The Impact of Climate Change on Water Availability in Eastern Nepal: A Presentation of the Project Methodology taking into Account the Various Origins of Water

Abstract

The paper reflects the main methodological aspects of the PAPRIKA Project based on the following objectives: (i) to contribute to a more accurate assessment of glacier retreat, snow cover and climate change in Koshi Basin, Nepal; (ii) to have a better understanding of the contribution of glacier and snow melting to water availability; (iii) to correlate the results with local people's perceptions of climate change and their socio-economic impact. For this, the paper:highlights the fact that the water used by the population comes from different origins (glacier melting, snow melting, frost, rain) the combination of which varies between the four main landscape units: high, middle and low mountains, and finally the Terai plain;describes the methodology adopted to observe and analyse current as well as future environmental changes in the atmosphere, cryosphere and hydrosphere;shows that, for each origin, different reasons may explain the changes in water availability, and thus the impact on agriculture and the different water usages.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/hn.v11i1.7197 Hydro Nepal Special Issue: Conference Proceedings 2012 pp.12-17