Water dynamics and population pressure in the Nepalese Himalayas

Water is rapidly becoming a critical factor in the development of Nepal despite the fact that it has one of the greatest hydro-power potentials in the world. The country is faced with three key water issues: hazardous hydro-power development, problems with community water supply and pollution, and shortages of irrigation water. Both the environmental settings and the socio-economic conditions have contributed to these problems which are now widespread and alarming. Environmental factors have not been taken seriously as shown in the largest existing hydropower reservoir, which has recently lost much of its storage capacity in a single unusual storm. Shortages in water supplies in the capital city are also reaching crisis proportions both in terms of quantity and quality. The widespread lack of irrigation water in the Middle Mountains during the dry season has serious implications for the future food supplies of the largely rural population. Some of these problems result from a rapidly expanding population living in a very marginal environment, an ineffective government organization and an international community that is mostly self-serving, focussing on large projects with little concern for local needs. The degradation of water resources is putting the food supplies and health of a large part of the population at risk.