Lalitpur, August 21, 2025 - Nepal marked a historic milestone in its water governance journey with the conclusion of the 1st Nepal Hydrogeological Conference 2025, held in Lalitpur from August 20–21. The two-day event, organized by the Nepal Hydrogeological Association (NHA) in collaboration with the Kathmandu Valley Water Supply Management Board (KVWSMB) and Geo Hydro Consult Pvt. Ltd., brought together over 150 participants including scientists, engineers, policymakers, development partners, and industry leaders from Nepal and abroad.
With the theme “Groundwater for People and Ecosystems: Sustainability and Resilience in the Changing World,” the conference spotlighted Nepal’s growing groundwater challenges-from fragile Himalayan aquifers to the densely populated Terai plains-where over-extraction, pollution, and climate-induced recharge shifts threaten long-term water security.
A First-of-its-Kind National Platform
This was the first national event solely dedicated to hydrogeology in Nepal, establishing a much-needed platform for knowledge exchange, research collaboration, and policy dialogue on groundwater management. Experts emphasized the importance of integrating hydrogeology into disaster risk reduction, climate adaptation, and national development planning, while also urging stronger collaboration between academia, government, private sector, and civil society.
Key Themes and Discussions
Conference sessions covered a wide range of issues including:
Mountain Hydrogeology & Cryosphere Dynamics: Understanding Nepal’s role as Asia’s water tower.
Groundwater Security in the Terai: Addressing transboundary management and arsenic contamination.
Geohazards: How groundwater dynamics contribute to landslides, land subsidence, and infrastructure risks.
Governance and Policy: The role of equity, law, and financing in sustainable groundwater use.
Conjunctive Solutions: Linking surface and groundwater management for drought resilience.
Building Momentum for Action
Organizers expressed hope that the conference will become a recurring platform, feeding into Nepal’s water security agenda and inspiring scalable, policy-relevant solutions for sustainable groundwater governance. The event is going to be concluded with a call to action for Nepal and its regional partners to prioritize groundwater science and management as a central pillar of climate resilience and sustainable development.
