TY - JOUR
T1 - Depleting spring sources in the Himalayas
T2 - Environmental drivers or just perception?
AU - Pandit, Anju
AU - Batelaan, Okke
AU - Pandey, Vishnu Prasad
AU - Adhikari, Sanot
PY - 2024/6
Y1 - 2024/6
N2 - Study region: Rangun Khola Watershed, Mahakali River Basin, Far Western Nepal. Study focus: We mapped and examined the status of 1122 springs in a typical mid-hill watershed in the Sudurpaschim Province of Nepal. Land use/cover trajectory analysis, quantification of climate change indices, analysis of spring flow trends and community perception were used to understand the changing dynamics of the mountain springs. New hydrological insights: 73% of the springs show a continuous declining trend in flow, with 2% already dried up. Land fragmentation between 1990 and 2018 due to the conversion to agricultural land causes landscape disturbances in the spring vicinities, affecting natural spring flows. Climate data assessment revealed a significant increase in temperature and frequency of localised high-intensity rainfall. Local climate and land use change are concurrent with drying spring sources and consistent with the local community's perceived manifestation of changes. Moreover, the growing population and haphazard rural road expansion are overexploiting and disturbing the spring resources. Drying spring sources are leading to implications on water availability and accessibility for livelihood activities, exacerbating gendered vulnerability to climate change. However, the government and local households are lagging in taking direct actions to mitigate the problem, increasing the likelihood of critical long-term consequences for the ecosystem and the local economy in Rangun Khola and similar watersheds in the Himalayas.
AB - Study region: Rangun Khola Watershed, Mahakali River Basin, Far Western Nepal. Study focus: We mapped and examined the status of 1122 springs in a typical mid-hill watershed in the Sudurpaschim Province of Nepal. Land use/cover trajectory analysis, quantification of climate change indices, analysis of spring flow trends and community perception were used to understand the changing dynamics of the mountain springs. New hydrological insights: 73% of the springs show a continuous declining trend in flow, with 2% already dried up. Land fragmentation between 1990 and 2018 due to the conversion to agricultural land causes landscape disturbances in the spring vicinities, affecting natural spring flows. Climate data assessment revealed a significant increase in temperature and frequency of localised high-intensity rainfall. Local climate and land use change are concurrent with drying spring sources and consistent with the local community's perceived manifestation of changes. Moreover, the growing population and haphazard rural road expansion are overexploiting and disturbing the spring resources. Drying spring sources are leading to implications on water availability and accessibility for livelihood activities, exacerbating gendered vulnerability to climate change. However, the government and local households are lagging in taking direct actions to mitigate the problem, increasing the likelihood of critical long-term consequences for the ecosystem and the local economy in Rangun Khola and similar watersheds in the Himalayas.
KW - Climate change
KW - Drying springs
KW - Himalaya
KW - Vulnerability
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85189027715&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ejrh.2024.101752
DO - 10.1016/j.ejrh.2024.101752
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85189027715
SN - 2214-5818
VL - 53
JO - Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies
JF - Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies
M1 - 101752
ER -