Back to news
17 Aug 2016 | News

Research Crucial to Irrigation Development in Nepal

1 min Read

70% Complete

Research on Nepal’s irrigation sector should be a priority of the Government of Nepal, irrigation experts said during the national irrigation seminar held 10-11 June in Dhulikhel, Nepal. The event was organised jointly by the Department of Irrigation (DOI), Government of Nepal in collaboration with the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), the International Water Management Institute (IWMI/Nepal) and theInternational Network for Participatory Irrigation Management (IMPIM), Nepal.

The annual national seminar had more than 90 participants. Among those in attendance were Energy Secretary Dhana Bahadur Tamang. The theme for this year’s event was ‘Irrigation development and management: Learning from the past and planning for the future.’ Key issues discussed were the need to thoroughly review past achievements for future planning and the need for more research within the irrigation sector.

Fifteen selected papers were presented in five technical sessions on irrigation challenges and governance, inter-basin transfer, research priorities in irrigation and gender issues. One of the discussions included federalism in irrigation given Nepal’s relevance to the state restructuring into federal governance system.

Several infrastructures built in the past have become vulnerable as they were constructed without clear understanding and without consideration of any climate change scenario, or hydrological and socio-economic components. Experts said this lack of planning was of concern and the DoI needs to prioritise research and could benefit from knowledge institutions like ICIMOD and IWMI by using evidence-based scientific research for planning and implementation. Research findings would be instrumental to the National Irrigation Master Plan.

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 content

Continue exploring this topic

18 Apr 2017 News
International Symposium on the Cryosphere in a Changing Climate

The two share their experiences from the event: Inka Koch, Glacier Hydrologist, ICIMOD It was an honour to present our research on ...

9 Oct 2017 News
Looking Forward to Bounce Back Better from Floods

The statistics about the damages of the 2017 floods are endless and compelling. The images of the flooding even ...

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 ...

27 Jul 2016 News
Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in the Hindu Kush Himalayan Region Under Development

A consultative preparatory process for a Himalayan Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (HCREEE) was launched on 27 July ...

19 Oct 2022 News
Kailash CAFE 2.0: Sharing knowledge of a sacred landscape

The Kailash Sacred Landscape region attracts researchers from various disciplines, which was evident in the variety of topics presented at ...

3 Mar 2017 Himalica
Micro-planning Workshop Organized for Gups and Gewog Administrative Officers in Tsirang, Bhutan

The Support to Rural Livelihoods and Climate Change Adaptation in the Himalaya (Himalica) programme, in partnership with the