Lucinda Peterson MPIA, Australian Volunteers Program, Sessional Member Planning Panels Victoria, Heritage Council of Victoria, Director of The Planning Connection
Notes from Nepal
Over the next 12 months I am assisting the Dhulikhel Municipality in Nepal as an urban planner, as part of the Australian Government’s Australian Volunteer Program. I want to share my experience with you.
Namaste! According to the Nepali calendar it is the year 2075. Here, land is measured in Ropani (508.74 square metres = 1 ropani) and three months into my 12-month volunteer assignment in Nepal I have almost stopped taking photos as I’ve settled into the routine of daily life.
Along with our two daughters (in Nepali, chori) and husband (shrimman) I am living in the historic Newari town of Dhulikhel, in the foothills of the Kathmandu Valley, about 35 kilometres east of Kathmandu. Here the air is clean, they have the best drinking water in Nepal, and when the Monsoon clouds lift in October panoramic views of the Himalayas are revealed.
At the counter
From my time here over the last few months, it has become apparent to me that Nepal produces an extraordinary number of engineers, however Nepali urban planners are an emerging cohort with an exciting and challenging job ahead of them. I sit in the Land Management and Building Monitoring Department with Civil Engineer Hareram (my counterpart) and Sub-Engineer Subina (quasi Nepali language teacher), who issue building permits, and Land Surveyor Shree, who has an amazing singing voice.
Throughout the day applicants arrive directly to our desks, which at first was quite confronting to me. In Australia, I’m used to a little more separation between the customer and my desk; an opportunity for some time to gather my thoughts before dealing with potentially tricky issues. My Nepali is very limited at this stage but by the tone of the conversations I am in awe of the way my colleagues calmly respond to applicants and their queries on-the-spot.
Challenges and new opportunities for local government in Nepal
Nepal’s first urban plan was developed in the early 1960s and identified the need to manage urban development in the Kathmandu Valley. Since then, strong policy statements have been developed around planning (that sound very familiar to the fundamental issues we grapple with back home—supply of quality affordable housing, threat of urbanization on productive agricultural land and sustainable delivery of infrastructure and transport). However, despite strong policy statements, practical implementation continues to be a huge challenge as the Kathmandu Valley develops at an unabated, rapid and haphazard pace.
After the new Constitution of Nepal was passed in 2015, a new Federal Government was formed in 2017. In the same year the first local government elections in 19 years were held. The Constitution expanded substantial powers and responsibilities to Local Government including health, education, justice, design and delivery of drinking water, irrigation, sewerage, environmental and waste management, social development, urban development, disaster management and local infrastructure—a vast task.
Dhulikhel Municipality comprises 12 wards and is represented by the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor, and 60 councillors including Ward Chairs, as well as representatives of the indigenous Dalit group and women. It is a highly representative system.
How Dhulikhel is responding to the challenge
In the wake of the local government elections, Dhulikhel Municipality is now developing an Integrated Urban Development Plan (IUDP). At the invitation of the Mayor, through the Australian Volunteers Program, I am here to help them develop that plan.
The IUDP involves both a Land Use Plan and Physical Development Plan. I have been explaining the project in terms of the question: How will Dhulikhel grow in the next 20 years in a sustainable way, and what physical and social infrastructure do we need to support the community over that time? However, the plans also extend to social development (establishment of schools; health clinics; police stations, and addressing challenges around gender inequality; marginalised communities, and informal settlements), economic development, culture and tourism, disaster reduction, organisational structure and finally, financial planning. Implementation will include the establishment of land zoning and planning by-laws.
Everyday I’m learning about Nepal and the complex challenges of land use planning and development here. Most of all I’m learning about myself, my assumptions and responses. I look forward to sharing this journey with fellow planners back home, and have promised myself to remember to keep taking photos.
Lucinda Peterson MPIA is an urban planner with 25 years’ experience, currently on a 12-month assignment with the Australian Volunteers Program. She has taken a 12-month leave of absence as a sessional Member with Planning Panels Victoria, Member of Heritage Council of Victoria and Director of The Planning Connection to share her experience of urban planning and expand her knowledge and perspective in an international context. She is currently undertaking a Masters of International Urban and Environmental Management at RMIT University.