Understanding Water Availability and Demand in the Koshi Basin using Water Resources Assessment Tools: WEAP and SWAT

A river basin has common biophysical, economic, social, and cultural attributes, which facilitate relations among those who live in them who share common resources and related issues. Water resources assessment tools are needed to promote meaningful interaction and reconcile the interests of the various actors at a river basin scale to maximize benefits, such as irrigation and hydropower, while minimizing adverse events, such as floods and landslides.

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), with the support of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Government of Australia, is facilitating a regionally coordinated Koshi Basin Programme (KBP) to create a knowledge base on water resources in the Koshi basin to ensure water security and resilient livelihoods. In collaboration with the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), the programme has developed water resources assessment tools using the Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) system and Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to evaluate water availability and demand in the basin.

A five-day training programme is proposed to inform stakeholders about the capabilities of these tools to assess water availability and demand to support the management of the Koshi basin. Participants will receive hands-on training on WEAP and develop a working knowledge of SWAT applied to the Koshi basin. A detailed training manual and data for practice will be provided during the training course.

Objectives

The objective of the training is to inform relevant stakeholders in China, India, and Nepal about the available tools that could be helpful in water resources planning at the basin and sub-basin levels in the Koshi river basin. Specific objectives are to:

• Share knowledge on how water resources assessment tools can be used to determine water demand and availability at the basin and sub-basin levels
• Provide basic training on water resources assessment tools, specifically WEAP and SWAT
• Provide hands-on training of the WEAP system and discuss the outputs of its application in the Koshi basin
• Demonstrate the SWAT and discuss the outputs of its application in the Koshi basin

Outputs

After successful completion of the training the participants will:

• Have a general understanding of how water resources assessment tools can be used to determine water demand and availability at the basin and sub-basin levels
• Understand and use the WEAP tool in the Koshi basin
• Make changes and build additional scenarios using the WEAP system
• Have a general understanding of the SWAT and its application to the Koshi basin

Target audience

This training is targeted at mid-level practitioners and policy/planning level professionals directly or indirectly involved in water management activities at the basin and sub-basin levels.