The Hazard-Specific Consultation Workshop held on 14 August 2024 in Kathmandu, Nepal, brought together thematic experts and officials to demonstrate and assess the latest version of Satark, the decision support system (DSS) for Nepal’s disaster risk management sector being co-developed by Nepal’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) and RIMES under CARE Component 1.
The participants provided valuable insights on how to improve the DSS, particularly, with regards to four priority hazards, namely: landslide, lightning, flash flood, and forest fire. These include the development of landslide and lightning models customized to Nepal’s specific conditions and locations; integration of observation data and forecast for accurate flood warnings; and incorporation of data on land use and land cover, fire history, demography, and accessibility parameters into the forest fire model.
The consultation also yielded suggestions for enhancement of Satark’s user interface and visualization features to ensure clear communication of warning thresholds, and establishment of well-defined communication and data-sharing protocols between key government institutions to be able to share vital information with the public in a timely manner through the Satark platform.
The experts and officials recommended expanding Satark’s geographic coverage, from its pilot locations, to all hazard-prone areas and integrating nuances in hazard impacts, to make risk information more granular and to make the information accessible to relevant population groups. RIMES qualified that the recommended expansion of Satark’s scope will depend primarily on the availability of requisite datasets.
There was a consensus to strengthen coordination and collaboration among relevant government agencies, including the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, Ministry of Forests and Environment, Survey Department, Department of Mines and Geology, among others, to collaboratively enhance the system. Institution-wise meetings/consultations and follow-up multi-institution workshops, for facilitating focused interventions on DSS enhancements, were further recommended.
The workshop was co-organized by Nepal’s NDRRMA and RIMES, with support from the World Bank.
