landlocked country lying on the laps of the Himalayas, covering an area of 1,47,516 square Km. It is surrounded by two giant nations; China in the north & India in the rest of the sides. From the huge Himalayas to hills and then Terai, about 3 crore people have made Nepal their habitat and earn their livelihood.
Watershed & Watershed Delineation | Calculating Catchment Area

Watershed & Watershed Delineation | Calculating Catchment Area

What is Watershed & Watershed Delineation?

A watershed is all the land & water which contributes runoff to a common point or outlet point. It is also called a catchment or drainage area. The terms catchment & watershed are found to be used interchangeably. So, the watershed area is the land area, from where all the surface runoff converges to a single point to give common discharge. Watershed delineation thus refers to creating a boundary that represents the contributing area for a particular outlet point.

Method of Watershed Delineation

Why Watershed Delineation is required?

Watershed delineation is done primarily to define the boundary of the study area or to divide the study area into subareas. Also, watershed delineation is the initial job for calculating catchment area. So, watershed delineation has major importance in watershed management, soil conservation & hydrometeorological studies.

How to delineate watershed?

Delineating watershed means you're drawing boundary lines of the catchment on a map. Traditionally, this is done manually in the topographic maps using information from contours but some digital methods are also available nowadays. Watershed delineation can be done by following different methods:
  1. Topo Map Method
  2. Google Earth Pro Method
  3. GIS Method
While dealing with the topo map method, one should have sound knowledge of contour lines & map scale. We should be able to visualize the terrain by seeing the contour lines. We should find where ridge & valley exists and also note that the flow direction is always perpendicular to the contour line. Here are few steps for watershed delineation & calculation of catchment area from topo map:
  • Mark the outlet point in the topo map
  • Starting from the outlet point, draw lines perpendicular to the contours in such a way that the line passes through the ridges
  • Following the procedure, connect all the possible extreme points whose discharge converges into the outlet & finally, end at the outlet point.
  • After demarcation of the catchment boundary in the topo map, trace the delineated area in transparent graph paper. Count the number of squares in the graph paper that the catchment has covered & keeping in mind of map scale, determine the value of the catchment area.
                    As an alternative to this graph paper method, we can use Autocad to calculate the catchment area. For this, scan the topo map catchment & import it to the Autocad environment. Fix the scale of the imported image & retrace the catchment boundary in Autocad using polylines. Now, the area of a polygon can easily be determined in Autocad.

Google earth pro method for watershed delineation is quite famous nowadays. Using Google earth pro, we can visualize our catchment in 3D & draw the catchment boundary as a polygon by eye judgment & instantly, Google earth pro shows you the area covered by polygon in the required unit.

GIS method of watershed delineation is the most accurate among all mentioned here. While using GIS for watershed delineation & determination of catchment area, we need DEM data of study area. The DEM data is then loaded in ArcGIS & different tools are available in ArcGIS in order to delineate watershed & determine the corresponding area. Here, ArcGIS automatically delineates the catchment for you once you provide correct information to it. One can download the DEM data directly from USGS Earth Explorer for free & can proceed further in ArcGIS.
Sustainable Development Goals 2016 - 2030 | SDGs in Nepal

Sustainable Development Goals 2016 - 2030 | SDGs in Nepal

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the goals set by United Nations Organization ( UNO ) in the 70th session meeting held in September 2015. The SDGs contain 17 goals, 169 indicators & 232 sub-indicators. The 17 SDGs were adopted by 193 member countries of UNO & came into effect on January 1, 2016. The 17 SDGs are:
Current Periodic Plan | 15th Five Year Plan of Nepal

Current Periodic Plan | 15th Five Year Plan of Nepal

In Nepal, a serious effort to planned development was started after the first five-year plan (1956-1961).  The national planning commission is a specialized & apex body of the Government of Nepal for the formulation of national vision, development policy, periodic plans & sectoral policies for the overall development of Nepal. Currently, the 15th plan is in action for the fiscal year 2076/77-2080/81. The approach paper of the 15th plan has been approved by the meeting of the national planning commission chaired by Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli on 2076/11/19. The 15th plan has the following key objectives:
Monthly Flow Estimation | Regional & Empirical Methods in Nepal

Monthly Flow Estimation | Regional & Empirical Methods in Nepal

Monthly flow estimation of a catchment is a major task for the design of an irrigation system in a required commanded area. We generally estimate runoff as annual or monthly flow, extremely low flow & flood flow. Annual or monthly flow is required for the design of irrigation water requirements whereas extreme low flow & flood flow are determined for the design of hydraulic structures & river training works. Here, in this article, we are mainly concerned with the estimation of monthly flow in the catchment area of study. When long-term flow data of the study are available, we use the frequency analysis method. In absence of such records, we can apply regional & empirical methods to calculate monthly flows.
Design Flood Estimation | Regional & Empirical Methods in Nepal

Design Flood Estimation | Regional & Empirical Methods in Nepal

Most of the hydrological designs consider extreme flood flows. Like, in the design of hydraulic structures such as dams, weirs, barrages, bridges, etc one needs maximum flood discharge as well as maximum flood levels. Thus, design flood estimation is a major task for the design of hydraulic structures & river training works. The estimation of runoff from a catchment is a very complex problem. Runoff is generally estimated in the following different forms: