Global
Resource
Management
Journal for Information, Study and Discussion of Global Resource Management, Doshisha University
同志社大学リーディング大学院

グローバル・リソース・マネジメント ジャーナル

Vol.5

Table of ContentsVol. 5 issued March 2019

I. Research Note ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・1
Mostafa Khalili, Yan Chen, Chayadit Pumaneratkul

II. Course Reports ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・20
1. 2018 Joint Seminar II ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・20- Hajjaj, Mohammed Awad ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・20- Zhang, Wenyu

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・25- Hosnieh, Elham ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・29

2. 2018 On-Site Training Course ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・33-Hajjaj, Mohammed Awad ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・33

G l o b a l R e s o u r c e Ma na gement J o ur na l V o l .5

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Impacts of Dam Construction on the Livelihood of Villages in Thailand and Laosalong the Lower Mekong Basin: From the Locals’ Perspective
1

2

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Mostafa Khalili, Yan Chen, Chayadit Pumaneratkul

Abstract:
This research presents the multi-dimensional impacts of dam construction, focusing on local people’s
narratives and general field observations using the Mekong River as a case-study.
In recent years, several cascade dams have been constructed in the Upper Mekong Basin, in Yunnan provinceof China. In the Lower Basin, Xayaburi Dam is the first of a further eleven dams planned for construction in thenear future. Due to the lack of comprehensive environmental and social impact assessment studies for any of the
projects, the livelihood and food security of a large population living along the transnational Mekong River havelargely been neglected.
Using a qualitative approach, this research is a small step towards highlighting the significance of the locals’
perspective as an important factor in the process of development planning. The way locals understand and analyze
the socio-economic and environmental impacts of these dams on the rural livelihood is of interest to this research.
The fieldwork was conducted at two rural sites along the Thai-Lao border near Vientiane and Nong Khai cities tocomparatively analyze the perception of local communities on the environmental changes in the Lower Mekong
Basin. A total of 25 interviews were conducted together with the observation of social life in both countries. The
results show that Laotian villagers felt the changes in fishery and sediment much more than their counterparts in
Thailand. Since they still rely on the traditional ways of fishery and fish is the primary source of food for many ofthem, they are more vulnerable than the Thai communities.
Moreover, the interviews indicate that while many of the Thai villagers blame the Chinese dams for the
recent changes, Laotians believe that the construction of the Xayaburi Dam is the main reason. Moreover, it wasobserved that Laotians are less inclined to talk about the issue. This confirms the multidimensional nature ofdevelopment planning when environmental observations alone should not be the only basis for decision making.
Two environmentally similar but socio-politically different regions can be affected in dramatically different ways,
as exemplified in this case study.
Keywords: dam construction impacts, Lower Mekong Basin, rural livelihood, social resistance
Table of Contents
I.

Introduction

II.

Research Methodology

III.

Background of the StudyIV.

Literature Review

V.

Transboundary Impacts of the Dams on Rural Livelihood

VI.

Conclusion

1

Graduate School of Global Studies, Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan

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Graduate School of Global Studies, Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan

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Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan

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Ⅰ . Introduction
This project portrays local perceptions of the multiple impacts of mainstream dam construction on the socioeconomic and environmental situations. Against the background of a lack of independent and comprehensive
feasibility studies, the primary objective of this research is to contribute, however small, to the development ofstrategies for the sustainable development of water resources including the locals’ perspective in countries locatedin the Mekong Delta.
Having a social perspective, this project investigates how the local people’s lives have been affected asa result of the environmental changes in the Lower Mekong Basin through assessing their awareness about
the adverse impacts of dam construction and their strategies to cope with the consequences. In addition to theliterature review, we adopted a qualitative approach by conducting semi-structured interviews mainly with thehead of households whose income directly depends on the Mekong River, as well as with some officials, NGOs
and community leaders. Two major cities along the Mekong River - Vientiane, the capital of Laos, and Nong Khai,the largest city across the Mekong in Thailand - were selected as the target cities for our research. The justification
for selecting these cities was to compare the impacts in two countries under different political and social situations,but having the same environmental issues. The main research question of the project is as follows:- What factors explain the main differences between the Thai and Lao people’s approach regarding theirperception about the recent environmental changes?
While economic and political interests seem to be the main factors driving countries to construct dams
regardless of their impacts on the environment and communities, this project endeavors to show the adverse
impacts of constructing cascade dams on the Mekong River prioritizing the locals’ perception. While Xayaburi
Dam in Laos is already under construction, three other large dams are to be constructed between Xayaburi
Dam and the target cities of this project. Therefore, there is a vital need for the cooperation of social scientists,
engineers and politicians to minimize possible negative impacts on the environment as well as the livelihood of
the vulnerable population.
As a potential threat to the large population living in the Lower Mekong Basin in four different countries,
this project aims to meet the objectives of the Global Resource Management Program at Doshisha University, by
engaging researchers from different disciplines of social science and engineering. As no comprehensive researchhas been undertaken by major investors of the donors such as ADB, WB, UNDP or the Asia Foundation, we hope
this research will add a different angle to the existing literature.
Following this introduction, the second chapter discusses the research methodology as well as the team’s
limitations in conducting fieldwork in different parts. The third chapter provides a general background required forthis research. After an introduction to the significance of the Mekong River to the livelihood of the region and the
upstream dams, the debates on the construction of Xayaburi Dam are discussed. Then, changes in the environment,
sediments and the fish volume are discussed from an objective point of view in the literature review part. Next, theresults of the fieldwork in assessing the transboundary impacts on the villagers in the Lower Mekong Basin along
the Thai and Laos border are presented. In the concluding remarks, the differences in the perceptions of villagers
in Thailand and Laos regarding the reasons for the recent changes are documented.
Ⅱ . Research Methodology
Taking an interdisciplinary qualitative approach, our team consists of three Ph.D. students from different
academic backgrounds (one from Science and Engineering, two from Global Studies, with one of the latter having
an Engineering background), and a supervisor who is an expert on earth system science.
Prior to the fieldwork, a literature review was conducted on the topic, primarily to gather information on
the environmental changes from a scientific viewpoint. To that end, some scholars, representatives of majororganizations and several active NGOs were contacted to gain insight into the environmental and socioeconomic impact of the dams in the Mekong region. The organizations included the Mekong River Committee,
International Rivers (HQ in the U.S., branch office in Bangkok), Department of Water Resource Engineering,
Kasetsart University (Thailand) and Watch the Mekong (Japan and Thailand). No reply from the Mekong River
Committee was received; however, an interview was held in Bangkok with the Southeast Asia Program Director ofInternational Rivers. Moreover, meetings with Professors from Kasetsart University in Bangkok and some experts
in different disciplines from Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan, were held to acquire knowledge on the relevant
fields.

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Two areas around 400 kilometers downstream from the Xayaburi Dam were selected as the research field.
The first was located in the suburban region of Nong Khai city, Thailand.
In addition to our observations of villagers’ daily lives, the infrastructures in the region and ordinary talks
with the locals, we conducted in total 11 individual interviews with the head of households and one groupinterview with three families in the villages on the Thai side. The questions included basic attributes of theinterviewees and their families, such as age, year of schooling, number of households, the occupation of eachfamily member, the source of income and food, their livelihood dependency on the Mekong River and theirresistance strategies. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and open-ended questions were asked on
the changes that had happened in the years since the construction of the Xayaburi Dam. The interviews wereconducted in the Thai language and were translated into English by the Thai-speaking member of the team. All theinterviews were recorded and carefully transcribed.
Furthermore, 13 interviews were conducted in the same way on the other side of the Mekong River bankin Vientiane, Laos. Following the local leaders, interviewees were selected randomly from fishermen who fishedon the river bank, or whose house was close to the river. A very similar questionnaire was used to conduct theinterviews.
To obtain official permission to conduct the research in Laos, an official request was submitted to the
National University of Laos. The team obtained permission from the Lao government to conduct the research;however, a request for assistance from the National University of Laos was rejected as there was no academic
cooperation between the universities. Thus, the interviews in Laos were all conducted with the help of someofficials, with personal connections to the group, who asked that their identity be kept confidential.
As the political situation in Thailand and Laos is very different, restrictions on performing the fieldwork weredistinct. Our contacts with a few NGOs in Laos failed to get any response. We asked the NGOs in Thailand toconnect us with their counterparts in Laos; however, they rejected such request for political reasons. Few officials
whom we met were not directly working on the focal issues of our research. Failure to get a response from theofficials in charge, the small number of interviewees and the political restrictions were our main limitations in
conducting the research.
Ⅲ . Background to the StudyIn this part, first, we will present a general overview of the Mekong River in order to better understand theimportance of the river to the people and countries in the region both from the environmental and socio-economic
viewpoint. After that, information about several dams that have been operational, planned or under construction
is reviewed. The dams are divided into two parts of the Upper Mekong Basin (in China) and the lower Mekong
Basin (in Laos and Cambodia). The last part is dedicated to Xayaburi Dam, the first dam under construction in
the Lower Mekong Basin. Since the fieldwork for this study was conducted close to this dam, understanding theoperational and legal process of its construction was crucial for this research.
A. General Overview of the Mekong River
The Mekong River is one of the longest transboundary rivers in Asia. It is about 4,350 km long, servicing
more than 810,000 km2 of land. The upper reach of the Mekong River rises as the Zhaqu River on the Tibetan
Plateau in Qinghai province, China and flows through the Tibetan Autonomous Region and then through Yunnan
Province as the Lancang River until it arrives at the meeting point of the borders of Burma, Laos and China (1,955
km). The lower Mekong Basin downstream of the Chinese border comprises the majority of the land area of Lao
PDR and Cambodia, the northern and northeast regions of Thailand and the Mekong Delta and Central Highland
regions of Vietnam (2,390 km).
About 60 million people live in the Lower Mekong Basin, according to national population statistics ofthe four LMB countries, about 85% of which live in rural areas (Landscan data 2007). Most of them live nearrivers, lakes and wetlands, with 25 million living within a 15 km corridor either side of the Mekong mainstream(Landscan data 2007). A total of 53% of the Lao population and 4% of the Thai population are distributed within
this corridor and 79% of the 15 km corridor population live within 5 km of the mainstream.
The biodiversity of the Mekong River and its tributaries has supported water resource-based rural livelihoodsin this region for generations (Mollot et al. 2003; Meusch et al. 2003). Farming, fishing and the collection of otherR es ea r ch No te4aquatic animals and plants comprise the main livelihood activities
and sources of food and cash income. In Lao PDR, more than 70% of
rural households depend on fishing to varying degrees for subsistence
livelihoods and additional cash income.
The high degree of dependence of the population onwater resources for livelihoods and food security implies a highvulnerability to declining availability, quality and diversity of theresources. The uneven distribution of the population and varied
degree of dependence suggest a disparity in the distribution of impactsof changes in the resources across national, social and ecologicalboundaries and social groups.
At Siphandone, on the Lao mainstream, just under 40% ofhouseholds receive some income from fish, far more than in Thailand
or Vietnam, where less than 10% of households obtain income fromthis source. The way people engage in fishery differs according totheir wealth: to fish in the main rivers often requires a considerable
investment in boats, motors and nets, while in habitats like flooded
forests, wetlands and streams, more impoverished people can use
simple gear to collect fish and other aquatic organisms such as frogs,
snails and insects (Mollot et al. 2003).

Figure1. Dams on the Mekong RiverCGIARS / Internationalrivers.org

Table 1. Mainstream Hydropower Schemes in the Upper Mekong Basin (Lancang River, YunnanProvince, China)

B. Dams on the Mainstream of the Mekong River
Scientists usually divide the study of environmental issues concerning the Mekong River into two parts of
the Upper and Lower Basin. Following this tradition, we will present an overview of different operational andunder-construction projects in both parts.
Since 1993, the projects of constructing cascade dams on the Upper Mekong Basin have commenced.
With the last phase of the Nuozhadu Hydropower Plant commissioned in 2014, the installed capacity in Yunnan
Province of China, i.e., the Upper Mekong Basin, totaled 15.4 GW for six dams (See Table 1). The Ganlanba
project will be operated as a regulation reservoir to smooth the release of discharge to the downstream, which
as of now is being performed by the Jinghong project. Detailed information about the installed capacity andcommissioning of the Mengsong project is not available yet.
While Table 1 only includes the major hydroelectric projects in Yunnan Province, China has developed otherin the upper reach of the Lancang River (upper half of the Mekong River). Moreover, seven projects in Yunnan
Province are under construction with a total installed capacity of 960 MW. Another seven projects located in the
Tibet Autonomous Region will add 630 MW to the Lancang hydropower when they are completed in 2030.
In the Lower Basin, since there are several countries directly or indirectly involved in the development
process of the dams, some international cooperation has been initiated in the region. Cambodia, Laos, Thailand
and Vietnam created the Mekong River Commission (MRC) to develop the Lower Mekong Basin in 1995. In
addition to the Mekong River Commission, there are four major Mekong regional cooperation frameworks

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launched and supported by an international organization and three great powers to strengthen regional cooperation,bring economic growth, social change and political stability in this region. The Greater Mekong Sub-region was
created by the Asian Development Bank in 1992, the Lower Mekong Initiative was formed by the United States in
July 2009; the Mekong-Japan Summit was organized by Japan in November 2009 and the Lancang-Mekong River
Cooperation Mechanism was led by China in March 2016. A cooperative activity named Joint Research on the
Hydrological Impacts of the Lancang Hydropower Cascade on Downstream Extreme Events has started between
the MRC and the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Mechanism (MRC, 2009).

Table 3. Key studies on constructing the Xayaburi Dam

The hydropower development in the Lower Mekong Basin has just started. As Table 2 shows, there are atleast 11 planned hydro-electric projects in the mainstream Mekong, nine in Lao PDR and two in Cambodia. The
installed capacity will reach 11.335 GW after they are operational.
C. Construction of Xayaburi Dam
Xayaburi Dam is the first project in the Lower Mekong Basin, located approximately 30 km east of Xayaburi
town in northern Laos and 80 km south of Luang Prabang city. The project was initiated in 2011 and is planned
to be completed in 2019. As a run-of-river hydroelectric power plant, the total installed capacity is 1,285 MW,
and annual energy production will be 7,370 GWh. A power purchase agreement has been signed between theElectricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) and Electricité du Laos (EdL).
The first plan to build a series of dams in the Lower Mekong Mainstream was first proposed in 1950.
However, it took a long time until 1994 for the revival of the plans and the signing of the Mekong Agreement in1995 to continue the process. After that, there was a longer delay in the progression until 2010 when the report by
the Strategic Environmental Assessment of Hydropower in the Mekong Mainstream recommended a 10-year delay
while further studies were carried out. This was the start of a series of arguments between a different independent
organization to the Laotian government that have either slowed down or stopped the project (See Table 3).

Table 3. Key studies on constructing the Xayaburi Dam

In March 2011, the prior consultation project review report was prepared by the Mekong River Commission
to study significant gaps and concerns identified in Laos’ documentation and recommended a further collectionof baseline data and transboundary impact studies. However, discarding such studies, the government employed
Pöyry Energy, a Finnish company, which later became the main contractor for the dam’s construction, to conduct

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the Compliance Report. Pöyry’s report concluded that the project was “principally in compliance” with MRC
standards despite identifying over 40 additional studies that were still required. The report, which obviously was
not free of the conflict of interest, recommended that any additional studies could be conducted after construction
was already under way. A few months later, in November 2011, the Mekong River Commission (MRC) objectedto the Pöyry Report by preparing “Observations and Comments on the Xayaburi Hydropower Project.” Thereview concluded that the Xayaburi Dam would not fully comply with MRC standards even if all of Pöyry’s
recommendations were followed. It also recommended that construction should be delayed to allow time fortransboundary impact studies to take place. Although many scientists have criticized Pöyry’s findings, no one has
stepped up to support them. In January 2012, the Lao government hired French company Compagnie Nationale duRhône (CNR) to review Pöyry’s work after hearing the criticism from Cambodia and Vietnam. CNR focused on
the issue of sediment flows and did not review Pöyry’s work on fisheries. However, CNR itself acknowledged thatthe report was only a “desk study” and further studies were required.
Despite all these hot debates, international and regional criticism had no influential impact on the Lao
Government to stop or slow down the project. As seen in Figure 2, the construction process is under way mainly
through the involvement of the Thai companies that are the main investors in the project.

Figure 2. The Xayaburi Dam, as seen from above in early 2017 (Thien Y, The Mekong Eye)

IV. Literature Review
In this part, firstly, we will take a closer look at our two fields explaining how different they are when it
comes to development planning and nation/state relations. Providing this information is important because sociopolitical differences between Laos and Thailand are the main variables of this research and the basis for building
our arguments on. Later, due to the lack of reliable literature about the impacts on livelihood, we shall provide thereader with general information on the socio-economic impacts of dam construction in developing countries andthe possible negative/positive impacts of these types of projects. This is to compensate for the lack of response by
the government concerned as well as constructors who didn't give us any specific information on this particular
project. Next, we will review some of the existing reports on the different impacts of dam construction in the
Mekong region: the impacts on fishery and fish species which are closely connected to the livelihood of the rural
population along the river, as well as the impacts of sediment trapping and water discharge of the dams. Most of
the existing research has focused on the impact of the dams in the Upper Mekong Basin, partly because they aremuch bigger in size and were commissioned earlier, comparatively. (MRC 2015). In these reports, a wide range of
relevant impacts has been discussed, including the change of water discharge, sediment load, fish species, watertemperature, etc. According to the State of the Basin Report published by the Mekong River Commission in 2010,changes have taken place in water-related resources in the Lower Mekong Basin since 2005. Almost one in six
households has members who have changed occupation because of declining productivity and services of theaquatic ecosystems. The data suggest that the impacts of changes in resources (caused by a wide variety of factors)
have already been felt at all the study sites. Despite all these adverse impacts on the livelihood, especially in thepoor rural areas, there is a scarcity of research about the socio-economic impacts in different countries. Most of
the countries in the region have placed political restrictions on giving official permission to conduct independent
research to access the social and economic impacts.
A. Development Planning and Nation/State Relations: Laos and Thailand
Divided by the great Mekong River, the people in both nations share linguistic and cultural similarities. In

G l o b a l R e s o u r c e Ma na gement J o ur na l V o l .5

7fact, the Lao kingdom of Lan Xeng included all of northeastern Thailand as recently as the early 18th century(Ward 2016); however, nowadays, there is a huge difference between governance and nation/state relationsin these two countries. Laos is a one-party state in which the ruling Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP)
dominates all aspects of politics and harshly restricts civil liberties. There is no organized opposition and no truly
independent civil society. News coverage of the country is limited by the remoteness of some areas, repression ofdomestic media and the opaque nature of the regime. Economic development has led to a rising tide of disputes
over land and environmental issues, which frequently lead to violence. Thailand, on the other hand, is governedby a constitutional monarchy. The King is the Chief of State and the Monarchy is hereditary, nevertheless, thepolitical system benefits from enormous popular respect and moral authority. Therefore, although it is not ranked
as a free or democratic country, the economy is booming and there is much more freedom of expression comparedto Laos ( House 2017). Interestingly, as will be shown later, these points were reflected in our interviews andgroup observations. In fact, it seems that the economic situation and civil rights practices are among the mostimportant factors that have affected public opinion in the two separate communities located in environmentally
similar regions
B. Dam Construction: Socio-economic Impacts
Large dams significantly impact humans worldwide. In this part, we provide a general picture of the social
impacts brought by dam construction, especially in developing countries. Wang et al. (2013) have categorizedthese social impacts into agricultural, economic and local culture.
1- Impacts on Agriculture
The most direct and important impact of dam construction is the inundation of farmland. The conditionsof the land along riverbanks are generally ideal for labor-intensive agriculture. For example, most of the highly
productive paddy fields are along riversides. As a consequence of farmland inundation, new farmland needs to
be cleared to compensate for the losses incurred by local farmers. These changes cause lower productivity, due todifficulties in irrigation, increased soil erosion and increased pollution due to the usage of synthetic fertilizer tocounteract the poorer conditions (Wang et al. 2013).
2- Impacts on Local Livelihood
Large dam projects may cause thousands of people to be relocated, and therefore have substantial impacts
on local livelihoods. According to the World Commission on Dams (World Commission 2000), around 40–80
million people were relocated worldwide between 1950 and 2000 because of large dam construction. The direct
impacts of large dams on local people include the loss of housing, farms and other resources. The relocated people
are sometimes given new houses and newly cleared farmland. Indirect impacts include losing their jobs andsocial network, plus the possibility of psychological problems which have occurred in some cases, including somecommunities along the Upper-Mekong River (Zhao et al. 2012). To sum up, we summarize the debates raised by
the proponents/opponents of dam construction. Proponents of the dam construction believe that it will generate
opportunities for economic and social development. Some of their arguments include:
1. Dam construction projects will increase the employment opportunities for local people and boost theeconomy of the region.
2. New roads and bridges will be built in the process of dam construction that will enhance the quality of life
and work.
3. Hydropower dams generate cheaper and cleaner electricity. Cheap electricity could reduce the costs ofmany industries and stimulate the local economy. (Wang et al. 2013, p. 17)
However, the other side of the debate argues that many dams actually fail to achieve their economic goals
and even cause secondary costs to the environment and local communities. Some of their arguments are listed
below:
1. Many large dams that are considered economically feasible actually end up failing to recover their total
costs due to underestimating the technical difficulties.
2. According to the WCD’s report (2000), most of the irrigation dams and water supply dams fail to achieve

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8their designed goals, while hydropower is more likely to fulfill their goals. However, even in the case ofhydropower, undesirable results may occur: Nam Theun 2 Dam in Laos promoted by the World Bank,
constructed for the development of hydropower projects, has displaced thousands of people and killed atleast 40 (Boyle 2018).
3. Most large dam projects do not consider the externalized social and environmental costs when determining
their total costs; For example, large dams could harm a downstream fishery that is not calculated as a cost.
4. There exist many alternatives to large dams, such as water-saving agricultural techniques that have great
potential for reducing the agricultural water demand. If the use of renewable energy were increased greatly,
the need to construct hydropower dams might decline substantially. (Wang 2013, p. 18)
C. Review of the Impacts on Fishery and Fish Species
The operation of hydroelectric power plants in the mainstream of the Mekong River has already changed theliving conditions of fish by changing the water flow, sediment load and nutrients. Meanwhile, several dams haveblocked the passage of migratory fish species affecting their reproduction processes, which will further affect the
livelihood of residents along the river.
Several studies discuss the possible impact on the fish species and livelihood depends on it, but the lack ofreliable data of the species composition of the catch in the Lower Mekong Basin has restricted the arguments.
Barlow et al. (2008) mentioned that not all fish species caught in the basin are at risk from mainstream dams. They
argue that those fish with only limited migrations over short ranges may not be affected. Some of the species arehighly adaptable to habitat modification including impoundment. Moreover, they pointed out that species which“undertake significant passive and active migrations along the mainstream between critical spawning, feeding andrefuge habitats as part of their life histories” are most likely to be affected. They continued to estimate the size of
migratory fish resources in the Lower Mekong Basin by adopting a three-pronged approach. The first was a surveyof 13 fisheries scientists from Laos, Cambodia and international organizations operating in the Lower Mekong
Basin. The combined results from the group indicated that migratory fish resources comprise 71% of the fisheries
yield in the Lower Basin. The first sale value of migratory fish at the time of the survey (2007) was estimated to
be US$1.89 per kilogram. In the second step, they estimated the amount of highly migratory fish species in thebasin by literature review. They divided the lower Basin into three major migration systems: the Lower Mekong
Migration system (Vietnam to Khone Falls), the Middle Mekong Migration System (Khone Falls to Vientiane) andthe Upper Mekong Migration System (Vientiane to China). By adding up the annual yield in each system based on
the statistics of each country, the annual yield totaled 1,270,000 – 1,570,000 tons. The third step was to combine
the information of fish migration with the catch survey data. As a result, 58 fish species were categorized as highly
vulnerable groups, which comprised 38.5% of the total weight of all 233 species in a 2003/04 fishery catch survey.
By applying this proportion to the total fish yield of 1,860,000 tons in the Lower Mekong Basin (Hortle2007), the annual yield of highly vulnerable migratory fish groups is approximately 744,000 tons, which will beequal to 1,400 million dollars if using the first-sale price estimated in the first step.
D. Review of the Sediment Concentration Impact
The studies on sediment decrease in the Mekong River are limited to the impacts on the Upper Mekong
Basin. Although the sediment trapping impacts could be measurable after the construction of planned dams in
the Lower Basin, the study of the current situation based on the impacts of the existing dams could be of help in
predicting the impacts of the upcoming dams.
With the first four dams in operation, the downstream effects of the Lancang–Mekong cascade have become
increasingly apparent. Water level fluctuations are now discernible in the dry season between Chang Saen city in
Thailand and Luang Prabang in Lao PDR. Mekong River Commission modeling studies show that the primaryeffects on the flow regime in the lower mainstream include lower flood flows in the wet season and a shift in thetime of the peak flood, and higher river flows in the dry season.
Apart from the issues associated with changes in flow regulation, the combined effect of sediment trapping inreservoirs in the Lancang–Mekong cascade and sediment trapping by the reservoirs of tributary dams in the lower
basin requires careful assessment (MRC 2010, p. 72). It is estimated that the completed Yunnan cascade will trap
some 90% of the upper Mekong sediment contribution to the lower basin (Kummu and Varis 2007).

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MRC (2010) estimates that as much as 40–50% of the Mekong River’s sediment originates in China.
Analyses of sediment flux at various gauging stations on the Lower Mekong River have indicated a sharp
decrease in the total suspended solids concentration (SSC) in the Mekong River in the post-dam period. Kummu
et al. (2007) specified the period as after the closure of the Manwan Dam in China in 1993, the first one of aplanned cascade of eight dams after its reservoir was infilled in 1992. Given that the estimation of sediment
flux is challenging since the measurements of SSC were sporadic, Lu and Siew (2006) continue to state that theareas along the upper-middle and lowermost reaches of the Mekong have experienced a decline in sediment flux.
However, it remains vague in their study whether that is the result of sedimentation in the Manwan Dam, or thedecrease is only statistically significant at the nearest evaluating station below the Dam (i.e. Chiang Saen). At thesame time, sediment fluxes in areas located in the mid-reach of the river have remained stable or even increased.
In another study, Fu et al. (2006) analyzed the sediment concentration at Jinghong, which is about 400km
downstream of the Manwan Dam and 314km downstream of Dachaoshan Dam. They concluded that the“completion of the two dams had caused a significant and continuous reduction in annual sediment concentration
by 50% since the late 1980s.” The much larger Xiaowan Dam, located upstream of the Manwan Dam, has a
predicted trap efficiency of 90% (Guo et al. 2007) and will reduce the sediment concentration to less than 10% of
its natural value after passing the Dachaoshan Dam (Walling 2009). MRC (2010) forecasted that the sediment load
would be reduced even further after the construction of the remaining dams of the cascade. Wang et al. (2011)’s
findings are in line with MRC (2010) and they added that “usually, sediment load increases due to soil disturbanceoccur only during the construction period of dams, as observed from 1986 to 1992 during Manwan construction.”
The reduction in sediment concentration will likely have significant implications for the ecosystem of downstream
countries.
E. The Impact of Water Discharge
The annual flood pulse is the key driver for the ecological productivity in the Mekong Basin (MRC 2010). It
is shaped by the seasonal monsoon climate, with a distinct low flow season (dry season) in December-May and ahigh flow season (wet season) in June-November (MRC 2005).
Laos is the main water source of the Mekong. Regarding the Mekong’s annual water discharge, 82%
comes from four sources: “(1) the mountains of northern Laos through a number of tributaries; (2) the Southern
Mountains via the San, Kong and Srepok; (3) the Mun Chi System, draining a large part of the Korat Upland; and(4) the drainage outflow from the Tonle Sap” (Gupta 2009). The rest originates in China (18% before any dams
were built according to Gupta 2009, 16% according to Adamson et al. 2009) and Myanmar (2%, Adamson et al.
2009), although the runoff from China contributes to over 35% in April and May (Kummu et al. 2007).
Studies on the impact of the Upper Mekong Basin dams on the water discharge in the Lower Basin have been
conducted since the 1990s, immediately after the first dam was constructed in China’s Yunnan province. Kuenzer
et al. (2013) did a comprehensive review of the existing literature on this issue. While most of the primitive studies
have focused on the Manwan Dam (Lu et al. 2008; Lu et al. 2006), the recent ones (Räsänen et al. 2012; MRC
2010) examined the dam impacts of the Yunnan cascade. The results indicated that the discharge increases in thedry season and decreases in the wet season, though at different magnitudes. Kuenzer et al. (2013) summarizedthat “Independent of the source, all authors underline the occurrence of a shift in flood pulse and a decrease inits duration and amplitude, while dry season variability is likely to increase.” Despite the numerous studies, it
has to be noted that the lack of publicly available data on the reservoir operations and water releases from thehydropower reservoirs in the Upper Mekong Basin has made it difficult to assess the impacts more accurately andobjectively.
The latest study on this topic has been conducted by Räsänen et al. (2017). Using the water level data anddischarge conversions over the period of 1960–2014 provided by the Mekong River Commission Secretariat,
the findings indicate that the hydropower operations have considerably modified the river discharges since 2011.
The authors conclude that general changes in water discharge were characterized by an increase in dry season
discharges and a decrease in wet season discharges, along with large and rapid discharge fluctuations in the dry
season. The most significant changes were observed in 2014 after the completion of the Nuozhadu Dam, themost massive hydropower project in the entire Mekong Basin. The discharge impacts are expected to vary fromyear to year depending on hydropower operations, and the impact observed in the relatively lower reach of thedownstream turned out to be weaker.

R es ea r ch No te

10

By reviewing the environmental consequences of building dams in the mainstream of Lancang-MekongRiver, Chinese authorities from the Asian International Rivers Center argue that most of the impacts of theUpper Mekong Basin dams are limited to the Chinese border; they have only had small unfavorable effects on
downstream environments and ecosystems outside of China (Fan, He and Wang 2015). Similarly, Li, He andFeng (2011) from the same organization state that significant downstream impacts of the two operating damsof Manwan and Dachaoshan are limited in scale to diurnal changes, primarily in the narrow channel north ofVientiane.
Despite their differing opinions, most independent researchers suggest that considering the potential
environmental, socio-economic and humanity risks of the mainstream dams, transboundary cooperation for
managing the downstream impacts is urgently required to ensure sustainable development in the Lancang-MekongRiver Basin (Fan, He and Wang 2015).
V. Transboundary Impacts of the Dams on the Rural Livelihood
To assess the transboundary impacts of the dams on the lower basin, we focused on the rural areas near twolarge cities located about 400 kilometers away from the Xayaburi Dam across the Thai-Lao border. The main
reason for selecting these regions was to have easier access to the villages considering the limitations of thecurrent study.
Unless in the region close to the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge, the economy of the villagers on either side is
not dependent on the border trading. Villagers across the border speak the same language and historically maintainsome family ties on the other side. On some occasions, illegal crossing of the river border to participate in events
such as funeral and wedding ceremonies is a common occurrence.
Our target villages on the Thai side were located in the eastern suburbs of Nong Khai city as marked on themap (Figure 3 – Location No.1). On the Laos side, the fieldwork was conducted in two different regions, marked
on the map as Location Nos. 2 and 3. Location No.3 refers to some small towns attached to Vientiane city and
Location No.2 points to several villages close to Nong Khai city across the river.
Based on our fieldwork, the infrastructural developments on the two sides were completely different. The
roads of all Thai villages in the site were paved, and long walking paths have been built along the river. All
villages had access to electricity and piped water. The local economy relies on rice production and fish farms.
Temples, schools and health centers were mostly well-distributed with new buildings, and local government
activities to support the villagers were relatively satisfactory according to our interviews.
The villages on the Laos side, on the other hand, lack fundamental infrastructure and the villagers were
impoverished, comparatively. Many families could not afford the schooling costs for their children beyond
secondary school. They maintained their local culture and traditional lifestyle to a great extent.
The main criteria for selecting interviewees was their income’s direct dependency on the Mekong River likefishermen, fish merchants, farmers, etc. From each occupation, we tried to maintain the balance of economic class.
Eleven individual interviews in total were conducted with the head of households together with a group interview
with three families in the villages on the Thai side. In Laos, we conducted six interviews at Location 3 and sevenothers at Location 2 were conducted. The surveys were conducted as open ended semi-structured interviews usinga three-pronged approach:First, we asked about the family life, income,social and economic class and their livelihood
dependency on the Mekong River. Second, the recentchanges in water level, sediments, fish species and fishvolume were asked in detail. Third, they were asked
about their perception on the reasons behind suchchanges, their information sources and their current
and future strategies in confronting environmental
changes of the Mekong.

Figure 3. Locations of the targeted villages in Thailand and Laos
(Location 1 is on the Thai side and Locations 2 and 3 are in Laos)

11

G l o b a l R e s o u r c e Ma na gement J o ur na l V o l .5

A. Evaluating the Impacts on Villagers on the Thai Side
The income source of villagers on the Thailand side consists of a combination of fishery, rice plantationand keeping livestock such as cows and pigs. Investing in different income sources helps them to reduce the riskof income loss caused by environmental disasters. Villagers whose houses are located next to the river set up acertain number of caged fish farms to rear baby fish in the river. Moreover, there are plenty of rice fields in theregion.
In this section, first, a general overview of the selected villages on the Thai side is given. Then, we focus
on the impacts of the changes in water level on the caged fish farms. According to our fieldwork, one of themain reasons that villagers lose a lot of fish is the abrupt changes in water level and temperature. This happens a
couple of times a year when Chinese dams are discharged. Finally, locals’ perceptions on the possible impacts of
upstream dams are investigated. The interview results show that the locals have not felt any significant changes
since Xayaburi Dam has been under construction. They believe that the Chinese dams are responsible for their fishloss.
1. General Overview of the Field
The fieldwork on the Thai side was conducted in the villages along the Mekong on the eastern side of Nong
Khai city. Some of the villages in which we conducted our interviews are Sala Kaew ku, Wat Pho Chai and Ban
Phan. Based on the information from the residents, each village has an average of 300 families.

Location number (1)Figure 4. Villages on the east side of Nong Khai city

As Figure 4 shows, there are plenty of rice fields in the region. Rice plantation is performed twice a year
in the dry and rainy seasons. During the dry season, they use Mekong water which is available through canals
constructed by the government. The rice farmers rent the canal water from the government on an hourly basis.
According to them, their production increases during the dry season as the Mekong water contains sediments that
improve the rice fertility.
In recent years, the local government started a project to support local entrepreneurs from the villagers who
engage in start-ups for community development. For instance, one of the interviewees, a 70-year-old woman,has just established a small fish drying unit by obtaining support from the local government. She was given landfor her business beside the village's temple as well as some other necessary facilities to start her business. Suchexamples show the local government's endeavor to support villagers.

Figure 5. (1) Sun drying of the paddy on the walkway along the river. (2) Product basket of a local entrepreneur

2. Community Perceptions on the Reasons for Recent Changes
According to the interviewees, it has been several years since anyone on the Thai side relied on traditionalR es ea r ch No te

12fishery as their main income source. While there are still a few people who do fish occasionally, it is neither
considered as a significant portion of their income nor their daily food source. Instead, during the last ten years,
the floating caged fish farming system has been initiated by some of the residents and later developed with thegovernmental and private sector’s support.
The decrease in the number of fish in the lower Mekong Basin in recent years together with the economic
development of the country caused many villagers to establish some floating caged fish farms along the river.
According to the interviewees, fish farms are economically much more profitable than traditional fishery.
Floating cage fish farms are constructed using wooden or metal rods as the frame in various sizes of around3(L) x 2(W) x 2(H) meters. As illustrated in Figure 4, the plastic water tanks keep the net cages floating on thewater.

Figure 6. Caged floating fish farms
Figure 6. Caged floating fish farms

The owners need to put juvenile Nile tilapia fish inside each cage and feed them three times a day since
there is little natural food available to the fish in the cage. While the initial construction cost for these cages is notvery high, the feeding cost for the fish is considerably high. Moreover, the payback period of the invested capitalis quite long. Therefore, not every family can afford the total cost by themselves. To overcome the shortage ofcapital, besides the availability of governmental loans, some chain companies offer wages for those who can rearfish for them.
While fish farming is far more profitable than traditional fishery on the Mekong, there are some risks for thefarm owners. According to the fishermen, abrupt and unnatural changes in the water level and temperature cause
the most significant fish loss in their fish farms. Such losses usually happen when some of the Chinese dams in themainstream discharge water. Most of the fish cannot adapt to the rapid changes.
Since fish farming does not depend on the number of fish in the river, the villagers in Thailand did not
express any changes in the volume of the fish or decrease in the species. On the other hand, all interviewees
expressed their dissatisfaction about the Chinese dams already built in the Upper Basin's mainstream. When the
Chinese dams are discharged in order to allow large commercial ships to cross the river, the most significant lossof fish happens in the lower basin. An experienced fisherman in Sala Kaew ku village expressed that:“When the Chinese discharge the dam, the water level reaches 20 meters. Fish cannot
bear the abrupt change in the water temperature. Therefore, we lose almost half of ourfish in each cage.”
The news of the Chinese dam’s discharge very quickly spreads around the villages, and the fishermen prepare
themselves to sell the dead fish as soon as possible, of course for less than half the price of the large mature ones.
According to the villagers, while they benefit from some governmental support during natural disasters such as
the spread of disease among the fish or flooding, no form of governmental assistance is provided for the fish loss
during the abrupt change of the water level.
In general, the middle-income fishermen were more aware of the adverse impacts of the mainstream damson their life and income. Therefore, many of them blamed the Chinese for constructing the upstream dams andexpressed their disagreement with the new dams planned for construction in the Lower Basin too. There werealso a few low-income families among our interviewees who had never heard about the Xayaburi or other damsplanned. An old woman from Wat Pho Chai village who owns a few fish farms expressed that:13

G l o b a l R e s o u r c e Ma na gement J o ur na l V o l .5“… Chinese dams are already constructed and we have experienced the impact, I do
not think that anything worse is going to happen in the future with more dams… so I do
not care if they are building more and more…”
The information flow on the dam construction on the Thai side was mainly formed by the Thai governmental
media. While freedom of the press in Thailand is not guaranteed by the government, the media broadcasted theconstruction of Xayaburi Dam as a case of international aid and foreign investment in Laos (Reuters 2014). On
the other hand, NGOs tried to form some campaigns among the local villagers; however, because of their politicaland budget restrictions, they were not very successful. None of the families whom we interviewed engaged inany social action against the construction of the Xayaburi Dam. Many of them had not even heard about suchcampaigns. This situation was quite shocking for us as there are many online reports about some large campaigns
in cities and villages along the river.
B. Evaluating the Impacts on Villages on the Lao PDR SideFor centuries, the exceptional biodiversity of the Mekong River, directly or indirectly, has been the primarysource of income for millions of locals that live on the river bank. However, the direct dependency on traditional
fishery varies according to the countries’ development. Laos, as one of the lowest-income countries in the region,
economically depends on the river, comparatively.
Among the communities living along the river, at least one member from each family goes to the river every
day to catch some fish for their daily meal. Based on our interviews, the local people mentioned two significant
changes in the recent year that have affected their economy: Significant decrease in their catchment amount andthe changes in the sediments. In this part, after a general introduction of the field, we will explain the impact of thedecrease in fish catchment on the villagers’ life. Then we will discuss the community’s awareness of the impactsof dam construction and their perceptions on the reason for the recent changes.
1. General Overview of the Field
The fieldwork on the Laos side of theriverbank was conducted in two different
locations as marked in Figure 3. Location
3 (See Figure 7), Oumong neighborhood,
is a suburb of Vientiane city close to theinternational airport, where there used to be asmall village which has since been attached tothe city by its expansion.

Location number (3)Figure 7. Suburbs of Vientiane city, near the international airport.

The rapid growth in the tourism industry
has heavily influenced the economy of thesurrounding villages in this region. Although
the access roads on the river bank have notbeen paved and there are many potholes
along the way, the hotel industries have been
expanding rapidly along the river. (See Figure
8).
Figure 8. Unpaved roads and the growth of the tourism
industry in suburbs of Vientiane.

These rapid changes in the city together with the decrease in fish catchment have shifted the economy ofthese suburb residents gradually from being directly dependent on fishery or growing rice to a labor force involvedin the emerging tourism industry such as that of the construction or service sectors.
The next location to conduct fieldwork for this study was some villages along the river from the Thai-Laosfriendship bridge to the East (See Figure 9). Our initial aim was to focus on the villages facing those we studiedR es ea r ch No te

14

on the Thai side. However, the unpaved roads restricted our access to those areas. Instead, we managed to conduct
the fieldwork in villages facing Nong-Khai city. Generally, the area on the Laos side is less populated comparedto Thailand and the villagers who are living beside the river usually do not own the rice fields. As this area is quite
far from Vientiane city (about 30 kilometers of unpaved road) and daily commuting is difficult, a large number offamilies still rely on fishery as the primary and only income source.

Location number (2)Figure 9. Villages facing Nong Khai city on the side of the border in Laos

The main income source for other villagers far from the river bank is rice cultivation. The government has
builtthesomewater canals
carry
the water,water fromthe riverto thelocallarge
government
to usetothis
canalespeciallyduringthericedry fields,
season.and the villagers pay for the local
government to use this canal water, especially during the dry season.

Figure 10. 1- Unpaved roads, the dust and difficulties of access to the villages
2- A local grocery shop in Thadeua village

2. Community Perceptions on the Reasons for Recent Changes
Unlike the Thai side, the governmental media in Laos does not hold much attraction for Laotians. They
mainly watch the entertainment TV channels from the Thai side. However, for the news, they follow both the
Laotian and Thai side channels. As in Laos, there was large propaganda in governmental discourse about theimportance of the Xayaburi Dam for their development, people were well-aware of the construction process.
Many Laotian villagers still use traditional catchment methods for the fishery, whether as an income sourceor for their daily food. For this reason, unlike the Thai side, Laotian villagers felt a significant decrease in fishvolume in recent years.
According to them, the government prohibited setting up the fish farms along the river several years ago. For
this reason, some families moved to the other tributaries nearby where fish farming is still allowed. We could not
obtain any official reason for this prohibition.
The economic dependency on fishery was quite different for the villagers in Locations 2 and 3. Located in
the suburb of Vientiane city, villages in Location 3 were less dependent on fishery as their income source. Instead,they are generally engaged in the tourism industry or being considered as the labor force for the rapidly growing
economy of the capital city. On the other hand, in Location 2, there are still many families whose only income
source is fishery.
In Oumong village (Location 3), about 30 out of 200 families still engage in traditional fishery as their mainincome source. They own boats and can use the fish nets as the catchment tool. On the other hand, other families
go fishing for a few hours every day to catch a small number of fish for their daily food.
All of the interviews at both sites did mention that the number of fish has significantly decreased especiallyin the last few years. They stated that nowadays it is very difficult to make a living just with fishery like they had
been doing previously for many years. A 56-year-old man in Oumong village (Location 3) stated that:

15

G l o b a l R e s o u r c e Ma na gement J o ur na l V o l .5

“I used to be a fisherman for more than 30 years. However, nowadays I cannot makeenough to feed my family by fishery alone. I used to catch about 20-30 kilograms a
day and it has been reduced to less than 3 kilograms. That is why now I have shiftedto making and selling fish nets for those who own the boats and can go fishing on theriver. My wife is also working as a beer delivery service with a motorcycle to the hotels
and restaurants.”
According to the interviewees’ claim, the decrease in the catchment amount is about 80% to 90% only in thelast few years. Because of this decrease in number, many fishermen on boats, taking the risk, cross the Laotian
border into Thailand’s territory to increase their chance of catchment.

Figure 11. (1) Professional fisherman catches a large Mekong catfish.
(2) The common usage of square fish nets to catch the daily food.

Moreover, another significant reason for the decrease in the catchment amount is the contraction in sedimentlevel in some locations. This change has been felt differently by the fishermen in distinct locations according to theriver flow speed and its depth. While interviewees in Location 3 reported on the decrease in sediment level, othersin Location 2 did not feel any impact. The reason could be explained with the difference in the river depth. In
Location 3, the river width is wider and the flow speed is slower. Therefore, the decrease in sediment level causes
the fish nets to get snagged on the large rocks. This has made it very difficult for the fishermen to manage their fishnets in such locations.
As discussed in the previous parts, all the fishermen and community members claimed that the fish numbers
had significantly decreased in the last 3-4 years; however, the answers to the question of the reasons behind it vary
among different people. Some locals also reported that the water level fluctuation is no longer normal. When thelevel is high, they cannot go fishing.
Some of the interviewees in the remote villages were not aware of the construction of the Xayaburi Dam in
the upper stream. They either have no idea about the reason behind the recent changes in the river or some claimthat this phenomenon is because of the overfishing. On the other hand, those who live closer to the city or follow
the news did know about the dams in China. Since the impact has only started to be felt by lower basin residents inrecent years, many people have blamed the Xayaburi Dam as being the main reason behind the changes. A middleaged man from Thadeua Village who used to be a fisherman but now runs a small grocery shop said that:“The water level changed 3 to 4 years ago because of the Xayaburi Dam. The Chinese
dams did not affect our lives that much. The main impact started once they started toconstruct the Xayaburi Dam.”
Even though some of them are well aware that Thai companies are the main investors of the project declaringthat they are the victims of these rapid environmental changes, no collective action has been reported from theLaos side so far. While we were concerned about the political restrictions against any forms of social resistance,
Laotians preferred not to express any personal objection to our group. A young man who owns a restaurant andthree boats close to the Thai-Laos friendship bridge stated that:R es ea r ch No te

16“Because of the Xayaburi Dam, the environment changed, everybody knows aboutit, but they cannot do anything. We follow the news on Thai TV, so we know about it.
Nevertheless, the government is making the decision. Our position is neither positive
nor negative.”
This position of remaining neutral was seen among almost all of the interviewees. While a few villagers
stated that they are happy about the dam, most of them mentioned that they are powerless and their voice cannot
be heard for decision making. One interviewee who is a rice farmer and inherited a large rice field talked about
how he was witnessing the demonstrations in Nong Khai city:“It was a couple of years ago when I crossed the border to Nong Khai and saw some
protesters against the Xayaburi Dam construction. Some groups were supporting thedam construction, while others were objecting to it; there were two groups wearing
shirts in different colors: white and red. I think the locals did not inspire the movement,
but there were some political parties that organized the people, bringing them onto thestreet.”Many interviewees heard about the adverse impacts of dam construction on the environment and their life
from Thai TV channels. The Laotian media, on the other hand, advertises the dam as a symbol of the start of rapid
economic development and the starting phase of the country becoming the battery of south-east Asia.
All in all, there is a strong tendency among the locals to blame the Xayaburi Dam, not the Chinese dams, as
the main reason for the changes of the fish volume in recent years. They, however, did not show open disagreement
to stopping the construction process. In general, the contradiction of blaming the dam construction as the main
reason for the problem and not expressing their ideas openly might be understood when considering the political
restrictions on freedom of speech in Laos.
VI. Conclusion
There are few studies that focus on the environmental and socio-economic impact produced by the cascadedams on the Lower Mekong Basin. Most of the arguments rely on NGO / NPO information, which turned out tobe lacking in empirical evidence, or sometimes biased to a different extent. Against the background of the scarcityof academic objective research, this project attempted to comparatively clarify some of the environmental andsocio-economic basic facts based on fieldwork in the rural areas of Thailand and Laos.
The impact on the population living in the Lower Mekong Basin varies significantly among different regions.
In the case of this study, fishermen in Nong Khai who manage the caged floating fish farms along the river bankare more vulnerable to the sudden change in water level caused by discharges from Chinese dams in the Upper
Mekong basin. On the other hand, using this fishery method frees them from worrying about the reduction of
sediment in the riverbed. Across the river, however, fishermen in the suburbs of Vientiane city are still using
traditional methods of fishery in the Mekong River. They are more sensitive to the change in sediment and fish
amount, many of them declaring a significant decrease in both.
Moreover, the socio-economic and livelihood impact in each country differs as well. For instance, while on
the Thai side only about 10% of the population were involved in fishery, in Laos, this proportion rose to nearly
40%. Furthermore, for many Laotian villagers, fish is the only source of protein in their daily meal. Therefore,such dependency on the river as the primary source of income and food security for many villagers in Laos shows
how vulnerable the people are to any environmental changes in the Mekong.
While on the Thai side, people’s perception indicates no impact from the Xayaburi Dam, but from Chinese
dams, Laotians blame the Xayaburi for being the main source of recent changes. From an objective viewpoint,
as Xayaburi Dam is not operating yet, it cannot be the only reason for the recent changes. This shows that theperception of the locals profoundly depends on the local discourse. At the same time, any social movement isbeing carried out based on such perceptions rather than scientific research. This indicates the importance ofstudying the locals’ perception of environmental changes in addition to having a positivist and scientific viewpoint.
Considering people’s perception of the recent changes, the research shows that the Laotian villagers were17

G l o b a l R e s o u r c e Ma na gement J o ur na l V o l .5

more conservative in participating in any collective actions against the construction of the Xayaburi Dam. The
Thai communities were more expressive, although they did not feel the impact in their daily life as much as theothers across the border did. Although this difference is considerably important, the role of NGOs and otherinternational organizations seems to be far more vital in putting international and political pressure on authorities
by mobilizing the local communities.
The governmental discourse in both countries was to support the construction of dams. While in Laos, thefocus is on the need to expedite the development process by using the countries’ potential to become the “Batteryof Asia” by transporting energy to the neighboring countries, the focus on Thai media is on the importance of
foreign investment. In fact, becoming the “Battery of Asia” could be a good way of expediting the economic
development; however, the social and environmental impacts should be carefully assessed and minimized before
initiating any project.
While the environmental impact is almost the same for the targeted areas of this research, it seems thatthe economic situation and civil rights practices are among the most important factors that have affected public
opinion in the two separate communities located in environmentally similar regions.
At least two limitations exist in this part of the research. First, the environmental impact could not be
investigated thoroughly. Change of factors such as sediment has been widely discussed in the published literature,but most of that focused on the impact of Chinese dams in the upper stream of the Mekong River. This researchencountered the same restriction as the previous studies did, i.e., the monitoring data along the Mekong River
can hardly be accessed by the public. Meanwhile, people are taking sand from the river to sell as construction
materials. Thus the decrease in sediment cannot be attributed merely to dam construction. Also, the Xayaburi Dam
is still under construction, so probably some of the impacts can only be observed over time.
The second limitation is that the change in fish amount could not be discussed adequately. Similar to thesediment decreasing, it is reported in the field that the number of fishermen has increased in recent years. In thisreport, the responses of the fishermen have been discussed without comparing the statistics of total fish yieldamount; attention has to be paid to the one-sided approach when interpreting the results.
As empirical research that covers the major aspects and takes the entire Mekong region into consideration,
this project is a small step towards facilitating the countries involved to build a sustainable development strategic
framework while sharing the prosperity. Since many other dams are still in line for construction, this project
could be used in the pre-consultation studies for upcoming projects to mitigate the environmental as well as social
problems. On the other hand, as the public needs a comprehensive understanding of what’s going on and whatshould be done to help to improve the situation, results from social investigations in this project might be used bysome social and political intellectuals to measure the need for strengthening the civil society in the region.
Acknowledgement
We would like to thank the GRM program at Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan, for providing theopportunity and financial support for this project. Moreover, our special appreciation and thanks go to Professor
Akira Hayashida from the Graduate School of Science and Engineering at Doshisha University for supervising the
project.
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Co u r s e R ep o r ts

20

Using the Information Dissemination to Improve the Response of Earthquake throughthe First Days of Disaster
Case study: The 2015 Nepal earthquake
Mohammed Hajjaj

Abstract
The using of the information dissemination has been consideredto improve the response of the earthquake through the first days ofthe disaster in the 2015 Nepal. Communication Technologies such associal media, mapping systems, and image sharing sites have createdwormholes through which we can watch as earthquakes hit, fires spread,or waters rise in any part of the world.
In the most ways to improving the responding during the disaster,
all the relief groups and emergency teams or any stakeholders who canplay a main role in the land, have a big challenge to do an immediate
responding for people and proceed their plans. One of the challenges
is the availability of the information during the disaster. Using theinformation and sharing the data for all groups could help for responding
to give the first aid for people. Powering the terminal devices and accesspoints for citizens and emergency responders to use the Internet forcommunication was the main hindrance.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red CrescentSocieties stated that information is as important as food, water, andshelter as a form of aid. This report argues the case study of the 2015
Nepal earthquake using the sharing of information to improve theresponse of the disaster.
Index Items: Information Dissemination, Disaster, Emergency
Plan,
Introduction
Earthquakes is one of the natural disasters which are the major
adverse event resulting from natural processes of the earth. Earthquakes
cause great damage to properties and human beings, so that the people
cannot know how to protect themselves during or after the earthquakes.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red CrescentSocieties (IFRC) as a largest international organization work on thehumanitarian issues define the disaster as a sudden accident or a natural
catastrophe that causes great damage or loss of the life of people, as
well it a calamitous event that seriously disrupts the functioning of acommunity or society and causes human, material, and economic or
environmental losses that exceed the community’s or society’s ability tocope using its own resources (IFRC, 2018). Whatever, IFRC said alsothat the human can have making a disaster due to the controlling in the
resources in the world (IFRC, 2018).
Whatever to the reasons of disaster, though often caused bynature, or human origins, the responding during or after the disasteris the purpose for all the emergency groups or responding teams. The
stakeholders who work in the land like the government and the publicorganizations are expecting and thinking in different ways to help people
to give them the first aid, or protect them from any unexpected effecteven before the disaster. Many plans are set, and used to process the
responding of the disaster.
Nepal have a lot of previous natural disasters before the earthquake
in 2015 and they have many challenges after the event. Earthquake cause
great damage to properties and human beings. During the earthquakes
the people do not know how to protect themselves. All civil societies
and organizations have many challenges to work in Nepal after the
event. Other aspects of the institutional organizations have been astandard institutional response to ensure effective and efficient recovery
and reconstruction for the damage. As well, some of commitments
are carried out for many organizations in an inclusive and transparent
manner and that interventions integrate risk reduction for all people andthe infrastructure, so as to withstand the impact of future disasters.
The earthquake of Nepal is measuring 7.9 to the scale at the depthof 15 kilometers, according to the US Geological Survey. The earthquake
struck 77 kilometers northwest of Kathmandu in Nepal in close toBarbark town located in Gorkha district and 68 kilometers from Pokhara.
The quake struck also in New Delhi and in northern India. It is the worst
earthquake which hit Nepal during the last 80 years and the largest in
the world since 2014 which hit Chile with 8.2 magnitude in the scale (C.
Welton-Mitchell, 2017).
However, a series of aftershocks emerged after the Nepal earthquake
causing more deaths and injuries, and exacerbating the feeling offear and tension among the affected the people (Nepal Earthquake
Clearinghouse, 2018). The highest of the next day of the earthquake with
6.7 in scale. However, two weeks after the quake, the second Nepaleseearthquake and its neighboring countries struck by 7.3 degrees, followedby third one with a 6.3 in scale. The earthquake struck Mount Everestin all sides in 30 seconds to 2 minutes. It has a hug big effect in thecommunities around the event, and killed many people.
Seismicity in the Himalaya dominantly results from the continental
collision of the India and Eurasia plates, which are converging at a
relative rate of 40-50 mm a year. Northward under thrusting of India
beneath Eurasia generates numerous earthquakes and consequently
makes this area one of the most seismically hazardous regions on Earth(Nepal: Earthquake 2015 Situation, 2015).
NGO, and international NGO sectors play some main roles in Nepal
after disaster, so many policy objectives are set for the organizationand coordination between all teams to retrofit, reconstruct the partiallyand completely damaged residential, community and heritage sites
using local technologies as needed. Therefore, the sector plays a role inbuilding the resilience among the community and people at risk in theearthquake affected area which help in reconstructing the damaged cities
or villages to original structures. Thus, new opportunities are developedby recovering the economic growth and livelihoods.
However, the health system in Nepal is not strong. The hospitals
during the earthquake were unable to serve a huge number of patients inneed of medical care. Some Nepalese have complained that aid takes toolong to reach them.
The deadliest earthquake in the country in 81 years has led toavalanches that killed 81 people at the Everest summit in the worst
disaster to hit the world's largest summit in history. More than 200
people were trapped on top of the mountain, but helicopters are rescuing
them, with 60 people being rescued, Monday, the Tourism Ministry said.
Therefore, the monsoon rains cause soil erosion on the slopes of themountains, while dense forests cover much of the earth, which quickly
blocks seismic cracks.
Rapid assessment team from WHO and Ministry of Health foundhospitals in worst hit area of earthquake in Sindhupalchowk, Nuwakot,
Rasuawa and Ramechhap districts severely damaged or completely
destroyed.
Another team (C. Welton-Mitchell, 2017) of several academic andpractitioner experts in earthquake engineering, community resilience,and risk reduction, spent a week in Nepal to document the impact
the earthquake had in Bhaktapur and surrounding districts. Strategic
goals of the reconnaissance team included investigating recovery andresilience related issues, along with the more traditional pursuits. Resultsfrom this rapid assessment highlight community perspective on thefollowing topics: culturally specific disaster attributions, psychologicaldistress, preferred means of coping, social support, community conflicts,
livelihood implications and other economic impacts, and concerns withgovernance and corruption - providing a snapshot of the situation in theearly aftermath of the earthquake (Nepal: Earthquake 2015 Situation,2015).
In rural areas (Information & Communication Technologies and the2015 Nepal Earthquake, 2017), mobile phones were considered a lifeline
for many, particularly to contact family members who had migrated toKathmandu or overseas for work. When mobile networks were down,G l o b a l R e s o u r c e Ma na gement J o ur na l V o l .5

21radio stations were a point of contact for the dispersed workers to findout about the impact of the disaster on the family members they had left
at home.
Social media was more commonly mentioned in urban areas, where
many volunteers used Facebook and other platforms for networking
and coordinating emergency help, acting as mouthpieces for ruralcommunities’ needs.
The complex problems of access and capability remain major
barriers to communication technology use in Nepal, particularly inrural areas, as is also the case in other low-income countries. The needto communicate and the idea that information is a form of assistance isincreasingly acknowledged as an urgent but under-supported aspect ofdisaster response.

Earthquake 2015 Situation, 2015).

Background
The map of perceived shaking of the earthquake as shown in
the Figure 12 below Nepal experienced a 7.8 magnitude earthquake,followed by countless aftershocks, including one of 7.3 magnitude.
The earthquake affected 14 out of the 75 districts of the country, withjust under 9,000 people dead and over 600,000 homes destroyed.
Geographical isolation and lack of infrastructure further compound
the risk of loss to life and property in the event of natural disasters (C.
Welton-Mitchell,2017).
and property in the event of natural disasters (C. Welton-Mitchell, 2017).

Figure 13: The effect of the earthquake based on the intensity.

Figure 13: The effect of the earthquake based on the intensity.

The Problem Statement and Objectives
The problem statement of report is considered for using theinformation dissemination to improve the emergency responding during
the disaster especially the 2015 earthquake in Nepal. The objective
the of the report is to find a plan or framework for using ot sharing theinformation during the disaster which could help in the emergency casesin the event.
The Significance of Report

The mapof perceived shakingof the earthquake.
Figure 12:Figure
The 12:mapof perceived
shakingof the earthquake.

At least 8,669 people killed, 384 missing, 17,866 injured, 500,717
houses destroyed and 269,190 damaged in Nepal in this earthquake andthe M 7.3 aftershock on May 12 morning. Included in the casualties are
180 people killed from the collapse of Nepal's historic Dharahara Towerand 20 people killed and 120 injured from an avalanche at the Mount
Everest Base Camp. Landslides occurred and roads and power lines
damaged in Nepal. Felt (VIII) at Bhimeshwar, Kathmandu and Kirtipur;(VII) at Bhaktapur, Bharatpur, Bidur, Ghorahi, Lalitpur and Pokhara.
Damage estimates exceed 5 billion US dollars. At least 78 people killed
and 560 injured in India. Felt (VII) at Nautanwa and (VI) at Patna andShiliguri. At least 25 people killed, 4 missing, 383 injured, 2,500 houses
destroyed and 24,700 damaged in China. Four people killed, 200 injured
and 17 buildings damaged in Bangladesh. Felt (V) at Bhaluka and (IV)at Dhaka, Rajshahi, Sylhet, Tangail and Tungi. Felt (IV) at Thimphu,
Bhutan. Felt in much of western Bangladesh, northern India, central
Nepal and parts of Bhutan. Felt as far as Kahuta, Pakistan. The effect of
the earthquake based on the intensity as shown in Figure 13.
The Government reports that 130,033 houses were destroyed and85,856 houses partially damaged. Over 30,000 houses are destroyed in
Nuwakot District alone (Nepal: Earthquake 2015 Situation, 2015).

The significance impact of report is becoming in propose a proper
solution of using the information dissemination to improve the response
during the disaster. It is arguing about the points which help in using aframework of the information dissemination for the resilience during
the event. However, all of the emergency plans are set in the different
ways as the players or stakeholders are expected before any disaster, so
the framework in this report could increase the awareness for different
people during natural disasters, and it will be helpful as a guide lines fordesigning the policies and the standard practice within the community.
The Related Cases
The 2015 earthquake in Nepal killed over 8000 people, injured
more than 21,000 and displaced a further 2 million. Nepal is one of
the most seismically active regions of the world; it has a long recordof earthquakes. The earliest earthquake event in the country dates backto 7 June 1255. The earthquake, measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale,took the life of Nepal's king and wiped out a third of Kathmandu's
then population. Nepal has witnessed at least one major earthquake per
century ever since.
The following table is a list of earthquakes occurred in Nepal. It
includes only major seismic events with their epicenter in the country,
and those that occurred outside the country that resulted in a significant
loss of life and property in the country.
country that resulted in a significant loss of life and property in the country.
Table 1: The history of the earthquake in Nepal.
Table 1: The
history of the earthquake in Nepal.

Date

Place

Longitude

DeathsMagnitude

7/6/1255

Time

Kathmandu

85.3

2200

7.8

1260

Sagarmatha

86.8

100

7.1

1344

Mechi

87.5

100

7.9

8/1408

Near

86.0

2500

8.2

Nepal-Tibet

Border,Bagmati zone
6/6/1505

Near Saldang, Karnali zone

83.0

6000

8.7

1/1681

Northern Kosi zone

87.1

4500

8.0

7/1767

Northern Bagmati zone

85.5

4000

7.9

26/8/1833

Kathmandu/Bihar

85.5

6500

8.0

7/7/1869

Kathmandu

85.3

750

6.5
7.7

28/8/1916

06:39

Nepal/Tibet

81.0

3500

15/1/1934

08:43

Nepal/India/Tibet

86.7628519

8.0

27/6/1966

10:41

Nepal/India border80.85480

6.3

29/7/1980

14:58

Nepal/Pithoragarh

81.092200

6.5

20/8/1988

23:09

Kathmandu/Bihar

86.6161091

6.6

18/9/2011

18:29

Sikkim, India

88.62

111

6.9

24/4/2015

11:56

Kathmandu/India/Tibet

84.708

8,922

8,922

Co u r s e R ep o r ts
The Methodology and Design
In this report, the current situation as a case study has been
considered in Nepal during the 2105 earthquake. The reset of report isarguing about the current situations of the related plans following withsome strategies and tactics, responding process, proposed solutions andconclusion.
The Information Dissemination and the Current Situation in Nepal
In the first time after the earthquake, everybody wanted tocommunicate for each other and wanted to make sure for all family’s
people and friends were in safe area, or to know the level of damage inproperties or loss of lives and the situation (Bustanul, Bisria, & Beniya,2016). The government apparatus had to be mobilized and that required
communication. The entire public communication had almost crashedfor hours after the quake directly, as well there is no electricity, and notelephone working for over a week in remote areas. In addition, mobiles
were useless for the first few days (Nepal: Earthquake 2015 Situation,2015).
However, the National Emergency Operation Center does notprovide information systems to support crisis response and management(Waidyanatha, 2016), as well, the District Emergency Operation Center
do not have access to an incident management system to coordinate theinformation with relevant emergency services and to communicate withgovernment. It is all manually processed on paper and communicatedby phone or FAX (Nepal needs better communication infrastructure to
respond to disaster, 2015).
The Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) estimated 40% of
the damaged telecommunications to have been restored by the 2nd day,and Telecom Engineers, in Nepal, and the Telecom emergency operation
centers worked around the clock to restore services (Waidyanatha, 2016).
The government of Nepal used Radio for the first media
of communicating people after the earthquake in some reasons(Waidyanatha, 2016): the building of Radio was constructed well and had
a sturdy building; as well some media and broadcasts start interacting
people after few hours, and others shut or collapsed during earthquake
like TV as it was stopped and not accessible for people because of thedamage in electricity and people had to stay inside houses to watch, so
people use radio as the first media all the time outside of building.
After the second earthquake, the communications became more
complicated and difficult in special remote areas for international aid
works flocked in, and all relief teams and also people need more specific,
clear and accurate information (Waidyanatha, 2016). Communication forrelief in remote areas were completely damage as well difficult to travel,
so all people started distributing relief by using different ways to reacheach people.
There are many people use the social media in the mobile as wellthey have the radio media in Nepal, so one of the strategies to improvethe connection with the people in two ways, the first one uses some
application to connect them by social media even the infrastructure ofmobile is not being well by connecting peer to peep technology or frompeople to each other. Another way in the other side is using the mosteffective way by radio channel to send all important or urgent messages
by one channel that easy for everyone to use it in case the mobiles areuseless for the first few days (Waidyanatha, 2016).
The government apparatus had to be mobilized and that required
communication. However, the government of Nepal used the Radio for
the first media of communicating people after the earthquake in somereasons: the building of Radio was constructed well and had a sturdy
building; as well some media and broadcasts start interacting people
after few hours, and others shut or collapsed during the quake like TV
as it was stopped and not accessible for people because of the damage
in electricity and people had to stay inside the houses to watch, so
people use the radio as the first media all the time outside of building(Waidyanatha, 2016).
Some reports have been shown by government about the damageof earthquake. Kathmandu and Gorkha are one of the districts with thehighest number of damaged in houses and communication infrastructure.
The only thing everybody wanted to do was communicate for each otherand wanted to make sure for all family’s people and friends were in safearea, or to know the level of damage in properties or loss of lives andthe situation. The government apparatus had to be mobilized and that
required communication.
Humanitarian partners in the most affected areas identified as
the most critical needs and assistance. Partners also have delivered
food to affected people in Gorkha and Dhading. The entire public

22

communication had almost crashed for hours after the quake directly, as
well there is no electricity, and no telephone working for over a week
in remote areas. In addition, mobiles were useless for the first few days.
Helicopters are used transport and reach to remote area due to the lackof communication infrastructure. Poor communication and security
concerns, remain the main challenges in providing for those most atneed.
In another case (Nepal needs better communication infrastructure to
respond to disaster, 2015), the Radio of Nepal was the only mass media
functioning after the earthquake as the building of Radio was constructed
well and had a sturdy building. As well some broadcasts continued intact
people after few hours, and others shut down and many others collapsed
during the quake. Television was stope and not accessible for people
because of the damage in the electricity and people had to stay inside thehouses to watch, so people use the radio as the main media all the timeoutside of building.
Overall, the communications system is more stable in comparison
to the early days of the emergency, when remote areas were out ofreach with only mobile text messaging functioning in Kathmandu
Valley. Communications has been reinforced by the private sector
which has donated cash and free telecommunication services in Nepal(Communication and Information, 2015).
The main Radio of Nepal had played a main role to communicate
with people and also in communicating rescue and relief needs tothe Home Ministry from across all affected areas, as well the crucial
announcements which notices from the Government’s disaster response
authority.
Communication (Nepal needs better communication infrastructure
to respond to disaster, 2015) for relief in remote areas were completely
damage as well difficult to travel, so all people started distributing relief
by using different ways to reach each people. However, communication
on disaster should be harmonized to avoid mixed messages to the public,
avoid confusion, and maximize impact, as well use it to control theawareness between people, and distribute the right information between
all people as needed exactly of the relief which avoid the duplication orviolence, and reduce the dispelling rumors between people, and making
the mass media communicate the right message (Communication andInformation, 2015).
Communication to handle public fury during disaster, and work insocial media like twitter or Facebook and resource mobilization are also
other strategies after the earthquake (Nepal needs better communication
infrastructure to respond to disaster, 2015). All of these tools are used
to reduce the gap in communication between people and government
after the shock of earthquake. Local radio was very helpful in making
communication possible during the disaster to realize the importance oftaking extra care in setting up public buildings, including communication
hubs.
Eighty five percent of the people use television. Therefore, solar
cells should be arranged in the municipalities of each region, whichshould communicate with central government instead of using directmeans of communication with people.
In the case of uninterrupted power supply, municipalities cancommunicate with the people through the use of the Internet and cellularcommunications, but the problem is that the percentage of Internet users
in the country does not exceed 17.2 % of the people, while the proportionof mobile users up to 50% only (One in two Nepalis use internet: NTA
report, 2018).
Strategies and Tactics for Using the Information Dissemination
The best way to protect against earthquakes is to prepare the public
and the civil administration. It is important to make all lifeline buildings,
such as hospitals, fire and police stations, and schools’ earthquake
resistant. What’s more, human should stress and highlight the importanceof educating school children on a routine basis about the earthquakes andhow to live with them.
Other mechanisms: The Prime Minister’s Disaster Relief Fundwhich used for rescue, treatment, relief, rehabilitation of victims andrestoration of physical infrastructure damaged by natural disasters. It ismanaged through a Committee, made up of eight secretaries from key
Ministries (Nepal: Earthquake 2015 Situation, 2015).
Government Cluster Mechanism establishes the coordination
between domestic clusters of ministries and international agencies
in structuring the emergency response and drafting DRR (Disaster
Reduction and Recovery) policies on short- and long-term bases.
The clusters are: Health; Water, Sanitation and Hygiene; Shelter;G l o b a l R e s o u r c e Ma na gement J o ur na l V o l .5

23

Food Security; Logistics, Education; Protection; Telecommunication;
Nutrition; Early Recovery Network; Camp Coordination and CampManagement. In another side the logistical causes:• complex geographical conditions of Nepal as a mountainous andearthquake-hit area.
• A poor transportation network and the loss of power and telephone
connections• shortage of helicopters, supply trucks and drivers.
• Institutional and Procedural Imperfections
In current framework, damage estimates must be made locally andtransmitted to the central authorities, while instruction for responders
and the population must be disseminated from the central authorities, but
after the earthquake, Nepal’s communication infrastructure crumbled.
This also meant that international responders entered the country
blind, without knowing where their assistance was most needed. The
coordination and management of the many aid agencies as well thecommunication and access difficulties between urban ‘command centers’
and rural villages.
Response Process
The purpose of response process is to provide urgently needed
medical supplies, including all emergency agencies health kits including
basic health needs for about 460,000 people for three months, for all
camps of refugees or people who have been evacuated to camps incollaborating with the Ministry of Health and Population WHO andcontinues to work closely with the Ministry of Health and Population incoordinating the relief efforts of the Group's health stakeholders at thenational and provincial levels, and in coordinating the deployment withforeign medical teams. As well, working together with UNICEF and theMinistry of Health and Population to vaccinate children against measles
in all the official camps and in many informal camps, and cover the
worst affected districts.
In close collaboration with the Government of Nepal, theEmergency Telecommunication Cluster group (ETC, 2015) hosted
the Communication Emergency Response workshop together with the
Ministry of Information and Communications in Kathmandu with many
stakeholders participating to enhance the emergency response plan for
Nepal.
According to National Disaster Response Framework, public service
announcement by radio, TV, SMS for factual EWS (Nepal: Earthquake2015 Situation, 2015), emergency warning, ongoing rescue operations
and public announcement. In 2015 earthquake, emergency response
activities that were implemented timely include the District Disaster
Relief Committee meeting, Central Natural Disaster Relief Committee
meeting, appeal for international support, activation of search and rescue
operation, coordination setup for receiving international support at the
Tribhuvan International Airport, as well as the processes that requires
communication with the UN/HC and IASC humanitarian clusters. These
activities have pre-established standard operating procedure at National
Emergency Operation Center, which understood across ministries(Sigdel, 2016).
After the earthquake, The National and International
telecommunications community responded to the earthquake to restore
emergency communications. There were several projects that were
hosted to crowd-source disaster information and exchange information
using new media, like:
1. Using the social media to connect people.
2. SMS and hot-line to receive reports and to notify various groupsof each other’s response efforts.
3. Some online software for the map, and street geography, as wellfor the humanity roads.
4. Radio Broadcasters FM Radio broadcaster comprise Nepal
Radio. These radio stations serve as the only mean of education
for some remote communities.
The silence that emanates from areas cut off from communication,
especially in the areas near the epicenter, is a profoundly ominous
indicator, and communication will only become more important in thedays to come, and some of the worst affected areas take days to reacheven in normal times.
Nepal is showing just how much digitization is changing
communications in disasters. Many people have used the platform

to criticize the government, contact the authorities directly and sharerequests for help. In another side, Nepalis overseas are joining online
volunteer efforts to translate information and map affected areas. Local
newspapers continue to publish online, even while they struggle to printand distribute their traditional hard copies.
Proposed Solutions for Using the Data during the Earthquake
In this section, the solutions of using the information dissemination
during the earthquake especially in Nepal case has been proposed. At
first, collecting data is the most significant which the public orientationof plan will be, followed with the distribution the information and theauthorities for all stakeholders.
This part also argues the significance of information during thedisaster and earthquake in Nepal starting from the collecting data frompeople or resources, sharing the information between all main players
and strategies to help in sharing the information.
There is a need to build the technology and communication
applications that can be used every day and make the public awareof those to utilize during any emergency. Establish a multi-agency
situational-awareness platform to integrate all alerting authorities andemergency response organizations, at national and local layers, witha common operating picture to improve institutional responsiveness.
Thus, establish a multi-agency first response platform including themanagement system to integrate all emergency response organizations,at national and local layers, with situational reporting procedures for
improving response coordination and management, then establish
interoperability standards to integrate all crisis and emergency groups
with national and international systems.
However, the availability of data is the most important to people
who work in the road, and collecting data and share the information
between all stakeholder for the response processes are in the first priority
to be on the road for the first aid for people.
Collecting the Data
One of the most important responsibility during the disaster is thedata collection and gathering the information on targeted area. Simply
collecting data and information during the disaster often presents a set of
barriers. Many types of data need to be collected after earthquakes which
will be used for different purposes: decision makers and emergency
responders. Among the types of data that need to be collected:-Geologic data like landslides, liquefaction, and fault rupture ordisplacement.
-Data on damage to lifelines and infrastructure systems in example:
water, power outages, sewer and pipelines, telecommunications,and transportation.
-Data on building damage, and people in and out of the area, specifictypes of building losses like commercial building losses, stores,
shelters, and for business or economic usage.
-Data on injuries and deaths to provide the health care for them.
-Data on emergency response procedures, resources needed for
response, effectiveness and rescue procedures, or responses towarnings and predictions.
-Data on the political context like for development, land use
regulation, historic preservation, and commercial redevelopment.
Distributing the Information
On another side, sharing the information between all people anddistributing it might help people to protect themselves during or after
the earthquake as well might reduce the effect in the injuries people andprotect them to be in life for any effect could become from the building
damage or infrastructure damage. The information would be like below:-Share the emergency information among people such as the phone
numbers of the nearest emergency center to quake-hit areas.
-Describe how people can stay safe when the earthquake threatens.
-Describe how people can check themselves for injury and how canthey provide the help for others.
-Guide people to safe places in their surroundings.
-Describe to people how to make an emergency groups to make acommunication plan to avoid the out-of-state contact among thepeople in the quake-hit areas to facilitate the process of assistancefrom international institutions and local government.
-Describe what kind of food should be eaten after the earthquake, forCo u r s e R ep o r ts
example avoiding foods that cause thirst especially contain salts andtrying eat some foods have more liquid inside them.
-Give preliminary information about places affected by earthquakes
and warn people to get close to them or return to their homes.
-Give people preliminary information on how to get water and thenearest place where water is available for each affected area.
Strategies and Authorities
In order to respond for the authorities and mobilize the community
level actors, the strategy is to rely on the capacity of informal authorities(e.g. the head of a local community or a village) in a close collaboration
with the local official government, especially when it comes to postdisaster challenges such as:-Collecting fast and reliable information from the villagers,-Prioritizing the villages when central government and internationalNGOs are concerned with big cities or simply do not have easy
access to these villages,-Providing the villagers with specific information on their village
or their problem through local radio channels based on collected
information
For example, below is a probable scenario in collecting theinformation from the villagers in far-flung areas like Barpak, someresilient buildings have to keep equipped tricycles inside. This building
should be considered as a main hub close to several villages.
The local government manages these facilities but the actual workof driving these tricycles to the villages, collecting the information, andhelp them to restore the communication devices, should be done bytrained and trusted people from the local communities working under
the supervision of the community leaders and the local government. This
information can later be used to prepare the necessary guidelines forthe villagers. In the communication hub carried by motor-tricycle, few
equipment will be put on the vehicles like (Internet Live Stats, 2018):-Wi-Fi router, and there is no regulation for it, considering it is just a
medium to provide wireless access point.
-Cellular signal base station, which include 2/3G and 4G, it isregulated by Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA).
-radio emitter and receiver, and there has no regulation for it. For
radio emitter, it is regulated by the Ministry of Information andCommunications.
Conclusion and Summary
The best way to protect against earthquakes is to prepare the public
and the civil administration. It is important to make all lifeline buildingssuch as hospitals, fire and police stations, and schools. What more,human should stress and highlight the importance of educating school
children on a routine basis about the earthquakes and how to live withthem.
The potential of providing the communication system in facilitating
disaster management is huge and has begun to be realized in the way
they are used for fundraising, finding missing people, and to strengthen
feelings of solidarity between dispersed communities.
Starting in rural central Nepal where multiple devastating
aftershocks struck after the earthquake killing many people, the people
used different technologies for different reasons and in different ways.
Access to the technologies and the internet connection for using
were common barriers, as were capability like read in English, thepredominant Internet-language, or to read at all.
Overall, the technologies and communication technology are
facilitating resilience of individuals in the face of a disaster, there issome way to go for this to be applied to the evacuation and health caresystem after the disaster as a whole.
There is scope for increased connectedness and collaboration
between all responding of the disasters, although they have the same
overarching goal of saving the lives of people. Innovative use oftechnologies could help bridge that gap in future.
Works Cited[1]Bustanul, M., Bisria, F., & Beniya, S. (2016). Analyzing the National
Disaster Response Framework and Inter-Organizational Network of
the 2015 Nepal/Gorkha Earthquake. ScienceDirect.
[2]C. Welton-Mitchell, R. A. (2017). Investigating Community Resiliencein Bhaktapur District and Surrounding Areas in Nepal following

24

the 2015 Earthquake. Santiago Chile: 16th World Conference on
Earthquake Engineering.
[3]Communication and Information. (2015). Retrieved from UNESCO
Office in Kathmandu: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/kathmandu/
communication-and-information/[4]ETC. (2015). Nepal: Earthquake Documents. Retrieved from
Emergency Telecommunication Cluster: https://www.etcluster.org/[5]IFRC. (2018, 07 27). What is a disaster. Retrieved from International
Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies: http://www.ifrc.
org/en/what-we-do/disaster-management/about-disasters/what-is-adisaster/[6]Information & Communication Technologies and the 2015 Nepal
Earthquake. (2017). Retrieved from The Sheffield Institute forInternational Development: http://siid.group.shef.ac.uk/blog/
information-copal-earthquake/[7]Internet Live Stats. (2018). Retrieved from Nepal Internet Users:
http://www.internetlivestats.com/internet-users/nepal/[8]National Disaster Recovery Framework. (2018). Retrieved from
FEMA: https://www.fema.gov/national-disaster-recovery-framework[9]Nepal Earthquake Clearinghouse. (2018). Retrieved from http://
learningfromearthquakes.org/2015-04-25-nepal/[10]Nepal needs better communication infrastructure to respondto disaster. (2015). Retrieved from WACC Communication for
All: http://www.waccglobal.org/articles/nepal-needs-bettercommunication-infrastructure-to-respond-to-disaster[11]Nepal: Earthquake 2015 Situation. (2015). Retrieved from Relief
Web: https://reliefweb.int/report/nepal/nepal-earthquake-2015situation-report-no-7-30-april-2015[12]One in two Nepalis use internet: NTA report. (2018). Retrieved from
Kathmandu Post: http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/printedition/
news/2017-05-09/one-in-two-nepalis-use-internet-nta-report.html[13]Sigdel, S. (2016). ICT and DRR: Nepal Earthquake 2015 . Napal:
Internet Society Nepa.
[14]Waidyanatha, N. (2016). 2015 Gorkha Earthquake: Evaluation of
Nepal’s Emergency Communication Systems. Colombo, Sri Lanka:
Internet Society Nepal Chapter.

G l o b a l R e s o u r c e Ma na gement J o ur na l V o l .5

25

Improve the Response of the Earthquake through the first 48 hours
Case Study of Barpak Village, Nepal
Zhang Wenyu

Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Current Situation
2.1 Current National Disaster Response Framework
2.2 Case Study: Barpak village, Gorkha District
2.3 ICT service
3. Purpose Solution
3.1 Radio
3.2 Motortricycle
4. A simulation of post earthquake
5. Conclusion

our study case will focus on one cities near the Nepali Himalaya. This
mountains cover the north of India, Tibet, and Nepal. As shown in thefollowing figure.

1. Introduction
1.1 Earthquake and Nepal
We focus on earthquake problem and to which the disaster response
is based on several factors: (i) earthquake can happen anywhere.
Earthquakes occur all the time all over the world, both along plateedges and along faults. Most earthquakes occur along the edge of theoceanic and continental plates. The earth's crust (the outer layer of theplanet) is made up of several pieces, called plates. The plates under theoceans are called oceanic plates and the rest are continental plates. The
plates are moved around by the motion of a deeper part of the earth (themantle) that lies underneath the crust. These plates are always bumping
into each other, pulling away from each other, or past each other. The
plates usually move at about the same speed that your fingernails grow.
Earthquakes usually occur where two plates are running into each otheror sliding past each other. Earthquakes can also occur far from the edgesof plates, along faults. Faults are cracks in the earth where sections of aplate (or two plates) are moving in different directions. Faults are causedby all that bumping and sliding the plates do. They are more common
near the edges of the plates. (ii) Earthquake happened without warning.
There is no way to predict earthquake so far. (iii) Earthquake
can cause huge disaster to humankind’s life, such as causing fires anddamage roads, or causing tsunamis, landslides and avalanches. To study
how to improve the disaster response of earthquake can improve ourlives.

FIGURE 1 AN IMAGE OF THE WORLD'S PLATES AND THEIR BOUNDARIES.
FIGURE 1 AN
IMAGE OF THE WORLD'S PLATES AND THEIR BOUNDARIES.

We chose Nepal as our target site. For the geological factor, ourfocus will be on An active earthquake zone represented by unstableearth which an earthquake is expected to occur at. Himalayas Mountains
are chosen to be the zone of the study where the Indian and Eurasiancontinents are converging at the rate of ~1850 mm/year. It is quite wellknown that the present day structure of the Himalaya has resulted fromthe progressive under thrusting of the Indian plate, leading to a stack ofthrust sheets that get progressively younger, southward. In this geometry,the oldest and the northernmost is the Main Central Thrust (MCT),
followed by the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT) and the Main Frontal
Thrust (MFT), all of which sole into the Main Himalayan Thrust (MHT).
The thicker part of the MHT is believed to be creeping smoothly while
the shallower parts slip episodically which cause great earthquakes. So

FIGURE 2 THE GENERAL LOCATION OF
THE HIMALAYAS MOUNTAIN RANGEFIGURE 2 THE GENERAL LOCATION OF THE HIMALAYAS MOUNTAIN RANGE

1.2 Research Objectives and Limitations
Our research objectives is to propose ideas to improve one-way
and two-way communications in post-earthquake. We want to (i)improve the guidance system for people and international organization
through the first 48 hours after the earthquake, (ii) facilitate information
dissemination to rural/remote areas through national media, and (iii)
facilitate people to Search and Rescue (SAR) groups and SAR to people
communications.
We have two limitations in this study. We did not have the chance
to do fieldwork and had little access to detailed fieldwork based studies
in rural areas of Nepal. We are not taking into account the possible
discriminations caused by Caste system or Gender inequality in Nepal.
2. Current Situation
2.1 Current National Disaster Response Framework
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA) completed and enacted theaforementioned NDRF. It states that in the Nepali context, a national
disaster response means “actions taken immediately before, during andafter the disasters, or directly to save lives and property; maintain law
and order; care for sick, injured and vulnerable people; provide essential
services (lifeline utilities, food, shelter, public information and media);
and protect public property”. The framework has eight sections withmain components that regulate the national system for disaster response,
arrangements for international assistance, the coordination structure ofnational and international assistance, special operation arrangements fornational disaster response, the national framework for disaster response,and necessary future courses of actions for emergency preparedness.
Firgure 3 and 4 show the NDRF of the first 48 hours after disasteroccurred.

Co u r s e R ep o r ts

26

to communicate with outside world. In terms of communication, we
found out that many village people have never used social media, likefacebook, twitter, due to the illiteracy or lack of access. However, mostof them owned the basic cell phones. Majority of village people listen to
the radio on their mobile phones, which were safe in their pockets during
the earthquake, while TV, PC and radios were damaged. Earthquake
had also damaged most of the roads. Village people must walk or drive
motorbike to travel.

FIGURE 3 NATIONAL DISASTER RESPONSE FRAMEWORKOF THE FIRST 48 HOURS PART 1 OF 2

FIGURE 3 NATIONAL DISASTER RESPONSE FRAMEWORK OF THE FIRST 48 HOURS PART 1 OF 2

FIGURE 5 MAP OF GORKHA PROVINCE WHERE BARPAK IS LOCATEDFIGURE 5 MAP OF GORKHA PROVINCE WHERE BARPAK IS LOCATED

2.3 ICT service

FIGURE 4 NATIONAL DISASTER RESPONSE FRAMEWORK OF THE FIRST 48 HOURS PART 2 OF 2

FIGURE 4 NATIONAL DISASTER RESPONSE FRAMEWORKOF THE FIRST 48 HOURS PART 2 OF 2

To be noted, it is mentioned in the NDRF that (i) transportationand treatment of severely injured people immediately by MoHA andhospitals; (ii) carrying out initial rapid assessment by NEOC; (iii) roadmaintenance for minimum service by Department of road and (iv)transportation arrangement for search, rescue and relief by Departmentof Transportation.
2.2 Case Study: Barpak village, Gorkha District
Barpak village is located in the northern part of the Gorkha
district of Nepal. This village is about 1900 meters above sea level.
It is epicenter and lodged on a steep hillside. On April, 2015, a M8
earthquake hit Gorkha area, which also seriously hit Barpak village.
16 houses out of 1400 remained only in Barpak. Study shows that an
NGO was able to provide some electricity to Barpak after two weeks
post-earthquake. During the blackout, men, women and children mustcarry solar panels up the steep paths of the Himalayan mountains topower a generator, which in turn charged cell phones and allow them

2.3.1 Background Information on ICT in Nepal during emergency
In Nepal, international Connectivity is considered ‘weak’ and its
fixed and mobile infrastructure ‘limited’.
The NETP (National emergency Telecommunication Plan) provides
a detailed description of the Nepali emergency communications anddisaster management:
1. Governance and Leadership
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) and the Ministry ofInformation and Communication Technology (MoICT) are working
together to contribute to improving emergency communications in Nepal.
They developed NETP which adopts some of the Nepal Emergency
Telecommunication Continuity Management System (NETCOMS).
2. Operational Coordination
MoHA coordinates the SAR and Relief operations in Nepal. The
National Emergency Operation Center (NEOC) supports MoHA withthe laborious work of collecting, processing, and presenting the groundinformation. The Chief District Officer, appointed by the MoHA, leads
the District Emergency Operation Center (DEOC). Through the DOEC
the MoHA administers SAR and relief operations. Other responseorganizations such as police, military, and NGOs are debriefed at the
DEOC.
Issue1: At present NEOC does not provides information systems to
support crisis response and management.
Issue2: The DEOCs do not have access to an incident management
system to coordinate the information with relevant emergency services
and to communicate with the MoHA. It is all manually processed on
paper and communicated via phone or FAX.
3. Plans and Procedures
The Nepal Five Year Plan is setting the action plans for utilizing
the Rural Telecommunications Development Fund (RTDF), namely the
Universal Service Fund (USF). This will allow Nepal to extend the fiber
networks and connectivity in rural areas. Emergency Services will also
benefit from this expansion. The initial intention of the RTDF project isthat of sharing the network with health, education, and e-Government
services. One objective of the design is to develop broadband services
in the fourteen most earthquake affected districts. The GoNP has
established a “telecommunications cluster”, which could potentiallyserve as Nepal's Emergency Communications Charter.
2.3.2 Impact of Nepal’s 2015 Earthquake on ICT sector
After the earthquake, The National and International
telecommunications community responded to the earthquake to restore
emergency communications. There were several projects that were
hosted to crowdsourced disaster information and exchange information
using new media.

27

G l o b a l R e s o u r c e Ma na gement J o ur na l V o l .5
Below those initiatives that made an impact are listed below:

1. Police Social Media: Nepal police introduced twitter account (@nepalpolicepq) had been helpful to keep citizens informed. One instance,in Dolakha, citizens used Facebook to report a landslide and request for
SAR. Nepal Police exercised an framework that involved interactions
between police crisis communication practices, institutional elements,
and convergence
2. QuakeMap: QuakeMap was used as one of the key information
sources in Nepal’s earthquake response and relief work. They set up
a SMS hotline to receive reports as well as to notify various groupsof each other’s response efforts. Approximately ten percent of therecords were received through SMS but most of it was through the data
communication channels, including social media and an online form.
3. OpenStreetMapKLL: was instrumental to developing several
useful OpenStreetMaps (OSMs) to assist the humanitarian response.
Some OSM work was carried out a couple of years prior to theearthquake. However, there were no maps for the 14 affected districts atthe time of the earthquake. Organizations, the Military, and Government
were some of the avid users of the KLL generated maps.
4. Humanity Road:Humanity Road’s overall disaster response
activities for Nepal spanned 49 days. The organization activated its
disaster desk on April 25th and stood down on June 12th. Humanity
Road helped to collect, verify, and process reports coming to the
QuakeMap repository.
5. Micromappers:Micromappers provides a platform for Digital
Humanitarians, termed as Digital Jedis, to support disaster responders
with a simple click.
6. Mass Displacement of People:Outputs from the WorldPop
project mapping team rapidly produced updates of static population
density maps with a resolution of 100x100 m, including gender and age
distribution for Nepal. This data were used by the UN Organization for
the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and other key relief
agencies to estimate the number of people affected and the needs which
had to be met.
7. Disaster Management Software:Members from the Indian IT
community approached Sahana Software Foundation (SSF) requesting
to assist them with configuring the Sahana software for supporting
the Nepal earthquake relief operations. United Nations Development
Program (UNDP) and IBM had also hosted instances of the Sahana
Software13.
8. Story Cycle Story:Cycle15, similar to MySpace, is a social media
platform for humanitarian communities of practice to collaborate. The
intent of the developers was to offer a the communities to build theirown cyber presence, predominantly with a functionality built in to
support the recovery phase and rebuilding.
9. Emergency Communications Cluster During the earthquake
the International ETC, MoICT, MOHA, Ministry of Defense (MoD),
and the WFP established the Nepal ETC16. Many other Organizations,
immediately, joined the group. This working group was most usefulin coordinating the restoration of telecommunications and providing
a satisfactory service in support of the humanitarian response. The
International ETC setup VSATs and communications hubs (or Kiosks)
to support the humanitarian operations. Their services include providing
Internet, ICT help desks, radio programming, and training. Whilesome services were accessible to the public, ETC objectives were toprovide communications to the humanitarian response organizations.
International ETC decommissioned its operations in October of 2015.
However, some of the founding members of Nepal ETC are now part ofa working group that is assisting NTA to revise the NETP.
10. Radio Broadcasters FM Radio broadcaster comprise Nepal
Radio (the National Radio) and the 500+ Community Radio Stations
covering the country. These radio stations serve as the only mean ofeducation for some remote communities.
3. Purpose Solution
We can see that during earthquake, Nepal people relied on radio toreceive information via radio receiver or their mobile phone which has
the radio function. What’s more, Nepali people have to travel on foot oron small vehicle due to bad road condition, to find ways to charge theirphones to communicate. To these problems we propose two solution.
3.1 Radio
We found out that radio signals reach every possible corner of any
geography, ensuring successful objectives of communicating. In 1995,

the Frequency Modulation [FM] technology was introduced in thiscountry. After years of development, there are about 85 registered FM
stations in Nepal. According to Nepal Telecommunications Authority,
mobile phone ownership was widespread and around 96% of people
lived within the coverage area of mobile tower. The internet penetrationis reportedly at about 44% nationally.

FIGURE66THE
THE CURRENTSITUATION
OF NEPAL RADIOINFRASTRUCTURE
FIGURE
CURRENTSITUATION
OF NETWORK,NEPAL RADIONETWORK,INFRASTRUCTURE

Therefore, we proposed to distribute emergency information byradio. The distributed information contains notes of how to stay safe.
After earthquake happened, the Nepal radio in kathmandu will be usedas the main transmitter, and other radio channel will be transformed
into repeater tower of the main radio during the first hours of the earth
quake. What’s more, the main radio transmit important information for
15 minutes every 2 hours. In additions, set new extension towers in rural
areas.
3.2 Motor-tricycles and Drones
3.2.1 Introduction
We also considered to provide a information hub for Nepali people
to use during earthquake. TOYOTA company proposed that to use
vehicles as information hub/physical shelter/electric power source for
SAR. In their proposal, vehicles will be equipped with gas fuel, electric
generator and electric battery for power source purposes, and it will carry
WiFi router, white space for TV signal, 3G/4G base station for mobile
phone signals. The cost of such vehicles are not expensive, compared tobuilding infrastructure. The infrastructure including cellular operations,might get disrupted either locally or in very wide areas due to a myriadof reasons ranging from base station power outages to equipment
failures, from collapsed antennas to operator level call prioritization
policies. Moreover, WiFi hotspot and access point connectivity might
be lost due to similar causes. This, in turn, instantly renders expensive
and multifunctional gadgets such as smart phones, tablets, personal
computers and countless other communication devices useless. However,using vehicles as information hub was not practical in our consideration.
However, in the case of Nepal, roads were reported damaged during theearthquake. Citizens had to walk on foot, or use motorbike if possible, to
go to save place.
In this case, we need a vehicles with agility that can travel on a
narrow road, but also can carry certain amount of generator, base station
for mobile phone and internet machine. Therefore, we propose a motortricycle. it can carry some of the equipments, while having the agility tomove around. Also we can use Drone. such technology exist in China
already. We think motor-tricycle has a few merits compared to vehicles:(i) it is cheap, a brand new motor-tricycle only cost 800 USD; (ii) it
has medium capacity and medium durability, so it can carry some ofthe equipments such as base station and Wi-Fi router for people; (iii) it
is mobile even with bad road condition. Drones are helpful despite its
expensive price. We found out that there are some commercial dronesin the market that integrated with cellular signal base station and Wi-Fi
router already. What’s more, drones can travel around regardless of roadcondition.
3.2.2 Timing and Protocol
Therefore, we propose to use motor-tricycle and drones. Whenshould the motor-tricycle be distributed? First, we think it can be used
as mobile radio station, to broadcast emergency information from thegovernment. Secondly, according to Telecommunication Technology
Center (TTC) JAPAN the time period from 24hrs to 48hrs is crucial. Yet
the number of people rescued decreased due to limited info collected tocommand center, which means command center should be determinedCo u r s e R ep o r ts
during this time period. As we all know, details of disaster are important
to command center.

FIGURE 7 PERCENTAGE OF SURVIVAL AND NUMBER OF PEOPLE RESCUED BY DMATFIGURE 7 PERCENTAGE OF SURVIVAL AND NUMBER OF PEOPLERESCUED BY DMAT

Therefore, the protocol of distributing motor-tricycle is as follows:(i) 07 hours after earthquake, motor-tricycle with radio receiver andspeaker will be distributed from each communities in Nepal. Its goal is tobroadcast emergency information, and collect information of earthquake
damage, such as road condition and infrastructure collapse.
(ii) 724 hours after earthquake, motor-tricycle will upload thecollected information to command center (set by government). So thecommand center can have the first hand information about disasterdamage, and create the assessment and rescue plan.
(iii) 2448 hours after earthquake, motor-tricycle will carry electric
generator and drones to disaster center, or roadblock area according
to the command center plan. Its goal is to provide information
communication hub for the people without communication access.
Drones will be sent out for surveillance.
3.2.3 Cost and Replenish
We estimate each motor-tricycle unit cost 1150 USD, whichcontains motor-tricycle
800 USD, Wi-Fi router 50 USD, cellular signal base station 100
USD, electric generator 200 USD. Drone cost around 5000 USD. Eachcommunity in Nepal will have one unit. There are 3157 communities. In
total this plan will cost around 20 million USD. We can acquire funds
from UN and private sectors.
The investment can be replenished. In nonemergency time, Nepal
can provide service to mountain climber. Provide surveillance and wifi/
cellular service by drones.
4. A Simulation of Post Earthquake
Figure 8 shows the information flow of these two new methods
activated.
Figure 8 shows the information flow of these two new methods activated.

FIGURE 8 INFORMATION FLOW IN THE FIRST 48 HOURS OF EARTHQUAKEFIGURE 8 INFORMATION FLOW IN THE FIRST 48 HOURS OF EARTHQUAKE

Let’s simulate a post earthquake scenario:
Earthquake happened, NDRF become active, at the same time(i) 02 hours radio will broadcast emergency information toteach people how to be safe. Motor-tricycle in each community will
be distributed with radio receiver and speak to broadcast the same
information.
(ii) 27 hours while the motor-tricycle is distributing emergency
information, it will also collect information, such as road condition andinfrastructure collapse.
(iii)724 hours the collected information will be uploaded togovernment. Nepal government will create a command center, and base28

on the collected information, the command center will have a rapid
assessment of disaster. A search and rescue plan will be constructed.
(iv)2448 hours motor-tricycle will be distributed again, but this time
its target is disaster center, or road-blocked area. Drones with cellularbase station, Wi-Fi router will fly to midair in these area, providing
communication access for people in-need.
5. Conclusion
In this study, we have one case study about Barpak village in
Nepal during the 2015 Nepal earthquake. We found that radio is themain information collecting method for village people, and roads weredamaged during the earthquake. Barpak people have to travel on footto find safe place with power source so they can have access to radio.
Therefore we proposed two methods to improve this situation. First
method is to broadcast emergency information in the first 2 hours ofearthquake. The information include teaching people how to stay safe.
Other than this oneway communication method, we also proposed asecond method, which is creating information hub. This information hub
is in the form of motor-tricycle and drone. A protocol is created based onthese two new methods, and it should be carried out at the same time as
the NDRF.
Ref.
[1]https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=6717123[2]https://www.itu.int/en/ITUT/extcoop/cits/Documents/Workshop201607Tokyo/
PPT/S3P3_VHUB_TTC.pdf[3]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Village_development_committee_(Nepal)[4]National Disaster Response Framework (NDRF)[5]https://www.ifrc.org/docs/IDRL/2011%20National%20Disaster%20
Response%20Framework%20(unofficial%20translation%20).pdf[6]Waidyanatha, Nuwan. "Evaluation of Nepal’s Emergency
Communication System." (2016).
[7]Santosh Sigdel, “ICT and DRR: Nepal Earthquake 2015”, Presented
at SubRegional Workshop on E-resilience for the AsiaPacificInformation Superhighway (APIS)[8]Analyzing the National Disaster Response Framework andInterOrganizational Network of the 2015 Nepal/Gorkha EarthquakeG l o b a l R e s o u r c e Ma na gement J o ur na l V o l .5

29

Improving Post-Earthquake People-SAR Communication
Strategies during the first 48 hours
Case Study of Barpak Village, Nepal
Elham Hosnieh
1. Introduction
Nepal is one of the most seismically active regions of the world; it
has a long record of earthquakes. The 2015 earthquake in Nepal killedover 8000 people, injured more than 21,000 and displaced a further 2
million (Hall, 2015). This major earthquake of 7.6 ML with the epicentre
in Gorkha District caused devastation in Nepal. Thousands of people
died, injured, and a large number of buildings was either completely
destroyed or severely damaged. The 2015 Gorkha earthquake caused
considerable damage to the infrastructure sector of Nepal. A significant
number of information and communications systems, transportation
networks, roads,…were destroyed or damaged (Parajuli, 2016).
Telecommunications on the other hand, are the backbone of searchand rescue operations. Both infrastructural-wise and managementwise, Nepal showed serious shortcomings in handling the first 28
hours of emergency response. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to
propose solutions to improve post-earthquake one way and two ways
communications in rural areas of Nepal.
Section 2 provides some background information on earthquakes
with the focus on Barpak village in Nepal. Thereafter, Section 3
examines our recommendation to facilitate communication and theirimplementation costs.

.

earthquakes in Nepal. Source: https://earthquake.usgs.gov/
earthquakes in Nepal. Source: https://earthquake.usgs.gov/

2. Research Background2.1. Background Information on ICT in Nepal during emergency
In Nepal, international Connectivity is considered ‘weak’ andits fixed and mobile infrastructure ‘limited’. The NETP (National
emergency Telecommunication Plan) provides a detailed description of
the Nepali emergency communications and disaster management:• Governance and Leadership
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) and the Ministry ofInformation and Communication Technology (MoICT) are working
together to contribute to improving emergency communications in Nepal.
They developed NETP which adopts some of the Nepal Emergency
Telecommunication Continuity Management System (NETCOMS).
•Operational Coordination
MoHA coordinates the SAR and Relief operations in Nepal. The
National Emergency Operation Center (NEOC) supports MoHA withthe laborious work of collecting, processing, and presenting the groundinformation. The Chief District Officer, appointed by the MoHA, leads
the District Emergency Operation Center (DEOC). Through the DOEC
the MoHA administers SAR and relief operations.
Other response organizations such as police, military, and NGOs aredebriefed at the DEOC. (Waidyanatha, 2015).
Issue1: At present NEOC does not provides information systems to
support crisis response and management.
Issue2: The DEOCs do not have access to an incident management
system to coordinate the information with relevant emergency services

and to communicate with the MoHA. It is all manually processed on
paper and communicated via phone or FAX.
2.2. Impact of Nepal`s 2015 Earthquake on ICT sector
After the earthquake, The National and International
telecommunications community responded to the earthquake to restore
emergency communications. There were several projects that were
hosted to crowd-source disaster information and exchange information
using new media.
Below few of the initiatives that made an impact, are listed(Waidyanatha, 2015)
1. Police Social Media: Nepal police introduced twitter account (@nepalpolicepq) had been helpful to keep citizens informed. One instance,in Dolakha, citizens used Facebook to report a landslide and request for
SAR. Nepal Police exercised an framework that involved interactions
between police crisis communication practices, institutional elements,
and convergence
2. QuakeMap: QuakeMap was used as one of the key information
sources in Nepal’s earthquake response and relief work. They set up a
SMS hot-line to receive reports as well as to notify various groups ofeach other’s response efforts.
3. OpenStreetMapKLL: was instrumental to developing several useful
OpenStreetMaps (OSMs) to assist the humanitarian response. Some
OSM work was carried out a couple of years prior to the earthquake.
However, there were no maps for the 14 affected districts at the time ofthe earthquake. Organizations, the Military, and Government were someof the avid users of the KLL generated maps.
4. Humanity Road: Humanity Road’s overall disaster response activities
for Nepal spanned 49 days. The organization activated its disaster deskon April 25th and stood down on June 12th. Humanity Road helped tocollect, verify, and process reports coming to the QuakeMap repository.
5. Micromappers: Micromappers provides a platform for Digital
Humanitarians, termed as Digital Jedis, to support disaster responders
with a simple click.
6. Mass Displacement of People: Outputs from the WorldPop projectmapping team rapidly produced updates of static population density
maps with a resolution of 100x100 m, including gender and age
distribution for Nepal. This data were used by the UN Organization for
the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and other key relief
agencies to estimate the number of people affected and the needs which
had to be met.
7. Disaster Management Software: Members from the Indian IT
community approached Sahana Software Foundation (SSF) requesting
to assist them with configuring the Sahana software for supporting
the Nepal earthquake relief operations. United Nations Development
Program (UNDP) and IBM had also hosted instances of the Sahana
Software13.
8. Story Cycle Story: Cycle15, similar to MySpace, is a social media
platform for humanitarian communities of practice to collaborate. The
intent of the developers was to offer a the communities to build theirown cyber presence, predominantly with a functionality built in to
support the recovery phase and rebuilding.
9. Emergency Communications Cluster During the earthquake theInternational ETC, MoICT, MOHA, Ministry of Defense (MoD), and
the WFP established the Nepal ETC16. Many other Organizations,
immediately, joined the group. This working group was most usefulin coordinating the restoration of telecommunications and providing asatisfactory service in support of the humanitarian response.
10. Radio Broadcasters FM Radio broadcaster comprise Nepal Radio(the National Radio) and the 500+ Community Radio Stations covering
the country. These radio stations serve as the only mean of education forCo u r s e R ep o r ts
some remote communities.
(Summary of the point s made in Waidyanatha, 2015)
2.3. Major Communication-based Shortcomings
Here are three main shortcomings to ICT-based emergency
communication plans in Nepal. Firstly, RadioBroadcasters FM Radio
Station has been the ONLY source of Information provided for remotecommunities, and secondly, necessary measures hasn’t been taken tocollect reliable information from those communities within the first 48
hours after the earthquake to facilitate SAR operations and broadcast
customized information through local radio channels based on theirneeds. Moreover, some challenges occurred using the Radio channels
during the earthquake which need to be addressed: FM Radio broadcastercomprise Nepal Radio (the National Radio) and the 500+ Community
Radio Stations covering the country. These radio stations serve as the
only mean of education for some remote communities. Radio stations
were important in disseminating SAR and relief/rehabilitation specificinformation to the earthquake affected communities. Community Radio,
including Radio Sindu, which the research team visited, did not haveany BC-DRP with necessary SOP to react to emergencies. None of
it is formal, planned, and rehearsed. There is a need for a National
Community Radio Policy. Also a need for the allocation of a Community
Radio Emergency Band (frequency) that all stations can harmonize on.
(Waidyanatha, 2016). Therefore, We aim to propose solutions to improve
post-earthquake one way and two ways communications in rural areas of
Nepal. For doing so, we have chosen Barpak village as a case study. To
be more specific, we aim to firstly, facilitate information dissemination torural remote areas through Radio and secondly, enhance communication
between villagers and Search and Rescue groups. We have chosen Radioand Mobile communication because they are two mediums that the mostpeople, even in rural areas of Nepal have access to.
2.4. Background of our Case-Study : Barpak Village
As explained in the last section, the focus of response protocols
was largely limited to the urban (high-population) areas. Detailed plans
for rural settings were not specifically addressed even though the recent
earthquake affected non-urban districts.
We have focused on the post-earthquake one-way and two-ways
communication in farflung villages with our case-study being a ruralvillage closest to the epicenter of the earthquake named “Barpak”.
3. Our Proposed Solutions
We aim to propose solutions to improve post-earthquake one way
and two ways communications in rural areas of Nepal. For doing so,
we have chosen Barpak village as a case study. To be more specific, we
aim to firstly, facilitate information dissemination to rural remote areas
through Radio and secondly, enhance communication between villagers
and Search and Rescue groups. We have chosen Radio and Mobile
communication because they are two mediums that the most people,
even in rural areas of Nepal have access to. Our original contribution isto propose using a combination of them considering the situation of oursite.
Main objectives are listed below:• To improve the guidance system for people and internationalorganization during the first 48 hours after the earthquake.
• To facilitate people to SAR groups and SAR to people
communications.
• To facilitate “customized” Information dissemination to rural
remote areas through National and Local Radio Channels.
Our plan is decided into three parts:
A. Distribution of safety information at the first 2 hours after theearthquake:
This information speaks about how they can check if something
damaged, how to check themselves and then how to help the others to
be safety and will be distributed by using Radio. Radio Broadcastinghas been proved to be the cheapest and the quickest means of masscommunication in Nepal. Hills and mountains cover about 87 percent of
the country’s area. And only 17 remains as flatlands. This geographicalformation and fluctuating altitudes bring barriers to other communication
methods. Radio signals reach every possible corner of any geography,
ensuring successful objectives of communicating. In 1995, the Frequency
Modulation [FM] Technology was introduced in the country, and Nepal
Radio station did not remain the only one, anymore. Today, there are30

about 85 registered FM stations around the zone of the last earthquake;about 71 of them were still in operational mode while the others are notoperated during the earthquake. This huge number of the radio channels
can be easily controlled to be used like a one way communication to
guide people in Nepal during the first 48 hours of the earthquake. Thisis one of the proposed of using the various radio stations as extension
towers for the central Radio station in the Kathmandu capital may help
to unify guidance and facilitate the process of guiding people to safe
areas and safety of earthquake.
B. Collect information during the period 2 hours to 24 hours after
the earthquake.
B-1: Overview of the solution
We will focus on two kinds of information to be collected thefirst one about what is the areas and building were damaged by theearthquake, and about the injured and killed people in these areas. This
information will be collected by using the motor-tricycle, few pieces ofequipment will be put on the vehicles. They are Wi-Fi router, cellularsignal base station, radio emitter and receiver. This information should
be analyzed and checked by using another type of collecting information
which will be using Helicopters. Distribution guidance information topeople after collecting information about the damaged area such as whatis the dangerous area which people should not return back to them, whatis the most safety area, what is the nearest national or international help
centers or camps.
B-2: Authority in charge
Regarding the authority in charge of these operations, we realizedthat In many reports related to 2015 Gorkha earthquake, a great emphasis
has been put on the huge role that “community level responses” haveplayed during the Gurkha earthquake. The question is: how can wemobilize the community level actors and give them some authorities toact. In order to response to that, our strategy is to rely on the capacity of
informal authorities (e.g. the head of a local community or a village)
in a close collaboration with the local official government, especiallywhen it comes to post-disaster challenges such as :• collecting fast and reliable information from the villagers• Prioritizing the villages when central government andinternational NGOs are concerned with big cities or simply do nothave easy access to these villages• Providing the villagers with specific information on their village
or their problem through local radio channels based on collected
information
For example, below is a probable scenario:
For collecting the Information from the villagers in far-flung areas
like Barpak, we need to have some resilient buildings to keep thoseequipped tricycles inside. This building should be considered as a main
hub close to several villages. The local government manages thesefacilities but the actual work of driving these tricycle to the villages,
collecting the information, and help them to restore their communication
devices, should be done by trained and trusted people from the local
communities working under the supervision of the community leaders
and the local government. These information can later be used to prepare
the necessary guidelines for the villagers.
B-3: Technological explanations:
We proposed that to use vehicles as information/communication
hub during the disasters. Vehicles are multi-function, not only does it
provide transportation, also it can be a physical shelter, electric powersource, and radio communication.
In the case of vehicles in japan, these communication hubs havegas for fuel, electric generator, electric battery, Wi-Fi emitter, basestation for mobile phone signal and White space antenna for tv. the costof such vehicles are not expensive, compared to building infrastructure.
The infrastructure including cellular operations, might get disrupted
either locally or in very wide areas due to a myriad of reasons ranging
from base station power outages to equipment failures, from collapsed
antennas to operator level call prioritization policies. Moreover, Wi-Fi
hotspot and access point connectivity might be lost due to similar causes.
This, in turn, instantly renders expensive and multi-functional gadgets
such as smart phones, tablets, personal computers and countless othercommunication devices useless.

31

G l o b a l R e s o u r c e Ma na gement J o ur na l V o l .5
B-4: Implementation and Cost

https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/extcoop/cits/Documents/Workshop-201607-Tokyo/
PPT/S3P3_VHUB_TTC.pdf

The usage of such vehicles is easy: deploy the vehicles to disasterarea. People in need can acquire aids (electricity, interne) from it. at
the same time the car can collect information of the disaster area. Aftera certain time, return to the evacuation site, upload information ofdamaged area to emergency response.

https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp.jsptp=&amumber=6717123

In the case of Barpak Village in Nepal, roads were reported
damaged during the earthquake. citizens had to walk on foot for hours,
or use motorbikes in order to disseminate information or carry necessary
items back to the village. According to the current National Disaster
Response Framework, in the first 24 hrs, transportation is important fordisaster relief. The initial road inspecting and severely injured people
transporting should be carried out immediately.
Another important is the rescue time. According to
Telecommunication Technology Center (TTC) JAPAN the time period
from 24hrs to 48hrs is crucial. Yet the number of people rescued
decreased due to limited info collected to command center.
Based on all the given information above, we need a vehicles
with agility that can travel on a narrow road, but also can carry certain
amount of generator, base station for mobile phone and internet machine.
Therefore, we propose a motor-tricycle. it can carry some of theequipments, while having the agility to move around. Also we can use
Drone. such technology exist in China already.

price from https://www.made-in-china.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Village_development_committee_(Nepal)

We decide to give one information hub to each community in Nepal.
In the following, you can see a demonstration of calculated cost for theuse of Motor-tricycles, routers, base stations, generators, drones for eachrural community in Nepal.
Other than that, Radio Broadcasting has been proved to be thecheapest and the quickest means of mass communication in Nepal. Hills
and mountains cover about 87 percent of the country’s area. And only
17 remains as flatlands. Therefore, due to the existing infrastructure andtheir relative resistance, the cost of choosing radio channels as our main
tool for information dissemination can be justified.

B-5 : Summary of the points mentioned above:• Collect information during the period 2 hours to 24 hours after theearthquake.
• We will focus on 2 kinds of information to be collected the firstone about what is the areas and building were damaged by theearthquake, and about the injured and killed people in these areas.
• This information will be collected by using the motor-tricycle,
few pieces of equipment will be put on the vehicles. They are WiFi router, cellular signal base station, radio emitter and receiver.
• This information should be analyzed and checked by using
another type of collecting information which will be using
Helicopters.
• Distribution guidance information to people after collecting
information about the damaged area such as what is the dangerous
area which people should not return back to them, what is themost safety area, what is the nearest national or international help
centers or camps.
4. Conclusion
In the conclusion, we propose solutions to improve post-earthquake
one way and two ways communications in rural areas of Nepal. In thefirst 2 hours of earthquake, information about “how to be safe” will bebroadcasted via radio, because radio frequency covers almost 90% of
Nepal. Information dissemination via mobile will also be considered
because 95% of Nepali possess cell-phone. Motor-tricycle will be
distributed in the first 7 hours of earthquake to collect information aboutroad damage and severity of damage in each area in Nepal. Information
will be uploaded to commend center for initial assessment. Motortricycle will be distributed again in the first 24-48 hours, following theassessment plan. Helicopter will be used for surveillance.
References:[1] Crane, Olivia, Julie Balen, Bhimsen Devkota, Sudha Ghimire, andSimon Rushton.
"Use of information and communication technologies in theformal and informal health system responses to the 2015 Nepal
earthquakes." Health policy and planning 32, no.
suppl_3 (2017): iii48-iii58.
[2] Sub-Regional Workshop on E-resilience for the Asia-PacificInformation
Superhighway (AP-IS) presented by a member of Nepal InternetSociety, accessible
here: https://www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/REPORT_BHUTAN_ERES_WORKSHOP_FINAL.pdf[3] Vehicles as Information Hubs During Disasters: Glueing Wi-Fi to TV
White Space toCo u r s e R ep o r ts
Cellular Networks: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?
tp=&arnumber=6717123&tag=1[4] Disaster Information/Communication System Using Vehicles as
Communication
Hub: https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/extcoop/cits/Documents/
Workshop-201607-Tokyo/
PPT/S3P3_VHUB_TTC.pdf[5] Waidyanatha, Nuwan. "Evaluation of Nepal’s Emergency
Communication
System." (2016).
Yates, Dave, and Scott Paquette. "Emergency knowledge
management and social media
technologies: A case study of the 2010 Haitian earthquake." In
Proceedings of the 73rd
ASIS&T Annual Meeting on Navigating Streams in an Information
Ecosystem-Volume
47, p. 42. American Society for Information Science, 2010.
[6] Top-Nepal http://www.top-nepal.com/communication/radiobroadcast-and-fmstations-in-nepal.
http://www.top-nepal.com/communication/radio-broadcast-and-fmstations-innepal.html[7] Radio Stations in Nepal https://www.asiawaves.net/nepal-radio.htm[8] Parajuli, J., & Haynes, K. E. (2016). The earthquake impact on
telecommunications infrastructure in Nepal: a preliminary spatialassessment. Regional Science Policy &Practice, 8(3), 95-109.
[9] Hall, M. L., Lee, A. C. K., Cartwright, C., Marahatta, S., Karki, J., &Simkhada, P.
(2017). The 2015 Nepal earthquake disaster: lessons learned one
year on. Public health, 145, 39-44.
[10] Waidyanatha, N. 2015 GORKHA EARTHQUAKE: EVALUATION
OF NEPAL'S
EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION.
[11] Groupe Speciale Mobile Association. (2015). Disaster response–
Nepal earthquake response and recovery overview. Retrieved
January 6, 2016.

32

33

G l o b a l R e s o u r c e Ma na gement J o ur na l V o l .5

Exploring the Possibility of Autonomous Vehicle Service in Rural Area
Preferences of Local Residents: Concerns and Positive Feedback
Mohammed Hajjaj
Abstract
In order to understand the knowledge, preferences and attitudes of
local residents in Iinan town for exploring the possibility of autonomousvehicle service in the rural area, methods must be performed to survey
and collect data through interactions with all relevant local stakeholders.
In the most recent autonomous vehicle service experiment in Iinan town,
a very small number of residents were surveyed, leaving space for betterand more comprehensive information gathering to be performed in thecity of Iinan town, or any other site with autonomous vehicle service
testing. A more representative survey will gauge public opinion moreaccurately.
All references and resources which have been used in the reportbased on the local government and previous survey which has been
conducted in Iinan town, as well the onsite training and filed work to thetown.
Contents

Abstract ...............................................................................................................33
List of Figures ......................................................................................................33
List of Tables ........................................................................................................33
Overview ..............................................................................................................33
Background ..........................................................................................................33
Census Data of Iinan Town ..................................................................................34
The Activities of Iinan Town ...............................................................................34
Autonomous Vehicle Experiments .......................................................................34
Autonomous Vehicle Analysis .............................................................................35
Stakeholders Analysis ..........................................................................................35
The Current Situation ..........................................................................................35
Preferences of Local Residents ............................................................................36
Summary ..............................................................................................................36
Works Cited .........................................................................................................37

List of Figures

Figure 1: Iinan-cho, Shimane-ken, Japan. ...........................................................34
Figure 2: The number of households and population in Iinan town. ...................34
Figure 3: The distribution of age in Iinan town by gender. .................................34
Figure 4: The simulations of autonomous vehicle technology in Japan. .............34
Figure 5: The experiment of autonomous vehicles technology in Akana area,
Iinan town. ...........................................................................................................35
Figure6: The routes of the experiment for using the autonomous vehicles
technology in Akana area. ....................................................................................35
Figure 7: The satisfaction of the experiments in Akana area, Iinan town. ...........35
Figure 8: The satisfaction of bus frequency in Akana area, Iinan town ..............35
Figure 9: The satisfaction of bus schedule in Akana area, Iinan town ................36
Figure 10: The percentage of people who feel with the danger in using theautonomous vehicle technology. ..........................................................................36
Figure 11: The percentage of people who feel something strange when stopping
at stop sign for using the autonomous vehicle technology. .................................36
Figure 12: The percentage of people who agree of using autonomous vehicle
technology. ...........................................................................................................36
Figure 13: The percentage of people who will use the autonomous vehicle
technology. ...........................................................................................................36

List of Tables

Table 1: The models of autonomous vehicles technology. ..................................35

Overview
The onsite training program at Iinan town was considered for
exploring the possibility of using the autonomous vehicle service in arural area. Akan area is a part of Iinan town which has a problem of the
depopulation and also the increase in elderly people.
Japanese rural areas are facing two big problems: depopulation
and aging society. With those problems, it would be difficult for the
local government to maintain the local people in the rural in term oftransportation, and other basic infrastructures.
Autonomous vehicles (AV) technology has been one of the top
topics recently which will be used in Akana area by the government ofJapan (Discover Autonomous Driving Potential in Japan, December2016). Autonomous vehicles technology is one of the maturetechnologies as well as it one of new paradigms expands the range ofmodes, objectives, impacts, and options considered in transport planningwhich can be ready to implement in the real world, but as shown inmany news articles, it is not fully reliable yet. Enormous expectations
are present towards autonomous vehicles technology in many different
places in the world. Many experiments of autonomous vehicles
technology in Japan have been conducted by the government including
multi models of simulations in a different area.
Autonomous vehicles in rural Akana area might be able to provide
a new service which can help the elderly people for trips to the hospitals,
shopping, and improved safety, so the local residents are aware of thebenefits of autonomous vehicles in terms of safety and are positive
towards the future. As well, the local government is looking for using theautonomous vehicles technology to activate the tourism in the town.
Many stakeholders are interested in using autonomous vehicles
technology in the town beginning from the national and local
government, tourism association, Japan agricultural cooperatives (JA),and local residents. Japan agricultural cooperatives is going to use
autonomous vehicles for shipping, and they want to utilize it to improve
production of crops by elderly farmers. Tourism association will use
the autonomous vehicles technology for activating the tourism in thisarea, but the local bus companies have clearly expressed the opposition
towards the implementation of autonomous vehicles technology in thearea by providing drivers within the company which will play a big rolein terms of communication among the residents.
The official government of Shimane prefecture, and the local officeof Iinan town are afraid to loss the services in the rural communities orbeing ignored (Fieldwork, 2018). Declining population reduces small
businesses while house prices are inflated beyond the reach of young
people by the dormitory effect.
Declining population, and activate the rural areas are considered thecauses and negative impact on rural areas and highlights best initiatives
to recover the community through introducing the new services of using
the autonomous vehicles technology to help people and activate thetourism in the rural area.
Background
Iinan or Iinan-cho is a small town in Shimane prefecture, Japan. It is
located in the central and southern part of Shimane in close to Hiroshima
prefecture (Introduction of Iinan Town, 2018). The town has around240 square kilometers, and also about 90% is occupied by forests andwilderness.
It is surrounded by Mt. Koto and Mt. Omaki in the area. There isa river originates from another mountain which located in the southernpart of the town, flows to the north, as well as there is another one flows
to the south part of town. Figure 14 show the geographical map of thetown.

Co u r s e R ep o r ts

geographical map of the town.

Iinan-cho, Shimane-ken,
Japan. Japan.
FigureFigure
14: 14:
Iinan-cho,
Shimane-ken,

Akana area is one of the subdivisions of Iinan town which theautonomous vehicles will be in the service for people in this area.
Census Data of Iinan Town
The total population (Number of households and population of
Iinan Town, 2018) of Iinan town is estimated to 4929 residents as of2018 in 2292 for males and 2648 for females. The number of households
is estimated to 2056, and the population density in the town is 20
persons per square kilometers according to the statistic report of thetown for 2018, as shown in Figure 15 for the number of households andpopulation in the town:
Census
8000
7000
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0

1990

1995

2000
# of households

2005

2010

2015

Population

Figure 15: The number of households and population in Iinan town.
Figure 15: The number of households and population in Iinan town.

Based on the previous figure, the population of Iinan town is going
down by year, and the people in the town move out in different situations
to business areas as the Iinan town one of the rural areas in Shimane
Prefecture. The distribution of age by gender in Iinan town is as shownin Figure 16 below:

34

many farmers export their products and crops to many residents in theprefecture by Japan agricultural cooperatives.
Japan agricultural cooperative is regional cooperatives to support
the production, transportation and sales of agricultural products in Japan.
It is a voluntary organization as membership of every farmer in Japan.
However, it is founded by the central government to have a control
over Japanese agricultural industry to improve production of crops by
farmers.
Whatever, in the town, there are two private bus companies for thetransportation, and they provide the local transportation in the town by
using different types of vehicles. The bus companies are supported by
local government to continue the service in the town. As well, there is
Iinan tourism association which is another organization related to thetown officials. The association is working to activate the tourism in thetown. Iinan town has been affected by lowering the importance of its
main road by opening a new highway which does not trespass the town.
There are two national highways which are 54, and 184, and also there is
no railroad access to Iinan town.
Roadside stations all over the country are designed by the national
government in terms of basic facilities such as parking space and rest
areas, however, the roadside stations are playing an important role intourism which is often connected with other facilities such as restaurants,souvenir shops, but also shopping areas managed by different shops.
People in the town should commit to a sense of community thatencourages integrate with each other from within. The elderly people in
the town is around the half of the population, and the population is going
down due to other factors in the town.
Iinan town needs empowering with greater powers from the local
and domestic government and access to financial resources to lead andsupport residents which could help the town to be more active in life.
Therefore, the domestic government is going to introduce the technologyof the autonomous vehicle in service for people to be in the town.
The government of Japan has decided to use the technology of
autonomous vehicle in the Iinan town, Akana area by the 2020 Olympic
and Paralympic Games. The purpose of using the new technology is toprovide away to have a car in the road without driver, and to put selfdriving taxis into practical use by 2020. However, the main challenge
for using this technology is to apply the full insurance system, and toensure the safety of not only the consumers, but also the safety of othervehicles in the roads and pedestrians.
Autonomous Vehicle Experiments
Many experiments and verifications have been conducted indifferent areas of Japan using multi models of autonomous vehicle(Demonstration experiment report, 2017). As well (Governmentreport, 2017), some of business model of using the autonomous vehicle
technology are in plan to introduce and conduct with more functions infuture as shown in Figure 17 below.
The smart car is equipped with technology and radar on a routethat included a roadside rest area and a hospital. The new technology
including sensors, and GPS is to identify the routes and traffic signs in
the roads, as well as to detect other vehicles in the route.

FigureThe
distribution of
Iinan
town
by gender.
Figure16:16:
The
distribution
ofage
ageininIinan
town
by gender.

The Activities of Iinan Town
Iinan town has a role to play in the sustainable economies of
Shimane prefecture (Introduction of Iinan Town, 2018). There aresome ways to be sought to empower the rural community to play a partin addressing vital policy areas such as job creation for people whoare living in the area in special elderly people, farmers and also thetransportation fields.
The domestic and local government of Iinan town are afraid for
reducing the services due to the declining population in the town asshown in Figure 15, which affect to the small business in the area.
The agriculture sector is the main activity in the town, and there are

Figure 17: The simulations of autonomous vehicle technology in Japan.
Figure 17: The simulations of autonomous vehicle technology in Japan.

G l o b a l R e s o u r c e Ma na gement J o ur na l V o l .5

35

As well, four types (Government-report, 2017) of vehicles are used
to conduct the experiments and the verification in Japan including bus,car, and trucks. The Table 2 shows the models of autonomous vehicles
technology in Japan.
shows the models of autonomous vehicles technology in Japan.

Table 2: The models of autonomous vehicles technology.

Table 2: The models of autonomous vehicles technology.
Bus Model
1- D Corporation

Car Model
3- Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.
-Level: 4-No of
Passengers: 6
people.
-Speed:
10km/h ~40km/h-Include: (1) GPS to identify the routes,
and (2) IMU for detecting everything
in the route.

2- Advanced Mobility Corporation-Level: 4(private route),
2 (publicroute)-No of
Passengers: 7
people-Speed:
12km/h without driver, up to 20km/h withdriverInclude: (1) Detecting system for the route and(2) Sensor to detect the traffic signs in the roads.
4- Eisan Technology Co., Ltd.

-Level: 4(privateroute), 2(public route)-No of
Passengers: 20
people-Speed: 35km/h ~ 40km/h
Include: (1) GPS to identify the routes, (2)sensors to detect the positions for vehicles in
the road.

-Level: 4(private route),
2 (publicroute)-No of
Passengers: 4
people-Speed:

40km/h ~ 50km/h
Include: (1) LiDAR technology to detect thevehicles in the road, and (2) 3D map.
Note: this model is used for the experiment in
Akana area, Iinan town.

There are two models of bus, as well as there are two models ofcar models. The bus model which has been used in Hokkaido is minibus, but the model of car from Eisan Technology company which havebeen used in Akana area in Iinan town. All models are including sensors
to detect the vehicles in the road, as well there is camera also and GPS
to identify the routes. All models have been used in different level
depending in the route, as it is used the level 4 which fully without driver
for the private route, and level 2 with driver in the public route (NHK,2017).
The experiment of autonomous vehicles technology in Akana area
as shown in Figure 18 was in two parts, the first part, the autonomousvehicle is used without driver which level 4 is applied in 0.6 km, andthe automatic change in driving was based on the road structure andthe slope of the rout, as well in this route, there is an agent besides thepassenger for emergency response. The second part of the experimentusing driver in level 2 with distance 3.9 km in public route, and the roadwaspedestrians
normal too.
with vehicles, cars, and pedestrians too.

The goal of the experiment is to using a limited, and defined thetrack as well to check and verify the using of vehicle in the route.
However, the using of autonomous vehicle was also to check the safetyin less crashes in the town.
Autonomous Vehicle Analysis
Using the autonomous vehicle technology have many benefits forthe people as more safety with fewer crashes (Tomodachi, 2018), andalso increased access to the transportation of people without driver’s
license or live far from existing bus route. However, the using ofautonomous vehicle technology will increase the efficiency due to theability to perform tasks other than driving, and activate or increase thetourism in Iinan town.
In another side, there are some concerns of using the autonomousvehicle technology as the maximum speed of the vehicle will be 30 km
per hour which be too slow in comparing with normal vehicles, as wellas the sudden stopping or braking of the vehicle, so it can unable to drivein area with zero obstacles.
Therefore, the autonomous vehicle technology is supported by
the government using subsidies (NHK, 2017), but it is still in highcompetition by private companies, as well as the cost of producing theautonomous vehicle is high and depend on the government subsidy.
Also, the autonomous will increase the unemployment in the town as it
will be used without drivers, so the new technology will not support theemployment for bus drivers in the town.
Stakeholders Analysis
Within the city of Iinan, multiple groups of people will beaffected by the use of autonomous vehicle technology within the city
through both private and public services. The stakeholders of Iinan
town have been in different fields. One is the domestic national andlocal government of Shimane prefecture and Iinan town will use theautonomous vehicle technology.
As well the Japan agricultural cooperatives, and the tourism
association are expected to use the technology in the town. However,
the main stakeholders will use the technology is the local residents inthe town, in special elderly people. Whatever, the private bus company
might not use the technology and it be one of their concerns to continue
the business in the town.
The Current Situation
Japan is likely to be one of the main drivers of development in a
rapidly growing autonomous driving market (Discover Autonomous
Driving Potential in Japan, December 2016). The market size for selfdriving car technologies in Japan is expected to grow rapidly overthe coming years. The global market for self-driving car technologies
follows the same growth trend as in Japan.
A previous survey (Demonstration experiment report, 2017)
was conducted in Iinan town to study the attitude of local people in
Iinan town. One of the questions which is asked for people about thesatisfaction of the experiments which have been conducted in the town
as shown in Figure 20, and it is found that 45% are strongly satisfied
with the experiment in Akana area, but there are still 35% are normallysatisfied with the experiment, so 80% of people are satisfied with theexperiment of autonomous vehicle in the area.

Figure 18: The experiment of autonomous vehicles technology in Akana area, Iinan town.

Figure 18: The experiment of autonomous vehicles technology in Akana area, Iinan town.

As shown in Figure 19 below: the route of using the autonomousvehicles technology in Akana area was in private and public route.
Figure 20: The satisfaction of the experiments in Akana area, Iinan town.

Figure 20: The satisfaction of the experiments in Akana area, Iinan town.

town.

However, the local people were asked also about the satisfaction ofbus frequency in the town as shown in Figure 21, and it is found around
30% are strongly satisfied, and 37% are satisfied which around 70% of
people are satisfied about the bus frequency in Iinan town.

Figure19:19:
TheTheroutesof theexperimentfor using
the autonomousvehiclestechnology
in Akana area.
Figureroutesof theexperimentfor using
the autonomousvehiclestechnology

in Akana area.

Figure 21: The satisfaction of bus frequency in Akana area, Iinan town

Figure 21: The satisfaction of bus frequency in Akana area, Iinan townCo u r s e R ep o r ts

36

bus company to use it all the time. If local residents give up their driving
license their everyday life becomes much more difficult and challenging,
however, the risk of car accidents will be demonstrated.
The local residents of Iinan town are considering the using ofautonomous vehicle technology in the town. Some concerns from somepeople but there are positive feedbacks to use the technology in the
future for different purposes (Fieldwork, 2018).
The domestic national government (Fieldwork, 2018) is looking
forward to increasing the accessibility of using the autonomous vehicle
technology and improve the transportation in the town with improving
the mobility for non-drivers and for people who don't have a license
to drive the car. Therefore, the government is looking to reduce the
Figure 22: The satisfaction of bus schedule in Akana area, Iinan town
Figure 22: The satisfaction of bus schedule in Akana area, Iinan townparking space in the rural area, and use all spaces for urban effectively
in the town. As well, reducing the cost of the drivers and create domestic
In another side as shown in Figure 23, around 71% of people aremarkets are also one of the hops for the government.
feeling with a non-safety for using the autonomous vehicle technology
The local government is going to make a time saving to provide andwhile the percentage of people who feel something strange more
get the services in the town with more safety in transport the goods andthan conventional vehicle when stopping at stop sign for using theincrease the mobility for all people, so all residents in the town can haveautonomous vehicle technology are 31%, and 36% in the same as
the accessibility to move comfortable even if they don’t have licenses orvehicle, but 33% are feeling less that the conventional vehicle as shownprivate car.
areinfeeling
Figureless
24.that the conventional vehicle as shown in Figure 24.
In contrary, the domestic and local government are concerned about
using the technology of autonomous vehicle in the town. One concern
is to increase the vehicle costs in the town which will affect in theemployment issues and social equity in the town.
Japan agricultural cooperative (Fieldwork, 2018) represent a
different view on the utilizing the new technology to improve productionof crops by farmers. They are going to find a way for reducing the cost
Figure 23: The percentage of people who feel with the
Figure 24: The percentage of people who feelof transportation by using the autonomous vehicle technology what insomething strange when stopping at stop sign for using
danger in using the autonomous vehicle technology.
consequence will make the farmers save time as they will not be required
the autonomous vehicle technology.
to transport their produce every day to the premises of Japan agriculturalin Iinan and safety of elderly farmer will be in control.
The Japan agricultural cooperative has clearly expressed theTherefore, the percentage of people who agree of using autonomous
positive views regarding the autonomous vehicle technology which isvehicle technology is high and it is more than 50% while around 40% ofgoing to improve the efficiency of the farming activities and the revenue
people will use the autonomous vehicle technology when the governmentof products. However, the positive views of Japan agricultural as an
introduce the technology in the town as shown in Figure 24 and Figure 25.
organization is not truly expressing the voice of farmers or residents ofIinan as it is an official part of the government.
The tourism association of Iinan (Fieldwork, 2018) is anotherorganization related to the town officials and the government. They
have an optimistic view of the coming implementation of using the newtechnology in the town. They are looking for providing the service forall people and residents in the town, as well, they want for all to reacheasily for all services in the town.
The association is looking also by using the new technology toactivate the tourism in the town which will help to implement more
projects and open new services in the town like more restaurants,
markets, and more shopping. The diversification of bodies in chargeof different sections gives a wide space for creating a unique image to
Figure 25: The
percentageofpeople
who
agree
of
using
autonomousvehicletechnology.
Figure 25: The percentage of people who agree of using autonomous vehicle technology.
improve its potential in tourism.
The only local bus companies have clearly expressed the opposition
towards implementation of autonomous vehicles technology in thearea. They are concerned about the employment issue in the town andconsidered that the drivers play a big role in the community in terms ofcommunication among the residents.
They are only two bus companies (Fieldwork, 2018) and haveintegrated into different services in the town in schools, hospitals,
shipping and also local people. The companies have made a good
relationship between the drivers and residents in special elderly peopleof farmers by sharing the products as a sign of appreciation for providing
transport services which cannot be in using the technology of theautonomous vehicle as there is no driver and tie up the sociality between
Figure 26: The percentage of people who will use the autonomous vehicle technology.
the people.
Figure 26: The percentage of people who will use the autonomous vehicle technology.
The residents of Iinan town are going to use the technology ofservice in special the farmers in increasing the productivity and makePreferences of Local Residents
more revenue in using transport the product and crops to different
The local residents of Iinan town are aware of the benefits of using
destinations.
the technology of the autonomous vehicle in terms of safety and are
The positive feedback from the people in the town (Fieldwork,
positive towards the future (Fieldwork, 2018). The main hopes of people2018) was not able to have a deeper look at all the significant interestin the town are visits to the hospital, shopping and improved safety.
groups among the residents specifically: firefighters, hospital workers,
The new service which will provide by the government for using theand the police due to the cultural uniqueness present in Japan.
technology of autonomous vehicles is important especially for elderly
people as the Japanese government has been calling for its residents
Summary
over that age cap to return voluntarily their driving license as according
The people in Iinan town are aware about the autonomous vehicle
to various research they are much more likely to be involved in fatal
technology. The awareness could be attributed to the fact that the local
accidents on roads (Fieldwork, 2018). However private car functions
town government has taken a lot of initiatives to make local people
as the only way of moving around in a depopulated area such as Iinan
aware about autonomous vehicle technology, but some farmers seem
town in case there is no public transportation like trains or more private

As well, the satisfaction about the bus schedule was in the samevalues in the town as shown in Figure 22.
in Figure 22.

37

G l o b a l R e s o u r c e Ma na gement J o ur na l V o l .5

excited to use autonomous vehicle to transport the products from thefarm to the market which could be a successful testing of autonomousvehicle service in Iinan town.
Iinan is a depopulating city with 44% elderly people and theprimary occupation of the town being farming, it poses a challenge
to transport the crops. Due to the incapability of driving in special
for elderly people, it makes the transportation really inconvenientwhich explore the possibility of using autonomous vehicle service fortransportation needs.
However, there is a previous survey was conducted in Iinan town
by the local government to know the interest of local people towards
autonomous vehicle service. The survey concluded that the local people
seemed really excited during the testing of autonomous vehicle service
in Iinan town.
Overall, the survey response rate was approximately in high. Since
the survey was answered by such a small number of people and in
approximately 55 residents, self-selection bias is a strong factor in the
results, making the data questionable. Residents who responded to thesurvey were likely previously aware of and interested in autonomousvehicle technology, creating strong bias in the results. Additionally, thedata represents only about 10 percent of the town’s residents.
For a future survey of Iinan town residents, an in-person survey orinterview would be preferable to ensure a high response rate. Therefore,
a survey conducted door-to-door or when residents shop at the market orvisit other town centers would be much more inclusive of town residents.
Incentives also could be offered to increase the survey response rate.
Works Cited[1](2017). Demonstration experiment report. Japan: Regional
Experiment Council Secretariat.
[2](December 2016). Discover Autonomous Driving Potential in Japan.
Swedish: Business Swedish - The Swedish Trade & Invest Council.
[3]Fieldwork. (2018, August). Preferences of Local Residents.
[4]Government-report. (2017, November). Demonstration experiment.
Retrieved from Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport andTourism: http://www.mlit.go.jp/report/press/road01_hh_000899.html[5]Introduction of Iinan Town. (2018). Retrieved from Iinan Town:
http://www.iinan.jp/town/[6]NHK. (2017, December). Driverless Taxi Tested on a Public Roadin Japan for the First Time. Retrieved from NHK Newsline from
Tokyo: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/nhknewsline/backstories/
driverlesstaxitested/[7]Number of households and population of Iinan Town. (2018).
Retrieved from Census: http://www.iinan.jp/town/category408/
category444/page446[8]Tomodachi. (2018). Open Innovation for Fully Automated Driving.
Retrieved from JapanGov - The Government of Japan: https://www.
japan.go.jp/tomodachi/2018/winter2018/open_innovation.html

Contributors

Khalili, Mostafa
Doctoral Student,
Graduate School of Global Studies, Doshisha University

Chen, Yan
Doctoral Student,
Graduate School of Global Studies, Doshisha University

Pumaneratkul, Chayadit
Doctoral Student,
Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Doshisha University

Hajjaj, Mohammed Awad
Doctoral Student,
Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Doshisha University

Zhang, Wenyu
Doctoral Student,
Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Doshisha University

Hosnieh, Elham
Doctoral Student,
Graduate School of Global Studies, Doshisha University

Global Resource Management Journal Vol. 5
2019 年 3 月

発行

編集・発行者

同志社大学高等研究教育機構〒602-8580

京都市上京区今出川通烏丸東入

電話：（075）251-3259
E-mail：ji-grmld@mail.doshisha.ac.jp
URL：https://grm.doshisha.ac.jp/index.html