Integrating citizen science and policy support tools into water and land resources based decision

making for sustainable mountain development

Bhopal Pandeya and Wouter Buytaert

Grantham Institute and the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering

Imperial College London

Mountains in SDGs

UN Declaration on ‘Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’

The new agenda –

Agenda 33 - to conserve and sustainably use ...freshwater resources, as well as forests, mountains and drylands and

to protect biodiversity, ecosystems and wildlife…….to promote sustainable tourism, to tackle water scarcity and water

pollution, to strengthen cooperation on desertification, dust storms, land degradation and drought and to promote

resilience and disaster risk reduction.

Sustainable Development Goals –

Goal 6 (6.6) - By 2020, protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers,

aquifers and lakes

Goal 15 (15.1) - By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater

ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains and drylands, in line with obligations under

international agreements

Goal 15 (15.4) - By 2030, ensure the conservation of mountain ecosystems, including their biodiversity, in order to

enhance their capacity to provide benefits that are essential for sustainable development

Why do we need citizen science and policy support tools for mountain environment?

• Data poor and inaccessible

• To maintain monitoring stations

• Mountain communities with little opportunities other than water and land resources based livelihood activities

• Higher elevation - unprecedented level of climate change impact

• More warming, changing rainfall and snowfall patterns

• Need more data, local knowledge and analysis

Citizen science for data and knowledge co-generation

Participation of the general public (i.e., non-scientists) in the generation of new scientific knowledge ( Buytaert et al., 2014)

Using new technologies for data generation and communication –• Installation of sensor based data collection instruments• Improving natural and social datasets• Monitoring/modelling of ecosystem services

A bottom-up and participatory approach

Science driven community based decision making to maximize resources utilization (sustainably) for human wellbeing

Engaging with fundamental science and working with local communities for better research and supporting policies

Mountain EVO based hydro-meteorological data monitoring in Mustang region of Nepal - realtime data on hydro-climatic features, publicly available, ready to use

Participatory approach

Land and water resources management practice

How to make citizen science useful in decision making?

What is the monitoring mechanism and who do this? What is the communication strategy? & Policy impact?

What is the purpose of data generation? How can they become more relevant to decision making? Can we use them to characterize the trend of services generation and flow across the landscape?

Participatory discussion at community and institutional levels – village head

(Mukhiya) & community members, VDC, DDC, ACAP/NTNC

Resources mapping for better understanding of land and water resources uses

Application of policy support tools (such as WaterWorld and Co$ting Nature) tools

Understanding the role of citizen science in water resources management

Multi-dimensional analysis of poverty and livelihood strategies

Integrating data and knowledge into policy support tools

Why do we need policy support tools?

• Data are not properly used in decision support

• Spatial and modelling tools are widely recognized for their role in decision making

• Linking past land use legacies and future land use trajectories in mountain regions

Why low uptake of policy support tools in decision making?

• Lack of or expensive data

• Lack of training or capacity

• Availability of good data

Application of policy support tools – Scenarios and interventions

Possible scenarios for the WaterWorld tool

CLIMATEInbuilt: IPCC AR4 A2a, A2, B1, A1b, 17GCMs 2020s, 2050s,2080s (now available of IPCC 5th Assessment CMIP5 (RCP) scenarios)By connection: UEA/Tyndall Centre CIAS CLIMGENBy specification: simple seasonal temperature and precipitation changes

LAND USEAfforestation/Deforestation: according to pre-defined rulesAfforestation/Deforestation: specify rule e.g. deforest a particular IBAChange to land cover type: according to pre-defined rulesChange to land cover type: specify rule e.g. deforest a particular IBAUpload your own land cover type maps

LAND MANAGEMENTRiparian buffer strips, bench terracing, contour ploughing, check dams, dams

Landsat-based rescaling of MODIS VCF (2010) map of Upper Kaligandaki watershed (WaterWorld v2, 2015)

a) Tree cover b) Herb cover

c) Bare cover

Geographic location of Mustang region

Mustang region – a high mountainous region in Nepal

Water resources based ecosystem services

Water resources provides a range of provisioning, regulating, supporting and cultural/spiritual services

• Household water supply, water mills, irrigation & energy production

• Cultural/spiritual value of mountain springs (such as Muktinath)

• Micro-hydro projects such as a project located at Chokopani/Chiwang in Tukuche VDC

Major challenges – low precipitation, changing rain & snowfall patterns, maintaining irrigation systems

Land resources based ecosystem services

Cropland - a highly valuable natural resource – used for cereals, fruits and vegetable productions

Extensive apple farming across the lower and middle Mustang – a major source of cash income

Major vulnerabilities – alteration of snow and rainfall, increased floods and droughts, wildlife encroachment and manpower shortage

Hazard Mitigation related ecosystem services

• Human settlements and agricultural land along the river bank are vulnerable to drought and flooding

• A better knowledge of hydrological system may help to adapt with the potential threats

• Participatory data & knowledge generation can help improving mitigation measures

Biodiversity based ecosystem services

Unique habitats for a number of animals and birds (endangered mammal species such

as Snow Leopard, Musk Deer and Tibetan Argali (mountain sheep))

A number of rare bird species can be found (due to trans-Himalayan corridor)

A wide variety of high valued herbs and NTFPs such as Yarsha-gumba (OphiocordycepsSinensis)

Due to easy access to the region, biodiversity based activities have been growing

including collection of high valued plant species, bird watching activities

Eco-tourism & cultural/spiritual based ecosystem services

Beautiful landscapes of high mountainous region & a number of oasis type of cultivated lands along the basin

Co-existence of Hinduism and Tibetan Buddhism heritages

Thousands of visitors from neighbouring as well as foreign countries to experience natural beauty and rich cultural tradition

A famous pilgrimage site of Muktinath (A substantial increase of Indian pilgrims in recent years (Visitors: 2501 (in 2007) and 12094 (in 2013))Foreign tourists – 10% increases between 2012 and 2013 (ACAP, 2014)

A substantial amount of revenue is generated by ‘Conservation Fee’ paid by the trekkers

Part of collected revenue used for conservation and development programme

Equitable benefit sharing with local communities ???

A case study of Phlayak and Dhakarjhong villages• Semi-arid environment with an average annual rainfall of 300 mm

• Densely populated villages where local people exclusively rely on land and water resources

a) Phalyak village b) Dhakarjhong village

Water resources management – Key issues

A marginal change in hydrological services has a

significant impact on agricultural practices

A substantial amount of water resources is lost

due to lack of proper management practices

Lumbuk stream (Khola): a snow-fed stream

Increased uncertainties on water availability –

due to changing snowfall pattern in the higher

mountainous area

Sudden and destructive debris flow – threat to

water infrastructure

Application of web-based policy support tools

Hydrological modelling tool (WaterWorld v2, 2015) for assessing hydrological services

a) Annual rainfall (mm/yr) b) Annual water balance(mm/yr)

d) Human footprint of water resources (Co$ting Nature, 2015)

c) Annual runoff in Lumbuk stream (Khola) (WaterWorld, 2015)

Relative aggregate bundle of ecosystem services index (0-1 locally) (Co$ting Nature, 2015)

a) Potential bundle of ecosystem services b) Realized bundle of ecosystem services

Comparison of modelling result with observed measurements

Month Flow volume (m3) Precipitation (mm)

January 82210 9.72

February 70558 13.62

March 77187 19.19

April 81105 14.89

May 107630 14.03

June 259858 23.51

July 667672 63.01

August 781229 53.03

September 379580 33.28

October 165964 17.83

November 109739 4.84

December 90555 8.08

Annual 2873287 275.02

c) Annual runoff (WaterWorld, 2015) 2.87 M m3

Major uncertainties

Lack of consistent data on hydro-climatic features spatially and temporally

Monitoring of hydrological attributes (quantity and quality)

Changing hydro-climatic pattern and resulting impacts on hydrological system

Past Land use change and future land management practices

Detailed information about demographic, socio-economic and migration issues

The way forward

Needs strong citizen science perspective for better understanding of ecosystem functioning in mountain environment such as changing snowfall & rainfall patterns

Advancing Mountain-EVO practices and integrating them into decision making processes

Integrating new data and knowledge system into relevant policy support tools (such as WaterWorld and InVEST)

Capacity building at local level on how to use science based ecosystem services data and knowledge into decision making for sustainable mountain development

Thank you!!!