Application of Water Poverty Index (WPI) in Spatial Analysis of Water Stress in Koshi River Basin, Nepal

Saroj Koirala, Yiping Fang, Nirmal Mani Dahal, Chenjia Zhang, Bikram Pandey and Sabita Shrestha
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Saroj Koirala: Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China
Yiping Fang: Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China
Nirmal Mani Dahal: Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China
Chenjia Zhang: Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China
Bikram Pandey: University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
Sabita Shrestha: University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 2, 1-20

Abstract: Water and poverty interface is strongly interconnected and a robust assessment of water stress is crucial to identify needy areas and develop appropriate intervention for poverty reduction. Water Poverty Index (WPI) provides an interdisciplinary tool to assess water stress by linking physical estimates of water availability with socio-economic drivers of poverty. This study presents an application of Water Poverty Index (WPI) to estimate and compare the level of water stress in 27 districts of Koshi River Basin in Nepal. Based on data availability, relevance to the study area and review of literatures, 12 indicators were selected under five key components outlined by WPI. The study result shows medium-low degree (WPI = 54.4) of water poverty in the Koshi River Basin in Nepal. The WPI score varies widely (from 49.75 to 69.29) along the districts and it was found that districts in Tarai regions and urban areas were more water stressed compared to the districts in mid-hill and high-hill regions. Priorities for intervention must be given to the districts in Tarai regions and urban areas with a low WPI score, explicitly on the sector regarding access to water and sanitation to address water poverty in the basin.

Keywords: water poverty index; water resources; Koshi River Basin; Nepal (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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