Himalayan community water infrastructure: Solutions, prospects, and challenges

Given the increasing interest in community driven solutions for natural resource management, and water management in particular - such as the kuhl irrigation canals of the Western Himalaya; the hiti water distribution systems of Nepal; Ice 'Stupa' reservoirs in the trans-Himalayan region of Ladakh; to the pokhari man-made ponds in the north-eastern Himalaya - this article reviews the existing scholarship addressing community water infrastructure in the Himalaya. Specifically, this review documents the extant solutions along four dimensions of water use, namely: water harvesting, storage, and distribution for irrigation and domestic consumption as well as infrastructure for harnessing water for energy production and other alternative uses. The scholarship addressing these dimensions is summarised as an inventory to aid future research and further analysed with the aid of three case studies: the first on farmer managed irrigation systems, the second on the stone-spout (hiti) systems of Nepal, and the last on the incorporation of micro-hydro power in community water regimes across the Himalaya. The final analysis reflects on the following questions: what gaps exist in our current understanding of Himalayan community water infrastructure? What are the challenges and opportunities evident in the existing literature surrounding Himalayan community water infrastructure? And finally, what methodological interventions are needed to ensure a more nuanced understanding that can aid in the provision of resilient and just water infrastructure?