Interaction On Monsoon Related Disaster Risks Reduction And Management NGO Federation of Nepal (NFN) conducted an interaction program on management and mitigation of monsoon related disaster risks on Thursday, June 17th, 2021. Each year, Nepal sees a huge loss of lives and properties in the recurring natural calamities. With the onset of monsoon already, Nepal has started seeing the crisis loom in several districts like Sindhupalchowk and Manang. Cases of floods, landslides and continuous rise in river levels are being reported all across the country. In this regard, the interaction program was held on the preparedness on risk minimization along with the role of social organisations, civil society and government in the crisis management. According to meteorologist Dr. Dharam Uprety, monsoon in Nepal started 2 days earlier this year in comparison to that of previous year. He says there is a high risk of massive rainfall occurring in the next 90 days. He reported the highest rainfall in the central region of Nepal, especially the Bagmati province in the last 5 days. “We need to be in a state of high alert at this time. There should be an utmost priority in the access of information alongside preparedness of risk mitigation”, stated Dr. Uprety. The SMS alert services of telecommunication providers such as NTC and Ncell are not well distributed throughout the nation. People need to have early access to the safety information before the crisis actually happens. Dr. Uprety emphasized on the importance of widespread availability of SMS alerts along with informational campaigns at society level on how to move to safer places in crisis and on how to minimize the loss with proactiveness. Mr. Puskar Khati, Member-Secretary of Social Welfare Council, spoke about the activities being conducted by SWC. He said that SWC works on approving projects and facilitates channelling resources for disaster management. He advocated for the collaborative effort of different organisations as the government seeks their assistance in times of crisis. There is a huge importance of the role of social organizations in times of crisis. Nepal has been seeing a rapid growth in new settlements. River encroachment, flood, landslides as well as the Covid crisis are currently some huge priority concerns of the government as per Mr Bed Nidhi Khanal, under-secretary of National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority. There are ongoing constructions of roads even in the monsoon season. Settlements are being made near river sides. River sides have been encroached. There is a sharp rise in land plotting and unscientific settlements. This year saw an increase in forest fires as well. The government has been working on the integration of open public spaces, construction of homes for those impacted, helipads and fire safety management in the system according to Khanal. “Despite the ongoing effort of the government every year, the crisis is far away from being solved due to the lack of awareness programs among citizens”, states Khanal. Ms. Bina Silwal, Chairperson of Gandaki Province Committee of NGO Federation Nepal, stressed on NGOs being called on by the government only during times of crisis and not being on its priority list overall. She also stated that there has to be implementation of protocol, and call for collaboration is not adequate without actually prioritising NGOs at the grassroots level. Ms Nitu Gadtaula, Director of National Human Rights Commission Province 1, stated the need for preparedness before the crisis rather than acting after the crisis. She advocated the need for fair utilization of development funds by people’s representatives. She also stated that people and their belongings should be transferred to a safer place prior to the calamities actually occurring in order to minimize the loss of lives and properties. Mr. Surya Bahadur Thapa, Chairperson of DPNet-Nepal, shared that more than 640,000 people are directly impacted each year due to different natural disasters nationwide. He also shared the updates about the regular sharing and coordination meeting with various civil society networks and federations, National Planning Commission, guidelines developed to mobilize I/ NGOs during the time of disasters on behalf of civil society networks. He also requested to share the information about the preparedness for seasonal hazards. “It’s high time to think about the monsoon preparedness plan”, said Thapa. Risk mitigation is only possible if people can be informed and alerted in advance, said Mr. Bipul Pokharel, President of the Federation of Nepali Journalists. He requested all media personnel to take care of their safety while collecting reports on the crisis. He also stressed on the need of “Rapid Response Desk” from the effort of civil society. All the participants emphasised on the need of proactiveness to get prepared for the disasters, not merely responding when disasters hit. The participants also raised their voices on the importance of psychological counselling and mental health awareness for those directly impacted by the calamities. Mr. Mitralal Sharma, President of Nepal Federation of the Disabled, stated the importance of taking not only care of the public in general but also emphasised on hearing the voices of physically challenged people. He stated that the needs of physically challenged people are not the same as those of normal people and special consideration has to be made in providing tailored information and help to them. Information being circulated might not always be disabled-friendly and the concerned authorities have to take into account the same factor. Similarly, Rem BK from Jagaran Media in his statement urged the importance of differentiation in flow of information as traditional approach might not always be the most productive one and there are a lot of people who have either no access to social media or not everyone use them. More than 150 participants from different government and non-government institutions attended the program. During the discussion round, delegates including Bhakta Bishwakarma, President of Dalit NGO Federation, Rajendra Aryal, President of Federation of Drinking Water and Sanitation Users Nepal also participated. Analysts suggested the need of a university for studies and research on natural disaster risk management alongside the setup of crisis management teams in every province which prepares a detailed audit on crisis forecast, its investigation and preparation of risk mitigation. The program was chaired by Mr. Jitaram Lama, president of NGO Federation Nepal while the participants were welcomed by NFN's vice-president Ms. Sumitra Sharma. The session was conducted by NFN's Secretary General Mr. Ram Prasad Subedi alongside moderation by Mr. Arjun Bhattarai, the Deputy Secretary General of NFN. NFN has been conducting sessions like these for national causes every year. The NFN also brought the stakeholders together last year to discuss the plans and preparedness for disaster risk reduction and management whereby discussion and advocacy programs were organized in the central as well as provincial levels with participation of district and local level representatives.
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