LET'S DEAL WITH LUMBINI'S ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

LET'S DEAL WITH LUMBINI'S ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

(Published in The KTM POST, November 30, 2014)

                                                                                           (Sandhya Regmi)

International Conference on Buddhism

A three day International Conference on Buddhism took place in Lumbini, the sacred birthplace of Siddhartha Gautama the Buddha – the apostle of peace - from 15^th to 17^th November 2014 for the promotion, preservation and protection of Buddhist Cultural Heritage. The conference was jointly organized by the Sitagu International Buddhist Academy of Myanmar and the Teravada Buddhist Academy ‘Vishwa Shanti Vihar’ of Lumbini Buddhist University of Nepal. The conference was a landmark achievement in itself with the participation of the most venerable monks and respectable nuns from over 32 countries across the world. The participants included professors, educationist, cultural experts, archaeological & environmental professionals, research scientists, dignitaries, officials of governmental and international non-governmental organization, universities, educational institutions, Buddhist organizations and communities.  

The conference provided a golden opportunity for many enthusiastic participants like me to be a part of and interact with the educational, intellectual and spiritual Gurus. The elegant gathering ran through a series of intellectual sessions on Buddhist Heritage, Buddhist Culture, Buddhist Educational System, and Environmental Conservation & Sustainable Development of Lumbini.  For me the event enriched with Buddhist Education and Self-Enlightenment. As a firm believer in Buddhism, an admirer of Buddha’s teachings & philosophies, and an artist of Buddha portraits, my enthusiasm met the event.

Further,  my Environmental Engineering background  gave me an opportunity to pour out my opinions and ponder for a better environmental management system and the protection & preservation of both the natural and social environment of the internationally recognized world top class authentic pilgrimage site, which at the moment is found to be at risk of deterioration due to serious environmental pollution threats, and needs immediate attention by all concerned individuals and authorities at the local, national and the international levels.  

Air Pollution in Lumbini

A comprehensive and quantitative air quality assessment was conducted at the Lumbini World Heritage Site and its vicinity by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2013 in the project entitled the Heritage Air Quality and Weather Assessment for Lumbini Protected Zone (HAWA-LPZ) through scientists from Indian Institute of Tropical Meterology (IITM), Pune, India.  The results showed that during the winter season the air quality of Lumbini and vicinity is alarmingly poor and unhealthy mainly due to the temperature inversion phenomenon and the trapped local industrial pollution where PM2.5 (fine particles) touch unhealthy level of 270 µg/m3 and PM10 (bigger particles) hit the level of 350 µg/m3 both far exceeding the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS 2012) of Nepal and the WHO guidelines. This high level of air pollution is extremely dangerous and poses serious health hazards especially the respiratory and heart diseases on human beings and threats to biodiversity in and around the heritage site. An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) conducted by the IUCN in 2013 confirms an estimated release of about 912.6 metric tons of carbon emission per day from 4 cement industries in the Lumbini area. The carbon emission is carcinogenic to humans and has been declared by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the WHO as a leading environmental cause of cancer deaths.        

Tourists and Pilgrims visiting Lumbini are yet ignorant about the fact that the early morning fog visible in the sacred garden is not just the fog rather the smog, which is the high concentration of smoke particles accumulated in air, which can do substantial damage and are sometimes poison and carcinogens; and the Buddhist monks and nuns living in the monasteries are unknowingly breathing into their lungs this carcinogenic air while practicing yoga, pranayama and meditation. The deteriorating air quality of Lumbini and surrounding has caused significant adverse impacts and been proved hazardous both to the social and natural environment, and thus requires immediate preventive and mitigation measures.

Solid Waste Mismanagement in Lumbini

The growth of tourist infrastructure, increasing population especially the visitors, the increasing commercial and industrial activities in the area have contributed to the increase in waste generation in the world heritage site inscribed on UNESCO’s list.  Furthermore, the increase in number of visitors after the completion of the ongoing international airport in Bhairahawa will generate more waste and will impose serious adverse impacts on the environment, if an efficient waste management system is not timely established.       

The currently practiced SW Management is ineffective as there has been no proper segregation, collection, transportation and disposal of waste. Waste has been swept only from the cleaning routes and not from main roads, pedestrian paths and gardens, and waste has been dumped direct in open areas and even at the backyard of the Mayadevi temple. While we were taken to visit the Lumbini museum as a part of the conference activities, it was alarmingly unhygienic to see the area covered with litter producing foul odor, an extremely neglected SW disposal scenario totally ignored by the local residents and authorities. Hence a systematic and scientific SW management mechanism is required timely to preserve the environment of this internationally significant pious heritage site.   

Degradation of Monuments in Lumbini 

The most important monuments - the spiritual, cultural and social assets of the sacred garden of Lumbini – namely the Marker Stone, the Nativity Sculpture and the Asoka Pillar are undergoing degradation due to industrial and vehicular emission in the vicinity of the heritage site apart from the growth of algae and microscopic fungi and bacteria. The emitted SO2 and NO2 react with water vapor in the air in the presence of oxidizing agents to form sulfuric and nitric acid—the acid rain—which is very corrosive and attacks limestone, marble and metals of ancient sculptures and monuments. Not only the precious monuments of Lumbini, but also the world’s most cherished buildings - the Taj Mahal of Agra, the Colosseum of Rome and the Lincoln Memorial of Washington D.C. are slowly dissolving away because of the action of the weathering.

Actions to be taken

I propose to take the following actions to deal with the environmental issues of Lumbini.

1)    A comprehensive environmental study needs to be carried out to map out and update environmental issues (including air, water, solid waste noise pollutions) and to identify specific measures to be taken to deal with the issues. Any master plan for Lumbini development must address all the environmental issues.

2)  A stringent legal framework specifically devised to protect environment of Lumbini might be needed. This needs to be considered after due consultation with all stakeholders.

3) The major pollutants in and around the heritage site are the industrial emissions. Most of the industries set up in the periphery of Lumbini poorly regulated and exceed the acceptable pollution threshold, and do not comply with the laws and standards. Hence the Ministry of Science, Technology & Environment (MOSTE) and its Department of Environment (DOE) should urgently undertake compliance monitoring of Legislation, Regulations and Standards in the industrial sector of Lumbini.

4) Immediate and stringent legal actions should be taken to exclude all carbon-emitting industries especially the brick kilns and cement factories and all other major environmental polluting industries established within the Lumbini Protected Zone (LPZ)—which is the region covering a 15 km aerial distance from the Lumbini Project Area (LPA). Any new industry to be established should be outside the LPZ, and need to comply strictly with the Regulation, Bylaws and Standards of the Environment Protection Act (EPA).         

5) The vulnerable population of Lumbini including the monks and nuns living in the monasteries, the visitors & pilgrims as well should be made aware of the fact that all the environmental pollution has adverse impact on human health, biodiversity, air quality, water quality, noise quality and also on the precious historical monuments, sculptors and masonry. In any environment related project undertaken by the government, the participation of these local people, authorities and institutions are of utmost importance.

6) Environmentally Friendly Renewable Energy Technologies (RET) especially the solar PV and Electric Vehicles (EV) should be promoted in the heritage site in order to minimize the industrial pollution, the vehicular emission and thus prevent the related irreversible impact of acid rain’s degradation of monument.  

7) The 3R principle of waste Reduction, Recovery and Reuse should be adopted in order to minimize the waste generation and its final disposal.

I take this opportunity to urge all stakeholders to come forward and create a working front through which we could contribute in preserving the environment of Lumbini. At the individual level, I am willing to participate and contribute in dealing with the environmental issues of Lumbini, with governmental and non-nongovernmental institutions and the stakeholders.

(The author is an Environmental Engineer and has conducted research on Energy & Environment at the University of Tokyo and the National University of Singapore)