Nepal’s inter-provincial water management

Global experiences suggest intra-national water sharing is as important as international sharing.

Nepal has made significant strides in managing shared water resources in the last decade. The Constitution of Nepal 2015 has given the responsibility of managing water resources to all three levels of government—federal, provincial and local. The National Water Resources Policy of 2022 has further provided a strong foundation for multi-dimensional and sustainable development of water resources through a national policy. However, a similar level of policy and progress is yet to be formalised at the provincial level, and the provinces are yet to enact their legislation fully. It is also unclear how inter-provincial transboundary water management (water-sharing between upstream and downstream jurisdictions) will occur. While Nepal needs a fresh outlook on the management of both international and inter-provincial transboundary water resources, this piece focuses on the latter.