Nepal—Improved Disaster Risk Management Project (Tayar)

Nepal is prone to a range of natural disasters, including floods, landslides, fires, earthquakes, and disease outbreaks. In the wake of recent tragedies in the country, including the massive 2015 Gorkha earthquake, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has established a flagship disaster preparedness and response program for Nepal.

Tayar—which means “prepare”—strengthens the capacity of Nepal’s disaster risk management and preparedness institutions. At the national level, the project supports national agencies, including the newly created National Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Agency (NDRRMA), to conduct national disaster simulations, improve disaster response technologies, and establish a National Disaster Training Academy. Locally, Tayar works with urban municipalities to develop risk-sensitive land use plans that increase disaster resilience. This local support includes technical assistance activities such as slope stabilization, humanitarian open spaces, and building retrofitting to reduce disaster risk.

In the event of a disaster during the course of the project, Tayar will engage the program’s rapid emergency response mechanism. The team will work closely with the Government of Nepal and Nepali emergency responders to mobilize technical assistance, commodity support, small-scale infrastructure, and information management support. Through its Stronger Systems + Safer Settlements Approach, Tayar will apply lessons learned from disaster response efforts to improve national systems and municipal risk-reduction activities.

Sample Activities

• Support NDRRMA to become a fully functioning government entity with the necessary policies and procedures, staff capacity, and resources to achieve its mandate for national disaster risk management (DRM).
• Help at least 10 provincial and municipal government entities adopt DRM policies and procedures based on newly developed national models for DRM coordination mechanisms and policies.
• Increase the capacity of more than 1,000 people responsible for DRM through Tayar training sessions, simulations, certificate programs, study tours, and mentorship opportunities—50 percent of them women and/or members of socially excluded groups.
• Work with at least 10 municipal government or private sector entities to invest in disaster mitigation and recovery actions to match Tayar interventions, with a target total of $2 million.

Select Results

• Created a fellowship to provide an experiential platform for young people wanting to pursue a career in the field of disaster risk reduction, governance, risk communication, and risk management.
• Assisted Rajapur’s Emergency Operation Center to develop emergency text messages, monitor online weather updates, and support stakeholder coordination when monsoon rains put Karnali River communities at risk of flooding in Rajapur Municipality in September 2020.
• Raised public awareness on hazard preparedness and response through informative videos, public service announcements, and social media outreach provided by Tayar grantee, Public Affairs Research and Communication (PARC). PARC has helped NDRRMA create more than 90 awareness videos in more than six ethnic languages to reach a wider mass. The content is shared through social media platforms, including NDRRMA’s own channels, which have more than 18,000 followers.
• Developed the Disability Inclusive Get Ready Guidebook and circulated it to all 753 municipalities. The guidebook describes basic concepts of disability, its types, and developing knowledge and skills on how to be prepared and protected in earthquakes, landslides, fires, pandemics, and floods.
• Launched Bachau, a mobile application tool that supports people with hearing impairments during emergencies through text messages to police, ambulance, and firefighters.
• Produced 4,462 copies of information, education, and communication materials related to earthquake-resistant construction technology and the electronic building permit system, which were distributed to stakeholders.
• Supported women to launch small businesses promoting compressed stabilized earth blocks, that are not only highly cost-effective but are eco-friendly and can be produced with limited resources. These bricks are produced locally by community members, using sand, soil, and 10 percent cement. This has enabled poorer families to build disaster-resilient homes at a very low cost.
• Planted 3,500 native saplings with two municipalities to improve rural livelihoods through conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.