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Case study summary - NepalLegislation and disaster risk reduction at the community level

May 2011

Risk proleNepal aces multiple natural hazards, including mon-

soon rains, requent orest fres and, o particular worryin the area o Kathmandu, a high level o seismic activ-

ity. These natural risks are exacerbated by environmen-tal degradation, deorestation and soil erosion - leadingto a greater likelihood o devastating ash oods and

landslides - while glacial melt associated with climatechange seems to have increased the risk o glacial lake

outburst oods.

Snapshot of the

legislative frameworkOverall, Nepal benefts rom a well-developed policy ramework or risk reduction,

including a newly-adopted and very comprehensive National Strategy or Disaster RiskManagement and a National Adaptation Programme o Action or Climate Change, butan incomplete legal ramework.

The main disaster management legislation is the National Calamity Relie Act, which,as its name indicates, primarily ocuses on post-disaster response. Other particularly

relevant national laws include the Local Sel-Governance Act (whose ull implementa-tion has been hampered by the many years o conict), environmental laws, particularlyor water catchment and orestry, and the National Building Act, Building Regulation

and Building Codes.

Importantly, work is currently ongoing to drat a new National Disaster Management

Act, which is expected to incorporate aspects o disaster risk reduction.

Selected best practicesn In the current absence o binding building codes or smaller homes, the Departmento Urban Development and Building Construction (DUDBC) disseminates MandatoryRules o Thumb (MRT), a set o voluntary guidelines intended to assist owner-buildersto construct earthquake and fre sae smaller buildings. Developed by the National

Society or Earthquake Technology, Nepal (NSET), the MRTs, pragmatically, recognizethat most owner-builders do not generally have access to engineering advice (as 93percent o buildings are non-engineered), especially in rural communities, and alsothat local materials will be used.

www.ifrc.org

Saving lives, changing minds

The urban environment in Nepal

The full report was

commissioned by the IFRC

and prepared by Mary Picard,

legal consultant. It is one of

several case studies the IFRC

is undertaking to learn about

how legislation can support (or

impede) disaster risk reduction,

particularly at the community

level. For more information

about the project and variouscase studies as they become

available, please visit our

website at http://www.ifrc.org/

idrl.

http://www.ifrc.org/http://www.ifrc.org/

7/28/2019 Case Study Summary - Nepal

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International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

Case study summary - Nepal /Legislation and disaster risk reduction at the community level

n The Ministry o Physical Planning and Works has implemented asystem o voluntary land pooling in the Kathmandu Valley, whichcompensates or a lack o prior land use planning by reaching agree-ments with landowners who wish to create new urban developments

in which they sacrifce a portion o their private land in order to

provide proper roads and other inrastructure, including public openspace, with the return o an increase in the remaining lands value.

n At the end o start-up community-based DRR projects promotedby the Red Cross and partner NGOs, many DRR committees have

been able to legally register as community based organizations. Thisenhances community accountability or the management o revolving

relie unds and other decisions, assists in sustainability, and allows

them to access government assistance and participate ormally in

local government DRR processes.

n Under the Forest Act and the National Parks and Wildlie ConservationAct, the management o certain orest areas is assigned to user

groups at the community level, with rights to use the timber, ruitsand animals sustainably and to guard against illegal encroachment.Under the latter act, user groups also have responsibilities to carry

out programmes to prevent oods, landslides and soil erosion.

Key remaining gapsn There is not yet a comprehensive and/or adequately resourced mech-anism to implement the National Building Codes. There is also lacko regulation o small buildings and a lack o implementation at com-munity level o rules concerning high risk buildings.

n Land use planning is not clearly regulated and institutional respon-sibility is divided.

n There is a lack o specifc legal and institutional rameworks to sup-port early warning at the community level, although there have beensuccessul ad hoc cooperative projects.

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societ iesChemin des Crts, 17 | 1211 Petit Saconnex | Geneva | Switzerlandidrl@ifrc.org - http://www.ifrc.org/idrl

For further information,please contact:

www.ifrc.orgSaving lives, changing minds.

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