Scope of Payment for Ecosystem Services Mechanism for ... - icimod

The quantity of urban water supply is decreasing and the quality of available water isdegrading in Nepal. The situation is further exacerbated by climate change. Climatechange that degrades water quality and quantity is an emerging challenge to urban watermanagement. Pumping of water and boiling ultimately adds carbon dioxide emission.Hence ensuring continuous supply of safe water by applying Water Safety Plan isnecessary. National water quality database should be made and used rationally by makingreference laboratory (TU and SEN, 2011).2.1.2 Human Factor and Landuse ChangeAll living beings required water to survive. Humans need about 115 liters per person perday. The actual amount used may greater depending on the ease and convenience ofsupply (Ayoade and Oyebande. 1983; Abaje et al. 2009). The international consumptionfigures released by the 4 th World Water Forum (March, 2006), indicate that a personliving in an urban area, uses an average of 250 liters/ day; but individual consumptionvaries widely around the globe (THD, 2007; Abaje et al. 2009). Moreover, even as theworld‟s human population grows, the limited easily accessible fresh water resources inriver, lakes and shallow ground water aquifers are dwindling as a result of overexploitation and water quality degradation (IAEA, 2004 ; Abaje et al. 2009). Someexamples of problem of water management and possibilities for integrate management inthe urban areas are:The city of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, an East African country along the coast of theIndia Ocean, has an estimated population of about 1.5 million people. The increasingpopulation has stretched to the limit provision of utilities. There are frequent interruptionsin water supply in city. There is a lot of wastage of water in the city‟s distribution systemdue to faulty valves, broken pipes, and lack of metering facilities. Water management ofurban areas was vested in municipal councils. There is a need for integrated master planand funding for the rehabilitation of water system in urban areas (Gondwe, 1990).The northern part of China is facing water scarcity. Supplied water is insufficient and ofpoor water quality with serious effects on society and the environment (Jiang, 2009).Rapid economic development combined with population growth and urbanization triggersthe potential conflict between water supply and demand. Effective water resourcemanagement is a promising approach that can help alleviate China‟s vulnerabilityespecially when water scarcity is more severe in the future. Water right institutions,6