Exploring Water Security of High-Altitude Mountain Villages in an Arid Glaciated Western Himalayan River Basin
Research Poster Social & Behavioral Sciences 2025 Graduate ExhibitionPresentation by Tejal Shirsat
Exhibition Number 184
Abstract
Himalayan region known as the “Water Tower of Asia” is facing a two-pronged challenge due to warming induced changes in water availability and increasing human interventions and governance problems. The warming climate have caused the loss of snowpack and glaciers, and rising water demands from increasing population and associated economic activities have resulted in increased tourism and shifts in traditional agricultural practices in the mountains. Aforementioned challenges often hit the small mountain communities the hardest, whose traditional practices and priorities are compromised. Lahaul-Spiti is an arid region nestled in the Western Himalaya in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The region is densely glaciated with minimum precipitation throughout the year, making seasonal glacier meltwater and springs the primary source of water for these communities. As the glaciers in this region are retreating at an alarming rate, some villages have already started facing water scarcity and have adopted adaptation strategies at local scale. In this regard, we aim to understand different aspects of water security by integrating water availability from earth and environmental systems, water management influenced by socio-economic systems and water decision-making from local institutional systems using qualitative methods. We collected household surveys from 47 villages in Lahaul-Spiti along with 3 semi-structured interviews. The data was analyzed inductively to explore themes of water security, stress and adaptation practices. We further highlight the role of glaciers in supporting the local water security of these high-altitude villages and showcase analysis spatially varying between villages of Lahaul-Spiti and temporally between past two decades.
Importance
Himalayan region sustains the water security of billions of people residing in the Indo-Gangetic plains in the densely populated parts of our planet where differences socio-environmental variables influence water security. This study aims to understand the water security from the lens of mountain communities which are often not considered using surveys and interviews. We understand the lived experiences of water issues from the mountain villages which can directly inform the localized, culturally suitable solutions and water management policies. The urgency of the research objectives and under-studied nature of this study area makes this study purposeful.
DEI Statement
Our study aims to understand the water security in the Lahaul-Spiti region, which is shared by a wide array of stakeholders ranging from local to state to national governments. We specifically focus on the small mountain communities residing in the high-altitude region of basin which are most at risk of water scarcity and yet are not adequately represented. They often suffer from development for urban areas at the cost of increasing risk for these communities with the lack of mountain-specific policies. We aim to understand the perceptions and concerns of these rural mountain communities regarding water availability, management and governance which would help in planning evidence-based bottoms-up policy support.