PAANI PROGRAM | पानी परियोजना THIRD NATIONAL RIVER SUMMIT: EVENT REPORT March 26-31, 2019 Cover photo: Participants at the Third National River Summit experienced the Karnali River firsthand while engaging in dialogue on freshwater biodiversity and conservation, during the weeklong event held along the banks of the Karnali River in Rakam, Middle Karnali Watershed, from March 26- 31, 2019. Photo credit: USAID Paani Program / Nabin Baral PAANI PROGRAM | पानी परियोजना THIRD NATIONAL RIVER SUMMIT: EVENT REPORT March 26-31, 2019 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: MAY 10, 2019 This publication was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development. It was prepared by DAI Global LLC. 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 SECTION 1: BACKGROUND AND EVENT OVERVIEW 1 SECTION II: EVENT OBJECTIVES 3 SECTION 1I1: EVENT HIGHLIGHTS 4 ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION HIGHLIGHTS 4 SESSION 1 HIGHLIGHTS 6 SESSION 2 HIGHLIGHTS 7 SESSION 3 HIGHLIGHTS 9 SESSION 4 HIGHLIGHTS 10 SESSION 5 HIGHLIGHTS 12 SESSION 6 HIGHLIGHTS 13 SESSION 7 HIGHLIGHTS 14 SESSION 8 HIGHLIGHTS 16 SESSION 9 HIGHLIGHTS 17 SECTION IV: EVENT OUTCOMES 19 ANNEXES 21 EXHIBIT A1: SUMMIT PRE-EVENT | ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION AGENDA 21 EXHIBIT A2: SUMMIT PRE-EVENT | ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION PARTICIPANTS 22 EXHIBIT A3: SUMMIT PRE-EVENT | ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION DECLARATION 24 EXHIBIT A4: THIRD NATIONAL RIVER SUMMIT AGENDA 25 EXHIBIT A5: THIRD NATIONAL RIVER SUMMIT PARTICIPANTS 29 EXHIBIT A6: GESI BREAKDOWN OF SUMMIT PARTICIPANTS 41 EXHIBIT A7: THIRD NATIONAL RIVER SUMMIT MEDIA COVERAGE 42 EXHIBIT A8: THIRD NATIONAL RIVER SUMMIT DECLARATION 43 USAID.GOV THIRD NATIONAL RIVER SUMMIT REPORT | IV SECTION 1: BACKGROUND AND EVENT OVERVIEW Water is the single most important natural resource underpinning Nepal’s economy and livelihoods. The sustainable management of water resources in Nepal depends on addressing climate change and protecting healthy, biodiverse ecosystems. The USAID Paani Program – युएसएड पानी परियोजना – aims to enhance Nepal’s ability to manage water resources for multiple uses and users through climate change adaptation and the conservation of freshwater biodiversity. Paani employs an integrated, whole- of-basin approach with activities at the watershed, river basin, and national scales, to reduce threats to freshwater biodiversity and strengthen the resilience of targeted human and ecological communities in the Karnali, Mahakali and Rapti river basins through improved water resource management. Paani partner, the Nepal River Conservation Trust (NRCT) has been fully engaged in conserving Nepal’s river system, cultural heritage, and advocating for an environmentally friendly river tourism industry since 1995. NRCT hosts a biannual National River Summit to raise awareness among river users highlighting the value of river conservation – not only to boost the sustainable river-based tourism industry, but also to maintain river health for the preservation of freshwater biodiversity and to support ecosystem services for communities, particularly those dependent on river ecosystems to sustain their livelihoods. History of the River Summit The First National River Summit took place in September 2014 on the banks of the Sunkoshi River, hosted by NRCT, in partnership with Kathmandu University, Tribhuvan University and other stakeholders. It brought together more than 200 participants representing the scientific community, policy makers, students, activists, farmers, and fishermen/women. The Summit highlighted pertinent issues related to the sustainable use and management of Nepal’s rivers, and resulted in the 15-point Sunkoshi Declaration, which was submitted to parliamentarians before the country’s new constitution was promulgated in 2015. The Second National River Summit, also hosted by NRCT, was held in March 2017 on the banks of the Trishuli River. It attracted more than 250 participants representing a wide range of stakeholders, and culminated in the development of the 13-point Trishuli Declaration. Third National River Summit This year’s Third National River Summit, with the theme, “Managing Rivers for Life,” was co-led by NRCT and the Karnali Provincial government, with support from Paani. It took place from March 28- 31, 2019 on the banks of the Karnali River in Rakam, Middle Karnali Watershed—a significant location for a number of reasons. As Nepal’s longest river system, and a natural free-flowing river located far from urban development, the Karnali River provides habitats for a plethora of unique, endemic freshwater biodiversity, including the Gangetic Dolphin and many other endemic fish. In addition, it plays a major role in cultural heritage conservation, with a number of indigenous communities make their living from the river’s resources along its far-reaching banks, whether from running ferries or selling fish. These livelihood assets – as well as the overall river health—face several imminent threats, including destructive fishing practices, and haphazard infrastructure development along the river stretch. This is especially urgent, given a number of proposed hydropower projects currently underway in the Karnali River Basin. The Summit provides a critical platform for dialogue on such infrastructure planning and its impact on river systems and communities. Therefore, in contrast to the two previous Summits, this year Paani USAID.GOV THRID NATIONAL RIVER SUMMIT REPORT | 1 emphasized the importance of including discussions on sustainable hydropower, including a panel facilitated by Integrated Watershed Management Activity (IWMA), with panel inputs from Millenium Challenge Account (MCA) Nepal, Independent Power Producers’ Association Nepal (IPPAN), National Hydropower Development Project (NHDP), and the Nepal Electric Authority (NEA). Event overview Paani kicked off the Third National River Summit with a series of pre-events from March 26-27 in nearby Surkhet. This included the first river basin-level roundtable discussion, facilitated by Paani partner, the Nepal Forum of Environmental Journalists (NEFEJ), as well as a photo exhibition showcasing 50 photos from NRCT’s 44-day expedition from the headwaters of the Karnali River in Tibet to the Ganges Confluence in India, which took place in 2018. The exhibition was displayed during the Summit’s keynote dinner in Surkhet on March 27th and was inaugurated by Mr. Nanda Singh Budha, Karnali Provincial Minister for Industry, Tourism, Forest and Environment. On March 28th, the Summit officially began with an opening ceremony, inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Karnali Province, Mr. Mahendra Bahadur Shahi. USAID PAANI PROGRAM/ NABIN BARAL The the Chief Minister of Karnali Province, Mr. Mahendra Bahadur Shahi, inaugurated the Third National River Summit at the official opening ceremony on March 28th. The remainder of the Summit took place in Rakam Karnali, on the banks of the beautiful Karnali River from March 28-31, where more than 200 river experts and enthusiasts participated in panels, presentations, and discussions on topics, including: river eco-systems and aquatic biodiversity; freshwater biodiversity threats and vulnerability; water resource management and multiple uses of water; governance, policies, and practices for water/rivers; the relationship between communities and rivers; and other cross-cutting issues, such as gender and social inclusion. The Summit concluded with USAID.GOV THRID NATIONAL RIVER SUMMIT REPORT | 2 development of a 19-point declaration aiming to maximize the cultural, religious, economic, and biodiversity value of the Karnali, including designating 5 km on each side of the river a ‘Sacred Karnali River Corridor.’ (See Annex Exhibit A8 for full Karnali Declaration.) To accelerate participants’ direct connection to the Karnali River during their Summit experience, they were encouraged to take part in a number of optional side activities, including short rafting trips, outdoor yoga, birding, hiking, and angling. In total, more than 200 diverse participants attended this year’s Summit. They included representatives from other USAID programs and projects, such as SEED, Feed the Future, Democracy and Governance, the Nepal Hydropower Development Program (NHDP), WWF Nepal, the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), and the Integrated Water Management Activity (IWMA), as well as USG’s Millennium Challenge Activity (MCA) Nepal. (See Annex Exhibit A5 for full participant list.) SECTION II: EVENT OBJECTIVES The National River Summit offers a rare platform for dialogue amongst various interest groups to jointly develop a common vision for sustainable water and river basin management. The Third National River Summit aimed to achieve following objectives: To share and inform multiple users of water with outcomes of recent research, exploration, and understanding of the Karnali River Basin; To foster dialogue among stakeholders as a continuation of the previous river summits, and to create platforms and networks among and between different interest groups; and To consolidate knowledge for a common understanding to inform policies for integrated management of water and other resources by balancing development with overall conservation of river systems. This