Monika GIRI, Southasia institute of advanced studies, Nepal
Gyanu MASKEY, Southasia institute of advanced studies, Nepal
Chandra PANDEY, Southasia institute of advanced studies, Nepal
Water insecurity is one of the greatest and complex challenge the world is facing today. While water scarcity is causing droughts and conflicts associated with inequitable water access, excess water is leading to increased frequency and intensity of disasters like floods and landslides. The world therefore is facing twin challenge of water insecurity: water scarcity and excess water with adverse consequences on economic growth, health and wellbeing. Under this backdrop, this research aims to analyze the challenges the households are bearing due to both too much and too little water. Using a qualitative approach, we explore how water scarcity and excess are challenging the urban water security in three municipalities of Nepal. Further, we analyze the coping strategies of the urban households and the challenges faced by the urban water institutions in this situation. We argue that both too much and too little water pose risks to water insecurity hence ensuring water security requires the water system to move beyond addressing water inadequacy and build the resiliency of the water system to implications of excess water. Our study finds that water scarcity has affected other components of water security like water quality, affordability and distribution. And, too much water has impacted water infrastructures and has degraded the water quality risking the human health. Different coping strategies such as diversification of sources, groundwater extraction, water storage, toilet modification and mineral water usage are being adopted by the households. Further, the challenges are aggravated due to constraints such as limited capacity of the water institutions, changing leadership, political influence and challenges in the changing federal context. We suggest for timely planning and strengthening of the water supply services and institutional capacity to deal with both scarce and excess water and enhanced adaptation measures to improve the coping capacity of local people.
Mots clés : Water security|scarcity|flood|too much-too little water|Nepal
A104894MG