By: Ramesh Prasad Bhushal

Kathmandu: The Water and Energy Commission Secretariat (WECS) is all set to establish a national water resource information centre. "We lack accurate and adequate facts and figures with which to manage the huge potential of water resources in the country. There is a need to work in an integrated way in the field," said Dr. Ravi Aryal, joint secretary, WECS.

The information centre will establish a countrywide network through river basin offices to be set up in parts of the country. "There is a River Basin Office for Indrawati and Dudhkoshi rivers and the work has been initiated. We will establish other offices in Nepalgunj, Koshi and Bharatpur soon," added Aryal.
Following the split of the Ministry of Water Resources into Ministry of Energy and Ministry of Irrigation, officials have been worried about the future of integrated water resource management since there is no strong authority to take care of the issue. "Integrated issues of water resource have come under a shadow. Water resources are not only about hydropower and irrigation," said Aryal.
Water resource experts agree that there is little of scientific data on water resource and the available one is also scattered. The Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM), which is the first hand data generator for rainfall and temperature, is under the Ministry of Environment, whose objective is not primarily to look after water resources. "It's unfortunate the DHM is under the environment ministry. Its data is useful for policymakers on water resources," said Adarsha Pokharel, former director general, DHM.
WECS officials say they can do nothing to change the state of affairs since they are not mandated for that. Despite its being the sole body to handle the water issues, the 35-year-old commission is a weak one. "At a time when the country lacks a strong body to handle the water issues, we have tried to establish a scientific database which could help figure out issues to be urgently addressed in the sector," Aryal said.
The information centre will be digitally equipped, financed by a World Bank grant. The river basin offices in Dudhkoshi and Indrawati have been supported by the Government of Finland. The centre will study actual use of water resources, mobilize the community for water conservation practices and keep information up to date. "Lack of reliable data on the natural resource has weakened us during international negotiations on water resources," Aryal justified the need for the centre.

Source: The Himalayan Times, January 31, 2010