- Climate change is having major impacts on hydropower infrastructure in Nepal by worsening extreme weather events like floods and landslides. - Nepal has significant untapped hydropower potential but existing plants are being damaged or closed down due to climate impacts. - To protect hydropower investments and ensure reliable energy access, climate risks must be integrated into planning, design, and operations. Factors driving infrastructure impacts under climate change must be identified to guide more resilient development.

1. 1
Impacts of Climate Change in sustainability of hydropower in Nepal
INTRODUCTION
Change in the climatic patterns regionally or globally refers to climate change. A growing body
of scientific literature provides unequivocal evidence that “climate change will continue for
many decades, and even centuries, regardless of the success of global initiatives to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions” (Natural Resources Canada, 2007, p 4). Therefore, it is essential to be
conscious of climatic effects before and after starting any initiatives.
Infrastructures are the physical assets that include communications, emergency services, energy,
finance, food, government, health, education, civil protection, transport or water of infrastructure
and the basis for human settlement. In case of Nepal, hydropower is one of the most important
infrastructures. Nepal has a huge hydropower potential. In fact, the perennial nature of Nepali
rivers and the steep gradient of the country's topography provide ideal conditions for the
development of some of the world's largest hydroelectric projects.
Climate change has already shown huge impacts on infrastructures like hydropower in recent
years and can put their operation and reliability partially at risk. Looking at this trend, it is very
likely to accelerate in the upcoming decades. Main threats to infrastructure assets include
destruction caused by extreme weather events, which climate change may worsen.
REAL PROBLEM
The climate and weather of Nepal vary greatly spatially (across regions) and temporally (from
one season to the other). The process of climate change, along with its anticipated changes in
temperatures, precipitation patterns, wind conditions and the occurrence of extreme weather
events, have clear inferences on every country’s built infrastructures like hydropower. Nepal has
a huge hydropower potential so, the need for its investment and development over the coming
decades is vital and enormous. Climate change does not change this need but can increase its
costs. Therefore, it becomes crucial to protect these infrastructures, prominent to damages and
prepare itself for building such plant that can sustain climatic changes in coming future.

2. 2
The geographical condition of Nepal is boon and curse. Boon in the case of generating high
potential head for development of hydropower stations and curse because variation in
geographical condition are more prone to disaster like flood and landslide.
The current estimates show that Nepal has approximately 40,000 MW of economically feasible
hydropower potential. However, the present situation is that Nepal has developed only
approximately 600 MW of hydropower. The recent data shows there are almost 30 hydropower
stations built in Nepal among which five power plants are already closed and transmission
towers destroyed. [source: www.ippan.org.np/HPinNepal.html]
Climate change may not only affect where infrastructure is built but also how it is designed and
operated. It is vital to know where there is need for additional infrastructure keen to climate
protection, such as flood protection, interconnections in water supply, as well as retro-fitting to
improve resilience of existing infrastructure .Infrastructure assets are long-lived and have the
capacity to lock development patterns for a long time. Making infrastructure resilient to climate
change is an important and early adaptation challenge. This might not be easy and cheap task. It
requires sophisticated decision-making with what knowledge we about future climate effects at
the regional and local level.
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
The past years has shown adverse effect of climate change in developing infrastructures in
Nepal. Hence it is necessary to foresee the problems created due to climate change on the
construction of hydropower in Nepal. This includes looking at the effects of climate change in
built, ongoing and future developing hydropower plant. This can give an insight to the city
planners, engineers to plan accordingly.
The possible solution to this problem can be:
 Integration of climate change considerations into contracts on development of
hydropower
 Identification of controlling factors of climate change that causes impacts on overall
hydropower plant.

3. 3
 Assessment of recognizing quality climate information and climate risk-management
processes through climate change considerations.
 Assessment of adopted Early Warning System for Natural Disasters.
 Assessment on identification of hydropower plant that are at risk because of changing
climate and are in need of retrofitting
 Assessment on identification of locations that may be vulnerable to climate change
impacts, reviewing existing practices and use entirely new solutions
 Formal risk assessment and carry out risk management by increase the magnitude of
design parameters or safety factors.
 Development of relative contingency plans for infrastructure failure.
METHODOLOGY
In order to obtain the solutions mentioned above, several methods can be applied. Following is
the flow of a methodology that can be adopted.
Planning
Planning involves creating of a set of plans to help guide this project through the execution and
closure phases of the project. The plans created during this phase shall be helpful to manage
time, cost, quality, change, risk and issues. This also consists of selection of factors that must be
considered.
Identify the controlling factors
Identification of controlling factors that controls the relationship between construction of
hydropower and changing climate along with the necessary factors to undergo this project must
be done at the initial phase of this project. Both qualitative and quantitative data are essential.
Qualitative data includes data of climatic parameters like temperature, precipitation. Also it
includes historical data of disaster like landslide, flood. This data can be collected from the
related organization like DHM (Department of Hydrology and Meteorology), ICIMOD
(International Center for Integrated Mountain Development) etc. The information about this
infrastructure (built, destroyed, ongoing, future plan) shall be collected from Department of
Electricity Development. The data thus collected can be used for hazard mapping, risk mapping.

4. 4
Through the study and analysis of those data controlling factors can be identified. The objective
of hazard maps is to provide residents with the information on the range of possible damage and
the disaster prevention activities. It is the important point to provide residents with
understandable clear information. Risk mapping is a tool used by life insurers in the
identification, control, and management of risk. Quantitative data can be collected through
household interviews which can be conducted within selected community group members. This
data can be helpful in going into the depth of impacts of climate change in local environment.
Develop experiment plan
An experimental plan must be prepared in order to explore, compare, explain and demonstrate
the identified factors and move forward in methodologies with full assurance in preparing
successful production from this project. Experiment must be carried out in small area as sample
to formulate this larger area.
Formulate plan
The formulation of plan refers to formulating the experimental plan that has been verified in the
proposed area. The plans are formulated into action in the real subjected area. Maps, charts and
necessary statistical analysis must be prepared to visualize the impacts. Maps showing impacts of
climate change in different hydropower plant must be prepared. The charts show the historical
events of impacts.
Conduct analysis
The collected and prepared data can be used for analysis. It includes analyzing the information
collected and processes them to give a meaningful production. Analysis must be done with the
output produced such as maps, graphs, statistics and other collected information. This includes
conducting initial descriptive analyses, refining and improving data as necessary, testing with
planned assumptions and produce a sensible results.
Finally documenting the analysis and finding must be done. Documenting information is
especially important. Not only do procedures help ensure that tasks can be completed in a
consistent and repeatable way, it also help to facilitate transfer of institutional knowledge.