Risk Informed Landslide Management in Nepal’s

Hill Areas
With the aim to improve resilience of hill communities through strengthening risk-informed
landslide management at the local level, Pratibaddha was implemented in four municipalities of
Sindhupalchowk and Dolakha district.
The objective was to increase the understanding of landslide hazards, the risks community pose
and the impact of human disturbance on communities exposed to hazard risks. The key
beneficiaries and stakeholders were:
• Local authorities
• Disaster management institutions
• At risk communities
• key actors involved in road construction and infrastructure projects,
• National government
Beneficiaries:
Over 81,022 beneficiaries covered, of which 19,359 were
reached directly; 48% women, 52% men
Over 75% fall under vulnerable category
PLWD – 0.4%, PLW – 0.2%, single women – 0.5%, elderly –
22%, marginalized ethnicity – 12%

Activities: Picture 1: Orientation on safe

evacuation
16 capacity building
workshops,
Two 8-days technical
trainings,
116 awareness
campaigns.
91 L-DEM workshops,

Picture 2: L-DEM workshop and calendar 33 P3DM workshops

distribution

Approximately 30,000 posters, brochures and calendars

distributed.
Organized 3 consultative meetings, 3 thematic events and 2
exposure visits Picture 3: Awareness program
using IEC material
Anticipatory Action

Geo-Hazard Assessment: Guidelines for Geohazard Assessment and Relocation to Safer Areas
for landslide affected households was formulated by the project and approved by NDRRMA.

Geo-hazard 51 settlements of Baharabise

assessment Municipality
53 settlemnts of Bhotekoshi
19 settlements of Bigu
25 settlements of Tamakoshi
Picture 4: Geo-hazard Assessment

No. of settlements No. of HHs

CAT II 114 3027

CAT III 11 124

CAT III requires relocation to safer location whereas

Picture 5:Exposer Visit at Tangsar, Barhabise
CAT II requires mitigation measures. The project
advocated for the relocation and made visits from
concerned authorities to observe their situation. Now,
all the households at risk are approved for relocation
by the government and are eligible to receive the
land/housing grant. The safer location for their
relocation has also been assessed by the geologist.

The geologist has visited our place,

and after the assessment, they said
that the area is at risk and we need to
relocate" - Chameli Thapa, Tangsar
Barhabise
Picture 6: Stakeholders meeting after exposer visit in Tangsar
Anita, a housewife in Khagdal, Barhabise, was worried as her family was not eligible for the
grant because her house was at risk of flooding but was not completely damaged. Later
Pratibaddha project conducted geohazard assessment to support the government to categorize
the vulnerable areas. Finally, Anita’s house got listed in CAT III settlement and was eligible for
both land and relocation grant from the government.
Learnings:
CAT-II households remain uncertain as they are not eligible for any federal/provincial grant and
local level don’t have adequate budget for mitigation activities. A common platform for all tier of
government to discuss on the agendas pertaining to landslide management is essential. Exposure visits and
regular meeting with key stakeholder would help to find out the bottleneck and its solution as the
problems faced are often diverse and their voices remain localized.

Monsoon preparedness action-plan: Monsoon Preparedness and Response Plan formulated and
103 at risk households temporarily relocated

Support to EQ affected HHs

Land ownership certificate received by EQ affected HHs -20 displaced
HHs and 21 Landless HHs
Temporary shelter Grant
• 255 HHs received the 1st Installment
• 107 received 2nd installment

Policy strengthening
Developed and disseminated 4 key policy documents
Picture 7: Temporary settlements at
• Guidelines for Geohazard Assessment and Relocation to Bugam, Barhabise
Safer Areas for landslide affected households.
• Monsoon Preparedness and Response Plan
• Rural Road Construction Guideline
• Disaster Preparedness and Response Plan (DPRP)
Rural Road Construction:

As per Durham University, by the end of 2019, the number

of mapped landslides had increased by an additional 49%
compared to the day of the earthquake, as a result of
monsoon rains generating further extensive landslide
hazard and risks. Similarly, the evidence compiled by the
Consortium has highlighted how road construction can
exacerbate existing landslide activity and change patterns
of landslide exposure, rendering this a significant
humanitarian concern.
Picture 8: Road induced landslides
The spike in rural road expansion after the EQ has been seen as a contributing factor to local
landslide risk.

Local Government
Operation Act-2017 Project supported LG Workshops were The guidelines was
authorized LG for to formulate Rural road conducted with the Formulated in each
formulation of construction guidelines local authorities,user palikas considering
policies, and laws and (RRCG) and supported committes and the local geography.
develop standards to implement it in all contratorsto set the Endorsed by the
the working targets and standards municipal council
municipalities

Further Support

Technical Training on Landslide Investigation

and Mitigation to the technical human resource
of Barhabise Municipality, Bhotekoshi RM,
Bigu RM, and Tamakoshi RM.

Training to GP technical training on Rural Road

Survey, Design and Construction (SW ROAD
Software)

Picture 9: Training on Landslide Investigation and

Mitigation
Review of road design, field survey and data
collection. Provided recommendations and
technical support on

• Following road standards

• Bio-engineering
• Slope stabilization
Picture 10: Filed visit by the experts in Bigu
• Drainage management
Through the continuous advocacy of the trained
technical human resources of Bhotekoshi RM, the
municipality allocated budget for bio-engineering
which is itself a first initiative in RM. There is also
a plan to construct protection walls and drainage in
the whole section which is being upgraded.

Picture 11: Wider turning points after recommendation

“In the beginning, it was difficult to convince

local authority. It took time but gradually I
was able to convince them by explaining the
importance of drainage system, bio-
engineering and other mitigation measures
while constructing a road which I learned
during these trainings” – Badel Lama, Sub-
Picture 12: Field visit to provide technical input by green
engineer, Bhotekoshi RM
infrastructure expert
Learning:

The local government authorities are willing to adopt the Rural Road Construction Guidelines for
disaster resilient road but they first need to allocate sufficient budget. LG need support to leverage
adequate funding and as the LG, technical resources, User groups and contractors lack the technical
capacity, training on bio-engineering and low-cost technology for landslide mitigation measures is
required.

Disaster Risk Management

Local Disaster Management committee (LDMC) in most of the working municipalities were seen to be
active only after the Disaster. The ward level disaster management committees are not functional. It has
been noticed that the DRRM funds are largely used on relief supplies only. LG lacks planning and
investment in disaster preparedness.
As DRRM Act-2017 authorized LG to
formulate DPRP, Pratibaddha
supported three LG to prepare Disaster
Preparedness and Response Plan.
The DPRP formulation was
participatory, Vulnerability and
Capacity assessments (VCA) were
Picture 13: VCA
carried out in each ward, consultation meetings and workshops were held with the LDMC and sub cluster
committees.

“Whenever there is any disaster, people first call us. It is only then we then start searching torch
lights. Means, we are not prepared at all for the
disaster. Knowing that the disasters like landslide
occurs every year, we do nothing before it strikes”
“After my involvement in DPRP formulation process
and these workshops, I realized the need for
preparedness. How easy it becomes to handle the
chaos and reduce the casualty when we have
everything planned beforehand in the form of
DPRP.” -Sushila Pakhrin, Deputy Mayor Barhabise

Picture 14: Deputy Mayor during DPRP workshop

Learning
DRRM budget for working municipalities has increased by 120% through project’s advocacy. LDMC was
engaged during the formulation of DPRP but gap still exist for risk-informed disaster management. The
seven-step planning process needs to prioritize the funds for the disaster preparedness and mitigation.

Thank you