The Impact of Climate Change on Water Availability in Eastern Nepal: A Presentation of the Project Methodology taking into Account the Various Origins of Water

Abstract

The paper reflects the main methodological aspects of the PAPRIKA Project based on the following objectives: (i) to contribute to a more accurate assessment of glacier retreat, snow cover and climate change in Koshi Basin, Nepal; (ii) to have a better understanding of the contribution of glacier and snow melting to water availability; (iii) to correlate the results with local people's perceptions of climate change and their socio-economic impact. For this, the paper:highlights the fact that the water used by the population comes from different origins (glacier melting, snow melting, frost, rain) the combination of which varies between the four main landscape units: high, middle and low mountains, and finally the Terai plain;describes the methodology adopted to observe and analyse current as well as future environmental changes in the atmosphere, cryosphere and hydrosphere;shows that, for each origin, different reasons may explain the changes in water availability, and thus the impact on agriculture and the different water usages.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/hn.v11i1.7197 Hydro Nepal Special Issue: Conference Proceedings 2012 pp.12-17

Improving Knowledge about Snow by Crossing Qualitative and Quantitative Data from the Everest Region (Nepal)

“…This study was conducted as part of the multidisciplinary PAPRIKA project (Cryospheric Responses to Anthropogenic Pressure in the Hindu Kush-Himalaya Regions, 2010, which focused on water resource availability in the context of climate change in the Nepalese Himalaya (Aubriot et al, 2012). In addition to frequent exchanges between project members, collective fieldwork particularly fostered crossdisciplinary interactions.…”

Tourisme, gestion sociale de l’eau et changement climatique dans un territoire de haute altitude : le massif de l’Everest au Népal

“…Portant les plus hauts sommets de la planète, le massif de l'Everest est le haut-lieu mondial du trekking, pratique qui a fait naître de nombreux lodges le long du chemin qui mène de Lukla (2860 m Une évolution des pratiques engendrant de nouveaux besoins en eau et en électricité 7 L'essor du trekking et l'évolution des besoins des habitants comme des visiteurs ont engendré des besoins accrus en eau au sein d'une population peu nombreuse qui la limitait jusque-là aux usages domestiques et agricoles (Müller, 2016 ;Aubriot et al, 2019). La pression touristique sur la ressource est restée modérée, tant que les trekkeurs et leurs porteurs campaient et se contentaient de prélever l'eau des torrents pour boire, se laver et préparer la nourriture acheminée avec eux depuis Katmandou (Sacareau, 1997).…”

“…Sherpa, 2013). Depuis une dizaine d'années cependant, des équipes pluridisciplinaires françaises et népalaises mènent des recherches conjointes autour de cette relation (Wagnon et al, 2008 ;Aubriot et al 2012 ;Faulon, 2015 ;Puschiasis, 2015 ;Savéan et al, 2015 ;Smadja et al, 2015 ;Jacquemet, 2018). Malgré huit ans de recherches fondamentales en hydrologie et glaciologie, beaucoup d'incertitudes demeurent sur des effets avérés du changement climatique.…”

Past and future variability in the hydrological regime of the Koshi Basin, Nepal

“…Singh et al 2008, Aubriot et al 2012, Racoviteanu et al 2013), but have not assessed the impacts of CC on basin-wide water resources. At a larger scale, Seidel et al (2000) modelled the runoff regime of the Ganges and Brahmaputra basins, accounting for precipitation, remotely sensed snow covered areas and temperatures using the Snowmelt Runoff Model (SRM).…”