Like many parts of Asia, Kathmandu Valley is facing rapid population growth and unplanned development. Nepal, again like many countries in the region, has enacted legislation on decentralization but has faced difficulties in enforcing local autonomy and public participation in the development process. The opportunity for participation for many social groups in Nepal remains limited because of the concentration of political power at the center. However, non-governmental and community-based organizations are demonstrating an increasing sense of ownership and collective interest in areas that affect their lives, with or without support from the state.

In the field of disaster management, Nepal's National Society for Earthquake Technology (NSET) is a non-governmental organization dedicated to reducing earthquake risks. Under ADPC's Asian Urban Disaster Mitigation Program, NSET has been a catalyst in promoting community-based disaster management in Ward 34 of Kathmandu Metropolitan City including the establishment of a Ward 34 Disaster Management Committee.

There are 75 districts in Kathmandu Valley, with the three major administrative districts being Bhaktapur Municipality, Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) and Lalitpur Sub-municipality. KMC comprises 35 wards, with Ward 34 situated in southeast KMC, bordered on the east by the Bagmati River. When Ward 34 was established about 25 years ago, there were 54 houses but the population has grown rapidly and today the ward is inhabited by more than 23,000 people in 6,000 registered households.

Residents of Ward 34 took an interest in disaster issues following increasing media coverage on the vulnerability of Kathmandu Valley to a big quake in the near future. A number of residents decided to take action when they read a newspaper article on a community disaster management training workshop at Ward 10 of Lalitpur Sub-municipality organized jointly by two Christian charity organizations - United Missions Nepal (UMN) and Lutheran World Federation (LWF) - and NSET. This led to a six-day community-based disaster management training workshop for 27 participants at Ward 34 in July-August 1999 hosted by a local CBO of Ward 34, the Janashakti Youth Club, with financial and training resources provided by NSET and UMN.

Participation came not only from local residents, CBOs, NGOs and Ward 34 committee members, but also from government officials at municipal, district and national levels. The deputy mayor of KMC and the former Prime Minister of Nepal, Mr Man Mohan Adhikari, were present at the workshop. Their participation increased the workshop's acceptability, credibility, media coverage and support by government officials.

Through the community's own initiative, the workshop ended with the establishment of a ward-level Disaster Management Committee (DMC) formed under the chairmanship of the Municipal Ward Chairman. A Disaster Management Fund was also set up with voluntary donations from Ward 34 residents, starting with NRs 3,000. It was agreed that the Fund will be used for relief should a disaster occur in Ward 34 and the amount has grown to NRs 50,000.

Soon after the first training workshop in 1999, volunteers prepared hazard maps for flood, fire and environmental degradation with technical guidance from NSET. These are simple maps that will require further technical improvement for the design of any structural mitigation work, but they are important for awareness raising and problem identification. They show concerns such as narrow roads and bad road conditions impeding quick response to disaster, improper disposal of waste, poor sanitation and health systems increasing residents' vulnerability, and poor drainage systems contributing to increased flooding.

Through outreach and awareness promotion activities in the ward and beyond, Ward 34 DMC members have received requests to assist in retrofitting houses and to ensure that all new construction is earthquake resistant. Ward 34 DMC has also received requests from KMC Wards 14 and 32 to develop hazard maps, to establish DMCs and to act as resource persons for community-based disaster management training. Ward 34 was selected by a bilateral project between the Japanese and Nepalese governments as a pilot community site to test a risk assessment and action planning tool designed by the Japanese government. This represents a good opportunity to increase government understanding of the community situation and advocate for policy change. To build on this process, Ward 34 DMC will continue to invite government officials at ward, district and national levels to all their activities.

Although rooted in government, good governance also incorporates the processes of the private sector and civil society. There has been growing realization that disaster mitigation is most effective at the community level where specific local needs are met. Disaster mitigation using top-down government and institutional interventions alone are insufficient because they often pay little attention to addressing community dynamics, perceptions and needs, ignore the potential of local resources and capacities, and may in some cases even increase people's vulnerability.

However, to take a bottom-up approach, communities themselves need first to be aware of the importance of disaster mitigation. It is then necessary to go beyond awareness to impart skills which can translate this awareness into concrete practice. More importantly, community-based disaster mitigation depends on a favorable political environment that promotes and supports this participation process. Being responsible for managing cities, local authorities can play a key role in promoting and facilitating disaster risk reduction.

Christine Apikul is an Information Co-ordinator with the Asian Urban Disaster Mitigation Program at ADPC. She can be contacted at ccapikul@ait.ac.th

Case Study

Introducing a Community-Based Approach to Landslide Disaster Reduction in Sri Lanka

Historical Background

Sri Lanka has a historical tradition in community-based initiatives. Religious endeavors such as building temples and stupa were community initiatives. In the dry zone, rain-fed reservoirs ("tanks") built with mass labor reduced the impact of droughts and provided irrigation for agriculture. Maintenance of tanks and water canals was a community responsibility. Life was based on the principle of a collective community.

During the colonial period, the rich irrigation-based agricultural civilization was destroyed and replaced with a dependency on cash crops. With the introduction of open economic policies in the 1970s, the country's economy transformed from being agriculture-based to being multi-sectoral, facilitating the development of growth centers and expansion of existing cities. One negative outcome was an increase in vulnerability of urban communities to disasters.

Land Use

Land use policy in Sri Lanka adopted by the British colonial government and subsequent national governments has contributed to current maladies. Historically, mountain settlements were concentrated in the valleys, with the gentle hill slopes used for shifting cultivation. During the colonial period, hill slopes were cleared for coffee and tea cultivation. Potential environmental repercussions forced the colonial rulers to ban cultivation on slopes above 5,000 ft at the dawn of the 19th century, a pioneering attempt at statutory conservation measures in Sri Lanka.

Plantations resulted in the establishment of recreational centers at convenient locations in hilly areas, which later evolved into urban commercial centers. With time, they have come under the pressure of rural-urban migration and ad hoc urban sprawl like other cities.

Nawalapitiya Urban Council

Located within Kandy District of the Central Province, Nawalapitiya Urban Council is a case in point. British planters needed transport for their tea. Railway service was introduced in 1874 and Nawalapitiya was developed as a commercial and railway center. There are no natural resources in the city so the economy depended on other sectors, especially railway-related services. Over the years, the success of road transport has eroded the importance of railway. Despite the resulting economic difficulties, the level of basic amenities has remained satisfactory.

Racial and religious tensions have sometimes disrupted Nawalapitiya's harmony. Inadequate housing for poorer sectors of the community and vulnerability to natural disasters confront city authorities as administrative problems. The Chairman of Nawalapitiya Urban Council has a fresh approach to governance and has won respect from supporters and opponents. Effective administration requires the ability to analyze social, environmental and economic trends across sectors and to develop creative solutions. He seems able to deliver and saw the Sri Lanka Urban Multi-Hazard Mitigation Project (SLUMDMP) as an opportunity.

Disaster Mitigation

The first step in SLUMDMP was to analyze the problems in the council area through a risk-based mitigation-planning approach. The environmental mapping exercise led to a comprehensive evaluation of hazards, vulnerabilities and resultant disaster risks. The ultimate output was the development of a new Urban Development Plan for Nawalapitiya. The plan underwent a screening process with the participation of politicians, government officials, civil society leaders and community representatives from NGOs and CBOs.

Now the municipality is implementing most of the actions identified in the planning process. The council has allocated a reasonable sum of money within the council budget to undertake immediate priority areas. Possible funding from the central government for other areas is being pursued, although it is a time-consuming process. The chairman has therefore resorted to an alternative strategy to achieve whatever is possible through a community participatory approach.

The shift in thinking from government to governance has highlighted the role of civil society in ensuring and developing appropriate responses to development problems. It has also been encouraged by external agencies, which consider it their duty to strengthen civil society groups to take collective action to solve immediate community problems.

Community Endeavors

A good example of such an initiative is the search for solutions to mitigate landslides and rockfalls. The council had difficulties in introducing preventive and mitigation measures due to economic constraints. Several landslides were identified in Nawalapitiya during the mapping program under the SLUMDMP. The National Building Research Organization carried out detailed investigations of Mahakumbura landslide and major rockfalls along the Dolosbage Nawalapitiya Road. The Soysakele River bank, land-filled with waste from the city, is another area prone to landslide hazards. A majority of people living in the landslide-prone area have opted to stay according to findings of the project on "Livelihood Options for Disaster Risk Reduction in South Asia". Reasons for staying include low rents, lack of a place to relocate and lack of property buyers.

These two communities have formed their own community-based organizations under the patronage of the chairman of the urban council. The main feature of these community organizations is their openness to outside intervention, and the active participation of women and senior citizens in decision making. They understand the strength of their own resources and are willing to contribute labor and local knowledge. Major activities have been identification of hazards and vulnerabilities associated with the location and formulation of actions to mitigate their impacts.

The chairman of the urban council wishes to develop this concept for long-term ethnic harmony. Improvement and diversification of livelihood options through skills development programs are being explored as long-term goals. He aspires to develop community credit and savings groups so that they have their own funds to meet future needs.

NMSI Arambepola is a Project Manager with the Asian Urban Disaster Mitigation Program, ADPC. he can be contacted at arambepola@ait.ac.th