About Us
Environmental Protection Centre, Nepal (EPC) is a registered NGO that aims to promote the dissemination of renewable energy technologies and the sustained functioning of water supply and sanitation infrastructure through private-sector engagement. With its coordinating office in Chandranigrpur, Rautahat, EPC works predominantly in the Terai districts of the Nepal. Due to a combination of economic, political and cultural factors, these districts have very limited exposure to renewable energy technologies (RETs) and have been labelled Low Penetration Districts by the Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC), a division of the Ministry of Environment.
Water supply is primarily through private and public ownership of shallow tube-wells that require continued maintenance to ensure functionality. Sanitation is also a huge challenge, with typically less than 20% of the population having access to any form of toilet, and with the remaining population practicing open defecation.
Thus, EPC functions as a Technical Service Centre (TSC) that combines field-based social marketing activities with a centralised ‘one-stop-shop’ at its headquarters in Kathmandu. Here, we support the after-sales service needs of customers who seek both technology spares as well as guidance. We also provide marketing-related advice and knowledge sharing on climate friendly renewable energy and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) technologies to new customers. Our extension network of social mobilisers throughout Nepal is unmatched in the region. EPC practices social marketing to promote adoption of RETs and WASH technologies and practices, while at the same time ensuring that that demand is met with a quality-assured supply of these services.
The shareholders of EPC are professionals from various NGOs with a common focus on raising the level of sustainable human development in the Central Terai region. This is done by the establishment of community-driven initiatives that operate at the grassroot-level. Thus, EPC believes that a private sector business model holds great potential to sustainably provide the said services in an efficient and impactful manner.
In its inception phase, EPC has received backstopping and advisory services from EPC, SNV Nepal and AEPC with an aim to build technical and managerial capacity of the centre to ensure it thrives as a sustainable business driven entity. Through its extensive network of partners ranging from NGOs, governments and private sector players, EPC supports learning and sharing of best practices to stimulate the adoption of RETs and sustained WASH infrastructure. EPC founders and staff are Central Terai natives, with respectable histories of working within aaa-governmental and private sector organisations dedicated to improving the lives and livelihoods of the rural communities. There is an acute awareness of the social, economic and political issues that hinder the adoption of Renewable Energy (RE) and WASH technologies and therefore we need a dedicated commitment to address them.
Unlike other organisations that focus their efforts along the East-West Highway, EPC has easy access to the underserved areas of the South, and strong and supportive relations with NGOs, Civil Society Organisations and Community-Based Organisations that reside in these vulnerable regions. As such, EPC is a valued partner of local government bodies (DDC, Municipalities and VDCs), line agencies and other private institutions at local levels. Furthermore, the list of national renewable energy and WASH organisations that extend support to and benefit from EPC ’s activities includes SNV, Safer World, ESAP/AEPC the Centre for Renewable Technologies, the Biogas Sector Program, the Livelihood and Forest Program, and Water Aid Nepal.
Policy and Guidelines
Working strageties and practices
EPC has adopted the following manuals and guidelines for holistic development, management and transparency of the organization:
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Financial and Human Resource Development & Organizational Management Policy 2065/66.
EPCs working strategies are based upon a combination of the following:
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Supporting the development of enabling environments for climate change mitigation and adaptation, Renewable Energy and WASH
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Improving the quality of its own and the sector’s Renewable Energy and Agriculture service delivery