Publications

@article{Pokhrel_KC_2025b,
title = {A Contextualized Groundwater Governance Framework for Sarlahi, Nepal},
author = {Ayushmita Pokhrel and Saurav KC},
url = {https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/injet/article/view/78658},
doi = {10.3126/injet.v2i2.78658},
year = {2025},
date = {2025-05-01},
journal = {International Journal on Engineering Technology},
volume = {2},
number = {2},
pages = {316–322},
abstract = {Effective groundwater governance is vital for sustainable resource management. This study presents a contextualized groundwater governance assessment framework applied to Barahathawa Municipality, Sarlahi, Nepal. The framework evaluates governance across four dimensions—technical, legal/institutional, cross-sector policy coordination, and operational—using 32 indicators to derive a composite Groundwater Governance Index (GGI). Barahathawa’s GGI of 1.03 reflects an early acceptable governance state. The technical dimension (midway between non-existent and basic) highlights gaps in groundwater data collection and dissemination. Legal and institutional mechanisms are approaching a basic level but are limited by the absence of comprehensive regulatory frameworks. Cross-sector policy coordination has reached an acceptable state, reflecting efforts to collaborate with local units/departments and sectoral entities, although these efforts are often informal and ad hoc. The operational dimension demonstrates initial progress toward an acceptable state, with advancements in transparency, conflict resolution, and community engagement in groundwater management discussions. However, further efforts are needed to enhance inclusivity and to establish a community-focused groundwater management action plan. This assessment framework thus provides a holistic and context-specific approach to identifying strengths and gaps in groundwater governance. By integrating insights from both experts and community stakeholders, it serves as an effective tool for understanding governance dynamics and guiding targeted improvements.},
keywords = {Governance assessment, Groundwater governance index, Groundwater management, Sustainability},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}

@article{Pandey2011,
title = {A framework for measuring groundwater sustainability},
author = {Vishnu P Pandey and Sangam Shrestha and Saroj K Chapagain and Futaba Kazama},
doi = {10.1016/j.envsci.2011.03.008},
issn = {14629011},
year = {2011},
date = {2011-06-01},
journal = {Environmental Science and Policy},
volume = {14},
number = {4},
pages = {396--407},
abstract = {This paper develops a structured framework that considers an index of means for achieving sustainability, the 'groundwater sustainability infrastructure index (GSII)', as a measure of groundwater sustainability. The infrastructure here refers to the existing knowledge, practices and institutions whose adequate strengthening helps achieve groundwater sustainability. The index is composed of five components (groundwater monitoring-GwM, knowledge generation and dissemination-KgD, regulatory interventions-ReI, public participation-PuP and institutional responsibility-InR) which disaggregate into 16 indicators. The index is illustrated with Kathmandu Valley in Nepal as a case study site. The study results showed that overall situation of the 'groundwater sustainability infrastructures' in Kathmandu Valley is relatively poor (GSII = 0.22). The scores of all the components of the index lie on the lower side of the sustainability scale (0-1, 1 representing the highest degree of sustainability). Therefore, more attentions are required to strengthen the sustainability infrastructures and subsequently achieve groundwater sustainability in the valley. Results of the GSII application demonstrated that the index could highlight areas for improvement and ultimately guide appropriate action and policy-making towards sustainable groundwater management. textcopyright 2011 Elsevier Ltd.},
keywords = {Groundwater, Kathmandu, Sustainability, Sustainability infrastructure, Sustainable management},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}