Investment in infrastructure development such as road, railways, airport, hydropower, irrigation and town development for public purpose is very important for the development of any country and needs a huge quantity of land. The main objective of the paper is to find out the gaps on land acquisition and compensation processes for infrastructure development projects in Nepal. This research paper is based on the desk study using the experiences of the cases in infrastructure development projects in China, India, Malaysia and Norway. In this study, we emphasize three main issues for identifying the gaps in land acquisition and compensation and these are i) law and regulations, ii) procedure for land acquisition and compensation, and iii) land valuation approaches for compensation. The relevant land governance elements such as public participation, access to information, fair compensation, transparent procedure and stakeholder co-ordination are derived using the World Bank Land Governance Assessment Framework (LGAF) and UN-FAO Voluntary Guideline of Governance of Tenure. The study shows that the practices and processes in compulsory purchase and compensation are quite different in different countries due to its legal, social and political contexts. The study reveals that the different countries have different law and regulations, procedure for land acquisition and land valuation approaches depending upon social, political and economic conditions of the country. The major gap identified from the study about the situation in Nepal is the implementation aspects of land acquisition, compensation and land valuation system in reference to good governance principles namely public participation, access to information, transparent procedure and stakeholder’s interaction.

This study delves into the intricate landscape of good governance within the realm of land acquisition and compensation processes for road development projects in Nepal, a pertinent issue given the global trend of forced displacement due to infrastructure development. Land acquisition, a process empowering public authorities to acquire land for public projects, often intersects with governance principles. Governance, characterized by participatory decision-making and accountability, ensures equitable distribution of benefits from land and resources. In the context of land acquisition, good governance upholds principles such as transparency, efficiency, and the rule of law. However, challenges persist in actualizing these principles, as evidenced by discrepancies between compensation rates and market values, opaque procedures, and delays in compensation disbursement. Drawing on empirical data from the Kathmandu Terai, Madhesh Fast Track Road Project (KTFTRP), this study reveals shortcomings in governance, including limited participation, lack of transparency, and inefficiency in compensation processes. Findings underscore the need for reforms to align land acquisition practices with principles of good governance, ensuring fair compensation, transparency, and efficiency. This study contributes to the discourse on governance reform and sustainable infrastructure development, offering insights for policymakers and practitioners in Nepal and beyond.

Many developing countries do not focus on land use planning in hydropower development. As a result hydropower projects are not sustainable. The aim of the study is to analyze the cause and effects of land use planning in hydropower development. The primary and secondary data were collected in a case study site at the Upper Tamakoshi Hydroelectric Project (UTHEP) in Dolakha district of Nepal. Household questionnaire, key informants? interviews and field observation were conducted to collect primary data while the relevant documents such as detailed feasibility report, property valuation report and spatial data (cadastral data, image etc.) were also collected for the study. The primary and secondary data reveals that Land use changes involved in the UTHEP implementation is basically due to the permanent and temporary land acquisition for project structures, facilities and reservoir area. The total land acquired for various project components like access road, powerhouse, desanding basin, reservoir as well as construction borrow pits and quarries, temporary and permanent work camps and construction of access road is estimated to be 182 ha. The secondary data reveals that 66 ha are allocated in agricultural land, 78 ha in forest land and 38 ha in the barren and cliff land. The results from secondary data and interviews confirm that UTHEP has planned to distribute 10% share to the residents of Dolakha district to promote local level investment. Finally, the study finds that land use planning has very important role for minimizing negative social and environmental effects thus create sustainability of the hydropower projects. It is also found that overall environmental impacts are limited because of technological development such as tunnel and underground powerhouse in UTHEP. The land tenure, Land use planning stakeholders and their role, Governance, policy, social structure etc. are the basic requirements of land use planning for sustainable development of hydropower projects. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/kuset.v8i1.6053 KUSET 2012; 8(1): 134-141

Keywords: Mikania micrantha, Invasive Species, Chitwan National Park, Image Classification, Maxent Modeling Mikania micrantha is one of the major invasive alien plant species in tropical moist forest regions of Asia including Nepal. Recently, this weed is spreading at an alarming rate in Chitwan National Park (CNP) and threatening biodiversity. This paper aims to assess the impacts of Mikania micrantha on different land cover and to predict potential invasion sites in CNP using Maxent model. Primary data for this were presence point coordinates and perceived Mikania micrantha cover collected through systematic random sampling technique. Rapideye image, Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission data and bioclimatic variables were acquired as secondary data. Mikania micrantha distribution maps were prepared by overlaying the presence points on image classified by object based image analysis. The overall accuracy of classification was 90 % with Kappa coefficient 0.848. A table depicting the number of sample points in each land cover with respective Mikania micrantha coverage was extracted from the distribution maps to show the impact. The riverine forest was found to be the most affected land cover with 85.98 % presence points and sal forest was found to be very less affected with only 17.02 % presence points. Maxent modeling predicted the areas near the river valley as the potential invasion sites with statistically significant Area Under the Receiver Operating Curve (AUC) value of 0.969. Maximum temperature of warmest month and annual precipitation were identified as the predictor variables that contribute the most to Mikania micrantha's potential distribution.

Capacity building in Geo information is the empowerment that encompasses the ability, skills to initiate, manage, undertake, organize and evaluate Geoinformation activities. The capacity building includes major elements such as education, training, research, informal approaches such as networking, refresher courses, seminar/ conference. This paper aims to highlight the role of Kathmandu University (KU) for capacity building in Geo information sector in Nepal. It is committed to develop a center of excellence in Geoinformation sector by providing quality education, research, training etc. Kathmandu University, Geomatics Engineering program has collaboration with academic and nonacademic organizations to strengthen the quality of geoinformation education, research and internship. KU has also planned for the capacity building of faculty and students through its faculty development plan and student exchange program with other collaborating Universities. Geo spatial lab and other important advanced survey; Geodesy, remote sensing, photogrammetry lab etc. will be developed in near future at KU premises. LMTC and KU are also jointly establishing the necessary infrastructure required for the Geomatics Engineering program in the vicinity of these two organizations.

The capacity development and education outreach in Geoinformatics and Land management is very important for the development of any country. The aim of this paper is to highlight the existing capacity development and education outreach in Geoinformatics and Land Management at Department of Geomatics Engineering and draws attention of all national and international geospatial community for their contributions to promote capacity development and education outreach in Geoinformatics and Land Management sectors in Nepal. The desk study has been carried out for the study by reviewing literature and using secondary data sources. This study analyzes an aspects , challenges and opportunities in collaborative efforts made by Kathmandu University and Land Management Training Center to become a center of excellence in these sectors. The study reveals that “To make Geoinformatics and Land Administration, a leader course in Nepal and also within the region”, Kathmandu University has to overcome various challenges. Some challenges may be addressed in the national level but some require collaborations and cooperation from international geospatial community. The result indicates that the capacity development and education outreach in Geoinformatics and Land Management sector helps to develop quality geospatial professionals which in turn may incorporate the entire South Asia region as a potential Geospatial and Land Management market. Finally, Kathmandu University, Department of Geomatics Engineering is committed to develop a centre of excellence in Geoinformation and Land management sector by providing quality education, research and development.