Kathmandu: Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Biraj Bhakta Shrestha, has highlighted the need to take prompt actions with preparedness in the fields of water, food, irrigation, and disaster resilience. In his address to the inaugural ceremony of the national workshop ‘Super El Ni±o and Climate Risk: Impacts on Water, Food, Energy, and Disaster Resilience’ today, he stressed the urgency to take strides keeping potential impacts of Super El Ni±o into consideration.
According to National News Agency Nepal, the workshop was organized in Lalitpur by the Secretariat of the Water and Energy Commission and the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. Minister Shrestha noted that the recent forecasts regarding El Ni±o indicate an increased likelihood of potential impacts on rainfall, temperature, hydropower production, irrigation, and food production in Nepal so it has to be taken seriously.
Minister Shrestha highlighted that as Kulekhani-1 is the only seasonal reservoir project in the 4,120 MW electricity system currently operational in Nepal, there is a need to increase storage capacity in the energy sector. Nepal has made significant progress in energy trade, but dependence on energy imports increases in dry seasons, making the development of reservoir projects and storage capacity necessary for energy security.
Regarding irrigation, most projects rely on small and medium rivers, resulting in insufficient water during the dry season. The prolonged drought has been impacting the country’s agricultural production, making it urgent to make agriculture climate-resilient. In this context, the ministry has already prepared the Tarai-Madhesh Drought Resilience Strategy.
With participation from the Department of Water and Meteorology, Department of Water Resources and Irrigation, Department of Drinking Water and Sewerage Management, Nepal Electricity Authority, and Department of Electricity Development, the ministry has set up a ‘Water-Energy Drought Monitoring’ mechanism to publish monthly information from October to March. The workshop offered a discussion on the possible impacts of El Ni±o on water, food, energy, and disaster resilience and measures for risk reduction.