Hydro-economics and the issue of large dams in Western Nepal

Previous hydro-economic work has argued that the degree of interdependence in the Ganges Basin has often been overstated, and that the primary benefit of investments in large dams in Nepal is for power production. Yet planning for such projects continues to be impeded by a public narrative that says that downstream irrigators should pay for the water supply and flood control they would provide. In addition, the local hydro-politics of dams are complicated, because costs incurred by populations living near these projects are often highly concentrated, while the benefits of increased power production are dispersed over large areas and populations. In this talk, Marc Jeuland of Duke University will describe an ongoing project that aims to better explore local perceptions and preferences for hydropower projects, and to understand how a perspective focused on local tradeoffs relates to the public narrative surrounding such projects.