Water in the Hindu Kush Himalaya

Scott, Christopher A.; Zhang, Fan; Mukherji, Aditi; Immerzeel, Walter W.; Mustafa, Daanish; Bharati, Luna

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-92288-1_8

Cited by 86 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 138 publications

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“…The nexus offers a conceptual approach to better understand and systematically analyze the complex interactions between the natural environment and human activities, and to work towards a more coordinated management and use of natural resources across sectors and scales (FAO, 2014). It can help identify and manage trade-offs and build synergies through our responses and therefore plays a vital role in livelihood security and socio-economic development (Rasul, 2014;Scott et al, 2019). Increasingly the environment is recognized as both a source and a consumer of water and energy in its own right, as reflected in the extension of the nexus concept to 'waterenergy-food-environment'.…”

Section: The Water-energy-food (-Environment) Nexusmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The key WEF nexus linkages in mountain regions are associated with hydropower generation and irrigation, both with important urban and rural implications, while in rural areas, the use of fuelwood for heating and cooking and rainfed agriculture for food production also play an important role (Scott et al, 2019).…”

Section: The Water-energy-food (-Environment) Nexusmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Achieving water security in Nepal through unravelling the water-energy-agriculture nexus

Nepal

Neupane

Belbase

et al. 2019

International Journal of Water Resources Development

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This article investigates water security in Nepal from the perspective of the water-energy-agriculture (food) nexus, focusing on pathways to water security that originate in actions and policies related to other sectors. It identifies promoting development of Nepal's hydropower potential to provide energy for pumping as way to improve water security in agriculture. Renewable groundwater reserves of 1.4 billion cubic meters (BCM), from an estimated available balance of 6.9 BCM, could be pumped to irrigate 613,000 ha of rainfed agricultural land in the Terai plains, with a potential direct economic gain of USD 1.1 billion annually and associated benefits including promotion of energy-based industry, food security and local employment. Governance also plays an important role in addressing water security. We conclude that a nexus-based approach is required for effective water management and governance.ARTICLE HISTORY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.increasing recognition that water resources management is complex and intertwined with the development and social sectors (Biswas, 2004;Falkenmark, 2001). More recently, UN-Water (2013) defined water security as 'the capacity of a population to safeguard sustainable access to adequate quantities of acceptable quality water for sustaining livelihoods, human well-being, and socio-economic development, for ensuring protection against water-borne pollution and water-related disasters, and for preserving ecosystems in a climate of peace and political stability', thus balancing the needs for water management related to socioeconomic development, health, disasters and ecosystems. Further, it is now recognized that water security cannot be treated as a stand-alone issue. Attention is turning to the waterenergy-food (WEF) nexus: the complex interactions within the wider framework of water, food and energy which mean that the actions in each sector can have effects in the others, and that water security, energy security and food security are closely linked (FAO, 2014). Rasul (2014) emphasized the role of the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) ecosystem services in sustaining all three in downstream areas, and the importance of the nexus in South Asia resulting from the high dependency of downstream communities on upstream ecosystem services. In this wider framework, investment in water infrastructure and securing water is equally important to bring economic productivity and growth, and water security can be considered as the longer-term payoff of higher economic growth and lower poverty (Asian Development Bank [ADB], 2016; Rasul, Neupane, Hussain, & Pasakhala, 2019).Despite having an estimated 7000 m 3 per person per year of water resources (FAO, 2016), Nepal's water security is thought to be among the weakest in Asia and the Pacific (ADB, 2016). Improving water security requires better...

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Section: The Water-energy-food (-Environment) Nexusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Water-energy-food (-Environment) Nexusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Achieving water security in Nepal through unravelling the water-energy-agriculture nexus

Nepal

Neupane

Belbase

et al. 2019

International Journal of Water Resources Development

Self Cite

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“…At the basin scale, precipitation rather than snowmelt has the dominant effect on river discharge in all the basins of Nepal (Alford & Armstrong, 2010). However, the relationship between monsoon and streamflow is variable (Scott et al, 2019), which is partly attributed to complex topography and groundwater contributions (Hannah, Kansakar, Gerrard, & Rees, 2005). The instrumental study of river discharge showed an increasing trend for the Narayani River and decreasing trends for the Kali Gandaki, Sapta Koshi, and Koshi basins (Shrestha & Aryal, 2011).…”

Section: Effect Of Climate Variability and Change On Water Stress Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

Institutional Strategies for Adaptation to Water Stress in Farmer-Managed Irrigation Systems of Nepal

Thapa

Scott

2019

International Journal of the Commons

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Institutions governing common-pool resources have survived decades of global change with mixed performance. However, we have limited knowledge on how local institutions cope with and adapt to combined environmental and socioeconomic changes. Using the case of 12 farmer-managed irrigation systems (FMIS) in Central and Western Nepal, this paper explores the institutional coping and adaptation mechanisms to water stress. We find that local irrigation institutions manage water stress using diverse and integrated approaches broadly categorized as structural and operational measures. Structural measures include water-source expansion and infrastructure rehabilitation works whereas water reallocation and drought continency rules are examples of operational measures. We find that integration of structural and operational measures is more prevalent in highly water-stressed irrigation systems than in less stressed ones. The choice of adaptation strategies has direct implications for agricultural productivity. FMIS that implemented structural measures harvested more crops per year than those systems that adopted only operational strategies or no adaptation strategies. However, the marginal benefit of adopting adaptation measures is particularly pronounced in waterstressed systems. Climate variability and change act as a threat multiplier because they compound the existing threats the FMIS face from social and economic changes. The key to effective integration of structural and operational measures that help FMIS to maintain their productivity during water stress are collective action and governance to overcome biophysical limitations.

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“…The Indus Watershed is a region that is particularly susceptible to the consequences of a changing climate (e.g., Immerzeel et al, 2010;Khattak et al, 2011;Lutz et al, 2014;Bolch et al, 2017). With approximately 300 million people living within the basin, and complex geopolitical issues related to water resources and agricultural development (e.g., Lutz et al, 2016;Scott et al, 2019), a scientifically grounded understanding of past, present, and future patterns in climate for the region will be critical for policy makers to be able to make sound decisions regarding the region.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bayesian Multi-Scale Spatio-Temporal Modeling of Precipitation in the Indus Watershed

et al. 2019

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The Indus watershed is a highly populated region that contains parts of India, Pakistan, China, and Afghanistan. Changes in precipitation patterns and rates of glacial melt have significantly impacted the region in recent years, and climate change is projected to result in further serious human and environmental consequences. To understand the climate dynamics of the Indus watershed and surrounding regions, reanalysis and satellite data from products such as APHRODITE-2, TRMM, ERA5, and MERRA-2 are often used, yet these products are not always in agreement regarding critical variables such as precipitation. Here we objectively evaluate the level of agreement between precipitation from these four products. Because these data are on different spatial scales, we propose a low-rank spatio-temporal dynamic linear model for precipitation that integrates information from each of the above climate products. Specifically, we model each data source as the combination of a modified shared process, a discrepancy process, and Gaussian noise. We define the shared process at a high spatial resolution that can be upscaled according to the resolution of the observed data. Our proposed model's shared process provides a cohesive picture of monthly precipitation in the Indus watershed from 2000 to 2009, while the product-specific discrepancies provide insight into how and where the products differ from one another.

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Water in the Hindu Kush Himalaya

Cited by 86 publications

References 138 publications

Achieving water security in Nepal through unravelling the water-energy-agriculture nexus

Achieving water security in Nepal through unravelling the water-energy-agriculture nexus

Institutional Strategies for Adaptation to Water Stress in Farmer-Managed Irrigation Systems of Nepal

Bayesian Multi-Scale Spatio-Temporal Modeling of Precipitation in the Indus Watershed

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