Understanding Disaster Management in Practice
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Material Information

Title:
Understanding Disaster Management in Practice with reference to Nepal
Creator:
Bhandari, Dinanath
Malakar, Yuwan
Murphy, Ben
Disaster Risk Reduction Program, Florida International University (DRR/FIU) ( summary contributor )
Place of Publication:
Kathmandu, Nepal
Publisher:
Practical Action Nepal Office
Publication Date:
Copyright Date:
2010
Language:
English

Subjects

Subjects / Keywords:
Disaster response and recovery -- Nepal ( lcshac )
Natural hazards and disasters -- Nepal ( lcshac )
Poverty -- Nepal ( lcshac )
Genre:
non-fiction ( marcgt )
Spatial Coverage:
Asia -- Nepal

Notes

Summary:
Understanding Disaster Management in Practice with Reference to Nepal” presents a livelihood-centered approach to preparing for and recovering from disaster. It specifically looks at the relationship between poverty and vulnerability to hazards. Often the most impoverished segments of a population are forced to live in areas with the highest risks due to a lack of financial capital and political power. Of Nepal’s 27 million people, 30 percent live below the poverty line in the most hazard prone regions. They often live on unstable hillside slopes or in flood planes with poor drainage systems. Each year over 1,000 people die at the hands of one disaster or another. Poverty itself often pushes people to utilize livelihood strategies that increase their vulnerability. These socioeconomic activities often remove the natural defenses that limit the extent of natural hazard. Eighty-five percent of Nepal’s population participates in agricultural production as a means of sustenance. With rapid population growth and corresponding pressures on land, there has been a steady overuse of the soil, causing deforestation and desertification. The decline of biodiversity and tree coverage has increased rainwater run-off leading to recurrent landslides and floods. Depleted ecosystems become a hazard in of themselves. Therefore, the relationship between natural resource management and disaster risk reduction (DRR) must be understood in order to reduce vulnerability. At the center of these two policy areas are livelihood strategies. Resilient communities often have diverse sets of livelihoods that are flexible and resistant to the effects of disaster. They are environmentally sustainable and linked to outside resources, services, and markets, and thus can tolerate local shocks brought on by disaster. Community Based Disaster Management (CBDM) contends that the knowledge and capacity of at-risk communities is valuable for socioeconomic development and reduction of vulnerability. They are not simply passive victims. Communities in high-risk areas often have an intimate understanding of those areas and have developed survival strategies over time. The key is to tap into those as the foundation of reducing vulnerability and building resilience. DRR projects must be based on community knowledge and local realities for them to be sustainable. This is why it is imperative that locals are active participants in the process of developing planning. This is a departure from the traditional approach that focuses exclusively on providing relief to those who have become victims of disaster. ( English )
Subject:
General Disaster Risk Management ( English )
Scope and Content:
FOREWORD p. vii; ACRONYMS p. ix; Chapter 1 Introduction: 1. Concern about disaster p. 2; 2. The role of disaster management p. 3; 3. Terms used in disaster management p. 3; 4. Organisation of this book p. 9; Chapter 2 Factors of Disasters Nepal Profile: 1. Geology and topography p. 13; 2. Weather and climate p. 13; 3. Ecosystems p. 14; 4. Human factors p. 18; Chapter 3 Practical Approaches to Disaster Management: 1. Disaster management approaches p. 22; 2. Disaster management and development p. 23; 3. Reducing vulnerability p. 24; 4. Community Based Disaster Management (CBDM) p. 26; 5. Livelihood strategies and disaster management p. 28; 6. Conclusion: communities prepared for disasters p. 30; Chapter 4 Practical Methods for CBDM Planning: 1. Vulnerability assessment of VDCs, municipalities and their priority ranking p. 33; 2. Selection of VDC/municipality for community based disaster management planning p. 33; 3. The disaster management planning of selected VDCs/municipalities p. 34 4. Stakeholder consultation and plan verification p. 40; 5. Approval of plan and implementation p. 41; Chapter 5 Implementation of CBDM Plans: 1. Pre disaster phase p. 45; 2. During disaster phase p. 47; 3. Post disaster p. 48; Chapter 6 Integrating DRR and Development into Policy and Practice: 1. The need for national level planning p. 56; 2. National and international policies looking to the local p. 58; 3. Building up from the community level - using the local development plans p. 61; Chapter 7 Climate Change and DRR: 1. What is climate change p. 64; 2. Climate change in Nepal p. 64; 3. Climate change and disasters p. 66; 4. Dealing with climate change: DRR and development approaches p. 68; Chapter 8 Conclusions p. 73; References p. 76; Box: 1.2 Successful DRR p. 7; 1.3 Effects and impacts of a disaster: Gig Tso GLOF p. 8; 3.1 Indigenous knowledge and practices p. 25; 3.2 Agricultural livelihood capitals p. 28; 3.3 Natural resource management to strengthen livelihoods p. 30; 4.1 Negligence to smaller issues may cost high p. 40; 5.1 Disaster management activities at different phases p. 50; 7.1 Nepal’s climate scenario p. 65; 7.2 Integrated watershed management: a no regret option to CCA and DRR p. 70; Table: 1.1 Natural hazards are biophysical phenomena and generally fall into the following categories p. 4; 4.1 Summary of hazard analysis p. 38; 5.2 Scope of management measures of different hazards p. 53; Figure: 4.1 CBDRM planning process at local level p. 32 5.1 Disaster management cycle p. 45; 5.2 Early Warning System for disaster risk management p. 46; 5.3 Flood early warning and rescue communication system Narayani and Rapti River, Chitwan District p. 54; 6.1 Disaster and development institutions at the local level within Nepal p. 60; 7.1 Annual precipitation trend across Nepal (1976-2005) p. 66 ( English )
Citation/Reference:
Bhandari, D., Malakar, Y., Murphy, B. (2010). Understanding disaster management in practice with reference to Nepal. Practical Action.

Record Information

Source Institution:
Florida International University
Rights Management:
No use of this publication may be made for resale or other commercial purpose without prior permission of the copyright holder.
Resource Identifier:
FI13042458
9789937813587 ( isbn )

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Aggregations:
Disaster Risk Reduction