Environmental Changes, Glacial Morphologies, and Hydropower Development

Abstract

Nepal has tremendous potential for utilizing water resources to generate non-carbon and climate-friendly conventional renewable hydroenergy and to wean it off its dependence on external hydrocarbon sources to help mitigate global climate change. Nepal’s water resources offer both opportunities and challenges. Opportunities include the utilization of water resources for economic development; challenges include complex geopolitics, seasonal floods, and maintaining good relationships with India as a downstream community of considerable political strength. Literature reveals that Nepal has a potential of generating 83,000 MW of hydroelectricity; however, on technical grounds, its estimated capacity is around 45,000 MW; while, in terms of being economically feasible, the effective capacity is estimated at 43,000 MW. If properly utilized, Nepal could be a net producer and exporter of hydropower to its northern and southern neighbors which are in need of a tremendous amount of energy to support their rapidly growing economies. To date, Nepal has barely utilized 1% of its total hydropower potential mainly due to its own financial and technical inabilities and repeated political squabbling. From the early 1970s to the present day, the constant or repeated objections to the development of Nepal’s hydropower from its southerly neighbor (downstream catchment) —India—have been one of the major causes of limited development of the country’s hydro-resources. Also, “Himalayan degradation” has created a vicious cycle of erosion and hydrological cycle. For example, erosion in the steep slopes in the northern mountains—the Himalayas—causes siltation and clogging of rivers and rivulets and massive flooding in the southern plains. It also deposits huge sediments in the Bay of Bengal. The hydro-climatological theory suggests that the deposition of fertile soils on the ocean partake in the downwelling and upwelling processes on the ocean water. This movement of water may contribute to the creation of low- and high-pressure systems. The high- and low-pressure systems affect the hydrological cycle and the climate-induced monsoon patterns in the mountain and hill regions. High-intensity rainfall triggers soil erosions from sloppy landscapes.India has proposed the construction of several high dams in major basins within the territory of Nepal which are designed to link Nepali rivers with Indian rivers to specifically help solve India’s water crises during the lean period. However, Nepal may benefit more by harnessing water resources in Nepal’s mountainous regions through a “cascading” technique. Cascading of Himalayan waters has multiple advantages for generating energy in many different places, besides utilizing waters for irrigation and drinking rather than for the sole use of water for generating electricity. There are numerous locations where water resources could be tapped for Nepal’s own benefit as well as that of the co-basin downstream partner, namely, India. On account of the complex and not fully comprehended nature of Nepal’s hydro-climatology, many precautions have to be taken to implement such large-scale interventions while developing hydropower in Nepal. These precautions should be from the technological, social, political, environmental, institutional, and financial perspectives. Many of the unilaterally constructed concrete infrastructures along the Nepal-India border by India frequently inundate many areas in the Tarai Region of Nepal during the monsoon season.