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The Annapurna Climate Conference and Machhapuchhre Dialogue concluded in Pokhara on Wednesday with the issuance of the 15-point “Kharapani Declaration 2026,” focusing on climate risk reduction and environmental resilience in Nepal’s Himalayan region.

Organized under the initiative of Save Our Himalaya First (SOHF) Nepal in collaboration with the Gandaki Province Ministry of Forest and Environment, Pokhara Metropolitan City, Machhapuchhre Rural Municipality, and Annapurna Rural Municipality, the two-day conference brought together local, national, and international researchers, experts, and stakeholders.

The declaration was issued after participants visited Kharapani in Ward No. 2 of Machhapuchhre Rural Municipality, one of the areas worst affected by the devastating Seti River flood of May 2012.

The conference emphasized strengthening community-based forest management to reduce forest fires and climate risks, promoting sustainable forest management, and encouraging the use of biochar and biocompost made from agricultural and forest residues to improve soil fertility and minimize fire hazards.

Participants also called for the establishment of an “Annapurna Climate Disaster Memorial Center” for research and monitoring of climate-induced disasters in the Himalayan region. The declaration further stressed the expansion of weather information centers and early warning systems, the development of climate education at the school level, the preservation of indigenous knowledge, the promotion of climate-friendly agriculture, and environmentally sustainable tourism and infrastructure development.

The declaration highlighted the need for stronger coordination among all three levels of government, educational institutions, conservation organizations, and the private sector to address the growing climate crisis.

Inaugurating the conference, Gandaki Province Chief Minister Surendra Raj Pandey said the province has increasingly suffered from floods, landslides, droughts, and extreme rainfall due to climate change. He stressed the importance of collective action to protect the region’s globally significant natural heritage.

SOHF Nepal President and conference coordinator DB Nepali said the event aimed to raise climate change as a major concern in the ecologically sensitive Gandaki region.

Around three dozen research and working papers were presented during the conference on the impacts of climate change on weather, forests, water resources, health, tourism, agriculture, biodiversity, and local livelihoods by researchers from Nepal and abroad, including experts from the University of Calgary, Canada.

After serving for two years at the Gandaki Province Communicable and Infectious Disease Hospital in Lekhnath, Pokhara, pediatrician Dr. Prakash Bhattarai quit his full-time job and moved into private practice.

He now runs two polyclinics at Shishuwa and Talchowk in Lekhnath.

Dr. Bhattarai says he was compelled to switch careers because he saw no hope of recovering the tens of millions of rupees he had invested in his medical education.

“Becoming a doctor costs millions, but the government pay scale is the same for everyone,” he says. “On top of that, doctors working in local public hospitals are not even allowed to work elsewhere. How is a doctor supposed to make a living?”

Dr Bhattarai represents many doctors who want to work locally but cannot survive on full-time jobs in local hospitals alone. His bitter-sweet experiences reflect not only the struggles of doctors but also of local hospitals established to serve communities and of residents who genuinely care about the development of their local area.

Last year, youth entrepreneur Kapil Paudel personally experienced the value of having a local hospital when he helped save the life of a seriously injured man.
A bus had hit a motorcycle on the Talchowk–Dandakonak road.

Some youths rushed the severely injured rider toward Pokhara in a taxi. But they were trapped in a traffic jam at Bijayapur.

Kapil, who happened to be riding his motorcycle nearby, saw the bleeding victim gasping for life through the taxi window. With no sign of traffic clearing, he immediately stopped, informed the taxi driver that a hospital was very close by, turned the taxi around, and accompanied the group to Lekhnath City Hospital in Budhibazar, Pokhara-26.

“That incident was engraved in my mind and heart. That day, I understood the true importance of local health services,” Kapil says.

His feelings reflect the experience of most people in Lekhnath. Once an independent municipality, Lekhnath was merged into Pokhara about a decade ago, but many locals still feel it has been sidelined in development and services.

The incident Kapil describes, and the hospital he led the victim to, perfectly illustrate this sentiment.

Low trust in local hospital

Established in 2018 (2075 BS) as the first private hospital in the area, Lekhnath City Hospital was built with an investment of over Rs 40m by local youth and social activists. Yet the hospital has never been able to earn enough to cover its expenses.

“Somehow locals haven’t given it the attention we expected. So the hospital hasn’t grown as we had planned,” says founding chairman Udeep Raj Dhungana.
Managing Director Akash Basnet adds that the hospital struggles to bring in doctors—and when doctors are available, there are not enough patients.

“Even patients who know us personally often pass by and go to hospitals in central Pokhara,” he says. “Distrust of local hospitals is like a disease here.”
According to Basnet, the hospital recently added gynecology and pediatrics services.

It already offered orthopedics, general physician services, ENT, dermatology, laboratory services, and more. About 400 patients come monthly, but Basnet says this is still far too few to sustain the hospital. The management has been running community outreach and social responsibility campaigns to raise awareness.

Public hospitals face the same story

Shishuwa Hospital, one of the oldest and one of the only two government hospitals in the former Lekhnath Municipality, offers only basic primary-level services. Local health workers say people hesitate to visit nearby hospitals because they think they will be referred elsewhere due to lack of services.

“Because of the low patient flow, authorities also show little interest in upgrading the hospital,” says Shishuwa Hospital Chief Dr Suman Khaniya.
Other hospitals in Lekhnath share similar struggles. Pokhara University Teaching Hospital, which started services last year, has 100 beds, which are mostly empty.

On average, only 50 patients visit daily, according to Chief Dr Madan Khadka. Eleven doctors serve daily, but the hospital is facing procedural difficulties in starting ICU, NICU, maternity, and other critical services.

A growing population but lagging health infrastructure

Lekhnath is geographically larger than central Pokhara, and its population is rapidly approaching similar levels. But residents say it still struggles to establish itself institutionally and in policy terms as a functional part of the metropolis.

According to the Urban Health Division of Pokhara Metropolitan City, Pokhara has more than two dozen hospitals, with about half a dozen—both public and private—located in Lekhnath. Public Health Officer Subash Bastola says patient flow in Lekhnath hospitals is comparatively very low.

“It is very difficult to retain doctors in the local area,” says Dr Khaniya. “If doctors can work only in one or two small hospitals, they cannot sustain their livelihood. So getting doctors for local hospitals is extremely challenging.”

Experts say that the government must provide special subsidies and incentives to both public and private hospitals in local areas if they are to retain doctors and improve services.

In Pokhara today, protesters vandalized and set fire to the homes of political leaders, elected representatives, and government offices.

They attacked and torched the residence of influential Nepali Congress leader and Minister for Social Development, Youth, and Sports of Gandaki Province, Bindu Kumar Thapa, located in Pokhara-9, New Bazaar. Vehicles inside the Himalayan Auto Showroom, operated by his elder brother Dhruva Thapa, were also destroyed in the blaze.

Earlier, protesters had already set fire to the Pokhara Metropolitan City Office in New Road and the residence of Pokhara Metropolitan Mayor Dhanraj Acharya in Chipledhunga.

Currently, more than two dozen donor-funded projects are either running or in preparation across Pokhara. Most are in the stage of detailed project reports (DPRs) and feasibility studies, signaling new prospects for tourism, road access, building codes, and sanitation in the valley. According to Pokhara Metropolitan City, donor agencies have committed a total of Rs 39bn, which is five times higher than the city’s annual budget allocation.

Among the donors, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) leads in investment. It recently completed the Pokhara Drinking Water Purification Project at a cost of Rs 5.5bn and is finalizing agreements for the Wastewater Purification Project, valued at Rs 11bn. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is implementing the Sustainable Tourism Development Project (Rs 7.5bn) and an E-Mobility Project (Rs 5bn). The World Bank is supporting the Taalchok–Begnas, Sishuwa–Shishaghat, and Baghmara–Puditaar road construction projects (Rs 3.25bn). Meanwhile, the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and UNDP are backing the Green Employment Generation Project, together contributing Rs 2.15bn.

“Most of these projects have already signed agreements and are in progress, while a few remain in the contract process,” said Moti Raj Timilsina, spokesperson of Pokhara Metropolitan City. He also expressed gratitude to the Chinese government for its support in completing the Pokhara International Airport and the Muglin–Pokhara Road Project.

Local development activists in Pokhara often emphasize that donors have consistently shaped the city’s growth. According to Ashok Palikhey, senior social and development activist and founding chair of the Pokhara City Development Committee, today’s development initiatives are built on the foundations laid by earlier donor contributions.

The story of donor-supported development in Pokhara began in the 1960s, when the Indian Cooperation Mission constructed the Check Dam in Fewa Lake, installing 18 gates of 20 square feet each to conserve the lake. India also contributed by building the Indian Soldiers’ Board, settling camps in Rambajar, and helping establish the Regional Health Science Academy. “Had the donors not extended their helping hand, we might never have realized the core value of Pokhara’s potential,” recalls Krishna Thapa, former mayor of Pokhara in the late 1990s.

Following India, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) played a pivotal role by setting up Akashbani (telecommunications) in Ranipouwa, the foundation of Pokhara’s modern telecom system. USAID also established Rastriya Madhyamik Vidyalaya in Purano Tundikhel, the first community school in Kaski, initiated forestry education by founding the Forestry Campus in Hariyokharka, and launched the Agricultural Training Center (Krishi Bagbani) in Malepatan.

In the early 1990s, a Chinese company built the Seti River Powerhouse and associated drainage systems. Around the same time, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) began supporting Pokhara, helping establish the Pokhara City Development Committee and other key infrastructures. The World Bank contributed by setting up the Engineering College in Lamachaur, while the United Mission to Nepal (UMN), a European consortium, founded Gandaki Boarding School, known for quality education.

Since the late 1990s, JICA has remained deeply engaged in Pokhara, supporting lake conservation projects and establishing a Fishery Research Center in Begnas.

In Nepal’s tourism capital, Pokhara, a new wave of city cleanliness and environmental protection is taking shape. From demolishing structures that violate lake conservation standards to partnering with major business houses for lake cleanups, and even campaigns that turn waste into cash, the city has launched a range of initiatives with the start of the new fiscal year.

The campaign marks a sharp departure from past years. Previously, environmental programs were almost absent from the city’s agenda. In the last fiscal year, of roughly 2,500 programs listed in Pokhara Metropolitan’s “red book” (its annual plan and budget allocation document), only 56 (about three percent) focused on environmental conservation. Under the category of tourism, culture promotion, and environmental beautification, just 1.5 percent of the total budget was earmarked, and only about one-fifth of those projects progressed beyond the detailed project report (DPR) stage. Many were never implemented.

“This year, we are prioritizing environmental protection programs with a focus on Pokhara’s beautification, biodiversity, and natural resource conservation,” said Motiraj Timilsina, spokesperson for Pokhara Metropolitan Municipality.

The city has also begun a crackdown on unauthorized lakeshore structures. Since the Nepali calendar month of Jestha, officials have installed 1,055 boundary markers along Phewa Lake, with GPS points added in areas where physical markers were not feasible or could be removed. All structures extending beyond these boundaries are slated for demolition under a formal municipal decision. “We will soon start demolishing the structures,” said Mayor Dhanraj Acharya.

Pokhara’s lakes, long a draw for tourists, have also become repositories for urban waste. Rapid urbanization, booming tourism, heavy rainfall, and the city’s sloped terrain funnel garbage—often dumped carelessly—into Phewa Lake through streams like Firke and Bulaundi. “Now, we will not just control this problem, we will turn this waste into cash,” Mayor Acharya said.

To that end, the municipality has launched the “Green Employment Creation Project,” forming 136 waste management groups, four in each of the city’s 33 wards. With support from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), the project trains residents to produce compost from biodegradable waste and handicrafts from non-biodegradable materials. The city will also buy these products for sale through its “Koseli Ghar” (Gift House) outlet, creating both employment and market demand.

Just yesterday, the municipality signed an agreement with Laxmi Group, one of Pokhara’s largest business houses, to clean the lakes. The partnership will focus on removing moss and water hyacinth, helping restore environmental balance while enhancing tourism appeal. Laxmi Group Chairperson Ganesh Bahadur Shrestha said the company will also support local communities in turning harvested aquatic weeds into handicraft products.

Farmers in Siraha district who had been worried of long spell of drought felt a sigh of relief after rainfall last night.

The rain has brought cheers to the farmers as nearly 50 per cent paddy field has yet to be planted due to short of rainfall.

Farmers had witnessed their farmlands drying up, seedlings turning yellowish and paddy plantation becoming almost impossible due to lack of water. However, last night's rain has brought some hope, said Birendra Chaudhary, a local farmer, of Lahan-8.

"There is hope the seeds that had turned yellowish could be transplanted. Although the water for plantation is still insufficient," he mentioned.

Badri Narayan Yadav, Agriculture Coordinator at Lahan Municipality, also echoed the same notion. According to him, even the recent rainfall was not adequate. "If it rained continuously for a day or two, planting paddy would be easier. But looking at today's weather, it does not seem likely," mentioned Yadav.

In southern part of Siraha, underground water source were used for paddy plantation, but most of the farmers in the northern side of the district were not able to do so.

According to the Agriculture Knowledge Centre Siraha, only 50 per cent of the paddy plantation had been undertaken as of last Friday.

Monsoon active in Madhesh but rainfall still inadequate

According to the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, the monsoon's low pressure line is currently shifting towards Nepal. This has caused light to moderate rainfall in some areas.

However, this system remained active in India for a long time resulting in dry conditions in Madhesh region.

The Department recorded light to moderate rainfall in various areas across the Madhesh Province in the past 24 hours.

The data unveiled by the Department showed that Siraha and Saptari recorded the highest amount of rainfall with 99.4 mm and 91.8 mm, respectively, while Sarlahi reported lowest rainfall with 48 mm in the Province.

Continuous rainfall over the next few days is still necessary to complete paddy plantation for the remaining farmlands in Siraha and other districts across the Province.

It may be noted that the cabinet meeting on July 23 had declared Madhesh Province a disaster-hit zone for a period of three months, citing acute water shortage caused by prolonged drought. (RSS)

As new hotel buildings crop up around Phewa Lake in Pokhara, the old ones are literally being overshadowed. Ask Govinda Bahadur Pahari, a long-time hotelier, whose clients can no longer enjoy the lake’s view, thanks to the new hotel building that towers over his. 

“There was a time when you could see the lake, the surrounding hills and mountains from the windows and balconies of my hotel. The view drew a lot of guests. Now it’s all gone.” 

As the latest building regulation enforced by the local government bars old buildings from adding new storeys, Pahari is in a bind.      

“The local government charges a huge sum to issue a permit for adding a new storey. We simply can’t afford it.”  

Rajendra Dhakal, another hotelier, was slapped with a huge bill when he decided to add new storeys to his hotel building. He coughed up the money to be able to compete in the hotel business that is attracting lots of investors with money to spend. Dhakal plans to apply for a bank loan to add new storeys to his hotel.   

Folks like Pahari and Dhakal fear they will be put out of business by new investors looking to build towering hotels around Pokhara’s Lakeside. 

“We are still recovering from the effects of Covid pandemic, and now we have a new problem,” says Dhakal. 

According to the Pokhara chapter of Hotel Association of Nepal, more than 80 percent of hotel owners in the Lakeside area have bank loans that they took to renovate and expand their business in anticipation of the ‘Visit Nepal 2020’ campaign. 

Laxman Subedi, Pokhara chair of the association, says the pandemic not only ruined the ‘Visit Nepal’ campaign, it also dealt a economic blow to the local hotel owners. 

Chakra Subedi, who runs a hotel at Lakeside, says with most hoteliers already burdened by bank loans, they have no option but to endure silently or quit. “The new building regulations are not doing any favors to old hoteliers.”
After spending decades in the hotel business, Santosh Pokhrel has decided to leave the profession for good. “The competition is no longer fair, and the local government does not care.”

Students of  Pokhara Multiple Campus, the oldest community college, in Pokhara participated in a tree plantation program at Rupa Lake on Thursday, highlighting the vital role of youth in environmental conservation.

On the occasion of World Environment Day 2025, they planted 300 saplings of Lalupate, Kalki , Kapoor and Parijat flowers along the lakeshore.

Rupa Lake is considered one of the best lakes in Gandaki Province in terms of biodiversity. Along with Fewa and seven other lakes in Pokhara, Rupa Lake was listed in the Ramsar Site in 2016. It is known as a major habitat for 22 species of migratory birds arriving from Siberia.

The program was organized by Save Our Himalayas First, an organization which works in the field of environmental conservation, with support from the Rupa Rural Municipality office. It was coordinated by the Nature Club, an initiative formed by the students of Pokhara Multiple Campus to aid environmental conservation in the city.

“Youths are the cornerstone of progress. Their interest and activeness accelerate development efforts,” said club president Ganesh Ramdam.

The students planted trees along approximately one kilometer of the lakeshore, from Kathepul to Bhangara School in Ward No. 6 of Rupa.

Addressing the plantation campaign, Chairperson of Rupa Rural Municipality Nabaraj Ojha said that environmental conservation has become a global concern. He expressed pride in the commitment to preserve Rupa Lake, an ecologically important site in the province. He also pledged to protect the saplings planted by the students and called for support and cooperation from the local community.

Local stakeholders and residents expressed happiness at the students’ concern and commitment toward Pokhara’s environment. “At a time when global temperatures are rising, it is truly admirable that youth are stepping forward to protect the environment,” said D.B. Nepali, President of Save Our Himalayas First Nepal.

Ward member of Rupa Rural Municipality Ward No. 6, Sarita Sunar, Chairperson of the Rupa Restoration and Fisheries Cooperative, Shivraj Adhikari; and Professor Pushparaj Adhikari of Pokhara Multiple Campus were among those who encouraged the local youth and students at the event.