Residents in Sindhupalchowk have to struggle through one natural disaster after another. This year, the monsoon-induced landslides have only added to their woes. Krishna Bahadur Newar’s home in Barhabise, Sindhupalchowk was swept away by a recent landslide. “It’s really difficult for me to think about the incident and the loss that I suffered is unfathomable,” Newar says. “The sudden landslide not only took away my home and property but also my wife, leaving me and my injured son all alone. I was frightened and furious at the same time for losing everything.”
“In some places the whole hill came down wiping out the whole settlement. When we see these places, you can never imagine people lived there in the past” says Jampa Tsering Lama, disaster risk rduction and Emergency Coordinator for People in Need (PIN). “When the landslide is minor, people can recover to get their livelihoods back” Lama explains, “But if the impact is high, their livelihood and property are wrecked and people have no choice but to relocate to safer areas”.
Monsoon rainfall is considered the primary reason for landslide in hilly areas of Nepal, however improper land use and non-engineered road constructions have also contributed significantly to increasing number of local landslides in recent decades. In addition to that, 2015 earthquakes have further exacerbated the problem by severely weakening landmasses, thereby increasing the probability for future landslides. Therefore, taking into account the recurring nature of the problem, there is a clear need for an intervention to improve knowledge of the landslide hazards and technical capacity for the authorities to ensure effective landslide management at local the level.
With the humanitarian funding from European Union, People in Need along with its consortium partners Community Self Reliance Centre (CSRC), National Society for Earthquake Technology - Nepal (NSET), Scott Wilson Nepal (SWN), Durham University, and Northumbria University is implementing Pratibaddha: Risk-Informed Landslide Management in Nepal’s Hill Areas Project to increase the resilience of communities in rural hill areas through effective mitigation and management of landslides.
The key objective of the project is to work with local authorities and disaster management institutions, key actors involved in road construction and infrastructure projects, communities and national government to increase their understanding of landslide hazards, the risks they pose and the impact of human disturbance on communities exposed to hazard risks. Pratibaddha project has been working with communities, local authorities and relevant stakeholders in Sindhupalchowk and Dolakha districts by engaging local authorities and disaster management bodies in a series of capacity-building programs using innovative hazard and risk-mapping tools, as well as through awareness-raising campaigns and workshops for local user committees, schools, private contractors, engineers, and relevant stakeholders to enhance their knowledge of hazards, risks, and human disturbance.
The project uses custom-built 3D landslide models to demonstrate to the communities how landslides occur and possible causes behind them, how to interpret early signs and symptoms, and various cost-effective mitigation measures to minimize risks at local level. Similarly, it uses participatory 3D maps to discuss impacts of landslide hazards on different types of stakeholders, particularly the communities including vulnerable groups and decision makers and demonstrate how the tool can be used for risk-informed planning at local level.
In addition to that, the project also organizes awareness campaigns around effects of human activities and infrastructure development works, particularly road constructions, effective ways to mitigate landslide risks through bio-engineering, slope monitoring and maintenance techniques as well as preparedness, response and rehabilitation activities that can be done at personal and community level to ensure safety against landslides. “I wish these practical techniques for water management and landslide risk reduction were included in our school curriculum”, shared a student of Gaurishankar School, where the project conducted the workshop.
The students were delighted to learn that planting vegetation on the drywalls and maintaining proper drainage (bioengineering) in their backyard can stop erosion of soil as well as prevents landslips along the slopes. Local residents shared their past experiences and knowledge stressing how sensitive they used to be about maintaining nature while implementing the development works. “Earlier men and women used to construct road manually. We used to dig using shovels and local resources or equipment, now everywhere back-hoe loaders are used and it’s destroying everything”, recalls Gauri Maya Shrestha, a local resident of Nayabasti.
The Pratibaddha project carried out two eight-day training events from March 23 to 12 April 2021 on “Landslide Assessment and Mitigation” for the technical human resources of municipalities in the project’s working areas. The training events were divided into two–one for engineers and sub-engineers, and another for assistant sub-engineers Rural/Municipalities. The project helped formulate rural road construction guideline and monsoon preparedness plan for the project municipalities as a part of tailored technical support.
After receiving the guideline, Nimphunjo Sherpa, mayor for Barhabise municipality, said that Barhabise will start using the guideline for future constructions and that the municipality will remain committed to constructing fewer kilometers of road using the guideline, rather than constructing longer road sections haphazardly. The project, in coordination with the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Authority (NDRRMA) of the Government of Nepal, is currently conducting geo-hazard assessment of landslide affected settlements in Bhotekoshi municipality and has already completed assessment in Barhabise municipality.
The assessment team has completed geo-hazard assessment for 51 sites across seven wards that are affected by landslides in Barhabise Municipality. The project is now conducting similar assessments in over 100 sites in Bhotekoshi Rural Municipality in Sindhupalchok, and planning to conduct in Bigu and Tamakoshi Rural Municipalities in Dolakha in coming months.
