State of the Kamala River Basin, Nepal

Government of Nepal
Water and Energy Commission Secretariat
Citation contributed time, information, and resources to This publication contributes to the South Asia
WECS and CSIRO, 2020. State of the Kamala the development of this document. At least 200 Sustainable Development Investment Portfolio
River Basin, Nepal. 68pp. people from local and federal government and supported by the Australian aid program.
https://doi.org/10.25919/10mp-bc20 communities representatives met with the Further details on CSIRO’s SDIP projects are
team to provide advice and support and to available from http://research.csiro.au/sdip
Contributors participate in local workshops to share their
Important disclaimer applied for CSIRO
Chief Editor: Auro C. Almeida local perspectives and view about the Basin. In
CSIRO advises that the information contained
Editors: David J. Penton, Maheswor Shrestha particular, we would like to recognise support
in this publication comprises general
Authors: Auro C. Almeida, David J. Penton, from Kamalamai, Katari and Dudhouli mayoral
statements based on scientific research. The
Antonia G. Rocha, David Fleming, Sreekanth office, Groundwater Irrigation Division Office
reader is advised that such information may be
Janardhanan, Tanya Doody, Tira Foran, Basistha in Lahan, Kamala Irrigation Project staff,
incomplete or unable to be used in any specific
Adhikari, Susan Cuddy, Maheswor Shrestha, Department of Hydrology and Meteorology
situation. No reliance or actions must therefore
Yingying Yu, Emily Barbour, Perry Poulton, staff in Kathmandu and Biratnagar.
be made on that information without seeking
Ram Devi T. Shah, Shahriar Wahid, Saumitra
We acknowledge the work of Jalsrot Vikhas prior expert professional, scientific and
Neupane, Sanju Koirala, Som Nath Poudel,
Sanstha and Policy Entrepreneurs Incorporated technical advice. To the extent permitted by
Tejendra GC, Neha Basnet, Deep N. Shah.
who undertook data gathering, synthesis, law, CSIRO (including its employees and
Reviewers: Peter Wallbrink, Susan Cuddy,
analysis, logistics, organised workshops and consultants) excludes all liability to any person
David Fleming, Ram Bastakoti, Andrew Johnson
supported the team in innumerable other ways. for any consequences, including but not limited
Proof reading: Karin Hosking
Nepal Development Research Institute undertook to all losses, damages, costs, expenses and any
Graphic design/layout: Beverly Waldie
a significant amount of preliminary work. other compensation, arising directly or
Print: PML, Hobart, Tasmania
Contribution received from Keshab Adhikari and indirectly from using this publication and any
Photo credits Ram Bastakoti who also provided expert advice. information or material contained in it.
Auro C Almeida: Fig 8, 16, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28
We thank the Nepal-Australia Joint Advisory Copyright
Dept of Hydrology and Meteorology: Fig 7
Committee on Water Resource Management © WECS and CSIRO, 2020
Tanya Doody: Cover photo, Fig 13, 14 Sreekanth
(JAC) for their guidance and support. As well as With the exception of the government crests
Janardhanan: Fig 19
significant support from the Australian and logos included in the cover and in this
Antonia Gamboa Rocha: Fig 9, 30
Embassy in Nepal – former Ambassador Glenn page, all material in this publication is provided
Acknowledgments White during establishment of the JAC and the under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
We would like to thank the people of the current Ambassador Peter Budd for continuing International Licence http://creativecommons.
Kamala Basin for hosting many visits and inter-governmental engagements. org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
explaining their situations. The political
representatives and their administrators at
municipal, provincial and federal levels all

2
 Contents

Summary.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................4
1. Introduction.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................6
1.1 Outline and objectives..........................................................................................................................................................................................................6
1.2 Basin planning in Nepal.......................................................................................................................................................................................................7
1.3 Water Resources Management background.............................................................................................................................................................9
2. Basin characteristics.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................11
2.1 Location, geopolitical, physiographic regions and soils..................................................................................................................................11
2.2 Climate.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................14
2.3 Geomorphology and geology related to sediment erosion and river instability...............................................................................16
2.4 Current land use and recent land use change.......................................................................................................................................................19
2.5 Socio-economic conditions and trends.....................................................................................................................................................................22
2.6 Biodiversity . ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................28
3. Water availability and sources................................................................................................................................................................................................30
3.1 Surface water...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................30
3.2 Floods...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................32
3.3 Groundwater............................................................................................................................................................................................................................34
3.4 Water quality............................................................................................................................................................................................................................38
4. Water use and water demand..................................................................................................................................................................................................40
4.1 Socio-economic dependence on water......................................................................................................................................................................40
4.2 Agriculture, irrigation and livestock...........................................................................................................................................................................42
4.3 Human water consumption ...........................................................................................................................................................................................51
4.4 Synthesis of water use in the Basin.............................................................................................................................................................................52
4.5 Sediment mining....................................................................................................................................................................................................................54
5. Governance related to water management activities...............................................................................................................................................57
6. Issues and challenges for achieving sustainable use of water resources ....................................................................................................59
References..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................62
Abbreviations...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................66

3
Summary

The Kamala Basin in the south-east of The workforce is transitioning from Flooding of the region causes
Nepal has been chosen by the agricultural subsistence to non- significant damage during monsoon
Government of Nepal as a pilot basin agricultural occupations, with 33% season. The districts of Siraha and
to develop capacity in basin planning. of the households having a member Dhanusha were particularly affected
The Kamala Basin Initiative is jointly who has migrated for employment in Nepal’s 2017 flood. The National
supported by the Government of opportunities outside the region or Planning Commission estimated that
Nepal and Government of Australia to overseas. Nepal’s recovery would cost USD 705.1
further scientific cooperation around million (NPC, 2017). Monsoon floods
More than 70% of the population
water resources management. are predicted to increase under a
work in the agriculture sector, mainly
changing climate (Scott et al, 2019).
The Kamala Basin is important in producing rice, wheat and maize. The
terms of agricultural production, but Terai region, with its flat plains, is Studies are showing that under likely
has complex issues related to high extensively used for food production future climate conditions, monsoonal
levels of poverty, flooding, sediment through the Kamala Irrigation precipitation is projected to increase
erosion, and water resources schemes; in the fertile valleys there by 4–12% in the near future in the
distribution and availability during are farmer-managed irrigation region. Intensification of extreme
the year. systems; while the Middle Mountains precipitation events is inconclusive
and Chure areas are predominantly between studies but increased air
The Kamala Basin is a densely
used for terraced agriculture and temperature is already evident (MoFE,
populated part of Nepal intersecting
forestry. 2019, Wester et al, 2019), which may
three provinces, four districts, 15
demand adaptation actions to
municipalities and eight rural Agricultural production is strongly
traditional agriculture.
municipalities. The mix of castes, tied to water availability through
ethnicities, and religions varies from irrigation using surface water and
the Middle Mountains, to Chure and groundwater, but surface water is
the Terai region. only adequately available during the
monsoon, even in the large irrigation
systems.

4
Damage from floodwaters is Synthesis of main issues in the
compounded by landslides, mainly Kamala Basin
in the Chure region, produced by
high level of soil erosion causing Monsoonal floods are impacting
accumulation of sediment in communities and infrastructure
irrigation infrastructure. Additional High sediment loads in the river
to a natural phenomena, human system are increasing flood risk and
activities are exacerbating the damaging infrastructure
impacts of floods and landslides.
Water availability is constraining
As part of the ongoing process of agricultural production
developing strategies that will
Infrastructure design, construction
improve the welfare of communities
and maintenance are not meeting
in Nepal, this state of the basin
current needs
provides information of the current
condition of water resources in the Labour is scarce, land per household
Kamala Basin, including how water is is limited and agricultural
used, water quality and trends in how profitability is low
the water resource is changing.
Institutions need stronger integration
Potable water for domestic purposes
is not uniformly accessible
Knowledge about key issues and
available primary data are limited

5
1 Introduction

1.1 Outline and objectives

The local and regional economy of the This document presents up to date The main objectives of the State of the
Kamala Basin has a high dependence water resources related data and Kamala River Basin are to:
on water. Water availability is trends for the Kamala Basin. The
• make water resources data
dependent on monsoon climatic document intends to support the
available to a broad audience
patterns, where heavy rainfall mainly development of the Kamala Basin
concentrates in four months (June to Water Resources Development • describe local characteristics
September). Strategy, which seeks to support related to water resources
effective actions to obtain the most management and their influence
Much of the rainfall becomes runoff,
feasible and effective use of water on the development of the region
with streamflow and water
resources, considering present and • identify issues and limitations of
availability in the basin varying
future demands, stakeholders’ needs, water resources management to be
substantially during the year, ranging
and potential limitations to provide addressed in the strategy in order
from floods to drought. These
water across the basin. to improve economic,
conditions limit water access during
the dry season (around the months of environmental and social
November to March). An effective conditions
integrated water resources • collate the necessary information
management is needed in order to to support the Kamala Basin Water
support water access for agricultural Resources Development Strategy.
and industrial activities,
environmental sustainability and
human consumption.

6
1.2 Basin planning in Nepal

Internationally, basin planning has The Government of Nepal is In the Kamala Basin, the Government
emerged as a key tool in water supporting basin planning initiatives of Nepal, in collaboration with the
resources management, especially across every Basin in Nepal. Through Government of Australia, is
where the benefits from water these initiatives, and subsequent supporting the development of the
resources need to be shared among activities, the Government aims to ‘Kamala Basin Water Resources
different economic sectors and the harness Nepal’s rich water resources Development Strategy’. This strategy
environment, or shared between user to improve water distribution in the is being developed with the
groups, such as those upstream and country and support social, economic participation of key stakeholders of
downstream in a basin. and environmental benefits. the Kamala Basin to ultimately
improve the welfare of people and
By considering all impacts of
communities across the basin in a
development, basin planning
sustainable way.
provides a useful tool for supporting
sustainable development.

The vision of the ‘Kamala Basin Water

Resources Development Strategy’
• Improve the welfare of the communities in the
basin through changes to the way water is
managed and distributed.
• Build a new road away from the business as
usual with challenges of ageing infrastructure
towards improved water and food security in
the long term (Figure 1).

Figure 1 The vision of the Kamala Basin Initiative

7
The Strategy will not identify specific While the plans anticipate increasing The State of the Basin collates the
detailed projects, but will provide certainty for people and organisations relevant information to examine the
high-level guidance and evaluate who might invest in Nepal, they also current situation and dependency of
development pathways. aim to be adaptable to new water resources. In consultation with
knowledge and changing stakeholders, a range of preferred
The Strategy is a key step in
circumstances, especially in the face future pathways are identified and
developing the Basin Plan which is
of the potential effects of climate compared in order to assess different
being established under Nepal’s
change in the region (Wester et al, development options.
National Water Resources Policy and
2019).
the National Water Act – Water These are discussed and agreed to
Resources Legislation, which are establish a desired development
under development. strategy that provides elements and
directions for the basin plan and
respective changes to improve
welfare (Figure 2), (Foran et al, 2018).

Figure 2 The State of the Basin in the context of the Basin Plan

8
1.3 Water Resources Management background

The welfare of people in the Kamala construction of embankments, all The reasons include scarcity of
Basin is strongly tied to the contributed to a transition from a financial resources and water user
availability of water. The water natural system to a human controlled associations that have become
resources of the basin support and altered system. inactive. Local assessment shows that
environmental health, industrial water availability will be a persistent
The development of infrastructure
activity and household needs such as problem across the basin, as in most
contributed to improving agricultural
drinking water for people and of the medium-sized basins of Nepal
production and reducing risk of flood
livestock, and irrigation for crops and (Pandey et al, 2012).
in the basin. Further water
pasture. The water requirements are
management developments have With this in mind, including
growing due to the need for water for
been proposed: (i) to supply water stakeholders in the process,
irrigation. This becomes more critical
from the Sunkoshi River to the considering a wide range, and using
considering the variability in
Kamala River and across larger areas the best available information are
precipitation and increase in
of the Terai; and (ii) to build additional crucial to the development of the
groundwater use.
embankments in areas more ‘Kamala Basin Water Resources
The first major irrigation susceptible to floods and erosion and Development Strategy’.
infrastructure constructed in the sediment control measures on the
Kamala Basin was the Kamala Kamala River and tributaries.
Irrigation Project (KIP) in the 1970s.
The local population has welcomed
The Kamala River surface water
these developments and desire more
supported canal systems and
interventions (CSIRO, 2017). However,
irrigation expansion across 25,000 ha
JICA (2016) identified a series of
of the districts of Dhanusha and
problems, such as the amount of
Siraha. In addition, increasing mining
sediment accumulated in canals in
for sand and gravel, clearing of forest
the irrigation development, and that
on the edge of the Chure and the
parts of the KIP were incomplete.

9
 “Our settlements are prone to flood. Our municipality is
surrounded by three rivers. Gagan and Mainavati River in
addition to Kamala have surrounded this municipality. And as
it is border area, we need to think how we can save this area
when it floods.”
– Dr Namita Yadav,
Deputy Mayor of Siraha Municipality

“Our municipality has allocated a budget of NPR 1 crore for the

preparation of detailed project report (DPR) to build check
dams at Gwang Khola and collect water. The Kamalamai
Municipality is also working on check dam preparation for the
protection of Chure Area. We have also requested that existing
Forest Committees take on afforestation activities.”
– Khadga Bahadur Khatri,
Major of Kamalamai Municipality

“Kamala has ample water during the planting season but it

rains during the same season. But during offseason, the water
is scarce and there is a problem in agriculture. Farmers will
benefit if we can arrange an underground irrigation system.”
– Nuthari Yadav
Agriculture section Kalyanpur Municipality

10
 Basin characteristics 2

2.1 Location, geopolitical, physiographic regions and soils

The Kamala Basin is located in the The topographic characteristics have The Kamala Basin covers three
south-east of Nepal, close to the border a strong influence on the economic physiographic zones: Middle
with India, and has a drainage area of activities and population distribution Mountains (20%), Chure or Siwalik
about 208,446 ha, which is equivalent in the basin and in neighbouring (64%), and Terai (16%) (Figure 5),
to 1.42% of total area of the country. districts. embracing areas of 41,181 ha, 133,647
ha and 33,618 ha, respectively.
Administratively, the basin area
intersects three provinces and four The Middle Mountains zone is
districts. The district of Udayapur concentrated in the north part of the
occupies 20% of the basin in Province Basin with elevation varying from 800
number one, Siraha district covers to 2,200 masl, bedrocks composed of
19% of the area and Dhanusha 14% phyllite, quartzite, limestone.
and both are in Province number two,
and Sindhuli district occupies 47% of
the total area of the basin and is in
Province number 3 (Figure 3).
The basin has elevation ranging from
70 masl in the south part to 2,180 masl
in the north-east. The Kamala River
originates from the Mahabharat
Range or Middle Mountains, and
flows through Chure to the Terai
plains before entering India.
About 67% of the basin area lies below
600 masl and 27% lies between 600
masl and 1,200 masl, while the
remainder, 6% of the area, lies above
1,200 masl (derived from USGS, 2004)
(Figure 4). Figure 3 Kamala basin location in Nepal and province boundaries

11
Figure 4 Kamala Basin elevation classes Figure 5 Districts and main
(in metres above sea level, masl), administrative physiography of the Kamala Basin
districts in the Basin and river network

Its fertile soil is used for terraced Predominantly composed of tertiary Its soils are highly susceptible to
farming to produce mainly rice, conglomerates, sandstone, siltstone erosion and forests play an important
wheat and maize crops, and fruit and mudstone, the physiography has role in soil and water conservation
(MOAD, 2017). been impacted by progressive (MFSC, 2016). The lower part of Chure,
processes of erosion and degradation also known as Dun valleys, has fertile
The Chure or Siwalik zone is located
of vegetation aggravated by selected soils suitable for agriculture.
in the central part of the basin and
deforestation.
includes all four districts; the
elevation varies from 150 to 1,200 masl.

12
The Terai is where most of the people Soil texture influences the capacity of To illustrate, the estimated soil water
live and economic activities happen. the soils to retain water. The ability of holding capacity of the soils in the
Due to the predominantly flat soils to hold water is critical for plants Kamala Basin is shown in Table 1 and
topography and fertile floodplain soils, and the water holding capacity of a reflected in Section 4.2.
this part of the basin is where most of soil can be estimated from its texture.
the irrigated agriculture occurs. This information is important to
estimate water demand for irrigation.
The Kamala River flows through all
three physiographic zones. It
originates from Sindhuli Gadi in Table 1 Soil type in the Kamala and estimated soil water holding capacity
Sindhuli district in the Middle
Mountains zone, and initially goes to % area in Estimated mean soil water holding
Soil type
the basin capacity (mm water/mm soil depth)
the south then changes toward the
south-east near Maithan, parallel to Clay 4.3 0.12
the Chure hill. Clay loam 12.3 0.14
The river makes a U-bend in the Fragmental/skeleton 11.2 -
middle of the basin and enters into
Loam 34.8 0.14
the Terai at Chisapani.
Loamy sand 0.0 0.06
Within the Chure and Terai zones, the
river is successively joined by the Sand 1.0 0.04
Chadaha Khola and Thakur Khola in Sandy loam 20.3 0.10
Sindhuli, the Tawa Khola in Udayapur,
the Sualaha Khola in Siraha, and the Silty 0.0 0.25
Charnath Khola in Dhanusha (Figure 4). Silty clay 0.7 0.14
The soil texture in the basin is Silty clay loam 0.4 0.17
predominantly loam (35%) mainly in
Silty loam 12.3 0.18
the Chure and part of the Terai
(DOI, 2017). Water body 2.4 -
Source: Land Resources Mapping, DOI, 2017 and Saxton and Rawls, 2006

13
2.2 Climate

The Kamala region is hot and humid A number of studies have examined
during the summer monsoon (June to historical changes in climate across
September) and dry and temperate in all or parts of Nepal, and have
the winter (December to February). indicated a general trend of
For much of the basin, rainfall is increasing temperature, while
greater than 1,000 mm during the changes in precipitation are less clear
summer monsoon, and less than 100 with high variability between
mm in winter. locations and indices (Duncan et al,
2013, Neupane et al, 2017, Ichiyanagi
Figure 6 shows that the highest
et al, 2007, MoFE, 2019, Scott et al, 2019,
rainfall occurs in the north-west,
Wester et al, 2019).
followed by the north-eastern ranges.
This results in an annual pattern of An analysis of data from
flooding in monsoon months, and meteorological stations closest to the
drought during winter. Kamala Basin supports these findings.
There is global concern that changes Global studies of future climate across
to climate might increase Nepal indicate that temperatures and
temperature and extreme events of monsoon precipitation are likely to
rainfall causing adverse impacts, such rise (OECD, 2003; IPCC, 2007; GoN, 2008;
as increased mortality, increase risk NCVST, 2009).
to crop production, flooding and soil
erosion (Dunne et al, 2013, Parmesan
et al, 2003, Hirabayashi et al, 2013, Yang
et al, 2003).

Figure 6 Rainfall and temperature during

summer (top), and winter (middle) and
annual rainfall (bottom) in Kamala Basin

14
 Rainfall (mm)
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
A recent study of climate J F M A M J J A S O N D

change scenarios for Nepal

(MoFE, 2019) shows that: Temperature (°C)
40

• average annual rainfall is 30

likely to increase 2-6% by
20
2045
Tipping bucket rainfall gauge at 10
• average annual mean
Chisapani Bazaar (above).
temperature is likely to rise 0
The Department of Hydrology and J F M A M J J A S O N D
0.9 to 1.1 ºC by 2045
Meteorology is progressively
• Rainfall pre-monsoon is replacing older rainfall gauges Solar Duration (hours)
10
projected to decrease by with automatic weather stations
8
4-5% for the same period but that send real-time weather
6
projections of rainfall have a information across the mobile
4
large degree of uncertainty networks.
2
• More events of intense 0
rainfall and extreme warm J F M A M J J A S O N D

days are likely to occur

Potential Evapotranspiration (mm)
creating more water-related
200
hazards in the future.
150

100

50

0
J F M A M J J A S O N D

Figure 7 Mean monthly rainfall, temperature, hours of sun and potential

evapotranspiration at Chisapani Bazaar meteorological station

15
2.3 Geomorphology and geology related to sediment erosion and river instability

High sediment loads in the Kamala Natural sediment processes Influenced by slope and river
Basin cause issues for river stability Natural sediment processes include transport capacity, coarse and mixed
and flood protection. Following a big erosion, transport and deposition. texture sediment creates braided river
flood more than 30 years ago, Sediment and soil erosion are channels (anastomosing) in the valleys
streambank erosion along the Kamala influenced by rainfall patterns, with multiple in-channel features,
River forced the Chisapani Bazaar geology, hill slope and density of such as sand and gravel bars.
settlement to be relocated. The river vegetation cover (Figure 8). The river channels in the basin are
had been progressively eroding its
The hills of the Chure are susceptible composed of boulders and gravels,
bank toward the village as the river
to soil erosion and landslides because sands and finer sediments, with a mix
changed course.
of loose rock formations and fragile of sediment across the river corridor.
The causes of sediment issues are a strata (GoN, 2017). The rock formations Progressing downstream, the mix of
combination of natural processes are mainly composed of sandstone, particles changes in proportion,
exacerbated by human activities such mudstone, conglomerate, shale and transitioning from sand and gravel to
as deforestation and agriculture. claystone, with Karst systems in the a higher proportion of sand and silts
Management responses are Middle Mountains. downstream. Part of the sediment is
particularly expensive. temporarily deposited along the river
During rainfall events, sediment in
corridors, including stream banks.
The GoN in collaboration with the the form of loose inorganic rock
Government of India invested in material and topsoil from the upland When the Kamala River enters the
infrastructure projects to manage areas are transported downstream. Terai, the river slope reduces and the
sediments and river instability in During heavier events, landslides can river tends to change shape and
Dhanusha and Siraha with the contribute particularly large course frequently during the wet
construction of gabion embankments quantities of sediment. season.
to control erosion in the Chure and
The Chure region has been identified Sedimentary deposition and river
embankments around the Kamala
as being one of the main contributors meandering occur naturally across
River and tributaries.
of sediment load to the rivers the Gangetic plains which includes
originating from the southern region the Terai region (Chakraborty et al,
of the Basin (Adhikari, 2013). 2010).

16
Human disturbance of sediment These problems have been observed
processes particularly in the Kamala and Tawa
rivers. Downstream, channel-floodplain
Human activities in the Kamala
connectivity has progressively been
region disturb the natural sediment
reduced through the construction of
and soil erosion processes, affecting
raised levees and modification of the
the river shape and movement and
river channel dimensions and shape.
causing pathways for deposition.
Three main disturbances contribute Sediment management responses
to sediment erosion and loss of Given the susceptibility of the Middle
topsoil: 1) intense sediment mining Hills and Chure to erosion, the
for the construction industry in Nepal Rastrapati Chure Conservation
and India, 2) degradation of vegetation Program was created in 2014. The
in the Chure Hills and along the program focuses on conservation and
riparian areas, and 3) expansion of the protection projects of recharge areas,
unsealed road network. vegetation improvement, habitat
conservation, erosion reduction and
These disturbances contribute to
irrigation support, with the
lateral river migration and marked
involvement of the local community.
river widening with streambank
erosion, and are often associated with Some recent erosion-reduction works Figure 8 (Top) Unstable hills causing
bed rising (aggradation). Due to the involve streambank stabilisation, erosion and sedimentation
combined causes to higher sediment roadside erosion mitigation and Figure 9 (Bottom) Gabions built to
load, river bed levels have risen different types of bioengineering protect the river banks
significantly, and around 2 metres of works, which may often involve the
accumulation have been reported construction of gabions.
over the past 50 years in some
stretches of the Chure rivers
(Adhikari, 2013).

17
Awareness exists of the streambank Additionally, streambank erosion has The associated flooding may have
protection needed in order to reduce been reported in combination with resulted from combined and
the vulnerability of villagers and overbank flooding and riverbed cumulative effects of local
lands to the risk of rapid river aggradation. Considering the context disturbances affecting sediment
migration (avulsion). of disturbances, it is likely that influxes from tributaries, or increases
changes in river course might not be in the sediment load, or from local
In the Terai, the Kamala River has
solely triggered by intense rainfall changes in channel slope (Jones and
been modified after construction of
and high energy flooding. Schumm, 1999).
engineered infrastructure such as
channel embankments and raised
levees. Since 2002, infrastructure
Factors affecting stream stability, other than rainfall
works have narrowed the river and
increased its banks through levees in • Slope of gullies in part of the catchment, potentially formed after
order to reduce bank instability and landslides, road construction or land degradation.
overbank flooding. • Poorly and discontinuously vegetated stream banks.
The project, implemented in Dhanusha • Intense mining of river material, including boulders, gravels and sands
and Siraha districts, created around 65 from stream banks, beds and other geomorphic features.
km of river embankment, and
constructed levees and revetments in • Uncontrolled access to streams by people, livestock and motorised
the form of gabions, piled geo-bags or vehicles, disturbing riverbeds and banks, and even weakening
sandbags, and porcupines (Figure 9). constructed levees.

Despite these flood control measures • Expansion of unsealed road construction, altering the nature of
contributing to reduce the impact of sediment delivery paths and overland flow in forested environments
monsoon precipitation, the risk of and potentially triggering gullying and land sliding processes.
recurrent floods continues to threaten • Deforestation in the Chure and material and sediment extraction in the
some of the weaker sections of the hills and the plains.
embankments.

18
2.4 Current land use and recent land use change

Land cover in Nepal over different In 2010, the coverages of forest and Agricultural Land
periods (1990, 2000 and 2010), was agricultural areas were about 59% and Agricultural land is located in the
estimated by ICIMOD (2013) using 35%, respectively (Uddin et al, 2015), Middle Mountains, Chure and Terai.
Landsat satellite images with a spatial with forest predominantly happening The cultivation of sloping lands in the
resolution of 30 m. in the Chure and Middle Mountains hills is common practice in Nepal and
zones and agriculture in the Terai and occurs in the Kamala Basin using
Land use in the Kamala Basin was
valleys of the Chure. In the upper terracing. The type of terrace is a
estimated using these land cover
basin, areas are terraced for function of water availability for
shapefiles. Changes in land use were
agriculture. irrigation, physical constraints and
determined by comparing land covers
between 2000 and 2010. The agricultural area in the Chure is cropping possibility.
generally developed along the Kamala The main area of agriculture is
In addition to land cover from the
River and Tawa River. concentrated in the lower part of the
ICIMOD (2013) study, the global forest
change dataset from Landsat 2000– The land use classification shows the Chure and the Terai plains with access
2017 (Hansen et al, 2013), global following attributes. to water for irrigation.
human built-up and settlement extent
Forest Land Shrubland and Grassland
dataset from Landsat 2010 (Wang et al,
Forests are mainly composed of The shrubland and grassland
2017) and Google Earth historical
hardwood species, with a vegetation exists in all four districts
imagery were also applied to verify
predominance of broad-leaved trees and occupies about 2.3% of the basin
changes of land use in the basin.
with a range of crown densities, and land area.
include protected and non-protected
forests.

19
Other Lands Land Use Change Figure 10 shows the current land use
Nationwide changes in land use and classification and the canopy cover
The settlement or residential areas
land cover have been reported in density in 2000 and 2010 from
(including rural and urban), barren
several studies (GoN, 2017, NAST, 2012). ICIMOD’s regional database (Uddin et
land, land covered by water bodies,
However, there is no study showing al, 2015). Comparing the forest cover
sandbars and other wasteland are
detailed land use change patterns in in 2000 and 2010, it is estimated that
classified under ‘other land’. The total
the Kamala Basin. One of the major 2,800 ha of forest was changed to
area covered by the other land
areas where land use change has other types of land use in the basin
category is about 7,500 ha, which is
occurred is in the Chure range. Some over this period, which represents
about 3.6% of the total basin area.
of the common threats identified 1.3% of the total area of the basin.
Within this category, barren land
comprises about 2.4%, residential area through local community There are some places where
about 0.4% and water bodies around consultation and workshops are significant loss of forest has been
0.8% of the total basin area (JVS and overgrazing, forest fire, over occurring in the Kamala Basin, as
PEI, 2018, Uddin et al, 2015). exploitation of resources, shown by comparing land use
in-migration, flooding and between 2000 and 2018 in the images
encroachment (Karna, 2007). of three selected spots in the basin.
In most cases, forest and river terraces The main observed changes are
have been impacted for agricultural expansion from forest to agriculture
and settlement purposes (Neupane and human settlement in the basin.
and Dhakal, 2017), which have At Spots 1 and 2, for example, land
historically posed additional flooding conversion has taken place along the
threats from the Kamala River. river stream. Evidence of forest loss
has also been found between
boundaries of forest and agriculture
regions, as shown in Spot 3.

20
 SPOT 1 SPOT 2 SPOT 3

Figure 10 Land use cover (Uddin et al,

2015) in 2010 (top left map and pie chart),
tree cover in 2010 (top right map) and
examples of forest loss in three spots in
the Kamala Basin between 2000 and 2018
(Landsat imagery is courtesy of United States
Geological Survey)

21
2.5 Socio-economic conditions and trends

Demography and settlements reported a male head, with an average Land tenure
The Kamala Basin had a population of age of 49 years, and 5.8 household Across the four districts of the Kamala
approximately 610,000, with members. Female household heads Basin, there are more than 270,000
approximately 120,000 households, in were on average 43 years old and led land holdings. Of these, approximately
2011 (CBS, 2019). households of 4.7 members. half of the holdings have 0.5 ha or less,
Approximately one third of male which clearly reflects the importance
Settlements happen across the four
household heads, and half of the total of small agriculture and strong
districts of the Kamala Basin: Siraha,
female household heads, were economic limitations.
Sindhuli, Dhanusha and Udayapur
illiterate.
districts. Table 2 presents the For large agriculture, communities in
population, municipalities and other Ethnicity, caste and religion the district of Siraha have the largest
statistics of the basin across each of The Kamala Basin comprises a share of larger farms (over 3 ha), with
these districts. heterogeneous mix of caste and ethnic 4% of district landholdings. In
groups. With regards to caste, the contrast, communities in the district
The Kamala Basin is a densely
Brahmin, Chhetri, Janajati of hill, Newar of Sindhuli only have 0.1% of farms
populated basin. In 2017 the density
and Dalits dominate the population of with area of 3 ha or more. In terms of
was approximately 290 people per
the hilly regions while Terai/Madhesi tenure, most holdings are owned by
km2 (CBS, 2019); in contrast the
dominate the population in the Terai the farmers, with approximately 10%
population density of Nepal as a
regions, followed by Janajati of Terai of the land being rented (CBS, 2019).
whole was 204 people per km2 in 2017
(World Bank, 2019). (CBS, 2019).
Migration
Data from two of the Poverty and In terms of ethnic and caste groups, in Often young family members out-
Vulnerability Assessment (PVA) the hill districts the main groups are migrate in the search for better jobs,
surveys conducted with 544 randomly Chhetri, Magar, Rai, Tamang, Brahmin either in cities in Nepal or in foreign
selected households located across 11 and Newar. In the Terai districts the countries, in particular Malaysia,
different municipalities in the Siraha, major ethnic and caste groups are the Japan, South Korea and the Gulf
Sindhuli and Udayapur districts of the Yadav, Muslim, Koiri/Kushbaha, countries.
Kamala Basin in the period 2011–2012 Mushar and Teli (CBS, 2019).
(ICIMOD, 2019) show that
approximately 82% of households

22
As an example of the level of This rate, however, seems to have Employment and Income
migration in the Kamala Basin, the increased in recent years as it has The main source of employment and
PVA data show that in the sample of been estimated that out-migration is income in the Kamala Basin is
two Sindhuli municipalities, in much more widespread, In 2014 alone, agriculture, which occupies more
2011–2012, 33% of the households had more than half a million people left than 70 percent of the workforce.
at least one member who had Nepal to work in foreign countries Out-migration for foreign
migrated to look for work (Shrestha, 2017). employment has enhanced
opportunities elsewhere. Of those, remittances and consequent
half migrated to a foreign country. economic activities in the basin, but
has contributed to a shortage of
labour for agriculture activities.

Table 2 Key indicators across the four Kamala Basin districts

District Dhanusha Sindhuli Siraha Udayapur Total

Number of urban municipalities 5 2 6 2 15
Number of rural municipalities 1 3 2 2 8
Number of wards 30 42 62 23 157
Number of households 22,214 57,544 42,913 17,511 119,535
Number of land holdings 96,006 51,233 88,527 54,919 290,685
Land holdings below 0.5 ha 41,250 28,979 31,554 31,868 41,250
Total population 118,933 179,911 224,264 85,137 608,245
Female population 59,771 94,459 116,042 45,030 315,302
Multi-dimensional poverty rank 1 n.a. 8 12 9
Sources: CBS (2019) and Gerlitz (2015). 1 The higher the ranking, the higher the multi-dimensional poverty incidence in the district. Ranking constructed out of a total of 23
analysed districts (the PVA data does not record observations from households in the district of Dhanusha, so it is not possible to measure its multi-dimensional poverty).

23
The other employment opportunities This information, although not In the Terai districts of Dhanusha and
in the Kamala Basin are jobs in specific to the Kamala Basin since the Siraha, attainment of secondary
schools, governmental offices, non- existing data covers the whole education or further studies is twice
governmental offices and in the districts and not just communities in as likely for men than for women. In
private sector, such as labour for the basin, indicates that the incidence comparison, in the districts of
construction, materials transportation of poverty is still relatively high in the Udayapur and Sindhuli, secondary
and construction of roads, water basin, in comparison to other regions education is less unbalanced.
supply, building and irrigation works. of the country.
Due to poor economic conditions and
Remittances are another important Workforce, education and gender a scarcity of colleges and universities
source of revenue for households. It is in the basin, most students do not
Based on national statistics, the United
difficult to estimate the real level of have the opportunity to acquire
Nations Development Programme
remittances received by households higher education in their preferred
(UNDP) ranked Nepal 118 out of 189
in the basin as these range from very areas. Female students are mostly
countries on its gender inequality
little to the majority of the income of affected in such circumstances,
index. In practice, gender can
a household. A PVA sample of 232 because their parents hesitate to send
influence participation in programs,
households in two municipalities of them away from home, or because
access to health care, education and
Sindhuli shows that a quarter of the early marriage is still prevalent in
credit, control of household and
households received remittances, and many communities, which increases
community resources, and influence
within this the average household school or college dropouts.
political processes (Kadel et al, 2017).
received approximately half of its
Women can spend an hour or two
total income from remittances. Nepal has embraced many policies to
each day fetching water for drinking
empower women in each of these
In terms of poverty, using the PVA data, and other household purposes in
areas (e.g. including political
Gerlitz et al (2015) provide a detailed Chure and Middle Mountains areas
representation as part of the
analysis of multi-dimensional poverty such as Katari Municipality, Udayapur.
constitution). Challenges remain in
across the country and rank the districts Likewise, they also spend hours at
educational attainment, division of
of Udapayur, Siraha and Sindhuli within public taps, tube wells, wells, and
domestic chores, access to resources
the top half in terms of multi-dimen- rivers washing clothes and utensils.
and representation.
sional poverty in Nepal (Table 2) –
Dhanusha was not covered in the study.

24
Young women complained that
despite being educated they are
involved only in household tasks,
while they would prefer to undertake
work in small and medium-sized
enterprises (CSIRO, 2017).
As discussed earlier, large numbers of
people migrate out of their home
districts. The majority of the migrant
workforce are men (typically 20–44
years old) and with low levels of
education, skills and qualifications.

Access and control of resources

Irrigating farm land is a major
challenge faced by women in the
Kamala Basin, especially during the dry
seasons when the groundwater level
and the flow of water in the Kamala
River and its tributaries are low.

Figure 11 Working age and gender in the basin and surrounds

25
 70%

60%

50%

40%
from Karjhana Municipality, it was
found that Dalit women face more
30%
Secondary
challenges in competing with male as
well as upper caste groups to irrigate
Dhanusa Male Siraha Male Udayapur Male Sindhuli Male
their farm lands. They stated that they
Dhanusa Female Siraha Female Udayapur Female Sindhuli Female
would get to irrigate the farm lands
only after the upper caste groups
Figure 12 Secondary education in the districts by gender
irrigated theirs.

Representation
Increasingly, representation of women
is being mandated at a number of
In such situations, women farmers In such circumstances, women
levels. Supported by quotas in Nepal’s
were found to be more vulnerable. farmers in the Kamala Basin have no
constitution, at the 2017 local elections
For example, in some places, farmers other option than to wait for rainfall.
40 per cent of elected officials were
who had access to electricity near
In addition to this, during wet female. Likewise, quotas exist for
their farms are able to use electric
seasons, in places where water is Water User Group associations (33%)
motors to extract water from the tube
distributed through the irrigation and a range of similar groups.
wells nearby. However, this was not
channels, women find it difficult to
feasible for most, and especially for Key positions are still held mainly by
access water for their farm lands as
women farmers, who lack technical men. For example, most mayors in the
they have to compete with men to
skills and hesitate to speak to others districts of the Kamala Basin are men,
channel water to their farm lands.
and ask for help. all the members on the KIP’s main
The prevalence of a patriarchal committee are men (JICA, 2016), and
Some farmers also buy water from
system sets boundaries on women’s domain experts are far more likely to
deep boring suppliers. This option is
behaviour, making them less be men. JVS and PEI (2018) report that
feasible to only those women farmers
competitive and too shy to request women in the community feel the need
who can afford to pay 300–400 NPR
equal rights in water distribution for better avenues to voice their problems
per hour to irrigate 1 Kattha (0.34 ha)
from irrigation channels. Further, as if they are to take equal benefit from
of land.
per the conversation with Dalit women the managed irrigation systems.

26
Cultural
The Kamala River is used as a site for
religious events such as cremations
and festivals. In particular, the river is
considered holy just downstream of
Kamalamai Temple, Sindhuli. The
Triveni Ghat in Dudhauli is a
significant location in the local
community for festivals and rituals.

Environmental flow
Figure 13 Cultural water
Environmental flows ‘describe the
quantity, timing and quality of water
flows required to sustain freshwater or the minimum required as identified 2003, Lytle and Poff, 2004).
and estuarine ecosystems and the in the environmental impact Environmental flow assessments
human livelihoods and well-being assessment study report (MoWR, provide an understanding of the
that are dependent upon these ecosys- 2001). Determination of this value is required flows in river systems
tems’ (Brisbane Declaration, 2007, derived using a hydrological method considering seasonal flows, natural
Arthington et al, 2018). which calculates a fixed percentage of high flows, extreme low flows, floods
the mean monthly flow or minimum and inter annual variability that
The concept of environmental flow
mean monthly flow in a section of the determine the flow regimes of river
has been applied elsewhere to
river. This method however, does not systems. Substantial effort is needed
understand the link between river
account for the natural variability of to better understand environmental
flow characteristics and ecological
flow in the river (Alfredsen, 2015). flow requirements across the Kamala
components. It is however, less
Basin and in Nepal.
developed in Nepal. Currently, It is recognised that variable water
provision shall be made to release regimes are required to maintain a
water which is higher of either at dynamic river system where natural
least 10% of the minimum monthly biodiversity and ecological processes
average discharge of the river/stream are preserved (Postel and Richter,

27
2.6 Biodiversity

Many livelihoods in Nepal and the These studies describe the Kamala Local faunal studies undertaken with
Kamala Basin, such as farming and Basin as being predominantly of the the basin indicate key mammal
fishing, depend on biodiversity, while Tarai-Duar Savanna and Grasslands species such as Asiatic Elephant are
culturally, the environment and ecoregion with the northern section present as well as grassland species
biodiversity support large festivals, occupied by the Himalayan such as hog deer and barking deer.
requiring clean water and abundant Subtropical Broadleaf Forests Studies suggest there are up to 29 fish
food. ecoregion including churia forests species, one of which is near
(Paudel et al, 2012). threatened (Shrestha 2008); 26 reptiles
Species diversity is very high across
and amphibians (Shah and Tiwari,
Nepal, with the country supporting A study reported across Nepal’s churia
2004, Aryal et al, 2010), three of which
3.2 and 1.1% of Earth’s known flora forest zone indicates substantial
are vulnerable; 65 bird species
and fauna, respectively, with a high biodiversity in this zone with 281 tree
(Parajuli, 2016) including the globally
level of endemic species (Ministry of species, 186 shrub species and 322
threatened Lesser-adjutant stork
Forests and Soil Conservation, 2014). herbaceous plant species (DFRS, 2014).
(Leptoptilo javanicus); and 46
This is significant when Nepal as a It is difficult to pinpoint whether
mammals, with two endangered, two
country only occupies 0.1% of global these species are all present in the
vulnerable and six near threatened.
land area. Kamala Basin.
Across Nepal, many species of flora
Kamala Basin biodiversity Sal forest, tropical deciduous riverine
and fauna are vulnerable. The Kamala
forest and tropical evergreen forest
There are very few studies that Basin is both flood and drought
occur within the Savanna and
identify the species of flora and fauna affected, impacting freshwater fish
Grasslands ecoregion. Tall grasses
that are present in the Kamala Basin. and other aquatic species such as
grow in riverine grasslands and
Some data on presence or absence of frogs and invertebrate species, as well
forests (Paudel et al, 2012).
fauna exist, but information on native as terrestrial animals and their
vegetation species can only be drawn Again, it is unclear which species habitats.
from broader ecoregion studies. within these vegetation types grow
within the basin and thus if any
species are threatened.

28
 Figure 14 Frog species
(left) and Kingfisher
(right) at Kamala Basin

Other threats include habitat loss A study undertaken by Doody et al The Lesser-adjutant stork, for
from deforestation, invasive species, (2016) uses conceptual models to example, occurs in the basin and
wildlife poaching, fishing methods highlight some of the key indicators requires trees higher than 30 metres
harmful to other animals/plants such of ecological change that might occur tall in order to successfully nest.
as electrofishing and poisoning, in relation to river or wetland regime Deriving baseline ’flow-ecology’
landslides and damage caused by changes. The relationship between relationships and improving
floods and landslides. ecological assets such as birds, fish conceptual models provides a means
and macroinvertebrates and flow by which to monitor ecological
In-stream aquatic ecology is impacted
regime changes is likely transferable flow-related changes in the future
by river mining for construction and
to ecological assets in the Kamala (Doody et al, 2016).
associated erosion. A significant
Basin.
threat is posed to both flora and fauna However, more detailed surveys are
with river flow regime alteration or required to understand species
diversion related to irrigated presence and function across the
agriculture, and climate change. Kamala Basin.

29
3 Water availability and sources

3.1 Surface water

There is limited available data on The minimum, mean and maximum However, even in the monsoon
surface water in the Kamala Basin. monthly flows over this period are season, these rivers change water
Discharge was measured at the shown in Figure 15. The data shows flows a few hours after rainfall
Chisapani (26.421 N, 86.175 E) extreme monthly streamflow caused events.
hydrological station in the Dhanusha by rainfall quantity and intensity.
Due to the high level of infiltration
district during operations from 1956
During the dry season the rivers that and permeability in the rivers
to 1970 and 2000 to 2004.
originate in the Chure have either a corridor the level of the rivers rise
The mean monthly flow data of the very low volume of water or no and decline quickly.
Kamala River obtained from the Koshi perennial surface water flowing.
Basin Master Plan Study (JICA, 1985)
In contrast, during the wet season,
from 1956 to 1970 at Chisapani station
rivers carry high volumes of water
(station 598) was 44.70 m3/s.
and sediments, varying with rainfall
intensity during the monsoon season
(Hannah et al, 2005).

400
350
Discharge (m3 s-1)

300
250
200
150
100
50
0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Min Max Mean

Figure 15 Minimum, maximum and mean monthly discharge of

Kamala River at Chisapani station (1956–70) Figure 16 Kamala River during monsoon season

30
Surface Water
Streamflow has been across the Kamala Basin
measured in the past at shows:
Chisapani, Ranibas and
• Spatial variability: As
Inarwa (border with
with most
India). Technical issues
catchments, although
from the high sediment
rain is predominantly
loads make it difficult to
in the hills, the water
measure streamflow
is accumulated in the
and to maintain
rivers as the water
measurement stations.
travels downstream.
The longest records of
flow are from • Flood variability: The
Chisapani, though the volume of water in a
records are mainly from flood in a wet year is
German-supported more than twice the
studies in the 1960s streamflow of an
(Muehlbauer, 1977). average year.
Since 2018 the DHM has • Dry winters: The
installed two new water flowing during
automatic hydrological the winter cropping
and precipitation season (December to
stations in the Basin: March) is a small
Ranibas (86.03E, 27.70N) fraction of the
and Titriya (86.22E, monsoon flow. An
26.89N). average of 61 MCM is
From past existing insufficient to meet
measurements and water demands in the
applying hydrological Kamala Irrigation
models, a historical Project. Figure 17 Annual and winter streamflow estimations, across the
sequence of streamflow Kamala River, in millions of cubic metres (MCM) in average wet,
mean and dry years (top figure) and winters (bottom figure)

31
3.2 Floods

Flooding in the Kamala Basin and The heavy rainfall leads to several • Build-up of waters flowing down
surrounds threatens people’s lives types of floods: the Kamala River, changing the
and causes major damage. Three river’s course and spilling over
• Flash flooding from local rainfall in
people died in Dhanusha in the 2017 banks, especially at the confluence
the Chure or Middle Mountains.
flooding, and the Ministry of Home of the Kamala and Tawa Khola and
Affairs estimates around 127,000 • Temporary waterlogging on the the Terai plains (e.g. floods in 2007).
people were displaced from Terai plains..
• Failure of infrastructure such as
Dhanusha and Siraha (NPC, 2017).
embankments, drains and culverts.
The total recovery needs are
anticipated to be in the order of USD
40 million, with housing (53%) and
Flood impacts
irrigation infrastructure (24%) the
The villages along the Kamala and the river flowed along
largest expenses.
River’s edge in the Terai were badly alternative courses in Dhanusha
Flooding is unavoidable due to the affected by a flood in 2007. and Siraha districts. In 2008 the
intense monsoon rainfall (e.g. >0.3 Kamala River flowed changing the
On July 24, the Himalayan Times
metres of rainfall in 24 hours) channel direction as shown in the
reported that the floodwaters,
(NPC, 2017). satellite imagery.
‘swamped houses, plantations,
roads, markets, government offices The damage on the Indian side in
and schools in the district the same flood event was reported
headquarters of Siraha’. to be severe, particularly due to the
wider area under influence and
About 1.5 km of embankment was
flatter slope resulting in the water
destroyed and there was severe
taking a longer time to drain
riverbank erosion.
(MOAC and FAO, 2011).
In the 2007 floods, the waters
inundated the flood plains for
about a week due to overbank flow

32
Figure 18 Communities affected by
floods in the Kamala Basin in 2007
and change in the river channel
from 2006 to 2008

33
3.3 Groundwater

Groundwater forms a significant Annual groundwater recharge in the and Siraha districts suggests that
component of the total water Siraha and Dhanusha districts was shallow groundwater occurs across
resource in the Terai plains. In estimated to be in the range of 122 to the Terai areas of the Kamala Basin
Dhanusha and Siraha, groundwater 279 MCM/a for Siraha (Kansakar, 1992) and water levels come close to the
supplies 85% of household domestic and 145 to 352 MCM/a for Dhanusha ground surface after the rainy season.
water needs and around 70% of (Shrestha, 1992).
Over the period 2004 to 2013 the
households use groundwater for
The GWRDB (2019) estimates annual observation bores indicated that
irrigation (Okwany et al, 2013).
consumption of groundwater across groundwater levels varied in the range
GoN (2017) reports that there are 6,293 the whole Terai in Nepal at 756 MCM 0.1 to 7.5 m below ground, with
shallow tube wells in Dhanusha, and for irrigation and industrial purposes seasonal patterns of filling during the
5,932 shallow tube wells and 48 deep and 297 MCM for drinking water use. monsoon and drying during the winter.
tube wells in Siraha. The current rate
Estimates of groundwater This indicates that water is available
of extraction is considered
consumption for the Kamala Basin to be used. Based on the observed
sustainable and expansion is being
were not available. Analysis of data minimum and maximum water levels,
promoted widely.
from observation bores of Dhanusha it is estimated that annual
The major factors that determine
sustainable levels of groundwater use Table 3 Estimated number of shallow (STW) and deep (DTW) tube wells
are the volumes of recharge and constructed for the purpose of irrigation within districts of the Kamala
extraction. Basin (GoN, 2017).
The Groundwater Resources District Number Area in STW No. of Area in DTW Total irrigated
Development Board (GWRDB) of STW (ha) DTW (ha) area (ha)
estimates recharge of the Terai plain
Dhanusha 6,293 17,576 88 3,049 20,625
at 8,800 MCM per year (GWRDB, 2019).
Other studies have estimated the Sindhuli 164 412 0 0 412
recharge for the Terai plains in the Siraha 5,932 20,495 48 1,228 21,723
range 5,800 MCM/a to 10,745 MCM/a
Udayapur 632 1,909 0 0 1,909
(Mukherjee, 2018).
Total 12,921 40,390 136 4,277 44,667

34
replenishable groundwater could
support irrigation of at least 9,250 ha
of land in the Kamala Irrigation
Project area. Increased usage may also
favour availability of more storage for
groundwater recharge.
Recorded discharges of the shallow
tube wells in Dhanusha district range
from 9 l/s to 16 l/s while it was 11 l/s
in the Siraha district. This indicates a
high groundwater yield, favouring
extraction using irrigation tube wells
and pumps.

Pumping
IFPRI (2016) reports that most shallow
tube wells in Dhanusha use a 4.8 HP Figure 19 Open well and hand pump used for extracting water for domestic needs
diesel pump. One pump costs
approximately 20,000 NPR and could
service around 4.8 ha.
Sugden (2014) reports that inequalities In Dhanusha around 30% of farmers
Farmers rent out their pumps to other in landlord-tenant relations also owning 3 ha of land also own a pump
farmers and on an average one pump affect the capacity of farmers to set. For tenants, they typically rent
serves about 9 farmers within a radius access groundwater from shallow the well and/or pump set from the
of 1.8 km. Operating hours vary across tube wells. Typically, a landlord landlord to irrigate their crops. The
seasons and districts. For example in owning a larger landholding bores a inequality reveals itself as increased
Dhanusha a pump runs for an average well to access water and buys a pump usage costs for renters compared to
of 81 hours during Kharif season, 104 set to extract the water (though some owners and an increased capacity for
hours during Rabi and about 17 hours bores are collectively managed). owners to pump groundwater
in summer. compared to renters.

35
Prospects
Kamala hydrogeology
Despite opportunities to profitably
irrigate land using shallow tube wells, The hydrogeology of the Terai plains in the Kamala Basin is
IFPRI (2016) shows that the composed of two major depositional units – the Bhabhar
purchasing of pumps in Dhanusha zone (towards the north) and the Terai (Shreshta et al, 2018).
appears to have plateaued since 2010. The Bhabhar zone is situated in the foothills of the Chure,
The water to diesel price ratio is much consisting of alluvial and colluvial coarse sediments.
higher than in neighbouring
countries (3.2 for Nepal vs 2.2 for Bihar The Bhabhar zone has an unconfined aquifer with a
or 2.0 for Bangladesh). Use of deep generally deep watertable. Intersection of the Bhabhar zone
tube wells is also limited because of and the Terai plain marks the northern boundary of the
the equipment required for drilling as Ganga basin.
well as the high costs involved in The Southern Zone is underlain by recent alluvium with an
maintenance. average thickness of 1,500 m formed by the deposition of
Construction of deep tube wells is sediments in the rivers running from the North.
subsidised by the Government with The rivers and streams frequently shift along the plain,
0 to 5% of the total costs paid by the sometimes over kilometres. Consequentially, the sediments
farmers. The Government’s allocation are cross-bedded, eroded, reworked and redeposited,
of funds to the deep tube well scheme resulting in aquifers that provide valuable groundwater
is insufficient to meet all requests for resources.
new projects. The small number of
The depth profiles in the region, comprising alternating
operational schemes means that
sand and gravel of various sizes mixed with clay, favour
maintenance costs remain high, and
high groundwater potential (Figure 20).
most schemes fall into disrepair.

36
Figure 20 Hydrogeology representation in the Kamala Basin (adapted from GDC, 1994)

37
3.4 Water quality

Surface water quality The Kamalamai municipality has In terms of damage to infrastructure,
Surface water contamination can responded to try to reduce the risk the greatest issue is the high levels of
cause sickness, ecological decline and through becoming a ‘no open sediment. When mobilised, sediment
damage to infrastructure. defecation area’ and undertaking can fill storages and complicate the
measures such as building latrines. design of irrigation infrastructure. The
In terms of sickness, although there
largest sediment loads are transported
have been few studies in the Kamala In terms of ecological decline,
during the monsoon season.
Basin on water quality, there is measurements by Shah (2019) in the
evidence of human and animal faecal Kamala River show raised nitrate Groundwater quality
contamination. levels (1.1–3.2 mg/L) and phosphate
For groundwater, the main challenge
levels as high as 6.8 mg/L. The raised
In one study of the Ghwang Khola that has been identified is arsenic
levels indicate that some fertiliser
(Kamalamai) river, in the north-west contamination. Arsenic
from farming is entering the river
of the Basin, total coliform counts contamination is linked to many
network as organic pollution, which
were >300 CFU/100 ml – well above long-term health problems, e.g.
stimulates the growth of plants and
World Health Organization (WHO) cancers, infant mortality and
algae.
guidelines of nil contamination developmental delays (WHO, 2001).
(ITECO et al, 2015). Based on counts of macroinvertebrates,
Between 1999 and 2004, three major
Shah (2019) report the river health is
The contamination increases systematic studies were undertaken
‘good’ in Chiyabari (in the upper
downstream, with records above 1,100 to measure arsenic concentration in
reaches of the Basin), deteriorating
CFU/100 ml in India (CPBC, 2013). As a groundwater samples in the Terai
downstream to ‘fair’ by Dudhuali,
consequence, all water needs to be region (Department of Water Supply
according to the GRSbios/ASPT scale
treated before it can be used for and Sewerage, Nepal Red Cross and
(Nesemann et al, 2007).
drinking or cleaning purposes, to National Arsenic Steering Committee).
avoid gastrointestinal diseases. Given the observation of algae,
Further scientific studies have been
uncontrolled waste dumping and risk
These diseases can lead to diarrhoea conducted to assess the causes of
factors such as low flows and rising
and vomiting, and in children can arsenic contamination (Bhattacharya
temperatures, water quality
contribute to malnutrition and et al, 2003, Shresta et al, 2003, Shrestha,
monitoring should be established.
cognitive delay (Rodríguez et al, 2011, 2004, Pokhrel et al, 2009, Thakur et al,
Guerrant et al, 2008). 2011).

38
These studies show different values of
arsenic contamination in ground
water indicating that arsenic is
non-uniformly distributed across the
Terai with one study suggesting about
27.3% of total tube wells in the Terai
contaminated with arsenic above the
WHO guideline value of 10 ppb.
However, based on the National
Arsenic Steering Committee study
(NASC, 2007) of all 56,531 shallow tube
wells in Dhanusha, a lesser (but
significant) 4% of tested shallow tube
wells were contaminated with
arsenic above 10 ppb, and 0.7% of tube
wells measured arsenic above the
Nepal Interim Standard of 50 ppb.
The district profile for Dhanusha
suggests that the highest
concentrations of arsenic are close to
the Kamala River (ODDC, 2008).

Figure 21 (top) Algae and litter in the

Kamala River downstream of Sindhuli
Figure 22 (bottom) Surface water in the
irrigation canal affected by waste

39
4 Water use and water demand

4.1 Socio-economic dependence on water

Economic drivers and limitations Water social conflicts In terms of energy sources for
Given that agriculture is the main Based on the PVA surveys, 70% of lighting, 72% of households reported
economic activity, livelihoods in the households reported no social conflict access to electricity from connection
Kamala Basin are heavily dependent as consequence of water disputes to the national grid, while 10% of
on the availability of water. As within the same village, while 24% households reported renewable solar/
mentioned above, around 70% of all reported that conflicts occurred only wind/turbine energy as their main
employment in the basin relates to occasionally. electricity source.
agriculture, which creates high The data also show that households in
Around 6% of households in the
economic dependence on water. the district of Sindhuli spent on
sample reported frequent social
However, precise data does not exist conflict emerging within the village, average 8,000 NPR per year, while
regarding how many rural households as a consequence of water disputes households in Udapayur and Siraha
have access to irrigation water. with households in other comunities. spent approximately 4,200 NPR per
Available data indicates that year on energy needs.
Energy
approximately half of the total
suitable cultivable agricultural land, From the PVA data it can be observed
approximately 54,000 ha, have been that 70% of households report using
irrigated (JVS and PEI, 2018). wood, baked cow dung, sawdust,
grass or other natural materials as
In terms of modern irrigation systems,
their main fuel for cooking. The
in the sample of the PVA data fewer
remainder of households used mainly
than 1% of households claimed to
cylinder gas and other systems.
have invested or bought assets related
to irrigation systems.

40
Observed and understood social conflict
• Where people are forced to relocate to
new land due to flooding, cutting trees
creates conflict regarding the share of
natural resources.
• Low efficiency of irrigation due to high
water loss and low water availability
has resulted in conflict around water
sharing among farmers.
• Upstream deforestation, especially in
the Chure, leading to erosion and
sedimentation in the river, has caused
difficulty in the livelihoods of
indigenous people depending on
fishery for their survival.
• There has been conflict regarding unfair
sharing of compensation and benefits
among the basin people during cases of
flooding due to embankment and other Figure 23 Water use by the community at
interventions. the Kamala Irrigation Project canal

• There is also a problem of water

scarcity during the dry season for
women and girls who, due to the lack of
access to drinking water, have to travel
a longer distance for water collection.

41
4.2 Agriculture, irrigation and livestock

Agriculture is the main economic limited by the workforce, land size In some parts of the basin, where
activity and occupation for the people and water availability during the dry irrigation systems or access to water
living within the Kamala Basin and its season. are available as in the Kamala
four districts. Crop production Irrigation Project areas, it is possible
Rice is planted at the beginning of the
through irrigation is the major water to observe the production of
monsoon season, followed by wheat.
use in the basin. Crop production is vegetables, mustard, peas, millet and
This last crop depends on the
predominantly done by smallholders, potatoes as diversification.
availability of water for irrigation.
with subsistence farming mainly
However, the production of these
producing traditional crops of rice, Farmers show a desire to have access
commodities still happens on a small
wheat and maize. to water all year round in order to be
scale and is generally localised in the
able to produce a third crop during
Agricultural practices are based on vicinity of urban settlements. More
the dry season if water for irrigation
farmers’ experience and tradition, recently, farmers have increased access
becomes available.

Figure 24 Paddy field cultivated with rice during the monsoon in the Terai

42
to chemical fertilisers, insecticides and In the Terai, rice-based cropping Other crops such as potato and
improved seeds. Mechanised practices occurs on irrigated low lands while mustard are also grown during winter.
are growing but still limited. maize-based cropping patterns are Maize is grown in both irrigated and
practised in uplands. Early paddy rice rain-fed areas but its coverage is
Different practices are applied on
is also grown in low-lying areas and comparatively low (MOAD, 2017).
each different land type and are
its coverage area is fairly small.
dependent on water availability. The Cropped area distribution
cropping practices of the Chure and After rice, wheat is grown to a large
The area cultivated in the four
Middle Mountains regions are based extent in irrigated fields during winter
districts of the basin is shown in
on terraced farming since access to (November to March). Farmers
Table 4.
irrigation is much more limited than reported that it is becoming more
in the Terai. frequent to lose production of wheat
due to the lack of water for irrigation
Alternative crops such as barley and
at the end of the winter season
buckwheat are more common in
(CSIRO, 2017).
these regions.

Table 4 Estimated crop areas in the four districts of the Kamala Basin

District Cultivated area (ha)

Rice Maize Wheat Millet Oilseed Sugarcane Potato Vegetables
Dhanusha 65,540 2,019 40,000 300 3,373 3,605 2,320 8,054
Sindhuli 14,900 24,815 5,650 11,700 5,174 17 2,140 2,474
Siraha 51,575 1,750 15,210 640 7,046 2,200 1,900 4,961
Udayapur 13,380 17,388 5,100 2,760 5,511 15 760 1,290
Total 145,395 45,972 65,960 15,400 21,104 5,837 7,120 16,779
Source: MOAD, 2017

43
Irrigation systems and main projects
There are several irrigation schemes
in the Kamala Basin and its districts
that allow farmers to produce, in
general, two crops per year. The
largest system is the KIP.
The KIP was constructed between
1975 and 1980 to provide irrigation
water to the southern part of the
basin. The infrastructure is designed
to irrigate 25,000 ha in the Dhanusha
and Siraha districts, (JICA, 2016).
The water is diverted to two main
canals (West and East) and is
distributed in eight branches in the
Eastern canal and four branches in
the Western canal.
The GoN is responsible for the Figure 25 Management Irrigation
schemes in Kamala Basin and
distribution, operation and
surrounding districts
maintenance to the main canal and
branch canals, and the water user
associations are in charge beyond that. per year, which is collected from 60% The most recent study on the KIP was
of users with a distribution of 80% to undertaken as part of the JICA (2016)
The budget for the operation and
local committees and 20% to the GoN examination of irrigation scheme
maintenance of the KIP in 2016/2017
(JICA, 2016). The share of the fee is 50% maintenance. The report shows that
was 18,545,000 NPR (red book from
to the main committee, 25% to the around 36,000 households benefited
JICA, 2016). The irrigation service fee
second level committee and 25% to from the irrigation system.
varies from 150 to 300 NPR per hectare
tertiary committees (JICA, 2016).

44
However, the report identifies factors
that limit the effectiveness of the
irrigation scheme, including:
• When the project was completed,
there were no canal sluice gates at
the farm scale (on tertiary canals)
so farmers used improvised ditches
(JICA, 2013). Without infrastructure
to deliver water to specific farms,
farmers often flood irrigate. This
leads to delivery of water that is
not based on crop requirements.
• Shoals are forming on both the
upstream and downstream sides of
the weir, which are related to the
width (span) of the headworks and
the siting of the scheme. Trees have
grown over the shoals, indicating
that maintaining the river regime is
not part of the maintenance
schedule.

Figure 26 Kamala Irrigation Project

command area (top) and irrigation canal
branch (bottom)

45
• The maintenance budget or • Allocation is rostered between Further irrigation through
operating arrangements are users. However, it seems that farms groundwater is estimated to support
insufficient to adequately maintain closer to the main canals and additional irrigation of 13,240 ha of
the infrastructure, resulting in headworks have greater and more land in the Kamala region in 2013/14:
deterioration of the headworks and reliable access to water. 12,710 ha in the Terai and 529 ha in the
canals. In the main canals, the lack Dun valley bottoms (assuming the
• The water user associations are not
of maintenance is evident from the wells reported in GoN, 2017 are evenly
well organised, and are becoming
establishment of trees and bushes. distributed across irrigable land in
inactive due to a lack of tertiary
Secondary canals also suffer from Dhanusha and Siraha districts).
canal infrastructure to manage
siltation problems and collection of
(JICA, 2016), as well as pressures of This gives a total estimated irrigable
debris and are partly
labour out-migration. area of 44,537 ha, with 37,710 ha in the
malfunctioning (JICA, 2016). The
bounds of the KIP. The area planted
amount of sediment accumulated There are several small and medium
within this command area varies with
in canals is too large to be removed farm management irrigation schemes
year and season. Based on satellite
manually (JICA, 2016). providing surface water irrigation
imagery (LandSat), the winter season
across the basin.
• In order to avoid sedimentation cropping within the KIP is estimated
build-up, the barrage is not used to In the Kamala region, a series of to be 23,385 ha in 2014 with a growth
store water. Hence, water scarcity projects have constructed 32 farmer rate since 1988 of around 2% per year.
during the dry season remains a managed irrigation schemes covering
an area of 6,297 ha. Crop production, diversity and yields
problem, with an irrigation
duration around 6 weeks ending The production and yield in the
Projects from the Department of
between January and mid-February. Kamala Basin varies between the four
Irrigation’s database (JICA, 2013)
districts and is influenced mainly by
• Some areas within the command included the Irrigation Sector Project
irrigation availability. It is also
area do not have access to 1989 (ISP), Second Irrigation Sector
influenced by other factors such as
irrigation water. One Farm Project 1997 (SISP), Community
precipitation, temperature, and the
Management Irrigation Scheme Managed Irrigated Agriculture Sector
quality of inputs (such as improved
(FMIS) in the command area Project 2006 (CMIASP) and Medium
seeds), use of fertilisers and effective
receives water from spring sources. Irrigation Project (MIP).
control of pest and diseases.

46
The average agricultural yields of the
main crops in the basin districts are
presented in Table 5.
New non-traditional activities are
emerging, showing that some
diversification is occurring in the
region. This is more frequent in the
steeper part of the basin in Sindhuli
and Udayapur, where mushroom
farming and beekeeping is growing.
Agroforestry is also significant, with
25% of households in Dhanusha and
18% in the other districts having
planted trees, mainly for wood
production. Table 6 shows the
number of holdings per activities and
Districts.

Crop water and irrigation demand

Crops have different requirements for
water and these are strongly
influenced by the weather conditions,
the soil’s capacity to retain water, and
the phase of the crop production.

Figure 27 Irrigated crop production in the Dhanusha district

47
Table 5 Yields of major crops in the Kamala Basin

District Crop Yield (t/ha)

Rice Maize Wheat Millet Oilseed Sugarcane Potato Vegetables
Dhanusha 3.4 2.7 2.6 1.0 0.6 42.0 13.1 12.4
Sindhuli 3.6 2.8 2.5 1.0 0.9 37.0 9.7 10.0
Siraha 3.0 2.0 2.0 1.0 0.4 45.5 13.0 14.9
Udayapur 3.9 2.0 2.4 1.3 0.8 43.1 12.1 12.4
Mean 3.5 2.4 2.4 1.1 0.7 41.9 12.0 12.4
Source: MOAD, 2017

Table 6 Ancillary agriculture and agroforestry in the total area of the four districts in the basin

District Total Approximate number of holdings

holdings
Mushroom Sericulture Beekeeping Fishery Forest for Forest for Forest for
farming wood herbal soil/water
conservation
Dhanusha 96,006 43 172 215 23,958 86 -
Sindhuli 51,233 673 122 1,467 31 9,079 61 61
Siraha 88,527 83 83 124 498 16,130 - -
Udayapur 54,919 515 - 377 137 9,433 172 686
Total 290,685 1,314 205 2,140 881 58,600 319 747
Source: CBS, 2019

48
Estimates of crop water demand are Livestock In Sindhuli and Udayapur more than
crucial to design irrigation systems Livestock is an important source of 94% of households have some livestock,
able to supply the necessary volume income and protein to households in compared with 86% in Siraha and 82%
of water, and calculate the time when the districts of the basin. The main in Dhanusha. The average numbers of
irrigation is required in order to livestock are cattle, buffalo, goat, livestock owned by households in
optimise production and increase sheep and pig. Sindhuli and Udaypur districts are 10
water use efficiency (amount of dry and 9 compared with 4 in Dhanusha
The livestock not only produce meat
matter produced by volume of water and Siraha (Table 8).
and dairy products but also provide
used). There are models that estimate
organic manure for farming that in
the volume of water necessary for
many cases is the only source of
irrigation that consider local
fertiliser used on plantations.
characteristics, crop variety, and
management adopted.
Estimations of complementary
irrigation for the main crops growing
in the Dhanusha district, using the
Table 7 Estimation of the minimum, maximum and mean complementary
Agricultural Production Systems irrigation requirement for the main crops planted in Dhanusha (values in
Simulator (APSIM) (Holzworth et al, mm per rotation considering the climate which occurred from 1991 to
2014), considering the climate 2016 and 30% inefficiency in delivering the water)
occurring from 1991 to 2016, are
shown in Table 7. Crop Irrigation (mm)

The estimations vary between years, Minimum Maximum Mean

depending on rainfall distribution, Rice 0 208 150
but also depend on the irrigation
Wheat 132 307 231
systems and efficiency.
Maize 53 274 170
Total 185 789 551

49
Table 8 Livestock populations in households of the four districts of the Basin

District Total Holdings Approximate number of livestock heads

holdings with
livestock
Cattle Buffalo Goat Sheep Pig Others
Dhanusha 96,006 78,834 99,934 51,445 126,605 1,751 1,965 -
Sindhuli 51,233 48,669 133,144 57,030 264,019 2,542 18,357 2,507
Siraha 88,527 76,533 115,513 56,920 132,482 2,100 2,245 249
Udaypur 54,919 51,629 130,021 37,597 267,810 2,701 30,017 172
Total 290,685 255,665 478,612 202,992 790,916 9,094 52,584 2,928
Source: CBS, 2019

Women’s participation in agriculture Women have started to perform some

Agricultural and livestock production jobs traditionally done by men such
is strongly dependent on women. as water transporting and
They are mainly responsible for management. Agricultural women
several activities related to crop workers are involved on a permanent
livestock production. basis, occasional basis and exchange
of labour basis.
The women’s tasks include seed
selection, transplanting, weeding, The involvement of women as
harvesting and feeding livestock. permanent workers is less common
Due to extensive out-migration of than for men, while on an occasional
young men to foreign countries the and exchange of labour basis
workload for women has increased women’s involvement is higher in all
and they are spending more time in districts. The role of women is still
farming activities, including limited in decision-making processes
responsibilities related to irrigation. around agricultural activities.
Figure 28 Woman in the paddy field

50
4.3 Human water
consumption

Domestic water use

Estimates of Nepal’s domestic water
consumption vary from 36 to 104
litres of water per person per day
depending on access to water and
household wealth (Raina, 2017). In
urban areas most households have
access to a piped water supply and
the per capita consumption is about
60 to 75 litres per day. In areas that do
not have a piped water facility, the
per capita consumption decreases to
40 to 50 litres per day (Frérot, 2011).

Figure 29 Population density in the

Kamala Basin and four main areas of
domestic water consumption

In the Kamala Basin, domestic water • Dudhouli municipality (B) supplies tube wells to access around 2.5
consumption is mainly concentrated water to 65,000 people through and 4.6 MCM of water annually.
in four areas: open and shallow wells. They need
Population growth is greatest in
around 1.4 MCM of water annually.
• Kamalamai municipality (A) centres such as Lahan and Janakpur,
supplies water to 36,000 people • East (D) and West (C) irrigation which are supplied from deep tube
through a piped system. The command areas have populations wells. Therefore, domestic water use
system uses around 1.0 MCM of of 114,000 and 209,000 people, is likely to remain a small, but
water annually. respectively. They use shallow important, consumer of water.

51
4.4 Synthesis of water use in the Basin

Water availability in the Kamala Basin Irrigated agriculture uses The estimated volume used during
is highly variable and dependent on approximately 183 MCM which is the dry season in the KIP is 40 MCM,
the monsoonal pattern of precipitation. equivalent to 93% of the water used in with 61% of the volume being
The Basin is consequently vulnerable the Basin, estimated to be 197 MCM. extracted from surface water and 39%
to both flooding and water scarcity. Water supplied to households is from groundwater.
estimated to be 9.5 MCM, livestock
Historical measurement at Chisapani With respect to the FMIS, most is
uses around 3.2 MCM and industry
streamflow station (1956-80) shows an irrigated through surface water (5,877
around 1.0 to 2.0 MCM per year based
annual average streamflow of 1,410 ha). Remote sensing in this region
on estimation of number of livestock
MCM/year, with 1,288 MCM occurring identified about 1,230 ha of this land
and water consumption of cement
during the monsoon (May – October) cultivated in the winter (with a high
industries in the region respectively
and only 122 MCM during the dry level of uncertainty). Most of the area
(Figure 30).
season. is assumed to be cultivated during
Within the KIP command area, water pre-monsoon and monsoon seasons.
The current water use in the Basin has
for irrigation is primarily supplied Given these assumptions, the FMIS
been estimated using hydrological
through canal systems with some would require a volume of 16 MCM
modelling, recent local measurements
farmers supplementing surface water during the year, with 1 MCM during
of streamflow and secondary data of
with groundwater (Bastakoti et al, the dry season.
groundwater extractions. However, a
2019 reporting up to 25% of farmers
lack of more recent long-term Although irrigated agriculture is the
for winter crop), and some using
accurate measurements has required largest consumer of water, water
groundwater entirely (survey data
a number of assumptions to be made, availability is still a major limitation
from Sugden et al, 2014 showing
and the values provided should be on crop growth and productivity,
between 10% and 80%).
considered as preliminary estimates especially during the dry season.
only. During the entire year, it is estimated
that the mean volume of water used
in the KIP is around 168 MCM, with
136 MCM from surface water and 32
MCM from groundwater.

52
 31.5

15.2

24.3
136.3

Surface water Groundwater

200.0
183.3

150.0
MCM

100.0

40.5
50.0
9.5 3.2 3.2 1.1
1.0 0.3 0.0 0.0
0.0
Household Irrigated Industry Hydro Livestock
agriculture

Water usage per year Water usage during dry season

Figure 30 Surface and groundwater volume (MCM) estimated usage in the KIP in all
year (top left) and during dry season (top right) and estimated water use by sectors
in the Basin (bottom).

53
4.5 Sediment mining

The Chure region is one of the major In relation to river material Part of these extraction restrictions
sources of construction materials, extraction, more attention has been prohibits sediment mining from
including sand, gravel, stone and given to restrictions for boulder-size downstream of the Kamala embank-
forest products. Dolomite and extraction, and it is recognised that ment to near the border with India
limestone are also mined from the this activity is only partially during the wettest months. However,
basin. It is estimated that about 6.5 controlled and not consistent across there are at least 50 known extraction
million cubic metres of sand, gravel the basin. Due to these challenges in sites upstream of the embankment of
and boulders are supplied annually fully controlling river material the Kamala River, and several more
from the Chure region to fulfil extraction, a complete inventory of that may have not been approved.
construction demands in the country, quantities and the corresponding
River sediment mining modifies the
and to export to India. location of all sites, are not well
shape and structure of in-channel
known.
The current river sediment extraction geomorphic features, which are natural
that occurs in the basin affects river The data available on mining activity river-channel controls. If it is done in
stability and this alteration poses show a total of 33 riverbed material an uncontrolled manner and without
risks related to flooding and extraction sites reported in the considering its effects on both flow
inundation (Adhikari, 2013). Sindhuli and Dhanusha districts (JVS and sediment movement, it can greatly
and PEI, 2018). However, it is affect the river’s natural capacity to
There is no precise information about
recognised that this figure is adjust to those rapid disturbances.
the location and number of mining
incomplete and the number of sites
sites in the basin. The GoN, at the local This type of mining may increase
and the actual extracted amounts
level, has focused on regulating the sediment mobilisation as these
may exceed the recommendations
sediment produced by mining activity natural control features are
provided in previous environmental
in the basin, but some trends suggest weakened, ultimately affecting the
impact assessment studies.
that this activity is increasing as the relative stability of a river (Erskine et
GoN also permits export of this al, 1985).
material to India (Adhikari, 2013).

54
Uncontrolled mining of river Even more so, river bed deposition
sediments modifies the natural has been identified as being naturally
sediment transport, erosion and more accentuated along the Terai,
deposition processes and respective given its topographic setting and its
frequency of occurrence and spatial marked decrease in slope, with a
distribution. gradient between 0.2 and 1% (Jain and
Sinha, 2003, Sinha et al, 2005, Adhikari,
In combination with intense rainfall
2013).
and flooding, sediment mining can
accelerate local erosion and river bed Sediment mining represents a
scouring. Mining activity also significant source of disturbance in
increase river bed sedimentation in the Kamala River and large amounts
nearby locations or downstream of of sediments are reaching the Indian
mining sites. As consequence, it may border.
increase susceptibility to overbank
However, as several controls are
flooding, river lateral migration and
altering the river systems in the basin
occurrence of avulsion (Erskine et al,
at once, and can change
1985).
simultaneously, it is difficult to isolate
The braided segments of the rivers are the effects of one single control (Hicks
likely to have large sediment loads et al, 2007), as all these occur
relative to transport capacity, as this simultaneously and are contributing
is a known common characteristic of to increasing sediment sources in the
braided systems, but additional basin.
accumulation may be occurring as a
result of sediment disturbance, or
changes in the flow regime.

55
 Sediment mining facts
• The construction industry is
the main user of the extracted material.
This includes road construction and river
engineering works, erosion control or
irrigation-related works. Part of the
material is also exported to India.
• Sediment extraction could be exceeding
quantities licensed by the District
Development/Coordination Committees,
based on yearly Environmental Impact
Assessments.
• No boulder extraction is allowed during
the monsoon season from the Kamala
River within the river segment, starting
from the embankments constructed for
flood control.
• Outside of the monsoon season, the four
districts in the Basin have different
control measures – some allow heavy
machinery.
• Data collection on sediment extraction
quantities would help in establishing best
practices for this activity in order to
minimise negative impacts that affect the
Figure 31 A small-scale sediment-mining site (top) and a large-scale capacity of the rivers for self-adjustment.
extraction site (bottom) that uses heavy machinery

56
 Governance related to water management activities 5

Broadly speaking, governance refers River basin governance cuts across A major challenge for all levels arises
to how society decides to address an many domains and issues. These from inadequate financial and human
issue of concern. Governance involves include: sustaining watershed resources to implement plans
specific rules (formal and informal) resources; reducing water- and (interview with manager of a
and instruments which attempt to watershed-induced hazards; as well as groundwater development office in
balance the interests and ideas of meeting sectoral demands in a the Kamala Basin, November 2018).
different groups. context of constrained natural and
The democratic governance of river
human resources.
Nepal’s 2015 Constitution establishes a basin planning, and water allocation,
three-tier system of government – Not all of these reside within any poses additional challenges. River
federal, provincial, and local – which single agency, and so the shift to a basin planning faces the challenge of
devolves power to lower levels of multi-level government structure uneven distribution of water and land
government, from the previous increases the need for efficient resources, needs, and human
unitary state. The transition to a coordination across sectors as well as capability – of planners as well as of
federal system is necessarily complex. between different tiers of water users – at different geographic
For example, it includes the government. scales. One example of uneven
reassignment of some previously distribution of capability to express
State actors differ with respect to
central government agencies and interests and to plan is the priority
their capability to govern water.
personnel to fall under the jurisdiction given to some water resource
Planning resources and capability
and authority of provincial and local development options over others.
were previously concentrated at the
governments. These changes are
federal level. (This is reflected in the Complex inter-basin diversion has
intended to make governance more
2005 National Water Plan, 2015 dominated planning discussion
accountable and representative. It is
Agricultural Development Strategy, around the Kamala Basin, compared
also the aspiration that this devolution
2017 Disaster Risk Reduction Strategic to discussion over options such as hill
and decentralisation will deliver more
Action Plan, and 2018 draft Irrigation irrigation systems, water use
equitable development outcomes.
Master Plan, all prepared at the efficiency, and groundwater (Kamala
The Kamala Basin now encompasses national level). As provinces prepare Basin Initiative consultation
three provincial governments and 23 baseline reports and development workshops, Janakpur and Lahan, 2018).
local governments (15 Municipalities plans, planning capacity is emerging
and eight Rural Municipalities). at the sub-national level.

57
Looking forward, it is likely to see Existing institutions (policies and The Initiative is promoting diverse
pressure from Nepali society for river legislation) provide only general interests to evaluate and formulate
basin planning processes to become guidance on water resources cooperative water resource
more technically accessible, and to development planning. The 2018 draft development options. This may
further aspirations at the sub-basin Water Resources Policy intends to contributes to reduction of potential
level. Allocating water among govern water and land resources so as future water conflicts between
multiple uses in multiple locations in to accrue ‘optimal’ economic, social different levels of government.
a fair and accountable manner poses and environmental benefit.
particular challenges in basins such
The draft Policy states that sectoral
as the Kamala, which are seasonally
strategic plans (master plans) shall be
water-scarce.
consistent with river basin plans. The
One set of challenges arises because draft Policy does not yet provide
recently elected local and provincial guidance for how optimal portfolios
governments are now responsible for of benefits should be defined. In
spatial planning and infrastructure response to this gap, the Kamala Basin
programming within their Initiative aims to offer specific
jurisdictions, leading to a possibility technical and process guidance to
that their water-related interventions address the challenge of ‘optimal’
will be uncoordinated. In order to social choice.
meet diverse needs with constrained
The Kamala Initiative is using
water resources and public finances,
scenario analysis and multi-criteria
several local governments in the
analysis to guide the strategic
basin have expressed an interest in
prioritisation of water resource
collaborative planning (Kamala Basin
development options.
Initiative consultation workshop,
Lahan, 2018). It appears that no
organisational platform exists to
support such collaboration.

58
 Issues and challenges for achieving 6
sustainable use of water resources

Synthesizing the main issues related • The effectiveness of these controls • Sediment mining and road
to water resources management in is not fully quantified or under- construction increase transport of
the Kamala river Basin. In doing so, stood, and is likely to be mixed and sediment and riverbed instability.
the authors recognise that the to depend on local situations and
ISSUE 3 Water availability is
community, and all levels of the severity of the rainfall events.
constraining agricultural production
government, are already working to
ISSUE 2 High sediment loads in the • The agricultural sector is the largest
address many of the issues of
river system are increasing flood risk consumer of the water available,
concern. An ongoing process to
and damaging infrastructure which is supplied by a mix of
establish a strategy is underway to
identify development goals and • The Kamala Basin naturally surface water and groundwater
actions to improve the welfare of the generates high sediment loads. This schemes.
community in the Kamala Basin. drives the river to change shape and
• With the current infrastructure,
migrate as it dynamically responds
there is insufficient surface water
ISSUE 1 Monsoonal floods are to the floods and sediment.
available for farmers to meet their
impacting communities and
• The dynamic nature of the river winter and summer irrigation
infrastructure
system can be difficult to live with requirements. This reduces
• Floods are primarily a consequence
– causing villages and towns to be productivity and yields, as well as
of heavy rainfall events, which may
relocated, with water (and limiting crops to a maximum of
increase in intensity in the future.
sediment) swamping agricultural two crops per year.
• Flooding in the basin can endanger land.
• While there has been an increase of
life and causes significant
• Sediment is deposited in barrages groundwater consumption, it
economic and infrastructure damage.
and canals, contributing to high appears to have plateaued.
• There are a range of flood controls maintenance costs. Groundwater diesel pumping
in place including gabions, check appears significantly more
• Clearing vegetation along slopes,
dams and embankments. expensive than in neighbouring
riparian zones and floodplains
Terai regions in India.
increases sediment transport and
causes extreme changes in the river
channel form.

59
• Balancing the temporal and spatial • Water treatment plants are not all • Understanding and adoption of the
distribution of water in the Kamala operational. technical aspects of modern
Basin could increase the value of agricultural practices are generally
• Low quality roads impact on
agriculture through the ability to low.
transport costs.
support year-round cropping, or
• Land holdings are very small (half
diversifying to higher value crops. • There is a lack of adequate storage
of holdings have 0.5 ha or less) and
for crops.
ISSUE 4 Infrastructure design, hence production is fragmented
construction and maintenance are ISSUE 5 Labour is scarce, land per and limited.
not meeting current needs household is limited and agricultural
• Agricultural products such as rice
profitability is low
• Water resources infrastructure in and wheat are, in general, more
the basin includes water supply • The Kamala Basin is densely expensive to grow in Nepal than
systems, sediment control populated (290 people per km2), India due to different input costs,
structures, flood control levees, with a rich mix of castes and ethnic subsidies and policies.
farmer-managed irrigation systems groups, which varies between the
hilly regions and the Terai. ISSUE 6 Institutions need stronger
and the jointly managed Kamala
integration
Irrigation Project (KIP). • Working age men are out-migrating
• Coordination between agencies is
• The KIP is deteriorating due to its to earn remittances as unskilled
being built at each tier of
age and the need for machinery to labour. They are mostly unavailable
government.
conduct maintenance, as well as to work when there is peak
the overall cost of general agricultural demand for labour. • Organisational platforms to
maintenance and declining level of support collaboration between
• There are proportionately more
collective action among the local governments, or between
women of working age involved in
beneficiary farmers. local and provincial governments
agriculture, however their
are needed.
• There is insignificant industry representation at committee level
support to economically fix deep appears to be low. • The financing commitments from
groundwater bores when the GoN are variable.
pumps fail or require maintenance.

60
• There are limitations of Issue 8 Knowledge about key issues
information, monitoring and and primary data is limited
evaluation systems and human • This report, and others quoted here,
resources at all levels. often rely on a single source of
• The coordination of interests, and primary information, which is
dispute resolution processes, often 20+ years old (e.g.
between different sectors and groundwater studies).
Provinces requires development • There was no information about
and testing in the contemporary sediment quantities or sediment
context of Nepal. control effectiveness.
ISSUE 7 Potable water for domestic • There was a lack of continuity in
purposes is not uniformly accessible the monitoring of streamflow,
• Several schemes are underway to command area irrigation operation
improve access to water, water and water quality.
treatment and hygiene practices. • There is limited information about
• In the hill regions, women can water use in irrigation systems and
spend an hour or two each day best practices to increase water use
fetching water for drinking and efficiency.
household purposes, reducing the
time for other activities.
• Open wells are widely used and
have high potential for water
contamination.
• There is evidence of contamination
of waters with faecal matter and
arsenic.

61
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Abbreviations

CFU colony-forming unit KIP Kamala Irrigation Project

CMIASP Community Managed KRB Kamala River Basin
Irrigated Agriculture Sector
masl metres above sea level
Project 2006
MCM million cubic metres
CSIRO Commonwealth Scientific
and Industrial Research MCM/a million cubic metres per
Organisation annum
cumec cubic metres per second MIP Medium Irrigation Project
of DOI
DHM Department of Hydrology
and Meteorology, OECD Organisation for Economic
Government of Nepal Co-operation and
Development
DPR Detailed Project Report
NPR Nepalese rupee
DOFE Department of Foreign
Employment PEI Policy Entrepreneurs
Incorporated
DOI Department of Irrigation,
Government of Nepal ppb parts per billion
DTW Deep tube well ppm parts per million
FMIS Farm management PVA Poverty and Vulnerability
irrigation schemes Assessment
GCMs Global Circulation Models SISP Second Irrigation Sector
Project 1997
GoN Government of Nepal
STW Shallow tube well
GWRDB Groundwater Resources
Development Board UNDP United Nations
Development Programme
ha hectare
USD United States dollar
HP horsepower
WECS Water and Energy
IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on
Commission Secretariat,
Climate Change
Government of Nepal
ISP Irrigation Sector Project
WHO World Health Organization
1989
JVS Jalsrot Vikas Sanstha

66