We are ICIMOD, a unique intergovernmental institution leading the global effort to protect the pulse ...
With a vast array of partners, we organize our work in what we call Regional ...
Successful interventions can change lives for the better. We hope that the stories of success ...
This site uses cookies, as explained in our terms of use. If you consent, please close this message and continue to use this site.
A 3-D model of the Godavari landscape was unveiled at the ICIMOD Knowledge Park in Godavari on 8 June 2018. The Knowledge Park has been identified as a training site for spring revival and springshed management and the model will be used as a capacity-building tool. The conceptual layout will aid understanding of the hydrogeology of the area and help visitors and trainees visualize the geophysical nature of the area in relation to its springs.
2 mins Read
Springs are the source of water for millions of people in the mid-hills of the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH), but spring systems are poorly understood. Springs are groundwater discharge points that appear where a water-bearing layer (aquifer) intersects with the ground surface and water seeps out of rock pores, fissures, fractures, or depressions. It naturally follows any discharge point, and would have a recharge area from which the discharged water is derived.
Most water conservation programmes in the HKH and elsewhere have been built around the watershed concept, which accounts only for surface water movement over slopes. It does not account for movement of spring water, which is groundwater, and determined by underlying geology, the nature of rocks and the slope of such rocks beneath the surface. The watershed concept, therefore, cannot account for water which travels outside the watershed boundaries through rock beds that slope towards an adjoining watershed.
Lack of knowledge about what constitute springs and how they recharge has led to policy neglect across the region. The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is working with relevant stakeholders in the region to address this knowledge gap and introduce wholesome interventions for water conservation in the region.
The 3-D model at the ICIMOD Knowledge Park shows surface slope and delineates watersheds, underlying rocks, their dip and strike. As such it will help conceptualize the differences between a springshed and a watershed. The model shows how groundwater does not necessarily flow in the same direction as surface water. It represents how the recharge area of a spring in one watershed, say watershed A, can very well be in another watershed, say watershed B, and hence highlights the need to look at underground geology and recharge areas across several watersheds to demarcate a springshed.
Any intervention in the mountains needs to be at a springshed scale because work done in one watershed without considering groundwater flow to another watershed can be ineffective or counterproductive. The 3-D model is an attempt to bring about conceptual clarification and can be used by a wide range of stakeholders – policy makers, scientists, students and local communities. It helps them envisage their springs and the areas where they are recharged. The model also demonstrates the need for a paradigm shift – from watershed to springshed as an appropriate approach to intervention in the HKH.
Share
Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.
related content
A two day workshop on permafrost and glaciers was held 15-16 September at Karakoram International University (KIU) in ...
How poor families with farmlands that are at risk of floods and animals’ foraying into them can barely eke out ...
The First International Science Forum of National Scientific Organizations on the Belt and Road Initiative was held in Beijing, China ...
Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) are one of the most serious natural hazards in mountain regions, including the Upper Koshi ...
A regional consultation workshop on programme development for Karakoram-Pamir-Wakhan Landscape Initiative jointly organised by the Wakhan Corridor Initiative and the ...
ICIMOD, in collaboration with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), organized the eighth Regional Steering Committee (RSC) meeting ...
ICIMOD held a five-day training session on integrated water management 25-29 August 2015 in Nyaung Shwe, Myanmar. Participants were instructed in ...
Speaking at the inaugural session of the event, Dila Ram Bhandari, Director General of the Department of Agriculture (DoA), said, ...