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VOL. 27, NO. 36, May 23, 2008 (Jestha 10 2065 B.S.)
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Water scarcity: A Crisis Looming Large
By Rajan Bajracharya
In an unprecedented move that eerily pointed to the reality of water scarcity, Spain recently executed an emergency plan by importing water by ship. A giant tanker with water from France arrived in Spain, and more water will be imported over the next month. The reason behind this move was the shrinking of the reservoir in the mountain above Barcelona.
It reminds us what if similar situation emerges in Nepal. Though it may appear a far-fetched and preposterous, we are already importing hydropower despite being one of the top five countries in the world in terms of hydropower potential, aren’t we? Though we are managing to import petroleum products – even if one-half of the actual demand - we may not be able to afford importing water if such situation emerges.
“There is no enough water to cook food now. So I have started to eat corn instead,” said Tensing Sherpa, a local resident from Khumjung.
Khumjung is a village located an hour away from the tourist hub of Namche bazaar, to its south, and is at the base of the holy mountain, Khumbila. It is said that the valley was once a lake but the water broke a long time ago. He added,
“If similar scarcity haunts Namche, it will impact the entire tourism industry in the whole of Everest region.”
Khumjung is one of the villages in the Everest region where Sir Edmund had in the past helped the villagers build a safe water drinking system. However, now the Khumjung is facing problem in drinking water due to lack of snow fall during this winter that drained out the water resource from the area.
It is a stark reminder of warnings sent out by climate experts about the impact of global warming in the approaching decades. It appears their warning is already coming true.
On the other hand, there are over 6,000 rivers in the country; all large rivers are fed by snow melt from the glaciers, which covers area of around 5225 sq. km that feed natural reservoirs i.e. glacier lakes in the Himalayas. Some of these glaciers are melting rapidly and, thus, glacier lakes are swelling swiftly, in some cases up-to 74 meters per year; presumed to be a result of climate change.
Temperature observations in Nepal from 1977-1994 showed a general warming trend with significantly greater warming at higher elevations in the northern part of the country than at lower elevation - experts again blame this on climate change.
If the present trend of glacial retreat continues, the total glacier area will likely shrink, which is a renewable storehouse of fresh water. The shortage of fresh water is likely to be the most serious resource problem in the country together with power shortage. Besides, it will have a long term implications of water shortage and effect livelihoods of half a billion people living in the Himalayas, and also for 1.3 billion people living in the region and every other species downstream.
Retreat of glacier, rise in temperature, and scarcity of water might be the early warning signals of the climate change. However, further research is required before a conclusive statement can be drawn regarding how the climate is changing.
Currently, as a part of the Eco Everest Expedition 2008, scientific teams are carrying out tests in the Khumbu region to try and assess the impact of global warming specially focusing on the Imja and Dig Tsho glacial lakes. Along with the expedition, special events have been organized together with local communities, national and international media to raise the awareness of climate change impact in the Himalayas.
Such campaigns will help raise awareness of the public at large about the hazards of climate change and stir them to contribute to the cause of reducing carbon emission by using eco friendly solutions and emission free products.
(The author can be reached at Rajan_man@hotmail.com )
