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Study Tour to Japan enhances knowledge in effective river basin management for Bhutan and Nepal

News 24.09.18 Japan Environment, water, climate change and disaster risk reduction

Executive members from the Wangchhu Basin Committee in Bhutan, and the High Powered Committee for Integrated Development of the Bagmati Civilization and the Water and Energy Commission Secretariat in Nepal, recently took part in a study tour to Japan. They learnt about sustainable management of water resources in river basins from Japanese projects.


Landell Mills arranged for the executives to visit a functional river basin organisation and find out about the required governance and institutional structures for integrated water resources management, as well as planning, implementation and monitoring mechanisms. Together they travelled to Osaka from Tokyo visiting offices en route to learn from river basin organisations, basin water plants and integrated dam management offices. Prior to the study tour, the executives lacked experience in river basin management so the trip was an excellent opportunity for them to enhance their knowledge and transfer it to river basins in Nepal and Bhutan.


The tour forms part of the Strengthening Integrated Water Resources Management in Mountainous River Basins Technical Assistance project administered by ADB, funded by the Japanese Fund for Poverty Reduction and managed by Landell Mills. It is providing technical assistance to river basin organisations in Afghanistan, Nepal and Bhutan. By strengthening water resources management it will help each of the three countries to cope with expected changes in water availability due to climate change and increases in water demand to support economic and population growth.

Find out more about the project here:

Mid-project workshop in Kathmandu discusses way forward for Strengthening Integrated Water Resource Management in Mountainous River Basins project