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The paper reflects the main methodological aspects of the PAPRIKA Project based on the following objectives: (i) to contribute to a more accurate assessment of glacier retreat, snow cover and climate change in Koshi Basin, Nepal; (ii) to have a better understanding of the contribution of glacier and snow melting to water availability; (iii) to correlate the results with local people's perceptions of climate change and their socio-economic impact. For this, the paper:highlights the fact that the water used by the population comes from different origins (glacier melting, snow melting, frost, rain) the combination of which varies between the four main landscape units: high, middle and low mountains, and finally the Terai plain;describes the methodology adopted to observe and analyse current as well as future environmental changes in the atmosphere, cryosphere and hydrosphere;shows that, for each origin, different reasons may explain the changes in water availability, and thus the impact on agriculture and the different water usages.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/hn.v11i1.7197 Hydro Nepal Special Issue: Conference Proceedings 2012 pp.12-17

The aim of this work, conducted in the upper valley of the Khumbu on the southern part of Mount Everest, is to approach in parallel three topics: (i) the dynamics of the water geochemistry, major ions and trace elements; (ii) the stable water isotopes of precipitation and rivers; and (iii) the water uses by the inhabitants. As in most mountain environments, the Khumbu area is threatened by climate change, which impacts the cryosphere and consequently the people and the landscapes. Moreover, changes in water use are also related to new needs stemming from tourism, which strongly affect local livelihood. For the first two topics, new results are presented. They provide details on the global chemical quality of the river water and show how certain elements are seasonally influenced and how other elements allow us to distinguish the water origins within the study zone. Beside the use of stable isotopes to determine mainly the origin of the water flow in the rivers, the isotopic patterns confirm the double climatic influence of the westerly fluxes in the winter season and of the Asian monsoon in the summer season. Regarding water use, the study does not conclude on the potability of the water resource, because microbiologic and organic components have not been investigated; however it confirms that the chemical quality is good. In conclusion, we attempt to predict the future of the geochemistry patterns submitted to the double pressure of climate change and the surge in tourism.