Country Profile: Nepal1
Disaster Risk Management:
Policies and Practices in Nepal

Rameshwor Dangal

2

Abstract
Nepal is exposed to multiple recurrent hazards. The country falls in the top 20th list of the most
multi-hazard prone countries in the world. The country is ranked 4th, 11th and 30th in term ofclimate change, earthquake and flood risk respectively. Other major disasters in Nepal arelandslide, fire, drought, epidemic, storm, hailstorm, avalanches and GLOF.
Nepal loses more than 300 lives every year due to water induced disaster. During the period of1971 to 2007, more than 50,000 people have been reported injured; about 27,000 deaths wererecorded, which reveals a persistent threat to huge loss of human lives due to natural disasters.
This accounts for an average death of more than two people every day. The economic costassociated with natural disasters has increased tremendously in each episode of the calamity.
Legislatively, disaster management initiatives have been governed under Natural Calamity (Relief)
Act, 1982. This Act authorizes the government to form a Central Natural Disaster Relief
Committee being chaired by the Minister of Home Affairs at the central level. Regional Natural
Disaster Relief Committee at regional level and District Natural Disaster Relief Committee at
district level. Ministry of Home Affairs is working as a nodal agency of disaster risk managementin Nepal. Importantly, the government has adopted National Strategy for Disaster Risk
Management (NSDRM), 2009 based on Hyogo Framework for Action and this new strategy
encompasses prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.
Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Climate Change Adaptation have become national priority
and being institutionalized to support sustainable development in Nepal. The 10th Five Year Plan
(2002-2007) and the There-Year Interim Plan (2007-2010) emphasized DRM as an integral
component of sustainable development and accorded priority to pre-disaster preparedness.
Ministry of Home Affairs has established a National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC) at
national level and planning to expand it in all development regions within next five years. The
Ministry of Home Affairs with support from the World Bank has prepared country level MultiHazard Risk Assessment. The different hazards including the assessment are earthquake, flood,
drought, landslides and epidemic. The Early Warning Strategy has been prepared and will be

1

Disclaimer: This report was compiled by an ADRC visiting researcher (VR) from ADRC member countries.
The views expressed in the report do not necessarily reflect the views of the ADRC. The boundaries and names
shown and the designations used on the maps in the report also do not imply official endorsement or
acceptance by the ADRC.
2
Under- Secretary-Ministry of Home Affairsinstrumental in developing framework for installation, operation and maintenance of early warning
system for major hazards floods, landslides, GLOFS and drought throughout the country.
A National Platform for DRR has been formed with the involvement of multi-stakeholders. The
government has established disaster risk management focal desk and appointed officials in
different Ministries and Departments to synergize DRR efforts into the works of the relevant line
agencies.

1. General Information of Nepal
1.1. General Background
Nepal is a mountainous country, located in central part of the Himalayan belt. It is situatedbetween the latitudes of 26’22’’to 30’27’’north and the longitudes of 8004’to 880012’’ east. It
covers a landmass area of 1, 47,181sq km. It spreads 145 to 241 Kilometres from north to southand 885 kilometres from east to west. It is located in South Asia occupied only 0.01 percent of thetotal landmass of the Earth. The country borders to north by People’s Republic of China and to
the south, east, and west by the Republic of India.
1.2. Geography
Nepal is characterized by rugged topography, variable climatic conditions, complex geologicalstructure with active tectonic process and continued seismic activities. The elevation of thecountry rises from 70 m. in Terai to 8848 m. Mount Everest in the north within a short horizontal
distance of 145 to 241 Kilometres. Such a sharp vertical landscape renders the country highly
vulnerable to potential water induced disasters like landslide, slope failure, soil erosion and debris
flow. Nepal is divided in three geographical regions- Himalayan, Mountain Hill and Plain Terai, interms of topography from north to south. The Himalayan region covers 15%, Mountain Hills 68%
and the plain Terai 17% of the total area.
1.3. Administrative Division
Nepal was declared a federal republic in 2008. The country is still in the process of creating a
new federal republic constitution and concluding the peace process. Up to day for development
and management purposes, Nepal is administratively divided into 5 Development Regions, 14
Zones, and 75 Districts. There are 3,913 Village Development Committees and 58 Municipalities.
1.4. Demography
The country has approximately 26.6 million populations with annual growth rate of 1.4 percent
average (Population Census 2011). Nepal is the 41st most populous, 93rd largest country bylandmass and 115th largest economy of the world. It has diversity with several race, caste, tribes,
rituals, ethnicity, religion and languages. That means Nepal is multilingual, multicultural,multireligious, and multiethnic society. Nepal is diverse linguistic heritage evolved from four major
languages groups – Indo Aryan, Tibeto Barmen, Mangolian, and Indigenous language isolates.
Nepal is a garden of 102 ethnic, 92 linguistic and 6 religious people living with the social harmony
and unity. The Nepalese population is consists of indo Aryan and Mongol races. Religiously, theoverwhelming populations are Hindus (80.6%) followed by Buddhist (10.7%), Islam (4.2%), Kirat

2

(3.6%), Christians (0.5%) and the others (0.4%). In March 2008 Nepal is declared as a secularstate.
1.5. Socio-economic
Nepal’s life expectancy at birth is 64.1 year (UNDP, 2010) and adult literacy rate (15-24 years) is
86.5 per cent (CBS, 2009). Net enrolment rate in primary education is 93.7 per cent (DOE, 2009).
Population below poverty line is 25.2 per cent (CBS, 2011). Human Development Index of Nepal
is 0.458 (UNDP, 2011). Annual GDP growth rate of Nepal is estimated 3.5 per cent in 2009
(Economic Survey 2010). Inflation rate is 13 per cent. Total GDP for the year 2010 is estimated
US $ 15.108 billion (Global Finance) of which, Primary sector (Agriculture , Forest and Fishery)
contribute around 34 per cent, secondary sector ( also called Industry sector) contribute around
14 per cent and Tertiary sector ( also called service sector) contribute around 51 per cent of thetotal GDP ( Economic Survey 2010). GDP per capita in current price estimated for 2010 is US$536 (Global Finance). 86 per cent of the total foreign trade comprises of imports and remaining
14 per cent are exports, which results huge trade deficit in the economy (Economic Survey 2010).
1.6. Climate
Nepal has five climatic condition /zones from subtropical to arctic broadly corresponding to thealtitudes. The tropical and subtropical zone lies below 1200 meters, the temperate zone 1200 to
2400 meters, the cold zone 2400 to 3600 meters, the subarctic zone 3600 to 4000 meters, andthe arctic zone above 4400 meters. Nepal has four major seasons comprises winter (DecemberFebruary), spring (March-May), summer (June-August), autumn (September-November).
Monsoons become active from June to mid September which brings about 80 per cent of therainfall during that period. Rest of the seasons usually becomes dry. Spring and autumn are themost pleasant seasons. In winter temperature drop to freezing with a high level of snow fall in themountains.

2. Disaster Profiles in Nepal
2.1. Natural Hazards
Nepal has fragile geology and steep topography make 20th topmost disaster prone country in theworld. Among 200 countries, Nepal ranks 4th, 11th and 30th with regard to relative vulnerability to
climate change, earthquake and flood hazards respectively. It faces high magnitudes andintensities of a multitude of natural hazards such as flood, landslide, earthquake, fire, hailstone,
windstorm, thunderbolt, cloudburst, drought, Glacier lake outburst flood (GLOF), avalanches andepidemics. These are the contributing factors to disaster vulnerability in Nepal.
•

Geological, ecological and hydro meteorological phenomena•

Demographic, such as rapid population growth and increasing population density•

High degree of environmental degradation particularly deforestation•

Fragility of landmass•

Wider spread poverty•

Topography which poses huge infrastructural challenge3•

Poor building practices and no enforcement of building codes and unplanned city
development•

Insufficient emergency preparedness and lack of awareness•

Political instability and conflict

Year wise disaster scenario Loss of lives by major types of disasters in Nepal(2000-2011)
year
Flood
Earth- Thunder- fire Hails- Wind- epidemic avalanche&landslide quake bolt
tone
storm
2000
173
0
23
53
1
2
141
2001
196
1
39
26
1
1
154
2002
441
0
3
14
0
3
0
2003
232
0
42
16
0
20
2004
131
0
10
10
0
0
41
2005
141
0
18
28
0
0
34
21
2006
141
0
17
28
1
0
34
2007
216
2008
134
2009
135
2010
201
2011
269
(Source: MoHA)

0
0
0
0
6

35
14
7
39
95

34
11
35
42
46

18
0
0
0
2

1
2
0
2
6

Overall hazard profile of Nepal(Source: Nepal Multi-hazard Risk Assessment Report)

4

9
10
462
34
9

9
0
2
2
0

total
393
418
461
310
192
242
221
322
171
641
320
433

2.2. Landslide and Debris flow
The movement of earth, rock or debris down slope under the influence of gravity by certain
processes is called landslide. Landslide usually occurs as secondary effects of heavy rainfall andearthquakes. A debris flow is slurry of soils, rocks and organic matter combined with air and water.
The causes of landslide in Nepal are natural as well as manmade. In general the middle hills areprone to landslides. The natural phenomena like heavy rainfall, active geotectonic movements,
deforestation and disturbance of hill slopes are also the major causes for occurring landslides.
2.3. Floods
The topographical feature of Nepal is mainly responsible for flood. Flood is caused by heavy
precipitation which may occur at any place except high Himalayan region during the monsoon
season. Inundation along the river banks and erosion of land along the riverbanks causes loss bydamaging irrigation and communications facilities and fertile lands across or adjacent to theriverbanks. Such phenomenon’s have caused loss of lives and property in mountainous areas of
Nepal and have posed severe hazards to physical infrastructure like roads and bridges.
Inundations have disrupted social and economic development of many parts of terrain region in
the country. The floods of August 2008 in Koshi river, September 2008 in Western Nepal and Julyand August 1993 in the Bagmati and other rivers were the most devastating floods in Nepal.
Nepal has observed Monsoon flood as well as Flash flood. Rainfall variability (unequal rainfall intime and space), topography (steep Mountain and flat Tarai), Deforestation (decreasing
vegetative cover) are the major factors contributing to the floods in Nepal.
2.4. Earthquake
The Nepalese people are living in a country of highest seismic hazard, have faced theconsequences of many earthquakes including those of great earthquakes. 45 million years ago,
the Indian continent collided into Southern Tibet. The Indian continent is driven under Tibet,
pushing lightweight sediments upwards and thus the formation of the Himalayas. Nepal sits
across the boundary between India and southern Tibet which are still moving towards each otherby 2 meters per century. This movement creates pressure within the Earth, which builds up andcan only be released through earthquakes. This is the only way earthquakes can happen in Nepal.
Earthquakes happen very often in Nepal. Based on the seismic record of the number ofearthquakes that occurred since 1255, earthquakes of magnitude greater than 8 occurred on
average once every 80 years. The last great earthquake of magnitude 8.3 occurred in 1934. The
seismic record of Nepal is available since 1255 AD in which 7.7 reactor scale in Kathmandu
valley king Avaya Malla and one third of population lost their lives in this event. After that, a seriesof earthquake occurred in Nepal. Major are in 1260, 1408, 1681, 1767, 1810, 1823, 1833, 1834,
1866, 1934, 1980 and 1988 AD. According to the seismological center of Nepal medium andsmall size earthquake event occur in a different part of Nepal frequently. According to Global
earthquake Initiatives, Kathmandu is exposed to the greatest earthquake risk per capita among
21 megacities around the world, largely due to building collapse and insufficient preparedness

5and medical care. If an earthquake of the 1934 magnitude is reported at this point of time, anestimated 40,000 death, 90,000 injured and 6, 00,000 to 9, 00,000 homeless can be expected.
Earthquake hazard profile of Nepal

2.5 Fire
Fire is a recurring disaster in Nepal. During the dry season from February to May, large numbersof incident of fire are reported, mostly in the Terai where about three quarter of houses are builtwith thatched roofs.
Forest fires occur throughout Nepal and result deforestation of around 1.7 per cent of the total
forest area annually. These fires cause economic losses and environmental degradation throwing
dedicates ecosystems out of balance. It is also threatening valuable and endangered flora andfauna, degrading the soil and inducing flood and landslide.
Most of the fire incidents are caused by negligence of the people. Hunting practices, negligenceby cigarette smoker, intentional fire to accelerate growth of grasses to feed livestock, intentionalfire setting by herb and charcoal collectors and children playing with fires are some of the reasonsfor forest fires. Certain type of trees especially Sal (shores Robusta) is particularly susceptible tofire. About 86 per cent of the population of the country inhabit in the rural areas mainly in thatchedhouses closely clustered where fire hazards are likely to be common.
2.6. Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF)
Glacial lakes are like natural water reservoirs dammed by ice or moraines. Lake outburst can betriggered by several factors: ice or rock avalanches, the collapse of the moraine dam due to themelting of ice buried within, the washing out of fine material by springs flowing through the (piping)earthquakes or sudden inputs of water into the lake e.g. through heavy rains or drainage fromlakes further up glacier. ICIMODs 2001 inventory of glaciers, glacial lakes and GLOFs counted
3252 glaciers and 2323 glaciers lakes in Nepal 20 of which are very vulnerable to flooding (MoHA,
2009).

6

GLOF affects high Himalayan region as well as downstream by extremely damages of lives andproperties. Major events shown in past were Tamor Koshi (1980), Sun Kosi (1935, 1981), Dudh
Kosi (1977, 1985), Arun (1968, 1969, 1970) etc.
2.7. Drought
In Nepal, most of the country is in the grip of drought-like condition from the end of March till the
monsoon arrives next in June, but the districts like Manang and Mustang in the Trans-Himalayan
region are extremely dry throughout the year and the Terai and western hills are more frequently
affected than other regions. Drought results in crop failures and famine, both during the monsoon
season and rest of the year, when winter crops are sown.
About 5,000 families living in pockets in the hills and Terai are badly affected by drought eachyear (MoHA, 2009). Planned land use with crop rotation, rain water harvesting, droughtmonitoring, using recycle water, developing irrigation system, water rationing are some of thestrategy which help to minimize impact of drought.
2.8. Others
About 300 people died in June and July month of 2009 in Midwestern part of the country. by the
epidemic of diarrhea ( MoHA 2010) and other disaster are drought, hailstone, thunderbolt,
avalanche, boat capsize, structure collapse, cold wave, hot wave, swine flu, bird flu, encephalitis,
meningitis is common during hot and rainy season. The lightening, hailstorm are other natural
disaster. The sudden avalanche and heavy snow fall in winter season sometimes cause heavy
loss of human lives and properties. Road accident and Aircraft accidents are also major source ofdisaster in Nepal. In Nepal, road accidents are one of the top ten causes of death. Aircraft
accidents are more common in hilly terrain and areas with extreme climatic condition.
An Overview of Natural Disasters in Nepal from 1980 - 2010
¾ No of events: 78¾ No of people killed: 11,112¾

Average killed per year: 358¾ No of people affected: 5,165,810¾ Average affected per year: 166,639¾ Ecomomic Damage (US$ X 1,000): 1,351,229¾ Ecomomic Damage per year (US$ X 1,000): 43,588

7

(Source: Prevention web)A scenario of past disastrous events during 1980-2010 reveals that epidemics, landslide andfloods takes the largest toll of life every year, and urban or rural fire are the principle hazards interms of their extent and frequency of occurrence as well as the spread and intensity of physicaland socio-economic impacts. Earthquake is a major potential hazard to reckon with – the country
is located on an active seismic belt and the exponential urbanization trend over the past decadewith general disregard of earthquake-resistant measures in building construction is the cause ofever-increasing earthquake risk.

3. Legal Arrangement
3.1. Natural Calamity (Relief) Act, 1982
NCRA 1982 is a milestone legal instrument for disaster management in Nepal. The act wasformulated in 1982 and amended in 1989 and 1992. According to NCRA 1982, Natural Disastermeans earthquake, fire, storm, flood, landslide, heavy rain, drought, famine, epidemic, and othersimilar natural disaster. The Act also includes industrial accident or accidents caused by the
explosions or any other kinds of disaster.
Similarly, the Act defines Natural disaster relief work as “any relief work carried out in the area
affected or likely to be affected by the natural disaster in order to removed the grief andinconvenience caused to the people, to rehabilitate the victims of the natural disaster, to protect
the public property and life and property of the people, to control and prevent the natural disasterand to make advance preparation thereof”.
According to the Act, the provision has been made to set up different institutions from centre to
local level to arrange relief and rescue works during the emergency. There has been a provisionof Central Natural Disaster Relief Committee (CNDRC) with Relief and Treatment sub- committee8and Supply, Shelter and Rehabilitation sub- committee at the centre level as an apex body ofdisaster management in Nepal. There is also provision of a Regional Natural Disaster Relief
Committee (RDRC), District Natural Disaster Relief Committee (DDRC) and Local Natural
Disaster Relief Committee (LDRC). Among those institutions CNDRC and DDRC are very much
active all the time, but two subcommittees and RDRC and LDRC could not be functioning as per
the stipulated manner.
The Act also empowers the government to the state of emergency during the intensive disaster. It
also furnishes some special rights to the disaster manager for managing rescue and relief work in
an effective and efficient manner. It also empowers the government to allocate for dedicated fundat central to local level as a Disaster Relief Fund for delivering effective relief and rescue during
the disaster.

3.2. Local Self Governance Act, 1999
The Local Self Governance Act (LSGA) empowers local bodies to govern themselves andrecognises that local people and local bodies are the most appropriate points of entry to meetdevelopment needs at the local level. The LSGA authorizes to undertake certain functions withrespect to DRR by local bodies. Some provisions have been made to establish Environment
Protection Fund and Disaster Management Fund at DDCs, VDCs and Municipalities. Control ofnatural calamities, prevention of infectious disease and epidemics, operation and management offire brigades, developing mitigating and preventive measures against landslide and foods aresome of the assigned task that local bodies can pursue by using the legal authority granted by the
LSGA.

4. Policies and Programmes
4.1. National Strategy for Disaster Risk Management (NSDRM) 2009
The NSDRM was promulgated in 2009. This strategy has been developed on the base of Hyogo
Framework for Action (HFA) 2005. A detailed process was adopted during the preparation of the
NSDRM, 2009. Multiple occasions were organised to solicit the view of governmental, nongovernmental agencies, local bodies, academic institutions, private sector, UN agencies, INGOs,
and civil society organisations
The long term vision of the strategy is to develop Nepal as a disaster-resilient community. It has
also a mission to provide guidance and ensure effective disaster management throughdevelopment and implementation of the concept of effective preparedness for mitigation, disasterrisk reduction and incidence of calamities.
Besides this, the strategy has been adopted the following directive principles for disaster risk
management.
Mainstream DRR concept into the development plan
Ensure life safety and social security

9Give emphasis to gender and social inclusion
Adopt decentralize process of implementation
Follow the holistic approach
Give priority to staff safety and security
Follow one-window policy and cluster approach in implementation of DRM
Work in the spirit of participation, interaction, and coordination
The strategy has been framed on the foundation of five priority actions of HFA 2005. In addition,
29 activities have been identified within the priority areas. Realizing that disaster management isa multidimensional and multi-sectoral responsibility, sectoral strategies have also been adopted.
Those sectors are broadly divided into nine areas, which are Agriculture and Food Security,
Health, Education, Shelter, Infrastructure and Physical Planning, Livelihood Protection, Water andSanitation, Information, Communication, Coordination and Logistics, Search and Rescue andDamage and Need Assessment.
The strategy has also proposed new institutional arrangement for disaster management which
entail the formation of a National Disaster Management Council (NDMC) being chaired by Prime
Minister. Besides, it also envisions National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) as asecretariat of the council where other three committees under the council for preparedness,
rescue and relief and reconstruction and rehabilitation activities.
The strategy realizes that disaster management is possible only through integrated, participatory,
and collaborative involvement of all partners. As such due importance is given to UN agencies,
donor community, inter-governmental agencies, I/NGOs, and people from different segments ofcivil societies.
4.2. Flagship Approach on Disaster Risk Reduction
An International Consortium was formed in May 2009 to support the Government of Nepal todevelop a long term Disaster Risk Reduction Action Plan building on the National Strategy for
Disaster Risk Management (NSDRM). Members of the Consortium are the Asian Development
Bank (ADB), the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC),
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) and theWorld Bank. In addition, the Consortium initiated a multi-stakeholder participatory process with
the Government of Nepal and civil society organizations to identify short to medium term disasterrisk reduction priorities that are both urgent and viable within the current institutional and policy
arrangements in the country.
Based on the priorities set by the government and also discussions with multi-stakeholder groups,
five flagship areas of immediate action for disaster risk management in Nepal are as follows:•

School and hospital safety- structural and non-structural aspects of making schools andhospitals earthquake resilient,•

Emergency preparedness and response capacity

10•

Flood management in the Koshi river basin•

Integrated community based disaster risk reduction/management•

Policy/Institutional support for disaster risk management

The estimated total budget of the three-year Flagship Programmes is US $131.1 million.
In developing the programme, the priorities outlined in the ‘Hyogo Framework of Action 20052015, Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters’, and the Outcomes of the
Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (2009), which sets out specific targets for reducing
losses from disasters, were taken into account.
On 19 March 2010 the Government formally established the Nepal Risk Reduction Consortium(NRRC) Steering Committee, chaired by the Secretary of Home Affairs. Members include the
Joint Secretaries of the Ministries of Finance, Education, Irrigation, Local Development, PhysicalPlanning, Health and Population, and the National Planning Commission. Directors andRepresentatives of the ADB, WB, UNDP, OCHA, IFRC, NRCS, and DP-Net are also members.
The Joint Secretary of MoHA is Member Secretary.
4.3. Periodic Plans
Disaster Management Programs was first included in the 10th national plan (2002-2007) of thegovernment of Nepal. Chapter 17 emphasized on the irrigation and water induced disaster control,
where as chapter 22 deals on population, environment and natural and human induced disastermanagement. Both chapters reiterate the priority on policy formulation, strengthening institutional
mechanism, risk assessment, information collection and dissemination regarding the disastermanagement. Both chapters also emphasized on the low costs disaster resilience construction
practices.
Similarly, the Three Year Interim Plan (2007/08-2009/10) devoted separate chapter (chapter 26)
on natural disaster management. The interim plan emphasizes on policy formulation,
strengthening institutional mechanism, EWS, coordinated approach for DRR and linking disastermanagement with climate change. It is hoped that this attempt would be a landmark in the history
of Disaster Management.
The plan has set up its vision to minimize social and economic loss and damage caused bydisasters. The main objective of plan is to promote the security of life and property from theimpact of natural disasters through sustainable, environment-friendly and result oriented
development by making disaster management practices efficient, competent, strengthened andeffective.
Develop and apply environment-friendly systems in development and construction works,
appropriate information flow and pre- disaster preparedness for the mitigation of risks of natural
disaster, strengthen collaborative works between the government, non government and private
sector for rapid response and recovery are the major strategies of the plan. The plan has listed
the programs of formulation of national strategy, awareness raising, preparedness for effective

11

response and recovery, study and research, risk and hazard zone mapping, stockpiling of relief
and rescue materials, and enhancement of involvement of local bodies.
Current 12th three year development plan (2010/11-2012/13) was also devoted separate chapter
for disaster management issues. This plan addressed disaster management issues morecomprehensively.12th three year development plan set its disaster management goal to achievegoal of Hyogo Framework for Action by 2015. Long term goal of the plan is to develop disaster
resilient Nepal. Moreover, mainstreaming disaster risk reduction, institutional and legal reformand preparedness for better response are the strategies of this plan.

4.4. Other Laws and Policies•

Soil and water conversation act, 1982•

Nepal building act, 2007 and Building Code, 1994•

Environmental protection act, 1996•

National agriculture policy, 2004•

National shelter policy, 1996•

National urban policy, 2006•

National water plan, 2005 and Water resource policy, 1993•

National water resource strategy, 2002•

Water induced disaster management policy, 2006•

Strategies related to health sector

5. Institutional Mechanism
5.1. Ministry of Home Affairs
Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) acts as National Focal Agency on Disaster Management andlead agency responsible for implementation of the Natural Calamity (Relief) Act, 1982. The MoHA
is also responsible for rescue and relief work, data collection and dissemination, as well as
collection and distribution of funds and resources. The assigned task has being implemented
through Disaster Management Section and National Emergency Operation Centre under theleadership of Planning and Special Service Division of the Ministry.
5.2. Central Natural Disaster Relief Committee (CNDRC)
CNDRC is chaired by the Home Minister and includes related ministries and security agencies
along with voluntary organizations such as NRCS. CNDRC is responsible for preparing national
policies on preparedness, response and recovery and ensuring their implementation, stockpiling
relief and rescue materials, collecting and disseminating relief materials and fund during
emergency, give direction to the district and local committees for the execution of relief work. To
support the functioning of CNDRC, there is Sub-committees of Relief and Treatment, and Supply,
Shelter and Rehabilitation.

12

Central Natural Disaster Relief Committee
Sub-Committees

Relief and Treatment
Sub-Committee

Supply, Shelter andRehabilitation Subcommittee

Regional Natural Disaster Relief Committee

District Disaster Relief Committee

Local Disaster Relief Committee (VDC or
Municipality

5.3. Regional Disaster Relief Committee (RDRC)
RDRC is present in all five regions of Nepal and is chaired by the Regional Administrator. It
comprises related government agencies and security agencies (law and order, emergency
response and development institutions) along with voluntary organizations such as Red Cross. It
is responsible for supporting and monitoring the activities implemented by DDRCs and formulates
regional and district level disaster management plan.
5.4. District Disaster Relief Committee (DDRC)
All 75 districts of Nepal have a DDRC. The chairperson is the Chief District Officer (CDO), who is
the highest-level government official to take disaster-related decisions. It comprises various line
agencies such as law and order, emergency response (police and armed police), district chapter
of NRCS and critical facilities such as irrigation, road, livestock, health etc. The role of DDRC is tocoordinate the local committees, formulate district disaster management plan, coordinate andoperate relief work during emergencies and provide information to RDRC and CNDRC.
5.5. Local Disaster Relief Committee (LDRC)The committee is responsible for disaster management at the local level, such as disbursement offunds during emergencies, and rescue and transport of the injured to hospitals.

5.6. Other Government Institutions Working on Disaster Risk Management•
Ministry of Irrigation•

Ministry of Defence•

Ministry of Energy

13•Ministry of Physical Planning and Works•

Ministry of Environment•

Ministry of Local Development•

Ministry of Health and Population•

Ministry of Forest and Soil Conservation•

Department of Water Induced Disaster Prevention•

Department of Mines and Geology•

Department of Hydrology and Meteorology•

Department of Soil Conservation and Watershed Management•

Department of Irrigation•

Epidemiology and Disease Control Division•

Other government Ministries and Departments•

And Local Bodies

6. Progress of HFA in Nepal
Nepal is a signatory country to HFA 2005. It has already expressed a commitment to achieve the
HFA goals by 2015. So far, Nepal has submitted two HFA progress monitoring report. Nepal has
achieved the following progresses which are also featured in HFA final report.

Strategic goal 1
The more effective integration of disaster risk considerations into sustainable development
policies, planning and programming at all levels, with a special emphasis on disaster prevention,
mitigation, preparedness and vulnerability reduction.
•

The 10th five year plan (2002-2007) underscored that the main objective of DRR as tocontribute substantially to make the public life secure by managing the natural and man-madedisaster systematically and effectively.
•

The 3-year interim plan (2008-2010) also emphasized that DRR is an integral componentof sustainable development and is accorded priority to pre-disaster preparedness.
•

National Strategy for Disaster Risk Management (NSDRM) 2009 has been adopted.

•

Sixty Seven districts have disaster preparedness plans.

•

At local level the 3-year interim plan (2008-2010) has envisaged to enhance theengagements of local bodies and communities in the prevention works.
•

3 municipalities have started implementing safe building construction practices using theseismic code provisions in the local context.
•

Multi-Hazard Risk Assessment has been done which covers five major hazards.

Strategic goal 2
The development and strengthening of institutions, mechanisms and capacities at all levels, inparticularity the community level that can systematically contribute to building resilience tohazards.

14

•The Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) is the nodal agency for coordinating disastermanagement in Nepal.
•

International coordination mechanism with relevant stakeholder’s linkages has beendeveloped at MoHA and strengthened to enhance the institutional capacity for implementing DRR
activities in the country.
•

NSDRM proposes High Level Council and Disaster Management Authority.

•

Local Self-Governance Act (1998) which has initiated decentralization process and local

bodies are delegated more authority, responsibility and resources.
•

The government has established disaster risk management focal desk and appointed

officials in concern ministries, departments.
•

Cluster Approach has been adopted.

•

Risk Reduction Consortium comprising of ADB, IFRC, UNDP, UNOCHA, UNISDR andWorld Bank has formed and identified five flagship areas of immediate intervention for DRR.

Strategic goal 3
The systematic incorporation of risk reduction approaches into the design and implementation of
emergency preparedness, response and recovery program in the reconstruction of affected
communities.
•

Disaster preparedness and response workshop has been conducted at national, regionaland district level with multi-stakeholders involvement.
•

One window policy and cluster approach in emergency response has been successfully

realized in dealing with different disasters in the past.
•

For initial damage and loss estimation, a standard information collection process using

Multi-Sectoral Initial Rapid Assessment (MIRA) has been practiced since 2009.
•

64 open spaces for evacuation during emergencies have been identified within

Kathmandu valley.
•

National Emergency Operation Center ( NEOC) has been established at MOHA•

Hospital Preparedness for Emergencies (HoPE), Medical First Respondent (MFR) and

Collapsed Structure Search and Rescue (CSSR) training are being given to Medical officers andsecurity officers.
•

Earthquake Simulation Exercise (INSARAG) has been conducted in 2009.

•

Model agreement between GON and UN to expedite import/export and transit of relief

consignments in the event of disasters and emergencies was signed on 31 May, 2007.

•

A comprehensive Logistics Capacity Assessment of Nepal has been done.

15

Challenges for implementing HFA
Mainstreaming DRR•
The new development policy of Nepal acknowledges the incorporation of DRR intodevelopment plans. However, what is reflected and underscored in the plans is not substantiatedin the annual programs and budgets.
•

One of the reasons for this is lack of tools to assess contribution of an investment indevelopment sectors towards disaster resiliency of a community and/or nation.
•

A separate and robust mechanism is required in place to assess disaster resiliency of the

project itself and also of its contribution toward disaster resiliency of a community.
Institutional strengthening and capacity building•
The emergency response and relief approach is so entrenched in the current system that
it will take time to mobilize the system to more comprehensive disaster risk management
approach.
•

The new policy and act - currently in pipeline- will be instrumental to gear up the efforts

towards changing the existing mindset.
•

The new policy and act will also authorize the government to arrange and mobilize

sufficient budget with straight mechanism to spend on mitigation, preparedness and recovery.
•

The new legal and policy frameworks are expected to empower the government toundertake preparedness of better emergency response in effective way.
•

Although emergency response has been the main thrust of the disaster risk managementin the previous years, it was basically ‘wait and see’ approach with spontaneous reactions toprovide rescue and relief.
•

SOPs have not been fully developed, institutional mechanisms are in need ofstrengthening•

There is need to develop network of EOC across the country from central to local level.

7. Conclusion
It is encouraging to state that policy makers have realized that disaster risk management is a key
to achieve sustainable development. First time in 10th Plan and since then DRM has beenfeatured in national plan like Three Year Interim Plan 2007-10. After becoming signatory to HFA
2005, the government prioritized DRR in its development agenda and adopted National Strategy
on Disaster Risk Management in 2009. The NSDRM, 2009 has clearly incorporated five priority
areas as stipulated in HFA. A flagship approach has been introduced for immediate action fordisaster risk management in Nepal.
National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) facilitates effective emergency management.
National Platform on DRR has been formed to make DRR effort more cooperative andcollaborative between governmental and non-governmental actors. DRR Focal desk has been
instrumental for effective implementation of disaster risk reduction related policies and programsin relevant ministries, departments, security agencies and local bodies.

16

Although the MoHA has achieved some fresh progress on policy and institutional levels and stillsome are in the offing, there ahead lies a well implementation and smooth functioning of policies
and programmes. Adequate resources, commitment, cooperation and collaboration are always
needed to bring these policies and programs into fruition. Mainstreaming DRR in sectoraldevelopment, effective implementation of building code and building act, implementation of land
use and settlement planning, changing mindset of the people, development and strengthening ofeffective institutions on DRR are some pressing issues in disaster management of Nepal.

8. ADRC Counterpart
Ministry of Home Affairs ,Nepal
Planning and Special Service Division
Joint Secretary
Mr. Laxmi Prasad Dhakal
Tel: 977-1-4211241
Email: lxd321@gmail.com

9. Bibliography
GON, 1982: Natural Calamity (Relief) Act, 2039, Government of Nepal, Kathmandu
GON, 1999: Local Self Governance Act, 2055, Government of Nepal, Kathmandu
MOHA, 2009: National Strategy on Disaster Risk Management, 2009, Ministry of Home Affairs,
Kathmandu
MOHA, 2009: Nepal Disaster Report, 2009, Ministry of Home Affairs, Kathmandu
NPC, 2059: Tenth Plan, 2059-2064, National Planning Commission, Kathmandu
NPC, 2064: Three Year Interim Plan, 2064-2067, National Planning Commission, Kathmandu
MOHA, 2010: Disaster Scenario in Nepal (Unpublished data), Disaster Management section,
Ministry of Home Affairs, Kathmandu
MOHA, 2010 b: Draft of Disaster Management Bill 2010, Ministry of Home Affairs, Kathmandu
MOF, 2010: Economic Survey 2066-67, Ministry of Finance, Kathmandu
NPC, 2010: Nepal Millennium Development Goals Progress Report, National Planning
Commission, Kathmandu
WHO: Nepal Hazard Profile and Disaster Preparedness, World Health Organization, Kathmandu
in www.searo.who.int
Marasini, S, 2008: A country Paper on Disaster Risk Reduction Management in Nepal, Presented
in Visiting Researcher Program, ADRC, Kobe, Japan
UNDP, 2010: Nepal Human Development Report 2010, United Nations Development Program,
Kathmandu
DOE, 2009: Flash 1 Report, Department of Education, Kathmandu
CBS, 2009: Report on the Labour Force Survey 2008, Central Bureau of Statistics, Kathmandu
Global Finance: www.gfmag.com/gdp-data-country-reports.html
CBS, 2011: Preliminary Report of Census 2011
CBS, 2011: Third Nepal Living Standard Survey, 2011
Prevention Web: www.preventionweb.net
MoHA 2011: Nepal Multi-hazard Risk Assessment Report 201117