Track 2-4-1: Water Harvesting, Watershed Management, Water Use Efficiency and Eco-Hydrology
Description
Climate change alters the hydrology of a watershed through changes on precipitation patterns, extreme rain events, increase on temperatures, degradation of forest and soil resources and drought conditions. Drought conditions create stress on agricultural crops, forests, drinking water supply for human and wildlife as well as water supply for industrial uses. Flooding destroys crops, infrastructures, private properties, and results in loss of life. Climate change impacts both the availability as well as the quality of water resources as extreme rain events tend to alter water infrastructures and pollute water sources.
In Nepal, climate change impacts include degradation of resource and ecosystem services, shrinking water storehouses, shorter winters with earlier snowmelt and natural hazards (Schild, 2007), as well as rise in mean maximum temperature and changes in the dates for the beginning and the end of the monsoons (Hua, 2009). All of these are major environmental concerns that affect water resources in Nepal. The changes in the reliability of stream flow, erratic monsoons, and flooding (Timsina, 2011) have been pronounced in recent years and adaptation to climate change has become a major issue in Nepal (Feed The Future, 2011). As a part of a larger study on livestock climate change adaptation in the mid-hills region of Nepal, the specific objectives of this study were to: (1) assess the status of water sources in the mid-hills region of Nepal, (2) assess farmers’ perceptions and understanding about the impacts of climate change on water resources, and (3) identify adaptation measures that the local communities have undertaken for climate change adaption for water resources.
Included in
Declining Water Resources and Environmental Degradation: A Case of the Thulokhola Watershed in the Nuwakot District of Nepal
Climate change alters the hydrology of a watershed through changes on precipitation patterns, extreme rain events, increase on temperatures, degradation of forest and soil resources and drought conditions. Drought conditions create stress on agricultural crops, forests, drinking water supply for human and wildlife as well as water supply for industrial uses. Flooding destroys crops, infrastructures, private properties, and results in loss of life. Climate change impacts both the availability as well as the quality of water resources as extreme rain events tend to alter water infrastructures and pollute water sources.
In Nepal, climate change impacts include degradation of resource and ecosystem services, shrinking water storehouses, shorter winters with earlier snowmelt and natural hazards (Schild, 2007), as well as rise in mean maximum temperature and changes in the dates for the beginning and the end of the monsoons (Hua, 2009). All of these are major environmental concerns that affect water resources in Nepal. The changes in the reliability of stream flow, erratic monsoons, and flooding (Timsina, 2011) have been pronounced in recent years and adaptation to climate change has become a major issue in Nepal (Feed The Future, 2011). As a part of a larger study on livestock climate change adaptation in the mid-hills region of Nepal, the specific objectives of this study were to: (1) assess the status of water sources in the mid-hills region of Nepal, (2) assess farmers’ perceptions and understanding about the impacts of climate change on water resources, and (3) identify adaptation measures that the local communities have undertaken for climate change adaption for water resources.
