Disasters in Nepal

 Nepal's Position in the world: Disaster Related Scenario


Water Related Disaster = 30^th  position
Earthquake Related Disaster = 11^th Position 
Climate Change Related Disaster = 6^{th Position}

DRR Initiatives in Nepal

Disaster risk reduction (DRR) is a systematic approach to identifying, assessing and reducing the risks of disaster. It aims to reduce socio-economic vulnerabilities to disaster as well as dealing with the environmental and other hazards that trigger them. Similarly, Disaster risk reduction is the concept and practice of reducing disaster risks through systematic efforts to analyse and reduce the causal factors of disasters. 

History

Disaster Risk Reduction was used in mid of 1900 A.D. The meaning of DRR was only to solve the problem of risk in systematic way. Now, the concept of DRR has changed. Inevitably, there are different definitions in the technical literature, but it is generally understood to mean the broad development and application of policies, strategies and practices to minimize vulnerabilities and disaster risks throughout society.

Here have been growing calls for greater clarity about the components of DRR and about indicators of progress toward resilience — a challenge that the international community took up at the UN’s World Conference on Disaster Reduction (WCDR) in Kobe, Japan, in 2005, only days after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. The WCDR began the process of pushing international agencies and national governments beyond the vague rhetoric of most policy statements and toward setting clear targets and commitments for DRR. The first step in this process was the formal approval at the WCDR of the Hyogo Framework for Action (2005–2015) (HFA). This is the first internationally accepted framework for DRR. It sets out an ordered sequence of objectives (outcome – strategic goals – priorities), with five priorities for action attempting to ‘capture’ the main areas of DRR intervention. The UN's biennial Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction provides an opportunity for the UN and its member states to review progress against the Hyogo Framework. It held its first session 5–7 June 2007 in Geneva, Switzerland.

UN initiatives have helped to refine and promote the concept at international level, stimulated initially by the UN's  of the 1990s as the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction.                         Source: a

Nepal 

Hyogo Framework for Action (2005–2015) (HFA) has been regarded as the basis for the DRR program, Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) initiatives in Nepal – and especially those aspects related to environmental management and earthquake resilience – face the constant challenge of the country’s relative poverty and the increasing competition for resources for economic development, at both the national and local level. The country’s GDP is small in comparison to global data and the IMF estimated that per capita share of national GDP in 2010, based on global purchasing power parity, was only around NPR 21,628.095 (or approximately USD 310 per year).20 In the UNDP Human Development Report 2010, which uses human development indicators based on both economic and social factors such as health and education, Nepal was ranked in the low human development category and positioned at number 138 out of 169 countries and areas. Nepal was, however, ranked first in terms of human development indicators (HDI) improvement over the last thirty years, a measure of progress in comparison with other countries with a similar initial level.21 It is not surprising, however, that for the National Planning Commission of Nepal, poverty reduction is the main priority.22 In this context, the establishment and implementation of DRR laws and regulations needs to be linked, legally and conceptually, to development and poverty reduction in Nepal. 

In this sense it is particularly important to take a broad view of DRR law and regulation, moving outside the notion of a ‘disaster cycle’, so that many elements of what may be termed ‘good governance’ towards sustainable development could be seen as an integral part of DRR in Nepal. These include such measures as land use planning and prevention of environmental degradation, preparation for the possibility of more extreme climatic events arising from climate change in the future, and urban planning and regulation of building and infrastructure construction that recognize the high risk of earthquake. In this sense ‘disaster risk reduction’ is a much broader concept than ‘disaster management’. 

some laws in Nepal

Ø  National Water Resource Strategy, 2002

Ø  National Water Plan, 2005

  Ø  Water Induced Disaster Management Policy, 2006

  Ø  Hyogo Framework of Action (2005-15) and Nepal's Response

Source:

When and where climate change?

History of  Conference of the Parties, Hot Issue on Climate Change

1. 1995 – COP 1, The Berlin Mandate

         The first UNFCCC Conference of Parties took place in March 1995 in Berlin, Germany. It voiced concerns about the adequacy of countries' abilities to meet commitments under the Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) and the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI).

2. 1996 – COP 2, Geneva, Switzerland

          COP 2 took place in July 1996 in Geneva, Switzerland. Its Ministerial Declaration was noted (but not adopted) July 18, 1996, and reflected a U.S. position statement presented by Timothy Wirth, former Under Secretary for Global Affairs for the U.S. State Department at that meeting, which

1. Accepted the scientific findings on climate change proffered by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its second assessment (1995);
2. Rejected uniform "harmonized policies" in favor of flexibility;
3. Called for "legally binding mid-term targets."

3. 1997 – COP 3, Kyoto , Japan

       COP 3 took place in December 1997 in Kyoto, Japan. After intensive negotiations, it adopted the Kyoto Protocol, which outlined the greenhouse gas emissions reduction obligation for Annex I countries, along with what came to be known as Kyoto mechanisms such as emissions trading, clean development mechanism and joint implementation. Most industrialized countries and some central European economies in transition (all defined as Annex B countries) agreed to legally binding reductions in greenhouse gas emissions of an average of 6 to 8% below 1990 levels between the years 2008–2012, defined as the first emissions budget period. The United States would be required to reduce its total emissions an average of 7% below 1990 levels; however Congress did not ratify the treaty after Clinton signed it. The Bush administration explicitly rejected the protocol in 2001.

4. 1998 – COP 4, Buenos Aires, Argentina

      COP 4 took place in November 1998 in Buenos Aires. It had been expected that the remaining issues unresolved in Kyoto would be finalized at this meeting. However, the complexity and difficulty of finding agreement on these issues proved insurmountable, and instead the parties adopted a 2-year "Plan of Action" to advance efforts and to devise mechanisms for implementing the Kyoto Protocol, to be completed by 2000. During COP4, Argentina and Kazakhstan expressed their commitment to take on the greenhouse gas emissions reduction obligation, the first two non-Annex countries to do so.

5. 1999 – COP 5, Bonn, Germany

      COP 5 took place between October 25 and November 5, 1999, in Bonn, Germany. It was primarily a technical meeting, and did not reach major conclusions.

6. 2000 – COP 6, The Hague, Netherlands

       COP 6 took place between November 13, – November 25, 2000, in The Hague, Netherlands. The discussions evolved rapidly into a high-level negotiation over the major political issues. These included major controversy over the United States' proposal to allow credit for carbon "sinks" in forests and agricultural lands, satisfying a major proportion of the U.S. emissions reductions in this way; disagreements over consequences for non-compliance by countries that did not meet their emission reduction targets; and difficulties in resolving how developing countries could obtain financial assistance to deal with adverse effects of climate change and meet their obligations to plan for measuring and possibly reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In the final hours of COP 6, despite some compromises agreed between the United States and some EU countries, notably the United Kingdom, the EU countries as a whole, led by Denmark and Germany, rejected the compromise positions, and the talks in The Hague collapsed. Jan Pronk, the President of COP 6, suspended COP-6 without agreement, with the expectation that negotiations would later resume.^[21] It was later announced that the COP 6 meetings (termed "COP 6 bis") would be resumed in Bonn, Germany, in the second half of July. The next regularly scheduled meeting of the parties to the UNFCCC – COP 7 – had been set for Marrakech, Morocco, in October–November 2001.

7. 2001 – COP 6 bis, Bonn, Germany

COP 6 negotiations resumed July 17–27, 2001, in Bonn, Germany, with little progress having been made in resolving the differences that had produced an impasse in The Hague. However, this meeting took place after George W. Bush had become the President of the United States and had rejected the Kyoto Protocol in March 2001; as a result the United States delegation to this meeting declined to participate in the negotiations related to the Protocol and chose to take the role of observer at the meeting

8.  2001 – COP 7, Marrakech, Morocco

       At the COP 7 meeting in Marrakech, Morocco from October 29 to November 10, 2001, negotiators wrapped up the work on the Buenos Aires Plan of Action, finalizing most of the operational details and setting the stage for nations to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. The completed package of decisions is known as the Marrakech Accord.

9. 2002 – COP 8, New Delhi, India

      Taking place from October 23, – November 1, 2002, COP8 adopted the Delhi Ministerial Declaration that, amongst others, called for efforts by developed countries to transfer technology and minimize the impact of climate change on developing countries.

10.   2003 – COP 9, Milan, Italy

         December 1 – 12, 2003 The parties agreed to use the Adaptation Fund established at COP7 in 2001 primarily in supporting developing countries better adapt to climate change

11.   2004 – COP 10, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Not to be confused with Convention on Biological Diversity, also called COP 10 (10th Conference of Parties) leading to the Nagoya Protocol in 2010

12.  2005 – COP 11/MOP 1, Montreal, Canada

           COP 11 (or COP 11/MOP 1) took place between November 28 and December 9, 2005, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was the first Meeting of the Parties (MOP-1) to the Kyoto Protocol since their initial meeting in Kyoto in 1997. It was therefore one of the largest intergovernmental conferences on climate change ever.

13.  2006 – COP 12/MOP 2, Nairobi, Kenya

COP 12/MOP 2 took place between November 6 and 17, 2006 in Nairobi, Kenya. At the meeting, BBC reporter Richard Black coined the phrase “climate tourists” to describe some delegates who attended “to see Africa, take snaps of the wildlife, the poor, dying African children and women”

14.   2007 – COP 13/MOP 3, Bali, Indonesia

COP 13/MOP 3 took place between December 3 and December 15, 2007, at Nusa Dua, in Bali, Indonesia. Agreement on a timeline and structured negotiation on the post-2012 framework (the end of the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol) was achieved with the adoption of the Bali Action Plan (Decision 1/CP.13).Main article: 2007 United Nations Climate Change Conference

15.  2008 – COP 14/MOP 4, Poznań, Poland

     More image and news: 2008 United Nations Climate Change Conference]] COP 14/MOP 4 took place from December 1 to12, 2008 in Poznań, Poland.Main article: 2008 United Nations Climate Change Conference

16.  2009 – COP 15/MOP 5, Copenhagen, Denmark

  COP 15 took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, from December 7 to December 18, 2009.Main article: 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference

      The overall goal for the COP 15/MOP 5 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Denmark was to establish an ambitious global climate agreement for the period from 2012 when the first commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol expires.

17.   2010 – COP 16/MOP 6, Cancún, Mexico

         COP 16 was held in Cancún, Mexico, from November 29 to December 10, 2010.

18. 2011 – COP 17/MOP 7, Durban, South Africa

The 2011 COP 17 is to be hosted by Durban, South Africa, from November 28 to December 9, 2011.Main article: 2011 United Nations Climate Change Conference

19. 2012 – COP 18/MOP 8

Two countries, Qatar and South Korea, are currently bidding to host the 2012 COP 18^[42] and date and venue will be decided at COP 17 in Durban. It will be held in conjunction with CMP 8 witch is settled to 26 November to 7 December 2012.

Source
http://www.google.com.np/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=history%20of%20conference%20of%20parties&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CCwQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbd.int%2Fcop%2F&ei=C2nUTpHiL4-IrAePs6mhDg&usg=AFQjCNF7N9x9tGrSWpsuzp7l2paxwrQiHg

source: http://www.google.com.np/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=history%20of%20conference%20of%20parties&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CBQQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FUnited_Nations_Framework_Convention_on_Climate_Change&ei=C2nUTpHiL4-IrAePs6mhDg&usg=AFQjCNELZ8TaDilLTUXlIQQtKBaRM46_xw