Kathmandu Valley is a place of extraordinary natural and cultural beauty. But it is a valley now transformed almost beyond recognition. Constantly growing traffic congestion, polluted air from vehicles and brick factories, rapidly expanding urban sprawl, streams and rivers that too often resemble sewers, piles of waste, and shortages of drinking water too often obscure the beauty beneath and beyond. In Kathmandu Valley Environment Outlook, ICIMOD has joined with the United Nations Environment Programme and the Nepal Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology to provide a detailed account of the status of the Kathmandu Valley environment highlighting five key environmental issues – air quality and traffic management, unplanned settlement, degradation of water resources, waste management, and natural disaster preparedness. The book reviews their status, and recommends measures to prevent or minimise negative impacts, providing direct options for management by various levels of government, civil society, the public-private sector, and residents.