IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i7p2062-d220668.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Domestic Socioeconomic Barriers to Hydropower Trading: Evidence from Bhutan and Nepal

Author

Listed:
  • Kaoru Ogino

    (Asian Development Bank, Manila 1550, Philippines)

  • Mikiyasu Nakayama

    (Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Chiba 277-8563, Japan)

  • Daisuke Sasaki

    (International Research Institute of Disaster Science, Tohoku University, 468-1 Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-0845, Japan)

Abstract

Bhutan has increased exports of surplus hydropower generation, whereas Nepal has been suffering from domestic power shortages. Why has Bhutan successfully promoted hydropower development and exports, while Nepal has failed to do so? This paper focuses on inherent development barriers that stem from domestic power supply, internal governance systems, and indigenous societal sensitivity. There are lessons to be learned from Bhutan’s practices that could be applied in Nepal. First, hydropower development can be severely affected by electricity scarcity that arises when power export is privileged over domestic power supply. Nepal has fallen into this negative loop, whereas Bhutan has overcome it through policy interventions that ensure visible links between power exports and domestic power consumption. Second, the sector reforms in the two countries contrast in terms of institutional, operational, and financial efficiency. Without fundamental reforms, Nepal’s sector-wide inefficiency fuels a vicious circle. Third, local resource conflicts and social complexities have made Nepal’s hydropower projects more complicated than Bhutan’s. In planning hydropower projects, it is crucial to pay careful attention to domestic stakeholders and local benefits. Planners and governments must ensure that projects are designed with extensive benefit sharing mechanisms, sustainable value chains, effective sector reforms, and sufficient societal conflict management.

Suggested Citation

  • Kaoru Ogino & Mikiyasu Nakayama & Daisuke Sasaki, 2019. "Domestic Socioeconomic Barriers to Hydropower Trading: Evidence from Bhutan and Nepal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-19, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:7:p:2062-:d:220668
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/7/2062/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/7/2062/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Singh,Anoop & Jamasb,Tooraj & Nepal,Rabindra & Toman,Michael A., 2015. "Cross-border electricity cooperation in South Asia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7328, The World Bank.
    2. Mikiyasu Nakayama & Miko Maekawa, 2013. "Economic benefits and security implications of trading hydropower through transboundary power grids in Asia," International Journal of Water Resources Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(4), pages 501-513, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Minna Havukainen & Mirja Mikkilä & Helena Kahiluoto, 2022. "Climate Policy Reform in Nepal through the Lenses of the Institutional Analysis and Development Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-21, June.
    2. Schulz, Christopher & Saklani, Udisha, 2021. "The future of hydropower development in Nepal: Views from the private sector," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 1578-1588.
    3. Kałuża, Tomasz & Hämmerling, Mateusz & Zawadzki, Paweł & Czekała, Wojciech & Kasperek, Robert & Sojka, Mariusz & Mokwa, Marian & Ptak, Mariusz & Szkudlarek, Arkadiusz & Czechlowski, Mirosław & Dach, J, 2022. "The hydropower sector in Poland: Barriers and the outlook for the future," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    4. Zida Song & Quan Liu & Zhigen Hu & Chunsheng Zhang & Jinming Ren & Zhexin Wang & Jianhai Tian, 2020. "Construction Diversion Risk Assessment for Hydropower Development on Sediment-Rich Rivers," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-20, February.
    5. Liu, Yue & Lin, Zijie, 2024. "Impact of regional trade integration and energy transition on natural resources footprints in Asian Countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    6. Llamosas, Cecilia & Sovacool, Benjamin K., 2021. "The future of hydropower? A systematic review of the drivers, benefits and governance dynamics of transboundary dams," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Timilsina,Govinda R. & Toman,Michael A. & Karacsonyi,Jorge G. & de Tena Diego,Luca, 2015. "How much could South Asia benefit from regional electricity cooperation and trade ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7341, The World Bank.
    2. Timilsina, Govinda R. & Toman, Mike, 2016. "Potential gains from expanding regional electricity trade in South Asia," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 6-14.
    3. Tiep, Nguyen Cong & Wang, Mengqi & Mohsin, Muhammad & Kamran, Hafiz Waqas & Yazdi, Farzaneh Ahmadian, 2021. "An assessment of power sector reforms and utility performance to strengthen consumer self-confidence towards private investment," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 676-689.
    4. Anupama Sen & Rabindra Nepal & Tooraj Jamasb, 2016. "Rethinking electricity sector reform in developing Asia: Balancing economic and environmental objectives," ASARC Working Papers 2016-06, The Australian National University, Australia South Asia Research Centre.
    5. Priyanshi Chauhan, 2021. "Power Trade in South Asia: Developing A Framework Based on Case Studies of Power Trading Arrangements in Europe and Asia," South Asian Survey, , vol. 28(2), pages 263-293, September.
    6. Amin, Sakib & Jamasb, Tooraj & Nepal, Rabindra, 2021. "Regulatory reform and the relative efficacy of government versus private investment on energy consumption in South Asia," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 421-433.
    7. Nepal, Rabindra & Paija, Nirash, 2019. "Energy security, electricity, population and economic growth: The case of a developing South Asian resource-rich economy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 771-781.
    8. Llamosas, Cecilia & Sovacool, Benjamin K., 2021. "The future of hydropower? A systematic review of the drivers, benefits and governance dynamics of transboundary dams," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    9. Hussain, Abid & Sarangi, Gopal K. & Pandit, Anju & Ishaq, Sultan & Mamnun, Nabir & Ahmad, Bashir & Jamil, Muhammad Khalid, 2019. "Hydropower development in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region: Issues, policies and opportunities," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 446-461.
    10. Steinbuks, Jevgenijs & Satija, Gaurav & Zhao, Fu, 2017. "Sustainability of solar electricity: The role of endogenous resource substitution and cross-sectoral responses," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 218-232.
    11. Katarzyna Kosowska & Piotr Kosowski, 2022. "Energy Security of Hydropower Producing Countries—The Cases of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-28, October.
    12. Fischhendler, Itay & Herman, Lior & Anderman, Jaya, 2016. "The geopolitics of cross-border electricity grids: The Israeli-Arab case," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 533-543.
    13. Arina Nikandrova & Jevgenijs Steinbuks, 2017. "Contracting for the second best in dysfunctional electricity markets," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 51(1), pages 41-71, February.
    14. Khan, Muhammad Arshad & Abbas, Faisal, 2016. "The dynamics of electricity demand in Pakistan: A panel cointegration analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 1159-1178.
    15. Amin, Sakib Bin & Chang, Youngho & Khan, Farhan & Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad, 2022. "Energy security and sustainable energy policy in Bangladesh: From the lens of 4As framework," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:7:p:2062-:d:220668. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.