Back to news
7 Dec 2018 | DFAT Brahmaputra

Benefit Sharing from Hydropower Generation in South Asia

Eleven researchers from India, Nepal, and Pakistan gathered in Kathmandu from 5–7 September 2018 to discuss and finalize the findings of their research on benefit sharing from hydropower in their respective countries. Their research was commissioned by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) with funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Government of Australia.

1 min Read

70% Complete
Researchers participated in a knowledge forum at ICIMOD to share their findings with partners and stakeholders. Imran Khalid, from Pakistan, is pictured responding to a question from the audience about his research findings.

These studies were conducted by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), Pakistan; People’s Science Institute (PSI), Dehradun, India; the South Asia Consortium for Interdisciplinary Water Resources Studies (SaciWATERs), Hyderabad, India; Farmer Managed Irrigation Systems Promotion Trust (FMIST), Nepal; and Policy Entrepreneurs Incorporated (PEI), Nepal.

Researchers were looking to answer questions related to how mountain communities located close to hydropower plants are benefiting from hydropower plants and whether there are relevant laws in place to ensure that communities derive commensurate benefits, given that they are most likely to also bear the environmental and social costs of hydropower development. These studies together covered more than 50 hydropower projects in India (Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh), Nepal, and the Upper Indus region in Pakistan.

Hydropower has become the base for a viable economy and sustainable clean energy in countries like Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan, where there is huge potential for hydropower given the suitable mountain terrain and water resources. However, much needs to be done to address the price that mountain communities pay in the long term when they host such projects in their localities, especially when much of the electricity produced by these projects serves populations downstream without offering enough benefits to mountain communities.

The ICIMOD-commissioned studies look at existing best practices for benefit sharing and how these can be further improved. The research findings highlight some replicable good practices – local area development funds in India or corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, which include benefits such as free electricity, infrastructure building support, employment, access to market and health services, and plantation programmes in some isolated cases. There are also cases where the culture of benefit sharing is in its early stages as well as instances where local communities have not benefited from hydropower projects.

Some recommendations include the need for countries to revisit their water laws and land acquisition policies, maintain a balance between food security and revenue generation, and explore alternative resources for hydropower plants.

Detailed findings and recommendations made by these four studies will be published later in the year.

Stay current

Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.

Sign Up

RELATED CONTENTS

Continue exploring this topic

22 Sep 2015 News
Nepal’s Digital Agriculture Atlas Launched

The Digital Agriculture Atlas of Nepal takes data closer to decision makers by providing a one-stop shop for information related ...

Kidney Beans Improve Income and Nutrition in Kailash Sacred Landscape

  ICIMOD’s Kailash Sacred Landscape Conservation and Development Initiative (KSLCDI), in partnership with the Central Himalayan Environment Association (CHEA), has identified ...

2 Feb 2017 Beekeeping
ICIMOD and KHDC Organize Training on Beekeeping in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh

A seven-day training of lead farmers on beekeeping was organized from 5 -11 January 2017 with the main objective of ...

25 Dec 2015 Himalica
P3DM in Myanmar

  A training on Participatory 3-Dimensional Model (P3DM) building was held in Letmaungwe, Kyaung Taung Village, Nyaung Shwe Township in Myanmar ...

28 Jan 2016 KSL
China, India, and Nepal Keen on Creating a Trans-boundary UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Kailash Sacred Landscape

There is interest in creating a transboundary.United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage Site (UNESCO WHS). in the ...

20 Dec 2015 News
Building Capacity for Implementing Community Forestry in Afghanistan

  From 14–18 December 2015, a team of Afghani officials participated in a study visit to Nepal to learn about community-based ...

29 Feb 2016 News
AIRCA Annual Steering Committee Meeting in Costa Rica

Directors and representatives of all members Association of International Research and Development Centers for Agriculture (AIRCA) gathered on ...

Reflections on the Training Workshop on GIS/RS

Bhakta Bahadur Karki, an Advisor-Knowledge Management and Communication who works with the High Value Agriculture Project (HVAP) project took part ...