Resources
Feasibility Report
Realtime data in Nepal
The "Feasibility Report: Real-time Data in Nepal" examines the availability, use, and challenges of real-time data in Nepal, focusing on air quality (pollution.gov.np), hydrology (hydrology.gov.np), and Kalimati fruits and vegetables price data (kalimatimarket.gov.np). The study highlights the growing demand for fresh, accessible data to address environmental, disaster, and agricultural challenges. It identifies issues such as limited data accessibility, lack of machine-readable formats, and bureaucratic barriers, proposing solutions like open data platforms and better visualization to enhance usability for stakeholders, including researchers, civil societies, and journalists.
Key Insights
- High Demand for Real-Time Data: Stakeholders including researchers, NGOs, and journalists require real-time air quality, hydrology, and agricultural price data for research, disaster response, and market transparency, but access is limited due to technical and bureaucratic barriers.
- Air Quality Data: Real-time air quality data from 11 stations is valuable for research and awareness but lacks public accessibility and historical archives, restricting trend analysis and policy advocacy.
- Hydrology Data: Data from 51 river stations is critical for disaster risk reduction and hydropower planning but is not machine-readable and access is restricted, especially for international researchers.
- Kalimati Price Data: Daily fruit and vegetable price data could improve market transparency, but its impact is limited without complementary datasets like soil mapping and production quantities, and availability in open data formats.
- Government Challenges: Departments such as DOE and DHM support open data in principle but face capacity, infrastructure, and concerns about data misuse. Kalimati Market Board is relatively more open but lacks a formal open data framework.
- Recommendations: Establish a centralized open data hub with machine-readable formats (CSV, JSON), historical archives, and data visualizations. Improve accessibility for all users including international researchers and foster data-driven decisions via stakeholder collaboration.
- Stakeholder Needs: Civil society and researchers encounter technical barriers and lack platforms to republish data; they request structured datasets, APIs, and visualization tools to enhance usability and impact.
- Policy Gaps: Government data-sharing policies are unclear and bureaucratic hurdles hinder data access, highlighting the need for advocacy from NGOs and media to promote openness.
