Pink Panthers in Power Sector of Nepal
Background
Nepal is a rich country in terms of natural resources and budding opportunities. Even though a country’s topography has been the biggest challenge for infrastructure development, it is also a valuable resource for various needs, including hydropower. We have huge hydropower potential. Based on the water resources availability, Nepal’s technical potential for hydropower has been estimated to be 83 gigawatts (GW). Usually all the technically potential water resources will not be developed due to other constraints. Hence, about 42 GW is considered economically viable (ADB south Asia Working Paper Series No 20, June 2020). As per Nepal Electricity Authority’s annual report 2023 - NEA’s hydropower plants generated 2,930 MWh of electricity in the year 2022/23. The perennial nature of the rivers and the steep gradient of landscape provide ideal settings for the generation of large hydroelectric projects.
?Nepal’s Economy
Nepal is one of the least developed countries of the world that needs to come up with a well thought out plan to bring economic prosperity for poverty alleviation. Nepal is an import-reliant economy where more than 40 percent of its revenues come from import taxes (Government of Nepal, 2022).? Imports have increased throughout trade history of Nepal. The over reliance on imports versus weak exports is reason for the chronically widening trade deficit, which has adversely affected development.
?The reliance on imports also causes many other negative impacts ranging from slow industry growth, vacuum in human capital development, lack of innovation and entrepreneurship, ballooning trade deficits, depleting foreign currency reserves and stifling of fast paced economic growth. All these problems are evident in various proportions in Nepal. To implement import substitution the government would have to replace its most substantial revenue contributors with alternatives. At present agriculture, energy and tourism are believed to be the foundations for game changing transformation. The country has continued to prioritize energy production for export to neighboring countries.
?Electricity in Nepal
Although hydropower is produced in 150 countries, Nepal's economically feasible hydropower generation capacity is one of the highest, Nepal’s first hydropower project, Pharping (500 kw) was started in 1968 B.S.( May 1911). Based on the water resources availability, Nepal’s technical potential for hydropower has been estimated to be 83 gigawatts (GW). Usually all the technically potential water resources will not be developed due to other constraints. Hence, about 42 GW is considered economically viable (ADB south Asia Working Paper Series No 20, June 2020). Nepal’s total installed capacity of electricity has reached 2,532.36 MW in April 2023. (My Republica, 15 April 2023)
?Besides, Nepal has not yet fully realized the multipurpose, secondary, and tertiary benefits from hydro resources – drinking water, irrigation and flood management, etc. Nepal’s water resources endowments are extraordinary. It endows approximately 6,000 rivers with a total length of 45,000 kilometers (km). Average water runoff from these rivers is about 220 billion cubic meters annually.
In a situation where country is not yet fully self-sufficient in electricity, it is important to increase its energy dependency on electricity generated from hydropower projects. Having to spend substantial sums of money for importing fuel while having an immense potential for hydropower development is distressing. Developing adequate hydropower can help to change this and also towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that can contribute to protecting the environment, improving the economy, and enhancing health of children and women with increased access to energy. Therefore, it is a high time to realize the benefits from hydropower sector for addressing shortcoming associated with the social and economic sectors such as the economic growth, natural resources conservation, and increasing investment opportunities and improving the trade balance.
?Women and their Role in Nepal
The total population of Nepal on Census Day (25 November 2021) was 29,164,578. Of this, the males population was 14,253,551 (48.87 %) and that of females, 14,911,027 (51.13 %). The sex ratio was 95.59 males per 100 females. According to the detailed census report, the literacy rate of the population aged five years and above is 76.3 percent: the?male literacy rate was 83.6 percent and female literacy 69.4 percent. Owing to deeply rooted gender discrimination, the participation of women in economic affairs is limited to household work, which, however, is not accounted in the Gross Domestic Product. The life expectancy of women is comparatively lower than that of men. In addition, women face discrimination in their homes, communities, and workspaces. There are multiple intersecting forms of discrimination across women in societies such as Nepal, where caste, ethnicity, and location (urban vs. rural) influence the outcomes differently.
?As per UNDP Report, September 2022, Nepal improved its ranking from 144th to 143rd position in Human Development Index. Similarly, a study by World Economic Forum ranked Nepal in the 105th position out of 149 countries on the Global Gender Gap Index 2018, indicating the critical need to focus on gender equality in different sectors.
?In global scenario, a fairly large number of women are engaged in the energy sector. According to a 2019 study by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IREA) entitled “A Gender Perspective”, women comprise 32 percent of the renewable energy workforce i.e. hydro power sector. The proportion of women in wind energy was 21 percent and that is solar PV, 40 percent in global.
?Women’s representation and participation in politics has improved over the years due to constitutional mandates of women representation. (Article 84 (8) of Constitution of Nepal 2015). Their participation in public services, including the security forces has also improved. They make up about 41 percent of elected representatives in local bodies, and close to 34 and 25 percent in the provincial and federal parliaments, respectively. The ownership of assets and property by women is around 34 percent. (Table-1)
?Table-1: Women’s participation in various sectors in Nepal
?Women Representative in various sectors
Women Presence
Federal Parliament
33.35%
Province Parliament
34.45%
Local government
40.85%
Nepal Civil Service
26%
Ownership in Land and Property
33.93%
Security – Nepal Police
11.02%
Security – Nepal Armed Police Force
8.85%
?Source: Sustainable Development Goal Achievement Report (2016-2019)
?Legal provisions for women rights
The Constitution guarantees women's rights as a fundamental right, reaffirms the right to safe motherhood and reproductive health, education, health, employment, equal pay, social security, and property rights and guarantees inclusion of women in all state bodies on the basis of principle of proportional representation. Some of the key legislations safeguarding the rights of the women are:
?·???????? The Constitution of Nepal: Fundamental Rights - citizenship rights, women rights, social justice rights, social security rights, etc.
·???????? The National Civil (Code) Act 2074
·???????? Human Trafficking and Transportation (Control) Act 2064
·???????? Civil Service Act, 2049
·???????? The Human Rights Commission Act, 2053
·???????? Domestic Violence Act, 2063
·???????? Electronic Transactions Act, 2063
·???????? The Sexual Harassment at Workplace (Elimination) Act, 2071
·???????? The National Criminal Procedure (Code) Act, 2017
·???????? National Women Commission Act,?2074
·???????? National Gender Equality Policy, 2077
?Women’s participation in energy sector
Women are related to water for livelihoods in various and now they are also involved in hydropower projects. Their engagement in the hydro sector can be discussed in three categories:
?1.?????? Women as electricity consumers, and water users
?Women in Nepal have strong relationship with water sources in every ways possible. Among women’s relationship with other natural resources, women’s everyday social, economic and cultural life is associated in water and river in many ways.
?More recent migration trends suggest that a majority of males in many households have traveled abroad or to urban areas for work, trade, and services. Therefore, women are faced with more responsibilities to operate and manage household affairs. Women’s relation to water and hydroelectricity can be summarized as follows:
·???????? 100% women are consumers of electricity for light, cooking, and household appliances.
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·???????? Fresh drinking water accessibility is a major challenge in many parts of the country. Women spend hours every day to collect water from nearby sources (well, swallow well, taps and rivers) for the family and cattle.
·???????? Rivers are used for washing clothes and bathing.
·???????? Rivers are considered holy places to worship and perform religious rituals.
·???????? Women celebrate various festivals with holy bath in the nearby rivers. Rishi Panchami, Maghe Sankranti, etc. are some examples.
·???????? Fishing is one economic activity on which many families depend for income.
·???????? Boating to cross rivers for travel is one economic activity in the riverbank settlements.
·???????? Water is used for irrigation and is crucial for the largely agriculture-based economy of Nepal.
?Women are affected in different ways by electricity generation, distribution, and availability. Availability of reliable energy can benefit them from multiple ways. However, construction of energy projects in their neighborhood affects their natural resources resulting in multiple impacts on their lives. Some of these impacts are,
·???????? Whenever hydropower generation project is constructed near settlements, women comprise the largest population affected by the new development and construction activities.
·???????? Whenever rivers are utilized by power producers, their routine use is compromised. For example, they might have to explore alternative sources for drinking water and water for other purposes.
·???????? Further there is a presence of outsiders involved in construction that can have social impacts, particularly in culturally sensitive areas. Presence of male workers in the projects can also affect their privacy and safety. Taking bath in river in everyday and specific festival seasons can be difficult in presence of outside community workers and people.
·???????? ?Women visit rivers every day to fetch water for family and cattle; this can be compromised because of river diversion and presence of various people in river side areas and also due to contamination of water rendering it unpotable.
?To address the changes in everyday lifestyle and possible adverse effects to their lifestyle, culture, safety threats, etc. It requires regular consultations with project affected women. Existing social norms, household responsibilities, mobility, and social acceptance are some factors that hinder women’s participation in public meetings. Generally, they are discouraged from participating community meetings as men are considered as household heads and own most land. As household heads, men are considered to be decision makers, which is why women are generally excluded in such consultations.
?One benefit of increased access to hydroelectricity is using energy for cooking. This can benefit women in terms of reducing risks of respiratory diseases caused by use of traditional fuels. Also there will be saving of time due to faster cooking in electricity and avoidance of transit time of collecting firewood. That time can be utilized for economic activities.
?2.?????? Women engaged in energy generation
Accessibility has been major hurdle for women. If we compare participation of women in energy generation/ distribution using a gender lens, it is obvious that female participation is very low. Female participation as workers is limited. Since women get less opportunities to study technical subjects like engineering and project management, there is a shortage of skilled women experts. For unskilled work, there are social and geographical barriers that constrict access of women in project development. Culturally they are discouraged to get involved in economic activities and are limited to childcare and home management. As a result there are only a few women workers in construction works. Males, in contrast, can travel to places for exploring opportunities and engage in economic activities. Further, the large number of male workers in projects site is another barrier that prevents women from seeking work space in hydro-projects. Their presence as developers and in company boards and management levels is also minimal, even though there has been a tendency to register some businesses in the name of women for tax purposes.
?As hydropower projects are located in rural and least developed areas, ensuring safety of women, health and wellbeing is something that remains to be studied. Gender inequality remains the biggest problem in Nepal where girls are always treated as support system to men. The situation in rural areas is worse than urban areas. As compared to men, women are also paid less for similar jobs. The gender gap in Nepal’s hydropower sector is reflected in the following diagram:
The data shows that women engineers are underrepresented in Nepal’s Hydropower sector. In terms of labor force also, women employment is mostly concentrated as unskilled laborers. There have been various constraints like stereotypes, gendered norms, safety issues etc.
?If we analyze the existing women presence in the hydro power sector, the picture is miserable but improving. Women are least welcomed in all levels of engagement. Gender neutral workplace with merit-based selection, engagements and promotions remain a dream. Positive gender discrimination policy of the government has also not been successful in changing the energy sector.
The data above explains the minimal presence of women talent in decision making levels. Women participation in executive and board level are limited to single digit percentile.
?Women in policy making and governance
Women participation in mainstream politics is increasing in Nepal due to promulgation of constitution in 2015 AD which mandates minimum 33 % of representation in parliament of Nepal. Also, rules on corporate governance has been encouraging investors to have more women as board members. However, since the overall women participation of women is low in every government agency, policy making and leadership positions, the issues affecting them, opportunities and challenges are also least discussed. When the policy making platforms are completely composed of male members only, there will be a lack of gender sensitivity and promotion of equity. Promoting women in leadership roles and ensuring a respectful workplace environment can help in narrowing down the gender gap. The following practices can help to bring about some positive change.
·???????? Having more women director in company boards.
·???????? Increasing the representation of women in company unions to amplify the voices of women employees.
·???????? Establishing an inclusive hiring panel with at least one woman as member for inclusive recruitment.
·???????? Encouraging female applications in all new recruitments and disclosing the provision in advertisements.
·???????? Revising personnel manual and policies for ensuring gender equality and include clauses for discouraging bullying and sexual harassment.
·???????? Appointing a female employee as a Grievance Handling Officer to address and respond to gender-based violence in the workplace.
·???????? Orienting employees on the grievance mechanism and gender-related violence prevention.
·???????? Recruiting a female employee in a senior technical position in a non-traditional role.
·???????? Continuing trainings for regular changes and improvements.
?The Sustainable Development Goal five on gender equality and women’s empowerment advocates women’s effective participation and equal opportunity for the empowerment of women at all levels and ending all forms of discrimination. Attaining this requires elimination of all gender-based discrimination at all levels of decision-making including access to information and opportunities. A study undertaken by Asian Development Bank (ADB-2018) reports that representation and participation of women in decision-making positions, especially in energy project and institutions are very limited. Women and excluded groups are facing various structural barriers preventing them to participate in energy production and benefiting from energy sector. At Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), a state owned organization responsible for generation, transmission and distribution of energy, the presence of women at mid and lower level of professional is limited to about 10% in against of about 89% men. In the case of Alternative Energy Promotion Center (AEPC), another institution working for clean energy sector, the situation seems slightly better. In the total human capital base, 72% are men and the participation of women is about 28% in mid and lower level professions. Independent Power Procedures Association of Nepal (IPPAN) – one umbrella organization of private power producers has tried to ensure participation of women in executive committee but only constant concerns raised by various stakeholders, after the amendment of its constitution in 2018.
A study undertaken with the support of the International Finance Company (IFC, 2020) pointed out gender stereotyping, lack of gender sensitive policies and practices, and remoteness of hydropower project sites as major challenges hindering the participation of women in hydro power generation/distribution projects. The participation of women and reflecting their voices in project design and its development therefore remains a critical issue. The low number of male workers available means that women are associated with everyday use and protection of natural resources. Contrary to their absence of participation in project development and implementation phase, women are the largest user groups of hydroelectricity. Due to male dominated foreign migration for employment, women have sheer number of population in rural areas where majority of project development and expansion take place. In male member’s absence, women are using natural resources and such end products to support elder members, children and cattle. This is why women’s participation and their engagement in hydropower projects are critical.
?Barriers in participation and decision making
Literacy is a major constraint that hinders women participation in public meetings. Men are in an advantageous position for this, because they receive more exposure and opportunities in education and participation compared to women. Difficult topography is one factor that create obstacles to women’s participation in consultations and decision-making process. Due to the difficult topography, there is a tendency of organizing consultations at market centers and accessible locations. Such centers are generally far from project-affected communities in the case of hydropower projects.
?The Hydropower Environment Assessment Manual, 2018 requires developers to acquire gender disaggregated data during the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA). It requires information on gender related impacts such as employment, marginalization and sexual harassment, impact due to influx of migrant workers, crime, trafficking, and loss of livelihood opportunities. The Environment Protection Act, 2076 and its Regulation 2077 has provisioned for public hearings and notification of impact assessment in national newspapers. However, it is silent on inclusive and mandatory women’s participation in consultations.? In case of projects financed by international financing institutions (IFIs), due to their mandatory policy for inclusive consultations some developers try to comply with the requirements. In the case of projects promoted by private developers and the electricity utility the participation of women and vulnerable communities is significantly ignored. Considering the significance and impact of infrastructure projects on women and vulnerable populations it is essential to prepare a clear policy for ensuring women’s participation in such developments. However, many donors’ guidelines still do not provide positive discrimination towards women in employments though in theory, they are the most vocal in gender equality and inclusion.
?Conclusion
As in other sectors, the energy sector is largely male dominated. Therefore, it is opportune to purposively promote principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the hydro sector. There are laws that seek to safeguard the rights of the women but their implementation is not encouraging. Nepal needs to strengthen the capacity of women in leadership roles. Creating networking opportunities and providing them learning platforms can assist women to be confident to compete for appointment in leadership roles. Since the women make up almost over 50 percent of population, the government need to make conscious efforts to boost their contribution in infrastructure development, particularly the hydropower sector. Focusing on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education and providing more access and opportunities from grants/scholarships to women would lead to more participation in the future.
?References:
NEA_Annual_Report_2023: Fiscal Year 021/22. Kathmandu.
http//:www.nea.org.np
http//:www.nepalhydro.com.np
http//:www.npc.org.np
http//:www.wec.gov.np
( The article is originally published in September 2023 issue of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nepal)
( The same article is republished in 5th edition of Urjakhabar Magazine - December 2023 issue )