UNDP Nepal’s New Initiative to Address Disaster Concerns

In a move helping Nepal in case of natural calamities and disasters, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Nepal partnered with the Himalayan Consensus Institute (HCI) to assist the nation in crisis prevention and conflict mitigation.

The UNDP Nepal Country Director Renaud Meyer and HCI Founder Laurence Brahm signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in this regard at an event held at Patan Museum on November 14, 2017.

The agreement majorly focuses on crisis and conflict mitigation in the Himalayan region that is the most vulnerable to climate change.

The deal also focuses on development of early warning systems to assist governments and communities at times of any disasters in the country.

This pilot project in Nepal is being considered as a model for the implementation of similar conflict programs towards conflict prevention and mitigation across other countries that are vulnerable to climate change.

“The new facility that we plan to put in place will help the Government and people of Nepal take informed decisions, better prepare for climate-induced and other kind of disasters and respond to crisis more systematically,” noted Renaud Meyer.

Meanwhile, Laurence Brahm, Founder of HCI says, “This initiative has the potential for far-reaching impact beyond the borders of Nepal. It is envisioned that similar programs could be adopted across the developing world in an effort to address conflict at its root cause rather than its effect.”

The next Himalayan Consensus Summit (HCS), scheduled to be held during March 23-25, 2018 is expected to offer another milestone for this partnership, informed UNDP official’s release.