Climate change is a change in the statistical distribution of weather over periods of time that range from decades to millions of years. It can be a change in the average weather or a change in the distribution of weather events around an average Climate change may be limited to a specific region, or may occur across the whole Earth. In recent usage, especially in the context of environmental policy, climate change usually refers to changes in modern climate. It may be qualified as anthropogenic climate change, more generally known as “global warming” or “anthropogenic global warming” (Wikipedia, 2010). According to the World Bank report, Climate change is expected to hit developing countries the hardest. Its effects—higher temperatures, changes in precipitation patterns, rising sea levels, and more frequent weather-related disasters—pose risks for agriculture, food, and water supplies. Keeping in mind the situation of developing countries, the company is committed to work on Climate Change for the better Earth tomorrow.
Strategy
Ridi Hydropower Development Company promotes power generation from hydro resources through peoples’ participation. The negative environmental impacts produced at a time of construction and operation of the project shall be mitigated. The company maintain greenery at the project construction area.
The company is working to develop more hydroelectric projects. For this the company constructing hydroelectric projects in Eastern part of Nepal. By the operation of these projects, it will help to reduce import of electricty, the electricity is produced from coal and fuel, from India.
Appeal to Donors/INGOs
From experiences of developing two projects in Nepal, we realized that there is a need of support from international donor to facilitates the development work at project impact area in the developing countries. Generally, the places of hydroelectricty generated area are less prioritize of health, education, and social services facilities. People of these areas generally puts demands to fulfill these requirements. Thus, we, Ridi Hydropower Development Company would like to request the international donors/INGOs and national donors/NGO to develop programme in these targeted hydropower development areas. The funds should be utilized for health, education and income generating activities. This will help to enhance the socio-economic condition of the project area as well as it promotes to develop hydroelectric project. Generation of electricity from hydro as a result of reducing electricity from coal and fuel is one way of maintaining environment/climate change.
What we have done so far?
Ridi Hydropower Development Company Limited has developed a 2400KW Ridikhola Project in Gulmi and Palpa districts at Western Development Region of Nepal. The project is in operation since September 2009 and regularly supplying electricity to the national grid.
The project is a combination of irrigation and electricity generation. First priority is the irrigation and second is the electricity generation. There are five irrigation canals downstream of the diversion weir. Water to all these irrigation canals is managed. Two water mills located at downstream of the weir are converted to operate by electricity and water. At the time of monsoon mills can be operated through water and at dry season it will be run through electricity.
The company has published notice to local people of project impact area to invest share in the company. Of the total shareholders 50 percent people are from the project area. The company has provided shares to the schools located at the project impact area. The company has constructed drinking water facility at Eklepipal, project impact area.
We have done plantation at a ratio of 1:25 (loss:plantation) at the project impact areas. Land required for the project has been purchased for the structures and rest of the land are leased during the construction period. Of 4650m long pipe almost 80 percent section are buried and land were returned to farmers to grow crops. Remaining section of pipe are at cliff area of forest zone.
Environment friendly manual technology was adopted to develop the project. All the rock alignment of the project area has been jack hammer. No blasting was used at all. We achieved land by paying and compensated the loss of crops. We have returned the unused land to the farmers after completion. We have done sufficient plantation work and paid compensation of tree loss.
Clean Development Mechanism
The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is one of the “flexibility” mechanisms defined in the Kyoto Protocol. It is defined in Article 12 of the Protocol, and is intended to meet two objectives: (1) to assist parties not included in Annex I in achieving sustainable development and in contributing to the ultimate objective of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which is to prevent dangerous climate change; and (2) to assist parties included in Annex I in achieving compliance with their quantified emission limitation and reduction commitments (greenhouse gas (GHG) emission caps). “Annex I” parties are those countries that are listed in Annex I of the treaty, and are the industrialized countries. Non-Annex I parties are developing countries.
Objective (2) is achieved by allowing the Annex I countries to meet part of their caps using “credits” from CDM emission reduction projects in developing countries (Carbon Trust, 2009, p. 14). This is subject to oversight to ensure that these emission reductions are real and “additional.” The CDM is supervised by the CDM Executive Board (CDM EB) and is under the guidance of the Conference of the Parties (COP/MOP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The CDM allows industrialized countries to invest in emission reductions wherever it is cheapest globally (Grubb, 2003, p. 159). Between 2001, which was the first year CDM projects could be registered, and 2012, the end of the Kyoto commitment period, the CDM is expected to produce some 1.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) in emission reductions. Most of these reductions are through renewable energy, energy efficiency, and fuel switching (World Bank, 2010, p. 262).
(Source : Widkipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Clean_Development_Mechanism)