NATIONAL 9 (Spotlight Weelky)]

Rhetoric Vs. Reality

The government finally begins a serious debate on ways of utilizing the country's water resources

By KESHAB POUDEL

Does Nepal have the potential to exploit its vast water resources for national development. "Definitely," say water resources experts. Then why are things moving at snail's pace?

Nepal wastes more than 220 billion cubic meters water each year. If the country could tap even a fraction of that, the benefits would be incalculable. But the reality remains sordid. More than 90 percent of agriculture land still depends on the monsoon rain and less than 20 percent of the population has access to safe drinking water. Hydropower generation is meager and barely 15 percent of the population has access to electricity.

A big dam : use of water resources

Nepal started utilizing its water resources about a century ago. Even before that rivers, lakes and ponds were being used to irrigate land and meet household needs through traditional methods that were sustainable. The country's first hydropower plant was built during the Rana regime.

Why have Nepalese leaders allowed themselves to waste so much time? Simply because they do not have a concrete strategy to utilize the country's water resources.

"Nepal needs to have a strategy that will guide the economic development of the country well into the future. Where do we want to utilize the water?" asked Deputy Prime Minister Ram Chandra Poudel.

Following the restoration of democracy, Nepal realized the need to produce hydro-electricity for export to India, but no export-oriented hydro-power plant has been built. Because of serious policy lapses, US energy giant Enron dropped its proposal to develop the Karnali Chisapani project to sell electricity to India.

Although an Australian Company Snow-View has the license to build the West-Seti, the project is yet to take off because of problems related to the market.

Amid this flood of problems in water resources utilization, a discussion was taking place on a comprehensive Water Resources Strategy.

"Agriculture is one of the major sectors of economic development, and we must develop a plan to utilize the water resources to eradicate poverty," said Rameshananda Vaidya, member of the National Planning Commission.

Everyone is talking about Nepal's immense potential in hydropower development, but no one has seriously pondered how the availability of cheap natural gas in the region could change Nepal's strengths.

In terms of utilization of water in agriculture, Nepal's performance is equally unsatisfactory. Nepal has dozens of major snow-fed rivers, but agriculture still depends heavily on the monsoon rain.

This is for the first time in the last five decades that the Ministry of Water Resources has realized the need to develop a long-term plan for the utilization of water resources.

Prepared by Water Resources Commission, the Water Resources Strategy covers programs and activities over the short, medium and long-term spread over a 45-year timeframe.

"It is getting too late for Nepal to formulate a water resources strategy for economic development," said Baldev Sharma Majgaiya, Minister of Water Resources.

For any strategy to work, however, Nepal must identify core areas of priority and work on them on a sustained basis.