KATHMANDU: Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Biraj Bhakta Shrestha has stressed the need for immediate preparations to address potential risks to Nepal’s water, food, energy and disaster resilience sectors amid forecasts of a possible strong El Niño.
Addressing the inaugural session of a national seminar titled ‘Super El Niño and Climate Risk: Impact on Water, Food, Energy and Disaster Resilience in Nepal’ in Lalitpur on Friday, Minister Shrestha said Nepal should prepare for the possible impacts of a strong El Niño event.
The seminar was jointly organised by the Secretariat of the Water and Energy Commission and the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology.
Shrestha said recent forecasts have indicated an increased possibility of a strong El Niño and warned that its potential effects on rainfall, temperature, hydropower generation, irrigation and agricultural production should be taken seriously.
“In Nepal’s current 4,120 MW power system, only Kulekhani-1 is a seasonal reservoir project. We therefore need to significantly increase storage capacity in the energy sector,” he said.
Nepal has made significant progress in electricity trade, but its dependence on electricity imports increases during the dry season. Shrestha said the country therefore faces risks to both domestic power generation and imports, underscoring the need to develop reservoir-based projects and expand storage capacity to ensure energy security.
He also noted that most irrigation projects depend on small and medium-sized rivers, resulting in inadequate water availability during the dry season.
Drought has also been affecting agricultural production, he said, stressing the need to make agriculture more climate-resilient. The ministry has already prepared a Terai-Madhesh Drought Resilience Strategy in this regard.
The ministry has established a ‘Hydro-Energy Drought Monitoring’ mechanism involving the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, Department of Water Resources and Irrigation, Department of Water Supply and Sewerage Management, Nepal Electricity Authority and Department of Electricity Development. Under the mechanism, monthly updates will be published from Asoj to Chaitra.
Shrestha said the government, in coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forest and Environment, would also pursue policies to link irrigation projects with agricultural production rather than focusing solely on water distribution.
The seminar discussed the potential impacts of El Niño on water, food, energy and disaster resilience, along with measures to minimise the associated risks.
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