Info on Nepal’s water potential sought

Kathmandu, May 16:

Lack of enough information has affected efforts to assess the potential of water resources in the country, an expert said today, rooting for networking among different countries to prepare for climate change and its impacts.

“Even though the Himalayan region bears immense potential of water resources, there is not enough information about it,” said David Grey, senior water advisor to the World Bank while addressing an interaction on Dialogue on Himalayan Water Resources.

“Uncertainty regarding climate change and its impact on the rivers of the Greater Himalayas is a major challenge for countries of the region,” he said.

He stressed on the need for generation of a greater network of cooperation among authorities concerned from different nations for mutual benefit and to make the region ready for further climate change impacts.

He said the Abu Dhabi Dialogue aimed to build relationships needed to meet the water-related challenges and risks of climate change in the basins of the rivers of the Greater Himalayas.

Dr Madan Lal Shrestha, an academician at the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), said Nepal has started to witness impact of climate change.

“Nepal’s contribution to climate change is minimal but it is more vulnerable to its impact.”

Ajaya Dixit, chairman of the Nepal Water Conservation Foundation, said the counties encompassing the Greater Himalayas should plan for adaptation in the changed context.