A methodology used to ensure sustainable freshwater use and supply is now being used to develop national plans in countries like Nepal.
Developed by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and the CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE), E-flow calculators are a family of software built to rapidly assess ”environmental flows” to help scientists and decision makers better understand how much water remains for supply and use in a river basin or other system.
Environmental flows or E-flows, describe the quantity, quality and timing of water flows needed to sustain freshwater ecosystems so they can continue to provide services to society. The online E-flow calculator can help decision-makers decide how to balance water use needs with environmental needs by establishing an E-flows baseline.
The E-flow calculator has been put to use in river basins across the world. And now, Nepal’s Department of Water Resources and Irrigation used an estimation of the country’s E-flow requirements to support the development of the country’s National Irrigation Master Plan. In response to a request for assistance, IWMI developed the first desktop tool for E-flow assessment in Western Nepal under United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/Nepal's financial assistance to Digo Jal Bikas Program (2017 - 2019). The Western Nepal E-flows calculator (WENEFC) is a simple user-friendly software package for rapid analysis of E-flows in one of the most climate vulnerable areas of the country.
Continue reading at The CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems
Image via The CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems
