Better prepared for disasters

South Asia is exposed to a variety of hazards due to its geo-climatic conditions.  These range from landslides and earthquakes to glacial lake eruptions in the Himalayas in the north, to droughts and floods in the lowlands, to cyclones arising in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. Nepal in particular, as a country with diverse geography, complex geology and highly variable climate, is exposed to many natural as well as man-made threats. In a global comparison, Nepal is among the top 20 of all multi-hazard countries in the world (Source: DRR Status Report 2019). With a population of more than 29 million people, much of whom depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, more than 80 % are at risk of natural hazards. In particular, the impacts of climate change, such as the increasing intensity of rainfall, increase the likelihood of flooding, erosion and landslides - with massive implications for agriculture and food security. In addition to climate-related natural disasters, there is still the omnipresent danger of further earthquakes.

In our disaster risk reduction project in the rural community of Raptisonari in Banke, we work in cooperation with the Nepalese partner organization Bheri Environmental Excellence Group, or BEE Group for short. Raptisonari has been hit frequently and particularly hard by floods in the past. Every year during the monsoon season, numerous families lose their sources of income due to the floods. The project aims to strengthen the awareness and capacity of local institutions and communities on disaster preparedness and management by, for example, setting up early warning systems, formulating disaster action plans and establishing disaster management committees. Last year, the nine disaster management committees were significantly involved in preventing the spread of COVID-19 in the project region: Here, the committees provided a bridge between the community and the local government, assisted in quarantine management and implemented awareness campaigns. Similarly, the disaster management committees work to identify income-generating activities in the community.

In order to actively involve communities in disaster risk reduction management, an inclusive approach is always adopted in all project activities: In this context, the project establishes so-called Women Empowerment Centres (WEC) to strengthen the participation of women in their communities. They provide a safe platform for women to gather and discuss various important issues within the communities. Over the past year, the women's groups have received input support in the form of seeds for vegetable cultivation, additionally attended trainings on leadership skills and learned how to access agricultural insurance benefits. To continue to sensitise the communities on the issue of DRR, relevant radio campaigns are being broadcast as well as public street theatres are being organized.