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Freshwater Under Threat: South Asia
This report focuses on three major South Asian river basins: the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna River Basin, the Helmand River Basin, and the Indus River Basin. The authors use a composite Water Vulnerability Index based on development pressures, ecology, and other factors, to demonstrate the vulnerability of the river basins.
"We Do Not Wait for the Government": An Evaluation of a Disaster Rebuilding Program in Kathmandu Valley
Five years ago, a massive earthquake and its subsequent aftershocks rocked the core of Nepal. Recovery from these quakes has been a long and difficult process. This thesis will explore findings from a qualitative evaluation of Lumanti Support Group for Shelter, an NGO in Kathmandu, Nepal that implemented a residential reconstruction program in four peri-urban communities in Kathmandu Valley. These findings are a culmination of 26 semi-structured interviews and document analysis. This research highlights the processes of reconstruction and the forms of resistance that occurred through disaster governance.
Tribhuvan University and its Educational Activities in Nepal
The purpose of this study was to discuss the role of Tribhuvan University in the development of higher education in Nepal by examining the university's historical development and educational activities. Despite negligence and opposition to public higher education by the rulers of Nepal before 1951, Nepalese higher education began with the establishment of Trichandra College in 1918. From 1951 until the establishment of Tribhuvan University in 1959, several public as well as private colleges were also established. The establishment of the university in 1959 marked the beginning of the government-controlled system of higher education in Nepal. As the first and only national institution of higher education, Tribhuvan University has played a significant role in developing a system of higher education in the country. During its first ten years, Tribhuvan University did not operate as a comprehensive institute of higher education. The Tribhuvan University Act of 1971, however, altered the structure, organization, and functions of the university and gave it additional roles and responsibilitites. By the mid-1980s, Tribhuvan University had increased its number of colleges from 49 (1970) to more than 128. Moreover, these colleges have expanded their programs and levels of education. This dissertation's six chapters describe the demographic, cultural, and historical setting of Nepal, the educational activities of Nepal before the establishment of Tribhuvan University, and the university's educational activities from its establishment in 1959 through the mid-1980s. The study shows that the university, in a 26-year period, had expanded it activities significantly and had proven its role as an important factor in the development of higher education in Nepal. The study also indicates that various governmental and non-governmental agencies have been actively involved in determining the educational activities of Tribhuvan University in Nepal.
Enlightening Dark Tourism in Nepal
This study aims to examine the motivation, experience and benefits of Nepalese domestic tourists visiting the seismic memorial sites after the 25 April 2015 earthquake (known as Gorkha earthquake). A total of 403 surveys was gathered from seismic sites of Nepal (Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Patan). Data were tested to analyze why the tourists are interested in disaster sites and how their experience during their visit impact the benefits of the visits. Additionally, partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed to test the relationships among tourist motivations, experiences, and perceived benefits at the dark tourism sites in Nepal. Among the five motivational factors discovered, the empirical results depict that emotional reaction is the strongest factor of the dark tourism motivation, affecting both cognitive and affective experiences. Additionally, this study confirms that cognitive experience is more influenced by dark tourism motivations than affective experience. Among the four experience factors examined in the study, self-reflection is found to have the strongest impact of three aspects of perceived dark tourism benefits, such as knowledge gain, fulfillment, and appreciation. Overall, the findings of the study provide important implications to the management sectors of dark tourism sites, enhancing the importance of providing cognitive experiences (i.e. distributing the educational materials about the dark tourism events and offering the knowledgeable tour guide who can guide the sites) and affective experience of the tourists (storytelling about the events, organizing educational and volunteering programs at the sites). Further, this study contributes to the limited literature in the context of dark tourism and provide important managerial and practical implications based on the case of Nepal earthquake in 2015.
Women and the Environment
This publication focuses on the gender-related aspects of land, water, and biodiversity conservation and management.
Common Ground: Solutions for reducing the human, economic and conservation costs of human wildlife conflict
This report deals with the conflicts between wildlife and human development. Three cases studies are included, in Namibia, Nepal and Indonesia, respectively. Each location has different problems and contexts, but in all three countries, human lives and economic livelihoods are at stake, as well as the loss of habitat of threatened species. The authors advocate a species conservation approach based on land use planning integrated with human needs in order continue sustainable development.
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