1. Middle Karnali Watershed: Nature, Wealth and Power 10
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Cover photo: View of Karnali from Rakam Karnali, Dailekh in August 2019 Photo credit: Nabin Baral/USAID Paani Program I MIDDLE KARNALI WATERSHED PROFILE MIDDLE KARNALI WATERSHED PROFILE: STATUS, CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVED WATERSHED MANAGEMENT Program Title: USAID Paani Program DAI Project Number: 1002810 Sponsoring USAID Office: USAID/Nepal IDIQ Number: AID-OAA-I-14-00014 Task Order Number: AID-367-TO-16-00001 Contractor: DAI Global LLC Date of Publication: August 28, 2018 The authors’ views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government. II MIDDLE KARNALI WATERSHED PROFILE Contents TABLES ........................................................................................................................ V FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... VI ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................................... VII ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................... 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................ 2 1. MIDDLE KARNALI WATERSHED: NATURE, WEALTH AND POWER 10 2. NATURE........................................................................................................... 11 2.1 MIDDLE KARNALI WATERSHED .................................................................................... 11 2.2 WATER AVAILABILITY AND QUALITY .......................................................................... 14 2.3 LAND USE AND LAND COVER ....................................................................................... 15 2.4 BIODIVERSITY AND INVASIVE SPECIES ......................................................................... 19 2.5 CLIMATE AND PHYSIOGRAPHY .................................................................................... 20 2.5.1 Rainfall ....................................................................................................................................................... 20 2.5.2 Temperature ........................................................................................................................................... 21 2.6 CLIMATE RESILIENCE AND DISASTER RISK REDUCTION ............................................... 23 3. WEALTH.......................................................................................................... 25 3.1 FISHING PRACTICES ..................................................................................................... 25 3.2 AGRICULTURE PRODUCTIVITY ..................................................................................... 26 3.2.1 Soil management and fertility ......................................................................................................... 26 3.3 INFRASTRUCTURE ........................................................................................................ 27 3.3.1 Hydropower ...................................................................................................................................... 27 3.3.2 Gravel mining ..................................................................................................................................... 27 3.3.3 Roads ................................................................................................................................................... 28 3.3.4 Irrigation .............................................................................................................................................. 28 3.4 SOLID WASTE AND MANAGEMENT .............................................................................. 29 4. POWER ............................................................................................................ 30 4.1 ACCESS AND INCLUSION ............................................................................................. 30 4.1.1 Access to water for domestic and agricultural use .................................................................. 30 4.1.2 Access and inclusion in local NRM planning ............................................................................... 30 4.1.3 Access to benefit sharing in the watershed ................................................................................ 31 4.2 COMMUNITY ACTION AND RESPONSE ......................................................................... 33 4.2.1 Climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction ........................................................... 33 4.2.2 Compliance with laws and policy provisions .............................................................................. 33 4.3 GOVERNANCE .............................................................................................................. 34 III MIDDLE KARNALI WATERSHED PROFILE 5. VISION AND MISSION FOR THE MIDDLE KARNALI WATERSHED .. 35 5.1 VISION STATEMENT FOR THE MIDDLE KARNALI WATERSHED .................................... 35 5.2 COMMITMENT TO CONSERVE THE MIDDLE KARNALI WATERSHED ............................. 35 6. RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................. 37 7. WORKS CONSULTED .................................................................................. 39 ANNEXES .................................................................................................................. 41 IV MIDDLE KARNALI WATERSHED PROFILE TABLES Table 1: Priority issues for watershed health ................................................................................................ 4 Table 2: River and stream discharge rates in the Middle Karnali watershed ............................................. 14 Table 3: Food security levels by household ................................................................................................ 26 Table 4: Key offices in Middle Karnali for addressing natural resource issues .......................................... 32 Table 5: Action commitments and expected outcomes by theme .............................................................. 35 Table 6: Household (HH) surveys by topic and number conducted ........................................................... 42 Table 7: Land use and land cover ............................................................................................................... 43 Table 8: Population by municipality, sex, and caste/ethnicity ..................................................................... 45 Table 9: Detailed temperature and precipitation figures ............................................................................. 45 Table 10: Types of water bodies in the Middle Karnali watershed ............................................................. 47 Table 11: List of identified sub-watersheds in the Middle Karnali watershed ............................................. 47 Table 12: Forest types by area and percentage ......................................................................................... 48 Table 13: Types of fish and aquatic life and population status ................................................................... 49 Table 14: Types of mammals, location, and population trend .................................................................... 50 Table 15: Reptile species, location and population trend ........................................................................... 51 Table 16: Bird species, location and population trend ................................................................................ 51 Table 17: Road networks in the Middle Karnali watershed ......................................................................... 52 Table 18: List of micro hydropower plants in Middle Karnali ...................................................................... 52 Table 19: List of irrigation projects by name, location, and area ................................................................ 52 Table 20: Water quality by river/stream and tested aspect ......................................................................... 53 Table 21: Major pollution points in the watershed ...................................................................................... 55 Table 22: Community user forest groups by location, area and representation ......................................... 57 Table 23: Current policy provisions and relevant observations .................................................................. 64 Table 24: Areas with prepared Local Adaptation Plans of Action (LAPAs) ................................................ 64 V MIDDLE KARNALI WATERSHED PROFILE FIGURES Figure 1: Map of Middle Karnali watershed .................................................................................................. 3 Figure 2: Map of major landslide risk areas in the Middle Karnali watershed .............................................. 8 Figure 3: Map of the Middle Karnali watershed and its river network ......................................................... 13 Figure 4: Forest cover and type in the Middle Karnali watershed............................................................... 16 Figure 5: Forest loss and gain in the Middle Karnali watershed ................................................................. 18 Figure 6: Long-term average