Research/ Awareness

SEN is implementing this assignment as a local partner of ICIMOD’s HI-GRID Project in the Lower Koshi River Basin (LKRB) supported by Government of Australia.

The Lower Koshi Basin (LKB) is home to over 30 million people and is considered highly vulnerable river basin in the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) that is susceptible to disasters and climate change. The region faces the problem of Too Much and Too Little water (TMTL) where water-induced disasters like floods cause destruction, while communities living in certain parts of the region do not have adequate water for basic usage.

The LKB is prone to floods and flash floods and to address this issue, an integrated watershed management approach will be taken to address TMTL in the region. Numerous disaster risk reduction (DRR) solutions will be identified and documented for further analysis and use as nature-based solutions for DRR.

ICIMOD has been implementing the community-based flood early warning system (CBFEWS) for the past decade and has developed the Nibuwa Tankhuwa Watershed Management Plan. Under HIGRID project, ICIMOD is expanding its scope to develop integrated watershed management plan for Lal Bakaiya. Additionally, the initiative aims to address water related issues and recommend solutions.

The assignment will conduct a comprehensive literature review and baseline assessment of the Lal Bakaiya Watershed Area, focusing on geography, climate, hydrology, geology, land use, socio-economic conditions, livelihood, hazards and risks, and biodiversity, institutions and service facilities. Key stakeholders will be finalised, and stakeholder consultation meetings will be coordinated to gather input and develop solutions for watershed management. Some of the stakeholders are Gujara Municipality and Phatuwa Bijaypur Municipality in Rautahat district, Kohalbi Municipality and Nijgadh Municipality in Bara district, with whom we have been working and additional, we will work with Hetauda Sub-Metropolitian City, Makwanpur Gadhi Rural Municipality and Bakaiya Rural Municipality in Makwanpur district.