STATUS OF WATERSHED AND NEED OF INTEGRATED APPROACH FOR SUSTAINABLE WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT IN NEPAL

Abstract

Watersheds are acknowledged as a paramount form of green substructure that provides us with important services like; drinking water, irrigation water, fodder/forage, pebbles/boulders, and timber including recreational, regulating, and other available services. The hills and mountains of Nepal are the watershed areas with the most fragile ecosystem and poor agricultural potential, as more than 15% of the total population of the country and 13% of the total land area is covered by Chure that has fragile ranges of hills. Hence, it can’t be denied from the fact that many of Nepal’s watersheds are in a state of physical and biological deterioration where landslides, soil erosion, floods, biodiversity loss, unsustainable water extraction, and farming practices are among the major issues leading towards watershed degradation. Therefore, proper strategies like developing stream and rainwater harvesting programs, strict implementation of EIA, IEE, adoption of SALT technology for income generation, etc. needs to be prioritized based on the principles of integrated watershed management while planning, monitoring & implementing soil and watershed management.