Climate Change: Vulnerability Assessment of Vanishing Springs in the Mid-Hills of Nepal

Ramesh Chettri,Sandip Rijal,Saroj Adhikari,Rajeev Joshi

doi:10.33002/nr2581.6853.03031

Ramesh Chettri, Sandip Rijal + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.33002/nr2581.6853.03031

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Abstract

Springs are the major source of water supply for domestic and agricultural uses in the mid-hills of Nepal. Therefore, these resources must be preserved and protected for the benefit of the ecology, environment, economic wellbeing and quality of life. This study aimed to assess the community perception and vulnerability assessment of spring water. Based on the participatory methods, views and experiences of communities were analyzed to understand their perception towards climate change. On the other hand, vulnerability assessment was carried out to analyze the situation of water availability in springs. The study reveals that water consumer communities have experienced changing patterns of local climate which correlates with the long-term rainfall and temperature data. Vulnerability ranged from 0.10 to 0.67. Moreover, meager water resources and low discharge during summer have resulted a lot of hardship to the people. The findings will assist policymakers and development agencies to plan and implement their projects more effectively at the local and national levels.

Highlights

Climate change is one of the key challenges for human population, and the most serious threat to the sustainability of development
Current water resource planning and management do not address the effects of climate variability (White, 2006).vulnerability to the climate change is one of the most crucial concerns of developing countries, and it is a critical element in the planning of any long-term development strategy (Beg et al, 2002)
The main purpose of this study was to assess the vulnerability of diminishing spring water resources and to understand local peoples’ perceptions at the mid-hill wards of rural areas

Summary

Introduction

Climate change is one of the key challenges for human population, and the most serious threat to the sustainability of development. Adverse effects of the climate change are visible on human health, food security, and socio-economic activity (Salem et al, 2019). When water resource is sensitive to climate change (Chaulagain, 2009; Chhetri and Kumar, 2018), pressure of non-climatic factors such as population increase, rapid economic development, and land-use changes will further aggravate the impacts of climate change on fresh water resources (Kundzewicz et al, 2007; Stathatou et al, 2016; Chhetri et al, 2020). Current water resource planning and management do not address the effects of climate variability (White, 2006).vulnerability to the climate change is one of the most crucial concerns of developing countries, and it is a critical element in the planning of any long-term development strategy (Beg et al, 2002)

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