Dynamics of urban water supply management of two Himalayan towns in India

Bharti, Neha; Khandekar, Neha; Sengupta, Prateek; Bhadwal, Suruchi; Kochhar, Ishaan

doi:10.2166/wp.2019.203

Cited by 30 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…The adverse impact of climate change on agriculture will be especially detrimental to Nepal, where over 60% of the population is dependent on subsistence and mostly rainfed agriculture for its livelihood. With natural springs drying up in the hills and the mountains (Bharti et al, 2020;Rai & Nepal, 2021, Chap. 23 of this volume), it is important to explore how monsoonal rain water can be conserved better and used effectively for hill agriculture as ground water is difficult to obtain and expensive.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rainwater Harvesting and Rural Livelihoods in Nepal

Kattel

Nepal

2021

Climate Change and Community Resilience

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Springs are drying and rainfall patterns are changing in the Himalayas, resulting in water scarcityfor agriculture. We examine the adoption of rainwater harvesting, a technology that has been recently re-designed and re-introduced to farmers in Nepal, as a climate change adaptation strategy in mountain farming. Using farm household surveys, we examine the impact of the adoption of rainwater harvestingon farm income and profitability. The adoption of the technology is mostly driven by external support such as farmers training that more than tripled household agricultural and livestock income. With incremental annual benefits of US$700 on average per adopter, this technology is economically viable from a household perspective. Adopters benefit from an increased supply of irrigation water during the dry season, which allows them to diversify their crops from subsistence cereal production to commercial high-value vegetables. Our analysis suggests that if 10% of households in an average rainfed district receive farming-related training, the net benefits in the district would be approximately US$1.3 million per year from the adoption of rain water harvesting technology. Given climatic and weather-related uncertainties faced by rainfed agriculture in the hills of Nepal, this technology is potentially a very useful climate change adaptation strategy for community resilience in the hills of Nepal.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rainwater Harvesting and Rural Livelihoods in Nepal

Kattel

Nepal

2021

Climate Change and Community Resilience

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“…At the same time, projections highlight that 68% of the global population will be living in urban areas by 2050 [9]. Growing urbanization has been accelerating water scarcity in urban areas, leading to severe water imbalance and shortages [10][11][12]. Therefore, sustainable actions, policies, and technologies towards urban water stewardship, at municipal and/or residential/industrial levels, have been emerging as imperative [13][14][15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Smart Technologies for Sustainable Water Management: An Urban Analysis

et al. 2021

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As projections highlight that half of the global population will be living in regions facing severe water scarcity by 2050, sustainable water management policies and practices are more imperative than ever. Following the Sustainable Development Goals for equitable water access and prudent use of natural resources, emerging digital technologies may foster efficient monitoring, control, optimization, and forecasting of freshwater consumption and pollution. Indicatively, the use of sensors, Internet of Things, machine learning, and big data analytics has been catalyzing smart water management. With two-thirds of the global population to be living in urban areas by 2050, this research focuses on the impact of digitization on sustainable urban water management. More specifically, existing scientific literature studies were explored for providing meaningful insights on smart water technologies implemented in urban contexts, emphasizing supply and distribution networks. The review analysis outcomes were classified according to three main pillars identified: (i) level of analysis (i.e., municipal or residential/industrial); (ii) technology used (e.g., sensors, algorithms); and (iii) research scope/focus (e.g., monitoring, optimization), with the use of a systematic approach. Overall, this study is expected to act as a methodological tool and guiding map of the most pertinent state-of-the-art research efforts to integrate digitalization in the field of water stewardship and improve urban sustainability.

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“…The Himalayas are known as the water towers of Asia and the source of freshwater to about a quarter (1.9 million) of the world's population (Bharti et al, 2020). Astonishingly, the Himalayan region in general, and its cities in particular, faces an acute drinking water shortage (…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Tale of Three Himalayan Towns: Would Payment for Ecosystem Services Make Drinking Water Supply Sustainable?

Rajesh

Nepal

2021

Climate Change and Community Resilience

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The Himalayas are the source of freshwater to about one-fourth of the world’s population. Paradoxically, water scarcity is one of the most prominent climate crises in the Himalayan region in general and its cities in particular. Rapid urbanization coupled with climate change is causing the rapid disappearance of natural springs resulting in water shortage in the urban areas. Governments are investing in new water supply projects to fulfil the demand of city residents as existing water sources are drying up. Solely focussed on establishing the physical infrastructure to supply water from source to users, and these drinking water projects have by and large failed to protect the water sources. These projects rely on the assumption of a fixed quantum and quality of the water source not taking into account the impacts of changes in climate and the activities of upstream communities on the ecosystem. For sustainability of the drinking water supply, it is necessary to have subsidiary plans that bring together the upstream water source communities (service providers), downstream communities (service users) and the local authority. Incentive paymentfor ecosystem services is a strategy to incentivize upstream non-user or low-user communities, whose role is critical in maintaining and improving the water supply and preserving the watershed area. This chapter highlights practical aspects of the design and implementation of incentive payment schemes drawing on research from three case studies from three small Himalayan towns in Nepal.

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Dynamics of urban water supply management of two Himalayan towns in India

Cited by 30 publications

References 10 publications

Rainwater Harvesting and Rural Livelihoods in Nepal

Rainwater Harvesting and Rural Livelihoods in Nepal

Smart Technologies for Sustainable Water Management: An Urban Analysis

A Tale of Three Himalayan Towns: Would Payment for Ecosystem Services Make Drinking Water Supply Sustainable?

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