STATUS, CHALLENGES, AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVED WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT I Cover photo: Jhimruk River at downstream of Jhimruk Hydro Power near Khaira. Photo credit: USAID Paani Program / Bhaskar Chaudhary II JHIMRUK KHOLA WATERSHED PROFILE: STATUS, CHALLENGES, AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVED WATER RESOURCE 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: November 23, 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. Contents TABLES ....................................................................................................................... VI FIGURES .................................................................................................................... VII ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................... VIII ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................... 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................ 1 1. JHIMRUK WATERSHED: NATURE, WEALTH AND POWER.................. 9 2. NATURE........................................................................................................... 10 2.1 JHIMRUK WATERSHED .................................................................................................. 10 2.2 WATER AVAILABILITY AND QUALITY .......................................................................... 12 2.3 LAND USE AND LAND COVER ....................................................................................... 16 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 ............................................... 22 3. WEALTH.......................................................................................................... 23 3.1 FISHING PRACTICES ..................................................................................................... 24 3.2 AGRICULTURE PRODUCTIVITY ..................................................................................... 24 3.2.1 Soil management and fertility ......................................................................................................... 25 3.3 INFRASTRUCTURE ........................................................................................................ 25 3.3.1 Hydropower ...................................................................................................................................... 25 3.3.2 Gravel mining and construction materials .................................................................................. 28 3.3.3 Roads ................................................................................................................................................... 30 3.3.4 Irrigation .............................................................................................................................................. 32 3.4 SOLID WASTE AND MANAGEMENT .............................................................................. 32 4. POWER ............................................................................................................ 33 4.1 ACCESS AND INCLUSION ............................................................................................. 33 4.1.1 Access to water for domestic and agricultural use .................................................................. 33 4.1.2 Access to early warning systems (EWS) and disaster risk reduction .................................. 34 4.1.3 Access and inclusion in local NRM planning ............................................................................... 34 4.2 COMMUNITY ACTION AND RESPONSE ......................................................................... 35 4.2.1 Climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction ........................................................... 35 4.2.2 Natural resource management (NRM) groups and activities ................................................. 39 4.2.3 Compliance with laws and policy provisions .............................................................................. 40 4.3 GOVERNANCE .............................................................................................................. 41 5. PRIORITIZING MAJOR ISSUES AND CHALLENGES .............................. 41 6. TURNING THREATS INTO OPPORTUNITIES ........................................ 42 7. VISION AND MISSION OF JHIMRUK WATERSHED ............................... 44 7.1 VISION STATEMENT FOR THE JHIMRUK WATERSHED................................................... 44 7.2 COMMITMENT FOR CONSERVATION OF JHIMRUK WATERSHED ................................... 44 8. RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................. 46 WORKS CONSULTED............................................................................................. 47 ANNEXES .................................................................................................................. 49 TABLES Table 1: Priority issues in the for the Jhimruk watershed ............................................................................. 4 Table 2: River and stream discharge rates in the Jhimruk watershed ........................................................ 13 Table 3: Environmental issues by priority ................................................................................................... 41 Table 4: Threats, challenges and opportunities for improved watershed health ........................................ 42 Table 5: Action commitments to address environmental challenges in the Jhimruk watershed ................ 44 Table 6: Household (HH) surveys by topic and number conducted ........................................................... 50 Table 7: Land use and land cover by coverage and percentage ................................................................ 51 Table 8: Population by VDC, municipality, sex, and caste/ethncity ............................................................ 52 Table 9: Rainfall and temperature averages by month in the Jhimruk watershed ...................................... 55 Table 10: Rivers, streams and tributaries in the Jhimruk watershed .......................................................... 57 Table 11: Identified sub-watersheds in the Jhimruk watershed .................................................................. 60 Table 12: Forest types by area and percentage ......................................................................................... 63 Table 13: Species of fish commonly found in the Jhimruk watershed ........................................................ 63 Table 14: Common mammals in the Jhimruk watershed ............................................................................ 65 Table 15: Common birds in the Jhimruk watershed ................................................................................... 65 Table 16: List of road networks in the Jhimruk watershed by type and length ........................................... 67 Table 17: List of irrigation projects by name, location, and area ................................................................ 68 Table 18: Water quality by river/stream and tested aspect ......................................................................... 70 Table 19: Major pollution points in the Jhimruk watershed ......................................................................... 72 Table 20: Locations of gravel mining operations in the Jhimruk watershed ............................................... 72 Table 21: Community user forest groups by location, area and representation ......................................... 73 Table 22: Water supply and sanitation user groups by location ................................................................. 74 Table 23: Key organizations and offices relevant to watershed health ...................................................... 85 Table 24: Vulnerability ratings by VDC and gaunpalika (GP) for selected natural hazards ....................... 86 Table 25: Details of notable natural hazard events in the Jhimruk watershed since 2000 ......................... 88 FIGURES Figure 1: Location map for the Jhimruk watershed ........................................................................................... 3 Figure 2: Map of landslide risk areas in the Jhimruk watershed ................................................................. 6 Figure 3: River network of the Jhimruk watershed .......................................................................................... 11 Figure 4: Locations for water quality survey sites in the Jhimruk watershed