Necessity of Soil Bioengineering in Nepal

An essay on: Necessity of soil bioengineering in Nepal Throughout the world, slope instability and erosion is considered to be a dire problem seeking immediate and careful attention. This fact is more aggravating in the context of Nepal. Here, field conditions are characterized by very active geomorphology, steep slopes and intense rainfall. Studies show that natural soil loss in Nepal is 240 million cu. m per year. 400 to 700 cu. m of landslides occur per km per year along the mountain roads. 3000 to 4000 cu. m of landslides occur per km per year during construction works only. If we are to think of controlling this pandemic, detailed landslide mapping followed by effective treatment works at several sites is necessary. It is clear that restricted economy of our country cannot allow large finances for application of heavy civil engineering solutions. Moreover, those structures may prove harmful to soil ecosystem and can disturb the agricultural scenario of Nepal. Bioengineering insists on scientific use of vegetative systems either alone, or in combination with small scale civil engineering structures for treatment of slope instability and protection of erosion on hill slopes. It is compatible with soil ecosystem and financially cheaper. According to Sunwar and Shrestha (1995), use of bioengineering allows cost saving up to the range of 50-70% in road maintenance. Attesting to these reasoning, soil bioengineering is offered as an alternative approach to the traditional civil engineering techniques. However, it is not intended for replacing the use of civil engineering—instead, it is to be used in integration with civil engineering in controlling shallow-seated instability.