Over 60% of Nepal is covered by hills, making it a country that is uniquely susceptible to natural disasters like landslides. To cover the Pratibaddha-II initiative, I travelled with a team to Lamche Dhunga 2 in Uttargaya, Rasuwa District to see for myself the different approaches being deployed to prevent landslides in different parts of Nepal.
PRATIBADDHA II
Pratibaddha II has been working with all levels of government to strengthen disaster response systems. The two-days spent at Lamche Dhunga was insightful, hearing from local beneficiaries, ward chair and municipality staff about how they are working together to ensure that the community receive vital emergency information they need as well as to better support them to live alongside natural disasters.
The specific site we saw was identified as Category II medium landslide risk area through a geohazard assessment. While Category I means less risk, Category III requires movement of settlements (with grants provided for the resettlement). The assessment for the site in Lamche Dhunga 2 showed that bio-engineering could significantly reduce the landslide risk.
Bio-Engineering
The initiative’s key strategy is to use nature-based solutions to prevent landslides. With deforestation and clearing land for construction resulting to empty slopes vulnerable to landslides; bio-engineering supports the risk-site through five levels of planting for slope stabilizations. In Lamche Dhunga, bio-engineering is blended with the retaining wall which local authorities had planned much before.
While these interventions do not guarantee the end of landslides, it was reassuring to hear that solutions by Pratibaddha II is helping locals live better in the area, with less fear and more awareness.
Filming
The course of the video-making journey also revealed a strong close-knit community that supported each other. Observing locals while busy during the harvest season was a highlight! Like many villages across Nepal, residents of Lamche Dhunga also help each other to ensure that they are completing the harvest before the change in season. Dai’s and didi’s also shared how the weather updates they receive through the Viber group help them plan-ahead! Hearing about how the Pratibaddha II team visited the popular Dharan-Dhankuta road was great – apparently that is a good example of where bio-engineering has taken place.
Our journey is captured in a brief six-minute long video but I know that I returned learning a lot more. From speaking to ward officials – Gau Palika Upa Adakshya Chameli Gurung to Wada Adakshya Tuku Prasad Subedi, an engineer employed at the Nagar Palika to Binod ji who works at the emergency desk of the palika; I could see that when people sync together – things happen! As many have identified problems emerging from rural road construction, it was great to know about the Rural Road Construction Guideline that has been developed. It’s never too late when livelihoods are concerned.
The journey to Lamche Dhunga in Uttargaya saw us travel from Basundhara Chowk in Kathmandu through the Tokha road to Battar in Nuwakot. After a quick-break, we proceeded towards Uttargaya which is in Rasuwa district. From Nuwakot, it took us just over an hour to reach Lamche Dhunga. After crossing a river or two, we proceeded with an uphill drive. Traversing these stunning landscapes was a beautiful experience for me. However, I recognize that these very landscape may pose a danger to people, nature and culture that live in it.
This blogpost is a thank you to the people who welcomed us, shared with us, videographers, on-ground support, the experts such as Santosh Panthi who continue to learn and implement, government representatives who are listening to different voices and doing the best they can to serve their community and lastly to the European Union who financed Pratibaddha II and People in Need who implemented the programme in Uttargaya.
Interventions by Pratibaddha II to help communities prepare for and tackle natural disasters can be located in a number of sites beyond Lamche Dhunga 2 in Uttargaya and also in Sindhupalchowk.
GLIMPSE OF LAMCHE DHUNGA
