Himalayan Times, the - International Media Network Nepal Pvt. Ltd.

The government of Nepal has passed the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act in response to the lives lost due to weak infrastructure failing during earthquakes in the past. The new act outlines roles and responsibilities for federal, provincial, and local level governments, and will establish a high-level Disaster Risk Reduction Authority.

Japan International Cooperation Agency, Ministry of Industry and Department of Mines and Geology today signed technical cooperation project to provide advanced research outputs on potential earthquakes in Nepal, its risks to Kathmandu Valley and strengthen research and training capacity of universities in Nepal.

The Asian Development Bank has agreed to provide $15 million grant assistance to help restore the disrupted livelihoods and schooling in the poor and severely earthquake-affected communities, and strengthen their resilience against future disasters, reports the Himalayan. The grant agreement was signed in Nepal on 8 December by Lok Darshan Regmi, secretary at the Ministry of Finance...

'Migration may be a coping strategy for climate change, but we lack study on this.' Climate and Migration researcher Kushal Gurung stated. Mentioning that fact that adaptation is very important in climate change, he argued, 'Youth are the best point of intervention for any kind of adaptation on climate change'...

'System for weather/climate data collection, forecasting and early warning system for climatic extremities should be developed while extreme climate based insect pest and disease forecasting system should be devised by the Department of Agriculture,' suggests Dr Ghimire, senior agriculture dev. officer...

Navaraj Pokharel calls for improved governance and public awareness, writing a brief history of disaster risk reduction for the Himalayan Times and highlighting disaster risk in Nepal. 'The hilly terrain mainly suffers from landslides and erosion whereas in the Terai damage from floods is more common. Earthquakes also happen occasionally. Epidemics also occur, causing damage to those areas where the unplanned and haphazard settlements are created. Moreover, the climate change continues to trigger disasters.'...

The plan intends to reduce the vulnerability of rural populations living in areas most affected by disasters or highly vulnerable to earthquakes, where replicable community-based disaster preparedness models were successfully piloted and tested at grassroots level, increasing communities’ resilience and raising awareness of local stakeholders...

The participation of women is essential in achieving a disaster resilient society, states Ratindra Khatri of the Strategic Centre for Disaster Risk Reduction Nepal. He suggests that women should be involved in policy formulation, planning and implementation of processes...