Using climate change scenarios to inform community-based adaptation and planning in Nepal
THE QUESTION
Can geospatial data on climate change scenarios adequately inform community planning on activities that aim to support the local environment?
LOCATION: Nepal
SECTOR: Climate & Environment
TECH: AI, IoT
TIMELINE: September 2022 - March 2025
PIONEER: Sumit Dugar
PARTNER: Youth Innovation Lab (YIL)
The Pilot
This pilot had a multi-faceted approach to supporting data-based decision making for local governments in Nepal. The pilot used big data analytics to make Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority’s (NDRRMA) BiPAD risk tracking platform more accessible. It combined highly detailed climate models with geospatial data and existing data on risk, hazard, vulnerability, exposure, capacity in two locations in West and Central Nepal. The increased accessibility and data granularity enables local government and communities in making and validating informed decisions on how to protect their communities against earthquake, landslide and flood hazards and negate the impact of climate change.
The Innovations
Youth Innovation Lab, a youth-led tech organisation focused on using data and tech for climate and disaster resilience, were the implementing partner for this pilot. The pilot investigated the impact of three different innovations. The first innovation was investing time and effort to increase the granularity of the mapping and BiPAD data in two rural municipalities. The second innovation was the deployment of skilled engineers in rural municipalities to support local government planning officers to utilise the improved data and the third innovation was using the highly localised data to communicate risk with local at-risk communities through easy-to-understand disaster hazard murals.
The Learnings
The pilot found that the granular data, combined with the embedded engineers supporting local government decision makers, enabled more effective, data-based disaster risk planning and budgeting. The mural art representations of disaster risk showed great promise for informing and empowering local communities in understanding the risks in their area and enabling them to hold their community leaders to account when planning disaster resilience measures. The mural art project also won an award for novel communications of disaster risk and has since been adopted by other programmes and partners.
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