Cover photo: A view of the confluence of the Tila Karnali and the Humla Karnali rivers in the Tila- Karnali Watershed, Kalikot. Photo credit: USAID Paani Program II TILA KARNALI 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: March 28, 2019 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. III Table of Contents TABLES ....................................................................................................................... VI FIGURES ................................................................................................................... VIII ABBREVIATIONS ..................................................................................................... IX ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................... 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................ 2 1. TILA KARNALI WATERSHED: NATURE, WEALTH AND POWER ..... 10 2. NATURE........................................................................................................... 11 2.1. TILA KARNALI WATERSHED ................................................................................ 11 2.2. WATER AVAILABILITY AND QUALITY............................................................... 13 2.3. LAND USE AND LAND COVER .............................................................................. 14 2.4. BIODIVERSITY AND INVASIVE SPECIES ............................................................. 20 2.5. CLIMATE AND PHYSIOGRAPHY .......................................................................... 23 2.5.1. Temperature ...................................................................................................................................... 23 2.5.2 Rainfall ................................................................................................................................................. 26 2.5.3 River discharge .................................................................................................................................. 27 2.6. CLIMATE RESILIENCE AND DISASTER RISK REDUCTION ............................................... 31 3. WEALTH.......................................................................................................... 33 3.1. FISHING PRACTICES ............................................................................................... 33 3.2 AGRICULTURE PRODUCTIVITY ........................................................................... 34 3.1.1. Soil management and fertility ......................................................................................................... 35 3.3 INFRASTRUCTURE .................................................................................................. 35 3.3.1 Hydropower ...................................................................................................................................... 36 3.3.2 Gravel mining ..................................................................................................................................... 39 3.3.3 Roads ................................................................................................................................................... 39 3.3.4 Irrigation .............................................................................................................................................. 41 3.4 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT ............................................................................. 42 4. POWER ............................................................................................................ 43 4.1. ACCESS AND INCLUSION...................................................................................... 43 4.1.1. Access to water for domestic and agricultural use .................................................................. 44 4.1.2 Access to Early Warning System (EWS) and Disaster Risk Reduction ............................... 45 4.1.3 Access and inclusion in local NRM planning ............................................................................... 45 4.2. COMMUNITY ACTION AND RESPONSE ............................................................. 46 4.2.1. Climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction ........................................................... 46 IV 4.2.2. Natural resource management (NRM) groups and activities ................................................. 46 4.2.3. Compliance with laws and policy provisions .............................................................................. 47 4.3. GOVERNANCE .............................................................................................................. 48 5. MAJOR ISSUES AND CHALLENGES .......................................................... 49 6. TURNING THREATS INTO OPPORTUNITY ........................................... 50 7. VISION AND MISSION OF TILA KARNALI WATERSHED .................... 52 7.1. VISION OF TILA KARNALI WATERSHED ............................................................ 52 7.2. COMMITMENT FOR CONSERVATION OF TILA KARNALI WATERSHED .... 52 8. RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................. 55 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................ 56 ANNEXES .................................................................................................................. 58 V TABLES Table 1: Priority issues and threats to freshwater conservation and aquatic biodiversity in the Tila Karnali watershed ...................................................................................................................................................... 6 Table 2: River and stream discharge rates and water quality ratings in the Tila Karnali watershed .......... 14 Table 3: Threats to key stone species of Tila Karnali watershed ............................................................... 22 Table 4: Natural hazards in the Tila Karnali watershed by location and threat levels ................................ 31 Table 5: Average land holdings by size in the Tila Karnali watershed ....................................................... 34 Table 6: Food security levels of households in the Tila Karnali watershed ................................................ 35 Table 7: List of mining sites in the Tila Karnali watershed .......................................................................... 39 Table 8: Status of rural roads in the Tila Karnali watershed ....................................................................... 40 Table 9: Irrigation schemes in the Tila Karnali watershed .......................................................................... 41 Table 10: Solid waste and waste water disposal practices by percentage in the Tila Karnali watershed .. 42 Table 11: Climate smart technologies and practices adopted in the Tila Karnali watershed ..................... 47 Table 12: Major environmental issues prioritized for the Tila Karnali watershed ....................................... 49 Table 13: Environmental issues and the opportunities presented for addressing each in the Tila Karnali watershed .................................................................................................................................................... 50 Table 14: Commitments from different stakeholders for watershed management ..................................... 52 Table 15: Household surveys conducted by caste/ethnicity in the Tila Karnali watershed ........................ 60 Table 16: Land cover by area and percentage in the Tila Karnali watershed ............................................ 61 Table 17: Population of Tila Karnali watershed by sex and caste/ethnicity ................................................ 62 Table 18: Streams and rivers in the Tila Karnali watershed ....................................................................... 64 Table 19: Types of forests in the Tila Karnali watershed, including area ................................................... 65 Table 20: Commercially-important non-timber forest products (NTFP) and medicinal and aromatic plants (MAP) in the Tila Karnali watershed ........................................................................................................... 65 Table 21: Other important NTFPs and MAPs in the Tila Karnali watershed .............................................. 66 Table 22: Forest management groups in the Tila Karnali watershed ......................................................... 67 VI Table 23: Fish found in the Tila Karnali watershed ..................................................................................... 68 Table 24: List of mammals found in the Tila Karnali watershed ................................................................. 70 Table 25: List of reptiles found in the Tila Karnali watershed, including preferred habitat ......................... 71 Table 26: List of birds found in the Tila Karnali watershed ........................................................................