Who Is Waterkeeper: Megh Ale, Karnali River Waterkeeper
By: Thomas Hynes
Megh Ale first saw the Karnali River in 1991. He hiked a full two days to get there and it was well worth the effort. The waters were turquoise blue and surrounded by intact forests. It was also home to eight indigenous cultures. Megh had never seen anything like the Karnali. It was both visually stunning and culturally significant. It was also free of dams. Megh knew then he had to protect it.
“The culture, the white water, the beautiful beaches, all those red rock canyons. It was an amazing combination of nature and culture,” says Megh. “After exploring the whole river, I thought this is so pristine.”
After a few return trips to the river, Megh decided to take action. In 1995, he joined / founded the Nepal Rivers Conservation Trust with the hopes of restoring, conserving and protecting the rivers of Nepal through affirmative action and education, whilst maintaining the cultural integrity of local riverside communities. In this capacity, Megh has taken policy makers, journalists, students, and other stakeholders to the river. In 2015, Megh officially became Karnali River Waterkeeper.
“We must educate our politicians on the value of nature,” says Megh. “Ideally, we would get the Karnali a ‘River and Heritage’ designation.”
The Karnali River is an incredibly biodiverse place. There are more than 800 bird species, 130 species of fish, as well as rhinoceros, tigers, snow leopards, Gangetic dolphins, blue sheep, and wolves. The area sits at the intersection of the Tibetan Plateau, the Ganges River, and the Himalayas, which lends itself to an abundance of fauna. Also aiding the area’s natural wealth is the fact that there are no dams on the Karnali River. In fact, it is the last remaining free-flowing river in all of Nepal.
Though all of that could soon change.
There are plans to construct three hydropower facilities on the Karnali River. This is despite the fact that Nepal’s other hydropower plants already provide all the energy Nepal currently requires. This proposed project would be purely profit driven. Furthermore, as Megh points out, Nepal has something like 330 days of sunshine every year, making it a prime candidate for solar power. Nepal, with its extraordinary altitude, would also be an ideal setting for wind power.
Megh is not suggesting that the Karnali be left completely untouched or unused by people. He is not even against hydropower; he just suggests that tributaries might make sense to develop first. As for the Karnali, he has a different business plan centered around eco-tourism. As part of that plan is the Rakam Karnali Centre for Eco Tourism where people could come and learn about the region’s unique natural beauty.
Megh is also proposing a major biennial event to draw the world’s attention. He is calling it the Great Karnali Quest, and it would be a rafting competition that would bring rafting teams from all over the world to Nepal for a multi-day, 250-kilometer race. Not only would participants be flowing through this gorgeous setting, they would be making camp at culturally important locations.
Megh hopes this event could showcase the potential of the Karnali region as a preeminent eco-tourism destination with world-class rafting rapids. The river is seen as one of the top-five rafting destinations in all of the world. Megh sees this as a business opportunity with a new tourism industry supporting the bevy of tourists who would want to experience this truly special river.
“The idea was how to bring the world to the Karnali River, to get it on the map, and have that attention,” says Megh. “So that journalists would follow the world class athletes, so the world would see. We want to promote eco- tourism and help conserve this beautiful Karnali River.”
Also bringing attention to Megh and the Karnali River is a recent documentary film called, Sister River. In the movie, Megh is visited by Hudson Riverkeeper Tracy Brown from New York state. This film highlights the commonalities of conservation efforts around the world, and underscores the collaborative potential brought about by the Waterkeeper Alliance movement.
“My message to them was a cautionary tale,” says Tracy Brown in the film. “Don’t treat your river the way we treated our river. Protecting what you have is easier and more affordable than to dam it and pollute it and then do the recovery work.”
Beyond the cost benefit analysis, Megh also sees this work as a gift to younger people. It’s part of a mantra that he recites whenever he approaches the Karnali River. In Nepali, it is ‘Om Kaylass Karnali Karma’ which, according to Megh, translates to, ““Let it flow free for the karma of our future generations.”