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Abstract
Lakes of Pokhara: How have they been shrinking over the years?
Santosh Tripathi
Master's Student
Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand
tripatthi@ait.ac.th
Rajesh Bahadur Thapa
Research Associate
Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand
Abstract :
Pokhara is regarded as the second city of Nepal. It has 6 big lakes (Phewa, Begnas, Rupa, Dipang, Buduwa, and Maidi) and in fact it derives its name from the existence of these lakes. These lakes have been the center of attraction for the tourists. However, over the years, neglect by the government and injudicious actions by the locals have led to the shrinkage of the lakes. Surrounding wetlands have already been converted into agricultural areas or the residential areas and there have been illegal efforts to drain the lakes. Despite all this there is no quantitative assessment of the decrease in the area of the lakes. In this study we analyze the loss in the area of the lakes and surrounding wetlands over the years. To that end time series data of LANDSAT have been used. The results show that though all the lakes have shrinked some of them have shrinked more than the others. The results of the analysis will be useful for the conservationists as they can use the results to plan for their conservation activities, especially in urging government to allocate resources for the conservation of the lakes and in increasing awareness among the locals of the problem.
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