Though Nepal is an
agricultural country, it has failed to fully exploit its potential due to the
absence of standardisation, according to experts.
"Nepal has the
possibility to take advantage through bio-energy standards to fully utilise its
agriculture potential," said director general of Nepal Bureau of Standards
and Metrology Dr Ram Adhar Sah, addressing a three-day standardisation workshop
on 'Strengthening institutional capacity on sustainability criteria for
bio-energy' that started here in the capital today.
Likewise, executive
chairman of South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment (SAWTEE) Dr
Posh Raj Pandey said that the initial euphoria among policy makers and private
sector representatives about the role of bio-energy in mitigating climate change
is being questioned now since the use of bio-energy is not necessarily carbon
neutral, if looked at from a life-cycle perspective.
"Extensive
promotion of bio-energy could also have environmental effects like destruction
of biodiversity and soil erosion, and social impacts like exploitation of small
farmers or their displacement to produce bio-energy impacts," he said.
Pandey added that there
are also concerns that there will be competition on whether to use land to
produce food or bio-energy, which, therefore, will have serious implications for
food security. "Hence, it is important for developing and least-developed
countries to actively engage in setting standards on sustainability criteria
for bio-energy."
International trade of
bio-energy has been taking place gradually, and developing countries are more
competitive in the production and trade of bio-energy due to adequate natural
resources and low cost of production, Pandey said. "If their concerns are
not reflected in the standards that are being set, they might face trade
barriers later."
Speaking as chief guest,
secretary at the ministry of industry Krishna Gyawali informed that the
government has prepared a climate change policy. "Bio-energy is a crucial
aspect of climate change and it is extremely important for the country to
engage in such a standard-setting process," he said, emphasising that by
actively participating in the standard-setting process, Nepal will be able to
optimise the use of its resources.
The workshop is part of
a longer project 'Trade promotion through standardisation' being implemented
jointly by SAWTEE and the Swedish Standards Institute (SIS), with support from
the Swedish International Development Agency in eight countries of the South
and Southeast Asia regions, namely, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos,
Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.
The workshop is being
organised against the backdrop of the setting of a new standard on the
sustainability criteria for bioenergy by the International Organisation for
Standardisation (ISO).
International project
manager of SIS Carina Svensson introduced the workshop to the participants and
explained what was expected of them.
Over the next three
days, participants will work on the draft of ISO standard on sustainability
criteria for bioenergy with support from experts working in this area, and send
their comments to ISO.
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