Nepal, Kathmandu: water board to curb rampant groundwater extraction

The Kathmandu Valley Water Supply Management Board (KVWSMB) is going to establish 30 monitoring centres throughout the Kathmandu Valley to curb rampant groundwater extraction. The centres, which are coming into operation by mid-May 2011, will monitor the quality and quantity of groundwater.

Both individuals and institutions that extract groundwater for commercial purposes will need to apply for a license from the KVWSMB after the monitoring centres are established. There are currently over 500 tubewells operating in the Kathmandu Valley. However, only 100 of them are registered at the board. Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL) already extracts a large amount of groundwater from 70 tube wells and supplying the water to its consumers. According to KUKL, the daily water demand in the Kathmandu Valley at present is 320 million litres but the supply is only around 70 million litres in the dry season and 120 million litres in the wet season.

Source: Nagarik / NGO Forum, 30 Mar 2011

Maldives: Water and Sanitation Authority abolished

President Mohamed Nasheed has abolished the Maldives Water and Sanitation Authority and the Environment Research Centre and transferred all activities to the newly established Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Following this change, the EPA will be linked to the Ministry of Housing, Transport and Environment. The EPA will also operate as a regulatory authority administered under a governing board.

Mohamed ‘Anni’ Nasheed, an Amnesty International prisoner of conscience, won the country’s first democratic presidential poll in October 2008. In March 2009, he launched an ambitious 10-year plan for the Maldives to become the world’s first carbon neutral country.

Source: The President’s Office. Republic of Maldives, 18 Feb 2009