Towards sustainable groundwater management and improved water supply services in Nepal - NeAs+

  • Duration: 2026 - 2029
  • Status: Ongoing

The NeAs+ project aims to strengthen the capacity of Government’s water sector in Nepal to enhance sustainable groundwater management and to steer data-driven water supply planning from federal to local levels.

Basic project information

Project management
Johanna Herttuainen (Syke)
Project team
Anu Eskelinen (GTK), Terhi Havimo (Syke), Taina Nystén (Syke), Riitta Koivikko (Syke)
Financiers
Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Partners
Geologian tutkimuskeskus GTK
Subject area
International, Water

Background and objectives

The NeAs+ project is a continuum of the previous NeAs project  (Towards Arsenic Safe Drinking Water in Nepal, 2020–2024) which aimed to improve the capacity of the water sector in Nepal to seek, share and use the information and know-how on arsenic content in groundwater and reduction of arsenic in drinking water. The NeAs+ project aims to strengthen the capacity of the Department of Water Supply and Sanitation Management (DWSSM), a partner organisation under the Nepalese Ministry of Water, in the sustainable groundwater and water management sectors.
The project objective will be achieved through activities such as comprehensive hydrogeological investigations, the establishment of a groundwater monitoring system, improved laboratory practices, enhanced climate resilient water safety planning, further vocational training and communication and collaboration initiatives that build on the results of the previous NeAs project.
 

Project implementation

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland is funding the project via ICI instrument. The project is implemented in cooperation between GTK (The Geological Survey of Finland), Syke (The Finnish Environment Institute) and DWSSM (Department of Water Supply and Sanitation Management).

The project has four main components (Outputs):
 

The project has four main Outputs: 1) Competent capacity to scale up water quality expertise and information dissemination, focusing on arsenic mitigation, 2) Increased capacity of DWSSM’s laboratories in water quality monitoring, 3) Enhanced water safety planning, risk assessment and risk management, 4) Strengthened hydrogeological competence within DWSSM.

Picture: GTK

More information

Johanna Herttuainen, Suomen ympäristökeskus (Syke)
johanna.herttuainen@syke.fi

Published 4.2.2026 / Updated 5.2.2026