The Brief: Santosh Dahal on Climate Change, Changing Flood Trends, and Flood Management Along the Nepal-India Border

Ep. Br#004 Nepal and India do not only share borders but also relationships with rivers. More than 6000 rivers flow from Nepal to the Bay of Bengal through India. Koshi, Gandak, and Karnali river systems are the three most important river ecosystems that feed and foster the Ganges river ecosystem. Annually these rivers swell up during monsoon season and flood the downstream area in the southern part of Nepal and the States of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in India, affecting the lives and livelihood of people, and raising the vulnerability of those living in the floodplain. With the changing climate, the floods are becoming more disastrous, claiming thousands of lives and affecting the food-energy-water nexus of millions of people on each side of the border. There is animosity against each other, especially regarding the cause of the flood issue. However, for this shared problem, India and Nepal need to explore together and benefit from a critical ecosystem through transboundary cooperation alongside flood management. In this episode of The Brief: Lasata discusses with Santosh Dahal, a humanitarian and disaster management professional with work experience for over a decade, on the latest paper he co-authored, “Rich water, poor people: Potential for transboundary flood management between Nepal and India”. The article explores flood-related transboundary challenges, particularly in Koshi and Gandak river basins, and potential actions for transboundary flood management. They would be discussing the changing pattern of floods in the region and the challenges faced. by the vulnerable communities in flood-prone areas and efforts at the Nepal-India Border for flood management. Santosh Dahal has experience in various capacities, especially in the sector of emergency response, and disaster risk management. In the course of his professional career, he has experience in technical assistance in social mobilization, governance, advocacy, and capacity building including coordination with central-level government stakeholders, local government authorities, national Red Cross society chapters, and local partners. He is currently working as a senior technical advisor in Plan International and a visiting faculty for climate change and disaster management courses prescribed for master’s level students of Environment Science at Tribhuvan University.