The Nepal Weekly 
December 24, 2024
Mandmadel water recharge ponds are constructed in the Chure area in Madhesh Province resulted better for water to Chure itself and the downstream lands. The construction of ponds replenish underground water source as well as provide water for wild animals and control wildfires.
That water recharge ponds collect water from the runoff area and rainwater in certain areas and recharge the underground sources. He said that this will help water supply in the lower coastal areas.
Although the climate change affecting the weather system, agriculture, energy and people’s livelihood, one of the gravest impacts is seen on underground water. So as deforestation, excavation of sand, stone and boulders from rivers and hillsides apparently dry the Chure area. As the underground water level is receding, the wells have started to dry up. Water table in the downstream face lowering as well.
Decreasing water level puts the population and aquatic life dependent on the water source under threat. Time has come to be aware of this. Now, all the people should make arrangement to pave a way for rainwater to infiltrate into underground so that ground is kept recharged.
Moreover, unplanned urbanisation and deforestation turned the land incapable to absorb enough rainwater.
Committee Unit Office Janakpur, little more than a year back, was saying that since the impact of climate change has started to be seen on the water, water recharge ponds are constructed in the Chure area to prevent extreme water shortage in Terai districts in the future.
Then theoffice had a target of constructing 19 ponds in some of the districts of the Chure area, including Dhanusha, Mahottari, Sarlahi, Rautahat and Sindhuli.
Community Development and Advocacy Forum Nepal says that if the water shortage is not addressed now, it may cause serious problems in the future. He said that as the use of water for households and agriculture is bound to increase as population increases, the government should pay serious attention to this burning issue.
On the other hand, which is not a case of Chure but a case of Salang Rural Municipality of Dhadhing District in Nepal. With the support from the Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility (LoCAL), a pond was constructed at the top of a mountain. The pond, which gets filled up with rain water, seeps fresh water to the dried spring at the bottom. This method of replenishing springs aids the continued access to water in this region.
This technique offers an alternative to the lessening levels of water in the essential lakes or springs that are the lifeline for the local population and the surrounding flora and fauna in this ‘last mile’ location in the foothills of Nepal – an LDC that aims to strengthen the impact of local government, considering its mountainous and diverse terrain.
This method of aggregation is essential for secluded districts with little infrastructure to support agriculture and other uses for water. This is a real case of how man-made structures can complement nature and make people more resilient and more likely to boost local development.
The Chure region is a fragile, sensitive, and environmentally susceptible area. It encompasses 1,767,900 hectares or almost 13% of Nepal’s entire land area. In the Himalayan mountain range, the Chure region is regarded as much fragile. This portion of the country’s land mass is a significant source of biodiversity, ecology, and water.
Because the Terai regions, where millions of people live, directly rely on the water supplied by this region, it is also sometimes referred to as the ”water tower.” Rivers in this area have in recent years has started to dry up, probably as a result of widespread sand and boulder mining for construction projects.
The Chure region contains 164 rivers spread across 36 districts, according to research. From the east to the west of Nepal, 36 of the country’s 77 districts make up the contiguous Chure area. It has low hogback ridges that range in width from 10 to 50 km and are arranged in a sinuous form. Its elevation ranges from 120 meters to about 2,000 meters. It is the first and lowest ridge in the Himalayan mountain system and is strategically situated between the Terai plains in the south and the Mahabharat range of Mid-hills in the north. Geologically speaking, it is young and made out of loose, unconsolidated components that came from soft rocks (e.g., mudstone, sandstone, siltstone, and shale). Most soils have a coarse texture, are shallow, and were produced on
Located between the plain lowlands (Tarai Madhesh) in the south and the mid-hills (Mahabharat range) in the north, Nepal’s Chure region comprises the youngest mountains in the country. The region covers 12.78 percent of the country’s area and encompasses 37 districts. Forests cover around 72.37 percent of the land. More than 53 percent of the national population lives in the Chure and Tarai regions.
The Chure region is considered to be a permanent water resource for drinking water and irrigation to the lowland people and farmers. Unfortunately, due to the exploitation of Chure’s natural resources in devastating ways, there is a serious concern about whether the lowland is leading towards desertification and a water crisis in the days to come. Overexploitation of Chure resources has direct consequences on food and water security in the Chure region and downstream areas.
To conserve and secure the water resources for the people of the Chure and Tarai regions, the Government of Nepal has given the highest priority to a national pride project called the President Chure – Tarai Madhesh Conservation Area Programme. The programme has developed a 20-year master plan for the systematic intervention of conservation in the region, focusing on water resource conservation. The programme has constructed 557 conservation ponds at different locations for the purpose of water recharge in the lowlands. At the same time, 65 lakes and wetlands are being managed for biodiversity conservation and promotion of climate change adaptation in the region.
According to a report of two years back, the Chure conservation programme has constructed run water and runoff harvesting dams at 170 locations, which has instrumental effects on increasing the soil moisture and water recharge downstream. In addition, the programme has constructed 1,365 small-scale irrigation channels aiming to support agriculture production.
Therefore, construction of rain water collection ponds in massive quantity in the Chure can be instrumental for watering Chure itself and its downstream lands. That means construction of such ponds should be a priority for conservation of natural assets of Chure and the people directly or indirectly relied on the water discharged from the ponds constructed in the Chure.
