The Fall of the Water

The development is also reflected at finer scales in increased urbanization and development of temperate hills, tropical forests, deserts and in highland steppe.

wood, water and exchange of forests for cropland has not reached equilibrium and will likely continue for decades ahead.

12

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).