Today's technological advancement, innovation and availability allow us to easily tap and distribute water at places where there is a demand. Geographic location, or elevation, or distance is no longer a barrier, although some may question the cost benefits of pumping water from its source and redistributing it
We often talk about water scarcity: lack of potable water for household use and irrigation facilities for agriculture. During my various research trips across Nepal in the last two decades, I have observed that substantial tracts of land are abandoned as wastelands while some are partly utilised for seasonal farming when there is rain. The poor management of available water resources seems to be the reason behind the water scarcity in agriculture and drinking and sanitation purposes. Lack of water management, including plans for extracting, harvesting, distribution and use in the households and for irrigation, has been an enduring tradition in the country. About 16 per cent of households have no access to basic drinking water. Out of the 4.12 million hectares of agriculture land, about 1.76 million hectares is irrigable, and of that only a third of it has year-round irrigation facilities.
Most agriculture fields are nestled along the river valleys of Nepal, hardly a few meters above the river.
Large volumes of water are flowing in the rivers continuously just below the agriculture fields across the country.
Weather and climate favour year-round cropping of vegetables, cereals and other high-value crops in the river valleys of Nepal.
But the demand for food requirements is increasing in the country while production and yield of the agricultural lands are decreasing, resulting in food insecurity in parts of the country. Until the 1980s, Nepal was self-sufficient in food grains and some agricultural products, but it must import them now.
Due to lack of irrigation facilities, most of the lands are left barren and abandoned without proper utilisation.
We have overlooked our locally available water resources that can easily be tapped and used for various purposes, from irrigating our fields to household uses. The existing water scarcity for household and agricultural use from the lowlands to the mid-hills is largely due to the management fiasco.
No significant attempt has been made to pump water from the running rivers for irrigation and household uses. Instead, people are leaving their agricultural lands unattended and spending hours collecting water from a distant source.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), about 210 billion cubic metres of water flow out of Nepal every year. The water volume of the rivers in Nepal is primarily contributed by monsoon precipitation (rainfall), melting of snow and glaciers, and groundwater flow. The per inhabitant water availability is 8,000 cubic metres per year, but the per inhabitant water withdrawal is only 359 cubic metres per year, well below the minimum water demand of the inhabitants.
The quantity of per capita water demand increases with the improvement of the socio-economic conditions of the people. Surely, depending on the geography of the country and location, disproportionate availability of water exists in the river basins. Landuse change is also putting stress on the agricultural areas, with the youths abandoning agriculture practices in the rural areas due to migration and foreign employment, resulting in decreasing food production.
Tens of millions of dollars have been spent on water harvesting, laying pipes, and supplying water by both the government and development agencies, but the output is rarely visible in Nepal. More than 60 per cent of climate change adaptation activities and funds are focussed on agriculture, irrigation, water supply and water-related hazards but with no significant results.
Population growth, land use and climate change all affect water requirements, which demand better ways of harvesting and distributing water. Climate change is further expected to exacerbate the severity of water stress. Climate change is affecting every component of the water cycle, quantity and frequency of precipitation, precipitation extremes, floods, drought, soil moisture, glacier melt and ground water.
Today's technological advancement, innovation and availability allow us to easily tap and distribute water at places where there is a demand. Geographic location, or elevation, or distance is no longer a barrier.
Some may argue that the cost-benefit analysis of pumping water from its source and redistributing it may not allow for successful harvesting of water. But this is a readymade answer given by the authorities to conceal their inability to address the water issue.
Water scarcity could be slashed with existing lowcost technologies. Economically viable water pumping systems are emerging and are available in the market. It just needs a little effort to identify the best option. Solar water pumping, or photovoltaic water pumping, is an alternative solution. This energy source is sustainable from every aspect – operationally, financially and environmentally.
To address the issues associated with decreasing food production, we must encourage the utilisation of all wastelands and abandoned lands, both private and government-owned, for agriculture. We should think about their long-term sustainability and plan from the very beginning for their management.
The foremost thing is to utilise the available local resources optimally for the improvement of productivity and uplifting the living standard. All our potential resources at the local, regional and national levels must be identified. Our priority should be targeted towards self-reliance in agricultural products. If each of our local levels think of making their local units sustainable in food and agricultural products, our dependency on other countries can be narrowed down gradually.
Thakuri is Dean, Faculty of Science and Technology, and Faculty of Engineering, Mid-West University, Nepal
A version of this article appears in the print on June 24, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
