Himalayan Watershed Trust

Why this matters in Nepal

Hill villages in the middle mountains draw most of their household water from springs, not from rivers or glaciers. Many of those springs are drying up or flowing only during the monsoon, as rainfall becomes more erratic, slopes lose vegetation and new rural roads cut across the paths water takes underground. Women and girls usually walk the extra distance. Higher up, Himalayan glaciers are retreating, which changes when and how much water reaches rivers and raises the risk of sudden floods from glacial lakes.

Erosion compounds the problem. Landslides after heavy rain strip farmland, block roads and silt the streams that feed small irrigation canals and hydropower plants. Local governments created under Nepal's federal system now hold responsibility for water and natural resources, but many lack technical staff and budgets for catchment work. Protecting the recharge area above a spring, planting slopes and building small ponds are low-cost measures, yet they need surveying, community agreement and upkeep that rarely gets funded.

What your gift pays for

• Spring source protection, including fencing and planting of recharge zones above the spring
• Small conservation ponds that capture runoff and let it soak into the ground
• Bioengineering on unstable slopes with grasses, bamboo and small check dams
• Training for community user groups to maintain water sources and plan for dry seasons