In terms of South Asian countries, the reports rank Nepal 4th among the most water-stressed countries in the region after India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Below is a list of the most water-stressed South Asian countries:

Situation in Nepal

Western Nepal has been categorized under ‘extremely baseline water stress’, while the country’s mid-western and central regions are under ‘high water stress. The eastern and far-western regions are under ‘medium-high water stress’.

17 Countries, One-Quarter of World Population – Highly Water-Stressed Nations

WRI’s Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas states that 17 countries, which are home to one-quarter of the world’s population are under extremely high water stress.

“The world has seen a string of water crises in recent years, as what’s now known as ‘Day Zero’ — the day when the taps run dry — has threatened major cities from Cape Town to São Paolo to Chennai. These cities are just a few examples of how water stress can impact people, livelihoods and businesses around the globe,” says the research institute’s recent media release accompanying the report.

Agriculture, industry and municipalities are using up to 80 percent of available surface and groundwater (in an average year) in these 17 highly-water stressed countries. The report states that when demand exceeds supply, even the smallest dry shock triggered due to climate change can produce dire consequences.

“Water stress is the biggest crisis no one is talking about. Its consequences are in plain sight in the form of food insecurity, conflict and migration, and financial instability,” says Andrew Steer, President and CEO, World Resources Institute.

How World Countries Can Reduce Water Stress?

While the report warns of future consequences of water stress, it also provides a 3-point solution to reduce water stress:

1) Increase Agricultural Efficiency

The world needs to manage agriculture efficiently. WRI’s report says that ‘every drop of water needs to go further in its food system’. It suggests that farmers use seeds that consume less water and improve irrigation techniques such as precision watering rather than flooding fields. Financers can contribute by providing capital for water productivity investments, while engineers should develop technologies promoting water productivity. And consumers can do their bit by minimizing food loss and waste, consuming one-quarter of all agriculture water.

2) Invest in Grey and Green Infrastructure

Research conducted by WRI and the World Bank research suggest that built infrastructure such as pipes and treatment plants and green infrastructure such as wetlands and healthy watersheds can work together to tackle water supply and quality.

3) Treat, Reuse and Recycle

The report suggests that we stop treating wastewater as ‘waste’ and ‘treat’ and ‘reuse’ it as new water source. Countries should also utilize resources in wastewater that can be harvested to lower water treatment costs.

Conclusion

It’s always better to take necessary measures while we still have time. We hope that Nepal will adopt these measures or find similar alternatives to improve its water crisis.

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The project was started in 2015 with an aim to ensure water supply to 55,750 houses. The community has completed the construction of  four tankers with a capacity of 1575,000 liters of water.

So far, 6,336 people are reaping the benefits of the project and 5,801 people have already installed water taps in their homes.

The project was setup at a cost of NPR 780 million and Tikapur’s community held 5 percent share. The remaining amount was taken from the Municipal Development Fund and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), in the form of a loan of 25 percent of the total project cost and a grant of 70 percent.

“Consumers’ committees have played the role of a bridge between us,” said Minister Magar, adding, “This has been a great help for the government,” said Bina Magar, Nepal Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation at the project’s inaugural event.

STDWSP Chief Nawaraj Rawal honored Jhola Prasad Chaudhary, construction supervisor of the project for timely completion.

Rana Bahadur Rawal, a Nepali Congress (NC) leader, applauded the community for their efforts and said that the locals were sending out a positive message to all by completing the project in time.

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Nearly 87 percent of Nepal’s population now receives water supply. However, the access to ‘safe drinking water’ is still a question.

According to the Nepal Ministry of Water Supply, only 19 percent of Nepal’s total population has access to safe and processed water. This is on account of the Nepal Government’s focused attention of increasing the reach of water supply to its entire population.

Nepal Department of Water Supply and Sewerage (DWSS) officials said that they are now beginning to shift focus to provision of ‘processed drinking water’ as 80 percent of the communicable diseases in the country are caused due to contaminated water and poor sanitation.

Nepal Department of Health Services’ Epidemiology and Disease Control Division Head Dr. Ojha seconded this when he said, “The patients we treat have health issue mostly related to drinking unsafe water. We are only the first response party.”

DWWS officials have identified inadequate protection of water sources and waterways, open defecation near resources and poor maintenance causing cross leakage of sewer water pipes led to bacterial contamination of water.

Nepal Drinking Water Statistics:

• In 2009, water-borne diseases took away many human lives in Jakarkot and further spread to nine hilly districts, killing over 200 people and disrupting more than 10,000 families in 100 village development countries
• Province 5 stands at the ‘top’ in the list, when it comes to provision of basic drinking water, while Karnali comes last
• According to DWSS statistics, 98.97 percent of Province 5 population has access to basic drinking water
• 70.45 percent of the population in Karnali province has access to basic drinking water
• Ministry records indicate that 51.95 percent of the country’s population receives basic drinking water through pipeline, while 21.58 percent receive water from personal wells

“The new law has provisions to fix these problems and the bill has separate provisions to conserve water sources,” said Gopal Bhattarai, Nepal Water Supply Ministry official.

The post Nepal Ministry of Water Supply to Draft ‘New Integrated Law’ appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

This 26-km tunnel will supply water from the Melamchi river to the residents of the Kathmandu valley, who have been suffering a severe water shortage in the region.

The initiative is coming after a reported loss of about 40% of the 100 million liters of daily water supply, which was going waste due to leakage.

The scope of the USD 335 million project included building of the tunnel and also the construction of a 29-km access.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Nepal worked hand-in-hand to address this long pending issue.

Within a span of 18 years and with the financial aid of USD 145 million from ADB, the government has brought the project to a promising point in its conception and aims at completing it by early July 2018.

In a joyous breakthrough ceremony, the ADB Director General, Hun Kim said, “I think it is a historic day. Nepal can now tell the outside world that ‘Nepal can do it!’ I think with this kind of spirit, we can overcome any challenges.”

“Today is important because this is the proof that we can work together, and we can deliver. ADB will continue to work with the government until the day when the people in Kathmandu valley get water 24/7,” he added further.

The breakthrough ceremony was also attended by other important dignitaries like the Vice President of Nepal Nanda Bahadur Pun and Minister for Drinking Water Bina Magar.

How can the inhabitants benefit?

With the new development, the customers of Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited will now avail an additional 170 million liters of water per day, by the end of 2018. Moreover, the new system ensures water supply for at least 2-4 hours.

The Roadmap for the Future

ABD has planned to work with the Government of Nepal to incorporate the objectives of the Country Operations Business Plan (COBP) for the year 2017-2019, which focus on:

• Better road and air transport connectivity, and trade facilitation;
• Sustainable urban development and assessment of economic corridors to improve linkages with large, fast-growing neighboring countries;
• Energy sector reforms and investments in generation, transmission, and distribution systems;
• Upgrading skills and education; and
• Water resources development and management, and transformation from subsistence to commercial agriculture.

 A Recap of Past Objectives:

ADB had earlier decided to assist the Government of Nepal with its development objective of accelerated, sustainable, inclusive economic growth as per the Country Partnership Strategy for 2013-2017.

The framework of the initiative focused on:

• The growth in economic opportunities in infrastructure
• Access to economic opportunities through projects and programs in education which included skills development, water supply and sanitation and rural infrastructure
• Mainstreaming gender equality and social inclusion and supporting related reforms which would also improve access to basic services
• Promoting social protection through work on disaster risk management, skills development and knowledge partnerships

On an End Note!

The latest improvement supported by ADB is definitely a solution to one of the long-awaited key infrastructure concerns of the Kathmandu Valley. Hope more such international collaborations will take the country’s infrastructure development to the next level.

 Also read: ADB initiatives for Nepal for 2017-19.

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