Agriculture

Pani, Pahar – Guardian Article

Sacred, Life Affirming and Disappearing

Published in the Guardian on December 27th, 2017 – LINK HERE Rapid urbanisation, dwindling groundwater reserves and changing rain patterns are driving a water crisis in the lower Himalayas of India and Nepal.  Photojournalist Toby Smith took part in a research project charting the shifting demands on this fragile landscape Photographs by Toby Smith/University of Cambridge Text by Professor Bhaskar Vira and Eszter Kovacs

Palamur

Kangra District, Himachal Pradesh, India

Palampur is a small town of less than 15 000 people that lies at the feet of the Dhauladhar mountain range in Kangra District, Himachal Pradesh. The Dhauladhar mountains are covered in snow through the year; the melt from its glaciers and snow feeds numerous springs, streams and rivers that flow down to settlements like Palampur. The surrounding countryside has a system of still-maintained kuhl channels used for irrigation and farming. Palampur town and households obtains its water mainly from the Neugal River through a piped pumping system; the Neugal also has numerous hydro-power interventions along its length. The oldest source of water lies to the north of the town and comes from a spring named Bohal, located beneath a forest. Our research partners...

Himalayan Climate and Water Atlas

Impact of Climate Change on Water Resources in Five of Asia’s Major River Basins

Published by ICIMOD on 11th December 2015 The first atlas of its kind, this new publication from ICIMOD offers a comprehensive, regional understanding of the changing climate and its impact on water resources in five of the major river basins in the region: the Indus, Brahmaputra, Ganges, Salween and Mekong. CLICK HERE TO OPEN THE INTERACTIVE VERSION OF THE ATLAS The atlas shows clearly that the region’s climate, which has been changing rapidly, will continue to do so in the future, with severe consequences for populations locally and downstream. Some of the main points in the atlas include: Temperatures across the mountainous Hindu Kush Himalayan region will increase by about 1–2°C (in some places by up to 4–5°C) by 2050. Precipitation will change with...