Water Poverty Situation of Medium-sized River Basins in Nepal

Water and poverty are closely related to each other. The Water Poverty Index (WPI) can identify and track the drivers (physical, environmental, social and economic) that link water and poverty. This study uses WPI framework to assess water poverty situation of medium-sized river basins in Nepal that cover 8.7 % of the country’s territory, produce 6.5 % of the country’s water resources and host 23.1 % of the country’s population. The study results show that water poverty index varies from 40.6 (in West Rapti basin) to 55.5 (in Kankai basin). Based on the WPI results, the basins in decreasing order of priority need for water poverty situation improvement can be listed as West Rapti, Babai, Bagmati, Kamala and Kankai. Even in the basin with high water poverty (i.e., West Rapti basin), suggested priority order for the areas of intervention need is Use > Environment > Capacity > Resources > Access. The results are useful to prioritize areas and extent of policy intervention need at different scales.