Nepal on the brink of water insecurity
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Non Profit
Poor governance and political instability are preventing the Himalayan country of Nepal from taking advantage of its abundant water resources and ensuring water security for its people, a new analysis shows.
Carried out by Eloise Biggs, lecturer at the University of Southampton, UK, the study shows that Nepal needs an integratedwatermanagement system that takes into account the links between water resources,governance, and accessibility; and the water-energy-food nexus.
"A key component of integrated water resources management is an enabling environment facilitated by the active role of institutions," says John Duncan, post-doctoral researcher at the University of Southampton, and co-author of the analysis published inEnvironmental Science Policyin November 2013.
Such an environment is "largely lacking in Nepal and will subsequently handicap attaining water security alongside societal development and environmental sustainability," Duncan tellsSciDev.Net.
Nepal's rivers flow southward into India and contribute an average 45 per cent of the total flow to the Ganges river, with the contribution rising to over 70 per cent during the monsoon season. The paper emphasises the importance of transboundary basin management. "Transboundary governance is needed to ensure that water is fairly and equitably managed from national to local level," says Biggs.
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