South Asian countries, Nepal, Bangladesh, and India share the same Himalayan ecosystem and represent one of the world’s most diverse regions in terms of language, culture, religion and geography. The floodplain riverscape of Koshi River Basin (KRB) — from source to sink (e.g., Nepal to Bangladesh via India) is one of the largest river basins of Gangas in the Himalayas encompassing the diverse communities where people have maintained strong links to ecosystem dynamics and developed knowledge, practices, and institutions to accommodate recurrent disturbances and natural ecosystems, yet is also among the most vulnerable area to disasters (e.g., landslides, floods, and sedimentation). It has been acknowledged that integration of ecosystem-based local knowledge strengthens those ecosystems and in doing so enhance community resilience to impacts of climate change and disasters. However, such practices are neither well documented nor integrated into mitigation strategies. The main aim of this project is to identify, explain and develop a ‘proof of concept’ about Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) to Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in the floodplain riverscape of the Koshi River Basin (KRB) in Nepal, India and Bangladesh. We will systematically document the state of traditional and local ecological knowledge (TLEK) to DRR, and evaluate the extent of resilience provided by TLEK using both empirical and theoretical frameworks.
Project leader
Prakash K Paudel, Ph.D. Team leader, Kathmandu Institute of Applied Sciences, Kathmandu Nepal
I am surprised to see the breadth of knowledge our community possesses to cope with disasters. Such knowledge is at risk of gradual loss. We need a concerted plan and adequate resources to integrate it into disaster risk reduction, from policies to actions, and from federal to local levels.
Henry P. Huntington, Ph.D. Eagle River, AK 99577 USA
Participating from a distance, I have been so impressed at the depth and breadth of the project, tackling a complicated subject across three countries, and achieving fresh and valuable insights that will make a real difference to people living in this shared watershed.