AAN EDM Theme

Introduction

Nepal faces various types of natural and man made risks. Nepal is a disaster prone country. Ecological, physiological, metrological, geological and socioeconomic factor contribute to the high incidence of natural disaster in Nepal claims more than 1100 (approx.) deaths annually. Although epidemics, flood and landslides result in the most frequent disaster, it is the ever present probability of a major earthquake which is considered the most serious threat due to the potentially massive scale of destruction that would occur as Nepal is situated in the seismically active Himalayan mountain belt. (dominated by the northward movement of the Indian tectonic plate towards the Eurasian tectonic plate. Every year, more than a thousand earthquakes of various magnitudes ranging from 2 to 5 on the Richter scale occur in the country. The seismic record of the country seems to suggest that earthquakes of the 1934 magnitude occur approximately every 75 years. Even though this is only a statistical estimate, no one questions that major earthquake are an unavoidable part of Nepal's future.) Similarly, the excessive accumulation or flow of water is often the result of monsoon clouds that bring torrential rainfall to the southern slope of the Himalayas contributes substantially to the risk of water induced hazards Flood and Land slide. Light floods and local landslides occur annually and are part of life in the Terai and Mid Hills. During the last decade, severe floods affected the country in 1993 & 2003. The cumulative effects of flood and land slides is higher than from any other disaster as it directly affects the majority of the population and agricultural production in the country.

Several agencies and organizations from the governmental and non-governmental sides as well as international supporting agencies are involved and working actively in the disaster mitigation programs in all over the country. Apart from the rescue and relief works, there is no visibility of preparedness and rehabilitation works compared to the extent of the present disasters. The legal aspects on disaster management limit the comprehensive management of disaster effects. Most of the actors show their presence during disasters only for rescue and relief works, the disaster management programme is not yet prioritized in national programme; as a result, the donor agencies too have the reluctance to address the disaster problems holistically. The National Plan has also not mentioned adequately the disaster management programme in the recent Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (10th Fiver Year Plan) though , “Poverty is a cause & consequence of the disaster”. No access to poor, marginalized/disabled people, women and children in the process of implementing the disaster response programme is the crucial part that imposes multiple denials of rights of the people affected in disaster.

Thus, Disaster consequences are directly linked with the poverty, as one of the major factors affecting the livelihoods of the poor people. Any type of disaster becomes more serious when local coping capacity is inadequate. The magnitude of disaster does not only relate to the hazard it self but also to society's vulnerability and capacity to respond. Disasters will accelerate poverty with increasing trend of the indebtedness among the vulnerable poor and women headed families. ActionAid Nepal addresses emergency and disaster management work in order to eradicate such poverty suffering. A more strategic and rapid response to disasters and integration of disaster mitigation efforts into the regular development plan is evitable.

Mission

Action Aid Nepal commits itself to contribute to risk reduction in Nepal by addressing the issue of Vulnerability and Hazards and increasing Capacity of poor, marginalized and the vulnerable in collaboration with others for poverty eradication goal.

Vision

Promoting awareness among poor people of their rights and of the responsibilities and obligations for emergency preparedness and response through the integration of humanitarian work and on-going development work protect the right to live with dignity

AAN's Position on Emergency and Disaster

· POOR PEOPLE ARE ASSURED OF APPROPRIATE ASSISTANCE TO SURVIVE AND RECOVER FROM DISASTER: Rights to life and livelihood (food, shelter, health & sanitation, water, clothing etc.) of each individual and community should be secure in circumstances of any emergency and disaster.

· PEOPLE AFFECTED BY DISASTERS AS CITIZENS WITH RIGHTS ; PEOPLE HAVE RIGHT TO PROTECTION TO HUMAN SECURITY AND TO ASSISTANCE BASED ON THEIR NEEDS: Ensure government/agencies accountable to act immediately in emergency and disaster.

· PROMOTE LONG TERM AND SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS THROUGH THE INTEGRATION OF HUMANITARIAN WORK AND ON-GOING DEVELOPMENT WORK: Follow the human rights and humanitarian laws responding emergency and disaster, ensuring minimum Sphere Standards in emergency and disaster responses. Apply the "Do no harm" principles. Reduce vulnerability of the poorest and marginalized by the regular development interventions.

· RIGHTS TO PARTICIPATE - PARTICIPATION OF PEOPLE AFFECTED BY DISASTER IN DECISION MAKING: Work together with other stakeholders to fill the gaps. People affected by disasters particularly the most marginalized, can be actively involved in assessments, decision-making, and negotiation of their rights with the stakeholders.

· CRITICAL ENGAGEMENT WITH THE PEOPLE AND INSTITUTIONS AT ALL LEVEL UPHOLDS SUCH RESPONSIBILITY AND GROW THE CAPACITY: Educate, organize and mobilize the people towards reducing the risk through preparedness and mitigation of the hazards and secure sustained livelihood with dignified lives and addresses policies issues to assert the rights of the people in difficult circumstances (i.e. emergency and disaster). Develop resilience capacity of the community to coup with the hazards.

Objectives

· Capacity Building: Ensure preparedness and availability of trained human resources in its working areas to assist the local government and communities in the event of major disasters,

· Building alliances: Build the strong alliance and networks of the NGOs/CBOs and also with local government agencies (CDO/DDC/VDC) in order to have the effective respond during the rescue, relief, rehabilitation and preparedness works; and for the collaborative works,

· Policy Influencing: Influence policy makers and media advocacy people for the rights of the disaster-affected poor people integrating Gender and Rights perspectives in the disaster works,

· Emergency Response: Respond and support vulnerable communities by implementing the relief, rehabilitation and preparedness works as and when necessary,

· Knowledge Management / MIS: To develop the information base on the issue of disaster management internally and externally and share the key learning and practices with others.

Strategies

· Advocating the need for the effectiveness of the disaster response including the short and long-term plan with government, donors, non-governmental organizations and the public,

· Hazards mapping and vulnerabilities assessment of the disaster prone areas and advocate for the necessary mitigation measures,

· Establishing the co-ordination systems among the agencies working in disaster management,

· Recognizing the preparedness should be one of the primary activities to reduce the disaster effects,

· Strengthening the organizational capacity at national and local levels for effective disaster preparedness,

· Improving the ability of vulnerable communities to cope with disasters through community-based disaster preparedness strategies,

· Emergency response, adopting and applying the standards set by the Red Cross, Sphere Project for its operation and Nepal government rules and regulation for emergency operation.

Our Staff

Included here is the list of names of some of the people who run our EDM Projects.

* Mr. Shyam Sundar Jnavaly,
Senior Theme Leader, EDM

* Mr. Nahakul Thapa,
National Coordinator, DRRSP

* Mr. P V Krishnan,
Project Manager, DIPECHO

* Mr. Ashok Pokharel,
Program Officeer, DIPECHO

* Mr. Dinesh Shingh,

Program Officeer, DIPECHO

* Mr. Shaurabh Sharma,
Finance Officer, DIPECHO

* Mr. Krishna Basaula,

Assistant Field Officer, AustCare

Our Activists

Included here is the list of names of some of the people who run our EDM Campaigns.

01. Ms. Sharmila Lama - Makwanpur

02. Mr. Deepak Lamichhane- Chitwan

03. Mr. Bed Giri - Rupandehi

04. Mr. Suresh Thakur - Dhanusha

05. Mr. Yagya Prasad Dahal - Rautahat

06. Ms. Prabha Chaudhary - Udayapur

07. Ms. Rebati Bhandari - Kathmandu

08. Mr. Bijay Thakur Tharu - Kanchanpur

09. Ms. Sadhana Barma - Mahottari

Human Security:

Emergency and Disaster Management Team