HRRP Bulletin Housing Recovery and Reconstruction Platform, Nepal
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Media Digest | FAQ | Briefing Pack | Meeting & Events | 5W | Housing Progress | HousingTypologies The fourth Asia Shelter Forum 2020 was held in Nepal on 29 November 2020. It was abridged and virtual due to COVID-19 Pandemic situation. The Asia Shelter Forum will be held face-to-face in April 2021 in Kathmandu if COVID-19 pandemic situation allows. The program was hosted by the Government of Nepal, led by Ministry of Urban Development with support from National Reconstruction Authority (NRA), Department of Urban Development and Building Construction (DUDBC), and Asia Shelter Forum Organizing Committee Members namely HRRP, CRS, IFRC, EU, IOM, Habitat for Humanity and NGO Federation Nepal. HRRP Bulletin Housing Recovery and Reconstruction Platform, Nepal HIGHLIGHTS ● The Fourth Asia Shelter Forum held in Nepal ● NRA organized a webinar to discuss NRA’s achievements and lessons through its compendium papers ● NRA has fixed a final deadline for grant disbursement ● Vulnerable Support Working Group Meeting update ● A webinar on “Promotion of Seismic Retrofitting in High Earthquake Risk Communities - Make safer now” ● The Urban Recovery Technical Working Group (UR-TWG) update ● COVID-19 live updates from Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) FEATURED TECHNICAL STAFF STORY: Sanish Kumar Pandit, Focal Engineer Er. Sanish Kumar Pandit, Focal Engineer Bhimphedi Rural Municipality: Sanish is leading the Retrofit Task Force for the Bhimphedi Rural Municipality. He worked two and half years in the DLPIU Building and currently he is working as the focal Engineer in Bhimphedi Rural Municipality. The main challenge that they are currently facing is retrofitting. There are 964 beneficiaries eligible for the retrofitting in the rural municipality. However, a majority of the Sanish Kumar Pandit retrofitted beneficiaries want to convert into Focal Engineer, Bhimphedi Rural reconstruction, and they are having a tough Municipality, Makwanpur time convincing beneficiaries for the house retrofitting. 30 November 2020 Page 2 of 26 HRRP Bulletin Housing Recovery and Reconstruction Platform, Nepal NATIONAL UPDATES NRA, CLPIU GMaLI and Building, Grant Disbursement Data, as of 30 November 2020: *N/A indicates that the information source was not accessible at the time of reporting Progress with the disbursement of the GoN housing reconstruction and retrofit grants based on NRA, GMaLI CLPIU data as of 30 Nov 2020. 30 November 2020 Page 3 of 26 HRRP Bulletin Housing Recovery and Reconstruction Platform, Nepal The Fourth Asia Shelter Forum held in Nepal, 29 November 2020: Government of Nepal led by Ministry of Urban Development (MOUD), with support from National Reconstruction Authority (NRA), Department of Urban Development and Building Construction (DUDBC) and the Asia Shelter Forum Organizing Committee Members namely HRRP, CRS, IFRC, EU, IOM, Habitat for Humanity and NGO Federation Nepal organized an abridged virtual Asia Shelter Forum 2020 on 29 November 2020. The Asia Shelter Forum 2020 in Nepal is planned virtually due to the COVID-19 Pandemic with the expectation that the face to face Shelter Forum and shelter week will be held in April 2021 in Kathmandu if Covid-19 situation allows. This half-day virtual workshop discussed the lessons and experience of recent disasters as well as the wider experience of shelter response in the region. The workshop explored best practices and community driven shelter initiatives along with urban recovery and with active community engagement ensuring humanitarian assistance to support affected people to survive, recover and rebuild their lives with dignity. Detailed report to follow. NRA organized a webinar to discuss NRA’s achievements from 27-28 November 2020: NRA organized a two-day webinar session, with the objective to share, discuss and receive feedback on the compendium papers namely: private housing reconstruction; public building and infrastructure; cultural heritage; livelihood and economic development; rescue & relief; good governance & institutional arrangement as part of preparation for the International Conference on Nepal’s Reconstruction planned in April 2021. Experts in each of the thematic areas presented the findings of the documentation work highlighting on the background context, institutional and operational challenges, strategies and approaches adopted, lessons learned and conclusions with key messages. Prominent experts from various backgrounds provided feedback on the compendium papers. The Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Sushil Gyewali highlighted the future course of action for NRA highlighting on NRA’s disengagement plan, documentation of NRA’s achievements and lessons learned for future reference. A webinar on “Promotion of Seismic Retrofitting in High Earthquake Risk Communities - Make safer now”, 30 November, 2020: A webinar on " Promotion of Seismic Retrofitting in High Earthquake Risk Communities: Make Safer Now" was organized 30 November 2020 Page 4 of 26 HRRP Bulletin Housing Recovery and Reconstruction Platform, Nepal with the main objective of disseminating current knowledge and practice of improving seismic performance of existing buildings and other structures by discussing on the significance of seismic retrofitting as an essential intervention measure for earthquake risk reduction, elaborate on the research and development on retrofitting across the Asian region, interface the scientific advancements into practical applications in at-risk communities, and learn from the success and failures of past interventions to shape the way forward for future. There were more than 100 participants representing various sectors in earthquake risk management in Asia. NRA has fixed a final deadline for grant disbursement, 6 November The NRA Executive Committee Meeting held on 6 November 2020 has set a final deadline for tranche disbursement for private housing reconstruction. According to the new tranche deadline, those beneficiaries who are eligible for reconstruction and retrofit grant are requested to sign the partner agreement by 15 December 2020 (end of Mangsir 2077), and receive first tranche by 30 December 2020 (Poush 15, 2077). Similarly, beneficiaries who have received the first tranche must start their housing reconstruction and submit an application to the local government for verification process by 12 February 2021 (end of Magh 2077). All reconstruction and retrofitting beneficiaries must submit an application for verification process to the local level government by 14 May 2021 (end of Baisakh 2078) to access third and final tranche. Likewise, NRA has requested all eligible reconstruction beneficiaries that may have been left out of access to housing reconstruction grants to approach their respective local government, in order to sign a partner agreement at the earliest possible and access housing reconstruction grants. Similarly, retrofitting beneficiaries, who are willing to demolish their existing damaged house and go for new reconstruction are requested to submit an application to the District Level Project Implementation Unit (DLPIU) . Vulnerable Support Working Group Meeting, 6 November 2020: The virtual meeting of the Vulnerable Support Working Group was held on 06 November 2020 to discuss housing progress, issues and challenges surrounding the housing reconstruction of vulnerable beneficiaries. The overall objectives of the meeting were to discuss and provide necessary 30 November 2020 Page 5 of 26 HRRP Bulletin Housing Recovery and Reconstruction Platform, Nepal guidance to partners and the agents of change, particularly social mobilizers and mobile masons, who are deployed by CLPIU-Building in the 14 most earthquake-affected districts. The meeting also aimed at strengthening coordination and communication with partners, government entities and the field technical staff, to provide adequate socio-technical assistance (STA) to vulnerable beneficiaries struggling with their housing reconstruction.The meeting was attended by NRA, CLPIU-GMaLI, CLPIU-Building, POs and Donor representatives. For more information, contact HRRP National Coordination Officer, Ruplal Aidi. email: [email protected] The Urban Recovery Technical Working Group (UR-TWG) update: The UR-TWG held its 18th meeting on 25 November, 2020. The members discussed setting up a platform for sharing learnings from Nepal’s urban housing recovery. This will further be connected to Nepal’s longer-term urban development vision, in order to facilitate efficient, sustainable and inclusive urban settlement recovery. A concept proposed was starting with Urban Webinar Series. UR-TWG members brainstormed on making this a platform for national and international knowledge sharing on urban housing recovery issues, success stories and best practices. It would further explore linkages between urban housing recovery, UN SDG 9 and 11 (resilient infrastructure; sustainable cities & communities), New Urban Agenda, and national level urban development strategies and urban policies of the Government of Nepal. Currently the webinar agenda is being prepared in consultation with the working group and other relevant stakeholders. The first webinar of the series will be held in December 2020 (Save the Date to follow shortly). To know more or contribute your ideas, kindly contact Rupesh Shrestha: [email protected] COVID-19 live updates from Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP) According to the Ministry of Health & Population (MOHP) website data, as of 29 November 2020, total cumulative new cases are 231,978