River basins must be recognised as more than hydrological entities; they should be treated as integrated and participatory development spaces
Nepal stands at a pivotal moment in its development trajectory. The synergy between its infant federal system and a rising tide of youthful, progressive political forces offers a historic window to redefine the nation's development paradigm. This evolving landscape provides the perfect catalyst to move towards a decentralised, participatory, and resource-driven governance and development strategy that ensures long-term sustainability and inclusive growth.
Nepal is endowed with a wealth of natural resources, most notably water, alongside land, forests, biodiversity, and minerals. These assets remain the key to a structural transformation across energy, agriculture, industry, and tourism. However, this potential is stifled by fragmented governance, sectoral silos, systemic mismanagement, and malpractice. To overcome these hurdles, a transition towards integrated and participatory river basin-based governance and resource management, positioning river basins as the fundamental spatial units for provincial and national planning and development, is both timely and essential.
Nepal's federal system must be viewed not merely as an administrative arrangement, but as a fundamental mechanism for transforming resource governance, management and development planning. The core opportunity lies in shifting from centralised control to a collaborative, decentralised, and accountable system of managing and utilising natural resources. Provincial and local governments must be empowered to look beyond traditional administrative service delivery. They should act as the primary architects of resource planning and execution, adopting major river basins as the fundamental scale for both governance and sustainable operations.
River basins must be recognised as more than hydrological entities; they should be treated as integrated and participatory development spaces. Each basin contains a wide spectrum of interconnected resources – water, land, forests, biodiversity, minerals, construction materials, and energy potential. Fragmented sectoral development and mismanagement have limited their potential. In contrast, integrated basin-based planning fosters resource synergy, drives efficiency, and ensures balanced regional development.
Moreover, in a federal system, this approach serves as a proactive conflict-resolution mechanism, mitigating inter-provincial disputes before they arise. Therefore, a comprehensive national river basin policy framework is essential to harmonise planning across provinces and sectors, ensuring resource optimisation, equitable outcomes, and sustainability.
A key requirement for operationalising this vision is the establishment of empowered major integrated and participatory river basin authorities (IPRBAs). These should serve as the central executive bodies at the basin level, tasked with integrated planning, implementation oversight, disaster risk management, inter-federal/provincial coordination, and utilisation of natural resources. The governance of these IPRBAs rests on two pillars: 'integration' of diverse sectors (hydropower, agriculture, tourism, ecology, etc.) to optimise basin utility, and 'participation' of all stakeholders (federal, provincial, and local governments alongside private and community users). Existing federal, provincial, and local departments and committees can be reorganised into a cohesive IPRBA framework. These authorities will strike a balance between optimal resource exploitation and management, while also facilitating transboundary cooperation with India.
Hydropower remains a cornerstone of Nepal's development potential. However, it should be repositioned from an export-dominant model to domestic energy utilisation as a driver of industrialisation, agricultural modernisation, and service sector expansion. Strategic energy use can support manufacturing, agro-processing, transport electrification, and emerging high-growth digital industries. This approach is also essential to avoid risks associated with "Dutch disease", ensuring that reliance on a single export commodity does not distort broader economic development. Key elements should include storage and pumped‑storage as well as multi-purpose projects to provide seasonal regulation and utilisation, and expansion of solar and wind energy to complement hydropower during dry periods.
Nepal's river basins are highly dynamic and geomorphologically active, posing significant risks to infrastructure, livelihoods, and settlements. This reality highlights the need for integrated flood and geomorphological risk management at the basin to reach scales. Embedding disaster preparedness, risk management, and climate resilience within the river basin governance system is essential to ensure long‑term safety and resilience.
Successful implementation of integrated basin governance depends on strong institutional and knowledge foundations. Key priorities include establishing and strengthening centres of excellence, applied research institutions, and policy think tanks at federal and provincial levels to support innovation, technical excellence, and evidence‑based decision‑making. These institutions will not only enhance the operational effectiveness of river basin authorities but also build human resources, generate skilled employment, and encourage brain gain by attracting both local and diaspora professionals to contribute to nation‑building.
Nepal's future development trajectory depends on how effectively its federal governance system is aligned with the country's natural resource landscape. By adopting IPRBA-based resource management, strengthening institutional capacities, prioritising domestic value creation, and promoting technical excellence and innovation to enable evidence‑based policy and decision making, Nepal can achieve genuine spatial integration of development planning. Such an approach would ensure that natural resources are managed coherently and contribute collectively to national development objectives.
Giri is a river basin management specialist currently working at the international firm Haskoning, based in The Netherlands