Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene of Nepal: Status, Challenges, and Opportunities

Abstract

Access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) has been a challenge to south Asia’s rapidly growing and climate change-sensitive region. Nepal, a water-abundant country, faces obstacles to fulfilling the highly prioritized WASH Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6). This review offers details about Nepal’s WASH status from 2000 to 2020 with regard to the challenges Nepal had in delivering reliable WASH services to the people, as well as opportunities for a sustainable way forward, and provides insights that can be applied to other developing countries. From analysis of national-level assessments, estimates point toward healthy progress in extending WASH access to the population. However, large inequalities persist at the subnational level between urban and rural residents, between poor and rich residents, and between genders. Many local constraints such as a lack of long-term infrastructural capacity to provide and maintain WASH services, financial issues, and institutional and policy incompatibilities are some of the key factors that technical considerations and private sector involvement could address. We also propose roles for Nepal’s central, provincial, and local governments for identification and adaptation to the undeniable risks of climate change. Furthermore, there is a need to capitalize on the potential opportunities for developing a much-needed robust and climate-resilient WASH sector in Nepal, safeguarding the rights of future generations to safe and clean water.

A Review of Reclaimed Water Reuse for Irrigation in South Asian Countries

“…Furthermore, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh abstract almost half of the total groundwater used for irrigation all over the world . Any threats to the freshwater resources of South Asia will, thus, inevitably affect the agricultural yield and food security of the entire region. , Climate change, which is projected to cause frequent and intense extreme weather events like droughts and floods, will further exacerbate water security in South Asia . So, it is imperative to improve the water security of South Asia and find a sustainable source of water for irrigation and other uses.…”

“…74,75 Climate change, which is projected to cause frequent and intense extreme weather events like droughts and floods, will further exacerbate water security in South Asia. 9 So, it is imperative to improve the water security of South Asia and find a sustainable source of water for irrigation and other uses.…”

“…Other economic and environmental benefits occur either directly or indirectly from reuse of RW . These benefits make RW an important resource for irrigation and also a benefactor for advancing multiple United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), namely SDGs 1, 2, 6, and 11 . Particularly, RW can help reach the 2030 targets to ensure sustainable water management, access to clean water sources, improve urban sanitation, and to improve water pollution, among others .…”

“…8 These benefits make RW an important resource for irrigation and also a benefactor for advancing multiple United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), namely SDGs 1, 2, 6, and 11. 9 Particularly, RW can help reach the 2030 targets to ensure sustainable water management, access to clean water sources, improve urban sanitation, and to improve water pollution, among others. 10 Moreover, RW has been recognized as a safe and valuable resource by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and many countries [such as Australia, China, Israel, Kuwait, Singapore, and the United States (US)] have been successfully using RW to meet their agricultural water requirements.…”

Desafios, Oportunidades E Ações Para Promover a Sustentabilidade Econômico-Financeira Dos Prestadores De Serviços De Saneamento

“…Estudos com o tema prestadores de serviços de saneamento são destaques na literatura internacional, como Andersson et al (2016) (2015); Shrestha et al (2023). Esses estudos investigaram a prestação de serviços de saneamento nas perspectivas de: fornecimento de sistemas de saneamento sustentável em áreas urbanas (Andersson et al, 2016); identificação de oportunidades de ações de saneamento para atingir os Objetivos de Desenvolvimento Sustentável (ODS); satisfação dos usuários quanto à utilização de sistema de saneamento (O'Keefe et al, 2015); de desafios e oportunidades na prestação de serviços de saneamento ambientalmente sustentáveis (Shrestha et al, 2023).…”