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wood, water and exchange of forests for cropland has
not reached equilibrium and will likely continue for
decades ahead.
The development is also reflected at finer scales in
increased urbanization and development of temperate
hills, tropical forests, deserts and in highland steppe.
Across the region, urbanization is increasing. The im-
pact of the expanding and intensifying land use is well
reflected around urban areas, such as Kathmandu (Fig.
5). Even though Kathmandu is a small city by Asian
standards, this case is illustrative for much of Asia. Most
large Asian cities have expanded greatly during the last
few decades and have reached proportions where most
public services and amenities are exhausted and of
inferior quality. Partly due to Kathmandu’s location in
Urban development
a valley, the pollution problems are immense. The sup-
ply of adequate drinking water is a major problem, and
sewage treatment presents a serious health threat. Lack
of urban planning compounds the problems of popula-
tion growth and immigration to the city.
The high rate of settlement is even visible in land cover
changes and settlement within a decade in i.e. Kirtipur
(Fig. 6).
Figure 5:
Growth in urban settlement and land pressures around Kathmandu 1960 (left) and today (right) using Corona
and IKONOS images. Corona was an American spy satellite that was in use between 1959 and 1970. Notice how the
light-coloured (left) croplands, mainly rice on terraces, have been developed with urban housing (dark areas)(right).