A Joint Initiative of DepartmentCFGORRP of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM) CBEWS REPORT Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment/Government of Nepal Global Environment Facility United Nations Development Programme Local Needs and Constraints for the Implementation of Cost-Effective Community-Based Early Warning Systems in Solukhumbu and Terai Districts of Nepal Local Needs and Constraints for the Implementation of Cost-Effective Community-Based Early Warning Systems In Solukhumbu and Terai Districts of Nepal Study Team Dr. Dhruba Gautam Mr. Ram Bhattarai Maitri Management and Development Consultancy Pvt. Ltd New Baneshwor Phone/fax: 01-4115619 December 2013 Nepal Submitted to Community Based Flood and Glacial Lake Outburst Risk Reduction Project (CFGORRP) 406, Babar Mahal, Kathmandu, Nepal Tel: 4255920, 4262374, 4262974, 4248808, 4248876 Fax: +977-01-4254890, 977-01-4262348Page 1 Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.dhm.gov.np/cfgorrp CFGORRP CBEWS REPORT List of abbreviation and acronyms APAN Asia Pacific Advanced Network BCC Behavior change communication BZMC Buffer Zone Management Committee CBEWS Community-based early warning system CBO Community based organization CDMA Code division multiple access CFGORRP Community Based Flood and Glacial Lake Outburst Risk Reduction Project CFUG Community Forest User Group D/S Downstream DDRC District Disaster Relief Committee DDRP District Disaster Response Plan DEOC District Emergency Operation Centre DHM Department of Hydrology and Meteorology DMC Disaster Management Committee DRR Disaster risk reduction EWS Early warning system FGD Focus group discussion GLOF Glacial lake outburst flood HFA Hyogo Framework for Action HVRC Hazard, vulnerability, risk and capacity ICIMOD International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development KII Key informant interview LDRMP Local Disaster Risk Management Plan NAPA National Adaptation Plan for Action NRCS Nepal Red Cross Society SAR Search and rescue U/S Upstream VDC Village Development Committee VDMC VDC based Disaster Management Committee WECS Water and Energy Secretariat WWF World Wildlife Fund Page 2 CFGORRP CBEWS REPORT Acknowledgements We would like to acknowledge the project’s team at the district for their professional support during field consultation as well at a consultation meeting with district level stakeholders in respective districts. We are particularly grateful to CFGORRP and to the project management team for their feedback on and suggestions about conceptual framework and methodology. We are also grateful that CFGORRP entrusted us to conduct this study. This study report has been possible because of the support of so many people personally and professionally. We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to all persons who contributed to this study in many different ways: by sharing their experience, thoughts and opinions about the project, and by contributing time, advice and hospitality. The study team is indebted to community members and stakeholders, including teachers and students. Additionally, it would not have been possible to complete this study without the support, patience and co-operation from Sagarmatha National Park, Buffer Zone Development Council, Buffer Zone Development Committees/Groups, Community Forest User Groups, CBOs, women groups and village/district stakeholders. We were encouraged when people accepted our presence, answered our queries passionately and made us internalize the key issues. Therefore, we remain obliged to them. We are grateful to Mr Dinesh Kumar Sah and Mr Sanjay Sah, the Project Officers in Mahottari and Udayapur respectively for their painstaking efforts during the field work. We are also indebted to Mr. Haribhadra Acharya and Mr. Ram Singh Thapa, focal points from DNPWC and DSCWM respectively for their valuable comments and suggestions on the draft version of the report. Last but not least, our special thanks go to Mr. Top Khatri, National Programme Manager and Dr. Rishi Ram Sharma, National Programme Director of CFGORRP/Director General of Department of Hydrology and Meteorology who entrusted us with the task of conducting this study. Thanks you all. Dhruba Gautam Ram Bhattarai Maitri Management and Development Consultancy Pvt. Ltd Page 3 CFGORRP CBEWS REPORT Executive summary Community-Based Flood and Glacial Lake Outburst Risk Reduction Project (CFGORRP), aims to reduce the human and material losses from GLOFs in Solukhumbu District and catastrophic flooding events in the Terai and Churia Range through community-based EWSs (CBEWSs). The project covers 11 VDCs of five river basins of five project districts. This study requires supplementary information and data to identify the available knowledge base and constraints for the successful implementation of community based early warning systems (CBEWSs). A detailed socio-economic and technical study with effective analysis will serve as a comprehensive review of CBEWS. Similarly, specific local needs and constraints are to be identified for the implementation of CBEWSs in up- and downstream communities. The main objectives of this study are to identify cost-effective and sustainable CBEWSs for GLOFs in Solukhumbu, and to identify cost-effective and sustainable CBEWSs for floods in the Terai plains. This study is based on fieldwork and consultations with stakeholders at the macro and micro levels in the project communities. As suggested by UN/ISDR (2006) an ESW covers major four components: (i) Risk Knowledge, (ii) Monitoring and Observation, (iii) Communication and Dissemination, and (iv) Response Capacity. To be effective, an EWS must incorporate all four components and all must be equally strong. Project documents and relevant literature were reviewed before preparing checklists and guidelines for the fieldwork. Appropriate tools and guide questions in the form of checklists were designed to elicit from project stakeholders and beneficiaries the needs for and constraints on the implementation of CBEWSs. To ascertain what the residents near the watershed under study think about the constraints and need of EWS, a quantitative analysis was conducted using a semi-structured survey of 192 respondents. The study team undertook gap analysis of technical and socio-economic aspects and identified the needs and constraints such as challenges, practical issues, and precautionary measures for implementing a cost-effective and workable CBEWS. An EWS reduces vulnerability by providing individual and communities with information, but they still need to act upon that information in a timely and appropriate manner to avoid GLOF- and flood-related risks. Several constraints and challenges constrain the functionality of an EWS. About 72% of the respondents in Namche VDC said that absence or minimal presence of risk reduction initiatives is the main reason for limited risk knowledge, an opinion which 65% of respondents in Chaurikharkha and 43% of respondents in Khumjung VDCs concurred with. About 32% of respondents in Khumjung VDC identified the failure of indigenous knowledge as another constraint and about 10% of respondents from the same VDCs gave no opinion. In the view of 11-15% of the respondents from the three study VDCs, poor knowledge about hazards and their nature is also a reason for limited risk knowledge. In the Terai, about two-thirds of respondents in Sarpallo and Didhawa VDCs identified minimal risk reduction initiatives as a reason for limited risk knowledge. Limited knowledge about hazards and their nature and the failure of indigenous knowledge were the second and third most commonly cited reasons respectively. About 9% of respondents in Pakri VDC said that they did not know the reason for limited risk knowledge. People have poor knowledge about and understanding of hazards and their efforts are focused on hazard management rather than vulnerability reduction. EWSs established in the past were neither functional nor sustainable. Major constraints were increased likelihood of hazard occurrence, difficulty for people to think about risks and risk reduction initiatives, absence of risk reduction plans, minimal community involvement in risk reduction initiatives and failure of prediction of indigenous knowledge. Page 4 CFGORRP CBEWS REPORT Monitoring and observation provide the data and information that are key to effective EWS. No study watershed has established systematic procedures for data collection or analysis. In terms of constraints related to monitoring and observation, about 70% of respondents in Khumjung and 54% of respondents in Namche VDC opined that ‘technologies are not cost- effective’ but 56% of respondents in Chaurikharka gave as the reason ‘poor linkage between upstream and downstream points’ and 23% said the absence of observation stations was the key constraint. About 7% of respondents in Khumjung VDC had no idea why monitoring and observation was poor. In the Terai, more than two-thirds of respondents in Jogidaha, Tulsipur, Hadiya, Pakri and Didhawa VDCs said that the main constraint was poor upstream- downstream linkages. The absence of observation stations was the second most prevalent constraint. Roughly one-tenth or fewer respondents named expensive technologies as a constraint. Other major limitations included absence of observation stations, safety issue of apparatus, technologies are not cost-effective and there is poor linkage between upstream and downstream points. Communication and dissemination-related constraints and challenges are discussed in the subsequent chapters. In both the