As climate change intensifies, effective water management is becoming crucial. While these challenges cannot be completely avoided, experts emphasise the importance of adapting and implementing resilient strategies such as Geographic Information System, GIS and remote sensing. To build expertise in these areas, a three-day meeting for government officials from Bhutan, Nepal, and Bangladesh started today in Paro.
The focus of the three-day meeting will be on using advanced technologies such as GIS and remote sensing to map and assess water storage.
This approach is expected to improve water distribution and management while reducing the risks posed by natural disasters.
A Geographic Information System, GIS is a computer-based tool that helps understand and visualize information about places on Earth. It is also used for managing water supplies as it helps to visualise and assess spatial data related to water resources.
Remote sensing, on the other hand, uses satellite technology to scan the earth and identify high-potential sites for the extraction of groundwater through the drilling of boreholes.
“As Bhutan has the highest per capita water, which is about 94,000 cubic meters per person per year, while we have the highest in the region we also frequently face localised water shortages. For that, we need integrated water resource planning and for that these technologies will be very beneficial as we understand from the training which is underway,” said Dechen Yangden, director at the Department of Water under the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources.
“It is about making water available to people and also for the environment when they want it and when it’s needed. So, we know that water is a valuable resource. Sometimes there is too much, we have flooding and sometimes we have too little, so you have drought. And what water storage does is help balance to make it available when it’s needed. That’s why water storage is such a key component of water resources management and water security,” said Matthew McCartney, principal researcher at the International Water Management Institute.
The meeting will establish a six-member team of water experts, with representatives from Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Nepal.
This team will promote knowledge sharing, compare regional priorities, and explore various strategies to address water shortages across the region.
“Do we need more water storage, what form should the storage be, should we use more groundwater, do we need to build more dams and reservoirs? And thinking about energy, thinking about food and those demands, we need more storage. So, we are hoping this course will help with the planning and management of water storage and water resources,” added Matthew McCartney.
“We will be able to predict the drought and floods by analysing the information that is collected through these technologies. We can also utilise them in managing water resources, water distribution and watershed mapping. So, these are some of the benefits that we will have in leveraging on the GIS and remote sensing technology,” added Dechen Yangden.
The meeting is being hosted by the Department of Water under the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, in collaboration with the International Water Management Institute and Global Water Partnership South Asia.
Namgay Wangchuk, Paro
Edited by Sonam Pem
