--By TC correspondent

 

Nepal has improved its environmental performance in the past decade, a latest report by the Yale University shows. According to the 2014 Environmental Performance Index (EPI), Nepal witnessed a progress of 4.96 per cent from 2000 to 2012, achieving a rank of 139th out of 178 countries.  The country’s overall score was 37 with noticeable improvements being marked in agriculture and forest. The index comprises of nine key indicators reflecting the performance of individual countries. The indicators include Health Impact, Air Quality, Water and Sanitation, Water resources, Agriculture, Forests, Fisheries, Biodiversity and Habit and Climate and Energy along with 20 sub-indicators. With a score of 100, Nepal ranked 1st in the world in agriculture subsidy-sub indicator. Similarly, the country also ranked 66th in pesticide regulation with a score of 84. Likewise, Nepal ranked 26th in forests sub-index with score of 63.12.

 

However, in terms of air quality, Nepal performed poorly (ranked at 177), according to the report. Over the past decade, Nepal saw its air quality dropping by 42.75 per cent with all three sub-indicators showing degradation due to rising air pollution. The country’s sub-indicator for household air quality declined 18.18 per cent whereas, average exposure to PM 2.5 air particulate decreased 33.5 per cent and PM 2.5 exceedance changed by 100 per cent over the past decade. 

 

In South Asia region, Sri Lanka is the highest ranking country (69), followed by Bhutan (103), Nepal (139), Pakistan (148), India (155) and Bangladesh (169). Afghanistan is the worst performer in the region (174). India ranked much lower than its emerging economies peers like Brazil (77), Russia (73) and South Africa at 72nd position. Meanwhile, China ranked 118th in the index. Switzerland topped the ranking followed by Luxembourg, Australia, Singapore, and Czech Republic. Among countries with the largest economies, Germany ranked the highest in the sixth spot followed by the United Kingdom in 12th, Canada 24th, Japan 26th, France 27th, and the United States in 33rd.  In the 2014 EPI, Somalia was the poorest performer (178) accompanied by Mali (177), Haiti (176), Lesotho (175). 

 

The EPI report urged policymakers across the world to introduce and implement effective policies to protect the global environment. “The EPI documents the tangible benefits that arise when policymakers pursue strong environmental performance and the damage that manifests when they do not,” it said. The authors of the report hoped 2014 EPI results would initiate meaningful conversation among countries to understand how they perform on a range of high-priority environmental issues. First published in 2002, EPI was developed from the Pilot Environmental Performance Index, and designed to supplement the environmental targets set forth in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).