Suchergebnisse

Paper presented at the Fifth International Seminar on Dynamics of Farmer Managed Irrigation Systems: Socio-Institutional, Economic and Technical Context, Kathmandu, Nepal, 25-26 March 2010, organized by Farmer Managed Irrigation System Trust ; International Water Management Institute, the then International Irrigation Management Institute (IWMI) began its activities in Nepal since 1986 with a Memorandum of Understanding with His Majesty?s Government of Nepal, now the Government of Nepal. The primary objectives were to strengthen the research capability of Water and Energy Commission Secretariat, promote collaborative research in Farmer Managed Irrigation Systems (FMIS), Irrigation Management Transfer (IMT) and Agency Managed Irrigation Systems (AMIS). Pioneering researches in FMIS and AMIS were carried out in Nepal by IWMI and it laid impact on participatory irrigation management through understanding the role of water users association for effective management of irrigation system. The researches in Nepal was also important for its contribution to the water sector management in the developing country through the promotion of science based studies and action research. The main areas of contribution of IWMI research were in policy formulation, methodology development and Institutional Strengthening and Capacity Building for irrigation research. Therefore, this paper will try to look into the FMIS, AMIS and other researches that IWMI has undertaken, their importance for water management in Nepal and the lessons learnt is expected to be of interest to policy makers, planners, researchers and the scientific community.

Paper presented at the 2nd International Yellow River Forum (IYRF), on Keeping the Healthy Life of the River and Modern River Basin Management. Ministry of Water Resources of P.R. China, Zhengzhou, China, 18 - 21 October 2005

The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) has been working in Nepal since 1986 with the objective of undertaking research in water management and to strengthen the research capabilities of concerned government agencies. The research helped to develop appropriate mechanisms for providing support to Farmer-Managed Irrigation Systems (FMIS) and the initiation of participatory irrigation management (PIM). The river basin studies helped policy formulation for integrated planning and management of water resources besides the methodological contribution through the development of appropriate tools for water management studies. It also contributed to enhancing the capabilities of agency officials and local researchers through their involvement in research activities.

Paper presented at the 5th South Asia Research Workshop, Globalization of Governance: Implications for Water Management in South Asia, Thimphu, Bhutan, 3-5 May 2010 ; Traditionally, the users? organisations at local level are playing an important role for the management of natural resources by organizing the users. The Government of Nepal through its Water Resources Strategy 2002 and National Water Plan 2005 has emphasized a holistic approach in place of sectoral one for natural resources management at sub/basin level based on the principle of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). It envisages the creation of committee at the sub/basin level, which is lacking at present. But both vertical and horizontal linkage between institutions and among the various water users is sectoral. Therefore, an action research was carried out in Nepal and India to examine the possibility of up-scaling the role of existing natural resource users? group and other stakeholders - local elected institutions and I/NGOs in order to facilitate the evolvement of institution at sub/basin level. The information was collected through checklist in focused group discussions, consultation workshop at the local and district level with Water users group, Forest Users Group and other stakeholders. The dynamics of resource management along with stakeholders? role and processes/methods followed in ?Platform? formation, which is expected to evolve as sub/basin level institutions for IWRM in Nepal and its future is dealt in this paper.

To mitigate a drinking water crisis in Kathmandu valley, the Government of Nepal initiated the Melamchi Water Supply Project in 1997, which will divert water from the Melamchi River to Kathmandu city's water supply network. In the first phase, the Project will divert 170,000 cubic meters of water per day (at the rate of 1.97M3/sec), which will be tripled using the same infrastructure as city water demand increases in the future. The large scale transfer of water would have farreaching implications in both water supplying and receiving basins. This paper analyzes some of the major changes related to local water management and socioeconomics brought about by the Project and in particular the changes in the local water management institutions in the Melamchi basin. Our study shows that traditional informal water management institutions were effective in regulating present water use practices in the water supplying basin, but the situation will vastly change because of the scale of water transfer, and power inequity between the organized public sector on one side and dispersed and unorganized marginal water users on the other. The small scale of water usage and multiple informal arrangements at the local level have made it difficult for the local users and institutions to collectively bargain and negotiate with the central water transfer authority for a fair share of project benefits and compensation for the losses imposed on them. The process and scale of project compensation for economic losses and equity over resource use are at the heart of the concerns and debates about the Melamchi water transfer decision. The Project has planned for a one-time compensation package of about US$18 million for development infrastructure related investments and is planning to share about one percent of revenue generated from water use in the city with the supplying basin. The main issues here are what forms of water sharing governance, compensation packages, and water rights structures would emerge in relation to the project implementation and whether they are socially acceptable ensuring equitable distribution of the project benefits to all basin communities. In addition, these issues of the Melamchi project discussed in this paper are equally pertinent to other places where rural to urban water transfer projects are under discussion. ; Non-PR ; IFPRI1; Theme 3; not on water page; CAPRi ; EPTD

Technical interventions have not always led to expected outcomes when attempting to achieve a balanced growth between natural resource development and food production, particularly in the context of Third World countries. In Royal Chitwan National Park (RCNP) buffer zone, Nepal, farmers' perceptions were used to evaluate how irrigation resource development and the method of water sharing have increased household food security and reduced pressure on natural resources of the park. The findings indicate that with some variations between communities, increased water availability and reliability through irrigation development have improved crop diversity, cropping intensity, food sufficiency, and economic return to farmers. Community attributes such as leadership and dynamics were, among others, the decisive factors that determined the degree of success of the government development intervention programme in the buffer zone. Small landholders and low-income groups in dry areas perceived that they received greater benefits from micro-groundwater pumping schemes. However, many rural poor inhabitants in the area still lack access to these resource opportunities. We observed that Park and People, a government programme, successfully improved public relations and helped create awareness in this buffer zone. However, grievances persist among other water user groups in the upstream part of the Rapt River where a water sharing mechanism needs to be defined between water user associations for crop production and maintenance of biodiversity of the national park.

The impact of climate change (CC) on water resources is likely to affect agricultural systems and food security. This is especially true for Nepal, a least developed country, where a high percentage of the population is dependent on agriculture for its livelihoods. It is thus crucial for Nepal?s leaders and resource managers to draft and begin implementing national adaptation plans. This working paper aims to create a more comprehensive understanding of how the impacts of CC will be realized at different scales in Nepal, from household livelihoods to national food security, and the many institutions governing the ultimate adaptation process.