Tomorrow's Kathmandu

Summary

Located in a wide valley at the heart of the Himalayas, Kathmandu’s unique setting makes it prone to multiple hazards, including earthquakes, landslides and monsoon floods.

Rebuilding and recovery from the most recent major disaster, the 2015 Gorkha earthquake, is still ongoing throughout the city and peripheral settlements. Meanwhile, the trend of rapid upward and outward urban expansion continues, often uncontrolled, and is leading to a mix of diverse low-income communities and a reduction of open spaces and agricultural fields. This is driving an increase in the number of vulnerable communities exposed to multi-hazard risks, and compounds wider social, economic and environmental challenges.

Kathmandu’s political and governance landscape is also changing. In 2008 Nepal underwent a shift from a Hindu monarchy to a federal republic, leading to a transition in governance structures and institutes. The new government is setting the agenda for rapid urbanisation across the country with four new ‘smart satellite cities’ for the Kathmandu Valley. This will be delivered by numerous ministries through the ‘Integrated Urban Development Plan’ and the coordinating ministry, the Ministry of Urban Development, is seeking to integrate disaster risk reduction concerns within its plans.

Kathmandu Challenges

Earthquakes

Earthquakes are one of the most prominent hazards in Kathmandu due to its location in a seismically active region. The 2015 Gorkha earthquake in Nepal had a magnitude of 7.8, resulting in over 8,000 deaths, more than 22,000 injuries, and widespread damage to buildings and infrastructure in Kathmandu and surrounding areas.

Floods

Floods are particularly serious during the monsoon season. In August 2020 floods caused by heavy rainfall resulted in at least 49 deaths, displaced thousands of people, and caused damage to property and infrastructure [source: DHM].

Landslides

Landslides are a significant hazard in Kathmandu, particularly in the hilly areas surrounding the city. In 2019, landslides triggered by monsoon rains resulted in over 90 deaths and caused significant damage to infrastructure and property in Kathmandu and other parts of Nepal [source: Nepal Risk Reduction Consortium].

Rural Urban Migrations and Urbanisation

In Nepal, the rapid growth in urban population, which is a result of rural-urban migration and the conversion of seemingly rural areas into municipalities, has caused a substantial expansion of informal settlements. Frequently, lack of institutional capacity, infrastructure and knowledge for disaster preparedness is exposing ‘new urban’ residents to multi-hazard risks.

The encroachment of flood plains and riverbanks has further exacerbated the situation, increasing the vulnerability of the city to floods and landslides. Lack of compliance with urban planning guidelines has resulted in poor-quality infrastructure, including buildings that are not constructed to withstand natural disasters such as earthquakes.

The exposure to multi-hazard risk and effects of disasters on residents vary along the lines of formal to informal settlements, class, caste/ethnicity, gender, and ability and access to local political economy.

Key stakeholders

• National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA),
• Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM),
• Municipal DRRM Committee, Ward level DRRM Committee,
• Disaster risk Management Committees,
• Provincial DRRM Committees,
• NGO’s

Kathmandu’s approach using the TCDSE.

Situated in Ward 21 of Lalitpur Metropolitan City (LMC), on the southern part of the Kathmandu valley, Khokana is the medieval Newari town covering a total area of 3.2 sq. Km and inhabited by more than 5000 people.

In Khokana, Future Visioning involved engaging with a diverse group that included the Ward Disaster Management Committee and the Ward authorities, but also social groups such as women, marginalised and migrant communities, and the inhabitants of Sano Khokana, a small settlement within of LMC -21 administrative boundary. Their different visions and aspirations for the city were summarised by Tomorrow’s Cities researchers into a meta-vision for Khokana:

"A prosperous and equitable Khokana with a glorious Newa cultural identity."