Microfinance: Role of NGOs in DRR

Abstract

Located at the boundary of Indian and Tibetan plates, Nepal faces highlevel of seismic hazard. Seismic risk of the country is also extremelyhigh because of rapid urbanization, prevalence of non-engineeredconstructions, poor implementation of building code, low level ofearthquake awareness among the creators of vulnerabilities and, agradual decay of indigenous knowledge and wisdom on earthquake resistantconstructions. Kathmandu Valley is estimated to be one of the mostat-risk cities in the world in terms of potential human casualty.Unfortunately, the risk is growing. Main source of earthquake risk ispoor performance of buildings that are largely non-engineered. AlthoughNepal had a rich tradition of earthquake resistant constructionsevidenced by numerous historic monuments and heritage buildings in thevalley, the risk is continuously increasing which fact has become aglobal concern.To address the problem, Nepalese professionals and agencies havedeveloped methodologies of earthquake risk assessment and havesuccessfully implemented, in collaboration with internationaldevelopment partners, several initiatives on earthquake risk reduction.School Earthquake Safety Program including seismic retrofitting ofschool buildings, efforts towards pubic private partnership forearthquake preparedness including promotion of business continuityplanning, development of earthquake damage scenarios and correspondingaction plan for risk management, and development of risk sensitive landuse planning are some of the innovative initiatives being implemented inthe country. The results of these initiatives are encouraging, Nepal haswitnessed a significant improvement in community awareness andperception of earthquake risk, and the perspective of earthquake riskreduction appears very promising in terms of cost efficiency, andsocio-economic and technical feasibilities.Serious challenges identified are the problem in scaling up of successesand institutionalization of the achievements made so far. Further,ensuring sustainability of the efforts, especially at the local levels,and ensuring comprehensiveness of earthquake risk management actions inorder to support the efforts being made towards meeting the developmentaspirations of the people and betterment of their livelihoods also arethe challenges.