04/10/2023

Pabitra GurungPhD Student (230111762)

gurung@unbc.ca

Presentation for the course NRES-802Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (NRES)

University of Northern British ColumbiaPrince George, BC, CANADA

FRESHWATER SCARCITY AND

MANAGEMENT IN THE MOUNTAINOUS

REGION

04/10/2023

Prof. Neil Hanlon, UNBC

Prof. Bill MacGill, UNBC

Prof. Stephen Dery, UNBC

All the Colleague from this Class

Dr. Luna Bharati, Senior Researcher, IMWI-Nepal

Various online sources for the pictures (downloaded

through Google search engine)

Acknowledgements

04/10/2023

Global Water Scarcity

Regional Water Scarcity

(Himalayan Regions)

Local Management (Nepal)

Outline of the Presentation

04/10/2023

Projected Global Water Scarcity in 2025 ?

Source: International Water Management Institute (IWMI)

Physical and Economic water scarcity

04/10/2023

Based on the UN Medium Population Projections, more than 2.8 billion

people in 48 countries will face water scarcity by 2025

Of these countries, 40 countries are in West Asia, North Africa or

sub-Saharan Africa

By 2050, number of water scarce countries could rise to 54 (4 billion

people – about 40% of world population)Source: Population Action International (http://www.unep.org/dewa/vitalwater/article141.html)

Projected Global Water Scarcity in 2025 ?

04/10/2023

Himalayas & Water Scarcity ?

Himalayas are widely known as the “Water Towers of Asia”.

Primary Water Source for a large part of Asia’s Population

75-90% of Water is used in food production

Source: ICIMOD

04/10/2023

Why water scarcity in the region ? Population growth (increase

households consumption of water

(Current water use status: 10 – 25%))

Higher water consumption for

agricultural production (to feed

animals and for human consumption)

(Agricultural Water Consumption: 30-

50% for next few decades and 70-80%

by 2050)

Impact of Climate Change on Water

Resources (Climate is significantly alter

the seasonality of streamflow for many

Asian rivers)

04/10/2023

Population Growth and Food Production in the Region ?

Nearly 100,000 children are born every day

One billion additional people will be in 2050

(growing meat consumption)

In 2050, per capita meat consumption will

double and half of cereal production will be used

to feed animal

Irrigated croplands (85,783,000 ha): mainly

for rice production

Water from the Himalayas and the central

Asian mountain support the production of over

500 Million tonnes of cereals per year (55% of

Asia’s and 25% of world’s cereal production)

By 2050, global cereal production needs to be

about 3000 million tonnes to meet the

demand (FAO)

04/10/2023

Water Resources and Climate of the Region ?

River basins and their hydrological significance

04/10/2023

Water Resources and Climate of the Region ?

Major river: Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra, Yangtse, Huang He

(Yellow River), Tarim, Syr Darya, Amu Darya, Mekong, Salween,

and Irrawaddy

The rivers are depending on glacial water and snowmelt from

the mountains.

Rising temperature and changes in monsoon might be a major

cause for decreasing glacierized area

Temperature is increasing by 0.03°C per year in the region and

even faster at higher altitudes

Water Flows consistently decrease on the snow and glacier fed

rivers, and less in rain-fed rivers.

River basins and their hydrological significance

04/10/2023

Challenges to Water Availability and Food Production ?

Environmental degradation in the

watersheds (mainly due to poorly

managed urbanization and industry)

Landslides and Floods (impact on

agricultural lands and hydrogeology)

Climate change (increasing drought

and flood: already challenged by

seasonal water scarcity)

Shifting of agro-ecological zones

due to climate change

High price of inputs in agriculture

(fertilizers and seed) and access to

market(Therefore, Cereal production of

Asia will be least by 10-30% lower than projected)

04/10/2023

Impact on Livelihoods and Economy due to Food Crisis ?

Increasing prices of commodity and

food (Less production and high

demand, on an average 30-50% will

increase in food price)

Increasing poverty (spending 70-

80% of income on food)

Increasing infant and child mortality

Key causes of the current food

crisis are combined effects of ;

o Speculation in food stocks

o Extreme weather events

o Low cereal stocks

o Growth in biofuels use

o High oil prices

04/10/2023

Why Watershed Vulnerability and Interventions Studies?

Major challenge of the region is too much

water in monsoon and much less water in

winter

So, challenge is to store excess water of

high water availability period and use in

extreme drought periods

Therefore, need to introduce watershed

interventions technology like; storage

pond, infiltration pond, terracing farm

land, afforestation etc. (in the

perspective of land management and

water storage development)

04/10/2023

Example of the Watershed Vulnerability Study in Nepal Study Region: Middle-mountain and hill region of Nepal

04/10/2023

Example of the Watershed Vulnerability Study in Nepal Different vulnerability indicators in the context of NepalAssessments Parameters Indicators/Indices

SensitivityAnalysis

Ecology

Landuse and Land CoverProtected Area CoverageTopography (Slope and Aspect)Drainage DensityDominant Climate

Human Population 

AdaptiveCapacityAnalysis

Socioeconomic

Human development indexHuman poverty indexGender development indexHuman empowerment index

InfrastructurePSTN landline phoneElectricity consumers

TechnologyIrrigated landExistence of intervention

Exposure/RiskAnalysis

Temperature and RainfallMean Seasonal Temperature TrendMean Seasonal Rainfall Trend

Landslide and Flood

DeathInjuredProperty LossOccurrencePositive Annual Rainfall Trend

Drought/Food Risk IndexDaily PrecipitationFood Surplus and DeficiencyPopulation Pressure on Forest

Human EcologyHuman Poverty IndexAccessibility

Physical EcologySurface Soil ErosionMass Wasting

04/10/2023

Summary Irrigation water is crucial for a ‘Green Revolution’ and

without a ‘Blue Revolution’ ahead; food crisis will be a major

problem in the world in future

Watershed interventions to preserve excess water of monsoon

in surface or sub-surface to fulfill demand of the dry period

Identify alternative to cereal in animal feed

Promote small scale farming business to adapt impact of

the climate change

Promote eco-based farming system to minimize the

spread of invasive species, and to maintain bio-diversity and ecosystem

services.

Focus on small scale watershed interventions and improved irrigation systems (application of water according to plant

demand)

Nillemann, C.; Kaltenborn, B.P.; 2009. The Environmental Food Crisis in

Asia – a ‘blue revolution’ in water efficiency is needed to adapt to

Asia’s looming water crisis. Sustainable Mountain Development, ICIMOD,

No. 56. 6 – 9.

Siddiqui, S.; Bharati, L.; Panta, M.; Gurung, P.; Rakhal, B.; Maharjan, L.D.;

2012. Nepal: Building Climate Resilience in Watersheds in Mountain

Eco-Regions. Technical Assistance Consultant’s Report for Department of Soil

Conservation and Watershed Management (DSCWM), Government of Nepal

and Asian Development Bank (ADB). International Water Management

Institute (IWMI).

Rijsberman, F.R.; 2006. Water scarcity: Fact or fiction? Agricultural Water

Management. 80. 5 – 22.

Sugden, F.; Shrestha, L.; Bharati, L.; Gurung, P.; Maharjan, L.; Janmaat, J.;

Price, J.; Sherpa, T.; 2013. Field Report on Small Agricultural Water

Storage in Nepal. Lessons for up-scaling storage systems in the Koshi basin.

International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

Vaidhya, R.A.; 2009. The Role of Water Storage in Adaptation to Climate

Change in the HKH Region. Sustainable Mountain Development, ICIMOD,

No. 56. 10 – 13.

References

04/10/2023

What is Water Scarcity? (Video Source: FAO )

04/10/2023

Water Scarcity is ………

Most Important Questions.......... ???

… true or not ?… run out of water or not?

… fact or fiction?

Is this debate really helpful to increase crop water

productivity?………Green and Blue Revolution ?