Water Resources Management in Bhutan · Water Act : Guiding Elements –Ensure conservation &...
Transcript of Water Resources Management in Bhutan · Water Act : Guiding Elements –Ensure conservation &...
Water Resources Management
in Bhutan
G.Karma Chhopel
India
China
Nepal
Bangladesh
Bhutan
Area
38,394km2
Population
634,982 (2005)
Introduction
Altitude range from 100m–above 7500m above msl
State of Environment
High-level political commitment
60% forest cover for all times
Pristine Environment
72.5% forest cover
9% biological corridor
~50% protected area
High bio-diversity concentration
Conservation jewel of the Eastern
Himalayas
Flora and fauna
7500 vascular plants (82 are endemic)
>300 medicinal plants,
50 species rhododendron,
>40 species of orchids
770 sps of Birds (14 IUCN)
167 sps mammals (26 IUCN)
Biodiveristy - invertebrates
Rich biodiversity
Historical reasons; N-Thailand, N-
Myanmar, Yunan, Assam, etc.
Rhyacophila 34 sps, 32 in Nepal
Glossosomatidae 16 sps,
14 in Nepal
Epiophlebia laidlawi
Hydraena karmai
Water Resources
• Bhutan is endowed with rich perennial water resources due to its head water source fed with permanent glaciers & associated glacier lakes, vast forest coverage & recurrence monsoon
• Four major river basins are:
• Amochhu, Wangchhu, Punatsangchhu & Manas
• Major rivers flows North to South culminating into Indian plains
• 3 transboundary rivers: Amochhu, Kurichhu & Gamri
Amochhu
Wangchhu
Punatsangchhu
Manas
Major River Systems
Water Resources • Most promising hydropower potential sites are
located deep steep river reach in narrow valleys (30,000 MW)
• All most all the hydropower projects are run-of-the-schemes except few storage schemes in the foot hills
• Natural rivers/streams water quality is reported as excellent conditions expect at localized urban areas
• Deep groundwater is virtually unused in Bhutan; hydro-geological science is still at infancy
Characteristic National
Features
Value/Description
Long-term mean annual flow
for entire country
2,325 m3/s=73,000
million m3/year
Per capita mean annual flow
availability
109,000 m3
Per capita minimum flow
availability
20,000 m3
Water Resources in Bhutan
98% urban and 88% rural population has access to safe drinking water
Middle Path: National Environment Strategy
Agriculture Intensification
Hydropower
Industrialization
3 avenues to sustainable development
All the above are major users of water
Water Act : Guiding Elements
– Ensure conservation & protection &
sustainable management of Water Resources
– Grant equity in water allocation and use
– Respect traditional water rights if based on
equity and social justice
– Ensure licensing of water for commercial uses
– Be supported by secondary legislations
– Uphold international legal norms and
conventions
7th Session of the Parliament, 31 May 2011
Water Act 2011 7th Session of the Parliament, 31 May 2011
• Coordinate national IWRM
• Conduct inventory on water resources
• River Basin Management Plan (River basin
committees and WUAs)
• Set WQ standards
• Set minimum environmental flow
Challenges and consequences
• Unpredictable seasonality
• Accelerated melting of glaciers
• Extreme Climate: Higher incidence of
flooding and dry spells
• Reduction in over all river flows & water
shortages
• Drying of water sources & rivers
Challenges and consequences • Increasing demand from increasing
populations
• Unsustainable development of
hydropower
• Extinction of plant and animal species
• GLOF is another
serious threat
Adaptation measures
Green Roof
• Investing in alternative sources of energy (solar, wind,
biogas)
• Establish flood & weather forecasting and advance
warning systems
• Build check-dams & water reservoirs using natural
contours of riverbeds
• Promote rainwater harvesting & WSUD
Adaptation measures (contd..)
• Adopt drought resistant varieties of crops &
livestock
• Place more areas under parks and protected areas
• Protect watersheds and wetlands
Regional & National initiatives
• Bhutan Climate Summit for the Eastern
Himalayas Southern watershed
• Establish strong upstream-downstream
economic linkages (cost-benefit sharing)
• Establish an effective networking system for
information, data and technology
– Focal institutes for glaciology, hydrology, energy,
food security etc.
– Conduct inventory of water resources
Regional & National initiative
• Conservation of wetlands
• Improvement of irrigation systems
• Promoting rational use of irrigation water
• Control the spread of impervious ground cover that impedes the recharging of ground water resources
International support
• Funds and technology for mitigation and
adaptation measures
• Funds to develop sectoral rules and
regulations
• Technology/ knowledge transfer from
institutions such as MRC
• Support research & monitoring
programmes
Conclusion
• Events in HKH have global
consequences (social, economy,
ecology)
• Strong evidence of climate change
• Need to act now rather
than later
• Investing for the world
བཀ ྲིེན་ཆྲིེ་ལགས།