Back to news
25 Jan 2016 | News

Recharging Springs and Ponds in the Mid-hills

3 mins Read

70% Complete

Officials from Dapcha Kashikhanda Municipality in Kavre District have integrated the construction of recharge ponds into next year’s ward and VDC plans as a result of research conducted by the .Nepal Water Conservation Foundation (NWCF), a partner of the Koshi Basin Programme working to understand the relationship between springs and ponds in Nepal’s middle hills. Dapcha Kashikhanda and its surrounding localities have been facing increasingly dry springs in recent years, and the expectation is that these ponds will help to replenish local springs and improve the communities’ access to water.

The two-year study found that traditional ponds that existed in the past above the springs played an important role in sustaining the springs below. This fact, however, was not readily understood, and many such ponds either dried up or were used for other purposes, like building houses and other infrastructure. During research work, some ponds were reconstructed with voluntary labor contribution from the local people under technical supervision. The following monsoon, the ponds were filled with water, and a number of springs below increased their flow and duration from years prior. A few long-dried-up springs were also revived.

Impressed by this positive result, some in the community dug recharge ponds in their own private land. Although the result of the action research was very promising, it was soon realised that it was not possible to replicate on a large scale with the sponsoring research organisations’ limited resources. To be implemented on a wide scale, it needed to be owned by the community and the government. ICIMOD and NWCF have continued their partnership to encourage the municipality- and district-level planners to include the recharge pond construction activities into their regular annual and periodic plans.

To initiate, a one-day introductory workshop was organised 2 December 2015 in Bhakundebesi, near the main office of the newly-declared Dapcha Kashikhanda Municipality. Workshop participants included local leaders of Daraune Pokhari, Chhatrebajh, and Purano Gaun settlements of the Municipality and Shyampati VDC; collaborators in action research in Daraune Pokhari; planning officers from the Municipality and the District Development Committee (DDC), Kavre; and local FM radio station representatives. In the first half of the program, participants were informed by ICIMOD and NWCF experts about past and on-going project activities and future plans. Local people of Daraune Pokhari who had participated in activities also shared their experiences. In the second half of the program, the local people expressed their views, following which, the officials from the municipality and the VDC expressed their opinions and pledged their full support to the program.

Following the meeting, all wards of the municipality and Shyampati VDC convened their municipality and ward council meetings to identify projects and programs to be implemented in their respective areas and prepare detailed technical and financial plans for approval. NWCF research associates provided technical support to all councils in plan preparation related to local water management and recharge pond construction. As a result of the exercises, all ward and VDC councils identified many recharge ponds for construction or rehabilitation and several springs to be protected during the coming fiscal year. In Daraune Pokhari, the council identified eight different projects ranging in cost from NPR 50,000 to 200,000 to be included in the next year’s plan. The newly-included settlement of Purano Gaun identified five different projects for recharge pond construction and spring protection. Similarly, Shyampati VDC and other settlements identified a number of projects to be implemented in their respective areas. Since these projects were identified as high priority by the community, ward and VDC councils, they have a high chance of being approved by district level authorities in the coming fiscal year.

Stay current

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.

Sign Up

Related Content

Continue exploring this topic

11 Dec 2015 News
UAV Research in Khumbu Valley

Against the unparalleled backdrop of Everest and Nuptse, the late November sun warms the glaciologist slightly as he prepares for ...

10 Feb 2016 News
Assessing Nepal’s Hydropower Potential

A joint initiative to aid the Government of Nepal (GoN) in developing internationally accredited environmental impact assessment (EIA) guidelines and procedures for ...

29 Jan 2019 KSL
Communities across the Mahakali agree on the sustainable management of yartsa gunbu

The community-level cross-border declaration was signed by participants of a recent workshop held near the India–Nepal border in Darchula, Nepal, ...

31 Jul 2015 News
ICIMOD receives Humanitarian GIS Award

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) has been awarded a ‘Humanitarian GIS Award’ at the 2015 International User ...

30 Sep 2019 Livelihoods
Himalayan large black cardamom: Geographical indication key to developing value chain in the Kangchenjunga Landscape

During the workshop, Kinlay Tshering, Director of the Department of Agriculture, Bhutan, emphasized the need to capitalize on the unmet ...

30 Sep 2019 HI-LIFE
Adopting a flagship species approach to conserve biodiversity and habitats in the Hindu Kush Himalaya

An international workshop on the conservation of flagship species and their habitats in the HKH region was held from 28 ...

12 Oct 2015 News
Water management training in Myanmar

ICIMOD held a five-day training session on integrated water management 25-29 August 2015 in Nyaung Shwe, Myanmar. Participants were instructed in ...

3 Sep 2019 KDKH
The KDKH’s transboundary working group to study impacts of GLOF events in the Koshi basin

In June 2019, a study that used declassified military satellite data showed that a staggering