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Promoting Local Water Management in Nepal

1998-01-23

[Photo: Dipak Gyawali (left) and Ajaya Dixit in Kathmandu]

In the Himalayan kingdom of Nepal, the land of the world's tallest mountains, smaller may be better. At least, that's what two engineers believe when it comes to water management.

"We've got to get rid of the fixation in our part of the world that water means projects, and projects means large projects," says Dipak Gyawali of the Nepal Water Conservation Foundation (NWCF). Gyawali and his partner, Ajaya Dixit, see themselves as myth-busters with a mission: to convince the government to examine all of the options for wise water management before embarking on costly high risk, large projects.

Myth busting

Among the myths they are determined to bust: that Nepal is rich in water; that a heavy annual rainfall means a good water supply; that large water projects are beneficial and create jobs; and that textbook water engineering — involving the construction of dams and embankments — is always the best option for Nepal.

With funding from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the pair have begun a survey that will explore alternatives to centralized, large-scale projects and examine whether locally managed water resources are sometimes a more effective and environmentally responsible approach to providing safe water for the people of Nepal. The survey will focus on the Tinau River, which begins in the middle hills of Palpa, joins the Rapti River at Gorakhpur in India, and then joins the Ganges.

Politically motivated

They say existing studies show that mega-projects are more politically motivated than practical, and tend to promise more than they deliver in terms of jobs, irrigation potential, and flood control. Instead, the pair favours locally based alternatives, such as less expensive mini-reservoirs, which retain water and help fight erosion, or small water-driven turbines to power homes and local industries. (Eighty percent of Nepalis have no electricity.) Improved lives and livelihoods should help slow down migration to Kathmandu and other cities.

According to Gyawali and Dixit, two of the key issues in Nepali water management are water retention and siltation. "The problem is that Nepal gets 80 % of its water in the monsoon rains, and of that figure almost 50 % falls in just 15 hours," explains Gyawali. "The river gorges act as giant water chutes, and the land just can't absorb the rain."

Kosi River

For example, the Kosi River plunges nine kilometres (km) over a distance of just 200 km on its run from Mount Everest to the Indian border state of Bihar. At maximum flow during the monsoon, it barrels down at more than 25,000 cubic metres of water per second, sweeping along tons of silt. The flow and the silt add to the already high risk of floods in northern Bihar.

During their survey of the Tinau River region, the research team will search for links between the needs of people and available surface and ground water resources, or "who uses what," as Dixit says. For example, "we'll look at water-pump owners, the market for water, how much water is pumped and used, and the social impacts," he adds. One of the Foundation's main concerns is how the social structure of Nepal may be threatened by potential conflicts between "water haves" and "have nots" — those who can afford diesel pumps and those who cannot.

Water wars

"Right now there are water wars in (the northern Indian city of) Lucknow, especially in the rich enclaves," notes Gyawali. As a result of overpumping, "people claim the water table is declining by five to ten feet [1.5 to 3 metres] a year, forcing everyone to drill deeper every few years. We don't want water wars in Nepal, we want wise water management," he concludes.

Lionel Lumb is an associate professor in the School of Journalism and Communication at Carleton University in Ottawa. He is currently on sabbatical in South Asia. [Photo: Lionel Lumb]

Resource Persons:

Dipak Gyawali and Ajaya Dixit, Nepal Water Conservation Foundation, PO Box 2221, Kathmandu, Nepal; Tel: (977-1) 528111; Fax: (977-1) 524816; E-mail: nwcf@wlink.com.np

Bihar, India: A High Risk Flood Zone, by Lionel Lumb

The Greening of Tumkur, by Deepak Thapa

Seeking sustainability in rural Egypt: Linking scientific and indigenous knowledge, by Kirsteen MacLeod

Water Management in Africa and the Middle East: Challenges and Opportunities

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