Background

The Government of Nepal has recently endorsed a hydropower environmental impact assessment manual as a guiding document for environment impact assessment (EIA), in line with international good business practices in the hydropower sector. With the endorsement of the manual, an in-depth capacity assessment and gap analysis has been carried out in Nepal’s hydropower sector, with particular focus on EIA.

To strengthen the capacity of stakeholders in hydropower EIA, ICIMOD is organizing a four-day training programme, in collaboration with the Forest Research and Training Centre – Ministry of Forest and Environment, the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and Kathmandu University (KU). The training will cover the assessment of freshwater ecosystems for sustainable hydropower development in Nepal. The participants will include representatives from relevant government offices and hydropower investors.

Objectives

This training workshop will provide in-hand assessment tools and procedures on assessing freshwater ecosystems as part of EIA in hydropower sector. The specific objectives include the following:

1. Improve theoretical and practical understanding of integrated water resource management (IWRM)
2. Equip participants with tools and procedures for collecting and analysing data on water quality and aquatic life
3. Discuss upstream–downstream interlinkages and hydropower impact on downstream ecosystem

Concept note

• Assessing freshwater ecosystems for sustainable hydropower development in Nepal (PDF, 4.24MB) 

Relevant resources

• Freshwater ecosystems of the Koshi River basin, Nepal: A rapid assessment : ICIMOD Working Paper 2019/6 (2019)
• Hydropower Environmental Impact Assessment Manual

Downloads

• E-flow: concept, tool & Application (PDF, 3.17MB)
• Paani’s contribution to conservation of aquatic biodiversity in Nepal: Lessons from three river basins of western Nepal (PDF, 6.48MB)
• Overview of EIA process in Nepal (PDF, 1.08MB)
• Hydropower EIA reports quality in Nepal: Strength and weakness, checklist/forms format (PDF, 3.24MB)
• Barrier effect on fish, options for UT1 for protection of aquatic species (PDF, 996KB)
• Case study on aquatic biodiversity assessment of Jhimruk hydropower (PDF, 3.01MB)
• Overview of freshwater ecosystem approach in EIA for hydropower (PDF, 5.55MB)
• National and international guidelines, standards related to hydropower development (PDF, 1.51MB)
• Standardized protocols for fish sampling and monitoring discussed for the Trishuli basin (PDF, 4.11MB)
• Water Environmental Survey and Aquatic Life Status (PDF, 4.71MB)