Your search found 13 records
1 Bharati, Luna; Smakhtin, Vladimir; Jayakody, Priyantha; Kaushal, N.; Gurung, Pabitra. 2011. Use of a distributed catchment model to assess hydrologic modifications in the Upper Ganges Basin. In Brebbia, C. A. (Ed.). River basin management VI. Southampton, UK: WIT Press. pp.177-186. [doi: https://doi.org/10.2495/RM110161]
River basin management ; Catchment areas ; Hydrology ; Simulation models ; Environmental flows ; Soil water ; Assessment ; Canals ; Water balance ; Runoff / India / Upper Ganges Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H044361)
http://library.witpress.com/pages/PaperInfo.asp?PaperID=22160
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H044361.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H044361.pdf
(0.60 MB)
Allocation of river water to cities, industries and agriculture has been a common practice in river basin planning and management. It is now widely accepted that water also needs to be allocated for aquatic environments – alongside the demands of other users. Discharge data are a pre-requisite for calculating such environmental demands – Environmental Flows (EF) – regardless of the EF assessment method used. This paper describes the application of a distributed hydrological model (SWAT) to simulate discharges, which were then used for EF assessment in the Upper Ganges River in India (total area: 87000 km2). The EF assessment was done using a multidisciplinary, multi-stakeholder approach (Building Blocks methodology). The EF method involved several stakeholder workshops with various expert groups and extensive field studies. This is the first time that a comprehensive EF assessment has been done in India. The characteristic feature of the study is that cultural and religious water demands were also incorporated into the assessment of EF requirements as the conservation of the river’s spiritual traits were recognized by the stakeholders as being as important as the maintenance of its ecological integrity. The assessment resulted in EF requirements ranging from 72% of Mean Annual Runoff (MAR) in the upper stretches to 45% of (MAR) in the lower stretches, which is coherent with the ecological and spiritual status of the reaches.
2 Bharati, Luna; Lacombe, Guillaume; Gurung, Pabitra; Jayakody, Priyantha; Hoanh, Chu Thai; Smakhtin, Vladimir. 2011. The impacts of water infrastructure and climate change on the hydrology of the Upper Ganges River Basin. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 28p. (IWMI Research Report 142) [doi: https://doi.org/10.5337/2011.210]
Water resources ; River basins ; Climate change ; Hydrology ; Simulation models ; Precipitation ; Evapotranspiration ; Statistical methods ; Water balance ; Water yield ; Irrigation water / India / Upper Ganges River
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H044532)
(2.25MB)
This study assessed the variability of flows under present and 'naturalized' basin conditions in the Upper Ganges Basin (UGB). Furthermore, the PRECIS regional climate model (RCM) was used to generate climate projections for the UGB, with subsequent simulations of future river flows. Results show that the annual average precipitation, actual evapotranspiration (ET) and net water yields of the whole basin were 1,192 mm, 416 mm and 615 mm, respectively. Precipitation, ET and water yields were found to be higher in the forested and mountainous upper areas of the UGB. On an annual average, present-day flows throughout UGB are about 2-8% lower than under naturalized conditions. Dry and wet season flows under climate change (CC) scenario A2 are lower than that under present climate conditions at upstream locations, but higher at downstream locations of UGB. Flows under CC scenario B2 are systematically higher and lower than that under CC scenario A2 during dry and wet seasons, respectively.
3 Gurung, Pabitra; Bharati, Luna. 2011. Downstream hydrological impacts of the Melamchi inter-basin water transfer plan. In Nepal. Department of Irrigation. Proceedings of National Irrigation Seminar Micro to Mega: Irrigation for Prosperous Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepal, 13-14 July 2011. Lalitpur, Nepal: Department of Irrigation. pp.161-168.
Downstream ; Hydrological factors ; River basins ; Water availability ; Water transfer ; Water supply ; Drinking water ; Water balance ; Models ; Dry season ; Wet season / Nepal / Melamchi / Kathmandu Valley / Indrawati River
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H044590)
(1.33 MB)
4 Bharati, Luna; Gurung, Pabitra; Jayakody, Priyantha. 2012. Hydrologic characterization of the Koshi Basin and the impact of climate change. Hydro Nepal: Journal of Water, Energy and Environment, April:18-22. (Special issue on "Proceedings of National Conference on Water, Food Security and Climate Change in Nepal" with contributions by IWMI authors).
Hydrology ; River Basins ; Climate change ; Precipitation ; Temperature ; Simulation models ; Water balance ; Water yield ; Assessment ; Evapotranspiration ; Runoff ; Ecology / Nepal / Koshi Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H044827)
Assessment of surface and groundwater resources and water availability for different sectors is a great challenge in Nepal mainly due to data limitations. In this study, the Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was used to simulate the hydrology and to calculate sub-basin wise water balances in the Koshi Basin, Nepal. The impacts of Climate Change (CC) projections from four GCMs (CNRM-CM3, CSIRO-Mk3.0,ECHam5 and MIROC 3.2) on the hydrology of the basin were also calculated. This paper summarizes some of the key results. The full report of the study is in preparation. The basin can be divided into the trans-mountain, central mountain, eastern mountain, eastern hill and central hill regions. Results show that current precipitation is highest in the central mountain and eastern mountain regions during both the dry and wet seasons. Water balance results showed that Actual ET as well as Runoff is also highest in the central and eastern mountain regions followed by the mid-hills. Results from climate change projections showed that average temperature will increase in the 2030’s by 0.7-0.9° Celsius. Results for 2030s projections also show that during the dry season, precipitation increases in the trans-mountain but decreases in the other regions for both A2 and B1 scenarios. During the wet season, the MarkSim projections show a decrease in precipitation in all the regions. Net water yields also increased for the trans-mountain zone during the dry season but show varying results during the monsoon. Assessment of projected future fl ow time series showed that there will be an increase in the number of extreme events; i.e., both low fl ows and large fl oods. There is however; a high degree of uncertainty in the projected climate data as the relative standard deviation was quite high.
5 Gurung, Pabitra; Bharati, Luna. 2012. Downstream impacts of the Melamchi Inter-Basin Water Transfer Plan (MIWTP) under current and future climate change projections. Hydro Nepal: Journal of Water, Energy and Environment, April:23-29. (Special issue on "Proceedings of National Conference on Water, Food Security and Climate Change in Nepal" with contributions by IWMI authors).
Downstream ; River basins ; Drinking water ; Water availability ; Water supply ; Water transfer ; Climate change ; Simulation models ; Wet season ; Dry season ; Crop management ; Water requirements ; Irrigation / Nepal / Kathmandu / Koshi River Basin / Melamchi River
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H044828)
The Melamchi Water Supply Project (MWSP) is designed to minimize the shortage of drinking water in the Kathmandu valley. Although the project was supposed to be completed by 2008, due to various problems, it is still diffi cult to forecast the exact date of completion. This paper quantifi es the downstream effects of diverting water from the Melamchi (Stage-I),Yangri (Stage-II) and Larke (Stage-III) rivers under current as well as future climate scenarios. The Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was used in the analysis. Result shows that in the Stage-I water transfer plan, average infl ow reduction in the immediate downstream sub-basin in the dry and wet seasons are 36% and 7% respectively, where as in Stage-II the infl ow reductions are 38% for the dry season and 8% for the wet season. In Stage-III, infl ow reductions are 38% in the dry season and 7% in the wet season. The impact of the water transfer schemes on various changes in water management within the Melamchi River irrigation command area was also tested. BUDGET (soil, water and salt balance) model was used to quantify crop water requirement of Melamchi River command area when the irrigated area is increased and the cropping pattern is changed. Simulation results of crop water requirement in intensive water use conditions show that present Melamchi River command area can be increased by 2.2 times under current climate projection, whereas the area can be increased 1.4 times in 2030s and by 2.0 times in 2050s.
6 Siddiqui, Salman; Bharati, Luna; Pant, Menuka; Gurung, Pabitra; Rakhal, Biplov. 2012. Nepal: building climate resilience of watersheds in mountain eco-regions - climate change and vulnerability mapping in watersheds in middle and high mountains of Nepal. ADB Technical Assistance Consultant's Report for Department of Soil Conservation and Watershed Management (DSCWM), Government of Nepal. Kathmandu, Nepal: Asian Development Bank (ADB). 96p.
Climate change ; Watersheds ; Mountains ; Ecological factors ; Rain ; Landslides ; Flooding ; Drought ; Risks ; Socioeconomic environment ; Adaptation ; Indicators ; Mapping ; Data ; Analytical methods ; Sensitivity analysis ; Models / Nepal / Middle Mountains Regions / High Mountains Regions
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H045011)
http://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/project-document/73085/44214-023-nep-tacr.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H045011.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H045011.pdf
(5.46 MB) (5.46MB)
Project Preparatory Technical Assistance 7883-NEP
7 Bharati, Luna; Smakhtin, Vladimir; Gurung, Pabitra; Lacombe, Guillaume; Amarasinghe, Upali A.; Sapkota, Pratibha; Hoanh, Chu Thai. 2012. Environmentally sustainable water resources management in the Upper Ganga Basin under changing climate conditions. [Project report prepared by IWMI for World Wide Fund for Nature, India under the project "Environmentally Sustainable Water Resources Management in the Upper Ganga Basin"]. Kathmandu, Nepal: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 51p.
Water resources ; Water management ; River basins ; Hydrology ; Simulation models ; Climate change ; Rain ; Temperature ; Relative humidity ; Wind speed ; Water balance ; Water allocation ; Water availability ; Water use ; Canal irrigation ; Environmental flows / India / Upper Ganga Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H045053)
(2.50 MB)
8 Sapkota, Pratibha; Bharati, Luna; Gurung, Pabitra; Kaushal, N.; Smakhtin, Vladimir. 2013. Environmentally sustainable management of water demands under changing climate conditions in the Upper Ganges Basin, India. Hydrological Processes, 27(15):2197-2208. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.9852]
Water management ; Water demand ; Water use ; Groundwater ; Climate change ; River basins ; Environmental flows ; Catchment areas ; Models ; Case studies ; Crop production / India / Upper Ganges Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H045943)
(2.06 MB)
Allocation of water to cities, industries and agriculture has been a common practice in river basin planning and management. It is widely accepted that water also needs to be allocated for the aquatic environment, i.e. alongside the demands of other users. This paper describes the application of a basin planning model (Water Evaluation and Planning Model) to assess present and alternative water management options, which include incorporation of environmental flows (EFs) in the Upper Ganges River, India. Furthermore, the impacts of projected climate changes are also considered. The paper also briefly summarizes the EF assessment methodology, which was conducted through a multidisciplinary, multi-stakeholder approach (Building Blocks methodology). This is the first time that a comprehensive EF assessment has been done in India. Results from this study show that annual water demands for the domestic, industrial and irrigation water use are 1375, 1029 and 6680MCM, respectively. Unmet demands, i.e. when there is not enough water to fulfil the required demands, were a problem during December and January for the past climate and during December, January and February under climate change-projected conditions. Adding EFs increased unmet demands in the same winter months. During March–November, unmet water demands were less than 5MCM even with the addition of EFs. Reducing crop type to less water intense crops was more effective in reducing unmet demands than decreasing the cropped area. Improving irrigation systems through improved efficiency and water saving technologies as well as conjunctive use of surface and ground water is also viable options. However, the most effective water management solution is from managing upstream storage structures such as the Tehri dam for increased dry season flows. Dry season releases from Tehri dam can be used to reduce the downstream unmet demands, which include EFs to less than 5MCM/month.
9 Gurung, Pabitra; Bharati, Luna; Karki, Saroj. 2013. The assessment and management of water resources under current and future climate conditions in the West Seti Sub-Basin, Nepal: consultancy report prepared for the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Kathmandu, Nepal: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 71p.
Water resources ; Water management ; Assessment ; Climate change ; Precipitation ; River basins ; Watersheds ; Water yield ; Water balance ; Flow discharge ; Data analysis ; Rain ; Temperature ; Models ; Calibration ; Afforestation ; Water storage ; Ponds ; Infiltration ; Reservoirs ; Land use ; Erosion ; Sediment ; Hydrology / Nepal / West Seti Sub-Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H046130)
(14.37 MB)
10 Bharati, Luna; Gurung, Pabitra; Jayakody, P.; Smakhtin, Vladimir; Bhattarai, Utsav. 2014. The projected impact of climate change on water availability and development in the Koshi Basin, Nepal. Mountain Research and Development, 34(2):118-130. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-13-00096.1]
Climate change ; Water availability ; Water resources development ; Climatic data ; River basins ; Hydrology ; Precipitation ; Models ; Calibration ; Mountains ; Land use ; Soils ; Rain / Nepal / Koshi Basin / Himalayan Region
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H046487)
http://www.bioone.org/doi/pdf/10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-13-00096.1
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H046487.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H046487.pdf
(19.36 MB) (19.3 MB)
Water has been identified as a key resource for Nepal's economic growth. Although the country has 225 billion cubic meters of water available annually, less than 7% has been utilized. Climate change is a frequent topic in national development discussions in part because of its possible impact on future water availability. This study assessed the likely impact of climate change on water resources development in the Koshi River basin, Nepal, using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool to generate projections for the 2030s and 2050s. Results suggested that the impacts are likely to be scale dependent. Little impact is projected at annual, full-basin scales; but at sub-basin scale, under both the IPCC's A2 and B1 scenarios, precipitation is projected to increase in the upper transmountain subwatersheds in the 2030s and in most of the basin in the 2050s and to decrease in the lower sub-basins in the 2030s. Water yield is projected to increase in most of the basin except for the A2 scenario for the 2030s. Flow volumes are projected to increase during the monsoon and postmonsoon but decrease during the winter and premonsoon seasons. The impacts of climate change are likely to be higher during certain seasons and in some sub-basins. Thus, if infrastructure is in place that makes it possible to store and transfer water as needed, the water deficit due to any changes in rainfall or flow patterns could be managed and would not be a constraint on water resources development. The risks associated with extreme events such as floods and droughts should, however, also be considered during planning.
11 Bharati, Luna; Gurung, Pabitra; Bhattarai, Utsav. 2016. Past and future variability in the hydrological regime of the Koshi basin, Nepal. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 61(1):79-93. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2014.952639]
Hydrology ; Models ; Climate change ; Adaptation ; Precipitation ; Monsoon climate ; Winter ; River basins ; Soil management ; Assessment ; Water yield / Nepal / Koshi River Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H046581)
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/02626667.2014.952639
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H046581.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H046581.pdf
(4.11 MB)
Planning adaptation strategies in response to climate change (CC) can be a daunting task, especially in regions such as the Koshi Basin in the Himalayas; where CC impacts are still uncertain. This paper recommends targeting adaptation strategies by focusing on changes in variability between the past and future climates at smaller scales. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and the Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration (IHA) are used for analysis. Results show: (i) higher maximum precipitation during monsoon and post-monsoon, and lower maximum precipitation during winter; (ii) increase in precipitation and flows in the trans mountain region during all seasons, except for flows during monsoon; (iii) increase in post-monsoon precipitation and routed flow volumes; (iv) decrease in precipitation during winter and routed flow volumes in all the regions, except the trans mountain region; and (v) increase in frequency of high peak flows and decrease in baseflows.
12 Bharati, Luna; Bhattarai, Utsav; Khadka, Ambika; Gurung, Pabitra; Neumann, L. E.; Penton, D. J.; Dhaubanjar, Sanita; Nepal, S. 2019. From the mountains to the plains: impact of climate change on water resources in the Koshi River Basin. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI) 49p. (IWMI Working Paper 187) [doi: https://doi.org/10.5337/2019.205]
Climate change ; Climatic data ; Water resources ; Water balance ; Water yield ; Water availability ; Mountains ; Plains ; River basin management ; Soil analysis ; Soil water balance ; Calibration ; Spatial distribution ; Hydropower ; Precipitation ; Evapotranspiration ; Temperature ; Rainfall ; Monsoon climate ; Catchment areas ; Hydrological data ; Impact assessment ; Models ; Flow discharge ; Runoff ; Land use ; Seasonal variation / China / Nepal / India / Koshi River Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H049130)
(8 MB)
The Koshi Basin, spread across China, Nepal and India, is perceived as having high potential for hydropower and irrigation development, both seen as ways to promote economic development in the region. This paper quantifies and assesses the past and projected future spatial and temporal water balances in the Koshi Basin. Results show that precipitation and net water yield are lowest in the transmountain region and the Tibetan plateau. The values are highest in the mountain region, followed by the hills and Indo-Gangetic Plains. Approximately 65% of average annual precipitation is converted to flows, indicating high water availability. Actual evapotranspiration is highest in the Indo-Gangetic Plains region due to the presence of irrigated agriculture and a few forested mountain watersheds. As most of the water from the mountain and hill regions eventually flows down to the plains, the mountain and hill regions in Nepal are important for maintaining agriculture in the plains in both Nepal and India. Results from the flow analyses indicate the high temporal variability of flows in the basin. The frequent occurrences of both high- and low-flow events demonstrate the existing vulnerability of the region to both floods and droughts, leading to a very risk-prone livelihood system. Climate change projections show an increasing trend in precipitation and net water yield for most of the basin, except the transmountain region. Therefore, it is important to consider the climate change impacts on water resources in future planning.
13 Gurung, Pabitra; Dhungana, Shashwat; Kyaw Kyaw, Aung; Bharati, Luna. 2022. Hydrologic characterization of the Upper Ayeyarwaddy River Basin and the impact of climate change. Journal of Water and Climate Change, 13(7):2577-2596. [doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/wcc.2022.407]
River basins ; Hydrology ; Climate change ; Water availability ; Water balance ; Precipitation ; Water yield ; Evapotranspiration ; Parameters ; Groundwater ; Datasets ; Spatial data ; Climatic data ; Models ; Forecasting ; Agroecological zones ; Mountains ; Plains / Myanmar / Ayeyarwaddy River Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051307)
https://iwaponline.com/jwcc/article-pdf/13/7/2577/1082781/jwc0132577.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051307.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051307.pdf
(1.53 MB) (1.53 MB)
This study characterizes the hydrological regime of the Upper Ayeyarwaddy River Basin (UARB) of Myanmar under current and future climate change scenarios by using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). The model simulation results show that the annual precipitation, actual evapotranspiration and water yields are 1,578, 524 and 1,010 mm, respectively. These will increase by 13–28%, 11–24% and 42–198% under two representative concentration pathways (RCPs), RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5, for the future. There is seasonal variability across the cool, hot and rainy seasons in the agro-ecological regions – mountains, hills and inland plains. As in other Asian regions, the model shows that the wet (rainy) season is becoming wetter and the dry (cool) season is becoming drier in the UARB too.
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