Infrastructure

Dhobi Ghat

Laundry services

  The Dhobighat community downstream of Mussoorie provides laundering services to the upstream town’s schools, hotels and government institutions. Washing is done along a natural stream which flows through the settlement, first inhabited by the dhobi (washing) community over 80 years ago. The livelihood of the dhobi community depends on clean, fast-running water. In recent times, they have been asked by local government to “share” their stream with other nearby settlements. This has given rise to a decline in water flow to the community, as well a breakdown in communal water-collection activities, disrupting both physical flows and social interactions. With youth out-migration and the advent of mechanised washing machines, the demand for washing services is declining, so these livelihoods look increasingly vulnerable.

Political and Social

Water is not just physical systems

The delivery of water is not just about the construction of physical systems, but also creating suitable social and political infrastructures that can support the appropriation, management and distribution of resources to people. Creating water management systems that are environmentally sustainable and socially just requires the inclusion, participation and representation of all social layers. During May 2017, Nepal held its first local council elections in almost twenty years. At Dhulikhel, water provision to all areas of the town is a highly political issue, with candidates campaigning and competing on this issue to secure the votes of their constituents. Water politics did influence the outcome – a new mayor was elected who is committed to locally sourcing affordable water for town residents through low intervention...

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...

Negotiating and Implementing a RWA in Palampur, India

Reciprocal Water Access (RWA) Agreement

Central Palampur derives around 10% of its water supply from a spring just to the north of the settlement. The origins of the spring lie beneath a forest that has in the recent past been harvested and degraded to a significant degree through the herding and fuelwood needs and actions of the inhabitants of three hamlets just upstream of Palampur. During these periods of intensive forest extraction, flowing water quantities declined towards the centre of town. In order to address the suspected link between forest use and water flows, local NGOs and researchers teamed up to address the land use and community issues that were leading to the over-extraction of forest products. In order to do this, the Municipal Council (MC) was brought on...

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...