WATER NEPAL Volume 4 Number 1, September, 1994 EDITOR Ajaya Dixit ASSOCIATE EDITOR Bhoj Raj Regmi EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Dr. Binayak Bhadra Member, National Planning Commission Dipak Gyawali Member, Royal Nepal Academy of Science and Technology Dr. Guna Nidhi Paudyal Water Resources Engineer, Danish Hydraulic Institute, Dhaka Dr. Kiran K. Bhattarai Professor, Environmental Engineer ENSIC/ADB, Asian Institute of Technology Dr. Ram Manohar Shrestha Associate Professor, Asian Institute of Technology PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT Kumud Sharma Gopal Adhikary PHOTOGRAPHS Cover Galeola Lindleyana, Barun Valley 3000 m Dense forest, growing on forest litter “Saprophytic”: Dr. Tirtha Bahadur Shrestha Deban/Nad Dihing Confluence, Namdapha Sanctury: Sanjay Acharya Rice Plantation in Kathmandu: Kanak Mani Dixit Barrage in Trisuli River: Bhoj Raj Regmi Inside Cover Braided Channel of I ndrawati, Sindhupalchok, Nepal: Huta Ram Baidya Social and Economic Challenges Farming in Jumla: Bikas Rauniyar Tarai Farming: International Irrigation Management Institute Technology and South Asia Penstock of Kulekhani I: Ajaya Dixit CAD system: K. Shakya Rehabilitated Canal in Chitwan: Kumud Sharma Deep Well Boring in Nepalgunj: A. Dixit Institutional Articulation Meetings: B. Rauniyar and IMMI Conflict and Cooperation Kosi Barrage: A. Dixit Artwork Design: Nirmal Sherchan Telephone 213916 Computer Setting: S Secreta rial Spot Ga 1 – 177, Maitidevi, Kathmandu Printed at: Jagadamba Press Patan Dhoka, Kathmandu Telephone 521393 Price: NRs. 350.00 India Irs. 400.00 (postage and handling Rs. 50.00 extra) SAARC Countries US$10 (postage and handling $ 2 extra) international US$ 20 (postage and handling $ 5 extra) For details write to: NEPAL WATER CONSERVATION FOUNDATION PO Box 2221, Kathmandu, Nepal Telephone PREFACE This special issue of WATER NEPAL brings between two covers a wide range of South Asian perspectives on the challenges of developing the waters of the Himalaya-Ganga. The contributions come from the papers presented at the “Kathmandu Meeting on Cooperative Development of Himalayan Water Resources”, hosted by the Nepal Water Conservation Foundation on February 27-28, 1993. The papers were invited on the following themes relating to the Himalaya-Ganga waters: 1) Social and Economic Challenges, 2) Technology and South Asia, 3) Institutional Articulation, and 4) Conflict and Cooperation. In all, 28 papers were presented in the Meeting. Eight paper were received during the conference and circulated. All 36 papers are organized along the above themes, and contained in this volume. Many papers have been reviewed by the authors subsequent to the meeting, incorporating the comments and concerns expressed during the two-day gathering. As editors, we have retained controversial passages and opinions of experts across the international divide even though we may not necessarily subscribe to some of the more extreme views. As a result, the reader will find in ample measure conflicting perspectives and perceptions which have in the past hindered efforts at conflict resolution, and may do so again in the future. Though the editors have attempted to maintain consistency, disparate styles of scholars, diplomats, journalists and political scientists appear in the text. A consistent thread that runs through the submissions is that of data gaps and uncertainties. Scholars cite different sources and use very different numbers for the same event (basin area, siltation rates, etc.). The editors did make an attempt in the review process to correct and streamline data wherever possible. In fact almost a year and a half was spent doing so, and we came to realize that the problem is endemic across South Asian academic firament. Nothing short of a much more energetic effort and data standardization on a regional scale can make a dent on this vexing problem. Hopefully this will be a continuous process adopted by the independent academics of South Asia. At stake are issues of dissemination and availability of public domain information, especially that of a technical nature; scale, intensity and intent of regional discurse on the subject and whether it is dispassionate enough or biased towards promoting a particular geo-political agenda; and finally the very vibrancy of a future South Asian technological and economic renaissance, efforts towards which can only succeed if they are propelled by a confident and aggressive intellectual tradition. If they do not become serious about these matters, South Asians?especially those in the Himalaya-Ganga?are condemned to remain, as Josse laments in this volume, “like Sisyphus, never to succeed”. The four very broad themes were selected because we felt they embody within their phrasing the issues that will absorb the concern of this region well into the next century. The Kathmandu Meeting has only touched the surface of the problems in these theme areas. By juxtaposing the state of today’s knowledge with the concerns of tomorrow, it has attempted to serve as a stepping stone towards a more consistent and committed scholarship. As initiators of the Kathmandu Meeting and editors of the papers, we believe the volume will immensely benefit students, researchers, scholars and policy makers providing a window into the interdisciplinary challenges that confront those who would develop Himalayan water resources. What we as the organizers of the Kathmandu Meeting have gained from these papers are firstly, the sheer complexity of managing Himalaya- Ganga waters and secondly, the numerous questions that require answers. These are detailed in the epilogue. All this, we are convinced, calls for a South Asian Forum on water resources. The conference received support from the Economic Liberalization Project of USAID/Kathmandu, International Development Research Center (IDRC)/New Delhi and the International Academy of the Environment-Geneva. The Academy provided further support for publication of this special issue, as per its “signature theme” of building on research emanating from the South. We express our thanks to Prithvi Raj Ligal (Member, National Planning Commission of Nepal), Praveen Dixit and David Abraham (Economic liberalization Project, USAID), Aung Gyi (IDRC New Delhi), Michael Thompson (International Academy of the Environment-Geneva), Jayanta Bandyopadhyay (then with ICIMOD Kathmandu, now with IAE-Geneva), A. R. Ghanashyam (Indian Embassy, Kathmandu), B. K. Verma (Bihar Government, Kosi Liason Office), as well as Ambassadors Prof. Bimal Prasad (India, Julia Chang-Bloch (USA), Mohammed Nasser Mian (Pakistan). Special thanks are due to Kanak Mani Dixit (editor HIMAL). We would also like to thank the Department of Geography University of Berne, the representatives from the Swiss Confedration and the Embassy of Bangladesh, Kathmandu. Thanks are also due to Ms. Jill Umbach of CECI Kathmandu for her help in editing. Ajaya Dixit Dipak Gyawali KATHMANDU NEPAL MESSAGE Timely and optimal utilisation of the waters of the Himalaya is one of the few options that would allow the people of this underdeveloped region to pull themselves out of the poverty trap that has been their endemic fate so far. This major Himalayan resource has been a bane in the form of floods and damage to life and property; but it also holds the promise of a boon if we were able to harness the waters with due sensitivity to the environment and the weakest sections of our society. In view of the complex and interlinked nature of the issues surrounding Himalayan waters and given the fact that governments of the region are often preoccupied with the difficult tasks of grappling with everyday poverty, it is extremely encouraging that non- governmental organisations of the region have begun to take initiatives to address the complex issues by themselves and thus draw the attention of Governments to matters that need their attention. I wish the participants to this meeting all success in furthering better knowledge of the complex issues of Himalayan water resources development and enhanced understanding of regional and international concerns. Girija Prasad Koirala February 22, 1993 WATER NEPAL Volume 4, Number 1, September 1994 Preface I Message iii PROLOGUE The Himalaya-Ganga: Contending with Interlinkages in a Complex System Dipak Gyawali and Ajaya Dixit 1-7 VIEWPOINT Ecological and Political Aspects of Himalayan Water Resource Management Jayanta Bandyopadhyay and Dipak Gyawali 9-30 SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CHALLENGE Issue of Scale in Nepal’s Water Resources Development Rishi Shah 31-33 Preliminary Look at Arun III in light of Tehri Experience Vijay Paranjapye 35-41 Learning from the Mistakes of Large Scale Water Development Philip B. Williams 43-46 Smaller is Better S. B. Synghal 47-53 Why End-use Efficiency is Never Just A Technical Business Natascia Petringa and Michael Thompson 55-59 Environmental Impact Assessment in Water Resource Development in Nepal Tara N. Bhattarai 61-66 Environmental Issues in Water Resources Management in The Indo-Nepal Region A. K. Sinha and Santosh Kumar 67-73 Cultural and Water Bonds Santosh Kumar, A. K. Sinha and Nigam Prakash 75-79 Interface of Water, Religion and Development: Strains of Discord Sudhindra Sharma 81-88 Table of contents.pmd 61 2/8/2010, 4:25 PM Water Projects in Nepal: Lessons from Displacement and Rehabilitation Ajaya Dixit 89-103 TECHNOLOGY AND SOUTH ASIA Improving the Knowledge Base for Himalayan Water Development Richard Kattlemann 105-114 Hydrology Under Central Planning: Groundwater in India Marcus Moench 115-129 A Case Study of Western