Rajendra Dahal

Rajendra Dahal is systematically exposing mismanagement and corruption in Nepal's hydropower, an industry that has the potential to be one of the country's greatest economic assets. He is also spearheading the process of organizing citizens and journalists to influence the way decisions are made in the hydropower industry.

As a journalist who has extensive experience writing about and researching the hydropower industry, Rajendra Dahal believes that creating institutionalized linkages between hydropower planners, government officials, and the people of Nepal will increase the accountability of decision-makers. As a result, he hopes to reduce the number of inefficient, environmentally harmful projects undertaken throughout the country.

Rajendra believes that he will be able to increase local participation in the planning and decision-making process, first by raising Nepalese awareness of the environmental, economic, and social costs of hydroelectric development projects, and second, by forcing public debate and transparency in planning. Critical to his plan was his formation of a hydropower "watch group" comprised of a growing cadre of investigative journalists, activists, professionals, and academics involved in or specializing in hydropower and environmental issues.

Rajendra sees the reform of the approval process for projects as an essential element of his overall program. First, Nepal must develop a sector-wide plan that would be used to prioritize projects and avoid their consideration on an arbitrary, case-by-case basis. Second, projects should take into account the available local capacity. Where there is none, the emphasis should be to favor those projects that may help build local capacity and industry. Nepal has already built six projects of between 10 to 70 megawatts but still does not have the capability to build a five megawatt project on its own. Rajendra believes that the size of the project and the priority given to it should not be measured in megawatts but should be based on Nepal's economic, technical, and administrative capacity. Just as important, the criteria for evaluating a proposed project should include consideration of the real direct and indirect, positive and negative, short- and long-term consequences it will have on the entire society in all its complexity. Only after the country's capabilities and expertise are developed, and more is known about the true socioeconomic and environmental impacts of such projects, should larger hydropower schemes be attempted.

Hydropower is of central importance to Nepal's development concerns because gravity flow water is the one natural resource that the country has in abundance. It is estimated that the 6,000 streams and rivers that cascade down from the Himalayas could generate 44,000 megawatts of power.

Current Nepalese policy favors projects that are promoted by foreign donors or other interest groups and that are often funded by burdensome, high-interest "aid" packages. This costly method of funding increases both Nepal's already high foreign debt load and its reliance on foreign technical expertise. Little if any input concerning projects comes from local Nepalese because the project approval process occurs behind closed doors. Moreover, many Nepalese are hesitant to speak up–even when they are technically competent–due to fear of retaliation by official and other sources. In an atmosphere of corruption and widespread patronage, advocates of hydropower in Nepal are an influential lobbying group. Such practices contribute to a lack of accountability and lead to the approval of projects that are often inefficient and harmful to both the environment and the people.

A good illustration of these destructive dynamics at work is the controversial proposal by the World Bank to build the $1.2 billion Arun III hydropower project. Debate rages among environmental and economic experts over the feasibility and likely consequences of this project. The initial stage, "Baby Arun," will be the largest single development investment ever undertaken in Nepal, providing 201 megawatts of power and paid for by a $764 million aid package, an amount equal to Nepal's total annual budget for government spending. Critics charge that this project is environmentally unsound and socially harmful, as well as economically infeasible. Both the dam, and the 122 kilometer (75.6 mile) access road that will wind its way through steep mountain terrain would risk endangering fragile ecological communities. An environmental assessment summary conducted by the World Bank in May 1993 concluded that "without mitigation, the project will impose severe costs on the poorest people of the Arun Valley, who already live on the margin of subsistence."

The burden of environmental and social costs of development falls disproportionately on poor local communities, while urban elites reap most of the benefits of hydro-development because they are connected to main power grids. The proposed project will increase Nepal's already high $100 per capita foreign debt by $30. (The average annual per capita income is only $160.) Local economists also worry that large-scale projects such as Arun III will overshadow local initiatives that are often less costly, are more environmentally sound, and distribute benefits to more people.

In Rajendra's opinion, the environmental arguments against Arun III are not as strong as they are made out to be because they could be mitigated with the right implementation approach. The main problem with the Arun III project, according to Rajendra, is that it is beyond Nepal's existing capacity–economic, technical, administrative, political, and social. In other words, the project should be able to sustain itself, but with the current, flawed approach it will not be able to do so. Rajendra feels that the environmental problems are there because of the wrong approach to project development.

Rajendra intends to devote his full attention to further investigating and generating concrete action on these issues. The purpose of the hydropower watchdog group, for example, is to expose the previously invisible decision-making process for projects such as Arun III. In February 1993, Rajendra formed the Alliance for Energy with a small group of environmentalists, economists, and hydro-engineers in order to publicize the Arun scheme and to persuade the government to adopt an alternative, economically sensible approach to hydropower in Nepal.

He is also trying new and appropriate mechanisms to inform the Nepalese people of the questionable benefits of hydropower projects that are not economically viable, as well as to identify and develop alternative media to communicate his findings. Rajendra's overall strategy includes in-depth coverage of the issues of compensation for affected Nepalese and the environmental impact of hydroelectric power plants.

Rajendra grew up in a poor family but managed to receive a traditional education in a school for poor Brahmin boys. His drive and perseverance helped him overcome his poverty, and, with the completion of his education, he became a journalist. His determined, rigorous investigating and reporting on hydropower won him respect within his profession, as well as the following of many readers. In August 1996, Rajendra received an Investigative Journalism Award from the Nepal Press Institute for his features on the water resources and environment of Nepal.

After intensive reporting in this area for the past six years, Rajendra is now considered an expert whose opinion is sought after by parliamentarians and other policy makers. He has well-placed news sources and is ahead of many Nepalese journalists in obtaining information on water resources. Besides writing stories himself, he has been instrumental in providing news leads and background information to fellow journalists, professionals, and social change and community service activists.

Until elected a Fellow and freed to work on his project full time, Rajendra served as the Executive Editor of a Nepali language weekly, where he enjoyed wide popular readership. He is also the former (1993-1994) Chairman of the Nepal Forum of Environmental Journalists.