Nepal Environment - 2024

Environment - current issues

deforestation (overuse of wood for fuel and lack of alternatives); forest degradation; soil erosion; contaminated water (with human and animal wastes, agricultural runoff, and industrial effluents); unmanaged solid-waste; wildlife conservation; vehicular emissions

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Marine Life Conservation

Climate

varies from cool summers and severe winters in north to subtropical summers and mild winters in south

Land use

agricultural land: 28.8% (2018 est.)

arable land: 15.1% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 1.2% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 12.5% (2018 est.)

forest: 25.4% (2018 est.)

other: 45.8% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 21.9% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 3.09% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Revenue from forest resources

0.45% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 36.43 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 9.11 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 41.15 megatons (2020 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 1,768,977 tons (2016 est.)

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Indian Ocean drainage: Brahmaputra (651,335 sq km), Ganges (1,016,124 sq km), Indus (1,081,718 sq km)

Major aquifers

Indus-Ganges-Brahmaputra Basin

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 150 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial: 30 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural: 9.32 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources

210.2 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)