This year, Southasia Institute of Advanced Studies (SIAS) collaborated for the annual Groundwater Symposium organised to contribute to the sustainable management of these valuable groundwater resources in the face of its unchecked extraction, global climate change, population growth, increased water demand, and environmental degradation. The 12th edition of the Groundwater Symposium was organized on 18th March 2024 at the Hotel Aloft, Thamel marking World Water Day and Nepal National Water and Weather Week. The event saw participants from 153 attendees, including both in-person and virtual participants.
The symposium hosted two partner sessions to emphasise groundwater governance in Southeast Asia and highlight the socio-hydrologies of groundwater irrigation. Likewise, there was a technical session on innovative approaches for addressing groundwater challenges, and a high-level panel discussion on addressing the barriers to inclusive groundwater governance was also conducted during the event. Dr. Anushiya Shrestha, a researcher from SIAS contributed to the presentation on spring conservation that was presented in the technical session. In addition, the Symposium provided a platform for technical and promotional posters where SIAS researchers Ms. Salu Basnet, Dr. Anushiya Shrestha, and Ms. Gyanu Maskey presented their poster entitled ‘Gender Equality and Social Inclusion in Urban Water Governance’. The poster intended to highlight the current status of gender equality and social inclusion in Nepal’s urban water governance emphasizing the policy gaps and implementation challenges to the effective participation of marginalised groups in local water management. Moreover, the poster noted the necessity to capacitate women with technocratic knowledge, acknowledging their roles and responsibilities in water management, and intersectionality approach as key elements for meaningful inclusion of marginalised groups in local water governing bodies.
Overall, the symposium was vibrant with rich discussions on approaches and strategies for ensuring a sustainable groundwater management practice. Through this partnership with the Center of Research for Environment, Energy, and Water (CREEW) and other esteemed organisers of the Groundwater Symposium 2024, SIAS aimed to contribute to the national effort of sustainably managing the valuable groundwater resources and open avenues for sharing knowledge and its decade long experiences on water management with the like-minded organisations.
