Balancing intersectoral demands in basin-scale planning: the case of Nepal’s western river basins

Basin-wide planning requires tools and strategies that allow comparison of alternative pathways and priorities at relevant spatial and temporal scales. In this paper, we apply a hydroeconomic model–the Western Nepal Energy Water Model–that better accounts for feedbacks between water and energy marke...

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Autores principales: Pakhtigian, E.L., Jeuland, M., Dhaubanjar, Sanita, Pandey, Vishnu Prasad
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Elsevier 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/106732
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author Pakhtigian, E.L.
Jeuland, M.
Dhaubanjar, Sanita
Pandey, Vishnu Prasad
author_browse Dhaubanjar, Sanita
Jeuland, M.
Pakhtigian, E.L.
Pandey, Vishnu Prasad
author_facet Pakhtigian, E.L.
Jeuland, M.
Dhaubanjar, Sanita
Pandey, Vishnu Prasad
author_sort Pakhtigian, E.L.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Basin-wide planning requires tools and strategies that allow comparison of alternative pathways and priorities at relevant spatial and temporal scales. In this paper, we apply a hydroeconomic model–the Western Nepal Energy Water Model–that better accounts for feedbacks between water and energy markets, to optimize water allocations across energy, agriculture, municipal, and environmental sectors. The model maximizes total economic benefits, accounting for trade-offs both within and across sectors. In Western Nepal, we find that surface water availability is generally sufficient to meet existing and growing demands in energy and agricultural sectors; however, expansion of water storage and irrigation infrastructure may limit environmental flows below levels needed to maintain the full integrity of important aquatic ecosystems. We also find substantial trade-offs between irrigation in Nepal and satisfaction of the institutional requirements implied by international water-use agreements with the downstream riparian India. Similar trade-offs do not exist with hydropower, however. Model results and allocations are sensitive to future domestic and international energy demands and valuations.
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spelling CGSpace1067322025-03-11T09:50:20Z Balancing intersectoral demands in basin-scale planning: the case of Nepal’s western river basins Pakhtigian, E.L. Jeuland, M. Dhaubanjar, Sanita Pandey, Vishnu Prasad water resources development planning economic development prioritization ecosystems economic value energy generation hydropower irrigation programs agricultural sector infrastructure costs water allocation hydrology models sensitivity analysis environmental effects river basins Basin-wide planning requires tools and strategies that allow comparison of alternative pathways and priorities at relevant spatial and temporal scales. In this paper, we apply a hydroeconomic model–the Western Nepal Energy Water Model–that better accounts for feedbacks between water and energy markets, to optimize water allocations across energy, agriculture, municipal, and environmental sectors. The model maximizes total economic benefits, accounting for trade-offs both within and across sectors. In Western Nepal, we find that surface water availability is generally sufficient to meet existing and growing demands in energy and agricultural sectors; however, expansion of water storage and irrigation infrastructure may limit environmental flows below levels needed to maintain the full integrity of important aquatic ecosystems. We also find substantial trade-offs between irrigation in Nepal and satisfaction of the institutional requirements implied by international water-use agreements with the downstream riparian India. Similar trade-offs do not exist with hydropower, however. Model results and allocations are sensitive to future domestic and international energy demands and valuations. 2020-04 2020-01-28T03:48:57Z 2020-01-28T03:48:57Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/106732 en Limited Access Elsevier Pakhtigian, E. L.; Jeuland, M.; Dhaubanjar, Sanita; Pandey, Vishnu Prasad. 2020. Balancing intersectoral demands in basin-scale planning: the case of Nepal’s western river basins. Water Resources and Economics, 30:100152. doi: 10.1016/j.wre.2019.100152
spellingShingle water resources development
planning
economic development
prioritization
ecosystems
economic value
energy generation
hydropower
irrigation programs
agricultural sector
infrastructure
costs
water allocation
hydrology
models
sensitivity analysis
environmental effects
river basins
Pakhtigian, E.L.
Jeuland, M.
Dhaubanjar, Sanita
Pandey, Vishnu Prasad
Balancing intersectoral demands in basin-scale planning: the case of Nepal’s western river basins
title Balancing intersectoral demands in basin-scale planning: the case of Nepal’s western river basins
title_full Balancing intersectoral demands in basin-scale planning: the case of Nepal’s western river basins
title_fullStr Balancing intersectoral demands in basin-scale planning: the case of Nepal’s western river basins
title_full_unstemmed Balancing intersectoral demands in basin-scale planning: the case of Nepal’s western river basins
title_short Balancing intersectoral demands in basin-scale planning: the case of Nepal’s western river basins
title_sort balancing intersectoral demands in basin scale planning the case of nepal s western river basins
topic water resources development
planning
economic development
prioritization
ecosystems
economic value
energy generation
hydropower
irrigation programs
agricultural sector
infrastructure
costs
water allocation
hydrology
models
sensitivity analysis
environmental effects
river basins
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/106732
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