Nepal pushes for hydropower in protected areas through legal grey area

KATHMANDU - Nepal's government has granted approvals for private hydropower developers to establish projects within protected areas and their surrounding buffer zones, a Mongabay investigation has uncovered, disregarding a Supreme Court ruling. In January 2025, the Supreme Court deemed a 2024 amendment to a crucial conservation law as "invalid" due to its conflict with the constitutionally sanctioned policy of environmentally sustainable development and the concept of intergenerational equity.

The government, however, proceeded to issue permits for hydropower project development, the investigation, supported by a right to information request, demonstrates. "To permit hydropower projects inside protected areas is a misinterpretation of the court verdict," commented Prakash Mani Sharma Bhusal, a senior lawyer among those who challenged the government's decision on July 28, 2024, concerning the opening of protected areas to infrastructure like hydropower plants and hotels.

The Supreme Court's 2025 ruling emerged from a lawsuit filed by Dil Raj Khanal-led lawyers, who contended that the 2024 amendment to the Parks and Conservation Act breached Article 30 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to a clean and healthy environment, and contravened Nepal's commitments under international treaties such as the Convention on Biological Diversity. Despite this, the Supreme Court has yet to publish the full text of its verdict.