Nepal is endowed with abundant water resources. However, much of the population struggles to access safe and reliable water for drinking, sanitation and agriculture. Population growth, land degradation, inequitable landownership and weak institutional capacity are major challenges for water resources management, as are the norms surrounding gender, ethnicity, caste, class, region, and disability. An estimate shows that less than 8% of the country’s water potential is used for irrigation. Nepal is extremely vulnerable to climate change, and this has radically changed seasonal water availability, causing droughts during the dry season and increased flooding during the monsoon season.
In 2015, Nepal became a Federal Democratic Republic, ceding significant powers to 753 local governments, including exclusive and concurrent rights to develop, manage and use water resources and watersheds within their jurisdiction. The government aims to triple per capita income to $12,000 by 2044. Achieving this will require a substantial improvement to management and governance of water resources.
IWMI in Nepal
IWMI has been working in Nepal since 1986, focusing on sustainable water management, climate resilience, and rural development. The institute collaborates with government bodies, research institutions, NGOs, and local communities to tackle water challenges through evidence-based policies and inclusive solutions. Key projects include solar-powered irrigation systems to boost agricultural resilience, especially for smallholder and women farmers, and watershed resilience initiatives to enhance water availability in vulnerable areas. IWMI also plays a role in advancing gender equality and social inclusion by supporting women’s access to agricultural inputs and decision-making power.
IWMI’s research extends to climate change adaptation, with projects like Digo Jal Bikas analyzing water allocations under future climate scenarios to guide national policy. The institute is also focused on improving disaster resilience in water-related crises by developing strategies to support vulnerable communities. Through its interdisciplinary approach, IWMI aims to foster inclusive growth, improve water security, and enhance agricultural productivity in Nepal’s rural areas.
The Water Resilience Tracker will assist governments in Brazil, Egypt, Malawi and Nepal to strengthen national water governance and build climate resilience …
Hydro-climatic extremes, such as floods and droughts, are influenced by climate change and climate variability, significantly affecting natural ecosystems, human lives, and livelihood. It is crucial to advance the understanding of long-term trends of hydro-climatic extremes for effective water resource planning and management. We analyzed 25 climatic extremes-related indices and 33 hydrologic extremes-related indices in a medium-range river basin in western Nepal, the Babai River Basin. We used RClimDex and Indicators for Hydrologic Alterations to analyze extreme climatic and hydrologic parameters. We computed monotonic trends to evaluate temporal changes in extreme events. The results show a positive trend of total precipitation at Kusum (+ 2.2 mm/year) and Bargadaha (+ 17.7 mm/year) stations and a negative trend at Gulariya (- 5.7 mm/year), Nayabasti (- 7.0 mm/year), Luwamjula (- 5.9 mm/year), and Ghorai (- 18.5 mm/year) stations. Similarly, we observe that almost all temperature extreme indices have a rising trend except the percentage of the days when the maximum temperature is less than the 10th percentile index at Rani Jaruwa station, located at a low elevation. Notably, the cold day temperature index falls at 0.13 days per year. Overall, the hydrologic alteration value shows moderate variability and reduction in the median flow for the second half. The findings of this study indicate that the study area is subjected to a reduced flow regime with a medium degree of variability.
Spatial distribution / Trends / Discharge / Temperature / Precipitation / Parameters / Climate change / River basins / Indicators / Hydrological factors / Extreme weather events Record No:H052322
Comprehensive flood risk assessment is often constrained by a lack of appropriate data in high-altitude watersheds, particularly in developing countries like Nepal, where institutional capacities are limited for mapping and monitoring flood-prone communities. This study, one of the first of its kind, produced spatial multi-criteria-based flood susceptibility, vulnerability, and risk index maps for the Kathmandu Valley (KV) watershed in Nepal using an Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) approach and Geographical Information System (GIS). The result shows that most parts of the KV (around 80%) have moderate to low flood susceptibility around the watershed but susceptibility is prominent in southern areas. Highly flood-susceptible regions (about 14%) are found mainly along the riverbanks. Flood vulnerability, primarily influenced by population density and literacy rate, is moderate to low in most areas of the watershed (around 86%), predominantly higher in the central urban areas, and gradually lower towards the edge of the watershed. Flood risks in the major portion of the watershed (around 72%), mainly in the southern and eastern parts, are estimated as moderate to low risk, whereas higher risk zones are found in the central urban areas. The high contrast in flood vulnerability scores across the watershed has mainly contributed to the variation of flood risk zones, as flood susceptibility scores are fairly distributed over the watershed. The study findings will help policymakers develop location-specific sustainable flood risk management strategies for the flood-vulnerable communities in the KV watershed.
Rainfall / Geographical information systems / Watersheds / Decision making / Disaster risk management / Vulnerability / Risk assessment / Flooding Record No:H053128
In this paper we study the case of contract farming for exports with farmers in remote hilly areas of Nepal. The prospect for contract farming in such areas with accessibility issues owing to underdeveloped markets and lack of amenities is ambiguous. On the one hand, contractors find it difficult to build links in these cases particularly when final consumers have quality and safety requirements. On the other hand however, remoteness makes the contracts more sustainable. The latter happens if there are product specific quality advantages because of agro-ecology and more importantly due to lack of side selling opportunities. At the same time concerns remain about monopsonistic powers of the buyers when remotely located small farmers do not have outside options. This study hence quantifies the benefits of contract farming on remotely located farmers’ income and compliance with food safety measures. Results show that contract farming is significantly more profitable (58% greater net income) than independent production, the main pathway being higher price realization along with training on practices and provision of quality seeds.
