Your search found 13 records
1 Urfels, A.; Shakya, S. M.; Maharjan, S.; Lohanee, B. D.; Pandey, V.; Khadka, Manohara; Adhikari, S.; Neupane, A.; Karki, S.; Acharya, S.; Foster, T.; Krupnik, T. 2021. Framework for co-development of an open hydrological data system to enhance climate resilience in climate vulnerable countries: experience from a digital groundwater monitoring pilot in Nepal. [Abstract only]. Paper presented at the European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly 2021, Online, 19-30 April 2021. 2p. [doi: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu21-15104]
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050377)
(0.27 MB) (278 KB)
2 Khadka, Manohara; Uprety, Labisha; Shrestha, Gitta; Minh, Thai Thi; Nepal, Shambhawi; Raut, Manita; Dhungana, Shashwat; Shahrin, S.; Krupnik, T. J.; Schmitter, Petra. 2021. Understanding barriers and opportunities for scaling sustainable and inclusive farmer-led irrigation development in Nepal. Kathmandu, Nepal: Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA). 92p.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050731)
(1.87 MB) (1.87 MB)
3 van Koppen, Barbara; Raut, Manita; Rajouria, Alok; Khadka, Manohara; Pradhan, P.; GC, R. K.; Colavito, L.; O’Hara, C.; Rautanen, S.-L.; Nepal, P. R.; Shrestha, P. K. 2022. Gender equality and social inclusion in community-led multiple use water services in Nepal. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 29p. (IWMI Working Paper 203) [doi: https://doi.org/10.5337/2022.200]
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H050908)
(1.21 MB)
The Constitution of Nepal 2015 enshrines everyone’s right of access to clean water for drinking and the right to food. The common operationalization of the right to water for drinking is providing access to infrastructure that brings water for drinking and other basic domestic uses near and at homesteads. Challenges to achieving this goal in rural areas include: low functionality of water systems; expansion of informal self supply for multiple uses; widespread de facto productive uses of water systems designed for domestic uses; growing competition for finite water resources; and male elite capture in polycentric decision-making. This paper traces how the Nepali government and nongovernmental organizations in the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), irrigation and other sectors have joined forces since the early 2000s to address these challenges by innovating community-led multiple use water services (MUS). The present literature review of these processes complemented by field research supported by the Water for Women Fund focuses on women in vulnerable households.
Overcoming sectoral silos, these organizations support what is often seen as the sole responsibility of the WASH sector: targeting infrastructure development to bring sufficient water near and at homesteads of those left behind. Women’s priorities for using this water are respected and supported, which often includes productive uses, also at basic volumes. In line with decentralized federalism, inclusive community-led MUS planning processes build on vulnerable households’ self supply, commonly for multiple uses, and follow their priorities for local incremental infrastructure improvements. Further, community-led MUS builds on community-based arrangements for ‘sharing in’ and ‘sharing out’ the finite water resources in and under communities’ social territories. This realizes the constitutional right to food in line with the Nepal Water Resources Act, 1992, which prioritizes core minimum volumes of water for everyone’s domestic uses and many households’ irrigation. Evidence shows how the alleviation of domestic chores, women’s stronger control over food production for nutrition and income, and more sustainable infrastructure mutually reinforce each other in virtuous circles out of gendered poverty. However, the main challenge remains the inclusion of women and vulnerable households in participatory processes.
4 Urfels, A.; Khadka, Manohara; Shrestha, Nirman; Pavelic, Paul; Risal, A.; Uprety, Labisha; Shrestha, Gitta; Dile, Y.; McDonald, A. J.; Pandey, V. P.; Srinivasan, R.; Krupnik, T. J. 2022. A framework for sustainable and inclusive irrigation development in western Nepal. Kathmandu, Nepal: Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA). 78p.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051550)
(3.12 MB) (3.12 MB)
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051671)
(0.55 MB) (567 KB)
Successful community institutions in the global South, which are contributing to livelihoods’ improvement while conserving water and other natural resources, can sustainably build the resilience that policy makers at different tiers are seeking. This article assesses different models of community institutions in Nepal in governing water resources from various lenses, based on Ostrom’s and others’ design principles, including bricolage. Illustrated by three empirical cases, it analyses key features of community institutions in integrated water governance, their contributions to health, nutrition, food security, and environmental conservation, and ways for empowering these institutions as viable and sustainable solutions to address various livelihood challenges. However, inequalities along gender, caste, and ethnicity lines persist. We argue that the recently established local governments under the federal system in Nepal provide new opportunities for gender and social inclusion.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051837)
(3.60 MB) (3.60 MB)
Climate variability and insufficient irrigation are primary constraints to stable and higher agricultural productivity and food security in Nepal. Agriculture is the largest global freshwater user, and integration of surface- and ground-water use is frequently presented as an strategy for increasing efficiency as well as climate change adaptation. However, conjunctive management (CM) planning often ignores demand-side requirements and a broader set of sustainable development considerations, including ecosystem health and economics of different development strategies. While there is generic understanding of conjunctive use, detailed technical knowhow to realize the CM is lacking in Nepal. This article presents a holistic framework through literature reviews, stakeholders consultations and expert interviews for assessing CM and implementation prospects from a systems-level perspective. We demonstrate the framework through a case study in Western Nepal, where climatic variability and a lack of irrigation are key impediments to increased agricultural productivity and sustainable development. Results show that knowledge of water resources availability is good and that of water demand low in the Western Terai. Additional and coordinated investments are required to improve knowledge gaps as well as access to irrigation. There is therefore a need to assess water resources availability, water access, use and productivity, to fill the knowledge gaps in order to pave pathways for CM. This paper also discusses some strategies to translate prospects of conjunctive management into implementation.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052233)
(0.38 MB) (390 KB)
Despite evidence of women’s roles and expertise in the management of water, energy, food, and the environment (WEFE), the WEFE literature is almost silent on gender issues. In the context of climate change, achieving more inclusive management of natural resources is vital; yet women continue to be underrepresented as professionals in WEFE sectors, and largely absent in leadership positions. Using Nepal as a case study, this paper explores the enduring barriers to their exclusion, and entry points for greater equity among professionals in these sectors. To do so, we draw on key informant interviews with 34 male and 31 women professionals from government, civil society, non-governmental organizations and consultants, as well as a roundtable discussion with 20 women professionals specifically focused on gender barriers in these sectors in Nepal. Drawing on Gaventa (2006)’s power cube, this paper examines how power dynamics within and between the public and the private spheres create a web of barriers that conflate to sideline women professionals. While women have reached the “closed space” as defined by Gaventa (i.e., are recruited to professional positions in WEFE sectors), different sources of “hidden” and “invisible” power at play in the public and private spheres continue to limit their participation, influence and decision-making. We argue that the continued marginalization of women professionals calls for a focus on understanding the power and intersectionality dynamics that sustain exclusion. This focus is critical for the development of strategies to increase the voice and leadership of women professionals in WEFE decision-making.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052237)
(1.03 MB) (1.03 MB)
The enactment of a new Constitution in 2015 in Nepal marked a shift to a representative system of federal governance. Earlier in 2002, the country’s Tenth Five Year Plan had committed to a core focus on gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) in national policies and governance. How do these two strategic shifts in policy align in the case of WASH projects in rural Nepal? Applying a feminist political lens, we review the implementation of WASH initiatives in two rural districts to show that deep-rooted intersectional complexities of caste, class, and gender prevent inclusive WASH outcomes. Our findings show that the policy framing for gender equitable and socially inclusive outcomes have not impacted the WASH sector, where interventions continue as essentially technical interventions. While there has been significant increase in the number of women representatives in local governance structures since 2017, systemic, informal power relationship by caste, ethnicity and gender entrenched across institutional structures and cultures persist and continue to shape unequal gender-power dynamics. This is yet another example that shows that transformative change requires more than just affirmative policies.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052316)
(2.11 MB) (2.11 MB)
Agricultural technologies are often promoted as a medium for women’s economic empowerment, which can transform unequal gender relations in rural agrarian societies. This paper investigates three solar irrigation pump (SIP) schemes implemented by state and non-state actors and examines their impacts on women and marginal farmers. We utilize a theory of change framework intended to evaluate the effectiveness of livelihood interventions and guide the design of gender transformative interventions. Our analysis relies on 63 qualitative interviews, 9 key informant interviews and 4 telephonic interviews with social mobilisers from the Saptari District in Nepal. The findings shed light on the unequal social and gender relations that have skewed the adoption and benefits of SIP technology. Gender and social inequalities persist, with limited adoption and benefit of SIP among women and smallholders. Women’s involvement in strategic decisions related to SIP adoptions, installations and usages is limited. This study underscores the importance of strategic interventions that foster meaningful women’s empowerment and ensure equitable distribution and benefits from SIP technology. Assessing the effectiveness of SIPs in empowering women, it is crucial to consider whether the resulting access, ownership, or decision-making opportunities challenge, reinforce, or reproduce unequal gender and social relations.
10 Baral, S.; Nepal, Santosh; Pandey, V.; Khadka, Manohara; Gyawali, D. 2023. Position paper on enhancing water security in Nepal. Prepared for the UN 2023 Water Conference, New York, USA, 22-24 March 2023. Kathmandu, Nepal: Government of Nepal. Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation. 26p.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052326)
(3.59 MB) (3.59 MB)
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052566)
(5.11 MB) (5.11 MB)
Solar irrigation pumps (SIPs) are emerging as a popular technology to address water, energy, and climate change challenges in South Asia while enhancing livelihoods and food security. SIPs are deemed to be a women-friendly renewable energy technology (RET) due to their design, operating system, and safety. While the gender dimensions of natural resources are well documented, the extent to which the water, energy, and food (WEF) policies—including policies to promote SIP technologies in the countries of South Asia—conceptualize and operationalize gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) is not well understood. Therefore, in this study, we reviewed 39 WEF sectoral policies of Bangladesh and Nepal by adopting a gender-transformative analysis approach to rank the policies on a continuum ranging from a scale of 0–3 (denoting gender-unaware, gender-aware, gender-responsive, and gendertransformative). We found that the governments in both countries commit to gender equality and women’s advancement in their WEF sector policies, institutions, and decision-making by ensuring gender and justice principles in their constitutions and national development frameworks. However, these higher-level aspirational principles are not always operationalized in the WEF sector policies. We found that the WEF policies are aware of the need to include GESI and social equity in sectoral programming, yet operational rules for their implementation often fail to challenge structural barriers. Such barriers hinder women and marginalized groups from participating in and benefiting from WEF policies, including the deployment of SIP technologies. This calls for a transformation not only in project implementation but also in the policymaking processes of WEF sectors in the South Asian region.
12 Nepal, Santosh; Neupane, Nilhari; Koirala, Sanju; Lautze, Jonathan; Shrestha, Ram Narayan; Bhatt, D.; Shrestha, Nirman; Adhikari, Manju; Kaini, S.; Karki, S.; Yangkhurung, J. R.; Gnawali, K.; Pradhan, A. M. S.; Timsina, K.; Pradhananga, Saurav; Khadka, Manohara. 2024. Integrated assessment of irrigation and agriculture management challenges in Nepal: an interdisciplinary perspective. Heliyon, 10(9):E29407. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e29407]
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052702)
(4.32 MB) (4.32 MB)
Agriculture plays a critical role in ensuring food and nutrition security, livelihood, and rural employment in Nepal. Despite substantial investments and institutional reforms, irrigation projects have faced consistently low performance. While existing studies have shed light on technical aspects of irrigation performance, they often focus on specific themes rather than holistic evaluations of sustainability. This research systematically assesses barriers and challenges to effective irrigation water management in Nepal by assessing and ranking the challenges faced by three irrigation systems located in western Nepal: Mahakali, Rani Jamara Kulariya, and Babai. To investigate these challenges, we collected data from 449 households, which provided insights into 33 indicators representing key barriers to effective irrigation and agricultural management. The identified challenges were categorized into four broad thematic areas: physical and structural, agricultural and water, socioeconomic and market, and gender and governance. A comprehensive evaluation was conducted to compare these challenges among the three irrigation schemes, different thematic areas, and various locations within each scheme (namely, the head, mid, and tail sections of the system). The findings revealed that timely access and availability of fertilizers, spring water availability and fair market prices of agricultural products are the most significant challenges. The Babai irrigation system faced the most substantial challenges among the three systems, particularly in the middle section. These findings emphasize the interconnectedness of these challenges, highlighting the need for a holistic approach to planning, implementation, and management. Integrated strategies are essential to address socioeconomic, market, and endogenous farming issues, ensuring reliable irrigation water availability for sustainable agricultural production.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052991)
(1.82 MB) (1.82 MB)
In recent years, use of solar-powered irrigation pumps (SIPs) has increased significantly in the agricultural plains (terai) of Nepal. Federal and local governments there have subsidized the pumps in an effort to expand irrigated agriculture using renewable energy. We use data from a cross-sectional survey of 656 farming households in the terai to examine how SIPs affect fossil fuel use and groundwater extraction. We find that most SIP users continued to use their fossil-fuel pumps, as very few completely replaced them with solar pumps. Farmers who received SIPs operated their irrigation pumps more hours than those who did not receive SIPs. Taken together, these findings suggest that groundwater use has increased, as SIP recipients ‘stack’ their pumps. We also find that solar pumps were more likely to be owned by richer households and those with better social networks than those who were poorer and had relative social disadvantage. As Nepal expands the use of solar pumps in agriculture, policy efforts may benefit from managing expectations about the carbon-mitigation potential of this technology, managing groundwater risks as SIP use expands, and making SIPs more inclusive.
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