Developing Lal Bakaiya watershed management plan

Background

ICIMOD’s Action Area on Managing Cryosphere and Water Risks under the Strategic Group on Reducing Climate and Environment Risks, is organizing an inception workshop on developing a watershed management plan for the Lal Bakaiya watershed under the HI-GRID project, supported by Government of Australia.

With the learning from the Nibuwa-Tankhuwa Watershed Management Plan preparation in Dhankuta, this plan aims to address water scarcity in the upstream and excess water in the downstream of Lal Bakaiya. The plan will help fill these gaps by using an integrated approach with stakeholder consultations, field surveys, and remote sensing data to create a strategy that effectively manages water-related challenges.

The Lal Bakaiya Watershed Management Plan (LBWMP) aims to utilise strategic interventions, combining science-based evidence and input. This event will formally initiate the process for the LBWMP. Unlike other river systems in Madhesh and Koshi Province, the management plan for Lal Bakaiya River was not included in Nepal’s Building a Resilient Chure Region in Nepal (BRCRN) project. This watershed management plan is expected to bridge the gap and help in miminzing the impact of too little and too much water in the Lal bakaiya.  Therefore, this inception workshop brings all the relevant stakeholders to develop the LBWMP and initiate its implementation in the coming days.

Objectives

The major objective of the workshop is to formally initiate the process for the Lal Bakaiya Watershed Management Plan. The specific objectives are as follows:

• Introducing and launching the formal preparation process for the Lal Bakaiya Watershed Management Plan.
• Finalizing the key stakeholders for the sustainability of the plan.
• Exploring major issues[1] within the watershed area through a consultative process.

Expected outcomes

This workshop will serve as the foundation for formally initiating the research and planning process for the development of the watershed management plan. It will focus on identifying the primary challenges within the watershed boundary, thereby guiding targeted scientific research in these areas. Additionally, the workshop aims to identify key stakeholders essential for ensuring the sustainability and effectiveness of the plan.

Agenda

References

[1] Potential issues include disasters such as floods, soil erosion, landslides, forestry-related challenges, climate change, livelihoods, and others.

About HI-GRID Project:

The phenomenon of Too Much and Too Little Water will impact close to 40 million (10 million upstream, 30 million downstream) people, living within the transboundary Koshi River Basin (KRB). Because of the growing presence of erratic climate patterns, and cascading hazards, the socio-economic development of people within the basin is highly jeopardized.

HI-GRID focuses its efforts on mitigating these risks by working in 28 municipalities of two provinces with the Lower Koshi River Basin. The end outcome of the project is:

• Municipalities integrating GEDSI responsive DRR practices within their planning and budgeting practices
• Innovative DRR solutions (like Nature Based Solutions) and GRID-based value chains and enterprises are scaled up within other municipalities in Nepal