The rate of hydropower dam construction on rivers is increasing in emerging economies in South Asia, to achieve economic development goals. These large infrastructure projects are likely to have many negative consequences on freshwater species but have not yet received much consideration. Among freshwater small mammalian species, water shrews are seriously impacted by these large structures. This paper aims to determine if water shrews have been considered during the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of these hydro dam project sites, as well as present the sightings of the water shrews from Nepalese rivers with hydropower potential. We reviewed 44 EIA reports of such projects in Nepal using a set of four criteria and 15 questions to analyze the methods of impact assessment for mammals and the reports on the presence of water shrews in each built area. The study found that the number of mammal species reported during the EIA varied from five to 55 species but no relationships between the hydropower structure's size and any water shrew species were considered in the studies. In almost all EIA reports, the term aquatic ecosystem was prioritized over the term aquatic small mammals, and the latter was not considered in the assessment. The major reason for not considering these species is probably due to the lack of robust methods to capture small mammals such as shrews, or due to survey methods focused only on terrestrial mammals. The Aquatic Animal Protection Act was fully reviewed and assured to be followed in a majority of the reports, yet the monitoring parameters and indicators were not available for aquatic small mammals. Ignoring the presence of these mammals while constructing hydropower plants is a serious threat to their persistence. We also reported the Himalayan water shrew in the Barun River and the elegant water shrew in the Upper Tamakoshi River of Nepal. Therefore, a better understanding of these species among hydropower developers, and all concerned agencies, is essential.

中文翻译：

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尼泊尔喜马拉雅山水电站大坝环境影响评估报告中忽视水鼩

南亚新兴经济体为实现经济发展目标，在河流上修建水电大坝的比例不断增加。这些大型基础设施项目可能会对淡水物种产生许多负面影响，但尚未得到太多考虑。在淡水小型哺乳动物中，水鼩受到这些大型结构的严重影响。本文旨在确定在这些水坝项目地点的环境影响评估（EIA）期间是否考虑了水鼩，并介绍了尼泊尔具有水力发电潜力的河流中水鼩的目击情况。我们审查了尼泊尔此类项目的 44 份环境影响评估报告，使用一组 4 个标准和 15 个问题来分析哺乳动物影响评估方法以及每个建筑区域内水鼩存在情况的报告。研究发现，环境影响评估期间报告的哺乳动物物种数量从 5 种到 55 种不等，但研究中没有考虑水电结构的大小与任何水鼩物种之间的关系。在几乎所有的环评报告中，水生生态系统一词优先于水生小型哺乳动物一词，而后者在评估中并未被考虑。不考虑这些物种的主要原因可能是由于缺乏捕捉鼩鼱等小型哺乳动物的可靠方法，或者由于调查方法仅针对陆生哺乳动物。大多数报告都充分审查并保证遵守《水生动物保护法》，但没有针对水生小型哺乳动物的监测参数和指标。在建造水电站时忽视这些哺乳动物的存在对其生存构成了严重威胁。我们还报道了巴伦河的喜马拉雅水鼩和尼泊尔塔马科希河上游的优雅水鼩。因此，水电开发商和所有相关机构更好地了解这些物种至关重要。