THE SMALL EARTH NEPAL

The Small Earth Nepal (SEN) with support from its project partners and collaborators completed a ‘Project Planning and Training workshop on Floating Treatment Wetland System (FTWS) supported by Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN)’ on 28-29 April in Kathmandu, Nepal. The workshop was participated by representatives from the University of Dhaka (DU), Bangladesh; Central University of Rajasthan (CURAJ), India; University of Yamanashi, Japan; University of Rhode Island (URI), USA; The Asia Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN); National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST); Tribhuvan University (TU); Kathmandu Valley Water Supply Management Board (KVWSMB) and Center for Research of Environment Energy and Water (CREEW) from Nepal.

The workshop was conducted for two days with the aim to enhance knowledge on FTWS among the participants of the program and to exchange and interact about the project activities. The 1st day of the workshop was held on 28 April 2022 at KVWSMB. The participants visited the experimental setup established at the premises of KVWSMB, Bhaisepati, Lalitpur. The introduction program was inaugurated by Dr. Dhiraj Pradhananga (Associate Professor, TU) and the program was chaired by  Dr. Deepak Aryal, Professor and Head of the Central Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (CDHM, TU). Dr. Pradhananga provided a brief introduction to the project. The brief formal program was followed by a quick visit to KVWSMB’s lab and the experimental setup of the microcosm, which was facilitated by Ms. Ayaswori Byanju (SEN) and Dr. Soni M. Pradhanang (URI).

The 2nd day of the FTWS workshop focused on planning, knowledge sharing, and discussing the potential of the FTWS project with the collaborators and the participants. The program was carried out in two sessions. The first formal session was chaired by Professor Suresh Raj Chalise and Professor Dharma Kanta Banskota (Vice-Chancellor, TU) was the chief guest. Dr. Deepak Aryal welcomed and introduced everyone while Dr. Dhiraj Pradhananga and Dr. Soni M. Pradhanang provided a brief project background and experiences. This was followed by the remarks of Dr. Towhida Rashid (Professor, DU), Ms. Nazmoon Nayar Sumiya from Bangladesh; Professor Rajesh Kumar (Professor, CURAJ), Dr. Ritu Singh from India; Principal investigator Prof. Sadhana Pradhanang (Head of Department, Central Department of Environmental Science, Tribhuvan); Chief Guest Prof. Banskota and final closing remarks by the Chairperson of the Program Professor Chalise. The technical session was chaired by Prof. Sadhana Pradhanang. In the session, Ms. Ayaswori Byanju and Mr. Krish Basnet shared research work on FTWS while Dr. Anusuya Joshi (Senior Environmental and Social Safeguard Expert, Alternative Energy Promotion Center, AEPC) presented on water quality sampling and analysis techniques and Dr. Soni M. Pradhanang shared her experiences on FTWS. The participants discussed on FTWS and the program ended with the remarks from the Chairperson.