BASELINEASSESSMENTDISASTERWASTEMANAGEMENT-NEPAL

September2019

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ExecutiveSummary1.Background:The frequencyof theoccurrenceofdisasterevents is in increasing trendsgloballydue togeological and climatic phenomena along with human causes. Nepal is one of themostdisasterpronecountries in theworldbecauseof itsyoungmountaingeologyandclimatecondition.Itranks4th,11thand30thintermsofclimatechange,earthquakeandfloodrisk.Thereare16kindsofactivetypeofdisasterslistedintheMinistryofHomeAffairs(MOHA)Data, which include: Asinapani (heavy rainfall with hailstones), Avalanche, Boat capsize,Cold wave, Drowning, Earthquake, Epidemic, Fire, Flood, Heavy rainfall, High altitude,Landslide,Lightning,Snowstorm,Windstorm,andthe“Other”category.

Such disaster not only takes the life of the people but leave numerous destruction anddamagestothepropertyand infrastructuresproducinghugeamountofdebrisandwastematerialsbehindasitsfootprint.Thegenerationintensityofthedisasterwastedependsonthetypesandintensityofdisasterevent.Theamountofdisasterwasteproducedinsmallinterval of time is equivalent to the amount which the town or metropolitan has beenmanaginginmorethanadecades.DisasterWasteManagementwillbechallengeinfutureforthegovernmentasthedisasteroccurrenceisinrisingtrend.Italsorequiresspecialskillsandtechnologybythegovernmenttomanageitefficiently.

2.DisasterTrendsanditsimpact:Areviewoflast45yearsdisasterdataaspublishedontheMOHA2017reportindicatesthattheincidencesofdisastersaregrowingeveryyearinNepal.DrawnfromtheactivedatasetmaintainedbytheMoHA,coveringaperiodof45years(1971to2016)showsthatatotalof21,856disastereventshavebeenrecordedduringthisperiod.Annually,Nepalisexposedtoapproximately 500 events of disaster on average and fire is one of the most recurrenthazards. Number of fire incidences was recorded 8,721 times, followed by flood (3,950times), epidemic (3,452 times) and landslide (3,246 times). The listed top five disasterevents having greater impact to the economy include: Earthquake, Fire, Flood, LandslideandLightening.Theearthquakehassevereimpactstothepeoplelivesandpropertiesandproducehugeamountofdisasterwasteinthecountry.Considering the last four years from 2015 to August 2019, there were four significantdisaster events occurred in Nepal, which has impacts to the lives and properties of thepeople.Theseeventsare:Earthquake(15April2015);Flood(August2016andJuly2019);Tornado/Stormandrain(31stMarch2019).ThedisasterdataduringApril2018-April2019publishedbytheMOHAshows4282numberof disaster incidence in which 454 reported death and 4188 injured and 11533 familyaffectedin689local levels.This incidencehastotallydestroyed3654housesandpartiallydamaged3436houses.ThetotalworthofestimatedeconomiclossesinNepalesecurrencyis4408.9millions.Thesixmajorhazards,whichhavecauseddeathofthepeople,include:Fire(89);Landslide(88);Thunderbolt(68);Windstorm(45);andAnimalterror(27).Thesedeathsaredistributedinallprovincesinwhichbydeaththedistrictsaffectedare:Bara(29),

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Province#2;Solukhumbu(21),Province#1;Dang(20),Province#5;Myagdi(14)province#4;Parsa,Rasuwa,Chitwan,Banglung,Bajhang,(13EachfromProvince#2,3,4,6);andJajarkot(12),Province#6.Nepalrecentlyexperienced2015-megaearthquakes,2016and2019floodeventsaffectingseveraldistrictsinthemiddlepartofthecountry.Nepalhaswitnessednewtypeofdisastereventsnamedextremewindstormasscientificcommunityidentifiedastornadoincidenceon 31st March 2019 in the Bara-Parsa Districts in the Southern plain taking lives of 28peopleanddestroyinganddamagingmorethan1000houses.Figure2:Provincialdisastercomparison2075BS(April2018-April2019)

Nepal experienced a 7.8 Richter scale of earthquake in 2015 which killed nearly 9000people,injured30,000anddestroyed800000buildings.Nearly14milliontonsofwastewasgeneratedwithinacoupleofdays,fourmilliontonsofwastealonefromKathmandu,whichis equal to waste generation in 11 year in normal conditions (PDNA 2015). This largeamountofdisaster relatedwastemixedwithhazardouswasteswasobservedexposedtovarious infections, resulting in adverse impact to human health and environment (REA,MoEST, 2015). So there is pressing need to the country to address the disaster wastemanagementissuesasithasbeenobservedthatthedisasterwastegeneratedduring2015Earthquake is still deposited randomly on roadsides and public places around the publicplacesandprivatelandsinthe14earthquakeaffecteddistricts.

3.DisasterWasteManagementPerspective:

Thedisaster-generatedwasteisnotmerewaste,butitisresources,whichcanberecycledand reuse.Country likeNepal that isheavilydependenton importedgoods ranging fromdailyhouseholdgoodstobuildingconstructionmaterials. Eachmaterials importedtothecountry is transported fromdistantcountryusing the fossil fuel. FromtheEnvironmentalandclimate changeperspective thedisasterwaste is resource,whichhas left the carbonfootprintbehindeach item importedtoNepal.Efficientmanagementofdisasterwaste inthe country needs good technical assessment to understand the pattern and amount ofwastegeneratedanditsjudiciousreuseandreutilizationusing3R(Reduce,Reuse&Recycle)principle.

DisasterwastemanagementinNepalneedtoincludethepreventionandpreparednessinpre-disaster situation for effectively managing the post disaster waste generationmanagement. This needs the technique to understand the pattern of disaster waste

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generationtoaddressproperly.Generallythedisasterwastegenerationandmanagementperiod is divided into during and after the disaster response and rescue period. Thecomposition of the disaster waste generation depends on the type of disaster events.Duringthereliefandrescueperiodmostofthewasteisgeneratedfromevacuationcampsanddeadbodiesofhumanandlivestock.Thiskindofwastemightexposepeopletoriskofhealthhazard.Thewastematerialsgeneratedaftertheresponseandrescueperiodisverycrucialanddifficulttomanage.Thecompositioncontainsthedestroyedbuildingsrubblesand the objects used inside the building by the resident for their day-to-day livelihoodsupport.

3.1 Earthquake Disaster response and rescue period waste generation estimation:Disaster waste generation during the response and recue period is the crucial as thegovernment institutions and professional people are in the state of sock and difficultsituationandnotbeingable toextend theirexpertise in collectionandestimationof thewastegenerationandmanagement.Thepriorityduringthisperiodistosavethelifeofthepeople.Thewastegenerated in thisperiod ismostly the regularhouseholdwaste,wastefromtheevacuationcamps/center,deadbodiesofhumanandlivestockandexcreta.

ExperienceofEarthquake2015estimatedbytheMinistryofForestandEnvironmentfromthetemporaryreliefcampsusingtheassumptionandthumbrule.Thestudyfindingsof103campsinKathmandushowsthatthe12%incrementinplasticwasteand37.66kgofwaste generation per day. Bio-medical wastewas increased during rescue and responseperiod of disaster. There is no baseline data available to present the quantity of bio-medicalwastegeneration.There isneedtocollectthebiomedicalwasteproducedduringtheperiodandlinkwiththevisitofinjureddisastervictims.

3.2 EarthquakeDisasterwaste estimation in Post disaster response and rescue period:Thiskindofdisasterwasteincludestheday-to-dayusedmaterialsforsupporttolivelihood.Destroyed and damaged Houses debris, kitchen utensils, furniture, electric electronicappliances, mementos valuables and textiles/cloth are the major items used by thehousehold.Theamountofdisasterwastedependsontheeconomicstatusofthehouseholdandtheconsumptionpattern.

Estimationofdebris&hazardouswastefromdestroyed&damagedhouses:

Nepal is ecologically diverse in topography as well weather and climate, which allowspeopletoconstructhousesadaptingwiththeecologicaltopographyandclimatebasedontheir economic strength. So far the Central Bureauof Statistics presented three types ofhousesinthe2011Census,whichincludes:typeoffoundation;typeofouterwall;andtypeofroof.Therearenostandardmethodssofarused intheestimationofthepostdisasterwasteinNepal.ThePDNAteamofEarthquake2017estimatedtheamountofdebrisfromthedamagedanddestroyedhousesofthedistrictsbasedontheassumption.Similarlytheteamhas estimated theharmfulwaste generated in thehousedebris is from theuseofpaints,CFLbulbs.

Estimationofthedebrisfromthe2015Earthquakedestroyedhouses:Earthquakeof2015has destroyed total 773,095 numbers of houses, which are of different types. For theestimation of the debris generation from the destroyed houses, three types of mostcommon houses area considered, which includes: RCC framed structure building;LoadbearingMasonryWallssystem;LoadBearingRandomRubblewallssystem(mostly in

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village).Thegenericmethodhasbeenusedtocalculatethedisasterwastefromdestroyedanddemolishedbuilding is presented in chapter IV. Basedon the estimation the threetype of destroyed and damaged houses produced 115 and 12.8million ton respectively.Thereusablewastematerialsfromthesedestroyed&damagedbuildingproduced53.2and8.9 million tons. These reusable waste materials from the buildings are recovered andreutilizebythehouseowners.

Earthquake 2015 estimation of Lead and Mercury Concentration in Paints andTubelight/CFLbulb:TheteamofenvironmentforthepreparationofPDNAusedthethumbruletocalculatetheLeadconsideringNepaligovernmentstandardwhich is90ppmor90mgperliter. Estimationoftotalleadcontaininthedebrisoftheearthquakedestroyed&damagedhouserubblesin31districtsis181kgsfromthe2millionlitersofpaintsusedinthehouses.The estimation of amount of Mercury from the damaged and destroyed building wasassumedthatatleastaround6to8CFLortubelightsareusedinahouseandamountofMercury (4milligram) ineachCFL/ tube light takenasunit. TotalMercury contain in thedestroyedanddamagedhousesduetoCFLbulbsforsafedisposalcomearound5.72kgfor31districtsand1.45kgfor3districtsofKathmanduvalley

3.3EstimationoftheFlooddamageanddestroyedhouses:ThefloodingincidentismostlyhappenedintheTerairegionwherethehousesmadeofthethatchedandmudbrickswallaresubjectedtodestruction.SofarthereareminimalcaseofdestroyingofRCCframedandload bearing houses unless it is on the bank of the river subjected to riverbank cutting.Mostofthedisasterwasteyieldisfromthedamageofthehouseholditemsandelectricalappliances.TheexperienceoftheBangkokfloodof2011shows44%ofthetotalwastewaswoodfurniture.

The recent flood in Kathmandu along the tributaries of Bagmati has damaged thehousehold goods and some commercial places. The commercially stored goods at theground floor are damaged by the floodwater. Several damaged household materials inKathmanduwererecoveredwhichmightbearound80%.ThereisnosuchunitamountoffloodwastefoundinthecontextofNepal inestimatingtheflood-generatedwaste. Sointhe calculation it is assumed that average 50 kg of waste generated from each flood-affectedhousehold.Thereisneedtohaveresearchonitbasedonthedifferentgeographiclocationand settlement type toestimate thewastegenerated fromeach flooddamagedhouse

General estimation of disaster waste generation from the flood affected houses duringfloodof2017and2019inthesouthernplainofNepalare3800and1348tonrespectively.Theestimationwasalsomadeonreusablewastegeneratedbythefloodof2017and2019,whichinclude5700and2023tonrespectively.

3.4DWMTreatmentPractice:

Therecentexperienceofthe2015Earthquakeshowsthattherewasnosuchplanactivitiesofthetreatmentofthedisasterwastegeneratedbytheevents.Mostofthedisasterwasteused to fill the lower lands, and filling the road pothole and dumping on the river andstreamandinthebankstoreclaimtheland.KathmanduvalleydebrisaftersometimeusedtofilltheroadtoaccessthelandfillsiteintheOkharPauwatoallowthemovementofthe

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waste transferring trucks. Thearcheologicaldebris generated from thismetropolitanwasan issue, for which the UN Park on the bank of Bagmati River was allocated with thesecurity until the utilization of it. As the reconstruction of the historical buildings andtemplesareongoing,sotheusefulmaterialsandobjectsarereutilizedfromthisdepositeddebris.

The disaster waster treatment situation is almost similar in outside the valley in theearthquake-affecteddistricts thegeneratedwastedebris fromthedamagedhouseswerethrownintheriverbanks,toreclaimtheroadsideprivatelandtoraisetheleveluptotheroadandtofillthepotholesofthegraveledandearthenmountainroads.

Government has efficientlymobilized the available earthmovers and heavymachinery inthe respectivedistrictsand localities for saving the livesandclearingdebris fromroad toprovideaccesstotheemergencysuppliesandoperation.Thegovernmentduringandpostdisaster situation realized the lack of number of heavy earthmovers for addressing thedisaster situation. So far the total registered carne/Dozer/ Excavator/ Truck under theDepartmentofTransportationduring1989/90to2016/17show80,660innumbers.Totalregisteredheavyvehicleduring6years(2011/12to2016/17)is32,730,whichis41percentof total 80,660 vehicle registered since 1989/90. The registration of the heavy vehicle isremarkably increased from 4,236 in 2014/2015 to 8,328 in 2016/2017 after 2015earthquake.

4.Legalandinstitutionalframework:

AfterthepromulgationoftheNewConstitutionofNepal2015,therehasbeenrestructuringofthecountryfromcentralizedsystemtofederalsysteminwhichtheoldactsandpoliciesare not compatible to the present three tiers of Government as local bodies areempowered.Severalexistingactsandregulationsareinfluencinginfederallevelandsomeareinlocallevel.

Therehasbeensomeawarenessabouttheneedofthedisasterwastemanagement,whichisreflectedinsomeofthelegaldocumentsofgovernmentofNepal.DisasterRiskReductionandManagementAct 2017 is the one inwhich disasterwaste ismentioned “removal ofdisaster generated waste” in the Clause#2 under the district disaster managementcommittee’s roles and responsibilities. Similarly under the clause #20 under public andprivatecommercialestablishmentrolesandresponsibility itwasmentioned“appropriatemanagementofwasteandpollutiontominimizeadverseimpacttopeople”.Thisclausewillgreatly help in management of waste generated from the industrial and commercialestablishment in the post disaster situation. There has also been absence of knowledgeaboutthedisasterwastemanagement,whichneedtobeaddressedinthelegalframeworkofNepal.

Theacts,rules&regulation,policy&planarethestrengthforaddressingthedisasterwastemanagement at the local level for preparedness before and after disaster event.Considering theexisting available reportonDisasterwastemanagement: Policy, Strategyand Action Plan was prepared in 2015 with the technical and financial support inconsultationwith government stakeholders need to review tomake it relevantwith thecurrentprovisionofinstitutionalarrangementcomplyingwiththenewlyendorsedactsandpoliciesofthegovernmentrelatedtogovernanceanddisastermanagement

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Wastemanagement is the issues, which are crosscutting to the role and responsibilitiesseveral, lineministriesand institutionsunder theconstitutionofNepal. Thesemajor lineministries:MinistryofForestryandEnvironment (MoFE);MinistryofUrbanDevelopment(MoUD);Ministry ofHealth andPopulation (MoHP);Ministry of Industry, Commerce andSupplies (MoICS); and Ministry of Agriculture Land Management and Cooperatives(MoALMC).Theselineministrieshavesomeindirectrolesinthewastemanagement.Thenewly formednationalNatural resourcesandFiscal commission isaconstitutionalbodyalso has part of its responsibility in recommend and support the central government todevelop favorable business modalities in waste management sectors and support inestablishing

In the past Institutionally disaster wastemanagement was the challenge as the existingoverlappingareaunderdisastermanagementphasesactivitiesandthewastemanagementactivities by the municipalities. Municipalities with its resources are use to with thehandling of the daily waste management operation from collection to transportation ofwaste to the landfill. So far in the case of post disaster event the amount of waste isenormousforthehandlingofmunicipalities.Thereisrequirementforaspecialprogrammefor preparedness and waste handling at the local level with support from the federalgovernment.

As ithasbeen clearlymentioned inby the LocalGovernmentOperationAct2017,whichauthorizeslocalgovernmenttoundertaketheformulationoflocallevelpolicies,legislation,and standards, plan implementation, monitoring and evaluation related to disastermanagement.ThenewlyendorsedDisasterRiskReductionandManagementAct(DRRMA)2017 has made new institutional set-up in which National Disaster Reduction andManagement Authority is recommended to establish. The recommended authority isexpectedtoestablishsoon.Sothiswillbeaninstitutionmightbethepotentialauthoritytodevelop expertise in handling and implementing the post disasterwastemanagement incoordinationwithMOFAGAatthefederallevelanddisasteraffectedlocalmunicipalities.

It is time for the relevant agencies to timely identify the gaps in key acts andpolicies toreflect the disaster waste management in the relevant legislative framework in timelyaddressing the issues to build a resilient local government and utilize the availableresourcesefficientlyfollowing3Rwastemanagementprinciple.5.ConclusionRecommendation:

• Existingknowledgeon thewastemanagementstructureandpracticesat the localmunicipality levelandsomesupportingwastemanagementactswillbesynergytothedisasterwastemanagement.

• There has been some initiation on reflecting some essence of disaster wastemanagement in few legal documents like LocalGovernanceOperation act 2017,DisasterRiskReductionAct2017,FifteenthDevelopmentPlan(2019-2023).Thishasto be further strengthenedwith the reflecting text in several supporting acts andlegalframeworkondisasterwastemanagement

• There is need to have a specialized institution and good coordinationmechanismamongwastemanagementanddisasterrecovery&reconstructionandenvironmentactors/institutions includingnationaland localgovernments, communitiesand the

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privatesectorsforaddressingthedisasterwastemanagementissueinthecountry;• Thepromotionoftheconstructionproductsproducedusingrecycleddisasterwaste

materials in the “Build Back Better” principle in post disaster recovery andreconstruction in phase. This needs financial incentive andmechanism supportingtheproductionprocessofthehouseconstructionproductsusingthedisasterwastematerialsanditspromotionbygovernmentwithrequirerulesandregulation;

• The lack of awareness about disaster waste management needs to address byraising the awareness among the disaster risk management and environmentalmanagementpractitioner communitiesabout thedisasterwastemanagementpreandpostdisastersituation.

• Tomanagethedisasterwasteefficientlythere isneedtobuildthecapacityoftheplanning and environment management section of the local government forunderstanding the issues of disaster waste management and prepare thepreparedness contingency planning for handling the disaster waste generated bythelocalandregionaldisasterphenomena.

• Thereisalsoneedtoletconcernedsectionoflocalandfederalgovernmentofficesand disaster waste management experts know about the recent development oftechnology and practices in disaster waste management (debris, segregation,utilizationandsafetransfertothelandfill)toefficientlyandtimelyaddresstheissueinpreandpostdisasterrecoverysituation.