NEPAL COUNTRY REPORT“Survey Department: a Short Look”
Krishna Raj BCDirector General
SURVEY DEPARTMENT, Nepal
11 January, 2017
Email: krishnabc@hotmail.com

PRESENTATION OUTLINE
 Nepal in Brief
 Survey Department, the NMO
 Geospatial Information products International Affiliations
 Nepal Earthquake 2015
 Post Disaster facts and priorities
 International AssistanceNEPAL IN BRIEF
 Landlocked Himalayan Country inSouth Asia bordered with China andIndia
 Young Republic Country Area:147,181 Square Km
 Population: 26.4million (2011 Census)
Uneven Topography ( ranging from60 m to 8848 m MSL)
Incredible Tourist destinations withnatural beauty.

Source: Khanal,2008)

SURVEY DEPARTMENT, THE NMO
 National Mapping Organization under Ministry ofLand Reform and Management, Government ofNepal
 3 Divisions (Geodetic, Topographical and Cadastral)and 131 District Offices nationwide
 3030 permanent staffs nationwide

SURVEY DEPARTMENT, THE NMO..
 Producer and Disseminator ofInformation
 Regulatory body of Geospatial activities

Geospatial

 Regulating, Monitoring and Coordinating Surveying,
Mapping and Geospatial activities in the country Authority of International Boundary mapping,
maintaining, storing and storing related documents
 Nodal Authority for National Spatial DataInfrastructure
 develop Specification/Standards on Geospatial Informationand Surveying & Mapping The largest employer of Geospatial professionals
 Authority of issuing License to Qualified Surveyors

SURVEY DEPARTMENT, THE NMO..
 Publishes GEOINFORMATICS
Journal at annual basis
 Provides forum to share theexperiences and exchange
professional knowledge.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
SURVEY DEPARTMENTCADASTRAL SURVEY DIVISIONGEODETIC SURVEY DIVISIONTOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY DIVISION
NATIONAL GROGRAPHIC INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE
DIVISION
7SURVEY OFFICES (131)

GEOSPATIAL INFORMATION PRODUCTS
1. SERIES OF NATIONAL TOPOGRAPHICAL MAPS/ DATABASE◦ Terai and Middle hills (scale 1:25000)◦ High hills and Himalayas (scale 1:50000)

Number of sheets
Map Scale

Number of sheets
Map Scale119
1:50 000

a topographical map sheet

563
1:25 000

2. ORTHO-PHOTO MAPS /AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHSNEPALNational Geographic Information
Infrastructure Programme, NGIIP

Orthophoto Map Index

LEGEND1 : 5 000 orthophoto mapping area
1 : 10 000 orthophoto mapping area
Both scalesa Ortho photo map sheet

GEOSPATIAL INFORMATION PRODUCTS…
3. CADASTRAL MAPS THROUGHT THE COUNTRY Digitization and database development in all 104 officesa cadastral map sheet (paper map/digital)
4. NATIONWIDE COVERAGE OF GEODETIC CONTROL NETWORKS HORIZONTAL VERTICAL AIRBORNE GRAVITYGEOSPATIAL INFORMATION PRODUCTS..

GEOSPATIAL INFORMATION PRODUCTS…
7. SOCIO ECONOMIC ATLAS BASEDON POPULATION CENSUS 2001/2011
8. THEMATIC MAPS•ADMINISTRATIVE MAPS•GEOLOGICAL MAPS
•PHYSIOLOGICAL MAPS
9. GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES

10. MANY OTHER PROJECT SPECIFICGEOSPATIAL DATA
11. BOUNDARY INFORMATION SYSTEMINTERNATIONAL AFFILIATIONSSurvey Department is now affiliated withvarious international organizations.
JAXAISCGMINTERNATIONAL WORKSHOPS
Survey Department has successfully convened
 An International workshop jointly on “The Role ofLand Professionals and SDI in Disaster Risk Reduction:in the context of Post 2015 Nepal Earthquake” fromNovember 25-27, 2015 in Kathmandu.
 “United Nations/Nepal Workshop on the Applicationsof Global Navigation Satellite Systems” from 12-16
December in Kathmandu Jointly with the United
Nations’ Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) andCo-organization and Co-sponsorship by theInternational Committee on GNSS(ICG)

NEPAL EARTHQUAKE 2015
April 25, 2015,
Gorkhaearthquake
struck Nepal
 Biggest
Earthquake
after 1934
 Affected 31
districts outof 75.

Devastating Earthquake also affected on the Geodetic
control Network of Nepal including heavy humanlosses.

POST DISASTER FACTS & PRIORITY
Reconstruction and Resettlements
 About 500 settlement areas
were damaged and has to bereconstructed.
 About 200 settlements areunsafe, vulnerable and hazard
prone .
 Earth Observation data andUpdated
geospatial
information is vital forreconstruction
andresettlements in a sustainableway.

POST DISASTER FACTS & PRIORITY
Reconstruction of Damaged Infrastructures like
Schools, Hospitals, Government buildings
 Earth Observation
 Many hydro-electric Projects, Roads,
Governmentbuildings,
Schools,
data and updated
Hospitals and Health posts weregeospatial
badly damaged by the earthquake.
informationisimportanttooptimize
thedevelopment
investments andplanning
Reconstruction
andofsuchinfrastructures.

POST DISASTER FACTS & PRIORITY
Reconstruction of Damaged Historic and Heritage Sites

BeforeAfter• Many popular, historicand heritages sites werecollapsed and badly
damagedbytheearthquake.
• The Reconstruction ofthese heritage sites are inprogress• Earth Observation data
and updated geospatial
information is important
for the reconstruction inright way

POST DISASTER FACTS & PRIORITY
 Has given priority to Establish CORS (Continuously Observed Reference Station) abackbone for all mapping, earth observation and geospatial
information to re-establish the Geodetic Control Network
which was affected by devastating Earthquake.
 Preparation of a common product “Ortho-photo maps withDTM” based on Earth observation data of the earthquake
affected 31 districts.

Re-establishing Geodetic Networkof a country like Nepal with its
given complex topography is achallenging and difficult technicallyas well as financially

FACTS AND PRIORITY
 The new Federal constitution has
recently been promulgated on
September 20, 2015 and is in place.
 For better and effective boundary
demarcation of Provincial states andLocal levels, is in priority.
 The role of earth observation dataand updated geospatial information isequally important for such aimportant activity.
 Survey Department is providing
support in this initiative.

FACTS & PRIORITY
 in Nepal, where¼th of the total
population
lives
below poverty line,
and Nepal lies inthe natural disasterprone Zones

Earth Observation data with updated Geospatial

information
is highly
implementation of SDGs.

importantoneffective

CALL FOR AN INTERNATIONALASSISTANCE An opportunity for professionals, development
partners and industries in this noble andchallenging task of “rehabilitate the Geodetic
Control Network”.
 Technology Transfer and Capacity Building in
geospatial
information
productionandmanagement.
 Technology Transfer and Capacity Building incollecting, analyzing and disseminating Earth
Observation data for implementing SDGs in asustainable way.