Our Research
SEN works in multidisciplinary research projects particularly focusing on environmental change sectors. Our research interests are in climate change, hydrology, agriculture, and livestock sectors and making the climate, weather, and water information available to the end users for adjusting lifestyles according to the changing climatic conditions. We have a team of researchers as staff and fellow scientists from multidisciplinary sectors such as climate science, hydrology, vulnerability assessment, climate modeling, snow and glacier modeling, agronomy, livestock services, and livelihood. Our working beauty is to engage graduate students from universities across Nepal in our research projects along with their academic advisors.
Some of the research projects we have been carrying out in Nepal and the Himalayan regions are as below:
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An innovative Floating Treatment Wetland System (FTWS) using the microcosm study to remediate polluted waterbody: A case study of Nagdaha lake
Urban ponds are prone to eutrophication problems that act as a source of water for irrigation, household chores like washing, bathing, recreational activities, and aquatic ecosystems. The floating Treatment Wetland System (FTWS) is an innovative and cost-effective phytoremediation technique to improve the water quality of freshwater resources. This project aims to remediate the polluted water of Nagdaha through the use of rafts and hanging a root network. The hanging root network provides an opportunity for biofilm growth. The root and biofilm combinely absorbs nutrients from the water and helps to remediate the polluted water bodies. It is an eco-friendly, cost-effective means to improve water quality by employing the purification processes associated with natural wetlands. The microcosm setup has been constructed on the premises of the Kathmandu Valley Water Supply Management Board (KVWSMB).
Hydrological response to temperature and precipitation changes on Nepal Himalayas
Glaciers are found to be highly sensitive to changes in climate. Studies suggest that climate changes alter the magnitude and seasonality of snow accumulation and melt that affects the energy exchange between the land-surface and the atmosphere, vegetation cover, soil moisture regimes and runoff generation. This study assesses the hydrological response of a glacier to local climatic variability and change using a physically-based hydrological model. By using a physically-based energy budget snow and ice ablation model and a blowing snow redistribution model in the Cold Regions Hydrological Model Platform (CRHM), transient changes and sensitivities to the hydrological response will be diagnosed for a river basin in the Himalayas. The coupled model will be developed and tested based on hydro-meteorological observations at a high mountain glacier under contrasting hydro-climatic conditions. This project will both improve our understanding of how climate, snow regimes and glacier configurations interact to generate mountain streamflow regimes and will improve the hydrological modelling capacity in mountain cold regions.
In this study, Cold Region Hydrological Model (CRHM) will be used to analyze the response of glacier on temperature and precipitation and discharge of Langtang River Basin of Nepal Himalaya.
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There is an urgent need to develop local-level weather forecasts application for the agriculture sector in Nepal. Most of the time the forecasts that are available cannot be used directly by the farmers, because of their technical details. Therefore, the main aim of this project is to develop the capacity of institutions to customize and disseminate weather forecasts in user-friendly language focusing mainly on agriculture. However, these forecasts can also be effectively used in other fields like industries, water and disaster management, and other relevant disciplines. The customization and dissemination mechanism developed in this project will be transmitted to the scientists of the participating institution, relevant policymakers, and local farmers so that the path laid out by this project will be institutionalized and utilized in the future also after the termination of the project. In this way, this project has also contributed to the capacity-building aspect in addition to its main research component. One of the essential tasks of this project is to address this aspect so as to facilitate the farmers. This project will help to use these forecasts effectively in agricultural practices.
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Rainwater Harvesting to Mitigate Drought in Western Nepal
Water is one of the most pressing issues the world is facing today and there are two aspects of water: deficit and deluge, which can both affect the ecosystem and livelihood in negative ways. This project is for the Karnali river basin in western Nepal, which is the most vulnerable basin in Nepal to climate change and variability. The region is facing drought, particularly in winter and spring, but receives abundant water during the monsoon season. This project aims to identify the potential water harvesting sites for household and agricultural uses in the basin using advanced technologies of Geographic Information System (GIS) and remote sensing. It promotes the rainwater techniques making local people capable by providing techno-commercial information on rainwater harvesting systems with a mobile application. The goal is to synthesize the existing data into a comprehensive knowledge system and disseminate the final product using growing Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) connections. The outcome of the research will be a valuable asset to policymakers for prioritizing resource optimization and allocation for water management and climate change adaptation.
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Runoff Scenario and Water Based Adaptation Strategies in South Asia
The project aims to understand the climate and changing climate of the region with particular focus on water resources and its consequences to people and society. Observed hydro-meteorological data and IPCC climate scenarios will be used for runoff simulation and development of future water scenarios using distributed/physical-based hydrological models. Snow statistics will be calculated from MODIS daily product using MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer) Snow Tool and MRT (MODIS Re-projection Tool). Community based adaptation strategies will be developed based on the model outcomes, which will facilitate the countries for informed decision making process.
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An Assessment of Economic Loss due to the 2013 Flood of Mahakali River in relation to Climate Change
The primary goal of this proposed research is to come up with an outcome or a model that provides a tangible input to the national policy formulation in the process of mainstreaming climate change risk management in development. The second goal is to add more information to the existing wealth of knowledge regarding economic aspect of the losses due to water-induced disasters, also considering the climate change impact.
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Adaptation for Climate Change by Livestock Smallholders in Gandaki River Basin in Nepal Himalaya
Major objective of the project is to analyze local and regional climate change and focus on the frequency of hydro-meteorological extremes over the past few decades to gauge the impact of climate change on smallholders’ livestock health and productivity. This project will downscale climate variability over the GRB to much higher resolution (1-10 km) than has been done until now. The results of this analysis will provide a better understanding of how climate change is impacting the economies and ecosystems that are essential to the livelihood of livestock keepers in Nepal.
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Building Climate Resilience in Farming Systems in Sloping Lands of South Asia
The project will build on successful farming models reported from other Asian countries, e.g. Conservation Farming Villages (CFVs; Cruz et al. 2014), and address this key policy question and support informed-decision making, by providing the much needed scientifically validated information on resource degradation and environmental sustainability, best practice FS for higher level resilience, and well-being of farming communities in sloping lands, while ensuring food and nutrition security of farm households and at national and regional levels. The main objective of the research project is to assess resilience and characterization of diverse FS in hilly areas SA based on their adaptation capacities, with special emphasis on food and nutrition security.
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Developing Climate Inclusive Potential Loss and Damage Assessment Methodology for Flood Hazards
Flood events have been more intense and frequent in most of the Asian countries in the recent decades creating hardship to ecosystems and livelihoods. Therefore, estimation of loss and damage due to impending flood event is of an utmost importance to take proactive measures to minimize flood disaster risks through climate smart Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) interventions.
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A Hydro-microbiological approach for water security in Kathmandu Valley
This project includes comprehensive aspects of water including development of water security maps of core areas of Katmandu valley and its peripheral areas, which have limited energy and water resources. Divided into five components, the projects plans to study the qualitative, quantitative, microbial, health and social aspect of both groundwater and surface water of the valley.
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Assessing the economic impact of climate change on agriculture, water resources and food security and adaptation measures using seasonal and medium range of forecast
Climate change is a growing food security concern for countries in the Ganges-Brahmaputra Meghna (GBM) basin; it is expected to have a direct impact on crop yield as a result of changes in temperature, precipitation, and carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration. Research is needed to identify the scale and distribution of the potential impacts and possible adaptation strategies to support policy development. This paper presents the results of a hydrological simulation of the components of water balance in the GBM basin in the 2050s under different climate scenarios. The impact on the yield of major crops in two representative districts in Bangladesh and Nepal was assessed using the Decision Support System for Agro-technology Transfer (DSSAT) tool with projections for future seasonal water availability, temperature, and CO2 concentration. The results indicate that the predominance of the monsoon season in water availability will increase by the 2050s, that there will be more frequent flood events of higher magnitude, and that groundwater recharge will increase. The change in surface water availability will be more pronounced during the pre-monsoon season in Nachole, Bangladesh and during the dry season in Rasuwa, Nepal. In Nachole, yield of monsoon season rice is projected to increase and of dry season rice to decrease; maize yield in Rasuwa, Nepal is projected to decrease. Three adaptation options were tested for reducing yield loss and addressing water stress issues. The results are discussed with a view to suggesting agricultural adaptation options and supporting formulation of water resources policy.
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