Consultant Report Watershed Profile Support

TERRITORIAL MARKETING: REGION DE L’ORIENTAL TRIP REPORT 1

Consultant Report –

Watershed Profile Support

USAID/NEPAL’S PROGRAM FOR AQUATIC NATURAL

RESOURCES IMPROVEMENT (PANI)

February 17, 2017

This publication was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development. It was

prepared by DAI Global LLC.

Consultant Report – Watershed Profiles Support

Consultant Report –

Watershed Profile Support USAID/NEPAL’S PROGRAM FOR AQUATIC

NATURAL RESOURSES (PANI)

Program Title: USAID/Nepal’s Program for Aquatic Natural Resources Improvement

Project (PANI)

DAI Project Number: 1002810

Sponsoring USAID Office: USAID/Nepal

IDIQ Number: AID-OAA-I-14-00014

Task Order Number: AID-367-TO-16-00001

Contractor: DAI Global LLC

Date of Publication: February 2017

Author: Jonathan Randall

3

INTRODUCTION The Program for Aquatic Natural Resources Improvement (PANI) is a 5 year, $25 million USAID-

funded Project in Nepal. Water is the single most important natural resource underpinning Nepal’s

economy and livelihoods. The sustainable management of water resources in Nepal depends on

addressing climate change and protecting healthy, biodiverse ecosystems. PANI aims to enhance

Nepal’s ability to manage water resources for multiple uses and users through climate change

adaptation and the conservation of freshwater biodiversity. PANI focuses at the watershed, basin, and

national scales and the project has approximately $5 million in grants and activity procurements. This

goal will be reached by meeting the following objectives:

• Reduce threats to freshwater biodiversity in the Karnali, Mahakali, and Rapti river basins.

• Increase the ability of targeted human and ecological communities to adapt to the adverse

impacts of climate change through improved water management.

A foundational activity for PANI is the development of a series of Watershed Profiles and Watershed

Health reports. The purpose of the watershed profiles is to provide detailed information on the

ecosystem services, threats and drivers, and opportunities related to conserving freshwater

biodiversity and increasing resilience to climate change within PANI’s three river basins: the Mahakali,

Rapti, and Karnali Rivers. At the watershed level, watershed profiles/health reports will assess

sustainable watershed management opportunities and risks. They will provide the basis for action

plans that define objectives, actions, roles and responsibilities for the PANI team, its partners, and

collaborating stakeholders. They will also serve as the basis for refining monitoring and evaluation

indicators and milestones to assess progress. The essential element in the profiling process is

participation and ownership by each watershed’s communities and the stakeholders active in each

watershed. This “ownership” ensures stakeholder commitment to attaining PANI’s above-noted

biodiversity and climate change objectives. The watershed profiles and health reports will serve as

the basis for negotiated collaboration with PANI Project assistance through specific Tasks as defined

in the Contract and the Annual Work Plan.

The profiling process began with the preparation of the Rapid Watershed Screening and

Prioritization of Watersheds. The rapid watershed screening reviewed the 76 individual watershed

hydrological units within the three river basins and prioritized them based on five main variables. The

five variables for rapid watershed screening are: freshwater biodiversity, climate vulnerability, disaster

risk, socioeconomics, and infrastructure investment. From the total set of 76 watersheds, the PANI

team prioritized 25 priority watersheds representing a full range of river basins, ecological zones,

habitat types, and characteristics of social inclusion.

The next phase is the development of the Watershed Profiles for the 25 priority watersheds. The

watershed profiling process requires the determination of the key parameters, collection of primary

and secondary data through a participatory approach, preparation of the profiles, collaborative

learning and prioritization with watershed stakeholders, identification of priority interventions and

integration with PANI work planning to guide future activities in the watersheds.


ACTIVITY & TASK SUMMARY To undertake the above tasks, Jonathan Randall has been supporting the PANI team both in-country

and remotely from the end of December to mid-February 2017. From January 9 to 11, 2017, Mr.

Randall travelled to Kanchanpur to participate in the community household surveys and stakeholder

engagement activities in the Lower Mahakali watershed with the PANI team and the Nepal User

Group Federations. From January 11 to January 16, Mr. Randall travelled to Surkhet to participate in

the Hack-A-Thon and data analysis sessions at Midwestern University. From January 17 to January 20,

Mr. Randall travelled to Kathmandu to support the PANI project on watershed profile work planning,

advising on data collection methods, and preliminary planning for master training and multi-

stakeholder workshops.

In support of the watershed profiling, Mr. Randall has undertaken the following activities in

collaboration with the PANI team, including:

• Developing a model for the watershed profile

• Providing comments on and refining the list of watershed profile indicators

• Supporting strategy for broadening stakeholder engagement

• Developing a workplan for watershed profiling

• Providing input on water quality testing

• Linking with international expertise and best practice

• Providing technical assistance and teamwork support for PANI team

• Providing input on draft Lower Mahakali watershed profile.

WATERSHED PROFILES Watershed Profile Model

The watershed profile is both a document and a process for capturing critical information needed to

improve water resource management in the selected watersheds to protect freshwater biodiversity

and increase climate change resilience to benefit the Nepali people. The watershed profile model is

based on a review of international best practice for watershed health reports and tailored for the

individual needs of the PANI program and the Nepal context. The first pages of the profile present a

snapshot of the watershed including the profile objective and a summary of the key issues to be

addressed by watershed stakeholders in collaboration with the PANI program.

The characteristics of the watershed are organized in three main themes of Nature (biophysical

characteristics), Wealth (socioeconomic characteristics) and Power (institutions and governance).

The Nature, Wealth, and Power framework derives from USAID guidance for natural resource

management programs and is targeted at practitioners involved in the design, implementation, and

evaluation of natural resource–based rural development activities around the world, trying to make

5

them more equitable, efficient, and effective.1 Within each of the Nature, Wealth, and Power

categories is a set of sub-categories that link with key PANI indicators, such as water resources,

livelihoods, freshwater biodiversity, and pollution. In addition to the watershed characteristics, the

profiles also include additional information on relevant Government of Nepal and donor programs

within the watershed to identify opportunities for leveraging PANI programming, as well as the

identification of local river basin advocates who can champion water resource management, support

PANI implementation, program sustainability, and scaling – both within and across watersheds.

The model also includes a section on the prioritization of major threats and opportunities within the

watershed in order to identify the top five to seven issues within the watershed. The prioritization

exercise is based on the synthesis of primary and secondary data collected by the PANI team and the

Federation User Groups that are bringing brought on board to support the program. Once the

priority issues are identified from the PANI team perspective, they will be presented back to

watershed stakeholders for validation and refinement through a participatory process. The watershed

profile process will be concluded with the development of an activity plan that is aligned with PANI

contract tasks and approved M&E plan.

Mr. Randall has been working with the PANI team to develop the watershed profile model which is

included as Annex 1. This watershed model has been applied by the PANI team to the Lower

Mahakali watershed in which Mr. Randall has provided comments and edits.

Watershed Profile Indicators and Data Collection

As described above, the content of the watershed profiles is based on a determination of the critical

information that is needed to inform PANI programming and raise awareness about watershed health

within the priority watersheds. Collecting information on Nature, Wealth, and Power characteristics

requires the gathering of baseline data from a diverse set of primary and secondary sources. In the

Mahakali, Karnali, and Rapti River Basins there is no regular data collection with respect to water

resource management and critical sectors, such as water quality, fisheries, and water availability at the

household level. However, the Government of Nepal has collected some data particularly on

socioeconomic factors, historic weather conditions and historic stream flows in some geographic

areas. Academic literature on drinking water quality and freshwater biodiversity is available where

studies have been undertaken in the watersheds. Remote sensed data, such as stream alignments and

land cover, are available and relatively easy to obtain.

Once the PANI team completed the Rapid Watershed Selection, the team began developing a list of

key watershed profile indicators in consultation with PANI partners. Mr. Randall worked with the

PANI team on refining the indicators from 50+ indicators to a shorter list of approximately 25

indicators collected through primary and secondary data. A table containing the refined list of PANI

watershed profile indicators is included in Annex 2.

As part of the watershed profiling process, the PANI team has partnered with the Nepal User Group

Federations, such as Federation of Community Forestry Users in Nepal (FECOFUN) and Federation

of Drinking Water and Sanitation Users (FDWASUN) who will serve as representatives of

community groups as well as citizen scientists and data collectors within the target watersheds. In

early January, the PANI team held a Hack-a-Thon at Midwestern University in order to develop an

application to conduct a household survey. The household survey is used to collect primary data for

several of the indicators to gain understanding on the current state of the watershed and to present

1 NATURE, WEALTH, & POWER 2.0: Leveraging Natural and Social Capital for Resilient Development (2013). https://rmportal.net/groups/nwp/


in the watershed profile, including community perspectives on water availability, water quality,

livelihoods, and fisheries. During the hack-a-thon, field teams collected household data and

transmitted the information to data collectors at Midwestern University in Surkhet. The app was

meant as a pilot to test the methodologies and the questions that will be used across eight initial

watersheds.

Although the testing of the app and household was completed as a pilot, the data collection

generated some early findings within the Lower Mahakali watershed. In the Lower Mahakali, water

availability was not identified as a major issue at the household level with most households able to

fetch water within 15 minutes. A number of households have access to pumped water when surface

water sources run dry in the dry periods. From the point of view of the households, water quality

was also seen as generally “good” or “excellent” although the households did report high incidents of

diarrheal disease so there may be a disconnect between perceived water quality at the household

level and whether drinking water and water for washing is free from contaminants. For this reason,

water quality testing is being planned to provide more accurate information.

A number of households expressed interest in learning better practices for watershed management

as well as ways to improve agricultural productivity and increase resilience to climate change.

Household surveys were conducted in every ward within the Lower Mahakali and some of the issues

that were emerging, included flood impacts, gravel mining, water availability in certain hotspots, and

the impact of hydropower.

An important lesson that was emerging from the Hack-a-thon and household surveys was that the

format is very good in efficiently collecting information from households. However, a household

survey approach does not allow for a richer back-and-forth exchange between the citizen

scientist/data collector and the community representative. The application allows for a quick and

efficient data collection process, reducing the time burden on each household. However, since

household surveys cannot capture broader community ideas and issues not pre-identified in the

survey, the PANI team will conduct focus group discussions (FGD) and Key Information Interviews

(KII). The KII and FGD were not initially planned as part of the watershed profiling with the

Federations, however, they are necessary to understand the full range of watershed issues.

Another limitation of collecting primary data strictly from households is that they have a limited view

of watershed-scale issues particularly with respect to decisions that are being made at the

government or private sector levels. For example, Mr. Randall joined the PANI team in a discussion

with the Park Manager of the Shuklaphanta National Park. The Park Manager raised the issue that

water diversions from an irrigation scheme was not leaving sufficient water for biodiversity within the

refuge and was less than the 10% standard for e-flows. The Park Manager said that said that he was

negotiating with the irrigation water users group for a 4-inch pipe continuously flowing from the

canal to the streams within Shuklaphanta. PANI could help resolve this water use conflict, and

potentially increase flows for biodiversity, by coordinating a dialogue between the Irrigation

Management Committees and Shuklaphanta. The Park Manager also provided information about the

early warning system that is in place between Darchula and Kanchanpur, however he said that there

is an issue with delivering the early warning messages down to the community level and providing

them in a way that is tailored for the communities to act on.

In order to broaden the data collection beyond the household surveys and include District and

Village Development Committee officials as well as other watershed stakeholders as part of the

watershed profiling, Mr. Randall supported the PANI team to develop a revised process for the

watershed profiles. The process includes the collection of secondary data, household surveys, water

quality testing, and a multi-stakeholder workshop within each of the eight watersheds. A copy of the

Watershed Profiling Process is included as Annex 3.

7

Mr. Randall has also been working with the PANI team on best practices for water quality

monitoring. The Federations that have been brought on board to assist have experience in using

Hach Test Kits for testing drinking water quality. Given the nature of PANI as a program focused

more broadly on watershed management and freshwater biodiversity, it is important that water

quality testing include environmental indicators. Mr. Randall had several consultations with the PANI

technical team, International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Kathmandu University, and

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as well as outside input from international

experts (Mr. Achala Navaratne with the Red Cross in Bangladesh and Janet Frey a U.S.-based water

quality expert) regarding water quality monitoring approaches. From these conversations,

recommendations include:

1) There was general agreement that for assessing watershed and river health, it is important to

have water quality indicators. The water quality indicators are important because they are the only

way to assess whether there is pollution (chemical or nutrient) in the water that can lead to impacts

on human health and the environment.

2) The basic indicators in terms of water quality for environmental health are temperature,

nitrite/nitrate, pH, dissolved oxygen, and turbidity. Dissolved oxygen is important because it indicates

what is available for organisms to breathe. Nitrate/nitrite is important because it indicates whether

there is raw sewage and/or fertilizer entering the water ways. Temperature is important given the

limited temperature range for fish populations. Too warm and fish can’t survive. pH indicates if there

is chemical contamination and many organisms have a narrow pH window within which they can

survive. Turbidity is important to determine if there are a lot of suspended solids which indicates a

high level of contaminates and sedimentation.

3) Other indicators such as fecal coliform, residual chlorine, lead, arsenic are also useful to indicate

sustainability for human consumption and other forms of pollution.

4) The Hach Kits are currently the standard that most people are using in other countries for

testing water quality. The kits are not complicated, but they do require basic training on how to use

them correctly. Each of the indicators are measured slightly differently so it’s important to know

exactly what is required for analyzing each indicators. It’s also important that training includes proper

handling and disposal of the Hach kit reagents which are hazardous. It is also important to make sure

that the people doing the testing avoid contaminating the samples. Again, the kits are not

complicated, but they do require a basic level of understanding in terms of how to use them and

interpret the results.

5) Probes can also be used, particularly for Dissolved Oxygen. The recommended probe is made

by YSI. www.ysi.com. The DO probes need to be calibrated and the membranes need to be

replaced. Hach also produces a DO probe and chemical testing kit that should be considered.

6) Macroinvertebrate testing (or benthic testing) is a good idea because it is the main way to tell if

the streams/rivers are actually supporting macroinvertebrate life that supports fish, birds, mammals

and other types of biodiversity. The Bio-Monitoring for mussels, snails, crayfish/crabs, insect larvae

from the habitat on the river bottom or hidden in the substrate is the right approach using the

Surber sampler. If the samples can be stored in formalin and sent to a lab or university for

identification and weighing, that’s ideal. If they can be identified at the stream site, that would also be

useful.

7) For both the physical parameters and the bio-monitoring, it is recommended that a few pristine,

up-river, wild sites with minimum human activity are tested so that they can be used in comparison

to areas with higher levels of human activity.

http://www.ysi.com/


8) Sechi disks can be used to assess turbidity in streams and rivers. They should be used in areas

where the stream/river is flowing more slowly. In areas where there is faster water flowing, the sechi

disk should have a heavy weight on it so that it stays level.

9) The purpose of the water quality testing should be to identify water quality hotspots or

problem areas which would then be the focus on follow-up activities to improve water quality in

these hotspots.

Mr. Randall also provided templates for the PANI team to develop protocols for the primary data

collection.

Watershed Profile Action Plan

In order for the watershed profile process to be inclusive and generate the necessary primary and

secondary data, there are a number of actions that need to be taken between February and April

when they are scheduled to be completed. Mr. Randall supported the PANI team by developing a

watershed profile work plan that identifies the critical tasks, responsibilities, outputs, and resources.

A copy of the watershed profile work plan is included as Annex 4.

FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS

& RECOMMENDATIONS The Watershed Profile is an important foundational activity to understand the baseline conditions

within the priority watersheds and guide PANI programming in collaboration with watershed

stakeholders. Given the size of the watersheds and large number of stakeholders and potential data

sources, the task for developing the profiles has the potential to be a lengthy process if not well-

planned and executed. There is an important balance to be struck between several aims: 1) quality

engagement and participation of watershed stakeholders; 2) gathering sufficient amounts of primary

and secondary data to inform PANI programming; 3) building ownership and buy-in for the results

and action planning; and 4) delivering a finished watershed profile in a timely manner.

To achieve the balance mentioned above, Mr. Randall has made a few recommendations, including

the development of the streamlined watershed model and the workplan. Mr. Randall has been

providing on-going technical advice to the team, so many of the following recommendations are

already underway:

1) The process for developing the watershed profiles, engaging stakeholders, and collecting

primary and secondary information should be clearly articulated with a workplan. See Annex

4 for the detailed plan that was developed.

2) Protocols for collecting primary data should be developed including protocols for water

quality testing, macroinvertebrate/benthic organism sampling, and infrastructure and pollution

surveys.

3) Training of master trainers for the Federations who will serve as the citizen scientists and

presence within the watersheds alongside the PANI watershed specialists and river basin

leaders. The training should include an orientation on PANI objectives, integrated water

resource management concepts, training on survey methods, including household surveys,

KII, FGD, water quality sampling, and infrastructure, gravel mining and pollution management

surveying. Note: the training is currently being planned and is underway.

4) The watershed profiling process should include a multi-stakeholder workshop with

institutional stakeholders including the GoN District line agencies, natural resource user

9

groups, hydropower representatives, and other critical watershed stakeholders. Note:

planning is currently underway.

5) PANI team should consider revising the Rapid Screening and Prioritization of Watersheds

document based on newly gathered information sources during the development of the

watershed profiles.

6) Macroinvertebrate and benthic sampling should be conducted as part of IR 4 Knowledge

Building tasks if they are not able to be conducted as part of the watershed profiling

development to build up the knowledge base.

7) PANI team should consider bringing on STTA for surge capacity support, particularly in April

to prepare the eight watershed profiles.

8) Lesson learned from the first eight profiles should be applied to the next 16 profiles

developed.


ANNEX 1 – WATERSHED

PROFILE MODEL

11

PANI Watershed Profile: Lower Mahakali Watershed

Major source, tributaries: Lower Mahakali

River Basin Name: Mahakali River Basin

Total Area: 310.83 km2

District Village Development Committees Estimated

Population

Kanchanpur Mahendranagar Municipality and Chadani Dodhara

Municipality, need to add all the VDCs

143,852

Objective

Summary


Table of Contents

1 Biophysical Characteristics .......................................................................................... 4

1.1 Topography and Geology ......................................................................................................... 4

1.2 Weather and Climate ............................................................................................................... 4

1.2.1 Weather Patterns ............................................................................................................. 4

1.2.2 Climate Change Projections and Climate Vulnerability ................................................... 4

1.3 Water Resources and Hydrology.............................................................................................. 4

1.3.1 Rivers, Wetlands, and Lakes ............................................................................................. 4

1.3.2 River and Stream Connectivity ......................................................................................... 4

1.3.3 Water Availability ............................................................................................................. 4

1.3.4 Water Quality ................................................................................................................... 4

1.4 Values and Culture Relating to Water...................................................................................... 4

1.5 Water Use Conflicts .................................................................................................................. 4

1.6 Freshwater Biodiversity ........................................................................................................... 4

1.6.1 Typical Aquatic and Fish Habitat and Species .................................................................. 4

1.6.2 Rare and Endangered Aquatic Species in this Watershed ............................................... 4

1.7 Catchment Land Cover ............................................................................................................. 4

1.7.1 Land Cover Use................................................................................................................. 4

1.7.2 Deforestation Rates ......................................................................................................... 4

1.7.3 Soil Erosion Potential ....................................................................................................... 4

1.8 Disaster Risk ............................................................................................................................. 4

1.9 Invasive Species ........................................................................................................................ 4

2 Socioeconomic Characteristics ................................................................................... 5

2.1 Population Characteristics ....................................................................................................... 5

2.2 Livelihoods & Income Generating Activities ............................................................................ 5

2.3 Pollution and Waste Management .......................................................................................... 5

2.3.1 Solid Waste....................................................................................................................... 5

2.3.2 Waste Water .................................................................................................................... 5

2.4 Rural Roads .............................................................................................................................. 5

2.5 Hydropower Sites ..................................................................................................................... 5

2.6 Gravel Mining Sites .................................................................................................................. 5

2.7 Irrigation ................................................................................................................................... 5

2.8 Watershed Management and Climate Adaptation Best Practices .......................................... 5

2.9 Resilience and Community Vulnerability ................................................................................. 5

3 Governance and Institutional Characteristics ................................................. 6

13


PROFILE THEMES AND

INDICATORS


15


PROFILING PROCESS


Watershed Profile Process

Step 1. Gather secondary data

a) Remote sensed data

a. Landsat

b. Historical hydromet data (CHIRPS)

c. Land Cover (GoN Department of Survey + ICIMOD published in 2010)

d. Vegetation health data – NDVI+DFO – NFI: management status and forest

condition+NESS

e. Forest loss data – GFW, DFO – National Forest Inventory (2015)+NESS

f. Road network (USFS road data, DOLIDAR, DDC profiles, SILT)

g. Hydropower (NITI, DoED)

h. River erosion/sedimentation (AquaMonitor)+SILT GIS modelling to identify

most vulnerable sections+visual observation

i. Gravel mining-need to develop method for prioritization of problem

areas+SILT-need to develop knowledge=base

b) Review relevant literature on the watershed (check on whether there are standard

documents to review)

a. USFS report

b. DOLIDAR roads at-risk

c. Etc.

Step 2. Field Work

a) Form 3 teams: Community Watershed Users Team; Multi-Stakeholder Watershed

Team; Ecosystem & Infrastructure Team

b) Community Watershed Users Team (Federation)

a. Identify which communities to visit. Review watershed map, and select

community survey points. Community survey points should be evenly and

randomly distributed across the watershed.

c) Multi-Stakeholder Watershed Team (6 person team, Federation, PANI, WWF, SNV,

SILT, NESS)

a. Conduct a semi-structured interview and participatory mapping to determine

various watershed uses and current water conflicts. Institutions should

include:

i. Fishers Groups

ii. District Soil Conservation Offices

iii. District Irrigation Office

iv. District Water Supply Office

v. Local Hydropower Developers

vi. District Road Office

vii. National Parks

viii. Tourism

ix. District Development Office

17

x. District Agriculture Office

xi. District Forest Office

xii. District Disaster Relief Committee

b. Also determine status of LAPAs/CAPAs, WUMPs, EFLG, Disaster Plans.

d) Ecosystem & Infrastructure Team (Bhawani, Deepak, Rajaram, Santosh, Rajesh,

Kishore)

a. Conduct an assessment of:

i. Water quality at major river points

1. Macroinvertebrate sampling

2. Dissolved Oxygen, TN, TP, TSS

3. Sechi disk which is for water clarity

4. eDNA

ii. Observation for invasive species (Observed by Federation and added

to app+add photos)

1. Impoea carnea

2. Water hyacinth

3. Non-native Carp and African catfish

4. Kudzo

5. Mykania

6. Others?

7. Rainbow trout

iii. Rare and Endangered Species

1. Talk with District Forest Office

2. National Park Management Plans

iv. Major Infrastructure and Pollution sites

(Rajaram+Santosh+NIFIWAN+SILT+NESS develop joint methodology)

1. GPS of hydropower and microhydro (50 kw) (constructed and

licensed)

2. GPS of larger irrigation channels

3. GPS of at-risk road subject to erosion

4. GPS of point source pollution (industrial sites, hospitals)

5. Secondary data+NESS EIA information from Upper Karnali,

Sarada Babai,Lower Karnali

v. Gravel mining

1. GPS

2. SILT to look at simple methodology for prioritizing gravel

mining sites

3. Review of Google Earth maps

vi. Macroinvertebrate sampling – IWM/IUCN to develop protocol and

Watershed Specialists to do sampling

vii. Sedimentation Sources+SILT

1. In areas near settlements, GPS of major sources of sediment,

stone mines, soil/clay mines


2. In areas near settlements, GPS of bank erosion and

sedimentation

3. GIS of risk of sedimentation

Step 3. Analyze and Prepare Watershed Profile

1) Synthesize and consolidate the information

2) Identify the issues and initial prioritize. Develop criteria for prioritization (scope/scale

(geographic and # of affected), severity, irreversibility, stakeholder interest, climate

vulnerability)

3) Write Watershed Profile

Step 4. Engage Stakeholders and Refine Watershed Profile (draft consultative

process)

1) Convene Watershed Stakeholders and present draft watershed profile

2) Refine Watershed Profiles

Step 5. Vision and Action Planning (draft consultative process)

1) Create vision for healthy watershed that addresses issues

2) Action Planning for Watershed Stakeholders and PANI Team undertakes some

activities in the watershed in response to issues and WMC undertake other activities.

3) Watershed Stakeholders decide if they want to form a Watershed Management

Committee to address the issues

19


PROFILING WORK PLAN


21


23

Date post:	10-Dec-2021
Category:	Documents
Upload:	others
View:	2 times
Download:	0 times

Consultant Report Watershed Profile Support

Documents