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 engineeringinstead, it is to be used in
integration with civil engineering in controlling shallow-seated
instability.