Sujata Manandhar

Application of Water Poverty Index (WPI) in Nepalese Context: A Case Study of Kali Gandaki River Basin (KGRB)

This article details an application of Water Poverty Index (WPI) to evaluate state of water resources in the context of Nepalese river basins with a case study of Kali Gandaki River Basin (KGRB) located in western Nepal. Considering that water poverty issues and indicators to represent them are location-specific, selecting suitable indicators with due care of local context and data availability is essential to apply the WPI, a holistic tool for water resources planning and management. In this study, it suggests and describes a set of ten WPI indicators and twelve variables suitable in the Nepalese context. The selected set of indicators and variables is used to discuss water poverty situation in the study basin as a whole, spatial variation within the basin and variation at different spatial scales in the basin, that is, basin, sub-unit of the basin (district) and sub-unit of the district (Village Development Committee (VDC)). The study result shows that WPI varies widely (from 37.1 to 56.5) within the study basin suggesting the need of location-specific policy interventions. At different spatial scales, there is no clear trend; however, analysis of the WPI components shows higher resources and access at basin level; higher use, environment and capacity at sub-sub-unit of the basin level. Such variations suggest the need of scale-specific policy interventions and management plans to improve overall water poverty situation in the study basin. Overall, the WPI helped to examine the water poverty situation and recommend priority areas of policy interventions for the improvement of water-poverty situation in the basin.

Water Poverty Situation of Medium-sized River Basins in Nepal

Water and poverty are closely related to each other. The Water Poverty Index (WPI) can identify and track the drivers (physical, environmental, social and economic) that link water and poverty. This study uses WPI framework to assess water poverty situation of medium-sized river basins in Nepal that cover 8.7xa0% of the country’s territory, produce 6.5xa0% of the country’s water resources and host 23.1xa0% of the country’s population. The study results show that water poverty index varies from 40.6 (in West Rapti basin) to 55.5 (in Kankai basin). Based on the WPI results, the basins in decreasing order of priority need for water poverty situation improvement can be listed as West Rapti, Babai, Bagmati, Kamala and Kankai. Even in the basin with high water poverty (i.e., West Rapti basin), suggested priority order for the areas of intervention need is Useu2009>u2009Environmentu2009>u2009Capacityu2009>u2009Resourcesu2009>u2009Access. The results are useful to prioritize areas and extent of policy intervention need at different scales.

Climate change and adaptation: an integrated framework linking social and physical aspects in poorly-gauged regions

Various frameworks related to climate change and adaptations that have been developed to date have notable benefits as well as significant limitations. It is not always practical to implement advanced climate change frameworks in situations with limited data availability. Social aspects, such as people’s experience and perception, are often under-prioritized. Therefore, this study introduces an integrated framework linking social and physical aspects of climate change to assess its impacts on water resources and to evaluate differing adaptation options in poorly gauged basins. A case study of the Kali Gandaki River Basin (KGRB) in western Nepal is presented to demonstrate the applicability of this framework. Results of the study show that people of the mountainous Mustang district in the KGRB have perceived climate change or climate variability, its impacts on water resources, as well as other water-related issues and potential adaptations or responses. Furthermore, evaluation of people’s perception using available physical data confirms the increase in temperature and average annual discharge in the Kali Gandaki River as well as poor water use, as a major problem at all levels in the basin. Despite increasing water availability, a concurrent increase in water use is difficult due to topographic constraints on irrigation development. However, the impacts of climate change are particularly severe in Mustang, owing to the fact that a large proportion of the population depends on a climate-sensitive livelihood like agriculture. Therefore, various adaptation options are identified in the agricultural sector, and one relevant option is further evaluated. The framework developed in this study has the potential to be further applied to other poorly gauged basins.

Assessing suitability of apple cultivation under climate change in mountainous regions of western Nepal

Mustang, a mountainous region in the Kali Gandaki River Basin in western Nepal, has been increasingly experiencing climatic changes (e.g., higher temperatures). Rising temperatures lead to ecological shifts, which, in turn, can lead to the expansion of the lower limit for the cultivation of apple trees in this area. Apple cultivation can provide opportunities for adaptations under climate change through vulnerability reduction, income source diversification, livelihood improvement, and capacity building for farmers. As there is a lack of a strong basis to justify the expansion of apple cultivation in Mustang, this study examines the biophysical and socioeconomic suitability of apple cultivation in the area. Necessary data and information were collected from both primary and secondary sources. Findings of biophysical suitability using variable and equal weights to the indicators showed that 5.2 and 4.1xa0% of the areas are highly suitable for apple cultivation, respectively. However, not all potential farming areas are currently in use. Thus, there is the possibility to expand apple cultivation into unplanted areas and to integrate apple crops with other crops on cultivated lands. Increasing temperature may increase the suitable areas for the cultivation of apples in the coming years. High, benefit–cost ratio for land use confirmed the economic suitability of apple farming when compared to other land uses. The social suitability assessment showed no social discords, conflicts, or disagreements with apple cultivation, which is a positive indicator for the expansion of apple cultivation in western Nepal.

Sharing of people’s Perceptions of Past and Future Hydro-Meteorological Changes in the Groundwater Use Area

The study revealed local people’s perceptions (PP) of the past and future hydro-meteorological changes in a groundwater use area in Thailand. A statistically significant increase at the 95xa0% confidence level was found in the annual mean surface air temperature, rising over the period from 1955 to 2012. From 1993 to 2012, statistical values and hydrological extreme events showed the highest variability relative to the period from 1955 to 1992, which could be a signal of climate change impacts in the study area. The majority of people (94.7–100.0xa0%) shared that less available surface water may occur and that this result is driven by climate change. However, a majority of elder generation (≥41xa0years old, 55.6–84.2xa0%) do not realize the potential climate change impacts because their groundwater will alleviate the problems. Incorrect PP on groundwater was confirmed by 81.8–89.5xa0% of people who shared that climate change will not impact groundwater. Furthermore, past hydrological extreme events should bear in the people’s mind; however, the shared PP on the flood and drought events were not correct. Exposure time to flood (approximately 1xa0week) and drought (approximately 5xa0months) is one of the potential factor on the misperception. Examining the PP of different generations, people who areu2009≥u200941xa0years old shared almost the same PP, and the people who areu2009≤u200940xa0years old showed more awareness of climate change impacts. From an optimistic point of view, the younger generation realized potential climate change impacts; thus, the implementation of future adaptations is expected to have strong cooperation.