Adaptive watershed management in a changing climate: an importance-performance analysis of user perspectives in central Nepal

Watershed resources, encompassing land, water, and forests, are crucial worldwide and have a particular critical importance in Nepal's economic development and ecological sustainability. In the context of changing climate, effective and successful watershed management needs a nuanced understanding of user perceptions across various scales, from the watershed to upstream and downstream areas. This pioneering study in Nepal's Khageri Khola watershed employs importance-performance analysis to investigate user perceptions through household surveys and interviews. Our findings reveal that there exists a significant disparity between the perceived importance and the actual performance of watershed management strategies. Moreover, our findings highlight that socio-demographics characteristics shape user perceptions, underscoring the requirement for tailored, location-specific strategies in effective watershed management. We suggest that implementing adaptive and sustainable watershed management approaches is important to connect the gap between policy and diverse needs of stakeholders.