The amount of water available per person in cities is decreasing rapidly, putting pressure on available water resources, both in terms of quality and quantity. Theoretically, there is plenty of water available in Nepal, but there are large variations on when and where the snow and rain falls. At any given time, there is either too much or too little water. People are faced with both acute shortages and floods.
Access to clean water is a major challenge in towns and cities. Water bodies in cities are often contaminated by untreated wastewater and industrial effluents. In the Kathmandu Valley, the poorly managed sewerage system and untreated industrial effluent have contaminated shallow groundwater sources. The construction of sewers in urban areas without treatment plants, that simply pipe sewerage into rivers and lakes, is posing a serious threat to drinking water sources and aquatic life. The World Bank estimates that, in South Asia, about 15 percent of the population does not have access to water supply, and nearly two-thirds do not have access to improved sanitation facilities. While access to water has increased in recent years, the¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ service quality has declined, and continued growth in the urban population is making it difficult to maintain current access rates. In Bangladesh alone, more than 20 million people drink water with arsenic levels that exceed the national standards. One estimate indicated that 30 percent of all reported cases of illness and 40 percent of all deaths in Pakistan, are attributable to waterborne diseases.
To overcome the acute shortage of water in the Kathmandu Valley, there is a plan for ‘interbasin’ transfer. The Melamchi Diversion Scheme is designed to divert 160 million liters of water per day water from the Melamchi river to Kathmandu. However, the rapid increase in population in the Valley has created a larger demand than the scheme was designed for, putting greater pressure on water resources. The impacts of climate change are expected to make the situation even worse. Most of our perennial rivers, like the Melamchi, are fed by snow and glaciers, the contribution from melting ice and snow is particularly important during the dry season (February through May). Shrinking glaciers and changes in snowfall are likely to have an incisive affect on this. Other ways of increasing the water supply are also being considered, including groundwater extraction, collecting rainwater (water harvesting), improving the water distribution system, water treatment, and utility reform, as well as reforestation and watershed conservation.
Forests, in the catchment areas, provide important hydrological function by regulating the water flow. They help the land soak up water during the monsoon and filter and release it later. Deforestation and forest degradation in upland areas affects this hydrological function. One idea gaining in popularity that could improve water supply in towns and cities is to pay upland communities to look after the catchment ecosystems, for example by maintaining forests. This is called ‘Payment for Environmental Services’ or PES. In PES schemes, money and other incentives are provided by the downstream users of ecosystem services like water to those who manage them. ICIMOD studied the possibilities for a PES scheme to improve the management of Sundarijal watershed in Shivapuri-Nagarjun National Park, which supplies a large portion of the piped water supply to the Kathmandu Valley.
Around 500 households in Kathmandu, live inside the watershed area; they need an incentive to participate in conservation activities that mainly benefit the city. A PES scheme could help improve the overall management of the watershed leading to more and better quality water for Kathmandu city dwellers. There are a number of challenges in implementing such an innovative concept. Local communities, the private sector, and government agencies must be consulted and have a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities for a regulatory framework for such a payment mechanism to be developed. Although the PES concept has been adopted in many countries, it has not been applied in Nepal in relation for supplying water to towns and cities. ICIMOD is currently working with local organizations concerning this as a pilot for improving urban water management in Nepal.
Writer is a Water Resources Specialist at ICIMOD
mshrestha@icimod.org
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