Seminar to support Nepal India on Koshi River Basin

In an effort to provide policy support to the governments of Nepal and India about water in the context of socioeconomic and livelihoods in the Koshi River Basin, a two days workshop kicked off here Thursday.

“The workshop aims to act as a platform for knowledge sharing, improved communication and networking on science-based policy, and coordination on the water-livelihoods-gender nexus,” informed Dr. David Molden, director general of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).

He said that policy recommendations would be developed based on co-learning among the stakeholders.   

The workshop on ‘Water-livelihoods-gender nexus to advance Koshi Basin management’ is being organised by the Department of Agriculture (DoA) and Department of Irrigation (DoI) in collaboration with the ICIMOD and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) with the support of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) of Australia.

Dr. S. M. Wahid, coordinator of the Koshi Basin Initiative said that the Koshi river basin – a transboundary basin shared by China, Nepal and India – provided water for irrigation and domestic use that supports the livelihoods nearly 40 million people and has a large potential for hydropower development.

“This workshop has brought together national and international partners and stakeholders involved in water-livelihoods-gender related knowledge and capacity development initiatives in Koshi basin. It will create a platform for knowledge sharing and improved communication for evidence based policy support,” said Dr. Wahid.

Dr. Bharat Pokharel, country director of Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation, stated that the local policy making should be linked with national and international policy making processes.

The DoA is responsible for the overall growth and development of the agriculture sector while the DoI has a mandate to manage and monitor different modes of environmentally sustainable and socially acceptable irrigation and drainage system. DoI also intervenes in the river basin to protect the floodways, floodplains and agricultural lands in the form of river bank protection to minimize the damage of properties from flood disaster.

Over 80 participants are attending the workshop, including senior government officials, academic scholars, and development professionals from China, India and Nepal who have specialized in water management, livelihood, food security, agronomy, biodiversity, disaster preparedness, and policy making and economy.