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IV. MULTILATERAL AGREEMENTS AND DOMESTIC POLICY
[ IV-A | IV-B
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A. Multilateral agreements to which Nepal is a party
The interrelationship between development and environment has recently
received a great deal of attention in the international community. Since
the early 1960s, the international community has taken many important steps
towards establishing an international moral and legal framework, and standards
and norms for sustainable development in the forms of treaties, Conventions
and agreements. Nepal is a party to about 20 such international instruments
of global significance. A Nepalese delegation, led by the Prime Minister,
participated in the biggest ever international conference on environment
and development, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
held in Rio De Janeiro in June 1992, and committed Nepal to the "Rio
Declaration on Environment and Development". Among the international instruments
to which Nepal is a party, those with the most immediate relevance are:
(a) the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially of
Waterfowl Habitat, 1971; (b) the Convention Concerning the Protection of
World Cultural and Natural Heritage, 1972; (c) the Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, (CITES),
1973; (d) the Convention
on Biological Diversity, 1992; and (e) the Convention on Climate
Change, 1992. While Nepal is already a party to some Conventions which
are not of immediate relevance, it is not yet a party to some immediately
relevant Conventions such as the Bonn Convention on Conservation of Migratory
Species of Wild Animals, 1979. The Bonn Convention is very important for
the conservation of biodiversity, in which Nepal is very rich by virtue
of its unique physical diversities. Likewise, Nepal is not yet a party
to the Convention Concerning the Protection of Workers Against Occupational
Hazards in the Working Environment Due to Air Pollution, Noise and Vibration,
1977, which is not only important for industrial pollution control but
also for ensuring the welfare of the workers.
Each international instrument carries with it certain specified obligations
on the part of the signatory countries in the form of incorporating, or
at least reflecting, such obligations in its national legislation or policy
formulation. The sense of such obligation is very well reflected both in
the NCS of 1988, and NEPAP of 1993, urging the government to take necessary
legislative measures. However, in practice, it appears that those obligations
continue to be ignored or in the shadows, so much so that it is hard to
get information on a specific Convention from the government agency which
is directly concerned with its implementation. While implementation of
international instruments is weak, their incorporation into domestic policy
formulation is possible only when an appropriate and effective mechanism
for the same is in place. Until recently, no such mechanism existed or
worked. Even ratification of some Conventions appears to have been guided
by ad hoc decisions. However, that is unavoidable when different sectoral
agencies act on their own, within their own limited perspective, in the
absence of any coordinating central agency such as the Environment
Protection Council or the Ministry
of Population and Environment. The contents of some of the environmentally-related
Conventions, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, are so comprehensive
that they cannot be implemented by a single government agency, however
competent. Taking that into account, the NCS of 1988 stated that the single
sectoral approach of government departments towards resource conservation
was not conducive to maintaining biodiversity, as a comprehensive approach
was required that integrated the management of all resource sectors.
As far as the trade-related agreements are concerned, Nepal is not yet
a member of the World Trade Organization, nor is it a party to other such
agreements. However, Nepal has signed bilateral trade agreements with 17
countries, mostly based on the most favoured nation principle. Nepal is
also a signatory to the recently introduced South
Asian Association Preferential Trading Agreement (SAPTA) within the framework
of the South
Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). SAPTA is designed to
expand intraregional trade through preferential tariffs among its members.
Nepal, like other SAARC member countries, has agreed to provide preferential
tariffs on a number of specified items to all its members. Such items,
now numbering 226 in total among all members, account for a negligible
fraction of total intraregional trade which itself is at present very small.
Likewise, Nepal, as a land-locked and least developed country, is committed
to a number of United Nations Resolutions and also is signatory to the
Convention on the Law of the Sea. As a land-locked and least developed
country, all those Resolutions and Conventions have great significance
for Nepal.
Likewise, Nepal is not yet a full member of the International Organization
for Standardization (ISO) which provides guidance on the development and
implementation of environment management systems (EMS) and principles applicable
to any interested organization, irrespective of its size and type. However,
as a "corresponding member" without any participation in the actual decision-making
process, Nepal receives details of all ISO information and decisions of
ISO on a regular basis. While NBSM has already developed general and specific
effluent discharge standards for five different industries, it has not
yet been possible for either NBSM or any other government agency to formulate
EMS suitable to the Nepalese context and introduce them to any organization,
industrial or otherwise.
By using the valuable inputs from ISO series and other publications,
it will be worthwhile on the part of the Ministry of Population and Environment
to prepare a manual, explaining in simple terms the importance and implications
of EMS, its primary guidelines, principles and mechanisms, and to present
it at a seminar/workshop representing the private sector, NGOs and government
representatives. The relatively new concept of EMS is something which needs
to be built into the overall organization and management framework as a
tool for balancing economic and environmental interests. That is possible
only upon the appreciation, realization and awareness of the importance
of EMS by government and non-government organizations, especially those
whose actions and activities have some environmental impact and implications.
The Ministry of Population and Environment could, therefore, initiate a
programme through an appropriate NGO for the familiarization and promotion
of awareness of EMS, especially in the private sector. If need be, some
technical support either from ISO (if available) or from other donor agencies
could be solicited for gradual implementation of EMS more by self-realization
and inducement than by regulation and direction.
Fiscal and trade policies are the two primary mechanisms through which
Nepal implements the necessary provisions of the various trade-related
agreements. As part of the liberalization process, Nepal has already implemented
far-reaching fiscal and trade reforms to stimulate trade and industry on
a competitive basis. While the reform measures so far implemented are generally
in the right direction, more reforms are needed to make the liberalization
process effective. A liberal and open economic policy will pay off only
when the economy is competitive. Nepalese industries are now finding it
hard to compete with imported goods as a result of unauthorized large-scale
trade across the long open border with India (even when the Indian manufactured
goods are grossly undervalued at the border customs offices). The continuing
policy of free and unlimited conversion of the Nepalese and Indian currencies
at the officially fixed exchange rate is also facilitating such unauthorized
trade.
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