Nepal 2009

NEPAL Country profile:1) General information of Nepal
Formal Name: The Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal.
Nepal is a landlocked country and the world’s youngest republic. The establishment anddeclaration of a federal democratic republic is 28 May 2008 by the elected constitution
assembly. Nepal has always been an independent and sovereign country with glorious
history, culture and tradition that date back to time immemorial.
Nepal is characterized by a rugged topography, very high relief, variable climaticconditions, complex geological structure with active tectonic process and continued
seismic activities. It is situated in central part of the Himalayan belt. It is situatedbetween the latitudes of 26’22’’to 30’27’’north and the longitudes of 80’4”to 88’12’’ east.
It covers a landmass area of 147,181sq km and 4,000 sq.km Inland water bodies lakes,
reservoirs, and rivers. It is located in south Asia occupied only 0.01% of the total
landmass of the Earth. It is bordered on the north by People’s Republic of China and on
the south, east, and west by the Republic of India.
The elevation of the country rises from 60m tarai (Kechanakalan, Jhapa) to 8,848 m
Mount Everest in the north within a short horizontal distance of 90 to 120 sq.miles. Sucha sharp vertically renders the country highly vulnerable to potential water induced
disasters like landslide, slope failure, soil erosion and debris flow etc. The mountains
and hills of the country occupy about 83% of the total area whereas remaining 17% iscovered by low and flat land stretching in the southern part of the country up to theIndian border.
It is commonly divided into the three physiographic areas: (1) the mountains and hills
region situated in the great Himalayas range makes up the northern part of Nepal .It
contains the highest elevation in the world including 8,848m (29028) ft. height Mount
Everest (sagarmatha in Nepal) on the border of north Tibet, (2) the hills (pahad,mahabharat, chure, shiwalik) region about the small mountains and varies from 1,000 to
4,000 m (3,300-13,125ft.) in a altitude with subtropical to temperate climate dependingor elevation, and (3) terrain the southern low land placing bordering India.
Nepal is administratively divided into five development regions, 14 zones, 75 districts,
58 municipalities and 3,913 village development committees. It is an ethnically diverse
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Nepal 2009

country, with several races, castes, tribes, and rituals. 102 ethnic groups, 92 spoken
languages and religious people are living with the harmony and united. The Nepalesepopulation is consists of indo Aryan and Mongol races. The overwhelming majorreligions are Hinduism (80.6%), Buddhism (10.7%), Islam (4.2%), kirat Mundhum(3.6%), Christians (0.5%), and the others (0.4%) . In March 2008 Nepal is declared as asecular state.
The country has approximately 29 million (upto2008) populations with annual growthrate of 2.25% average. Nepal is the world’s 41st most populous and 93rd largest country
by landmass, and 115th largest economy of the world. Life expectancy rate about 64
years literacy rate about 68%. Net primary enrollment rate was 90% in up to 2008. The
fertility rate in Nepal was 4.4% (2.1% in urban and 4.4% in rural). Crude birth rate was
33.58 on 1,000 of life births. Nepal is multilingual, multicultural, multi-religious, andmultiethnic society. Nepal is diverse linguistic heritage evolved from four major
languages groups – indo Aryan, tibeto barmen, mangolian, and indigenous language
isolates. Urban population in the country comprises 16% of the total owing to migrationfrom the mountainous to the plain or town.
As for economy of Nepal, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the year was estimated atover US$12 billion (adjusted to nominal GDP) which entitles the 115th largest economy
in the world. Agriculture comprises 41% of Nepal’s GDP, and industry does 22%. Per
capita income is less than US$470. Nepal’s exports are mainly carpets, clothing, leather
goods, jute goods and grain. Import commodities are mainly gold, machinery, andequipment petroleum products and fertilizer.
Nepal has five climatic conditions/zones from subtropical to arctic broadly
corresponding to the altitudes. The tropical and subtropical zone lies below 1200 meters,
the temperate zone 1200 to 2400 meters, the cold zone 2400 to 3600 meters, thesubtractic zone 3600-4000 meters, and the arctic zones above 4400 meters.
Nepal has four major seasons: 1) winter (December-February), 2) spring (March-May),
3) summer (June-August), and 4) autumn (September–November). Monsoons are from
June to till mid-September and about 80% of the rainfall is brought during that period.
Therefore the rest of the year is rather dry. Spring and autumn are the most pleasantseasons. Winter temperature drops to freezing with a high level of snow fall in themountains. Summer and late spring temperature range from 28’c (83’f) in the hills
region to more than 40’c (104’f) in the terrain. In winter, maximum and minimum
temperatures in the terrain range from brisk 7’c (45’f) to mild 23’c (74’f). The central
valley experience minimum temperature often falling below freezing point and a chilly
12’c (54’f) maximum. Much colder temperature prevails at higher elevations.

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Nepal 2009

2) Natural hazards in Nepal
2.1 Natural Hazards likely to affect the Country
Flood, landslide, fire are the most frequent natural disaster in Nepal and this year
epidemic of diarrhea also affected the country. These disasters occur almost every year
in one part of the country the other causing loss of life and heavy damage to physicalproperties. Nepal has unfavorable natural conditions like fragile geology and steep
topography make as one of the most disaster prone country in the world. It faces highmagnitudes and intensities of a multitude of natural hazards such as flood, landslide,earthquake, fire, hailstone, windstorm, avalanches, thunderbolt, and Glacier lake
outburst flood (GLOF), cloudburst, drought and epidemics.

Year wise disaster scenario Loss of lives by major types of disasters in Nepal(2001-2007)
Source: Ministry of Home Affairs

year

Flood
Earth‐&landslide quake

Thunder‐ firebolt

Hails‐
tone

Wind‐
storm

epidemic avalanche total

2001

173

0

23

53

1

3

141

‐

394

2002

196

1

39

26

1

1

154

‐

418

2003

441

0

3

14

0

3

0

‐

461

2004

232

0

42

16

0

20

‐

‐

310

2005

131

0

10

10

0

0

41

‐

192

2006

141

0

17

28

1

0

34

‐

221

2007

216

0

35

34

18

1

9

9

322

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Nepal 2009

(Source: NSDRM, 2008)

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Nepal 20093) The Major Disasters in Nepala) Landslide and debris flow
The movement of earth, rock or debris down slope under the influence of gravity bycertain processes is called landslide. Landslide usually occurs as secondary effects ofheavy rainfall and earthquakes. The materials that compose landslides are divided into
two classes, bedrock of soil (earth and organic matter debris). A landslide may beclassified by its type of movement in the following: (1) falls: a fall is mass of rock orother material that moves downward by falling or bouncing through air. (2) Slides:
sliding of rocks and debris results from shear failure (slippage) along one or several
surfaces. (3) Topples: toppling of rocks takes place due to overturning forces that cause
a rotation of the rock out of its original position. (4) Lateral spreads: lateral spreads
involves spreading out horizontally large blocks of soil by fracturing off the original base.
(5) Flows: flows move like a viscous fluid, sometimes very rapidly, and can cover
several times. Water is not essential for flows to occur, however, most flows form after
periods of heavy rainfall. Mudflow contains at least 50 percent of sand, silt, and clay
particles. A debris flow is slurry of soils, rocks and organic matter combined with air andwater. The causes of landslide in Nepal are natural as well as manmade.
Geomorphology of Nepal is very fragile and most of the parts of country fall underseismically active zone. In general the middle hills are prone to landslides. The natural
phenomena like heavy rainfall, active geotectonic movements, deforestation anddisturbance of hill slopes are also the major causes for occurring landslides.

Landslide in Ramechap district, Nepal

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Nepal 2009Landslides at Krishnabhir Dhading Nepalb) Floods:- Flood occurs when channel water overcomes the bank full discharge andwater overflows to the land that is normally dry. Floods are naturally occurring hazards.
A flood hazard is probability of occurrence of a flood of certain magnitude that will
happen at a certain location within a specific period of time. They become disastrous
when they affect the human settlements. The area immediate vicinity of the river banks
has also potentiality of sedimentation from the flooding materials. The topographicalfeature of Nepal is mainly responsible for flood. Flood is caused by heavy precipitation
which may occur at any place except high Himalayan region during the monsoon
season. Inundation along the river banks and erosion of land along the riverbanks
causes loss by damaging irrigation and communications facilities and fertile lands
across or adjacent to the riverbanks. Such phenomenon’s have caused loss of lives andproperty in mountainous areas of Nepal and have posed severe hazards to physicalinfrastructure like roads and bridges. Inundations have disrupted social and economic
development of many parts of terrain region in the country. The flood of august 2008 in
Koshi river was the most devastating .The following types of floods are observed in
Nepal: (1) Monsoon floods (2) Flash floods

Koshi flood 2008
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Nepal 2009c) Earthquake
The Nepalese people are living in a country of highest seismic hazard, have faced theconsequences of many earthquakes including those of great earthquakes.Nepal 45
million years ago, the Indian continent collided into Southern Tibet. The Indian continentis driven under Tibet, pushing lightweight sediments upwards and thus the formation of
the Himalayas. Nepal sits across the boundary between India and southern Tibet which
are still moving towards each other by 2 meters per century. This movement createspressure within the Earth, which builds up and can only be released throughearthquakes. This is the only way earthquakes can happen in Nepal. Earthquakes
happen very often in Nepal. Based on the seismic record of the number of earthquakesthat occurred since 1255, earthquakes of magnitude greater than 8 occurred on
average once every 80 years. The last great earthquake of magnitude 8.3 occurred in
1934. The seismic record of Nepal is available since 1255 AD in which 7.7 reactor scalein Kathmandu valley king Avaya Malla and one third of population lost their lives in thisevent. After that, a series of earthquake occurred in Nepal. Major are in 1260,1408,
1681, 1767,1810,1823, 1833,1834, 1866, 1934, 1980 and 1988 AD. According to theseismological center of Nepal medium and small size earthquake event occur in adifferent part of Nepal frequently.

Earthquake (1934 and 1988)

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Nepal 2009

In terms of the per capital risk, people living in the Kathmandu valley is 200 times more
at risk than people living in Kobe, Japan. As explained in the graphical images below.

(Source: NSDRM, 2008)
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Nepal 2009d) FireForest fires occur annually throughout Nepal and area major cause estimated 1.7%
deforestation annually. these fire causes economic losses and environmental
degradation throwing dedicate ecosystems out of balance ad threatening valuable andendangered flora and fauna degrading the soil and inducing flood and landslide.
Most of the fire incidents are cause by neglecting the people .the interface between
agriculture and forestry requires polices and approaches that transcend each economic
sector. Hunting practices are responsible for 23% of forest fires in community forest,
cigarette 19%, intentional fire to accelerate growth of grasses to feed livestock
18%,intentional fire setting by herb and charcoal collectors 8% and 5% ,children playing
with fire 8% deliberating set for prevention 6-8 unknown 4%. Certain type of trees
especially Sal (shores Robusta) is particularly susceptible to fire. About 86% of the
population of the country inhabit in the rural areas mainly in thatched houses closely
clustered where fire hazards are likely to be common. The forest fire and house fireusually outbreaks during dry season.

Fire in Bhutanese refugee camp 2008

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Nepal 2009e) Glacier Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF)
Glacier lakes are like natural water reservoirs dammed by ice or moraines. A lake
outburst can be triggered by several factors: ice or rock avalanches, the collapse of themoraine dam due to the melting of ice buried within, the washing out of fine material bysprings flowing through the (piping) earthquakes or sudden inputs of water into the lakee.g. through heavy rains or drainage from lakes further up glacier. Scientists from theUnited Nations Environment Program (UNEP)and International Centre for Integrated
Mountain Development (ICIMOD)identified 3252 glaciers and 2323 glaciers lakes in
Nepal out of which they estimate around 20 to be potentially dangerous.
GLOF affects high Himalayan region as well as downstream by extremely damages of
lives and properties. Major events shown in past were Tamor Koshi (1980), Sun Kosi
(1935, 1981), Dudh Kosi (1977, 1985), Arun (1968, 1969, 1970) etc. Now Tsho Rolpa
and Emji GlacierLake are in most vulnerable stage according to researcher.

Some glacier and glacier lakes in Nepal

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Nepal 2009f) Others
In June and July 2009 Midwestern Nepal nearly 300 people died by the epidemic of
diarrhea, and other disaster are drought, hailstone, thunderbolt, avalanche, boat
capsize, structure collapse, cold wave, hot wave, swine flu, bird flu, encephalitis,
meningitis is common during hot and rainy season. The lightening, hailstorm are othernatural disaster. The sudden avalanche and heavy snow fall in winter season
sometimes cause heavy loss of human lives and properties.

Swine flu protection

bird flu in eastern region 2009

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Nepal 2009

Drought in Nepal 2008

An scenario of past disastrous events during 1971-2008 reveals that epidemics,
landslide and floods takes the largest toll of life every year, and urban or rural fire are
the principle hazards in terms of their extent and frequency of occurrence as well as the
spread and intensity of physical and socio-economic impacts. Earthquake is a major
potential hazard to reckon with – the country is located on an active seismic belt and theexponential urbanization trend over the past decade with general disregard ofearthquake-resistant measures in building construction is the cause of ever-increasing
earthquake risk.

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Nepal 2009g) Recent major disasters in Nepal:(1) Udaipur earthquake (august 1988) on 20 august 1988, a strong earthquake (m 6.7)
occurred near the border of India killed 721, injured 6500, affected 301,016 with 22,000
houses completely destroyed, 22 district affected and loss 5 billion Rs. In properly
damage and the risk could not be ignored anymore.
(2) Koshi flood 2008
Torrential rain that started in the beginning of august 17,2008 killed more than 20 andmissing more than 50 injured 200, affected approximately 150000 thousand and 20000
household completely destroyed nearly $3 billion in properly damaged and loss.
(3) Landslide (August 2007)
Floods and landslides triggered by torrential rains in August 2007 killed 203, affected
106,000 households, and 75,000 houses were either destroyed or damaged.

5) Disaster Risk Reduction Management system and Framework:A) System
Legal system
Natural Calamity Relief Act, 1982 - the sole legal instrument to define disaster andreduce disaster risk
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Covers disaster mitigation measures to earthquake, fire, storm, flood, landslide,heavy rain, drought, famine, epidemic, and other similar natural disaster.
The Act also includes industrial accident or accidents caused by the explosions
or any other kinds of disasterSet up for different institutions for disaster response
o Central Disaster Relief Committee
o Regional Disaster Relief Committeeo District and Local level Relief Committees
Funding arrangements for mobilization and relief operations
To facilitate rescue and relief operations at international levels, Nepal has ratified
the conventionso Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations ,Privileges and Immunities
to Specialized Agencies

Legal Frameworki) In 1982 the Natural Disaster Relief Act came into existence, which was amended
thrice enunciating the significance of the pre-disaster and post disaster activities. It is
the legal instrument for handling disaster in the country. A new DRR act has been
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Nepal 2009drafted and in pipeline for the approval which covers all aspects of sustainable Disaster
Risk Reduction, linking disaster with development and climate risk management.
ii)

Soil and water conversation act 1982.

ii) Local Self Governance Act, 1999 (has given authorities and responsibility to the local
authorities (district development committees, municipalities, and village development
committees)iii) Building Code, 1994 and Nepal building act 2064 (amendment) - (made compulsory
in municipal areas)iv) Environmental protection act 1996 (for environmental disaster, climate change)iv) And other sectoral Acts, Rules and Regulations.

B) Policies
For the first time in Nepal’s history, Government of Nepal has included Disaster
Management Programs in the 10th National Development Plan (2002-2007) consists of
two separate chapters on disaster management. Chapter 17 emphasizes on theirrigation and water induced disaster preparedness, where as chapter 22 deals on
population, environment and natural disaster management. Both the chapters reiterateon policy formulation, strengthening institutional mechanism, risk assessment,
information collection and dissemination etc .Both the chapters also emphasized on the
low costs disaster resilience construction practices, similarly, the three year interim plan(2007/08-2009/10) also has given separate chapter (chapter 26) on natural disastermanagement. The interim plan emphasizes on policy formulation, strengthening
institutional mechanism, EWS, coordinated approach for DRR and linking disastermanagement with climate change, etc. and it is hoped that this attempt would be alandmark in the history of Disaster Management.
1) The 10th plan had set its objective as "to contribute substantially to make the public
life secure by managing the natural and manmade disaster systematically andeffectively and by making the development and construction related programs in the
country sustainable, reliable and highly gainful." To achieve the objective the following
strategies have been adopted:
While formulating plans and policies on natural and manmade disastermanagement, emphasis will be give into the use and development oftechnologies that lessen harm on natural disaster and environment.

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Nepal 2009

The relief and rescue activities that are provided to the disaster affected families
by the state will be made transparent. Emphasis will be give to enhanceawareness regarding natural disaster management.
The seismological measurement center and the natural disaster management
center established in the country will be strengthened.

To support the strategies mentioned above, the following policy and programs will be
operationalised during the plan period:
Use of technologies to minimize the risk of natural disaster and environmental impact
in the formulation of plans and policies.
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Reliable measures will be taken in rescue and relief activities.
Strengthening of seismological measurement center and natural disastermanagement.
2) 3 Years Interim Plan, 2007-2010 has following vision, objectives, strategies andprograms set out for Disaster Risk Management:
Long Term Vision
The vision is to minimize social and economic loss and damage caused bydisasters.

Objective
The main objective is to promote the security of life and property from the hit ofnatural disasters through sustainable, environment-friendly and result oriented
development by making disaster management practices efficient, competent,
strengthened and effective.

Strategies
The following strategies will be adopted for the management of disasters:Emphasis will be given to develop and apply environment-friendly systems
in development and construction works.
For the mitigation of risks of natural disaster, appropriate information flow
and pre- disaster preparedness will be made.
To strengthen collaborative works between the government, nongovernment and private sector for rapid response and recovery to thoseaffected by disaster.
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Nepal 2009

Policy and Working Policies
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Provisions relating to EIA and natural disaster assessment will bestrengthened prior to the implementation of infrastructure construction.
Timely reforms will be made on policy and institutional mechanisms in
relation to the mitigation of risk of natural disasters.
Appropriate mechanisms will be developed to strengthen the collaborative
works among the government, non-government and private sector in orderto deliver the quality service on response and recovery measures to thepeople affected by disasters.
Awareness programs will be run to enhance the participation of thecommunity organizations and the general public in order to mitigate andreduce the risks of natural disasters.
Emphasis will be given to pre-disaster preparedness by advancing theprocess of identifying areas with high risk from disasters and their mapping
works.
To strengthen the Ministry of Home as a competent central coordinator forthe disaster management by enhancing the capacity of agencies and humanresources associated with disaster management.
Technology for making weather and climatic forecasts robust will be used.
Soil erosion, landslides, flood and river control works will be implemented inan effective way.

Programs
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National strategy formulation and implementation
Awareness programs
Disaster competence enhancement program
Rescue, relief and rehabilitation preparedness programs for the disaster
affected area
Study and research program
Risk Hazard zone mapping and scooping
Storage of relief and rescue materials
Enhancement of the involvement of local bodies and communities in theprevention works on landslide, river control and soil erosion.

Other policies:3) Nepal National Building Code, 1994,
4) National Action Plan, 1996 (with Amended)

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Nepal 2009

5) National strategy for disaster risk Management-2009 (NSDRM) (approved
October, 11, 2009)6) Hyogo Framework 2005-2015
7) Relief Standard -2008
8) National agriculture policy 2004.
9)

National shelter policy 1996.

10 National urban policies 2006.
11) Nepal living standard survey (identify the economically vulnerable segmentof the society)12) National water plan, 2005 and Water resource policy, 1993
13) Water induced disaster management policy -2005
14) DWIDP’s working procedure-2007 15) Other Sect- oral Plan and Policiesc) Institutional Framework and Administrative system
As the national focal point, Ministry of Home Affairs is accountable to prepare national
policies and ensuring its implementation. MOHA is also responsible for rescue and relief
works, data collection, dissemination as well as and distribution of funds and resources
to the affected population through the structured process.
There is structural network throughout the country set up under the provision of NaturalCalamity Relief Act, 1982.
Disaster Response Framework in Nepal
Structure

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Nepal 2009

Ministry of Home Affairs as National Focal Point on Disaster Management:
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Central Natural Disaster Relief Committee under the Chairpersonship of Home
Minister and comprising of related ministries and security agencies along withvoluntary organization like Red Cross.
To support the functioning of Central Committee, there are Working Committee,
Relief and Treatment Sub-committee and Supply, Shelter and Rehabilitation
Sub-committee
Regional Natural Disaster Relief committee under the Chairpersonship ofRegional Administrator and comprising of related government agencies andsecurity agencies along with voluntary organization like Red Cross.
District Natural Disaster Relief Committee
Local Natural Disaster Relief Committee

Role of MOHA:
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Ministry of Home Affairs, which is also National Focal Point of Disaster Managementin Nepal, has been taking initiation to address the issues of disasters and mitigate
the adverse effect from it. We value very much interaction within country and sharingof experience with international organization working in this field.
As a national focal point, Ministry of Home Affairs trying to develop appropriate
policy related to the management of disasters.
MOHA is doing various activities such as, the raising of awareness among thepeoples, transfer of technology through training, networking with relevant national
and international organizations and enhancing the capability of Government of Nepal
to mitigate the impact of disaster.
Rescue deals with the situation when the disaster occurs and the MOHA has started
responding to the situation. It is in fact testing the preparedness of the community.
Additional responsibilities are listed which come under roles of MOHA during
disaster are as follows:
Coordinate and command to carry out rescue operation in such a way that
nobody is left unattended with priority being given to disabled, old persons,
women and children.
Monitor health conditions of the people in the community with the first priority.
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Gives direction to the concerned authorities to the availing of portable drinking
water and maintaining good sanitation condition and monitoring incidence of
epidemics.
Distribution of relief materials to the people as required.
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Coordinate rescue relief and operation being assisted by external institutions.
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Directs security institutions in maintaining law and order situation in the area.

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Nepal 2009(i) Central Disaster Relief Committee
Members of CDRC (Central Disaster Relief Committee)
Hon'ble Home Minister

Chairman

Hon'ble Physical Planning and Construction Minister

Member

Hon'ble Health and Population Minister

MemberSecretary, Ministry of FinanceMemberSecretary, Ministry of Defense

MemberSecretary, Ministry of Home Affairs

MemberSecretary, Ministry of External Affairs

MemberSecretary, Ministry of Labor and Transport Management

MemberSecretary, Ministry of Water Resources

MemberSecretary, Ministry of Information and Communication

MemberSecretary, Ministry of Forest and Soil-Conservation

MemberSecretary, Ministry of Women. Children and Social Welfare

MemberSecretary, Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies

MemberSecretary, Secretariat of national Planning Commission

MemberBrigadier, Nepal Army

MemberInspector General of Police, Police Headquarters

MemberRepresentative, Social Service National Coordination Council

MemberRepresentative, Nepal Red Cross Society

MemberRepresentative, Nepal Scout

MemberDirector General, Department of Mining and Geology

MemberDirector General, Department of Metrology

Member

Two reputed persons nominated by Nepal Government

MemberJoint Secretary (Planning and Special Service Division), Home Member
Ministry
Secretary
30 members (24 permanent and 6 invited members) central Natural Disaster Relief
Committee, represented by various disaster related ministries, has been constituted
under the chairmanship of Home Minister. This committee can invite at its meetings theconcerned Member of Parliament representing the district affected by natural disaster.

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Nepal 2009

Functions of CDRC

The main functions and duties of the Central Disaster Relief Committee(CDRC) are to:a. Formulate the national policies regarding the relief works including therehabilitation of the victims of natural disaster and the reconstruction in the areas
affected by natural disasters and the advance preparation thereof and to prepare
the programmed in accordance with the said policy and submit it to Nepal
Government.
b. Implement of direct to implement the policies and programs formulated pursuant
to the clause above after it has been approved by Nepal Government.
c. Keep the money, food stuff, clothes, medicines, construction materials and othergoods received within the country Nepal and from outside as aid or donation
under Central Disaster Relief Aid fund and to send such goods as required forrelief work in disaster areas;
d. Associate the social organizations in natural disaster relief works and coordinate
the activities of those organizations;e. Form teams and send them to disaster area to assist in natural disaster relief
works;
f. Give directions to the district committee and local committee on the mattersrelating to relief works;
g. Perform the works specified by Nepal Government for the execution of natural
disaster relief works;
h. Submit report on work progress to Nepal Government from time to time.
(ii) Regional Disaster Relief Committee:
Members of RDRC (Regional Disaster Relief Committee)
Regional Administrator

ChairmanRegional Head, Nepal Army

MemberRegional Head, Nepal Armed Police

MemberRegional Chief, Health Directorate

MemberRegional Chief, Roads Directorate

MemberRegional Chief, Irrigation Directorate

MemberDivisional Chief, Water Supply and Sanitation

MemberRegional Chief, Forest Directorate

Member

Two reputed Social Workers (nominated by chairman)

MemberRegional Chief, National Planning Commission

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Nepal 2009

Regional Representative, Nepal Red-cross Society

MemberRegional Representative, Nepal Scout

Member

Deputy Regional Administrator

MemberSecretary

The main functions and duties of the Regional Natural Disaster Relief Committee are:Provide necessary suggestions to the CDRC.
A)
B)
C)
D)

Formulate regional and district level plans on natural disaster.
Coordinate district disaster relief committees regarding disaster.
Provide disaster related information to CDRC.
Implement directions of the CDRC.

(iii) District Disaster Relief Committee:
Members of DDRC (District Disaster Relief Committee)
Chief District Officer

ChairmanDistrict Level Representative of the National Level Political Parties

MemberChief of Nepal Army Unit

MemberChief of the District Police OfficeMemberIn Charge, Public Health Office/Hospital

MemberRepresentative, Nepal Red Cross Society

MemberEngineer, District Housing and Town Development OfficeMemberChief, District Irrigation OfficeMemberChief, District Agriculture Development Bank

Member

Reputed Social Worker

MemberMemberSecretary
12-15 members Districts Disaster Relief Committee represented by line agencies has
been constituted under the chairmanship of Chief District Officer.
Local Development Officer

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Nepal 2009

The Main functions and duties of the District Disaster Relief Committee are:A) To coordinate or direct to coordinate among local committees regarding thenatural disaster relief works.
B) To formulate district level plan on natural disaster relief works and submit suchplans to the regional committee.
C) To monitor the natural disaster relief work conducted by the Local Committee andsupports the ongoing works.
D) To provide information to Regional Committee related to natural disaster relief
works from time to time.
E) To work in accordance with the directives of the Central and Regional Committee.
(iv) Local Disaster Relief Committee: Formulate as per requirement and will
responsible for response and recovery.
Even though the establishment of Disaster Relief Committees at the central, regional,
district and local level is possible, the committees at the central level (CDRC) anddistrict level (DDRC) are functional and the local level (LDRC) have yet to operate on aregular basis. Efforts are underway to operationalise the regional (RDRC), which ischaired by the Regional Administrator.
As per the Act the other partners in this process are various Ministries, National
Planning Commission and Non Government Organizations are also included in thepresent setup. Department of Water Induced Disaster (DWIDP) has been established togive special focus on water induced disaster and mitigate the adverse effect from it
under the Ministry of Water Resources, likewise Department of Mines and Geology forseismological hazards.
Nepal is taking actively participants on the activities of UNISDR, ADRC, ADPC, SDMC,
and other national and international agencies for Disaster Risk Reduction.

5) Budget size on national level in Nepal
In Nepal the resources for disaster risk reduction are not allocated on priority basis. For
the last several decades, government of Nepal has been allocating small amount of
resources annually primarily for relief and rescue activities. There is no any predictableamount of budget allocated for DRR in the country but mobilizing according to theCompiled by Sagar Mishra

Nepal 2009

contingency need and necessary basis. However several governmental departments
such as water induced disaster prevention, soil conservation and water shed mgmt etc
have been implementing activities related to disaster management.
In the fiscal year 2009-2010, the national budget for disaster mgmt was approximately
Rs 4billion 440million. This is small amount of total budget of the total general accountbudget expenditure. The budget was allocated to the fields of I) relief and development
rehabilitation for flood affected areas:(koshi,mid,and( kailali)far western region)ii) Disaster prevention rescue and relief

Rs: 1billion 300 million.
Rs: 50 million.

iii) National land conservation and management

Rs: 1 billion 490 million.

Iv) Soil conservation and watershed management

Rs: 200 millionv) Water induced disaster management:(River training work, construct embankment)
Total: -RS 1billion 400 million
Rs 4billion 440million

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6) National Progress of the implementation of Hyogo framework for Action in
Nepal :
Nepal is a most vulnerable and disaster prone country in the world. Disastermanagement aims to reduce, or avoid the potential losses from hazards, assure prompt
and appropriate assistance to victims of disaster, and achieve rapid and effective
recovery. The Disaster management cycle illustrates the ongoing process by whichgovernments, businesses, and civil society plan for and reduce the impact of disasters,
react during and immediately following a disaster, and take steps to recover after adisaster has occurred. Appropriate actions at all points in the cycle lead to greater
preparedness, better warnings, reduced vulnerability or the prevention of disasters
during the next iteration of the cycle. The complete disaster management cycle includes
the shaping of public policies and plans that either modify the causes of disasters or
mitigate their effects on people, property, and infrastructure.
The mitigation and preparedness phases occur as disaster management improvements
are made in anticipation of a disaster event. Developmental considerations play a keyrole in contributing to the mitigation and preparation of a community to effectively
confront a disaster. As a disaster occurs, disaster management actors, in particular
humanitarian organizations become involved in the immediate response and long-term
recovery phases. The four disaster management phases illustrated here do not always,
or even generally, occur in isolation or in this precise order. Often phases of the cycle
overlap and the length of each phase greatly depends on the severity of the disaster.
Mitigation
Minimizingtheeffectsofdisaster.
Examples: building codes and zoning; vulnerability analyses; public
education.
o Preparedness
Planning
howtorespond.
Examples: preparedness plans; emergency exercises/training; warning
systems.
o Response - Efforts to minimize the hazards created by a disaster.
Examples: search and rescue; emergency relief.
o Recovery
Returningthecommunity
tonormal.
Examples: temporary housing; grants; medical care.
o

But every year thousands of people are losing their lives due o the natural disaster. So
Nepal has legally started to tackle disaster by the natural calamity act 1982. In the act isgiving the priority of rescue and relief activities but now the new disaster concept has
started to preparedness, prevention, mitigation, response, recovery, rehabilitation, is In
viewing weak infrastructure development, socio-economic condition of Nepal there is aneed to focus more on less expensive and sustainable Structural and non-structuralcounter measures, that can also help raise the overall awareness level of local
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communities towards disasters risk reduction. For the disaster risk reduction Nepal has
committed the Hyogo framework for action 2005-2015 and the following activities arestarted to achieve the goals of HFA. In October 11 2009 government of Nepal has
approved the national strategy for disaster risk management (2009) which includes theclear cut roles and responsibility of disaster management cycle and establishment of
new autonomous body on national disaster management authority headed by prime
minister.
Among others the recent prioritized efforts for the implementation of the HFA in
Nepal are as follows:
Strategic goals 1A) The more effective integration of disaster risk considerations into sustainable
development policies, planning and programming at all levels, with a special emphasison disaster prevention, mitigation, preparedness and vulnerability reduction.
First time in Nepal's history, the Tenth National Development Plan (2002-2007) consistsof two separate chapters on disaster management. Chapter 17 emphasizes on theirrigation and water induced disaster preparedness, where as chapter 22 deals on
population, environment and natural disaster management. Both chapters reiterate on
policy formulation, strengthening institutional mechanism, risk assessment, informationcollection and dissemination, etc. Both the chapters also emphasized on the low costs
disaster resilience construction practices. Similarly, the Three Year Interim Plan
(2007/08-2009/10) also has a separate chapter (chapter 26) on natural disastermanagement. The interim plan emphasizes on policy formulation, strengthening
institutional mechanism, EWS, coordinated approach for DRR and linking disastermanagement with climate change, etc.
B) The development and strengthening of institutions, mechanisms and capacities at alllevels, in particularity the community level that can systematically contribute to building
resilience to hazards.
Ministry of Home Affairs is leading agency for disaster management activities with othereight key sect oral ministries namely; Agriculture; Education; Environment, Science andTechnology; Health; Local Development; Physical Planning and Works; Water
Resources; and Forest and Soil Conservation have set-up a separate unit within theministry to look after DRR issue. Moreover, an institutional mechanism for the postdisaster related and coordination activities at regional, district and local levels are
already in place. Several I/NGOs have been implementing DRR activities at community
level through community based disaster risk management (CBDRM) approach.

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Likewise, CBDRM has been used not only for the DRR activities rather entire
development initiatives at the community level.
C) The systematic incorporation of risk reduction approaches into the design andimplementation of emergency preparedness, response and recovery program in thereconstruction of affected communities.
Several Municipalities in disaster prone areas have endorsed the Building Code.
Likewise, technical staffs of the Municipalities and key Government ministries havereceived trainings on Building Code Implementation.
Priority for action 1:- Ensure that disaster risk reduction is a national and a local
priority with a strong institutional basis for implementation.
A) National policy and legal framework for disaster risk reduction exists withdecentralized responsibilities and capacities at all levels.
Government of Nepal enacted the Natural Disaster Relief Act in 1982, which wasrevised twice. Despite of the revisions, it focuses on post disaster related activities. Soiland Water Conservation Act, 1982, Building Act and other concerned Acts haveprovisions of some component of DRR. But these legal frameworks are notcomprehensive. Still, the role and responsibilities are not substantially operational zed
among agencies and has not fully mainstreamed the pre-disaster activities and DRR in
the Acts. However, Ministry of Home Affairs has prepared the National Strategy for
Disaster Risk Management (NSDRM) with the help of stakeholders consultations which
is approved by the government of Nepal on October 11, 2009. In NSDRM has clearly
defined the roles and responsibilities at national(central) to local levels ,it is designated
new organization structure National Commission for Disaster risk Management(NCDRM)chaired by prime minister which is institutional mechanism to address the
DRR from national to local(community) levels, it is also emphasize establishing the New
autonomous body National Authority for Disaster risk Management (NADRM)from
central ,regional, district, municipal, local levels with adequate resources, capacity
strengthening at systematic, individuals, organizational levels, and decentralized budget
system which is the great achievement on progress of implementation of Hyogo
framework for action in Nepal and new DRR Act has been drafted and in pipeline for theapproval, which covers all aspects of sustainable DRR, linking disaster with
development and climate risk management.
B) Dedicated and adequate resources are available to implement disaster risk reductionplans and activities at all administrative levels
Resources for DRR are not allocated on priority basis. For However, several
Government Departments such as, Water Induced Disaster Prevention, Soil
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Conservation and Watershed Management, etc. have been implementing activities
related to disaster management. Despite of some activities being implemented both by
Government and non-government agencies, a dedicated and predictable budget
allocation is not a regular practice in Nepal.
C) Community Participation and decentralization is ensured through the delegation of
authority and resources to local levels
The Local Self-Governance Act (1999) has given the authority and responsibility to the
local government authorities (District Development Committees, Municipalities andVillage Development Committees) to design and implement DRR activities at local level.
However, there is no any systematic and assured mechanism of resource allocation anddistribution to the local authorities from the central government.
D) A national multi sect oral platform for disaster risk reduction is functioning.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has already initiated process to establish a multi-sect oral
national platform with representative from concerned government agencies, UN
agencies, donors, INGOs, NGOs, media, academic institutions, private sector, and
CBOs.
Bringing together to all above mentioned agencies in one platform is not an easy task.
However, for effectives and efficient disaster management and risk reduction in the
country such cooperation and collaboration of all actors are imperative. Despite of theusefulness of working together in the field of sustainable disaster management/ risk
reduction, it seem no concrete initiatives from different sector to form such national level
platform comprising members from all walks of life to support government tosuccessfully implement the HFA.
MOHA in close collaboration with the National Planning Commission will take leadershiprole to establish such national platform at the earliest possible and also initiate process
to convince the political bodies and individuals.
Priority for action 2:- Identify, assess and monitor disaster risks and enhanceearly warning:A) National and local risk assessments based on hazard data and vulnerability
information are available and include risk assessments for key sectors.
Few agencies (both government and non-government) have initiated local level hazard
mapping in few communities. However, such information is scattered and scanty. Thereis no national level multi-hazard risk assessment covering regularly occurring disasters
such as floods, landslides, etc. However, a historical record of disaster occurrence
called “Desinventar” for last 35 years at national level is available and regularly updated.
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Unfortunately, no proper use of such information on planning and decision making
process as of now. Some NGO/INGO are undertaking research projects to better
understand local adaptation strategies to natural hazard risks. International organizationsuch as International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) has
initiated process to assess the socio-economic impacts of GLOFs and flash floods
through case studies. Similarly, ICIMOD and UNDP together with relevant government
agencies have been involved in GLOF hazards assessment and monitoring in specificareas.
No initiative by both government and non-government sectors to undertake a national
level multi-hazard risk assessment covering major and annually recurring natural
disasters such as flood, landslides, drought, fire, epidemics, earthquake, etc. Also mostof the available information on disaster occurrences has not been used for any planningand decision making purpose.
Concerned Government Ministry in close cooperation/ collaboration with nongovernment agencies should initiate a national level risk assessment exercise coveringmajor hazards in the country. This single exercise will enable all agencies working in thefield of DRR to identify the most vulnerable communities, major hazards, disaster prone
districts/ VDCs/ communities. This information can also be used for any development
planning initiatives in the country.
B) Systems are in place to monitor, archive and disseminate data on key hazards andvulnerabilities
Few agencies at the central and district levels regularly publish and disseminate
disaster related information. However, transparent and effective systems to monitor andarchive of disaster related data are still to be institutionalized. Similarly, as of now thefocus to collect information at any level is only limited to any disaster occurrence or postdisaster situation.
Disaster related information collected and disseminated by different agencies doesn’ttally each other. The data collection formats are different for different agencies, thecollection level is different, disaggregated information are not available at all levels.
Manipulation of information is also a challenge, etc.
In normal time, disaster related agencies can work together to develop informationcollection formats, software, pre-test, etc. Government has developed a Disaster
Management Information System (DMIS) in early 2000s, before Desinventar and was inpractice in six districts. This DMIS software can be updated and circulated widely for
use at all levels.
C) Early warning systems is in place for all major hazards, with outreach to communities.
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Few localized single hazard oriented early warning systems are in few places for last 2
decades (Tsho Rolpa GLOF, Chit wan Flood, koshi flood, kailali flood landslides in
Kabilas village chit wan etc.). However, there is no early warning system in place formajor hazards Without reach to disaster prone communities (end to end
EWS).Technical know-how, financial resources, trained human resources, andcollaboration between government agencies and communities, are the major challenges
to establish a fully functional and effective multi-hazard early warning system both atcentral and community levels. Identification of major hazards and institution to deal withsuch hazard, capacity of such identified agency for an effective and efficient early
warning, networking with similar organization both within and outside country,
appropriate policy and institutional mechanism will help to establish efficient andeffective end to end early warning system. Government should initiate/improve publicprivate partnership for EWS (especially in case of GLOF, flash floods, landslides,
earthquakes etc.) and people centered EWS.
D) National and local risk assessments take account of regional / Trans boundary risks,with a view to regional cooperation on risk reduction.
National and local levels risk assessment is still a new phenomenon in the country.
The need for regional cooperation and especially real time data sharing has beenrecognized by most stakeholders in different forums. Some initiatives have been takenplace such as dialogue with India regarding inundation, regional flood information
system initiative, etc. With the support from UNISDR, government of Nepal isundertaking the disaster-poverty interface study.
Priority for action 3:- Use knowledge, innovation and education to build a cultureof safety and resilience at all levels
A) Relevant information on disasters is available and accessible at all levels, to all
stakeholders (through networks, development of information sharing systems etc)
Relevant and update information on disasters in the country are scattered and scanty.
As of now, through the support of UNDP, historical information on disaster occurrences
called "desinventar" has been collecting disaster related information for last 36 years(1971-2007) and updated regularly. Similarly, the Department of Water Induced
Disaster Prevention, Nepal Red Cross Society and few other/NGOs have beencollecting and disseminating the national level information on disasters annually oroccasionally. However, as of now there is no any designated and fully functional central
and district level data clearance house. Similarly, there is no any establishedmechanism to share such available information. Likewise, in many instances, theavailable information is not utilized for new programs /activities design andimplementation. Recently, AusAID has funded UNDP to support Government of Nepal
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to establish National Emergency Operations Center for collecting, collating, analyzing
and disseminating information regularly on disasters and coordination.
B) School curricula, education material and relevant trainings include disaster risk
reduction and recovery concepts and practices.
The current school curricula has limited amount of information on disaster management,
however they are scattered and does not match the need of the country. In 2008, thesecondary level of education curricula has recently incorporated disaster management
component with the support of WWF and other institutions. In addition, so many extra
curricula activities related to DRR have been incorporated in the existing secondary
level curricula. The Ministry of Education (MOE) is reviewing the existing school
curricula from grade 6 to 8 and willing to include DRR as a separate chapter. MOE isplanning to integrate the DRR component into the teacher training curricula as well.
Since the recent past, several I/NGOs have been supporting the MOE to incorporate
DRR in to School curricula, teacher training on DRR, awareness building classes,
publication of various IEC materials on DRR and distribution to schools. Similarly, theAdministrative Staff College of the Government has incorporated DRR in most of theirtraining program for government officials
C) Research methods and tools for multi-risk assessments and cost benefit analysis aredeveloped and strengthened.
Science based disaster risk reduction/ management is a new phenomenon in Nepal. In
the recent past, very few government and academic institutions have initiated empiricalresearch on cost benefit analysis and mitigation practices in Nepal. However, with thesupport from UNISDR, Nepal is undertaking a national levels study on the relationshipbetween poverty and disaster and Nepal is practicing some internationally accepted andpractices tools for retrofitting of buildings and vulnerability assessment.
D) Countrywide public awareness strategy exists to stimulate a culture of disaster
resilience, with outreach to urban and rural communities.
Nepal has been commemorating the IDNDR/UNISDR Day since the beginning of the
IDNDR and the Earthquake Safety Day for lasts several years. Some efforts have been
carried out through schoolchildren by the use of IEC materials, quiz context, debate anddiscussions at the community level. Similarly, several agencies have been posting/erecting hording boards on DRR in different locations, organizing folk songs
competitions and street dramas; public announcements through radio and TV, hospital
preparedness drills etc .Likewise, few academic institutions have been involved inpursuing researches on fire resistant thatch materials, etc. However, these awarenessraising activities are inadequate to reach to the real mass or the potentially disasterprone communities of the country.
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Priority for action 4:- Reduce the underlying risk factors
A) Disaster risk reduction is an integral objective of environment related policies andplans, including for land use natural resource management and adaptation to climatechange.
The existing natural resources management Acts and Acts related to climate change
does not include disaster management as an integral part of it. However, the National
Disaster Management Plan developed in 1993 and endorsed by the Government in1996 emphasized that the need to bring the natural resources management, climatechange and development together with disaster management. It is anticipated that
National Strategy for Disaster Risk Management has given synergy to integrate natural
resources management (NRM) and climate change along with sustainable disastermanagement.
B) Social development policies and plans are being implemented to reduce thevulnerability of populations most at risk.
Ministry of Health with the technical and financial support from different agencies has
initiated the non-structural vulnerability assessment of hospitals in Nepal and also
provided the recommendations to reduce the disaster risk. However, this initiative has
covered only few hospitals. Similarly, there is no other national level initiative to reducethe vulnerability of population most at risk such as insurance policy, food security, etc.
Government and few non-government agencies have been distributing subsidized foodin food insecure areas. Similarly, risk assessment of major public buildings thoughbuilding code has been implemented in selected municipalities as per the Nepal
Building Act 2007(amendment). At community level in some disaster prone areas,
people have been practicing indigenous resiliency practices.
The major challenges to overcome this particular indicator is also due to lack of proper
institution with the mandate, appropriate policy, lack of technology such as Departmentof Hydrology and Meteorology can issue weather forecast only for a day and inadequate
trained human resources.
C) Economic and productive sectoral policies and plans have been implemented toreduce the vulnerability of economic activities
Despite of the fact that the 10th National Development Plan and the Three Years
Interim Development Plan focuses on disaster risk reduction and integrating disasterwith development, NO significant activities have been designed and implemented toachieve those objectives mentioned in the National Development Plans. Sect oral
policies such as National Agriculture Policy 2004, National Shelter Policy1996 (2053
BS), National Urban Policy 2006, etc. has incorporated the disaster issues. However,Compiled by Sagar Mishra

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the implementations of these Acts are weak. The challenge include; no any systematicstudies and or information to identify the most vulnerable economic activities andproductive sectors in the country. Nepal Living Standard Survey 1996 and2003/4 has
identified economically vulnerable segments of the society. However, no linkages
between economical vulnerability and disaster. Design and pursue empirical studies on
the vulnerable economic activities, detail analysis. Involve public and private sectors indesigning and carrying out such studies/ researches.
D) Planning and management of human settlements incorporate disaster risk reduction
elements, including enforcement of building codes.
Land-use planning is a significant commitment by each and every periodic development
plans. Unfortunately, the implementation and monitoring is weak due to several reasons.
Building Code is made compulsory in municipal areas. New public buildings have been
constructed according to the norms but needs rigorous monitoring mechanism. National
Shelter Policy1996 and National Urban Policy 2007 have incorporated to some extent
the issue of DRR. Human settlement program is not substantially designed andimplemented from a building back better. Perspective only policy is formulated and noteffectively implemented.
E) Disaster risk reduction measures are integrated into post disaster recovery andrehabilitation processes
Fortunately for the last several years, Nepal did not face any major natural disaster that
requires substantial post disaster related activities. However, the existing policy andpractices doesn't include the “Build Back Better" concept in the post disaster activities.
The existing Disaster Management Act (1982) has overlooked the planning andmanagement of human settlements incorporated DRR elements. The proposed revisionof the DM Act is taking more time than expected for its endorsement. Either revision of
the existing DM Act with clear provision of DRR element in the planning andmanagement of human settlements and enforcement of the Building Code or enactmentof new DM Act embedding the DRR issue in the human settlement component andBuilding Code. Capacity building at all levels.
F) Procedures are in place to assess the disaster risk impacts of major development
projects, especially infrastructure.
Government is aware of the need to incorporate and institutionalize disaster impact
assessment (DIA) in major projects during its design phase such as EIA. However, itneeds substantial revision of the existing DM Act or enforcement of new Act. Make DIA
compulsory in all development projects and programs.

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Priority for action 5:- Strengthen disaster preparedness for effective response at
all levels
A) Strong policy, technical and institutional capacities and mechanisms for disaster risk
management, with a disaster risk reduction perspective are in place.
The current DM Act (1982) focuses on the post disaster activities. However, since thesecond World Conference on Disaster Reduction, Government of Nepal has initiatedprocesses to reformulate its DRM/R policy and institutional mechanism though a very
consultative/ participatory processes. The new DRM Act and the Strategy encompasses
all elements of disaster management cycle, long term and sustainable disaster risk
reduction/ management and linking disaster with development. The proposed Act andstrategy also strongly emphasized the establishment of a national framework fordisaster risk management which includes establishment of autonomous DRM
authorities from the central level (NADRM as an apex body) through all levels.
Institutional commitment is required for the effective implementation of the plans andpolicy. It is also necessary to ensure compatibility between Act and the strategy for
DRM.
Nepal went through a violent social transformation process over the last 13 years.
Therefore, the entire government machinery was engaged in peace process. This
peace process sidelined the disaster related initiatives in the country. Similarly, theunavailability of predictable amount of government resources for program design andimplementation also jeopardized the formulation of policy, establishment of an
appropriate institution and capacity building activities. Despite such conditions Nepal
has implemented several good practices, methodology and templates which technically,socially and economically feasible. The real challenge is to upscale these practices
through massive capacity building and creation of working conducive legal and policy
environment at all levels. Lack of implementation mechanism is a challenge from the
VDC level to the central level in every sector. Focusing to policy and decision makers.
Appropriate regulations commensurate with the act and strategy should be developedand integrated in the governance process at all levels from village to the national, toensure incorporation of DRR into all development planning and implementation. Thisentails that all infrastructures are made disaster resilient all critical facilities arefunctional even after the disaster. Appropriate guidelines and "How to use such
Guidelines" should be developed and use for training.
B) Disaster preparedness plans and contingency plans are in place at all administrative
levels, and regular training drills and rehearsals are held to test and develop disaster
response programs.

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Few districts of Nepal have developed District Disaster Management Plan based on GIS
information during early 2000s. However, due to lack of coordination, technicalcapability, etc. these plans were not fully implemented and monitored. Similarly, Nepal
developed the National DM Plan in 1993, which was presented during the First World
Conference on Disaster Reduction (1994) and endorsed by Government in 1996.
However, due to several reasons and laps, the activities were not successfully
implement and monitored. Since then, several agencies both government and nongovernment are working in the field of DRM/R in a much more uncoordinated manner
and without developing any plan at all levels. Preparedness planning is still to beincorporated at VDC, Municipality and even district levels. Few prepositioning of reliefmaterials have been experimented mainly in Kathmandu valley and this need to be
expanded to other prone and densely populated areas. NRCS has warehouses to store
food and non food items at strategic locations for emergency use. This network ofstocks should be expanded at least to all districts and possibly to the VDC level. Thisshould accompanied by appropriate capacity building for inventory, periodically
replenishment of supplies, and operation of preposition of the materials. Government
should provide enabling environment for youth to work as volunteers in disaster
preparedness and response. The major challenges includes the poor realization of aneed of planned disaster risk reduction/management and linking disaster with
development; inadequate capacity at all levels; motivation of staff engaged,
implementation, allocation of fund for program design and implementation etc.
C) Financial reserves and contingency mechanisms are in place to support effective
response and recovery when required.
The Government has two sources of funding for response and recovery activities; The
Prime Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund and the Ministry of Home Affair's regular disaster
relief fund. The resources for the first one come from individual and institutional
donation/ contribution within and outside the country and the second one fromgovernment regular budget. Government should encourage donors and I/NGOs toallocate at least 10% of their total annual budget for DRR activities. Similarly funds for
DRR activities should be available together with relief funds at all levels from VDC tocentral. Likewise, government should encourage corporate sector to be engaged indisaster preparedness activities. Basic training on life saving; search and rescue; andrelief collection and distribution should be designed and imparted at community level.
Recommendations: Information/ experiences based allocation of resources, making a
local mechanism of relief and rescue activities more target-oriented with the support
from local authorities.
D) Procedures are in place to exchange relevant information during hazard events anddisasters, and to undertake post-event reviews
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On an ad hoc basis several organizations organize lessons learnt sessions after theoccurrence of any disasters in the country. There is no any concrete and wellestablished forum for sharing such knowledge and experiences. However, since 1996 aforum called Disaster Preparedness Network (DP Net) Nepal has been established bygovernment, UN, donors, I/NGOs which is serving as a platform to share information,
experiences, knowledge, capacity building and advocacy at central level. Sit Reps arenow systematically produced by OCHA and NRCS however the distribution of theinformation doesn't reach at all actors and even reached, it is not used for futureplanning and relief/response. Challenges: Disaster management is a new phenomenon
in the country and there were only few agencies involved till recent past. Likewise, lackgovernment commitment in the field of DRR also hinders the formation of such nationaland district levels forums to share knowledge, information and resources. Disaster
information management systems should be decentralized to the district level for
analysis and use for planning purpose. First hand data on information on hazard anddisaster impact should be collected from ward and village level. Necessary mechanism
and capacity for this should be installed and update regularly. Recommendations:
Government should initiate to form such national level platform to share information,knowledge, enhance coordination, avoid duplication and to finally to assist government
to successfully implement the HFA.
Future outlook
A) The more effective integration of disaster risk considerations into sustainable
development policies, planning and programming at all levels, with a special emphasison disaster prevention, mitigation, preparedness and vulnerability reduction.
The Three Year Interim Development Plan (2007/08-2009/10) reiterates the importanceof sustainable disaster management to retain the development gains and sustainablehuman development in the country. The only missing parts are the enactment of the
DRR/M Act/policy and institutional mechanism. It is anticipated that in very near future
the Government will endorse the proposed DM Act, Strategy and will establish an
appropriate institution to look after all aspects of DRR/M. The proposed Act, strategy
and institution will entirely shift the disaster management paradigm from post disasterfocused to DRR, concussive coordination and networking at all levels and outside thecountry, adequate resource mobilization from different sources within and outside
country. in October 11, 2009 the government of Nepal approved the National Strategy
for Disaster Risk management(NSDRM) when it active all the disaster management
cycle covers by this strategy and nation will be well prepared to tackled the natural
disaster. This will also encompasses the linkages between DRR - climate risk reduction–poverty reduction and natural resource management.

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Nepal 2009B) The development and strengthening of institutions, mechanisms and capacities at alllevels, in particular at the community level, that can systematically contribute to building
resilience to hazards.
Challenges are categorized in three types: The major challenges the DRR programs
are facing includes the political will, forwarding the proposed DM Act and the Strategy
through the multiple channel of decision making to enact it and its successful
implementation through all stakeholders & means! A more equipped institutional
mechanism would be developed through devolution at local level, which eventually
could cope with the challenge of the future.
C) The systematic incorporation of risk reduction approaches into the design andimplementation of emergency preparedness, response and recovery programs in thereconstruction of affected communities.
Overall challenges:- Lack of integrated approach of DRR/M central as well as local
levels, No national level risk assessment, haphazard/ adhoc basis DRR/M planning andimplementation of activities.
Future Outlook Statement: Several studies (UNDP 2004, World Bank 2005, etc.)
revealed that Nepal is one of the global “HOT-SPOTS" for natural disasters. Therefore,
based on these studies and the annual sufferings from natural disasters, theGovernment has proposed drastic changes in the DRM policy, institutional mechanismand future activities with a view to create an enabling environment "Towards a Safer
Nepal”. Once the national platform will be established, it will provide opportunity to allagencies to share their DRR related programs/ projects to avoid duplication, unhealthy
competitions and to maximally utilize limited resources.

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Nepal 20097) recent major projects on disaster risk reduction in Nepal on priority basis or
cluster priorities for 2009 approach are as follows:(1) HEALTH
Provide and preposition essential emergency medicines, equipment and healthkits .Intensify the disease surveillance and reporting system .Strengthen the capacity of
peripheral level health staff and vulnerable communities by. providing training andcapacity building to upgrade emergency preparedness and response and preposition
key medical and reproductive health kits .Ensure health sector coordination between
humanitarian and development partners during disaster response and recovery
operation, including strengthening referral services(2) NUTRITION
Implementation of preparedness activities for emergencies, including lessons learned
from the floods .Implementing the CMAM pilot and resource mobilization for increased
outreach and national coverage ,Multi micro nutrient supplementation in food deficientareas.
(3) FOOD SECURITY
Volatility in global food prices is likely to remain for the foreseeable future, with an
upward shift to higher (real) prices in the medium term. Coupled with some of the worst
malnutrition rates in the world, vulnerability to natural disasters and the longer term
effects of conflict, food insecurity is a critical issue to be addressed in Nepal. The
priorities for food security are to address the high food price crisis through:-quick-impact,
food for assets activities that will meet immediate food needs and create assets toimprove household food security in the medium to longer term; and, activities tointensify agriculture production, storage, and market linkages through an Investment inagriculture and other inputs and technical support;household and community-based
disaster preparedness to reduce the impact of possible future natural or man-madedisasters. A limited amount of relief food assistance and recovery programs (agriculture,
livestock, and livelihood support) for people displaced by the Koshi floods is alsoplanned in 2009. The overall amount requested 2009 appeal under the food security is
US$46 million for 3.1 million beneficiaries (5,45,800 households).
(4) WATER SANITATION AND HYGIENE
To control the annual outbreaks of Acute Gastroenteritis (AGE), mainly occurring in the
Hills and mountains, train local volunteers, promote the use of household water
treatment methods and hand washing with soap and provide chlorination tablets in all
VDCs identified by EDCD as vulnerable to AGE.As a DRR exercise, identify and train
local NGOs and volunteers from districts and flood prone VDCs in the Terai on WASH
disaster response, including the installation of emergency facilities (water supply, toilets,and bathing and solid waste management facilities), and public health/hygiene
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Nepal 2009

promotion. Strengthen the capacity of the WASH Cluster for disaster response byorganizing training for personnel of I/NGO and government partners.
(5) EDUCATION
Continuation of preparedness capacity building focusing at district levels and including awider range of scenarios (bird flu, landslide, earthquake).Finding solutions for the
structural challenges in emergencies, such as salary for temporary teachers andtextbooks availability.Continuing strengthening cluster capacity(6) PROTECTION
Strengthen the capacity of national actors to deliver protection in times of emergencies
at the central, district and community levels, including GBV prevention, monitoring andreporting, and service delivery for survivors;Monitor and record human rights concerns(including violence, threats and intimidation, caste and gender discrimination as well as
sexual and gender-based violence) in and around camps and resettlement areas – incoordination with key national human rights partners, including the National Human
Rights Commission;Advocate for the approval IDP procedural Directives and assist
Government authorities to implement Nepal’s IDP Policy through the dissemination of
the “Procedural Directives”;support training for government officials and civil society, atthe village, district or regional levels, including specific training on the gender aspects of
the Directives; Ensure protection of all IDPs in line with the national policy.Enhance
response mechanism to provide essential services to children and youth in need of
special protection including psychosocial services and other necessary assistanceunder the leadership of the Women Development Office;Develop modules for GBV
response in emergencies based on lessons learnt from last year’s flood
response .Ensure systematic Mine Risk Education coverage in the twenty most affecteddistricts.
(7) SHELTER
Proper set-up of the permanent shelter cluster to enable a comprehensive coordination
with defined roles and responsibilities for the emergency and recovery phases(including
mobilizing required resources)Increased awareness raising on the cluster coordination
system, including roles and responsibilities, with the responsible Government partner,
the DUDBC as well as implementing organizations .Support the draft of the shelter
response strategy initiated by NSET with the support of UNDP, UNHABITAT, IFRC and(mobilizing resources for shelter projects)(8) CAMP COORDINATION and CAMP MANAGEMENT (CCCM)
Monitor activities in current affected areas by existing emergency responses .Develop
contingency plans for inevitable emergency responses in the future including but notlimited to Flood Response, Earthquake Response, and other CCCM activation are asContinuation of expanded trainings and simulation exercises for Government actors andCompiled by Sagar Mishra

Nepal 2009

local players .Refugee ID cards were distributed to all registered refugees from Bhutan(above 16years).
(9) DISASTER PREPAREDNESSSupport the Government in hosting the Asia-Pacific regional Search andRescue(INSARAG)earthquake exercise .Updating and revision of IASC contingency
plans and testing plans through simulation exercises .Supporting the implementation ofnational strategies for disaster risk management, including the design of acomprehensive national earthquake response plan involving Government, Clusters, andother response organizations at national and district level.
(10) COORDINATION
Full implementation of cluster approach and mapping cluster approach to government,
Structures ,Improved humanitarian coordination structures at district, sub-regional andnational levels .A common approach to needs assessment and impact evaluation .Useof standard information management tools for data preparedness

8) ADRC counterpart
Ministry of Home affairs
Singhdarbar, Kathmandu, Nepal
Tel :- +977-1-4211200,4211219,4211241
Fax:- +977-1-4211281,4211246
Website:- www.moha.gov.np
Email: shankarp_koirala@yahoo.com

Compiled by Sagar Mishra