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Nepali’s beautiful geographical landscape nestled in the lap of the Himalayas shows a stunning economic contrast. The capital Kathmandu is rapidly becoming busy, overcrowded and suffering from increasing urbanization, while the hills and mountains that bear Nepal’s identity are becoming deserted. Villages are being emptied due to migration, modernization and economic pressure. The widening gap between the hustle and bustle of Kathmandu and the solitude of Nepal’s rural hills is also increasing social, economic and environmental pressures. Increasing urbanization and population pressure have threatened the ancient heritage of the Kathmandu valley.

An overwhelmed heart

A quiet valley adorned with temples, monasteries and traditional Newari architecture until half a century ago has now become a symbol of urban congestion. According to the 2021 census, the total population of the valley is 2,996,341. This includes the districts of Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur. However, including the population coming from outside, the current population of the valley is estimated to be around 4m. The valley is facing the challenges of rapid urbanization. The 2015 earthquake devastated parts of the valley. But reconstruction efforts have drawn more people to the capital in search of opportunities. Today, Kathmandu is a maze of congested streets, where honking horns, dust and pollution are everywhere.

The city’s infrastructure, built for a small population, is now under strain. Roads are constantly congested. Commuters spend hours in traffic. The sacred Bagmati has become a polluted waterway filled with garbage. Migrants from the Tarai and hills have created sprawling slums and houses on the city’s fringes. According to a 2021 World Bank report, the population of the valley is growing at a rate of four percent, much higher than the country’s overall population growth rate of 0.9.

This crowding has led to cultural and environmental impacts. Kathmandu’s UNESCO World Heritage sites, such as the Boudhanath Stupa and the Pashupatinath Temple, are surrounded by sprawl. This unplanned urbanization has reduced the sanctity and beauty of heritage sites. Air pollution in the city exceeds the World Health Organization’s standards, and PM2.5 levels pose a serious health risk. The pristine air of the valley, once adorned with mountain views, is now shrouded in smog.

The influx of people has also put pressure on resources. Water scarcity is a daily problem. Many residents rely on private tankers or polluted groundwater. The waste management system is causing garbage to pile up in streets and rivers. Kathmandu’s urban crisis, with growth outpacing plans, is an example of the challenges of rapid urbanization in developing countries.

Rural migration

While Kathmandu is overburdened, Nepal’s rural hills tell a different story of abandonment and decline. The country’s mountainous and hilly regions, home to sloping fields, traditional stone villages and vibrant ethnic communities, are being emptied. According to the Nepal Census 2021, the rural population has declined significantly in the last two decades. Many hill districts have lost up to 20 percent of their population. This migration is driven by economic need, lack of infrastructure and the lure of urban life. Agriculture, which is the backbone of rural Nepal, is unsustainable for many. Hill farmers practice subsistence farming on small, fragmented fields, which are becoming less productive due to soil erosion, erratic rainfall and labor shortages. Climate change has exacerbated these challenges. Irregular monsoons and rising temperatures have affected crop yields. Young people find opportunities in Kathmandu or abroad more attractive than working hard for meager returns on ancestral lands.

Migration is a major cause of rural decline. Young men and women are leaving their villages for Kathmandu or the Gulf countries, Malaysia and South Korea. According to the International Organization for Migration, remittances from migrant workers contribute about 30 percent of Nepal’s gross domestic product. But this economic support comes at a high cost. Only the elderly and children remain in the villages. Rural schools are closing due to a decline in student numbers. As the younger generation leaves the villages, traditional knowledge systems such as local farming practices are disappearing.

The depopulation of the hills has also had environmental impacts. Abandoned paddy fields are turning into bushes and are being taken over by invasive plant species. This is damaging the local ecosystem. Paddy fields managed for centuries are collapsing due to lack of regular maintenance, increasing the risk of landslides and soil erosion. Forests managed by community forestry programs are under pressure from illegal logging and neglect.

The push and pull

The contrast between the hustle and bustle of Kathmandu and the deserted hills is a manifestation of Nepal’s uneven development. The concentration of resources, opportunities and infrastructure in the capital creates a powerful attraction, drawing people from all over the country. Kathmandu is home to Nepal’s best hospitals, schools, universities and political and economic institutions. For rural families, sending their children to the capital or abroad is an opportunity for social advancement, even if they have to endure the chaos of the city or the uncertainty of migration.

Neglect of rural areas pushes people away from the villages. In remote hill districts, basic services such as health, education and electricity are often inadequate or absent. Roads here often become blocked during the monsoon, cutting off communities from markets and opportunities. Government policies have prioritized urban development. There has been little investment in rural infrastructure or agricultural innovation. As a result, the hills are trapped in a vicious cycle of decline. Population decline leads to further neglect, and this neglect drives further migration.

A balancing act

A holistic approach that balances urban and rural development is needed to address the twin crises of Kathmandu’s congestion and the desolate hills. Kathmandu needs a sustainable urban plan. This includes investing in public transport to reduce traffic, improving waste management and enforcing strict building codes to protect cultural heritage and green spaces. Community campaigns and government-backed projects to clean and restore its rivers, including the Bagmati, should be expanded.

Decentralization is equally important. Pressure on Kathmandu can be reduced by improving infrastructure and services in metropolises such as Pokhara, Biratnagar and Bharatpur. Encouraging businesses to operate outside the capital helps distribute economic growth more evenly across the country.

The rural economy in the hills should be prioritized to make it job-oriented and productive. This could include modernizing agriculture through better seeds, irrigation and training in sustainable practices. Encouraging tourism and community-based tourism that utilizes the natural beauty and cultural richness of the hills can provide alternative livelihoods. Programs such as providing vocational training and entrepreneurship grants to young people involved in rural development can encourage them to stay in or return to the villages.

Climate resilience should also be prioritized. Climate-smart agricultural technologies and disaster preparedness measures can mitigate the impacts of environmental change. Nepal can ensure sustainable management of natural resources by modernizing community forestry programs that have been successful in the past.

There is a need to instill a sense of pride in rural life. Celebrating the cultural heritage of hill communities through festivals, education and media can help dispel the perception that urban life is superior. By valuing both the urban core and the rural heartland, Nepal can build a more balanced and sustainable future.

The story of Kathmandu’s crowds and its desolate hills highlights the challenges of a nation in transition. Kathmandu’s urban chaos presents the pressures of rapid modernization, while the emptying hills indicate the erosion of Nepal’s connection to its rural soul. Bridging this gap requires bold policies that address the root causes of migration, invest in sustainable development and respect the rich cultural and natural heritage of the Himalayan republic. Only by nurturing both its bustling capital and its tranquil hills can Nepal ensure a vibrant, equitable and authentically Himalayan future.

Climate change or environmental degradation has been one of the most severe predicaments that the present world is helplessly facing. Various scholars use terms or phrases such as ‘an accruing challenge to both human and non-human community’, ‘recipe for multi-factorial disaster’ or ‘global vulnerability’ to encapsulate the extent of envisioned/experienced difficulty and hardship. As a discourse that forms part of key global discussions, it has humongous control over almost all intellectual forums, political plenaries, summits, academic plenums and research rigors/attempts.

Sagarmatha Sambad, one of the highly-touted events in our nation, also holds the same theme as the critically cardinal issue. Many countries go fairly vocal to unfold verbal solidarity on each of proposed collective initiatives to mitigate the climate-induced consequences. Despite deepening concerns, climate change warning has been a several-fold soft power political tool of supposed world-power nations to extend hegemony and impose their colonial attitude on others.

Concept of development that the power-nations have enforced is itself grossly anti-climactic. Development is falsified in construction of skyrocketing RCC buildings and expansions of roads unwisely to every nook and corner of the village. Road networks, multiplex commercial buildings and physical infrastructure built in a haphazard manner are understood and misjudged as key indicators of development, in an alarming avalanche of capitalism.

Our past development efforts were on pathways of climate resilience and bio-friendly living. All the materials used in construction of houses and buildings were decomposable and soil adjustable. Eco-centric perspective was systematized. The current parameters of development, which western nations purported, presented and utterly prescribed to the rest of the world, are responsible for climate catastrophe and an infinite ecocide. Western countries’ consistent immersion on theorizing development as roads, factories, buildings, cities, vehicles and infrastructure—mostly in grossly unmethodical and disorganized manner—at the expense of greenery is mainly responsible for the climate crisis of this day and age.     

Nepal is not a carbon-emitting nation. Much of emission originates from the same countries that tell other countries to control it. Countries with minimal emission footprints, often addressed as non-emitters, are suffering and grappling with the grim and grave danger as much as net-emitters.
Out of a total 37.55 gigatonnes of emission in 2023, Nepal has only 0.04 percent share. Nonetheless, proportionate and uniformed damage in all sectors are equally severe as in the emitting countries.
Those powerful nations (the big emitters) have almost and already achieved the expected level of development. Their levels of industrialization and urbanization are way above than that of many other nations. High-emitting countries have big factories, largest road networks, many industries, rapid and robust expansion of infrastructure and the biggest corporations. Those western and Euro-American nations have been trying every bit to bar other nations from achieving this feat. Most of the international convents and conventions, especially those that western power countries generate or promulgate, focus around disarmament, global war, confrontations and so on.

In fact, not any veto out of 279 practices in its history—from the maiden use on 16 Feb 1946 till the recent one on 24 April 2024—has been yet used or positioned for climate justice. All international communities and organizations have become mute bystanders and numb stamps when it comes to making global commitments on curbing climate change and walking the talk.

Why should Nepal be condemned and convicted for the crime it did not commit? The big emitters should admit their guilt rather than alarming the rest and pay due compensation to non-emitting nations like Nepal.

Not long ago, at a government office, a civil servant toggled between several windows on their outdated desktop. Each system had a different password, a different layout and none of them spoke to each other. Asked how often these platforms failed, the officials smiled, “Every day. Sometimes several times a day.” 

This is the quiet dysfunction that defines Nepal’s digital state. Not the lack of technology per se, but the absence of digital public infrastructure, widely known as DPI. We have apps, portals and now a National ID system and digital payment gateways. What we don’t yet have is an integrated, open and secure infrastructure that treats data and access as public goods.

DPI is not just another e-governance tool. It’s the foundational layer, like roads, electricity or water pipelines, on which digital services can be built, scaled and trusted. It includes digital ID systems, interoperable payment networks and data-sharing protocols that are inclusive by design and governed in public interest.

Nepal’s political classes and businesses tend to mistake flashy tech adoption for transformation. We are quick to chase global trends but shy away from the unglamorous work of developing the technical or institutional capabilities needed to absorb and scale emerging technologies to deliver quality citizen-centric public services. Yet without the basics like reliable connectivity and digital public infrastructure, our digitization risks replicating old hierarchies in new forms. A public school student in Rolpa cannot access the same benefits as a private school student in Patan if systems don’t recognize her existence, validate her documents or offer services in her language or device. 

Globally, we are seeing the rise of what some call “digital republics”, countries like Estonia, India and increasingly Brazil, where the digital public infrastructure has enabled everything, from instant welfare delivery to remote voting to digital entrepreneurship. These aren’t perfect systems but they recognize that state capacity in the digital era is no longer just about staffing ministries or issuing tenders. It’s about owning and governing the digital rails that society runs.

Nepal must make a deliberate choice. Do we want to be passive consumers of private platforms or co-creators of public digital ecosystems? Do we want to scatter millions on disconnected IT projects or invest in core digital infrastructure that can power innovation across education, health, finance and local government?

To do so, three shifts are necessary.

First, political vision. DPI must be seen not just as a technology project but as a nation-building effort that is rooted in rights, inclusion, and sovereignty.

Second, institutional coordination. ministries, regulators and provinces must converge on shared standards, open APIs and legal safeguards. Without this, the very systems meant to empower citizens could end up exposing them.

Third, civic stewardship. Citizens must be part of the design process. Local governments, civil society and tech communities can help ensure that DPI reflects the lived realities of Nepalis, not just the assumptions of software vendors.

We often find ourselves looking externally to other countries for guidance. But perhaps the real opportunity lies in looking inward. Nepal, despite its constraints, can lead, not by mimicking others, but by building systems that reflect our own needs and realities. For smaller, developing nations, the promise of digital isn’t in shiny apps or headline reforms. It's whether a citizen can renew a passport from their village without walking for days to the nearest passport center or paying a middleman. Whether a farmer or laborer can access land records and pay taxes without missing a day’s wage. Whether public and private services from banks to driving license offices can speak to each other through secure, interoperable systems built around the National ID. 

DPI goes beyond digitizing bureaucracy, to fundamentally redesigning the approach to service delivery. And that means centering privacy, transparency and accessibility from the start. Because the measure of good digital infrastructure isn’t how complex the technology is. It’s how simple it makes everyday life. After all, infrastructure is not just about cables, code or platforms. It is about trust, dignity and the promise of a more accessible and equal society.

The writer is a senior fellow at the Integrated Institute for Development Studies (IIDS) in Kathmandu 

These days, as we celebrate the 77th Independence Day of the State of Israel, we stand united in gratitude, remembrance and hope. The day of Independence of Israel marks not only the miracle of our nation’s revival but also the enduring spirit of a people who have returned to their ancestral homeland after centuries of exile.

Our connection to the land of Israel is ancient and unbreakable. The Jewish people’s historical and legal rights to the land are rooted deeply in millennia of presence and faith. The Balfour Declaration, the San Remo Resolution, and the League of Nations Mandate all recognized our legitimate claim to this land, affirming the justice of our return. Israel is not a land seized by colonizers but the rightful homecoming of an indigenous people who have persevered through exile and adversity.

This year, our celebration is tempered by the harsh realities we face. We remember the sacrifices of our brave sons and daughters who have fallen defending our nation. We honor the wounded heroes who inspire us with their courage and resilience. We stand firm against those who seek to destroy us, terrorists who must know there is no place to hide from justice for their crimes against innocent people. The tragic events of October 7th, 2023, remain a solemn reminder of our ongoing struggle, yet also a testament to our unyielding commitment to peace, security, and the safety of all our citizens.

Our strength lies not only in our military might but in our unity, innovation and the spirit of our people. Israel has transformed itself into a developed nation, a beacon of democracy and technological advancement. We have built a society that thrives despite challenges, a society ranked among the happiest in the world. This success is born from solidarity, cooperation and a relentless pursuit of progress.

Our ties with the world, especially with friends like Nepal, exemplify our commitment to peace and mutual growth. Since June 1st, 1960, Israel and Nepal have enjoyed stable and friendly relations, cooperating in Education, Agriculture, Health, Infrastructure, Water Resources, Rural Development, and security among other topics. Over 4,000 Nepalis have benefited from agricultural training in Agriculture Academic Centers and Agricultural communities in Israel during their studies for a title in Agriculture from Nepali Universities, many of them are now great successes in Nepal. 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank in this regard the wonderful cooperation with Sana Kisan which has helped recruit thousands of students from around Nepal. Thousands of Nepalis have gained invaluable experience through Mashav, Israel’s AID Agency, in innumerable courses of experts in Israel and in Nepal in various topics since the 1960’. We are proud to support Nepal’s agricultural modernization and economic development, and we look forward to expanding our multilateral cooperation in other topics like IT and Cyber Technology in the years ahead.

We cherish the cultural and human bonds that unite us, appreciating Nepal’s rich and peaceful ethnicity, landscapes and traditions while fostering deeper ties through agreements. Some agreements which are ready and almost ready to be signed are evidence for further understanding and will enhance our relations for mutual benefit. Our shared experiences, including the pain of terrorism, have only strengthened our resolve to work together for a better future. Israel continues to provide financial and moral support to Nepali families affected by terror, standing in solidarity with all victims of violence.

Along the many centuries and generations from the times of our ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the people of Israel are an eternal people, and will endure forever. With this enduring spirit, we will continue to defend our homeland, build our society, pursue peace in the Middle East and friendship and cooperation throughout the globe.

On this 77th Independence Day, let us honor the past, embrace the present and look forward with hope. May the bonds of friendship between Israel and Nepal grow ever stronger. May our friendship and cooperation bring prosperity and peace to both our people.

The author is the ambassador of Israel to Nepal