Streamflow Alterations, Attributions, and Implications in Extended East Rapti Watershed, Central-Southern Nepal

Vishnu Prasad Pandey, Dibesh Shrestha, Mina Adhikari and Shristi Shakya
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Vishnu Prasad Pandey: Nepal Office, International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Lalitpur 44700, Nepal
Dibesh Shrestha: Nepal Office, International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Lalitpur 44700, Nepal
Mina Adhikari: Nepal Water Conservation Foundation for Academic Research (NWCF), Kathmandu 44600, Nepal
Shristi Shakya: Policy Entrepreneurs Incorporated (PEI), Lalitpur 44700, Nepal

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 9, 1-30

Abstract: Streamflow alteration and subsequent change in long-term average, seasonality, and extremes (e.g., floods and droughts) may affect water security, which is a major concern in many watersheds across the globe. Both climatic and anthropogenic activities may contribute to such changes. Therefore, this study assesses: (i) Streamflow and precipitation trends to identify streamflow alterations in the Extended East Rapti (EER) watershed in central-southern Nepal; (ii) relationship of the alterations to climatic and anthropogenic sources; and (iii) implications of streamflow changes to the socio-environmental system. The trends in streamflow were analyzed for pre-and post-1990 periods considering the abrupt shift in temperature trend in 1990. Results showed a general decreasing trends in discharge post-1990 in the EER watershed. Human activities have significantly contributed in altering streamflow in the EER. Human-induced streamflow alterations have affected the water availability, food security, river health, aquatic biodiversity, and groundwater abstraction in the EER watershed.

Keywords: climate change; East Rapti; Nepal; non-climatic change; rainfall; streamflow (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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